The Path to Becoming Stronger
Tanjiro and Inosuke fought inside the room, weaving and dodging as fists and kicks collided.
They continued competing in hand-to-hand combat.
However, Tanjiro held an absolute advantage. The enhancements brought by several rounds of Nourishment had given him physical strength far beyond anything Inosuke could match.
"You... you're ridiculously strong!"
Inosuke's hands had gone numb, and he could not help blurting it out.
Tanjiro, meanwhile, calmly pleaded with him.
"Can we stop now? Listen to me..."
But Inosuke did not even consider backing down or making peace. "No! I'm not listening! I'm definitely going to beat you!"
With that, he charged forward and resumed the fierce battle, relying on his agile body to fight.
Facing him for the first time, Tanjiro even felt as though he was not fighting a person, but rather battling a wild beast!
Lin Fan offered a timely reminder.
"Just knock him out. At this rate, it'll never end."
Tanjiro hesitated for a moment.
"Wouldn't that be a little inappropriate?"
But with Inosuke relentlessly pressing him, there was no better option. He could only reluctantly accept Lin Fan's suggestion.
"All right, then. I guess this is the only way." As he spoke, Inosuke lunged at him.
Tanjiro seized the moment, swiftly crouched, and swept his leg out. Inosuke immediately jumped to evade it.
At that very moment, Tanjiro had already turned around and risen to his feet.
Inosuke was still in midair.
Tanjiro stretched out both hands, and Inosuke raised his hands to block as well. Their four palms clasped together.
Lin Fan teased him inwardly.
"Use a headbutt on him, Tanjiro."
Hearing that, Tanjiro used a headbutt without hesitation. Not to be outdone, Inosuke rammed his own head forward as well.
Lin Fan could only say that his courage was commendable. The last person who dared compete with Tanjiro in headbutts already had grass growing on his grave.
There was no suspense to the result.
There was only a bang.
The two separated.
Inosuke's body swayed, and even his boar mask fell off. Blood trickled down his delicate face from his forehead.
At that moment, his head felt as if it were splitting apart, and even his vision had become blurry.
As for Tanjiro—
It would not be accurate to say he was completely unscathed. It was more like nothing had happened to him at all. He simply stood there and said righteously, "Can you calm down now?"
But Inosuke still stubbornly refused to yield.
"No! I have to defeat you! Try giving me another headbutt! Come on, bring it!"
Only now, his entire body had gone limp.
Only his mouth remained tough!
Tanjiro stared at the blood flowing from his forehead and could not help worrying. "Are you all right? Why don't you sit down first and let me take a look?"
But Inosuke did not care about his own condition or anyone else's concern. He only wanted to keep fighting, speaking in a hoarse voice.
"Big forehead, quit talking nonsense. Let me tell you my name—I'm Inosuke Hashibira, so remember it. Now give me another headbutt..."
But before he could finish—
His entire body suddenly froze.
Under Tanjiro's gaze, his eyes rolled back, and he fell flat onto the ground. His body twitched as foam spilled from his mouth.
Just then—
Zenitsu happened to witness everything from the hallway outside the door. He looked even more bizarre than before. "Huh?! Tanjiro, did you kill that guy?"
Hearing that, Tanjiro turned around.
He saw Zenitsu, along with a young man in a yellow kimono beside him. "It's not like that, Zenitsu. I only knocked him unconscious."
"Really?"
Zenitsu cautiously stepped forward and saw that the man was still twitching. Only after confirming that he was not dead did he slowly speak.
"This guy's from the Demon Slayer Corps too. He's just impatient. He was the first to arrive and the first to leave. Who would've thought we'd run into him here?"
Tanjiro had expected as much, considering Inosuke held two Nichirin Blades in his hands.
"All right, Zenitsu.
The demon here has already been slain. Let's bury the people who died first."
"Huh? You already killed that demon? I knew you were the most reliable!"
Zenitsu's fearful expression vanished entirely, replaced by extreme excitement.
Tanjiro did not pay it much attention.
Together, they carried the unconscious Inosuke and the remains of the dead.
Along with the sole survivor, they left the mansion and dug graves nearby, burying the bodies where they were.
No one knew how much time passed.
When Inosuke woke up, he sat up and saw several fresh graves in front of him, with Tanjiro and the others standing nearby.
Without even a moment's pause, he got up and charged straight toward Tanjiro.
"Come fight me to settle this once and for all!"
Only after approaching did he point at Tanjiro and ask,
"What are you doing?!"
Faced with the question, Tanjiro merely turned around and explained gently.
"We're burying the dead. You can join us too, but if your injuries hurt too much, don't force yourself."
