Simultaneous time travel: But our system is out of sync!

The Rose House was filled with an atmosphere of restlessness and the smell of blood.

The reunion between Ashina Jiro and Lin Bei was not an accident.

You could even say it was a meticulously planned journey.

It was a pursuit that Ashina Jiro finally achieved after going through countless hardships and searching high and low.

Ashina Jiro's memory returned to the night two days prior.

Lin Bei had utterly defeated him, bringing him to the brink of death.

However, just as his consciousness was about to fade away, Lin Bei's seemingly casual hands performed a miracle of reversing yin and yang, forcibly pulling him back from the brink of death to the mortal world.

That utter defeat and the subsequent rebirth were like the sharpest katana, severing the heavy shackles that had burdened him for half his life.

The heavy rules of Bushido and the shackles of worldly conventions were shattered at that moment.

Having regained his freedom, he felt an unprecedented clarity and strength surging through his chest.

The first thing he did was to rush his family to a remote rural area overnight.

As the bodyguard of the Oda family head, he was bound to be hunted down by the Oda family after the head's death. He couldn't let his family be in danger because of him.

He personally severed all ties between them and the past, and with himself, ensuring they could live in seclusion in absolute safety.

With his last remaining concern properly settled, he had only one unwavering goal in his heart: to find Lin Bei, follow him to the side, and never waver until death.

Lin Bei was both his killer and the benefactor who gave him a second life.

His feelings for Lin Bei were complicated.

There was both resentment and gratitude.

But mostly I feel grateful.

However, Lin Bei never asked him for the slightest reward, nor did he ever reveal his whereabouts, as if the act of bringing him back to life was as casual as brushing off the dust from his clothes.

However, deep within Ashina Jiro's bones and blood flowed the soul of a true samurai.

Gratitude and the practice of benevolence and righteousness have long been ingrained in his bones, becoming an unshakable belief and instinct.

What Lin Bei gave him was far more than just a life that was barely hanging on.

It was a complete rebirth, a dual transformation of soul and body, stripping him from his old shell and giving him a completely new form and possibilities.

This grace of being reborn is heavier than a thousand mountains and ten thousand fathoms.

In his heart, only by devoting his entire life to loyalty, becoming the sharpest knife in his benefactor's hand, and cutting through all obstacles, could he repay even a fraction of his debt.

Although he did not know what Lin Bei was seeking, he knew it must be a thorny and extremely dangerous path.

This did not deter him; instead, it strengthened his resolve to follow. The value of a true warrior lies in standing up for justice and righteousness, becoming an invincible blade in the hands of the strong.

However, he didn't know where to find Lin Bei.

His understanding of Linbei was as barren as a desert.

Apart from its name, its origin, purpose, and destination are all shrouded in a thick fog, making it impossible to find out.

Left with no other choice, Ashina Jiro could only resort to the most clumsy yet persistent method.

Wandering around Saitama Prefecture, waiting like a rock.

He firmly believed that as long as he stayed here, like a hunter guarding a pass that his prey would inevitably pass through, he would eventually be reunited with his benefactor.

This almost obsessive belief ultimately did not fail.

When Lin Bei returned to the Rose House with Lady Rose, ready to settle old scores, Ashina Jiro finally saw the figure who would change the course of his destiny, his heart pounding in his chest like a war drum.

Lin Bei initially had no interest in taking Ashina Jiro as a disciple.

He was naturally averse to trouble and had little interest in the so-called "recruiting followers."

However, Jiro Ashina's persistence made him think of a problem he had.

He cannot stay in the Rose House for long.

His ultimate goal was still to eliminate the Demon King Muzan.

After resolving the immediate trouble for Lady Rose, he will return to the mountain and then take Tanjiro to participate in the Demon Slayer Corps' assessment.

However, the Rose House needs a person with sufficient strength and absolutely upright and reliable character to be in charge, so as to deter those petty villains who lurk like vultures and maintain the fragile order of this place.

