Chapter 98: I Must Become Stronger!
Four distinctly different Breathing Styles intertwined at this moment.
The scorching heat of flames, the continuous flow of water, the splendor of falling flowers, and the agility of a poisonous butterfly—
Four powerful forces, like four brilliant meteors, smashed into Doma at the center simultaneously.
At this instant, the surrounding ice mist was forcibly blown away by this massive surge of momentum.
"Oh my, how passionate."
"But, it's better for little girls not to be so violent."
Facing the combined strangulation of the four, the smile on Doma's face didn't change in the slightest.
His rainbow-colored eyes reflected the figure of Kocho Shinobu, who was charging at the very front.
He didn't use any Blood Demon Art, relying solely on the terrifying basic physical fitness of an Upper Rank Demons.
With a slight tilt of his body, he avoided Kocho Shinobu's venom-coated sting by a mere hair's breadth.
Then, under Kocho Shinobu's astonished gaze,
Doma's right leg, clad in ornate trousers, suddenly swung upward.
Carrying a gust of bone-chilling wind, he kicked Kocho Shinobu hard in the abdomen.
Thump—!
"Gah!"
Kocho Shinobu felt an irresistible, overwhelming force hit her stomach like a mountain.
A mouthful of blood sprayed uncontrollably from her mouth.
Her petite body flew backward like a broken kite, even faster than she had charged in.
"Shinobu!"
Kanae's eyes nearly split from rage. But her attack could no longer be stopped; she could only watch helplessly as her sister was sent flying.
Just as Doma's old momentum from kicking Shinobu away was spent and his new strength had yet to form,
Kanae's Peony Sword Qi, Shinjuro's Unknowable Fire, and Tomioka Giyu's Flowing Dance descended simultaneously.
Rumble—!!!
Blades and golden fans collided violently, leaving several bloody gashes on Doma's body.
The combined strike of three Hashira-level powerhouses finally erupted with its due power,
forcibly knocking the arrogant Doma back several hundred steps.
Doma's feet plowed two deep furrows into the ground, only stopping after he smashed through a giant boulder.
But the wounds on his body completely healed within a single breath.
"Shinobu! How are you?"
After the successful strike, Kanae did not continue her pursuit. Instead, she used the recoil to instantly retreat to Shinobu's side,
scooping her sister, who had fallen heavily and was curled up in pain, into her arms.
"Cough, cough... Sister... I'm fine..."
Shinobu clutched her stomach, struggling to cough up several mouthfuls of bloody saliva.
Although the force of that kick was immense,
fortunately, she had instinctively used her Breathing Style to protect her internal organs the moment she was hit, preventing instant death.
Seeing her sister's pale face and the blood at the corner of her mouth, Kanae's heart twisted like a knife.
She gripped Shinobu's hand tightly and spoke in an indisputably serious tone:
"Shinobu, listen to me. You must leave!"
"Leave here immediately!"
"This demon's power is far beyond our imagination. You aren't ready for a battle of this level yet."
"If you stay here, you won't just be unable to help; you'll become a weakness for us."
"Go!"
Though Kanae's words were harsh, the deep love contained within them caused Shinobu's eyes to redden instantly.
She wanted so badly to argue back, to say she could fight, to stand side-by-side with her sister.
However, the sharp pain from her abdomen,
and the sense of powerlessness—like an ant looking up at a god—that she felt facing Doma just now,
was like a bucket of ice water, completely dousing her impulse.
She knew her sister was right.
Through that brief exchange and that simple, unadorned kick,
she had already deeply realized that her current strength,
before a true Upper Rank, was practically like an infant holding a toy sword.
Her body was too petite, her grip strength too weak, and the speed she took pride in was not even worth mentioning in the opponent's eyes.
If she continued to participate in the battle, she would only become a hostage Doma could use to threaten her sister, a burden to the three Hashira.
"Damn it... Damn it! Why am I so weak!"
"If only I were a bit taller, if only I could cut off a demon's neck like my sister..."
She hated her petite build and hated that she could only be a deserter at this critical moment.
She bit her lip hard until it bled, her nails digging deep into her palms.
But she was Kocho Shinobu, after all—an extremely intelligent and rational girl.
She knew now was not the time for stubbornness.
Taking a deep breath and suppressing her tears, she broke free from Kanae's embrace and gave her sister a deep look.
"Sister... you must be careful."
"If you die, I will never forgive you!"
After saying this, Shinobu didn't look back as she used her Breathing Style, retreating to a safe zone at the edge of the battlefield in a few leaps.
She hid behind a broken stone pillar, her hands gripping her sword tightly, her gaze not daring to leave the battlefield for a second.
She swore that if she survived this time, she would definitely develop a lethal poison capable of killing an Upper Rank,
and she would definitely become stronger!
Seeing her sister evacuate safely, Kanae finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She stood tall once more, her nichirin sword pointing at Doma in the distance again.
"With no more worries, let's go, Mr. Rengoku, Mr. Tomioka!"
"Just what I was thinking! Flame Breathing, Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun!"
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"
"Flower Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirling Peach!"
The three Hashira erupted with startling momentum once again, lunging toward Doma.
Flames, water, and flower petals wove into a great web of death in the night sky, trapping Doma firmly within.
However, facing this terrifying attack that could instantly grind a Lower Rank demon into mincemeat, Doma merely let out a bored yawn.
"Oh my, how disappointing."
"One of the cute girls ran away; that makes me very sad."
The smile on Doma's face gradually faded, and a hint of cold killing intent finally surfaced in those rainbow eyes.
"Since you want to play so much, then I'll get a little bit serious."
"By the way, once I've turned you into ice sculptures, I'll go catch that little runaway cutie and eat her up."
Doma gripped his golden fans with both hands, crossing them in front of his chest.
The layer of ice on the ground spread frantically at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even the dust floating in the air was frozen into ice crystals.
"Blood Demon Art: Crystalline Mist - Lotus Bodhisattva!"
As Doma's words fell, the earth began to tremble violently.
Rumble—!
Under the shocked gazes of the three,
an incredibly massive statue of a Bodhisattva, carved entirely from crystal-clear ice, rose from the ground!
This Bodhisattva statue was dozens of meters tall.
Its eyes were closed, and its expression was benevolent.
Radiating from it was an extreme cold capable of freezing the soul.
Around the Bodhisattva, giant ice lotuses bloomed one after another.
Each lotus emitted a deadly chill.
"Cough... so cold... my lungs... are going to freeze..."
Even breathing became difficult for Tomioka Giyu, and the flow of his Water Breathing became extremely sluggish.
"Don't shrink back! Set your heart ablaze!"
Rengoku Shinjuro frantically pushed his Flame Breathing, attempting to use the flames to dispel the chill,
but before the cold radiating from the Bodhisattva, his flames were like a candle in the wind, liable to be extinguished at any moment.
Kanae gritted her teeth, struggling to hold on.
She knew that once this Bodhisattva launched its attack, there was a high probability the three of them would not be able to win.
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