'Lord Kokushibo...'
Doma was greatly surprised. As the Upper Rank Two, he was well aware of the strength of the Upper Rank One, Kokushibo. Otherwise, he wouldn't be merely ranked second.
If he were to initiate a Blood Battle for a position change, he would undoubtedly die at Lord Kokushibo's hands and be devoured by him.
It was precisely because he knew the gap between himself and Kokushibo that Doma was all the more surprised.
To this day, he had never seen Kokushibo in such a pathetic state.
'And if even Lord Kokushibo is in such a state... then the opponent...'
Doma thought, looking at Lexon, who was standing on the street, completely unchanged, not even a single bit of damage to his robes.
'It's the contrast that makes it so terrifying...'
Even the emotionless Doma had this feeling, let alone the other Upper Ranks.
Akaza, Hantengu, Daki, and Gyuutaro, every single one of them had a look of utter astonishment on their faces.
Among them, Akaza had once challenged Kokushibo to a Blood Battle for a position change and was the only one whom Kokushibo had spared, not killing and devouring him.
In his perception, Kokushibo had undoubtedly reached the supreme domain and had achieved a profound mastery within it. But now, Kokushibo had been beaten into such a state by the opponent.
'And he said he hadn't reached the supreme domain...'
Akaza stared intently at Lexon, gritting his teeth.
Flames continuously burned at Kokushibo's wounds.
He looked at his missing upper half of his body from his half-missing head.
'This indescribable pain... and why is my regeneration so slow...'
Kokushibo was a little confused. Then, he looked at his Kyokoku Kamusari, which was also regenerating slowly, and instantly understood.
'Did that slash have an effect that prevents regeneration?'
At the same time, Muzan, sensing Kokushibo's mental activity, had a drastic change in expression.
'A slash that can prevent regeneration and carries intense pain...'
'Sun Breathing!'
'Only Sun Breathing would be like this!'
Suddenly, Muzan Kibutsuji felt the wounds where Yoriichi Tsugikuni had cut him centuries ago begin to ache faintly, a burning pain.
'He knows Sun Breathing! And he can turn into a demon, not under my control...'
'What on earth is this guy...'
As he thought, Muzan's face grew more and more gloomy.
"Kokushibo, kill him quickly."
A cold command came from Muzan's mouth. He no longer wanted to get an answer from Lexon; he only wanted to kill him and then devour him.
"And you!" Muzan Kibutsuji's icy vertical pupils swept over the other Upper Ranks. "Don't let me think you're all useless."
The chilling words made the Upper Rank demons, except for the emotionless Doma who felt no fear, tremble in their hearts.
They could feel the curse that Muzan Kibutsuji had placed within them as if it were eagerly stirring.
"Yes, Lord Muzan," they immediately responded.
"It seems a basic level of Sun Breathing is still a bit weak," Lexon muttered to himself, watching Kokushibo, who had returned to his full state after forcing his recovery.
He had indeed used Sun Breathing just now.
The moment he used Unknowing Fire to pass through the wind blades, bypass the crescent moon blades, and approach Kokushibo, he had switched his breathing style, replacing Flame Breathing with Sun Breathing.
And one of the greatest effects of Sun Breathing was to obstruct a demon's regenerative ability. A demon injured by Sun Breathing would feel incomparably immense pain and would have great difficulty regenerating and recovering.
This was also why Muzan Kibutsuji had concluded that Lexon had mastered Sun Breathing the moment he sensed Kokushibo's thoughts. After all, he had been cut by the founder of Sun Breathing, Yoriichi Tsugikuni, centuries ago, and he still hadn't fully recovered.
However, it wasn't just Sun Breathing that could obstruct a demon's regeneration.
Something called a Crimson Red Blade could also do so. A Crimson Red Blade was transformed from a Nichirin Sword, but just like the Mark, it was something the wielder had to learn to activate.
From his memory of the Demon Slayer manga, Lexon could roughly deduce that the method to activate a Crimson Red Blade was to use a powerful grip, or to cause the sword's temperature to rise through collisions between weapons, thereby turning the Nichirin Sword into a Crimson Red Blade.
But Lexon had not yet come to a definite conclusion on this method, and none of the current Hashira had mastered it, nor could Lexon...
However, compared to a Crimson Red Blade, the slashes of Sun Breathing also brought intense burning pain.
This was one of the reasons why Muzan hated Sun Breathing so much.
So he had joined forces with Kokushibo centuries ago to slaughter all the swordsmen who used Sun Breathing.
This also directly led to Sun Breathing being lost to time.
Lexon had cut Kokushibo with Sun Breathing, but because his proficiency was only at the basic level, it was far from enough. Even the effect of obstructing regeneration wasn't that strong.
This allowed Kokushibo to recover to his original state with relative ease after focusing on his recovery.
"You are strong," looking at Lexon, Kokushibo spoke words of praise.
"I'm alright," Lexon replied flatly.
"Therefore, I will fight you seriously," Kokushibo raised his restored Kyokoku Kamusari.
The next moment, the blood vessels and sinews on his body suddenly bulged. The blade of "Kyokoku Kamusari" in his hand gradually grew longer, and some sharp blades grew out from the main blade in a forked pattern.
He had completely unleashed his power, revealing the incomparably ferocious and terrifying form of "Kyokoku Kamusari."
And around Kokushibo, the other Upper Ranks were also ready and waiting.
Doma slowly stood up, his two lotus-patterned iron fans open. He looked at Lexon from the eaves, a gentle and harmless smile on his face.
Akaza did not deploy his Compass Needle technique, but simply adjusted his own state, flaring his fighting spirit to its peak.
Hantengu, who had been hiding in a corner, emerged. In front of him, four young figures with two horns on their heads abruptly appeared.
The emotions on the faces of the four young figures were all different: there was joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure...
In their eyes were engraved "Upper Rank" and "Four," and from their open mouths, the characters engraved on their tongues could be vaguely seen.
They were "Joy," "Anger," "Sorrow," and "Pleasure."
Daki, who had been sitting on the windowsill, floated lightly to the ground. Her silver hair rose without any wind, and the colored sashes that grew from her body swayed continuously...
The gloomy young man's head on her back also slowly crawled out, revealing the full form of Gyuutaro.
He was bare-chested, his back hunched, his figure gaunt, and his body, like his face, was covered in black spots.
His two arms were wrapped in sashes, and he held a pair of bright red sickles that looked like bones.
Nakime, who was sitting beside Muzan Kibutsuji, also moved her fingers slightly closer to her biwa.
They stared deadly at Lexon. After Kokushibo made his move, they would also seize the opportunity to give Lexon a thunderous blow.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]