The battle up ahead was far larger than either of them had expected.
Calling it an all-out melee would have been no exaggeration.
Seven or eight swordsmen were using their respective Breathing Styles to fight four man-eating demons.
Several human corpses lay beside them, already lifeless.
The demons' panels came into view.
[Blue Poo ???][Energy level: 43 (body: 36, technique: 2, mind: 5)] [Heavy Pressure ???][Energy level: 41 (body: 28, technique: 9, mind: 4)] [Earth-Hanging Blade ???][Energy level: 62 (body: 25, technique: 31, mind: 6)] [Rot ???][Energy level: 51 (body: 20, technique: 25, mind: 6)]
These trash mobs actually knew how to work together?
Had I cleared out all the weak ones, leaving only the ones with some real ability?
The swordsmen taking part in the selection had numbers on their side, but their stats gave them no advantage.
Besides, these demons had known each other for who knew how many years. Their coordination and teamwork clearly outclassed that of swordsmen who had only met in the last couple of days.
Clearly, unless Xia Xi intervened, it was only a matter of time before these friendly NPCs were wiped out.
"You over there, run!"
One Swordsman spotted Xia Xi and even found a moment to shout at him.
Xia Xi glanced over.
He was a Stone Breathing user.
His Breathing Style skill was only LV.1, lower even than Yukishiro Seiko's beside him.
After several days of intense demon encounters alongside Xia Xi, Persimmon's Breathing Style had leveled up.
"Persimmon, that little runt is yours. Same rules as always."
She only needed to cripple the demon. He would take the kill.
The girl nodded.
She became a blur, charging at the shortest demon with an expressionless face.
[Yukishiro Seiko (energy level: 31)][Water Breathing LV.2] [Heavy Pressure ???][Energy level: 41 (body: 28, technique: 9, mind: 4)]
The gap was not particularly large.
In fact, their Breathing Styles allowed the swordsmen to perform far beyond what their stat panels suggested.
Especially since these demons fought by recklessly relying on their physical prowess.
They had no finesse whatsoever.
Then Natsumi raised his sword and looked toward the swordsmen locked in battle.
Endless waves crashed.
Bold, blazing flames burned.
Lightning-fast charges shot forward.
Wild gales swept in broad, powerful strokes.
Steady force carried the weight of collapsing mountains and splitting earth.
Though still rudimentary, they gave Xia Xi a taste of the Five Great Breathing Styles' characteristics and the sword intent behind them.
Hmm... the effects were a little dazzling, though.
Xia Xi quietly selected [Breathing Style Effects Off].
Instantly, the battle remained as fierce as ever. Sword strikes and demonic lunges still sent sparks flying.
But the elaborate water, lightning, and flame effects were gone.
Much easier on the eyes now.
(The original work mentioned that Breathing Styles were sword intent, and that there were multiple cultivators.)
[Wind Breathing] [First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter]
Sword light flashed in every direction as Xia Xi barreled into the battle like a speeding Dayun truck.
"The newcomer..."
One swordsman felt both indignant and a little touched.
His intentions were good, but against these four powerful demons, what difference could he make beyond adding another casualty?
Then the swordsman saw it.
The blue demon flew backward with a flattened chest, while two others were left covered in deep gashes.
And that was not the end.
After breaking into the melee, Xia Xi immediately unleashed his next sword form.
[Eighth Form: First Fierce Wind Slash]
A spinning slash-a gigantic, perfectly executed spinning slash.
While driving back the strongest demon, he sliced the head off another that reacted a split second too slowly.
Just two moves.
One demon badly wounded, another slain.
So... so strong!
Hope returned to the eyes of the swordsmen who had been on the verge of despair.
Xia Xi, meanwhile, reflected on those last strikes.
Wind Breathing at LV.3 was worlds apart from level two.
Speed. Precision.
Both had improved enormously.
Combined with his increased base stats, it amounted to a qualitative leap.
Yesterday, facing three demons with such high stats at once would probably have required some caution, picking them off one by one.
But now?
He had room to spare. All he needed to do was charge in.
"Everyone, attack! It's time to avenge those who just died!" one swordsman roared, invigorated.
But the response was not a counterattack from the demons.
Instead, Xia Xi warned them, "Stay out of this. They're my prey."
The swordsman froze.
Huh?
You wanted to take them on alone?
Sure, these man-eating demons were our mortal enemies, but wasn't your hatred a little excessive?
Ignoring the swordsmen's bewilderment, Natsumi turned to the two surviving demons.
He grinned.
