“Where is Rui? Why hasn’t he arrived?” Muzan demanded, looking down at the eleven kneeling demons, missing the Lower Rank Five, Rui.
“I cannot sense his position,” Nakime said softly, her black hair covering her face.
Muzan closed his eyes to sense for a moment. After about ten seconds, his crimson eyes opened, filled with disbelief and anger. He had lost control over Rui, just like he did with Tamayo and the demon from the Demon Slayer Corps.
“Daki, go to Mount Natagumo and find Rui. The other Upper Ranks, I want you to kill a man from the Demon Slayer Corps. He has short black hair and a scar on his forehead. He is about 1.73 meters tall, pale, and has purple diamond-patterned pupils,” Muzan commanded, showing no mercy.
“Is he a Hashira?” Upper Rank One, Kokushibo, asked, his six eyes looking menacing.
“No, but he is stronger than a Hashira,” Muzan replied.
“Understood.”
“Set off!” Muzan ordered. With the sound of the biwa, all the Upper and Lower Ranks vanished.
Muzan deployed five Upper-Rank demons simultaneously to kill Tang An, an unprecedented event in centuries, sensing a significant threat from Tang An.
Meanwhile, at the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, all the Hashira knelt on tatami mats facing Ubuyashiki Kagaya and his wife, Amane. Kagaya had just finished listening to their report.
“Mitsuri, you are a kind and honest child. When you lie, you lower your head and your fingers become restless,” Kagaya said with a smile, indicating no anger.
“Is Mitsuri lying?” Kyojuro Rengoku said in surprise.
“Does Mitsuri have this habit?” Tengen Uzui asked, looking at Mitsuri’s hands.
“If Mitsuri didn’t drive Muzan away, then who did?” Gyomei Himejima, with tears streaming down his face, questioned.
“Mitsuri, was it Tang An who drove Muzan away?” Kagaya asked gently, looking at the flustered and sweating Mitsuri.
Mitsuri raised her head, meeting Kagaya’s blind gaze but feeling his sadness. She regretted trying to deceive him.
“Yes, I was evacuating the people while Tang An fought Muzan bare-handed,” Mitsuri admitted, looking deflated.
“What?”
“Impossible!”
The Hashira were all stunned. Muzan Kibutsuji was no ordinary demon.
“Did you say bare-handed?” Kagaya asked, still smiling gently.
“Yes, Tang An said the Nichirin Blade was ineffective against Muzan,” Mitsuri explained, recounting the entire event.
After a few minutes, the room fell silent, and Hashira’s expressions mixed. The one who had been easily defeated by Sanemi now fought Muzan bare-handed.
“The opportunity to defeat Muzan has arrived,” Kagaya said, barely containing his excitement, seeing hope in defeating Muzan. If Tang An could hold his own against Muzan, what could they achieve with all the Hashira together?
“Mitsuri, please bring Tang An here. I have something to ask of him,” Kagaya requested.
“I will bring him,” Mitsuri said earnestly.
As the sun rose, Tang An was carried back to the Love Manor, which concerned Hanazawa and Sakura.
“I’m fine,” Tang An reassured them after the Kakushi members left. He got up and planned to research how to upgrade his Nichirin Blade to a Crimson Red Blade.
“But you’re badly injured!” Hanazawa and Sakura tried to stop him.
“I healed most of it using Thunder Breathing on the way back. Look!” Tang An showed his unblemished chest.
“Really?”
Hanazawa and Sakura blinked in surprise, remembering how injured he looked when brought back.
“Could you prepare some food for me?” Tang An asked.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” they asked, concerned.
“I’m fine!” Tang An assured them, stretching and shaking his arms.
“Alright then.”
An hour later, after eating the breakfast Hanazawa and Sakura prepared, Tang An went to the waterfall in the back mountain and examined his golden Nichirin Blade.
He pondered how to upgrade it to a Crimson Red Blade. As he activated Thunder Breathing, golden lightning surrounded him, and he channelled his energy into the blade.
The blade’s temperature began to rise, glowing red like iron in a fire, but it only increased by ten degrees before stalling. Despite his efforts, the temperature wouldn’t rise further.
After about ten minutes, Tang An deactivated Thunder Breathing, sweating profusely and feeling unusually exhausted.
Sitting on a rock, he scrutinised the Nichiren Blade. A mere ten degrees wasn’t helpful. Did it require awakening the Demon Slayer Mark or accessing the Transparent World to upgrade the blade?
No, the initial temperature rise indicated it was possible with enough power. Tang An hardened his right hand into a crystalline material, wrapping it around the blade, which appeared as a crystalline sword in the sunlight, enhancing its hardness.
Tang An had spent a year studying hardening in the Attack on Titan world, improving its hardness to be as strong as steel. In his fight with Muzan, he hadn’t used hardening much, primarily for defence, not offence.
Hardening felt similar to Armament Haki from the One Piece world, though fundamentally different.
“Crack…”
Golden lightning flashed, and the hardened Nichirin Blade glowed red again, but the temperature only increased by ten degrees.
Well, trying to cheat didn’t work. Tang An lifted his left hand, covered in the crystalline material, and channelled his power, causing it to glow red, rising by about ten degrees.
This discovery surprised Tang An. He took out his machete, but its hard material didn’t increase in temperature much. This meant Tang An could use Thunder Breathing to channel his energy and raise the temperature of materials.
He experimented with a pebble and a dried branch, finding that the energy injection increased the temperature, causing the branch to ignite.
Satisfied, Tang An smiled, realising he found a way to enhance his attack power. If he could raise the temperature of his weapon and himself, his destructive capability would increase, though it required Thunder Breathing as a medium.
Breathing techniques acted as filters or conduits. Imagine each attack carrying hundreds or thousands of degrees; it would melt steel, not just destroy cells.
However, increasing the temperature wasn’t easy.
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