Shua!
A streak of gray-green blade light swept past and an entire staircase shattered in its wake! BOOM!! Gravel and wood chips filled the air as the stairs crashed down, revealing the bottomless, dark void beneath.
Looking around, this section of the Infinity Castle was already unrecognizable.
Whether it was the exquisite wooden doors or the various structures, everything had been reduced to a landscape of debris and ruins.
The ground was scarred with deep, crisscrossing sword marks.
Huge holes had been blasted into the walls, and the air was thick with wood dust and a faint smell of scorching.
Amidst these ruins, two figures were like magnets, constantly colliding violently or repelling one another.
Cyan-green and gray-green sword lights flickered incessantly; the aftershock of every blade beam was enough to cleave a deep gully into the floor beneath their feet.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sounds of colliding Nichirin Swords merged into a piercing metallic storm.
Radiance of cyan and gray-green constantly exploded, and every clash stirred up shockwaves almost visible to the naked eye, further crushing and tearing apart the surrounding structures of the Infinity Castle.
Shinichi stomped on the wreckage of a huge, tilted door panel, using the leverage to charge back. His Nichirin Sword traced a fierce semi-circle.
"Breath of Forest—Seventh Form, Wood Dragon Slash!"
The cyan-green blade light transformed into the phantom of a roaring green giant dragon, opening its claws and fangs to crush everything before it.
In front of Shinichi, Shunichi's figure drifted like a ghost, appearing deceptively slow.
His willow-leaf-shaped Nichirin Sword silently met the cyan-green giant dragon.
Then, something absurd happened: the roaring cyan-green dragon seemed to pause, and in the next second, it was coated in a gray-green glow, directly changing direction to attack Shinichi instead.
Shinichi's pupils constricted.
His momentum hadn't decreased, making it too late to defend! With that thought, his limbs pushed off violently, using all his strength to force a change in trajectory, dodging the gray-green dragon phantom by a hair's breadth.
Boom!
The gray-green blade dragon smashed into the spot where Shinichi had just been standing, emitting a violent, thunderous sound.
The wreckage of the wooden door was instantly turned to powder.
Dust filled the air, and as the dragon phantom dissipated, the blade-wielding figure of Shunichi emerged.
"Now's my chance!"
Seeing Shunichi miss his strike, Shinichi immediately changed his right hand's slash into a thrust, aiming straight for Shunichi's throat!
But unexpectedly, Shunichi did not dodge or evade.
He didn't raise his sword to block; instead, his left hand formed a claw.
Wrapped in gray-green demon aura and accompanied by a shrieking sound that tore the air, he grabbed ruthlessly at Shinichi's chest!
It was a tactic ensuring mutual destruction.
Tss!
The sharp Nichirin Sword pierced halfway through Shunichi's neck, but Shinichi also let out a cold snort.
The thrusting Nichirin Sword was abruptly retracted.
Shinichi flipped his wrist, and the butt of the hilt, like a heavy hammer, smashed viciously into the opponent's palm!
Simultaneously, his right leg lashed out like a whip, kicking Shunichi squarely in the abdomen!
Bang! Crack!
Two muffled sounds rang out almost simultaneously.
Shinichi's kick forced Shunichi back, but he also slammed into the wall behind him due to the recoil.
His throat tasted slightly sweet with blood, and his chest stung.
Looking down, his gray Demon Slayer uniform had five claw marks torn into it, with traces of blood slowly seeping out.
Shunichi landed on a huge, suspended wooden beam.
His half-pierced neck was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. The two confronted each other briefly across a distance of seven or eight meters.
Shinichi's breathing was slightly rapid.
Without a demon's constitution, his physical stamina and recovery were naturally limited.
A few tiny beads of cold sweat slid down Shinichi's temples.
"You've got to be kidding me. How on earth did Shokyu manage this? The creator of Forest Breathing is seriously tough to deal with!" Shinichi stared at Shunichi, recalling how Shunichi had just borrowed his momentum to turn his Wood Dragon Slash against him.
That level of manipulation was only possible if one had comprehended Forest Breathing to the ultimate extreme.
Even Shinichi himself couldn't guarantee he could pull that off.
