Demon Slayer: The Second God Who Walks the Earth

I came to see Chiba Yang for two reasons: firstly, I wanted to confide in a friend about my troubles, and secondly, I wanted to learn from Chiba Yang about techniques to become stronger.

The two then found a place to sit down, and Chiba Yang spoke first, asking Genya, "Have you successfully become Mr. Himejima's apprentice?"

Upon hearing this, Xuanmi nodded and replied, "Yes, although there were some twists and turns in the middle, we succeeded in the end."

Mr. Himejima was initially unwilling to take me as his stepson because I wasn't qualified enough, but he later agreed after learning that I could become stronger by eating demons.

Chiba Yo was somewhat confused after hearing Genya's words.

"Get stronger by eating demons?"

He was unaware that Xuanmi possessed such talent.

Genya noticed Chiba Yo's confusion and then realized what was going on.

"Oh, right, I haven't told you yet."

He then explained to Chiba Yo, “My bite force and digestive ability are quite outstanding. I can temporarily gain the abilities of demons by eating their bodies, such as their regenerative abilities and blood demon techniques. At the same time, my strength will also increase after eating a demon’s body.”

After hearing Genya's explanation, Chiba Yo understood. Genya's ability reminded him of the demon he had encountered before who possessed multiple blood demon arts. He wondered if Genya could also reach that level.

"That's a pretty good ability," Chiba Yo praised.

His words came from the bottom of his heart. The regenerative ability of demons and the endless stream of blood demon techniques are both quite powerful abilities, especially blood demon techniques, which are diverse in nature. Some of these blood demon techniques would even make Chiba Yo feel troubled.

For example, the demon that Chiba Yo encountered that time could switch places. Even with his Transparent World, he couldn't see how the demon activated its Blood Demon Art. Moreover, its ability to switch places was almost instantaneous. Even when he faced this demon, it took him several moves to defeat it.

If Genya's ability could be used to devour a demon with decent Blood Demon Art abilities, his strength might increase dramatically in an instant.

"But now that you've gained the power of a demon, wouldn't you also have its weaknesses? For example, a fear of the sun?" Chiba Yo asked curiously.

Xuanmi was taken aback upon hearing this, as he hadn't considered this point before.

After thinking for a while, Genya said to Chiba Yang, "I'm not quite sure about that. Mr. Himejima was worried that I might have some health problems from eating demons, so he asked Miss Butterfly to diagnose my condition."

However, so far my health doesn't seem to have encountered any major problems.

As for whether I'm afraid of the sun... battles with demons usually take place at night, so I've never been exposed to the sun while in demon form.

If that were to happen, I think my body would gradually collapse like a demon…

Gaining power comes with risks...

After listening to Genmi's words, Chiba Yo felt that the world was indeed somewhat unfair. Genmi and the others tried so hard to become stronger, and even had to take on various risks, but they still found it difficult to contend with those powerful evil spirits.

He himself had not cultivated much, yet he already possessed such power.

At this moment, he could better understand what Kyojuro had told him before: "Protecting the weak is the duty of the born strong." Since he had received this power from heaven, he must use it for good, to slay evil spirits and help the weak.

"You and Mr. Sanemi..."

Genya lowered his head after hearing Sanemi's name.

"Mr. Beimingjima told me not to get close to my brother anymore, to avoid any further conflict. So I haven't been looking for him for a while..."

Besides the instructions from Beiming Island, Genya was also somewhat hesitant to communicate with Sanemi.

Because of Chiba Yo's previous analysis, Genya knew that if his strength remained so weak, Sanemi would definitely continue to treat him violently in order to force him to leave the Demon Slayer Corps.

Immediately after a brief hesitation, Genya revealed the purpose of his visit to Chiba Yo.

"Yang, can you tell me your secret to becoming stronger? You must have some trick to become a Pillar so quickly, right? I also want to become a Pillar as soon as possible so I can reunite with my brother. Please!"

Genmi stood up and bowed to Chiba Yo.

Currently, Chiba Yo is the fastest to become a Pillar in the Demon Slayer Corps. Genya also wants to become a Pillar as soon as possible, so when he has some free time, he comes to find Chiba Yo after learning that he has returned.

Faced with Genya's actions, Chiba Yo was somewhat at a loss as to what to do.

He became a Pillar so quickly because of his good luck. He encountered Lower Moon Two not long after joining the Demon Slayer Corps, and his ability to kill Upper Moon Two this time can be attributed to good luck.

If the jade pot doesn't show itself, it will probably take him quite a while to find it, given his search skills.

But he couldn't say these words to Xuanmi, otherwise it would be obvious that he was teasing Xuanmi.

Chapter 93 The Swordsman Who Can't Breathe

How should I tell Genya...?

Chiba Yo felt somewhat embarrassed.

Chiba Yo looked up and met Genmi's expectant gaze, which made him even more speechless.

