Alone and Infinite

After his parents passed away, he felt as if he were 'dead' until he entered the trial and encountered his first ghost.

The shock of hovering between life and death was like an AED; he felt 'alive' again and had finally found his purpose. He wanted to continue walking in this magical world.

Go see a more magnificent world, pursue the limits, even if you die halfway, it's better than shrinking back at the starting line.

"Mr. Tanjuro—"

Li Xia stopped in his tracks, his deep brown pupils seemingly glowing in the moonlight, a determination and sincerity that would surprise even Tanjuro.

"Let's go back and start learning 'Hinokami Kagura'!"

A faint smile appeared on Tanjuro's gaunt face.

"it is good!"

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

Chapter 11 This is Breathing

At first, Li Xia had a small, untimely expectation.

That is, skill learning is like a game, where you can learn it just by adding a point.

Once you learn it, you can get started and use it immediately.

After all, in the novels I've read, everyone is like that.

But the hall clearly wanted to experience the complete learning process firsthand.

Or perhaps Li Xia hasn't figured out how to learn skills yet.

"The key to Hinokami Kagura is breathing. If you master your breathing correctly, you will not feel tired or cold."

The moonlight shone on the open ground in front of the wooden house, as if it were coated with a layer of white frost. The night sky was quiet, and not even a single cloud could be seen.

Tanjuro sat cross-legged in the passageway of the wooden house, explaining the difficulties of Sun Breathing to Li Xia, who was not far away.

"Tanjiro——"

"Hi!" Tanjiro didn't understand why his father woke him up at night, but being able to help his father and Sherlock-san was enough to make the simple boy happy.

"You demonstrate the complete Hinokami Kagura. Pay attention to your breathing while you dance, understand?"

"Ok!"

Tanjiro picked up a wooden stick to use as his seven swords, walked to an open space, struck a pose, took a deep breath, and began to wield it.

"The Hinokami Kagura has thirteen forms in total. Each posture has a corresponding breathing method. If you can dance it completely from beginning to end, you will have mastered it."

Li Xia listened intently to Tanjiro's explanation, trying her best to remember every move he made.

As Tanjiro began to break down the movements and had Li Xia follow along, he suddenly realized something very important.

Hinokami Kagura is derived from Sun Breathing and its 13 accompanying sword techniques.

In other words, it actually consists of two parts: breathing techniques and sword moves.

The problem is that the sword technique was developed entirely to counter demons; in other words, it is a special attack technique against demons.

But my world is different. I can foresee that I will encounter all kinds of enemies in the future, and ghosts are just a tiny part of them.

Unlike other breathing techniques, this is a method of using breathing to improve one's physical condition, and it has no restrictions.

Furthermore, you can evolve techniques that best suit your breathing according to your own needs.

Having figured this out, Li Xia quickly called a halt and explained his thoughts to Tanjuro and his son, who were looking at him with some confusion.

"You mean the monsters in your hometown aren't just ghosts, but other strange species? Animals too?"

Tanjuro was somewhat surprised, while Tanjiro was already looking at Li Xia with eyes full of sympathy.

It's terrifying! He had only just learned about ghosts and was already feeling a chill, and now, in addition to ghosts, there were other monsters in Sherlock's hometown!

It was really too hard!

Young Tanjiro had already imagined a tragic scenario: a distant land was being attacked by monsters, and Sherlock, carrying everyone's expectations, traveled thousands of miles to find his 'old friend'—Tanjuro—and seek a way to eliminate the monsters.

"Dad! You must help Sherlock!"

Tanjiro suddenly clenched his fist and shouted loudly. Under the moonlight, his dark red eyes seemed to burn with fiery passion.

Tanjuro slowly turned his head to look at his son.

"?"

After pondering for a while, Tanjuro finally agreed with Li Xia's statement.

Just like himself, he has reached a level where he is no longer bound by the form of a sword. Even if you give him an axe, Tanjuro is confident that he can easily chop off the head of the killer bear.

The price is death after you've finished cutting them down.

"In that case, let's begin with breathing techniques—"

Tanjuro beckoned Li Xia over, and they sat down opposite each other.

"Before learning breathing techniques, you must first change your breathing pattern."

Following Tanjuro's instructions, Li Xia tried his best to relax completely.

Slowly inhale through your nose, expanding your abdomen until you feel your entire abdomen filled with air, then slowly exhale through your mouth, causing your lower abdomen to gradually flatten.

After repeating this 10 times, Li Xia's somewhat restless mood seemed to gradually dissipate with each breath.

"Take a deep breath, fill your lungs with air, use all your strength, imagine you are about to dive into the water, and every breath of air is so precious!"

Tanjuro's voice remained calm: "Then start holding your breath. While holding your breath, try to relax your body and don't be tense."

Time passed little by little, and the moon gradually rose from the horizon to the top of the sky.

And the breathing instruction has finally reached its final step.

Li Xia's face flushed red, her heart was pounding, her lungs felt like they were about to explode, and her whole body was trembling.

This was caused by holding his breath for a long time; he desperately wanted to breathe, like someone drowning.

But Tanjuro's fingers were like iron clamps, firmly gripping his nose and mouth, and no matter how much Li Xia struggled, it was to no avail.

