Chapter 114: Encounter with the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku

The headless body charged toward Roa's position. Roa, who was holding a sakura mochi, paused for a moment. He glanced at Byakko, who was hanging on the tree with a katana embedded in his face, and felt a chill run down his spine.

Byakko, who had been glanced at by Roa, felt goosebumps all over. He instinctively wanted to move his head back, but it was tightly bound by the rope.

Roa stood up, stuffed the half-eaten sakura mochi back into his bag, and walked toward the headless corpse with a cold expression.

Byakko was stunned. His face showed a mix of surprise and joy. The other party hadn't come to retrieve the sword—what did that mean? Was this human really that arrogant? The difference between a demon's body and a human's was like heaven and earth. Such an arrogant guy—this time, he had to teach him a lesson.

The next moment, the headless body was kicked into the ground. Roa started punching left and right, continuing the "Ora Ora" routine.

The immense force pounded Byakko's body, dislocating bones, tearing muscles, breaking bones, and nearly rupturing internal organs. The more intense Roa's attacks were, the happier Byakko became. Byakko thought to himself that such a high-intensity assault couldn't be sustained for long.

But in reality, Byakko was being too naive.

A normal human might indeed be like that, but who said the guy in front of him was human?

A pure-blooded dragon youth—got it? Roa's golden eyes grew even more dazzling under the moonlight. Each punch made the ground tremble, and the immense force caused his entire body to shake.

But even so, this Lower Moon named Byakko still clung to life.

Byakko had thought that such a high-intensity assault could only last for ten minutes, or maybe half an hour at most. Then, he could quietly use his Blood Demon Art to ambush the other party and achieve the ultimate counter-kill.

But then, he was wrong. The punches didn't stop. In fact, Roa kept switching up his methods—sometimes punching left and right, sometimes holding the nearly shattered body with one hand and delivering heavy blows with the other.

But after nearly half an hour of punching, the nearly shattered body of Byakko still wouldn't break. However, that was it. Although it wouldn't break, the recovery speed had visibly slowed down.

Byakko, on the other hand, was in so much pain that he was gritting his teeth. Unfortunately, all his words were stuck in his throat.

At the same time, Byakko glared hatefully at the female demon's head, his expression full of resentment.

The fierce look seemed to say, "Was it you who led the enemy here?"

The female demon trembled in fear. She really wanted to explain herself—she didn't want this either.

Roa scratched his head. You know what they say—every trade has its master. Without Breathing Techniques and a Nichirin Sword, dealing with this was indeed quite troublesome.

After punching for a while, Roa felt a bit bored. He thought for a moment, then squatted down to look at the pile of bones that no longer resembled a body.

Roa tried to inhale and exhale, attempting to retain that energy in a regular pattern. The power in the air was probably the key to destroying demons.

But just like before, the energy could only stay in his blood and couldn't be used.

Roa frowned in thought. He tried to mobilize that small amount of energy in his body and punched Byakko.

The head hanging on the tree made a few muffled sounds but couldn't speak.

There was some struggle, but not much, which meant it wasn't very painful.

Roa frowned, thinking something was wrong.

The breathing method must be incorrect. The rhythm wasn't right.

Hmm, let's try a different breathing method.

Oxygen was once again inhaled in large quantities by Roa, flowing through his blood into his lungs, then spreading throughout his body.

This time, most of that strange energy was retained.

Roa frowned again. The Breathing Technique felt a bit odd.

Just by changing the way he breathed, he could retain so much energy?

It didn't seem very scientific, but unscientific or not, this time Roa punched again, and the other party's expression became extremely interesting.

Roa smiled. As long as it worked, that was good. He was afraid it wouldn't work.

Then Roa kept trying different methods, but in the end, by the time the sun rose, he had mastered a passable Breathing Technique.

There were some results, but the energy retention only reached about 80%. More than that was impossible.

It seemed necessary to learn the so-called Breathing Techniques properly. Roa felt that he didn't need to specifically study them—as long as someone demonstrated them in front of him, he could probably figure out their breathing method.

As the sun rose, the morning light bathed the earth. Byakko, with a peaceful and gentle expression, basked in the sunlight.

