Chapter Summaries

Xia Xi treated the injured after the battle, then stunned Tengen Uzui and Kanae Kocho by demonstrating four Breathing Styles and saying he planned to learn Firefire Breathing as well. He began treating Kanae, who became flustered, and the chapter ended with her wrapped in ointment and bandages as Xia Xi asked why she was blushing.

• Tengen Uzui questioned Xia Xi about his medical skills, and Xia Xi said he had taught himself.
• Kanae Kocho arrived and asked how Xia Xi could use Water Breathing despite practicing Thunder Breathing.
• Xia Xi demonstrated Wind, Water, Stone, and Thunder Breathing, then said he intended to learn Firefire Breathing.
• Xia Xi offered to treat Kanae's injuries, and she blushed as he approached.
• Xia Xi used the system's emergency treatment plan to bandage Kanae, then asked what she was blushing about.

Xia Xi treated Kanae’s injuries, then joined her and Tengen Uzui in leading the survivors out of the woods. After Xia Xi fooled the villagers with a passbook presented as official identification, Uzui praised him and proposed a celebratory feast.

• Xia Xi carefully treated Kanae’s wounds and set her injured bones, leaving her flustered while he worried that her injuries might be infected.
• Tengen Uzui teased Kanae and proudly revealed that he had three wives, prompting Xia Xi to marvel at his marriage and good fortune.
• Xia Xi helped a Kanoto-ranked swordsman stand, then joined Kanae and Uzui in guiding the woodcutters out of the woods.
• Kanae told the woodcutters that the group belonged to the Demon Slayer Corps, but Xia Xi displayed a Central Bank passbook as supposed government identification and quieted their questions.
• Uzui praised Xia Xi, invited him to become a Hashira alongside him, and proposed a grand celebratory feast for the three of them.

After the mission, Xia Xi, Kanae, and Tengen Uzui celebrated at a lively food stall, where Xia Xi reflected on the comfort of ordinary life and discussed his plans to learn multiple Breathing Styles. He asked Uzui and Kanae for advice on developing a Breathing Style of his own, leaving them startled by how accurately he had identified their styles' origins.

• The Kakushi took the injured Kojiro to a nearby Wisteria House after the survivors were handed over to the local police.
• Tengen Uzui brought Xia Xi and Kanae to his favorite food stall and ordered a lavish spread for their victory feast.
• Xia Xi reminisced about enjoying lively restaurants in his past life, then told Uzui that he preferred ice-cold cola to sake.
• Xia Xi declined Uzui's offer to team up because he wanted to train and eventually develop his own Breathing Style.
• Xia Xi asked Uzui and Kanae for advice on their derived Breathing Styles, surprising them by recognizing their origins.

Xia Xi discussed Tengen Uzui’s Sound Breathing and warned him that his underdeveloped Breathing Style could leave him outmatched by stronger demons. Their serious conversation ended in a spill, but Xia Xi’s advice stayed with Tengen as he reflected on his training.

• Uzui explained how he developed Sound Breathing from Thunder Breathing to suit his ninja skills, tactics, and weapons.
• As they ate and drank, Xia Xi noticed Uzui’s skill levels and worried that he might someday die.
• Xia Xi used a cracked wooden cup as an analogy to explain how Uzui’s weak Breathing Style could become a limiting weakness against powerful demons.
• Tea spilled across the table and onto Uzui’s trousers, prompting Kanae to giggle and offer her handkerchief.
• Uzui called for a sturdier cup and quietly reflected on Xia Xi’s warning.

Xia Xi helped the busy restaurant by cooking, while Tengen and Kanae discussed their impressions of him and shared personal histories. The conversation was interrupted when Tengen’s three wives arrived with a new assignment from Oyakata-sama, requiring them to leave that night.

• Xia Xi entered the kitchen and impressed the owner, Tengen, and Kanae with his cooking skills.
• Tengen asked Kanae how she viewed Xia Xi, and she said she respected him and would rather watch his progress as a comrade than pursue him romantically.
• Xia Xi returned with food for several tables, and Tengen teased him and Kanae about his future wife.
• Kanae described her past and her younger sister Shinobu, while Xia Xi shared a sorrowful account of his family being killed by demons.
• Three women arrived and told Tengen that Oyakata-sama had sent a new assignment requiring them to leave that night.

