"Although I don't know how you did it, be annihilated within my storm of slashes!"
Kokushibo shouted loudly. By this time, his arm that had been severed by the Crimson Red Blade had fully regenerated. Even his blade, Kyokokukamusari, had restored itself to its original state, appearing even sharper and more eerie than before.
"Moon Breathing, Fourteenth Form: Catastrophe, Tenman Crescent Moon!"
Kokushibo swung his blade rapidly with his regenerated arm. In the blink of an eye, an astonishing storm of sword chi roared forward.
Ren's blood-red pupils were gradually replaced by a shining dark purple.
It wasn't just the Kyokokukamusari in Kokushibo's hand; even the erratic flesh blades protruding from his body fired off intricate, crescent-shaped moon slashes.
Although it looked chaotic, the attack was densely packed and incredibly numerous, making it impossible to dodge. It was enough to suppress the very thought of evasion.
In this situation, there were only two ways to avoid this storm of slashes: either burrow underground or fly into the sky.
'Going underground isn't very realistic. In that case, I'll fly to the sky.'
Before his voice had even faded, Ren was already sprinting forward at full speed. After a run-up, he leaped upwards, jumping dozens of meters into the high air in a single bound. His speed was incredibly fast, easily avoiding the oncoming crescent moon slashes.
As the activation of his leg muscles increased, Ren's explosive power improved significantly, allowing him to not only move faster but jump higher.
'This feeling is just like Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash. It increases my speed and jumping power several times over!'
With his thoughts moving as fast as lightning, Ren actually performed a double jump in mid-air. His leg muscles acted like springs, allowing him to forcibly change direction where there was no leverage.
He suddenly dived downwards, utilizing gravitational potential energy to increase the power of his strike, much like Kokushibo's Sixteenth Form.
"What?"
By the time Kokushibo reacted, he shockingly discovered that Ren had already crossed the high altitude and was charging straight at him.
'How is this guy's speed so fast... not good, he's going to get in close!'
Disregarding thought, the flesh blades all over Kokushibo's body hurriedly shifted their attack direction, beginning to fire a dense barrage of sword lights and shadows diagonally upward. Countless slashes shot out abruptly.
However, he was defending in a panic. The speed of the attack wasn't fast enough, and the power wasn't strong enough.
"Useless! Instant Thunder Flash!"
After giving his move a name, Ren's leg muscles suddenly exerted force.
Using the air as a springboard, he jumped and maneuvered flexibly in the sky, weaving through the dazzling storm of slashes.
Like a bolt of black lightning, he dodged all attacks and instantly reached Kokushibo.
"What?!"
Kokushibo was horrified. He hurriedly waved Kyokokukamusari to execute a draw slash, the humming blade instantly slashing toward Ren's throat.
However, Ren's speed was faster than his!
"Thunder Combat Skill: Thunder God Heaven-Killing Slash!"
Ren also executed a draw slash, but the speed of his sword swing was several times that of Kokushibo.
"I come with the storm—are you ready to face my rage?"
Pu!
That lightning-fast blade cut through everything. As if slicing through melons and vegetables, it easily severed Kokushibo's Kyokokukamusari and simultaneously sliced off the fifteen flesh blades on his body!
The current Kokushibo was like a hedgehog with its quills pulled out, left at the mercy of others.
Ren naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip by. After severing the flesh blades, he reached out with a large hand, grabbed Kokushibo by his long, blood-red hair, and slammed him forcefully toward the ground.
In this moment, extreme power and extreme speed combined perfectly. Kokushibo's head tore through the night sky, falling from the heavens like a meteor, and finally smashed heavily into the earth!
"Urgh..."
Kokushibo's cheek made intimate contact with the ground. The earth beneath his feet cracked inch by inch, deep fissures spreading out in all directions, and his terrifying, ferocious face was smashed into a bloody mess.
Put it this way: even if Tsugikuni Yoriichi were dragged over here right now, he wouldn't recognize that this guy, beaten black and blue, was his own biological brother.
"Upper Rank One, is nothing special!"
After mocking him, Ren immediately swung his sword. Under his terrifying strength, the heavy Nichirin Sword turned crimson red as he prepared to decapitate Kokushibo.
However, at that moment, a sudden change occurred!
"Hee hee hee, Blood Demon Art: Ten Thousand Gliding Slime Fish!"
Ren suddenly felt a "faint" aura coming from behind him, and a familiar voice rang in his ear.
Looking back abruptly, he saw a massive swarm of slime fish falling from the sky, charging straight at him.
The mouths of these slime fish were filled with sharp fangs and teeth, seemingly capable of biting through even steel. The master of this school of fish was an incredibly ugly fellow.
The person's appearance was far from human. His lower body resembled a legendary siren, possessing a thick and soft snake tail, with the end of the tail stored inside a small porcelain pot.
The features on his face were a complete mess. Where eyes should have been, two mouths grew; where a mouth and forehead should have been, two eyes grew. Inside the pupils of those two eyes, the words "Upper Rank" and "Five" were written respectively.
Seeing this ugly guy, Ren recognized his identity at a glance. It was Upper Rank Five: Gyokko.
Although he didn't know why Gyokko appeared here, Kibutsuji Muzan must have sent him to reinforce Kokushibo.
After all, Kokushibo was the sharpest sword under Muzan; he would never leave Kokushibo to die.
Splash, splash, splash!!
Just then, the piercing sound of ocean waves suddenly rang out. The ten thousand sharp-toothed slime fish attacked abruptly. Having no choice, Ren had to abandon killing Kokushibo to prioritize dealing with this school of fish.
"Instant Thunder Flash!"
Ren quickly stomped on the ground, creating distance between himself and the ten thousand slime fish with a large leap. At the same time, he swung his sword rapidly, blasting a scorching slash toward the school of fish.
The power was even superior to Kokushibo's crescent moon slashes!
Bang bang bang!
The moment the scorching slash collided with the sharp-toothed slime fish, the slash exploded abruptly, turning into a firestorm of several hundred degrees. It instantly cooked the fish and then evaporated them completely, neutralizing Gyokko's attack.
"Too scary, too scary..."
"This guy actually blocked Gyokko's attack so easily, it's truly too scary..."
When Ren landed steadily on the ground, he saw a short old man wearing red clothes crouching in a corner of the ruins, a lump atop his head.
Although he looked old and ugly, he was at least slightly more pleasant to look at than Gyokko.
There were no characters or numbers marked in his scarlet pupils, but Ren knew that this trembling fellow crying out in fear was Upper Rank Four: Hantengu!
"Thunder God Heaven-Killing Slash... a very powerful sword technique..."
A deep voice came again. Kokushibo slowly climbed up from the ground, his smashed face already fully restored.
"I really got beaten up by you, kid."
"Hmph, planning to use three Upper Ranks together to deal with me?" Ren pointed his sword at Kokushibo and shouted loudly, "Then come! Don't think just because you have the numbers that I'm afraid of you!"
'One against three? The advantage is mine!'
"Prepare to face my Lion's Bite!"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]