Chapter 14: A Letter

Time always passes unnoticed.

Just like that, a week had gone by.

A crow flew in, carrying several important messages.

First: The leader of the Demon Slayer Corps wished to meet Yoriichi Tsugikuni in person.

Second: The movements of the Twelve Kizuki had suddenly vanished.

Some of the stronger demons had also disappeared without a trace.

The Demon Slayer Corps took extra time to investigate before responding.

Third: Regarding Muzan Kibutsuji—the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps hoped to join forces with Yoriichi to eliminate the Demon King.

---

Nighttime.

Yoriichi, Ren Asakura, and Tamayo listened as the messenger crow delivered its report.

Ren Asakura chuckled.

"I guess we've played around long enough. It's time to get moving."

---

In the courtyard, Lu Mingfei's breathing followed a steady rhythm.

Each inhale and exhale was controlled, precise.

As he swung his blade, flickering red flames danced along its edge—evidence of his progress with Sun Breathing.

The weapon in his hands was an alloy steel blade purchased from the group's system shop.

Though it was a mundane weapon, its sharpness was terrifying.

Seven days.

Seven days were enough to transform a person.

Especially when his trainers were two incredibly powerful figures.

Not to mention, he had a cheat system backing him up.

---

Now, what Lu Mingfei lacked most was combat experience.

Despite all the training, he had yet to fight a single real battle.

Life-and-death combat? Not even close.

And being too focused on technique had its own drawbacks.

Real battles are unpredictable.

Without experience, even the best techniques were useless.

As for sparring matches?

The gap was simply too big.

Only in real, unpredictable fights could someone quickly develop true battle instincts.

---

Tamayo gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yoriichi, Ren—let's leave tonight."

As a demon, Tamayo could only travel at night.

---

Ren grinned.

"The Demon Slayer Corps, huh?"

It seemed like something interesting was about to happen.

Then, his gaze shifted toward Lu Mingfei.

A mischievous idea suddenly popped into his head.

What if Lu Mingfei took the Demon Slayer Corps entrance exam?

That would be hilarious.

---

Lu Mingfei suddenly shivered.

For some reason, he felt like someone was planning to mess with him.

"…No way," he muttered.

"I already left the Dragon Raja world—who the hell would still be thinking about me? My brother shouldn't be able to cross dimensions to find me, right?"

After finishing Dragon Raja, he knew that his so-called 'brother' was actually a real person.

Not only that, but he was also the boss behind the group of genius beauties.

His fate had basically been decided by those people.

Lu Mingfei nervously glanced around and immediately locked eyes with Ren Asakura, who was grinning mischievously.

Seeing Lu Mingfei's reaction, Ren Asakura's smile only grew wider.

Lu Mingfei instantly turned away and focused on training.

After all, it wasn't the first day the group leader had messed with him.

The only time he could fully concentrate and not overthink everything was when he was practicing his swordsmanship.

Otherwise, he feared he might scare himself to death.

---

Focus on breathing. Focus on breathing!

Right now, Lu Mingfei could only control it manually.

He had to actively engage his breathing technique, and the moment he relaxed, it would automatically stop.

This was completely normal—he had only been training for seven days and barely scratched the surface.

To maintain his breathing technique at all times, he would have to completely replace his natural breathing habit of the past 18 years.

And after that, he would even need to train himself to breathe properly in his sleep.

Only by doing so could his body continuously strengthen itself and remain in a state of constant enhancement.

---

The Breathing Techniques were created to bridge the gap between humans and demons.

Demons possessed limitless stamina, eternal life, and absurdly fast regeneration.

They were like bosses with unlimited health and mana regeneration cheats.

Humans, on the other hand, had finite strength.

They could get injured, exhausted, grow old, and even die from a small wound.

Breathing Techniques were the answer to that disparity, allowing humans to fight on equal footing with demons.

And the originator of all Breathing Techniques was none other than Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

At this moment, Yoriichi was personally guiding Lu Mingfei through swordsmanship and breathing techniques.

The main function of Breathing Techniques was to enhance the cardiovascular system, allowing the blood to absorb an extraordinary amount of oxygen in a short time.

This dramatically increased physical capabilities, granting the user temporary strength on par with demons.

The ultimate state of Total Concentration Breathing was maintaining it even while asleep.

This was called "Total Concentration Constant", and mastering it was the bare minimum requirement to reach the level of a Hashira.

---

From Sun Breathing, five fundamental branches were developed:

Water Breathing

Thunder Breathing

Flame Breathing

Stone Breathing

Wind Breathing

From these five core styles, various unique derivative styles were later created.

---

After swinging his sword 3,000 times, Lu Mingfei sheathed his blade, finally completing his training for the day.

At this point, he was utterly exhausted, drenched in sweat.

"I'm starving!"

He rubbed his stomach, feeling completely drained.

Meanwhile, Ren Asakura smiled to himself, already planning their next move.

Since they were heading to the Demon Slayer Corps, he might as well throw Lu Mingfei into the Final Selection.

Let him get some real training.

The demons trapped in the Final Selection area were all captured by the Demon Slayer Corps.

Their strength wasn't particularly high, and since they had been starved for so long, their power had weakened even further.

However, their prolonged hunger had turned them into rabid beasts.

Fighting against these demons would be the perfect opportunity for Lu Mingfei to gain real combat experience.

---

What Lu Mingfei lacked the most right now was not strength, but a warrior's mindset and battle instincts.

And demons made excellent opponents.

After all, as long as you don't cut off their heads, they won't die.

To truly kill a demon, one needed a calm and composed fighting attitude.

Many first-time fighters were so overwhelmed by fear that they couldn't even grip their weapons properly.

Battle, bloodshed, and facing fear head-on—these were the only ways to truly grow stronger.

---

At this moment, Lu Mingfei had no idea what was coming.

He knew Ren Asakura loved to mess with him, but he never imagined it would be this bad.

---

As Lu Mingfei walked over, Ren Asakura greeted him with a cheerful smile.

"Finished training?"

Lu Mingfei nodded, then hesitated for a moment before rubbing his stomach awkwardly.

"Boss… I think I'm a little hungry."

Ren Asakura's smile didn't change at all.

"Oh my, but you just had dinner… Though, with your training, I suppose it makes sense."

He snapped his fingers, and a small, pearl-like pill materialized out of thin air.

"Here, have this. It's a Fasting Pill I made as a side project."

---

In the world of cultivation, Fasting Pills were the most basic type of elixir.

They were commonly used by ordinary cultivators to replace food so they could focus on training without needing to stop for meals.

Nothing fancy—just a standard, everyday pill.

Ren Asakura flicked the pill off his fingertip, sending it straight into Lu Mingfei's mouth.

The moment it touched his tongue, it melted into a refreshing stream of energy that spread through his body.

His hunger disappeared instantly, and his exhaustion faded away.

Hunger—defeated. Strength—restored. Back to full power!

As expected, anything Ren Asakura handed out was top-tier.

Ren Asakura grinned playfully.

"Get some rest, Lu Mingfei. Tonight, we're heading to the Demon Slayer Corps."

Lu Mingfei blinked. "Wait… I'm coming too?"

He was well aware of his mediocre skill level.

Ren, still wearing that mischievous smile, nodded.

°°°

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