Chapter 221: 221 Extreme Offense and Defense!
At this moment, Reiger was at a complete loss for words.
It was true he had seen Tsukiguni Yoriichi as the opportunity for his own breakthrough, but he had never expected Tsukiguni Yoriichi to become such a formidable opponent in his eyes.
He knew that Tsukiguni Yoriichi was not only strong but also had boundless potential.
What others could awaken only by giving their all, he was born with.
What others searched for in vain their entire lives, the Supreme Domain, he had mastered on his own from a young age.
He was the founder of the breathing technique; the one man in the world who could defeat Kibutsuji Muzan with sheer strength; the source of power that humans gained to fight against demons was also him.
Such a man was, in fact, more like the protagonist of this world than Tanjirou.
Such a man could even, upon encountering Kibutsuji Muzan, understand the thirteenth form of Sun Breathing in an instant to defeat him.
Reiger’s potential had already amazed the gods, including the divine Loki and the gods of Olympus, to such an extent that Tsukiguni Yoriichi might not fall short by much compared to Reiger.
But even so, Reiger could not have imagined that he would find further possibilities in himself, and, just like himself, evolve the Sun Breathing.
Keep in mind, Reiger’s success was not just due to his inherent potential but also because he had breathing techniques from another world as a reference. They served as a mutual confirmation with the world’s breathing techniques, and only then did he succeed.
What about Tsukiguni Yoriichi?
He had no reference, no confirmation, merely by observing the entire process of Reiger evolving the Sun Breathing, he effortlessly completed the dangerous task that had troubled Reiger for three months.
This is the divinity in the eyes of Kokushibou!
This is the monster in the eyes of Kibutsuji Muzan!
"Thump, thump—"
Suddenly, Reiger seemed to hear a strong and powerful heartbeat.
The source of the heartbeat was himself.
At this moment, Reiger’s heartbeat started to quicken, and his blood began to boil, arousing high spirits in his heart.
This feeling of bounding pulses and an endless flow of heat surging in his chest was very familiar to Reiger.
It was when he encountered obstacles, strong enemies, challenges, difficulties, and his entire adrenaline was activated.
This feeling, Reiger had not experienced for a long time.
After about half a year, he finally felt the thrill again.
"Full Concentration·Sun Breathing—"
Reiger took a deep breath, bringing a vast amount of oxygen into his lungs like a flux of air, and assumed an attacking stance.
Seeing this, Tsukiguni Yoriichi’s eyes sharpened, and he also assumed an attacking posture.
"Full Concentration·Sun Breathing—"
The Swordsman of the Sun inhaled a large amount of oxygen at this moment, activating his entire body.
High temperatures emerged on both swordsmen versed in Sun Breathing, slightly distorting the air around them.
"I’m coming."
Reiger spoke.
"Come."
Tsukiguni Yoriichi nodded.
Their gazes collided in mid-air, sparking a violent clash.
The next instant...
"Sun Breathing·First Form..."
The two figures lunged forward, disappearing from their original spots.
"Flame Dance!"
When two true circles of blazing flame appeared from the void, the figures of Reiger and Tsukiguni Yoriichi emerged in front of each other, striking with all their strength.
"Clang!!!"
The astonishing sound of their clash erupted immediately, causing Red Lotus Fire like sun’s fire to explode from the two Sun Swordsmen, turning into scorching shockwaves that swept in all directions like an inferno.
The two Sun Wheel Blades wrapped in flames collided at the heart of the blast, igniting and fringing violently.
Next moment, the two Sun Swordsmen engaged in fierce combat.
"Clang—Clang—Clang—Clang—Clang—"
In virtually an instant, the two Sun Wheel Blades enveloped in flames began colliding at high speeds.
Reiger and Tsukiguni Yoriichi released searing slashes at each other, with the fiery light of the blades emerging non-stop and colliding constantly.
Reiger entered an unprecedented state of high concentration, as if he had abandoned all defense, allowing the exuberant emotions in his chest to take over and slashing at Tsukiguni Yoriichi from every angle, causing flashes of fire one after another.
Facing Reiger’s focused and fierce onslaught, Tsukiguni Yoriichi was far from being on the defensive; instead, with his pair of clear eyes that seemed to see through everything, he also wielded countless fiery slashes.
The searing slashes kept appearing and colliding—some flying into the mid-air, others darting in all directions—while they radiated high heat around and let the fiery light of the blades rush past, leaving behind molten lava-like red trails on the ground.
"Boom—!"
Before long, the inferno raged like a storm, damaging the mountaintop, stirring up gusts of wind, dust, and rubble, like a natural disaster.
"Clang—!"
At a certain moment, the loud clash of swords rang out again.
Amidst the bursting flames, a figure seemed to be repelled, flying out of the raging inferno with his feet scraping against the ground, plowing a path as he retreated.
This person was none other than Reiger.
Reiger was repelled.
He was at a disadvantage.
"Swoosh!"
Accompanied by the sound of slicing air, Tsukiguni Yoriichi also burst out from the explosive flames, turning the Sun Wheel Blade in his hand, with countless Flame Slashes erupting immediately, relentlessly striking towards Reiger.