"This is the feeling of freedom," Byakko thought, longing for the sun. The sensation of the sunlight burning his skin actually brought him a strange sense of pleasure.

Byakko smiled as he turned to ashes.

The female demon also dissipated into the air, and the demon blood on Roa's body gradually vanished under the sunlight.

Roa stood up, feeling a bit unsatisfied. He picked up the katana and examined it, only to find that the Sword had been corroded beyond repair. Shaking his head, he tossed it aside and continued down the mountain path.

However, after walking for a while, he unexpectedly encountered someone he hadn't anticipated.

This person had long yellow hair with red edges, thick black eyebrows, and piercing eyes. He wore a brown Demon Slayer Corps uniform and a haori with flame patterns at the hem.

Roa was slightly taken aback when he saw him. He had already guessed the man's identity.

With such distinctive features, it could only be Kyojuro Rengoku, the Flame Hashira.

The man's presence was overwhelming, and Roa could sense that with every breath he took, he inhaled a large amount of oxygen.

Roa raised an eyebrow. The man's vitality was incredibly strong, and his aura was formidable.

Kyojuro Rengoku paused his hurried steps when he saw Roa. He frowned and asked, "Young man, you have a strong scent on you. Did you encounter it? Where is it?"

Kyojuro's voice was loud and commanding, as if he preferred to speak this way.

Roa didn't sense any malice from him, so he pointed toward the mountainside and said, "You're too late. Last night, one person was killed. Well, actually, many people have been killed recently."

Kyojuro's expression turned sorrowful. "So I was too late after all?"

Roa nodded. Kyojuro had indeed arrived too late. Even if Roa hadn't been there, Kyojuro wouldn't have been able to find the demon. Demons didn't stay in one place for long, and based on that demon's personality, it was probably planning to move to a new hiding spot.

Feeling the man's steady and powerful breathing, Roa tried to match his breathing rhythm.

Soon, Roa felt a burning sensation in his abdomen, and the previously unresponsive energy began to transform into a flame within him.

Kyojuro raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. He said bluntly, "Your breathing is still too fast. Slow it down."

Roa nodded, took a deep breath, and adjusted his breathing.

Kyojuro nodded in approval, his earlier sorrow replaced with a smile. "Good, young man. You're quite impressive. You've grasped the basics quickly. Well done! By the way, would you like to join the Demon Slayer Corps?"

Roa thought for a moment and then nodded.

Kyojuro was slightly taken aback. He had expected Roa to hesitate, but the young man agreed so readily.

Kyojuro's smile widened. "Handsome young man, what's your name? I'm Kyojuro Rengoku. I like you. Would you be interested in becoming my Tsuguko?"

A Tsuguko was essentially a direct disciple. Each Hashira would select talented and capable Demon Slayer Corps members to become their Tsuguko. For Kyojuro to offer this to Roa right away was quite unexpected.

After all, not just anyone could become a Tsuguko.

Although Kyojuro had extended the invitation, Roa shook his head and said with a smile, "While I do plan to join the Demon Slayer Corps, I'm not sure which Breathing Style suits me yet. It would be a bit hasty to become your Tsuguko without knowing that."

Roa didn't mention that his current strength was already on par with Kyojuro's. Becoming his Tsuguko wouldn't really help him learn much.

Kyojuro looked disappointed. "I see. To be honest, my training methods are quite rigorous, and no one has been willing to become my Tsuguko. It's been a bit of a struggle. By the way, do you know where that demon is? I'd still like to try and eliminate it."

Roa replied, "It was on the mountainside, but I've already killed it. There's nothing left but ashes."

Kyojuro's eyes widened in surprise. He looked at Roa with excitement and muttered, "You killed Lower Moon Three? But you haven't mastered Breathing Techniques yet, and you don't have a Nichirin Sword. Wait, where's your weapon?"

Roa casually said, "I threw it away. It broke during the fight."

With that, he prepared to leave, but Kyojuro grabbed his shoulder and said with a smile, "Are you sure you don't want to be my Tsuguko?"

Roa waved his hand, cutting him off. Although his actions might have seemed rude, Kyojuro didn't take offense and continued to smile at him.