A blood-red haze gradually enveloped my vision, my eyes began to blur, and a strange, long hum rang in my ears.

Am I going to suffocate?

Just then, the hand that was pinching his mouth and nose seemed to loosen for a moment, and he grasped at it like a lifeline, desperately exhaling.

But it was only for a moment. Whenever Li Xia felt that she was about to die, she would loosen her grip on her mouth and nose for a brief moment.

Because he blew so hard, the air he exhaled made a slight hissing sound.

When all the air in the lungs is finally exhaled, the desire for fresh oxygen reaches its peak in an instant.

But those hands still firmly pinched his mouth and nose, and Li Xia struggled desperately, trying desperately to breathe.

Just then, those hands released their grip.

Tanjiro was leaning against the door, yawning, and reached out to wipe away the tears that had welled up in his eyes from exhaustion.

"hiss------!"

The sound, like a whale sucking water, was so clear in the silent night sky that it dispelled my sleepiness.

Tanjiro turned around in astonishment and saw Li Xia's face contorted in a ferocious expression, his eyes faintly white, and veins bulging on his forehead.

Breathing with all my might, as if each breath were the last I would ever take.

At this point, Li Xia had completely lost consciousness; his survival instinct made him remember only breathing.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, he felt his body start to burn, and his whole body ached as if it were falling apart.

A flashing notification stubbornly floated before my eyes.

[Hint: You have successfully learned the skill 'Sun Breathing' (incomplete version)]

Li Xia suddenly raised his head, somewhat incredulous. Tanjiro beside him stared at him with his mouth agape in shock.

Tanjuro, however, wore a faint smile on his gaunt face.

He nodded to Li Xia and said softly:

Congratulations, my friend.

"You are a true genius."

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

Oh no, we're going to fail again.

Chapter 12 Powerful Skills

Li Xia hurriedly opened his personal panel, skipped the attributes, and went straight to the skills section.

【Sun Breathing (Incomplete Version)】(Beginner's Guide 0%): During the activation of the breath, strength will be increased by 50%, dexterity by 40%, and perception and reaction speed will be greatly improved.

[Skill Cost]: During the skill's duration, 1% of stamina is consumed per second.

[Skill Cooldown]: None

[Skill Description: Through a special breathing technique, the user accelerates blood circulation throughout the body, dilates blood vessels, and increases oxygen levels, unleashing power and speed far exceeding normal limits. However, the excessive oxygen leads to rapid oxidation, generating a large number of free radicals, which ultimately shortens lifespan.]

[Special Note: Stamina is a non-quantifiable attribute; it can be increased and its consumption reduced through various methods.]

Holy crap! Is this breathing technique? It's incredibly powerful, unexpectedly powerful.

This is equivalent to giving yourself a 100-second, flexible burst of power, but the attribute bonus doesn't seem very significant at the moment.

It's only a few points of improvement, but what if the strength increases to tens or hundreds of points later?

More importantly, this is a skill that has just been learned; according to the hall's assessment, it is merely a beginner's practice.

Will the bonus increase as I level up? Will the duration increase?

In particular, it is accompanied by breathing. If Li Xia is skilled, he can control his breathing at the moment of attack, and the 1% energy consumption can be almost completely ignored.

This skill, which consumes very little energy per use but yields huge benefits, is simply divine!

If the incomplete version is so useful, Li Xia wouldn't even dare to imagine how useful the complete version is!

Li Xia wanted to stand up and experiment with the breathing technique he had just learned, but he didn't expect that as soon as he stood up, he felt dizzy, as if he had drunk two catties of strong liquor.

A tearing, excruciating pain shot through my entire body, and my chest felt like it was on fire.

"Cough cough cough cough—" After a heart-wrenching cough, Li Xia took the bowl of water that Tanjuro handed her.

The cool spring water flowed down my throat, extinguishing a trace of the heat.

"Thank you." The dry, rough voice sounded like the noise of two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.

"Don't worry, this is normal. You need to rest now."

Tanjuro led Li Xia to a quiet room where Murata was sleeping soundly in a very unrestrained posture.

The excitement of learning the breathing technique slowly faded, followed by a deep sense of fatigue.

As soon as she touched the bedding, Li Xia let out a long yawn and fell into a deep sleep.

Nothing in the night

Perhaps because the Zaomen family hadn't been this lively in a long time, the children, looking forward to the excitement, got up early.

Her husband's improved health filled Kui Zhi with hope, and this gentle woman started brewing "Great Tonic Decoction" again before dawn.

So Li Xia and Tan Shiro each held a bowl of herbal soup to replenish their vital energy and sat side by side in the passageway of the wooden house, watching the rising sun bathe the entire mountain range in golden sunlight.

The two also discussed the physical toll of Sun Breathing.

"Because I discovered that Hinokami Kagura was overdrawing her body to gain immense power, I deliberately omitted a part when I taught it to Tanjiro, so that he only had to learn how to breathe."

Tanjuro lowered his head to look at the bowl in his hand, the clear medicinal soup reflecting on his withered face.

"Yes, Tanjiro is a very good kid."

If I'm not mistaken, breathing exercises can severely deplete the body due to excessive oxidation.