Perhaps feeling as though he was being looked down on, Inosuke's temper immediately flared. He even forgot all about challenging Tanjiro to a fight as he roared,
"Huh? Quit looking down on me! Even if there were a hundred people, I'd bury every last one of them for you!"
Zenitsu stared in utter shock.
Was something wrong with this guy?
The group worked together to dig graves and bury the corpses.
During that time, however, Lin Fan spoke with Tanjiro.
"Tanjiro, your body has already surpassed the limits of ordinary humans through my Nourishment. Ordinary training will no longer do much for you."
While digging, Tanjiro hurriedly asked seriously, "Then how should I become stronger from now on? Should I keep hunting man-eating demons?"
Lin Fan wanted to say yes.
But he changed his answer.
"While I'm glad you have such determination for revenge, mindless slaughter can only improve your body. Sword techniques and Breathing Styles are what truly matter if you want to grow stronger."
"Sword techniques and Breathing Styles? Please tell me, Asuramaru. I'm begging you."
Tanjiro asked humbly and respectfully.
"All right."
Lin Fan nodded slightly, then began recounting what he had concluded about Breathing Styles from the anime he had watched in the past.
"Tanjiro, right now, you have only mastered a Breathing Style to the point where you can use it. Next, you need to keep your Breathing Style running throughout the entire day, without interruption.
The longer you maintain it, the stronger your basic physical stamina will become!"
"The entire day?!"
Tanjiro sucked in a sharp breath.
After a brief pause, Lin Fan continued, "This is called Constant Breathing. And what I'm about to tell you next is the real key."
Hearing that, Tanjiro listened intently, afraid he might miss even a single word.
"Once you master a Breathing Style to a certain level, the corresponding breathing will produce a matching Demon Slayer Mark. Once the mark is awakened, your strength will rise sharply, but it will also cause enormous damage to your body.
Those who awaken it after birth cannot live past the age of twenty-five."
So That Was Why You Chose Me?
If maintaining Total Concentration Breathing for an entire day had merely shocked him, then learning that awakening a Demon Slayer Mark meant he would not live past twenty-five terrified him.
"Doesn't that mean I'll die young too?"
The moment he finished speaking—
Lin Fan snapped at him irritably, "Don't interrupt me when I'm talking!"
"Ah, sorry. I got a little too worked up." Tanjiro hurriedly apologized for his behavior and continued listening.
After being interrupted, Lin Fan sorted out his thoughts before continuing. "But you'll be fine. I can heal the damage caused by awakening the Demon Slayer Mark."
Upon hearing that, Tanjiro finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Then Lin Fan spoke with utmost seriousness.
"The final stage of a Breathing Style is known as the supreme realm: the Transparent World. Once awakened, it grants you unparalleled evasion and predictive ability.
Your enemies will appear transparent in your eyes, and all their weaknesses will be clearly visible. Beyond that, you can even conceal your fighting spirit.
Throughout history, very few people have been able to awaken the Transparent World."
It was the first time Tanjiro had learned that Breathing Styles were divided into so many stages. Along with his amazement, he could not help doubting himself.
Could I really awaken the Demon Slayer Mark and the Transparent World?
As if sensing Tanjiro's feelings, Lin Fan suddenly said in a teasing tone,
"You don't need to be so discouraged. Have a little confidence. After all, your father once awakened the Transparent World."
"What?!"
Tanjiro was completely stunned. No matter what, he had never imagined that his father had awakened the Transparent World.
But when he recalled his father's figure, he felt somewhat relieved, while also remembering his father's instructions.
Lin Fan showed no intention of stopping and continued guiding him. "And didn't you want to know about Yoriichi Tsugikuni?"
"Can you really tell me?"
Tanjiro was extremely curious. Why had Muzan feared that person so deeply? Why had merely resembling him been enough to terrify Muzan to such an extent?
"There's no harm in telling you."
Lin Fan began explaining in a calm, steady voice.
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni lived roughly three or four hundred years ago. He could be called the strongest person of all time! He was the creator of Sun Breathing, the origin of all Breathing Styles.
Back then, he completed his sword technique in a mere instant and cut Muzan to the brink of death. But at the very moment he was about to kill him—
Muzan split himself into more than eighteen hundred pieces and fled in separate directions. Yet Yoriichi Tsugikuni struck more than fifteen hundred of those pieces in an instant. Even so, Muzan ultimately escaped.
From then on, he hid and never appeared again. Only after Yoriichi Tsugikuni died did Muzan dare to emerge once more."
Though it was only a simple explanation, Tanjiro could still sense Yoriichi Tsugikuni's overwhelming strength from those few words!
"However, although Yoriichi Tsugikuni has died, his Sun Breathing was passed down. Back then, it was your ancestor who inherited Sun Breathing."
At this point.
Before you continue