Xia Xi met Tengen Uzui’s three wives, then fled with Kanae after paying their own share of Uzui’s unpaid dinner. He planned to visit his senior fellow disciple in Yokohama before heading to the Rengoku Family, and he and Kanae promised to grow stronger together; afterward, Xia Xi remembered he had stood up Persimmon.

• Tengen introduced Hinatsuru Tanizaki, Makio Ishigami, and Suma Higashiyama as his wives before leaving on a mission without paying the bill.
• Xia Xi paid for himself and Kanae, then used Thunder Breathing to escape with her while leaving Uzui’s share on his tab.
• In a quiet alley, Xia Xi told Kanae he planned to visit Igarashi Usen in Yokohama and might later visit the Rengoku Family.
• Kanae encouraged Xia Xi to create a powerful Breathing Style and become a Hashira, and they promised to grow stronger together.
• Xia Xi remembered that he had promised to eat grilled meat with Persimmon and had stood her up.

Xia Xi met Igarashi Usen, a gentle but formidable swordsman who explained how studying the underlying logic of Breathing Styles could lead to a deeper understanding of power. Igarashi demonstrated his Pre-Initiative by predicting a barista’s movements, leaving Xia Xi astonished.

• Igarashi Usen took Xia Xi to a café and discussed everyday life while Xia Xi assessed his extraordinary strength.
• Igarashi described true strength as consciousness and logic, then recognized that Xia Xi was studying multiple Breathing Styles to understand their shared principles.
• Igarashi explained that the different Breathing Styles applied distinct forms of logic to force and could point toward a more fundamental way of wielding power.
• Igarashi asked Xia Xi to observe the café’s patrons, then demonstrated how he inferred the barista’s habits and predicted his actions.
• The barista knocked a cup and instinctively steadied it as Igarashi had predicted, and Igarashi named his ability Pre-Initiative.

Igarashi Usen trained Xia Xi in Pre-Initiative over two months while helping him improve his swordsmanship and enjoy Yokohama. Xia Xi made major progress and received his custom-made secondary Nichirin Blades, which he named Severing Wind.

• Igarashi explained Pre-Initiative and agreed to teach Xia Xi, first taking him around Yokohama as part of his training.
• Igarashi trained Xia Xi in observation, prediction, swordsmanship, demon-slaying, and combat against different fighting styles.
• After two months, Xia Xi improved his Breathing Styles and skills, raised his achievement points to 8, and reached a power level of 189.
• Hido Tamamaru brought Xia Xi the custom-made pair of Nichirin punch daggers forged by Master Tetsuchikawahara.
• Xia Xi watched the daggers change color to silvery white and named them Severing Wind.

Xia Xi tested his new punch-dagger Nichirin Blade, Severing Wind, and explained to Igarashi why he wanted it as a secondary weapon. He sparred with Igarashi to try the weapon in combat, leaving the Mist Pillar impressed by his skill and experience.

• Yumaru explained that Severing Wind was a prototype and asked Xia Xi to record feedback from training and combat.
• Xia Xi switched between Severing Wind and Sandai Yasushi, discovering that weapon mastery was tracked separately for each type.
• Xia Xi told Igarashi that he wanted the punch dagger as a secondary weapon, citing its speed and maneuverability alongside his preference for fighting with his fists.
• Igarashi invited Xia Xi to spar, and Xia Xi accepted, calling him Senior Brother Aizen before correcting himself to Usen.
• Xia Xi rushed Igarashi with a feint and a punch-dagger uppercut, then slipped inside his sword's range and pressed an attack that made Igarashi marvel at his experience.

Xia Xi tested his boxing-inspired techniques against Igarashi, a Hashira whose Pre-Initiative repeatedly anticipated and countered his attacks. He unleashed a devastating Inch Punch Splitter that finally broke through Igarashi’s defense and sent him flying.

• Xia Xi used Pendulum Shift and a Cross Counter, but Igarashi dodged the attack without using a Breathing Style.
• Xia Xi combined Thunder Breathing with rapid jabs, but Igarashi predicted his punches and redirected them.
• Igarashi gained control of the spar, countering Xia Xi’s attacks and forcing him to defend as his stamina faded.
• Xia Xi used Water Breathing to create a defensive circle that made Igarashi’s strike miss, then prepared a powerful Stone Breathing punch.
• Xia Xi’s Inch Punch Splitter overwhelmed Igarashi’s Mist Breathing defense and blasted him backward, leaving cracks in the ground where he landed.