"Ancestor, although I don't know why you're here, the old man told me your story. I believe your original intention would absolutely not be to help Shokyu overturn the world. Today, no matter what, I will stop it. I will cut down any enemy blocking my path!"
Shinichi adjusted his grip on the sword, spread his legs, raised his head, and looked at Moriki Shunichi with a determined gaze.
Shunichi's hollow, smoky-gray eyes seemed to fluctuate for a moment, but were immediately submerged by a deeper darkness.
He didn't answer; he simply lowered his body slightly, held the willow-leaf blade at his side, and an even more dangerous, condensed gray-green demon aura began to gather around him.
Shinichi's heart tightened, knowing Shunichi's next attack might be even more terrifying.
His gaze quickly scanned the surrounding environment: shattered houses, floating wooden planks, broken corridors... in the ensuing battle, these environmental factors could all become details that decided victory or defeat.
Just then, from the crevices of the collapsed ruins in the distance, came rustling sounds and low roars.
Dozens of twisted, ugly demons, attracted by the commotion of the fierce battle earlier, were crawling out of the shadows, their scarlet eyes staring greedily at Shinichi.
These low-level demons weren't strong, but appearing at this moment, they were undoubtedly a distracting nuisance.
However, just as Shinichi frowned, Shunichi slowly took a step back.
The aura he had just gathered paused for a moment; it seemed he had no intention of attacking alongside those low-level demons.
'What was going on?'
'But there was no time to hesitate!'
Shinichi made a snap decision as dozens of demons rushed toward him, wave after wave, baring their fangs and claws.
"Breath of Forest-Sixth Form Hurricane Strike!"
Cyan-green blade light spread out in circles like a violent hurricane, carrying an endless, boundless power of vitality, quickly submerging the demons surrounding Shinichi.
Within the eye of the hurricane, the sound of flesh being severed rang out continuously.
The cyan-green Nichirin Sword in Shinichi's hand flew up and down, so fast that no afterimage could be seen.
Any demon that rushed in front of him had its neck severed within a millisecond.
Whoosh!
Shinichi's figure, along with the cyan-green hurricane, charged forward, constantly slaying demons!
Behind him, a long, bloody "road" strewn with the severed limbs of demons was quickly forged.
"Aoo—!!!"
With a final miserable scream, a demon with a body like a sticky slime was sliced vertically into two halves.
It immediately fell limp and motionless, gradually turning into flying ash!
The entire process of killing dozens of demons was clean and efficient, happening in just a short moment.
Shinichi didn't even give them a second glance; his attention was locked on Shunichi not far away the entire time!
However, in that final split second when Shinichi was distracted dealing with the demon fodder, Shunichi moved!
His speed was unbelievably fast.
Although Shinichi was prepared, amidst his defensive slashes, a tricky gray-green blade light still sliced toward Shinichi's neck!
It was unavoidable!
Shinichi gritted his teeth, forcibly twisting his body at an impossible angle.
At the same time, he gathered heavy power in his right elbow, smashing it like a giant log viciously toward Shunichi's sword-wielding hand!
Pfft! Bang!
The blade light sliced through the uniform and abdominal muscles of Shinichi's lower right abdomen, bringing up a string of hot blood.
But Shinichi's elbow strike also successfully smashed the blade light off course.
It flew past, grazing his body, and sliced a broken wooden pillar—thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around—into two pieces!
The wooden pillar crashed down, kicking up a sky full of dust.
Shinichi seized the opportunity to leap back and open up the distance, his right hand covering the wound on his right abdomen.
Shunichi stood where he was, not pursuing.
He glanced at the dozens of demons killed by Shinichi as they turned to ash, then looked at the wound on Shinichi's abdomen.
In his hollow eyes, a trace of complex emotion seemed to flash past.
Perhaps it was a trace of... gratification at seeing a descendant's growth?
But that trace of emotion vanished in an instant.
He raised his sword again.
Gray-green demon aura surged from his body like a tide, denser and more violent than before, even faintly forming a twisted, dark phantom behind him!
"Cough... in terms of understanding Forest Breathing, I might not be your match. But Ancestor Shunichi, the old man said that I have one move—one that even you, the founder of Forest Breathing, never comprehended."
Shinichi spat out a small mouthful of residual ash, raised his head, and looked at Shunichi Moriki with burning eyes.
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