Demon Slayer: I am a Demon.

Su Mu murmured to himself. In his memory, this was a very powerful sword style. If he could learn it, it would be good for him.

It has been confirmed that the 'Hiko Dojo' teaches swordsmanship to the public, but those who wish to learn must undergo an examination; clearly, it is not something that can be learned at will.

Having learned all this, Su Mu returned to the entrance of the 'Hiko Dojo' and, after a slight hesitation, went inside.

Just as he stepped through the door, some people who had finished practicing their swordsmanship came out and looked at Su Mu with a slightly puzzled expression.

"you are?"

Curiosity gleamed in the newcomer's eyes. After all, most people who practice martial arts in the same dojo are already familiar with each other, but Su Mu was clearly someone they had never seen before.

Moreover, it was somewhat strange for them to come in at night.

"I want to come and learn the 'Flying Sword Style'."

Su Mu stopped and spoke.

The newcomer was taken aback, looking quite surprised. Generally speaking, those who want to learn swordsmanship usually come during the day, since their masters and senior brothers mostly teach and instruct them during the day, while they practice here on their own at night.

Although he felt strange, he hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'll take you to see my senior brother. He's in charge of teaching, but not everyone can enter the 'Bigu Dojo'."

"It's troublesome."

Su Mu smiled.

"nothing."

The newcomer led the way, but just as he made eye contact with Su Mu, the crimson glint in the other man's eyes sent a chill down his spine.

Soon, Su Mu was led to a gatehouse. The person knocked on the door, and soon the door opened, and a burly man came out.

"Senior brother, has someone come to our dojo wanting to practice swordsmanship?"

The person who brought Su Mu over spoke to the 'senior brother'.

The man was somewhat puzzled as to why they chose to come at night instead of during the day; it seemed rather strange.

Su Mu stared at the man, momentarily stunned. The man before him was the same samurai who had just fought the Demon Slayer Corps swordsman without being at a disadvantage.

The man also saw Su Mu: "So you're the one who wants to come to our dojo to learn swordsmanship?"

"Yes, I've long heard of the formidable swordsmanship of the Hiko Dojo. Would you like to come and learn from them?"

"What's your name? Where are you from?"

The man asked.

"My name is Su Mu, and I come from..."

As for the place name, Su Mu was a little unsure how to answer.

Seeing Su Mu's appearance, the man's eyes also showed hesitation. He already felt strange that the other party came late at night, and now that he couldn't explain his origins, he became even more wary.

However, confident in his own abilities, he wasn't too worried, but he clearly didn't intend to accept someone of unknown origin.

It wouldn't be good to just reject them outright, so he planned to reject them under some pretext of failing when he was assessing them.

Chapter 10 The Transparent World

The man didn't ask any more questions; after all, he had already decided to refuse, so there was no point in asking any more.

They led Su Mu directly to an open space in the dojo, where some stone locks, swords, and other weapons were scattered haphazardly.

"Those who enter our dojo can only begin their studies after passing an examination."

The man walked ahead, then pointed to the stone lock on the ground and continued, "If you can lift that 100-pound stone lock with one hand, you'll pass the test. Remember, it's one hand, not just lifting it up."

After saying that, the man turned to look at Su Mu, already waiting for Su Mu to realize that he could not achieve it and leave. After all, the weight that an average adult male can lift with one hand is about thirty kilograms.

One hundred pounds is almost three times the weight of an average adult. Even for a well-trained warrior like him, lifting one hundred pounds with one hand would be extremely difficult.

This is already a tacit rejection.

Su Mu also looked at the stone lock on the ground. Lifting a hundred pounds with one hand is almost impossible for an ordinary person. This was already considered a challenge from the other party.

He wasn't surprised by this; it was perfectly normal for him to be wary of someone of unknown origin who had arrived late at night.

However, lifting 100 pounds with one hand is something that is almost impossible for an ordinary person, but it is very easy for a ghost.

So Su Mu didn't say anything and went straight forward.

Seeing Su Mu step forward, the man shook his head, thinking that Su Mu was probably still somewhat unwilling to give up and wanted to give it a try.

Lifting 100 pounds with one hand is no easy feat. Once the other person can't do it, they'll naturally know to leave.

Su Mu approached the stone lock, stretched out his hand, and slowly lifted it up.

Lifting a 100-pound stone weight with one hand would be virtually impossible for an ordinary person. Even for a seasoned martial artist, lifting a 100-pound stone weight would likely cause their face to turn red.

However, Su Mu, who had already become a ghost, did not feel too heavy. In fact, he felt quite relaxed. However, in order not to appear too different from ordinary people, he pretended to be struggling.

The man had already planned to go back, after all, he felt that Su Mu could not accomplish it, but when he saw Su Mu actually lift the 100-pound stone lock with one hand, he couldn't help but freeze in place.

"So, is it finished?"

With one hand, Su Mu lifted the 100-pound stone lock high above his head and asked the man.

"You...have practiced before?"

It took the man a while to come to his senses, and he couldn't help but ask, "Ordinary people can't achieve this without special training."

"It's just that I'm stronger."

Su Mu shook his head, then slowly put the stone lock down.

The man examined the stone lock with some disbelief, confirming that it indeed weighed one hundred jin (approximately 50 kg), and then turned to look at Su Mu.

