Early the next morning, the convoy arranged by Ubuyashiki arrived outside the temple.
One carriage was to take Kanzaki Kumo and Himejima Gyomei to the Demon Slayer Corps, while the others were taking the rest of the children to shelters under the Ubuyashiki name.
Once these children grew a bit older, they would be sent to various Cultivators.
Those with talent would eventually become swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps, while those without would join the Logistics Division.
From the night they encountered the demon, it was impossible for them to live ordinary lives ever again.
Kanzaki Kumo was somewhat surprised by this arrangement, but he said nothing.
In this dangerous world, it was already extremely rare for orphans like them to grow up safely; some price would inevitably have to be paid.
What concerned him more was Ubuyashiki’s suppression of information regarding demons.
Only now did he realize in hindsight that from the moment he and Gyoumei shared a room with Ubuyashiki Kagaya yesterday, they no longer had the option to refuse joining the Demon Slayer Corps.
The only difference was whether they joined willingly or reluctantly.
For people like them who had nothing, there were too many ways to force them to choose according to the other party’s arrangements.
It wasn’t a matter of right or wrong, but simply a matter of perspective.
The Ubuyashiki Family, after all, was not a charity.
Gyoumei wanted to say something more, but since the head priest had already acquiesced to the children being taken away, and the person in charge of the convoy had promised to take good care of them, Gyoumei—who had also struggled at the bottom of society for over a decade—knew this was the best possible outcome.
In the end, he simply said his goodbyes to the children one by one.
The two groups boarded their respective carriages and set off for different destinations.
The interior of the carriage Kanzaki Kumo and Gyoumei shared was quite spacious, with seats on both sides and at the back.
The two sat opposite each other on the left and right in silent understanding.
“You could have gone with them,” Gyoumei said to Kanzaki Kumo after they boarded the carriage.
Kanzaki Kumo was only twelve years old, not much older than the other children.
Gyoumei felt it was somewhat cruel for someone of this age to get involved in the dangerous business of demon hunting.
“It’s just a matter of a few years sooner or later.
Isn’t it better to master the power to protect oneself earlier?” Kanzaki Kumo replied noncommittally.
Having awakened the memories of his past life, he naturally would not view issues from the perspective of a twelve-year-old child.
Of course, even without those memories, he likely wouldn’t have viewed things like a typical twelve-year-old.
After all, if he were normal, he probably would have become a mere statistic for that demon that night.
After making a silent “dark joke” to himself, Kanzaki Kumo shook off his stray thoughts and continued to ponder the question of which Breathing Technique to choose, a decision he hadn’t reached the previous night.
As Kanzaki Kumo fell into deep thought, Gyoumei also stopped speaking.
…
As the carriage jolted slightly, Kanzaki Kumo’s thoughts gradually drifted away.
Breathing Techniques were a “specialty” of this world.
They were special training and combat methods developed by the Demon Slayer Corps to strengthen themselves, allowing them to fight demons as humans. This chapter was copied from novelping dot com without permission.
The original Breathing Technique, known as the Initial Breathing or Sun Breathing, came from a genius hundreds of years ago—Tsugikuni Yoriichi, the absolute ceiling of combat power in this world for millennia.
Born with the Transparent World that countless martial artists dreamed of, he could see through the human body to clearly perceive bones, blood, and organs, thereby seeing through any of an opponent’s moves.
This gave him unparalleled martial talent, allowing him to create Sun Breathing from scratch.
All subsequent Breathing Techniques were created based on Sun Breathing.
In addition to being born with the Transparent World, he was also born with a Demon Slayer Mark that could significantly enhance the body.
This made his strength so powerful that even the Demon King Muzan was terrified of him.
When Yoriichi first met Muzan, Muzan, thinking himself invincible in the human world, charged straight in.
He was then instantly brought to his knees by Yoriichi’s twelve slashes in a single moment.
If Yoriichi hadn’t dazed for a split second, Muzan wouldn’t have survived even by self-destructing.
After all, even while dazed for a moment, Yoriichi still managed to cut down over 1,500 of the 1,800-plus fragments Muzan split into during his self-destruction.
Since then, Muzan developed complete PTSD regarding Yoriichi, truly embodying the sentiment: ‘Later, when I saw someone who resembled you even slightly, I lost my composure.’
But later, Yoriichi’s brother, Tsugikuni Michikatsu, awakened a Demon Slayer Mark later in life, and it was known that all who awakened the mark later could not live past twenty-five.