Before this, Lin Bei was secretly troubled by this matter.

He didn't know many people in the Demon Slayer world, and those who could simultaneously meet the two stringent criteria of "powerful" and "righteous" were extremely rare, almost nonexistent.

He can't possibly bring Lady Rose along.

Jiro Ashina's timely appearance was like rain after a long drought, relieving his immediate crisis. Lin Bei nodded slightly, agreeing to let him accompany him.

When Ashina Jiro learned that Lin Bei's purpose in coming here was to "seek justice,"

His dormant blood instantly boiled, and a burning fighting spirit ignited in his eyes.

He stroked the newly forged knife at his waist. His knuckles turned slightly white from the force.

He volunteered to be at the forefront, his voice firm and resolute.

"benefactor!"

Let me lead the way! I will teach those arrogant bastards a lesson they don't know their place!

This high morale did not come out of thin air, but stemmed from his almost frantic transformation over the past day or so.

Over the past day, he has not only been busy settling his family, but also racing against time to adapt to the new body that Lin Bei has given him, a body that has undergone a complete transformation.

Lin Bei used "yang energy" to pull him back from the brink of death.

Jiro Ashina clearly sensed that his body was undergoing a dramatic transformation.

At first, the newly formed internal organs were still delicate and fragile, and their immense power lay dormant.

But as they grow and solidify at an incredible speed, that overwhelming sense of power, like a dormant volcano, can no longer be suppressed, surging and filling every part of the body.

The visible and hidden injuries he had sustained from decades of dedicated sword practice and countless life-or-death battles, regardless of their age or severity, had all vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed.

Even some minor, congenital ailments quietly healed, leaving the body as clean and clear as a newborn infant. The muscles and bones seemed to have been thrown into an invisible furnace, undergoing thorough tempering and reshaping, becoming stronger and more coordinated than ever before, with every fiber containing explosive power far exceeding anything seen before.

Power surged through his veins like a river, his speed increased to the level of a swift wind, and the sensitivity of his five senses—sight, hearing, touch, and so on—was elevated to an extraordinary level he had never imagined.

These incredible changes, combined with his already mastered swordsmanship and honed combat awareness, boosted Ashina Jiro's confidence to unprecedented heights, like the rising sun.

He calmly assessed himself and conservatively estimated that he was now more than capable of easily matching the three Ashina Jiroes of the past!

This is far more than just a life-saving grace.

It was clearly a complete rebirth from the ashes!

Like the immortal phoenix in ancient mythology, each rebirth after its rebirth brings even greater power and glory.

He even had a hint of uncontrollable arrogance in his opinion that if he had possessed such strength that could shake mountains earlier, the outcome of his fateful duel with Lin Bei back then would have been uncertain!

It was with this almost inflated confidence and a rock-solid heart of gratitude that he settling his family in and then traveled day and night to find them.

However, his pursuit of Lin Bei was not to wash away the shame of his past defeat—Ashina Jiro was not the kind of ungrateful and despicable person who would repay kindness with enmity.

He was a true warrior, unlike those who were merely seeking fame and fortune through deception and fraud.

He had compassion for the weak, held true strength in awe, never relied on force to bully the innocent, and regarded "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness" as the guiding principles he upheld throughout his life.

He pursued Lin Bei solely to repay the immense kindness shown to him and to uphold the samurai code of loyalty ingrained in his very bones.

Although he did not know where Lin Bei came from or where he was going, he could tell from his words, actions, demeanor and style of conduct.

Lin Bei's actions will undoubtedly uphold justice and righteousness, but they will also be fraught with peril and danger. He is willing to become the strongest shield and the sharpest blade in front of his benefactor, sharing the risks and fighting side by side, practicing the highest warrior's righteousness in his heart with his own flesh and blood.

However, this soaring fighting spirit and newly established confidence were instantly frozen and shattered the moment they witnessed Lin Bei's move, as if struck head-on by an ancient icefall! The feeling was like a frog in a well gazing at the sky, glimpsing the boundless universe for the first time.

