As his words fell, Su Chen's body suddenly vanished.
Just as when he had dodged Shinobu Kocho's blade earlier, he disappeared without warning.
But Shinobu Kocho had already put aside her dismissive attitude and moved the instant Su Chen vanished.
"Insect Breathing: Butterfly Dance-Caprice."
The girl leaped high into the air, her colorful haori swaying gently.
Her large, doll-like eyes darted about incessantly.
Shinobu Kocho held her breath and stared intently. "I can't find him."
She could not track Su Chen's figure.
Boom!
Su Chen appeared right where she had been standing.
He held the Nichirin Blade straight in his hand.
Shinobu Kocho was secretly alarmed. If Su Chen's previous opponent had faced speed as great as hers, they probably would have died on the spot!
At that moment, Shinobu Kocho suddenly understood why Su Chen could move so quickly.
By vibrating his body rapidly within a small range, Su Chen reduced the air resistance in front of him, allowing his body to move faster than usual.
His movements just now had looked exactly like a bee's vibrations.
Su Chen was imitating the frequency of a bee's wingbeats!
As unbelievable as it was, it had truly happened before her eyes.
Shinobu Kocho marveled once again at Su Chen's talent.
But at the same time, she also thought of this move's side effects.
It demanded enormous amounts of oxygen and energy, and his body temperature would rise rapidly within a short time!
Shinobu Kocho narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly.
Sure enough, she saw a mysterious auspicious-cloud pattern on Su Chen's neck!
"So this is the power of the Demon Slayer Mark?" Shinobu Kocho marveled once again at the mark's power.
Little did she know that in the brief moment she was distracted, Su Chen had prepared his second attack.
"Bee Breathing, Sixth Form-Poison Whirlpool Rotation!"
Su Chen swept his Nichirin Blade rapidly through the air, creating three swirling pockets of air in an instant.
If this move were used with poison, the poison would cover an extremely wide area, making it very difficult for an opponent to evade!
But Su Chen was not using poison now, so he could only rely on high-frequency rotation to disrupt his opponent.
A rising whirlwind lifted the ends of the girl's hair, revealing her pretty, adorable face.
Shinobu Kocho's vision was disrupted.
On top of that, she could not turn her body in midair as she fell, so Su Chen immediately launched his final attack.
"Bee Breathing, First Form-Poison Stinger!"
A fierce gust rose as Su Chen split the air in the courtyard in two.
Su Chen charged straight in front of Shinobu Kocho.
At that moment, Shinobu Kocho's small feet touched the ground, and just as she was about to raise her hand to counterattack!
Su Chen activated his skill-Shadowless Hand!
The Nichirin Blade in his right hand swung so fast it left afterimages.
It bypassed Shinobu Kocho's sword and reached her snow-white neck first!
A deathly silence settled over the courtyard.
Aoi Kanzaki, who had appeared at some point, dropped the pastries she was holding with a clatter.
Then she rubbed her eyes, wondering whether she had seen things wrong.
The three little girls immediately squealed with excitement.
"Ah! Lady Shinobu actually lost!"
"Su Chen, you're amazing!"
"Su Chen must be a Hashira! Only a Hashira can defeat a Hashira!"
Kanao Tsuyuri stood quietly to one side, her little mouth wide open, unable to fully believe the scene before her either.
Her teacher... had lost?
She had lost to Su Chen, to the Breathing Style Su Chen had created himself.
With the Nichirin Blade she had always used, he had defeated the Demon Slayer Corps' Insect Hashira!
It was so unbelievable that even now, her little head was still a bit dizzy.
But the one most deeply affected was Shinobu Kocho.
Su Chen's reaction speed and performance in battle were flawless, and his self-created Breathing Style was even more astonishing.
Su Chen knew his weaknesses lay in his stamina and physical capabilities, so he had improved the footwork she had taught him last night.
He had removed the movements meant to confuse his opponent, attacking a single point directly and swiftly instead.
This was extremely similar to Thunder Breathing, but according to Su Chen, this strike could be used in conjunction with poison.
Shinobu Kocho did not even know what to say. The boy before her surprised her more with each passing day.
As his guide, she had to make sure to protect Su Chen, who was still relatively frail.
One day, he would surely bring earth-shattering changes to the world of humans and demons!
"It looks like I lost." Shinobu Kocho sheathed her sword.
A faint smile rested on her face, and she did not seem upset about losing to Su Chen.
Su Chen returned the sword to Kanao Tsuyuri and said just as modestly, "I just got lucky."
"I think your blade is even faster than it was last night, Mr. Su Chen." Shinobu Kocho was telling the truth.
Comparing Su Chen's performance last night with today's, his improvement could only be described as rapid.
Now, if she did not use poison, she was already no match for Su Chen.
Although Shinobu Kocho ranked among the weaker Hashira in raw strength, she was still a Hashira, and only another Hashira could defeat her.
It was no exaggeration to say that Su Chen now possessed Hashira-level strength in certain respects.
Seeing that it was getting late, Shinobu Kocho exchanged a few words with Su Chen.
Then she relayed Kagaya Ubuyashiki's words to him.
Su Chen looked interested when he heard this. "Training grounds?"
"Yes." Shinobu Kocho smiled as she spoke. "Some training grounds are where the Hashira usually train. I went to see the Master today, and he asked me to take you there."
"Mr. Su Chen, don't disappoint the Master's high expectations."
Su Chen lowered his head in thought.
The training grounds Shinobu Kocho mentioned should be the places where the individual Hashira conducted their own specialized training, right?
For example, the Sound Hashira's physical conditioning.
The Mist Hashira's training to improve high-speed movement.
Mitsuri Kanroji's flexibility training.
And Obanai Iguro's sword-swinging posture training, among others.
These were all specialties or signature skills each Hashira took pride in, but unfortunately, most of their fellow Corps members could neither learn nor perform them.
What Su Chen lacked most at present was physical conditioning.
Although he possessed exceptional comprehension, his body's strength had not yet caught up, so some training was still very necessary.
If I could watch the other Hashira train, wouldn't I be able to learn everyone's techniques?!
Once he combined all their strengths, even Su Chen himself did not know what sort of Breathing Style he might create.
Just thinking about it was exciting.
Seeing that Su Chen remained silent, Shinobu Kocho waved her small, fair hand at him. "Hello? Mr. Su Chen, are you listening?"
Su Chen came back to his senses and smiled. "Of course."
Shinobu Kocho patted her chest, her smile blooming like a flower. "Honestly, I thought you were going to turn me down."
"All right, then I refuse." Su Chen nodded.
Shinobu Kocho immediately swung her little fist at him, but Su Chen dodged it.
What a joke. Su Chen's reaction speed had already surpassed Shinobu Kocho's. There was no way she could lay a finger on him!
An anger mark seemed to appear on Shinobu Kocho's smooth forehead.
Before you continue