Out of jealousy for his younger brother’s immense strength and talent, and wanting to escape an early death, Michikatsu became a demon, using the head of the Demon Slayer Corps master at the time as his initiation gift.
Implicated by this, Tsugikuni Yoriichi was expelled from the Demon Slayer Corps, and Sun Breathing was lost to the Corps.
Today’s Demon Slayer Corps possesses five basic Breathing Techniques: Wind, Stone, Water, Thunder, and Flame.
Kanzaki Kumo, with his past life memories, knew where the inheritance of Sun Breathing was, but that place was highly likely already being watched by the Demon King.
He didn’t dare seek death.
Perhaps there would be a chance to plan for it in the future, but for now, he should honestly choose a basic Breathing Technique.
Furthermore, each of the five basic Breathing Techniques inherited certain powerful aspects of Sun Breathing and could even surpass it in those specific areas.
While not as all-around flawless as Sun Breathing, they were not weak.
In terms of difficulty for beginners, Water Breathing was the easiest.
It was the most balanced and peaceful among the major Breathing Techniques, with moves that combined offense and defense.
It had the lowest physical requirements for beginners, and once mastered to the limit, it was no weaker than the other techniques.
However, the flaw of Water Breathing was that it was too balanced.
In terms of speed, it was inferior to Wind and Thunder; in terms of attack power, it was inferior to Flame and Stone.
It was only relatively better at defense.
Therefore, the second technique Kanzaki Kumo ruled out was Water Breathing.
As for the first one he ruled out?
Was there even a need to think?
It was definitely Stone Breathing.
If Water Breathing had the lowest threshold, then Stone Breathing had the highest.
Only someone like Gyoumei, whose innate physical strength was terrifying, could practice this Breathing Technique.
With Kanzaki Kumo’s thin limbs—even if it was mainly due to long-term malnutrition—it was impossible for him to grow to Gyoumei’s terrifying proportions even after proper nutrition.
Naturally, he wouldn’t consider Stone Breathing at all.
After weighing his options several times, Kanzaki Kumo finally made a decision.
At that moment, the carriage slowly stopped.
They had reached the headquarters of the Demon Slayer Corps, the Ubuyashiki Estate.
“We came straight to the headquarters?” After getting off and seeing the familiar estate style, Kanzaki Kumo was somewhat surprised.
After all, to prevent the demons from attacking their home, the Demon Slayer Corps kept the location of their headquarters highly secret.
On the way here, the carriage windows were only covered by a thin layer of paper, through which one could vaguely see outside.
Regardless, Kagaya’s action showed his trust in Kanzaki Kumo and Himejima Gyomei, invisibly increasing their favorable impression of him.
“Welcome, both of you.” Ubuyashiki Kagaya stood outside with his wife and two daughters to greet them, raising the treatment level to the absolute top tier.
After a brief self-introduction, the group walked into the house together.
Kanzaki Kumo’s gaze was fixed on the two white-haired girls who were as exquisite as dolls throughout the walk.
Of course, it wasn’t due to any illicit preference, but out of pure curiosity.
The older one, Hinaki, looked to be only about four years old.
Nichika was likely her twin.
The two were almost indistinguishable in appearance and even had the same voice.
Even with Kanzaki Kumo’s terrifying observation skills, he could only notice subtle differences in their movements and a tiny variation in their features.
Anyone else would probably have to rely on their clothing to tell them apart.
It wasn’t until they were all seated that Kanzaki Kumo finally withdrew his curious gaze.
He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but he felt the gazes of the two little girls sitting on either side of the Ubuyashiki couple were slightly strange.
It must be an illusion.
What bad intentions could girls of just a few years old have?
In fact, the point Hinaki and Nichika were focusing on was that Kanzaki Kumo was too young—or rather, too small.
Swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps were usually fifteen or older.
Even children in the shelters would be raised until about fifteen before being sent to a Cultivator.
Kanzaki Kumo was only twelve, and due to long-term malnutrition, he looked only about ten.
Compared to other members of the Demon Slayer Corps, he was indeed far too small.
However, their upbringing meant that even though the two sisters were curious, they didn’t show it, silently acting as background characters.
“So, do either of you have a Breathing Technique you wish to learn?”
After a brief introduction to Breathing Techniques, Ubuyashiki Kagaya asked.