When the twenty or thirty hunters in the hall, exuding a strong aura of blood and menace and as experienced as vultures, attacked Lin Bei, Jiro Ashina, with the sharp eyes of a sword master, instantly made an accurate judgment—these people were no ordinary opponents!

The cold-bloodedness in their eyes, the steady pace of their steps, and the muscular outlines all indicated that they were battle-hardened elites who had been tempered by countless "blood and fire" trials.

Many of them possessed an aura so powerful and a killing intent so refined that it was comparable to his peak state before his "rebirth"!

If it were him, Ashina Jiro, facing such a large number of powerful enemies, the only wise choice that would flash through his mind would be to immediately and without hesitation flee for his life!

A direct confrontation?

That's practically suicide!

There will only be one outcome—in the blink of an eye, they will be struck down, their bones broken, their flesh torn apart, and they will die a gruesome death on the spot, with absolutely no chance of survival!

Yet this group of elite hunters, who instantly posed a deadly threat to him and were capable of tearing him to pieces, were as fragile as paper dolls that could be easily punctured by a child in front of Lin Bei!

No, it's even easier and more casual than disciplining a naughty child!

Lin Bei moved, his speed far exceeding the limits of Ashina Jiro's vision, leaving only blurry, ghostly afterimages on his retina.

Every seemingly casual raise of the hand, every extremely casual swing of the arm, every seemingly nonchalant kick, precisely hits the target's most vulnerable point, containing an overwhelming and terrifying power capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks.

There are no flashy moves, no long and drawn-out back-and-forth fighting, only pure, breathtaking, and overwhelming efficiency!

The air was filled with the sickening thuds of bones breaking, a series of "cracks" and "thuds"; heavy bodies slammed onto the floor like tattered sacks, the sounds dull and shocking.

However, all the noise and chaos vanished into a deathly silence in an instant.

The whole process was as swift as a thunderbolt from the heavens, so brief it gave one the illusion of being in a daze—less than a minute! Less than a minute indeed!

Twenty or thirty fierce hunters, like withered leaves swept up by an invisible hurricane, were effortlessly picked up by Lin Bei, piled up, tossed together, twisted, entangled, and squeezed, forming a terrifying "mountain of people" that groaned in pain and writhed slightly!

The scene before him, which defied common sense and subverted cognition, left Ashina Jiro completely dumbfounded, his mind blank, and his thoughts seemingly frozen.

The immense psychological gap was like a monstrous wave, carrying with it a chilling despair, violently impacting the mental bulwark he had just built.

The level of power that Lin Bei displayed had completely exceeded his comprehension; it was an abyss, the sky, and unreachable stars!

Such an unfathomable, god-like being, why would it need the help of his insignificant power?

His proud new generation of talent and his decades of honed, exquisite swordsmanship appeared so insignificant and laughable in the face of this absolute power, like fireflies compared to the bright moon!

The burning passion and unwavering belief in repaying a debt of gratitude, which were ready to go through fire and water to the death, suddenly became incredibly awkward and powerless at this moment.

The immense sense of frustration and intense self-doubt gripped his heart like a cold iron clamp, almost suffocating him.

A debt of gratitude as heavy as a mountain, yet finding oneself as insignificant as dust, with no way to repay it—can this still be considered a true warrior?

What, then, is the meaning of his existence? Ashina Jiro stood frozen in place, lost in an unprecedented, abyss-like confusion and struggle.

At this moment, those who felt even more disillusioned with life and trembled in the depths of their souls than Jiro Ashina were the members of the "mountain of people" in the field—the hunters piled up together.

Whether they were completely immobilized and buried at the bottom, or barely able to twitch a finger and make a faint sound, all of them had faces full of terror, eyes wide open as if trying to pop their eyeballs out of their sockets, mouths agape, but due to extreme fear and excruciating physical pain, they could only let out suppressed, painful groans like dying wild beasts.