Which breathing technique are you using right now?

Unfortunately, Chiba Yang decided to instruct Genya on the cultivation of the breathing technique. He was quite skilled in breathing techniques, so it would be relatively easy for him to teach, and the breathing technique could also quickly enhance a swordsman's strength.

While this isn't exactly a quick way to become a Pillar, it is a good method to increase one's strength.

Hearing this question, Xuanmi's heart skipped a beat. When he went to become Xingming's disciple, he was rejected because he didn't know the breathing technique. Now that Qianye Yang had asked the same question, he felt something was wrong.

"I...I haven't learned the breathing technique yet...because my physical fitness is too poor..."

After hesitating for a moment, Genya told Chiba Yo the truth.

Chiba Yo was somewhat surprised to hear this. If one did not know the breathing technique, one should not even be able to participate in the final selection, but Genya had already made it this far.

Although surprised, Chiba Yo did not show it.

After observing through the Transparent World, Chiba Yo discovered that Genya's physique was indeed different from that of ordinary people. His jaw muscles were much stronger than others, but his lungs were smaller than those of ordinary people, making it impossible for him to inhale much air at once.

He will have much more difficulty breathing than others.

"What kind of breathing technique did you learn before?" Chiba Yang asked Genya again. He felt that Genya might not be completely unable to use breathing techniques. If the existing breathing techniques were modified, a breathing technique that he could also use might be developed.

"Before participating in the final selection, I learned the Breath of Wind, but I couldn't master it. After becoming an apprentice of Mr. Himejima, he also taught me the Breath of Rock, but I still can't use it..."

Xuanmi clenched his fists and answered unwillingly.

"Would you like to try Water Breathing?" Chiba Yo asked Genya after a moment of thought.

Genya asked with some confusion, "I can't learn Wind Breathing and Rock Breathing, so why do you want to try Water Breathing?"

"Water breathing is the gentlest of these breathing methods and the easiest for the body to tolerate. I think you might be able to use water breathing."

Chiba Hinata explained to Genya.

The existing breathing techniques are mostly of the more intense type, all leaning towards an offensive approach.

Needless to say, Chiba Yo's Sun Breathing is the most powerful of all the existing breathing techniques. Most ordinary people find it difficult to use, and even Tanjiro, who has been taught by his father since childhood, can only unleash a small portion of the power of Sun Breathing.

Currently, only water breathing can be considered a relatively gentle breathing method.

Upon hearing this, Genya understood what Chiba Yo meant, and then he hesitated before saying, "Then... should I go and ask a member of the team who knows Water Breathing for guidance?"

Upon hearing this, Chiba Yo shook his head and said to Genya, "No need, I can teach you Water Breathing."

"Huh? Aren't you Yang Pillar? I remember the breathing technique you use is called Sun Breathing, right? That doesn't sound like it's related to Water Breathing." Genya said, somewhat confused, after hearing Chiba Yang's words.

"The breathing technique I use is indeed Sun Breathing, but I know more than just Sun Breathing."

Furthermore, water breathing and sun breathing are related; all breathing techniques ultimately lead to the same goal, and their principles are similar, only the application differs.

Chiba Yo spoke to Genya.

After learning the Breath of Fire, Breath of Thunder, and Breath of Water in addition to the Breath of the Sun, Chiba Yo realized that the latter three breathing techniques were like simplified versions of the Breath of the Sun. They seemed to have been modified to make breathing techniques usable by ordinary people, which is why he was able to learn them after seeing someone else use them only once.

Recalling what Tamayo had told him about Yoriichi Tsugikuni, Chiba Yo guessed that the five basic breathing techniques were likely modified by Yoriichi Tsugikuni based on the Breath of the Sun, with the aim of enabling the Demon Slayer Corps members at the time to use breathing techniques as well. After all, the Breath of the Sun was difficult to use unless one's body was extraordinary.

"So... you can also use Water Breathing?" Genya asked, looking at Chiba Yo.

“Yes, besides that, there’s also Flame Breathing and Thunder Breathing,” Chiba Yo nodded and said.

Furthermore, Chiba Yo had hardly ever used these three breathing techniques because they weren't powerful enough; he originally thought he would never have the chance to use them again.

Xuanmi fell silent upon hearing this. He had originally thought that his teacher, Himejima Gyoumei, was already a rare monster among humans, but it turned out that the person in front of him seemed to be much more abnormal than his teacher.

"Do you want to give it a try?" Chiba Yo asked Genya.

Without hesitation, Xuanmi nodded and said, "Thank you for your trouble."

After agreeing, Genya felt something was off. He had come to ask for the secret to quickly becoming a Pillar, so why was things developing like this?

However, he quickly came to terms with it. For him, as long as he could become stronger and gain Sanemi's approval in the future, that was enough.