"Perfect. I'll use you two to test my upgraded blade."
"You demons don't feel pain anyway, right?"
Demons and swordsmen alike shuddered.
Xia Xi did not care. He raised his blade and charged at the two demons.
"Don't underestimate me!" Earth-Hanging Blade, whose energy level reached a full 62, roared and charged straight at Xia Xi.
A few breaths later.
[Proficiency +41] [Proficiency +83] [Proficiency +101]
By the time Xia Xi severed the demon's head, Yukishiro Seiko's battle was also nearly over.
She cut the limbs off the already battered demon.
Rather than seize the chance to behead the demon, Seiko quietly sheathed her Nichirin Blade and looked toward the boy.
"You little bitch! If I hadn't let my guard down, how could I have lost to you? Come at me again if you've got the guts!"
The demon shouted while struggling to regenerate those severed limbs.
Then a shadow fell over the demon.
Upon seeing Xia Xi's face, the demon finally realized that every companion had been slain. Panic began to fill those eyes.
But before the demon could speak,
the cold gleam of a Nichirin Blade swallowed the demon whole.
If you sucked, you should practice. Quit running your mouth.
So what if your stats were higher than Persimmon's? Did you even understand the mighty skill multiplier?
[Proficiency +25] [Wind Breathing LV.3 (263/2000)]
Seeing that no demons remained standing, the other swordsmen finally relaxed.
They slumped to the ground one after another.
"We survived..."
"We escaped death. We really escaped death..."
"That guy is so strong..."
Seiko came over as well and whispered in Natsumi's ear, "Now all the swordsmen in your selection group owe you a huge favor."
Her gentle breath tickled his ear.
The boy turned to Seiko. "What can I do with that favor?"
Seiko rolled her eyes, then rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "For you, Xia Xi, perhaps you could ask them for pointers on other Breathing Styles?"
Oh?
That finally piqued Natsumi's interest. He walked over to a rather thin swordsman and extended his right hand.
"Kurumazuka Natsumi. Shall we get acquainted?"
"Huh?" The swordsman blankly took his hand, only to be hauled to his feet. "My name is He Dao Shota. Um, thank you for saving us."
"If you want to repay me, demonstrate a couple of Flame Breathing forms once you've rested."
"Huh?!"
Shota silently added another label to the boy before him: [weirdo].
A [powerful], [straightforward] weirdo.
Before he could agree, however, Xia Xi looked past him.
"One actually slipped through the net."
[Rust-Eater ???][Energy level: 49 (body: 25, technique: 19, mind: 5)][Blood Demon...]
In the shadow of a tree trunk, a lean, masked man-eating demon crouched in a corner, silently watching everyone.
The demon's presence was not strong, but something about it was strange.
Even after seeing every accomplice killed, the demon had not fled and instead seemed eager to give it a try.
But weren't those stats considerably lower than that last demon's?
Almost the instant Xia Xi spoke, Seiko moved beside him.
[Water Breathing] [First Form: Water Surface Slash]
Though the flowing-water effect was invisible, the sharp slash still struck the demon's left arm.
Got you.
Seiko had barely thought this before she noticed that the resistance through her sword hilt felt wrong.
She looked at the Nichirin Blade in her hand.
The blade, which had still been reasonably sharp, was now missing half its length.
Its broken edge was covered in jagged, dark brown crusts of rust.
My blade broke?!
"You didn't think you'd actually got me, did you?"
The demon stared at the girl swordsman within arm's reach, a horribly twisted expression of excitement spreading across that face.
While Seiko stood stunned, the demon swung a claw down.
Blood sprayed.
But it was not Seiko's head that came off. It was the demon's arm.
Along with the other half of a Nichirin Blade, which flew into the air.
It was Xia Xi.
He had arrived just in time and successfully severed the demon's arm.
But his Nichirin Blade had broken just like Seiko's, thanks to the rust that suddenly appeared.
Xia Xi raised an eyebrow.
This definitely wasn't a problem with the blade.
His Nichirin Blade might not have been fresh from the forge, but it was nowhere near rusty enough to snap.
If the blade wasn't the problem, then naturally it had to be the demon before him.
"Oh? Figured it out?"
Despite being little more than skin and bones, the demon wore an outrageously smug grin.
"But so what if you did?"
"I can regenerate as many times as I want. You only have one sword."
Buds of flesh had already begun sprouting from the severed arm, even as it continued to spray blood. It regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Meanwhile, all Xia Xi had left in his hand was a broken sword.
Before you continue