What was happening before their eyes completely shattered all their previous knowledge and the worldview they relied on for survival.

"This...this...how is this possible?!"

One of the hunters, who hadn't participated in the siege of Linbei, squeezed out broken syllables through his teeth.

"Am I...am we...dreaming?"

"A...most absurd dream..."

Another hunter, his eyes glazed over, muttered to himself as if his mind had collapsed.

"Even if it's a dream... this is... too outrageous!"

The hunter beside him echoed in disbelief.

"Those...those were twenty or thirty...battle-hardened brothers..."

A hunter who was slightly ahead looked at the twisted and piled-up limbs in front of him, his voice trembling.

"Even if it were twenty or thirty... mad wild boars... no, even if it were twenty or thirty... chicks waiting to be slaughtered... one person couldn't catch them all in a minute! Ten minutes would be considered... incredibly fast!"

"But he... he just casually... swept them up... they... they were just piled up here like trash?"

The hunters watching spoke with extreme humiliation and disbelief.

They recognized with absolute clarity a cruel and despairing truth.

If Lin Bei hadn't shown mercy, what would be piled up here now wouldn't be twenty or thirty living people still groaning, but twenty or thirty cold, stiff, and mangled corpses!

Especially those unlucky souls who were crushed at the very bottom of the "mountain of people".

Some people's noses were forced to be buried under the armpits of others, which reeked of strong, sour sweat and body odor; some people's mouths might be tightly covered by a pair of underwear that hadn't been washed for days and smelled of urine; some people's arms and legs were twisted into strange angles.

The intense pain surged through the hunters' nerves in waves.

However, those who had previously been full of foul language, arrogant and domineering, and treated human life like dirt, now dared not even breathe heavily. Their groans were suppressed deep in their throats, like frightened quails, afraid of attracting even the slightest "attention" from Lin Bei.

Every time Lin Bei's gaze swept over them, it felt as if they had been doused with ice water, making them tremble all over.

They knew all too well that once a person possessed power beyond reason, enough to crush all living beings, their mentality would often undergo a dramatic transformation.

The saying goes, "He who possesses a sharp weapon will naturally harbor murderous intent."

Most of these hunters were violent and eccentric, and would draw their swords at the slightest disagreement.

Besides the mental strain and distortion caused by being under constant high pressure from demon hunters.

More importantly, it is the extraordinary strength they have honed through countless life-and-death battles that has made them accustomed to looking down on the masses and regarding ordinary lives as mere weeds and ants that they can trample on at will.

They naturally assumed that, given the inhuman, overwhelming, and terrifying strength that Lin Bei was displaying at this moment, they were probably not even considered "human" in his eyes, but merely dust on the roadside and mud on the soles of his shoes!

They guessed correctly, but only half of it.

Lin Bei certainly didn't treat them as "human beings".

But this does not stem from any twisted or abnormal mindset of the strong or any eccentric preference like "not eating beef".

In the depths of Lin Bei's deep, calm eyes, these "little devils" were essentially a group of beasts wearing human skin but filled with greed and tyranny inside.

There is no need to judge animals by the standards of human etiquette and morality.

In his original opinion, the way these beasts tore at each other, crushed one another, and killed each other was nothing more than a boring farce of dogs biting each other. It would be better if they all died, saving a lot of trouble.

However, he ultimately considered Madame Rose and the future survival of the Rose House.

For Lady Rose to continue operating in this area, hunters are essential.

Although this group is a mixed bag, harboring filth and filled with treacherous and profit-driven individuals.

But Lin Bei believes in a simple truth: only the strong survive.

The surging, all-encompassing waves sweep past, carrying away all the frivolous, useless, and rotten foam and sand, leaving only the pure gold that can withstand the test of time and has true value.

And Lin Bei was that towering wave that swept through Rose House!

The hunters before us are the "sand" that needs to be ruthlessly sifted through.

Lin Bei himself hadn't expected that the first wave would be so powerful, washing away everything too fiercely.

The scene before us was one of utter annihilation.