The Board Is Set

Escape? Oboro's words were like a sharp thorn piercing Muzan's heart.

This made his foot, which was about to step back, suddenly stop.

Why run away? He's been hiding in the shadows for so long, hunting down inheritors to gain soul power... Wasn't all of this for today? With this thought, Muzan's expression suddenly turned fierce, and the old man in front of him overlapped with the blurry figure he had observed in his past consciousness.

"The one who should run away... is you."

Muzan realized that Oboro's flesh and blood were now extremely weak and lifeless.

Based on the normal lifespan of humans, he won't live much longer.

In this state, how dare they appear before me? As soon as they finished speaking, a wall of flesh and blood suddenly rose from the ground around the floating platform where the two of them were, with countless spear-like bone spikes protruding from it, trying to shoot out at Long and pierce him with a thousand holes.

"The power of the soul is not something you alone possess."

Seeing the old man's expression change slightly, Muzan let out a mocking laugh, somewhat smug.

"Yeah?"

Oboro raised her eyebrows, and when her deep gaze met Muzan's, it seemed to turn into a black hole with an astonishing suction force.

It was as if they wanted to drag Muzan's soul out of his body.

At this moment, Muzan was horrified.

No one understood the terror of Oboro better than he, who had sensed the soul.

In Muzan's eyes, an unbalanced energy emanated from the old man's frail body—the aura of his soul.

This indescribable soul fluctuation was not released to form pressure; rather, Oboro simply lifted the veil covering his soul and revealed it to him.

This feeling...

It was as if Muzan, who thought he had victory in his grasp and had just picked up a Muzan, suddenly discovered that his enemy was an army with advanced weaponry and excellent combat readiness.

"How is this possible? How could a human soul be so powerful? How could such a laughable human body possibly contain such a soul?!"

This is beyond what can be described as a small horse pulling a large cart...

Muzan as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

I was instantly stunned.

He looked down blankly, and for the first time since becoming a ghost, his legs were trembling...

He couldn't even overcome this physiological reaction of fear?! He really didn't understand... After coming into contact with the power of the soul, Muzan discovered something: the body is a vessel for the soul.

As a human, even if Oboro created the power of the soul, his strength would not be very high due to the limitations of his body... But he is the Demon King, and it is based on this that Muzan has the courage to deal with Oboro.

But what he was experiencing now completely overturned his original idea.

Such a difference in soul level... With just a thought, the other party could unleash their soul pressure, and he, who was so close, would be unable to withstand it. His soul would be instantly wiped out, leaving only an empty shell.

"Since coming into this world, you are the first person to truly see my trump card."

At that moment, Oboro spoke.

Arrived in this world?

These words made Muzan's pupils shrink.

The old man suddenly seemed incredibly mysterious.

"Who... who are you?"

Muzan gritted his teeth, trying to appear calm.

"The soul is a very profound subject. You've already achieved quite a level by feeling your way across the river on your own."

He smiled.

Putting everything else aside, Muzan's mastery of the soul, though not even at the beginner level, is still outstanding compared to most characters in this world who cannot perceive the soul.

"I am very satisfied."

Long nodded.

The demons on the inheritor's side, having evolved to this point, can only be considered to have evolved through willpower.

By devouring each other, they gain the power of other demons, their flesh and blood intertwine, and even multiple consciousnesses can be contained within a single body.

Similar to Teshimaga who attacked the Shogunate, the Blood Demon Art they could use were not limited to one type.

And gradually regressed to its ancestral form, moving closer to Muzan.

If this trend continues, the final evolutionary endpoint for all inheritors will be to become one Muzan, or to surpass him.

This is an increase in power level, rather than a new branch growing on the existing power system's skill tree.

But Muzan did it.

Oboro glanced at the towering walls of flesh around him and the exposed, hard bone spikes... At least, in the original work, Muzan did not possess such a method.

During his battle with Tanjiro and others, Muzan could change his physical form by splitting and increasing his cells or by altering his cells... but he could not fundamentally separate himself from his original body.

But now he is able to use blood cells to release and activate them in spaces outside himself.

This is not some kind of spell similar to Blood Demon Art.

All variations of Blood Demon Art rely on physical energy.

Now, it is possible to use the soul.

Originating from the soul and flesh, it's like how Oboro developed a soul-based Nen in Hunter x Hunter.

He brought his soul power to this world, where it was discovered and studied by Muzan.

This method is somewhat reminiscent of Nen in Hunter x Hunter...

They've reached a point where they've crossed the threshold of the higher world.

By using the will of the soul, one can alter the abilities of cells.

If this power can continue among demons, just like the Breathing Technique is used in the Demon Slayer Corps, then... this power will become a technique even more terrifying than the Blood Demon Art.

Although Muzan is the Demon King, in the original work... at least based on Oboro's experience, his strength is still at the level of a 'human'.

He directly taught the Breathing Technique to the Ubuyashiki Clan.

However, soul power cannot be directly given to a ghost. He can bestow soul power upon a successor, but the effect of doing so will not be very good.

Because the forces on the demon side are different from those of the Demon Slayer Corps, they are too scattered, and even the inheritors are not so united... As a result, once a demon who has mastered the power of the soul dies, he becomes useless and will needlessly deplete Oboro's soul.

When Doma and Kokushibo appeared in front of him.

Oboro noticed the 'unusual' nature of these two Upper Moons.

Clearly, Muzan distributed some of his weaker souls to them.

Muzan was Oboro's chosen 'embryo'.

All of Muzan's plans and actions were within his judgment.

In this way, the one who needs to consume a soul is Muzan, not himself.

Oboro's soul was extremely powerful to Muzan, but it wasn't that terrifying in higher worlds... This was because he had weakened his soul to a certain level in order to travel through time.

His purpose in traveling to other worlds was also to allow his soul to grow and develop once again through the supreme will.

In practice, this is reflected in the system's functionality.

Therefore, Oboro cherishes his own soul very much.

Even if he makes a deal with the will of the Demon Slayer world, he will not selflessly give up his own interests.

Why did the Little Tree beg him?

It's because he possesses the power of a higher world.

To improve the power system of this world, we must rely on him and share the power of the higher world.

This is the only fundamental means to enhance the power level of this world.

Breathing Technique, soul techniques, and combat skills.

The Demon Slayer Corps and the Kamado Clan practice breathing exercises.

Muzan is the soul.

Gyutaro is a specific troublemaker, and his responsibility is combat skills.

Given enough time, and given the right circumstances, that is, the right environment, these three forces will surely expand and evolve infinitely through the wisdom and research of generations of life.

It forms rainwater and fertilizer, which irrigates all the 'seeds' throughout the world.

Oboro has changed the lives of ordinary people in this world by manipulating everything behind the scenes.

The existence of ghosts has led many people in the community to acquire methods to deal with them.

Not to mention the official army, which has already begun hunting demons...

Most people are now qualified to accept these three forces.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to travel around all these years, choosing targets to use experience cards, and even being given the title of 'god'.

The day when souls, breathing techniques, and combat skills become widespread in the world of Demon Slayer.

This world will then leap to become a higher world.

This is the scheme that Oboro has been orchestrating all along.

Connect all the points and lines together.

That was also his real plan.

The situation is now settled.

Now, let time tell...