Kanao Tsuyuri's large eyes grew a little livelier. Looking at Su Chen in front of her, she said carefully, "Thank you, Su Chen."
Su Chen said, "You're welcome. Can you tell me now why you suddenly left earlier?"
Kanao lowered her head and said, "Because you don't need to take the third test."
"Oh?" Su Chen looked surprised.
He understood what Kanao meant.
In Kanao's eyes, Su Chen was strong.
Someone strong no longer needed to take the third test, because doing so would simply be a waste of time.
Kanao wasn't good at expressing her feelings, which was why she had walked away on her own then.
This really had been a little misunderstanding.
Seeing that Su Chen wasn't saying anything, Kanao thought he was angry.
She said somewhat awkwardly, "I'm sorry."
Looking at the embarrassed girl before him, Su Chen found Kanao inexplicably adorable.
Su Chen patted his chest and said with a show of generosity, "It's fine, but you'll have to make it up to me more from now on."
Make it up to him?
Kanao raised her head, curious about what Su Chen would say next.
She wanted to know exactly what Su Chen meant by making it up to him.
But to her surprise, Su Chen said, "Talk to me more from now on, or I won't forgive you."
Kanao fell silent at that.
What Su Chen wanted hardly even counted as compensation. She had thought he would ask her to keep practicing with him.
But she had guessed wrong. Su Chen simply wanted to help her open up.
Kanao blinked.
Once, a kind, understanding older sister had treated her this way too.
She was Lady Shinobu's older sister, Kanae Kocho.
Not only had she been Kanao's teacher and taught her Flower Breathing, but she had also guided her and cared for her like a real older sister.
She was Kanao's most important family member in this world.
And now, Kanao found something familiar in Su Chen.
At that moment, Su Chen seemed to shine in Kanao's eyes.
Seeing Kanao staring blankly, Su Chen couldn't help waving a hand in front of her.
But he had barely begun the motion when he heard Kanao blurt out involuntarily, "Big sister?"
"What?" Su Chen froze.
His hand stopped in midair. How did I end up changing genders just by talking?
Su Chen felt that everything he had said earlier had been wasted. This girl hadn't taken in a single word!
Kanao came to her senses then too, and her whole body jolted.
Her little face instantly flushed red. "S-sorry!"
Su Chen wanted to pat her head, but gave it some thought.
In the end, he patted Kanao's shoulder instead.
"Did you remember your family?"
Kanao pressed her lips together and nodded.
Su Chen looked sympathetic. Of course he knew who the older sister Kanao spoke of was.
Kanae Kocho, who was also Shinobu Kocho's older sister.
She was another young girl who had been eaten by Doma.
That bastard Doma really deserved to die!
It seemed Su Chen still had to improve his strength as quickly as possible. Even Hashira got eaten when they encountered an Upper Rank, so his little bit of skill really wasn't worth mentioning.
Afterward, Su Chen offered Kanao a few more words of guidance, and she began talking more too.
Before they knew it, an afternoon had passed.
The girls at the Butterfly Mansion had a wonderful time chatting with Su Chen.
Su Chen left a deep impression on the girls.
His own presence at the Butterfly Mansion also grew noticeably stronger.
Gradually, night fell.
The insects all around crawled out, and the calls of crickets and other insects rose one after another from the courtyard shrubs.
Unlike during the day, the Butterfly Mansion at night seemed quieter and more secluded, putting people even more at ease.
At that moment, a teenage boy sat alone atop the Butterfly Mansion.
The Butterfly Mansion's roof was built from smooth blue tiles and formed a triangle overall. Not only was it slippery, but one careless move could easily send someone falling off.
Yet the boy remained surprisingly steady, sitting on the roof as naturally as if he were sitting in a chair.
Su Chen silently practiced his Breathing Style, relying on his extraordinary bodily coordination to sit on the roof and slowly regulate his breathing.
Before him lay the courtyard where he had faced Kanao during the day.
The scenes of his match with Kanao kept repeating in his mind.
Slowly, the courtyard before his eyes changed.
He and Kanao seemed to have truly appeared in the courtyard once more, endlessly repeating the movements they had made that day.
"A Breathing Style?" Su Chen murmured.
He kept observing Kanao's movements and breathing rhythm.
Kanao's figure in the "courtyard" slowed several times over again, almost as if someone had pressed pause.
Su Chen was observing frame by frame.
He had only discovered this ability during his fight that day.
Su Chen discovered that not only did he have heaven-defying comprehension, but his powers of observation were also frighteningly strong. He could even analyze an opponent's movements frame by frame.
Viewed this way, his opponent's movements seemed to slow countless times over.
That was why Su Chen could fully observe his opponent's movements in a short time, imitate them, improve upon them, and even find an opening to counterattack!
And when night came, Su Chen discovered another ability of his.
Apart from his powers of observation, his memory was also terrifying.
He could even replay battles he had fought over and over in his mind, using them at any time to gain insights and deepen his understanding!
Right now, Su Chen was repeatedly observing his fight with Kanao from earlier that day.
There were fourteen days left until his duel with Shinazugawa.
Su Chen had to learn a Breathing Style as quickly as possible.
At that thought, Su Chen slowly closed his eyes.
[You recalled the daytime battle, broke down your opponent's movements frame by frame, imitated them, and learned Flower Breathing's Muscle Force Generation Technique!] [You observed the changes in your opponent's lungs, the number of contractions in her windpipe, and their vibration frequency ten times, performed deductions, and learned Flower Breathing's Breathing Technique!] [You randomly combined breathing techniques and methods of generating force, discovering a more powerful way of breathing!] [You discovered that Flower Breathing better suited the female physique and emphasized agility, offering you limited help. In a fit of frustration, you improved it!] [You tried increasing your breathing rate as you breathed, accelerating the flow of air through your lungs!] [You tried changing how your leg muscles generated force to better suit you and make you move faster!] [You developed a modified version of Flower Breathing: Flower Breathing Overlord Flower Version!]
"Whew!"
Su Chen let out a long breath.
Performing deductions for so long placed an enormous strain on his brain.
Su Chen remembered that he had passed out the first time precisely because he had overtaxed his brain.
Su Chen focused his attention on the Breathing Style he had improved.
The original Flower Breathing Style better suited women because it had been developed around their lesser strength and lighter physiques.
There was nothing wrong with women using this Breathing Style.
But it wasn't particularly suitable for a powerful man like Su Chen.
So Su Chen could only improve it. However, this was also his first exposure to a Breathing Style, so he had still spent most of his time learning it.
Modifying Flower Breathing had merely been something he did along the way.
Still, the name he had come up with sounded a little too awful.
Overlord Flower Breathing Style, seriously?
Forget it. I'll just call it Flower Breathing! Su Chen thought.
"Hello there~"
A voice so soft it could melt his bones sounded beside Su Chen's ear.
Su Chen shuddered violently, and an auspicious cloud pattern spread rapidly from his neck.
He immediately went on guard.
But in the next instant, he realized.
The person who had come was Shinobu Kocho!
Su Chen opened his eyes.
At some point, Shinobu Kocho had moved close to him. She watched him, her large eyes seemingly filled with amusement.
Before you continue