This blade is good, but I wouldn't have designed it this way

The two were far too close. Through the air as thin as a cicada's wing, Su Chen could even smell the wisteria fragrance on the girl.

Her breath brushed against Su Chen's face.

It clearly wasn't hot, yet Su Chen felt unbearably warm.

"Oh my, Su Chen, you really are working hard!" Shinobu Kocho looked at Su Chen with a smile.

Su Chen turned toward Shinobu Kocho and gave her a smile as warm as a spring breeze.

"Sister Shinobu, what brings you here?"

As he spoke, Su Chen moved a little closer.

The air they breathed was even passing into each other's bodies.

Now it was Shinobu Kocho's turn to be at a loss.

Was Su Chen really this smooth?

Just as Su Chen was about to succeed, Shinobu Kocho immediately pulled her face away.

At the same time, she gave Su Chen a meaningful look. "Mr. Su Chen, you really are a naughty little brother."

"Oh?" Su Chen smiled, but inwardly he couldn't help grumbling, Weren't you the one who started it?

Naturally, however, Su Chen didn't say that aloud.

He worked his lungs and exhaled the breath from Shinobu Kocho that he had just inhaled.

The night air was cold, and the breath Su Chen exhaled immediately formed a white ring of mist in the air.

The sight left Shinobu Kocho stunned.

She couldn't help asking, "Mr. Su Chen, is that... a Breathing Style?"

Su Chen was a little surprised.

He hadn't expected Shinobu Kocho to be so sharp-eyed. He had merely exhaled once, and she had seen through him.

"There's no mistaking it. And that way of breathing is my sister's Flower Breathing!" Shinobu Kocho could barely keep the smile on her face under control.

"Could it be that you know my sister, Mr. Su Chen?"

"No," Su Chen answered directly. "I learned this from Kanao Tsuyuri today."

After saying that, Su Chen suddenly remembered the rules for passing down the Demon Slayer Corps' Breathing Styles.

Breathing Styles had evolved from the original Sun Breathing into the current five fundamental Breathing Styles.

Wind Breathing, Stone Breathing, Thunder Breathing, Flame Breathing, and Water Breathing.

These Breathing Styles were usually taught by trainers, so anyone with the talent could learn them.

But the other derivative Breathing Styles were different.

Styles such as Mist Breathing, Love Breathing, Serpent Breathing, and Beast Breathing were generally taught privately, and only the respective Hashira's Tsuguko could learn them.

He had simply copied the Breathing Style of Shinobu Kocho's sister without permission. Would Shinobu Kocho be angry?

Sure enough, the expression on Shinobu Kocho's face stiffened for a moment.

"So that's how it is," Shinobu Kocho said with some disappointment.

But she wasn't disappointed that Su Chen had copied the Breathing Style. It was because he didn't know her sister.

Still, the fact that Su Chen could learn Flower Breathing must mean she shared quite a connection with her sister.

At first, he had clearly been nothing more than an ordinary person who had never even held a blade, yet now he could already accomplish this much.

Before coming, Shinobu Kocho had already learned everything from Aoi Kanzaki.

Through his own efforts, the boy she had brought back had defeated Kanao Tsuyuri in just two days!

Su Chen's extraordinary talent made Shinobu Kocho see a reflection of Muichiro Tokito in him.

A gifted child.

Perhaps this child really could defeat Shinazugawa in fifteen days.

"Mr. Su Chen," Shinobu Kocho suddenly said softly.

"What is it?" Su Chen turned to look at her.

Under the moonlight, the two sat side by side on the rooftop.

A thin, crystalline sheen spilled around them, making them look like spirits beneath the moon.

A dreamlike glow radiated from the girl's multicolored haori. She should have looked as beautiful as an angel.

Yet on Shinobu Kocho's face, Su Chen saw an anger so intense it was suffocating.

This was a girl's hatred!

Along with that anger, the wisteria fragrance on Shinobu Kocho grew stronger, until it even smelled a little pungent.

Shinobu Kocho said, "Mr. Su Chen, could you demonstrate my sister's Flower Breathing?"

Su Chen froze for a moment.

Kanao Tsuyuri knew Flower Breathing too, so there was no reason for her to come all this way just to watch a grown man like him perform Flower Breathing sword techniques, was there?

But Su Chen didn't ask why, because he knew Shinobu Kocho missed her sister.

Still, Su Chen had no intention of doing it for free. Instead, he bargained, "Then, if I perform well, could you also demonstrate how to use Insect Breathing, Sister Shinobu?"

Su Chen's goal was obvious. He wanted to learn Shinobu Kocho's signature skill!

Shinobu Kocho was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected Su Chen, this fourteen-year-old brat, to be so quick-witted.

He really wasn't willing to lose out in the slightest.

Shinobu Kocho immediately guessed Su Chen's purpose.

According to Aoi Kanzaki and the children, Su Chen was highly talented and could learn anything after seeing it just once.

It seemed he had his sights set on her Insect Breathing!

However.

Shinobu Kocho couldn't help laughing. "Mr. Su Chen, my Breathing Style won't be of any help to you."

As she spoke, Shinobu Kocho took hold of the sword at her side.

With a push of her left thumb, she gently drew her Nichirin Blade with her right hand.

"You haven't seen my sword before, have you? You can take a look, Mr. Su Chen."

Shinobu Kocho placed the blade before Su Chen.

Su Chen examined it closely.

Just as in the original story, this was a Nichirin Blade with only its tip and blade body intact.

Only half of the blade body was metal, and overall, it looked like a bee's stinger.

"Doesn't it look very strange?" Shinobu Kocho smiled, her voice as sweet as cotton candy.

Su Chen's expression didn't change. Instead, he stared intently at Shinobu Kocho's Nichirin Blade, studying it.

[You observed a uniquely shaped Nichirin Blade, felt that its designer was talented, discovered the designer's intentions, and understood the blade's purpose.]

[You closely observed the blade's cutting edge, bevel, guard, crossguard, ring, spine, and tip, gaining an understanding of its basic construction. You had an epiphany! You learned Nichirin Blade Design Mastery!]

Looking at the Nichirin Blade before him, Su Chen kept nodding. "This blade is well designed. It preserves as much of the blade's integrity as possible while reducing its weight, giving it basic combat capabilities."

"But because part of the blade body is missing, it can't slash demons, so whoever uses this blade must have a very hard time."

"Unfortunately, the designer made a mistake. If I were designing it, I wouldn't have done it this way."

As she listened to Su Chen's analysis, the smile on Shinobu Kocho's face froze again.

Whenever humans or demons first saw her blade, they would show confusion, surprise, or even ridicule.

Very few people would analyze the blade as carefully as Su Chen did.

This couldn't help leaving Shinobu Kocho a little touched.

But the latter half of his words made it rather difficult for her to stay touched.

What did he mean, he wouldn't have designed it this way?

What an unusual way to make conversation.

Her blade had been designed by the chief of the Swordsmith Village, after all!