Reiger, while being forcefully pushed back and plowing the ground, lifted his sword to meet the attack, blocking all of the incoming Flame Slashes, causing sparks to dance around him.
But Tsukiguni Yoriichi showed no mercy, his assault as fierce as ever. Even though Reiger was able to block the storm-like barrage of slashes, Yoriichi continued to swing his sword with single-minded intent, breathing out, maintaining his breathing, and like a perpetual motion machine, kept slashing, slashing, and slashing again.
"Vortex," "Heaven of Bi Luo," "Sun-Red Mirror," "Phantom Sun Rainbow," "Fiery Train," "Bone-Burning Sun," "Yang Hua Thrust," "Flying Wheel Yang Flame," "Slanting Sun Turn," "Brilliant Grace," "Sun Halo Dragon·Head Dance," "Flame Dance"—
Yoriichi thus sequentially used the sword forms of Sun Breathing, creating a cycle of slashes, attacking Reiger without pause, the fierceness of the onslaught reaching an extreme.
This is precisely the Thirteenth Form of Sun Breathing, a relentless alternation of Sun Breathing sword techniques, forming an everlasting cycle that drags the enemy into a sun-wheel-like recursion, as if they were at the center of the sun, enduring ceaseless scorching.
Yoriichi then completely let loose, launching this technique, which he had used in life to confront Kibutsuji Muzan, dragging Reiger into a hell of red lotuses.
With Yoriichi’s current strength, to unleash and rotate the Sun Breathing sword forms in an unrestrained attack was incredibly terrifying.
Reiger, amidst this storm of fiery slashes, was forced to retreat, having to break away from Yoriichi’s offensive.
However, Yoriichi had no intention of letting Reiger escape, transforming into a brilliant sun, he chased after Reiger, enveloping him within the Sun Wheel Blade’s fiery edge.
Even Reiger felt somewhat overwhelmed by this onslaught.
"Clang!"
Finally, with a crisp sound, Reiger’s blade was knocked away.
"Boom!"
The slash of flames fell instantly, exploding on the ground and blasting him away.
Reiger was sent flying backward, smashing a rock before he twisted in mid-air to stab the Hermit into the ground to steady himself.
Even so, Reiger was forcefully driven back nearly a hundred meters, carving a trench in the earth, shockingly evident.
"Sun Halo Dragon·Head Dance!"
At that moment, Yoriichi transformed into a dragon of fire, dancing through the air toward Reiger.
Within the fire dragon, high-speed slashes cut through the air and flames, aiming at Reiger’s shoulder, flank, thigh, and ribs.
"Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—"
The slashes of flame unhesitatingly cut through Reiger’s body, leaving his shoulder, flank, thigh, and ribs all gashed and torn.
Yet, such wounds did not cause a single drop of blood to spill from Reiger; instead, his whole body shook slightly and began to slowly vanish.
"Phantom Sun Rainbow!"
Reiger reemerged as a shimmering heat haze behind Yoriichi.
"Slanting Sun Turn!"
Yoriichi, as if foreseeing the future, instantly flashed into mid-air, avoiding the strike from behind, and then in an inverted stance, delivered a horizontal slash wrapped in sun-like intense flames towards Reiger’s neck.
"Bone-Burning Sun!"
Facing the fierce strike head-on, Reiger twisted the Sun Wheel Blade in his hand, spinning it at high speed, instantly releasing a vortex of flames that not only blocked the intense slash but also wrapped the flames towards Yoriichi.
"Fiery Train!"
Yoriichi, flipping in the air, unleashed another slash when the first failed, swinging a curved vertical strike toward Reiger, wrapped in flames.
"Boom!"
Instantly, the wheel of fire and the vortex of flames collided, exploding violently and causing the flames to surge.
"Heaven of Bi Luo!"
Yoriichi, still not descending from mid-air, immediately linked to the next form, drawing a circle with the Sun Wheel Blade like the contour of the sun, pulling the surging flames into the wheel’s orbit, forming a Flame Slash aimed at Reiger.
"Sun-Red Mirror!"
Reiger immediately unleashed an ’∞’ patterned slash, turning the flames into symmetrically sharp fiery blades, severing the incoming Flame Wheel.
In the blink of an eye, Reiger and Yoriichi had clashed with an untold number of strikes, each using a multitude of sword forms against each other.
Such attack and defense were not only shockingly coherent but also extraordinarily intense; the slightest mishap could result in one side being utterly slain, consumed by the fires of the sun.
"Brilliant Grace!"
Yoriichi, still not descending, took advantage of his aerial position to dive down towards Reiger with a spiral slash, causing the exploding flames to envelop everything in their path.
"Yang Hua Thrust!"
Reiger lifted his sword, flames swirling around the blade, launching a piercing thrust at Yoriichi up in the sky.
"Boom—"
The roar resounded atop the peak for who knows which time.
The Red Lotus Fire blazed up, reflecting against the sun in the sky, never extinguishing.