Chiba Yo then began to teach Genya the essentials of Water Breathing. Afterward, the two went to the training ground, where Chiba Yo demonstrated Water Breathing to him.

"Did you see that clearly? Why don't you try it?" Chiba Yo put away his wooden sword and turned to Genya.

Genmi was still in a daze. He didn't quite understand what Chiba Yang wanted him to see. He hadn't even learned the breathing technique yet, but Chiba Yang had already demonstrated it along with the sword technique, and then told him to try it himself.

"Oh, okay." Although he didn't know what to do, Genmi still gritted his teeth and went for it.

Picking up the wooden sword, Genya imitated Chiba Yo's previous movements.

Chiba Yo observed from the side, and when he saw that Genya's breathing was still normal, he reminded him: "Breathe as I told you before, open your lungs and let as much air as possible into your body."

The reason he had Genya start trying it directly was that he wanted to use the Transparent World to continuously correct his breathing method, which he believed was the fastest way for Genya to master the breathing technique.

After being reminded by Chiba Yang, Genya changed his breathing method, opening his lungs to allow as much air as possible into his body, but after only about a second, his lungs could no longer expand.

Chiba Yo, who was observing the world through the Clear World, frowned. He discovered that even the gentlest Water Breathing technique, Genya, could not meet the requirements for use. His lungs were far too weak compared to ordinary people.

It seems we still need to modify the Water Breathing technique...

Chapter 94 The Battle of Red Street

As Chiba Yo had predicted, Genya was still unable to use Water Breathing.

"I... I still can't do it..."

Holding the wooden sword in his hand, resentment and pain welled up in his heart. Even though he had the ability to eat demons, it was really unacceptable for a Demon Slayer to not know the Breathing Technique. He didn't care much about other people's opinions, but if Sanemi knew, he would definitely want to leave the Demon Slayer Corps even more.

"What do you think if we use breathing techniques and sword skills only as supplementary means?" Chiba Yo suddenly asked Genya.

Judging from the fact that Genya was able to pass the final selection of the Demon Slayer Corps and has persisted until now, his strength is guaranteed even without breathing techniques. In that case, why not make the Water Breathing technique more gentle and turn the breathing techniques and sword skills originally used for offense into auxiliary means?

His demonic transformation ability can be used as a primary means of attack.

“You mean…” Genmi looked up at Chiba Yo, somewhat confused by his words.

"like this."

As Chiba Yo spoke to Genya, he raised the wooden sword in his hand again.

Following the breathing method of water breathing, the breathing of the lungs is more gentle, and it is not necessary to inhale too much air at once.

Then Chiba Yo swung the wooden sword in his hand. Unlike the previous demonstration, this time there was no large amount of water flowing around the blade. Instead, a large amount of mist surged out of the blade, like fluffy white clouds.

From a distance, the white mist obscured Chiba Yang's figure. The water droplets in the air reflected the light that entered, creating five more figures of Chiba Yang within the mist.

Genmi, who was standing to the side, was stunned. He hadn't expected that during the time they were talking, Chiba Yo would actually create a breathing technique.

If I can do that, with the fog obscuring my figure, my musket accuracy will definitely improve a lot, and I can also seize the opportunity to bite off the ghost's body and transform into a ghost.

Xuanmi was stunned for a moment before becoming excited.

But... can I learn this breathing technique...?

However, recalling his two previous failed attempts to learn breathing techniques, Genya's excited heart began to sink again.

The figure of Rokudo Chiba Yo, shrouded in mist, simultaneously swung the wooden sword in his hand. The white mist surrounding his body dissipated at the same time, leaving only one figure on the training ground.

"What do you think of this breathing technique? Although it doesn't have much offensive capability, if used well, it should be quite good for assisting in combat," Chiba Yo said to Genya.

The illusion he just created was formed by the refraction of light by tiny water droplets in the mist. Theoretically, if controlled properly, countless such illusions could be created in the mist, and anything within the mist could create an illusion.

However, Chiba Yo didn't think this ability was very useful. He couldn't very well scare the ghost to death by creating a few illusions, could he? He might as well just go up and chop it with a knife.

"I think this breathing technique is great. But... can I really learn it?"

Genmi replied to Chiba Yo that he was quite satisfied with this breathing method.

Chiba Yo smiled and said to him, "Since I said that, I must have considered your physical condition. Don't worry, as long as you are willing to work hard, you will definitely be able to learn this breathing method."

Furthermore, the techniques I demonstrated earlier were just one application of this breathing method; after you learn them, you can continue to try and develop other techniques.

When Chiba Yo modified the Water Breathing technique into this breathing method, he did so within the limits that Genya's body could withstand. His body was absolutely able to endure this breathing method.

"I will definitely work even harder," Genya said immediately after hearing Chiba Yo's words.

He's already looking forward to what he'll be like after he learns this breathing technique.

"Then let's start now."