The other person wasn't the kind of person with a strong physique, so it was hard to believe that he could lift a hundred-pound stone lock with one hand. But now that the other person had done it, it made him a little embarrassed.

After all, he hadn't intended to let Su Mu enter the 'Bigu Dojo'. The other party had some unknown origins and came late at night; who knew what his purpose was?

That's why he deliberately made things difficult for the other party, thinking that they would give up if they couldn't complete his test. But he didn't expect that the other party would actually complete the test, which made him a little unsure of what to do. After all, he had just said that if they could do it, they would pass the test.

"Have I passed the assessment?"

Su Mu looked up at the man.

The man was speechless for a moment, but finally could only nod: "Come tomorrow, and you can start your studies at the Hiko Dojo. However, please bring the tuition fees with you."

Unless you are a true disciple of the dojo, it's free, and the dojo even gives its disciples a monthly allowance. Others who come to learn swordsmanship don't receive this benefit.

"Can I do it at night? I have too many things to deal with during the day and can't get away."

Su Mu also asked, adding, "The money will be brought tomorrow night."

"at night?"

The man looked up at Su Mu with a puzzled expression. This was the first time he had encountered such a strange person in a long time.

"There aren't many people teaching swordsmanship at night."

The man shook his head. At the 'Hiko Dojo,' only he and a few fellow disciples taught and instructed. As for their master, they would only see him once in a long while. But whether it was him or the other fellow disciples, they used the night to rest.

“I can pay more.”

Seemingly sensing the man's predicament, Su Mu spoke up at the opportune moment.

"can."

Upon hearing that he was willing to pay more, the man immediately spoke up. The huge 'Hiko Dojo' also needs to spend a lot of money every year, and a large part of its income comes from the tuition fees paid by people who come to the dojo to study.

"Can I start learning now?"

Su Mu couldn't help but ask, as he was very curious about the so-called 'Flying Sword Style'.

The man hesitated for a moment, but after thinking about it, he nodded: "Alright, I'll teach you some swordsmanship tonight."

After saying that, the man led Su Mu into the house.

"You can call me 'Arakawa Akihiro'. Before I begin to teach you, let me first tell you about our 'Hiko Dojo'. The core of our Hiko Dojo is 'Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu'. Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu is a sword-drawing technique that makes the opponent's attack invisible. Its main strengths are speed, ruthlessness, and accuracy. Once unleashed, it reaches the user's maximum speed, ensuring an absolute hit that leaves the enemy with no way to block or dodge."

"The most important thing to learn the 'Flying Sword Style' is to improve your sword speed, movement speed, and the speed of predicting your opponent's movements. Only by maximizing these three speeds can you kill your enemy instantly with minimal movement when facing them..."

Listening to Arakawa Akihiro's explanation of the Flying Sword Style, Su Mu couldn't help but think of how the Demon Slayer Corps could reach the Transparent World when their Breathing Technique reached a certain level.

Even among the Demon Slayer Corps' Pillars, who are capable of contending with the Twelve Demon Moons, only a few have achieved the Transparent World.

The so-called 'transparent world' is a world of perception that can only be unlocked by reaching the highest level of 'breathing techniques'. In this world, everything in sight slows down, and one can transparently observe the opponent's internal body, including bones, muscles, and even the direction of blood flow, thereby being able to judge the opponent's movements and weaknesses.

In such a situation, one's predictive movements and evasion speed will be greatly improved, thus enabling one to quickly find the enemy's weakness and deliver a fatal blow.

Clearly, the "Transparent World" achieved by the Demon Slayer Corps' "Breathing Technique" at a certain level has many similarities to the "Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu".

In fact, it can be said that the Flying Sword Style has reached an extremely profound level, no weaker than the "Transparent World" in the "Breathing Technique".

Chapter 11 Nichirin Blade

Arakawa Akihiro roughly described what the Hiko Dojo would teach, which also gave Su Mu a deeper understanding of the Flying Sword Style.

Without a doubt, this "Flying Sword Style" is the same "Flying Sword Style" that Su Mu knows from "Rurouni Kenshin," and it is no weaker than the Demon Slayer Corps' "Breathing Techniques."

However, the Demon Slayer Corps's 'breathing techniques' are more focused on dealing with demons, while 'Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu' is more focused on dealing with humans.

Arakawa Akihiro, who had arrived late at night, spoke for about half an hour before stopping. Su Mu knew that the other party needed to rest, so he took his leave.

However, before leaving, he asked 'Arakawa Akihiro' to demonstrate the so-called 'Flying Sword Style' to him.

Arakawa Akihiro hesitated for a moment, but then agreed.

…………

Arakawa Akihiro looked at Su Mu and then at a straw figure made of rice straw on the ground.

At this moment, Arakawa Akihiro placed his hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist, leaned forward slightly, and his expression became extremely serious, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Although they weren't facing each other directly, Su Mu vaguely sensed a sharpness that seemed to be coming straight at him.

In just a moment, 'Arakawa Akihiro' took a step forward.

He drew his sword, unsheathing it.

The standard starting stance in the 'Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu' sword style, which is also the most essential part of the 'Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu', is the so-called draw-slash.

In the dim night, a cold light flashed out in an instant. The sharp blade sliced ​​through the air almost instantly, and the slash was made even when the blade was barely visible.