"What talents," Fang Hao couldn't help but exclaim as he recalled his sparring sessions with the Demon Slayer Corps' Pillars over the past few days. He had indeed learned a lot from these Pillars during that time.
Take Wind Pillar Sanemi Shinazugawa, for example; his wild and sharp sword skills gave Fang Hao a lot of inspiration. Although Sanemi Shinazugawa collapsed directly to the ground after their first fight, it was only because he was exhausted. He was eager to attack that day, or rather, his style was inherently offensive, leading to excessive stamina consumption.
While Fang Hao also specialized in Extreme Speed bursts, his consumption was much lower after integrating Water Breathing. Sanemi Shinazugawa, on the other hand, focused on forceful attacks, so it was not surprising that he was worn down by Fang Hao.
The sword techniques of the other Pillars also provided Fang Hao with many ideas, but the thought of integrating all breathing techniques into Thunder Breathing still felt distant. After all, he had only learned various breathing techniques in these few days, and it would take a considerable amount of time to thoroughly master them and then integrate them into Thunder Breathing.
However, Fang Hao's exclamation of "talents" was not just praising their abilities. After a few days of interaction, he had gained a certain understanding of the Demon Slayer Corps' Pillars, and he then realized that the Demon Slayer Corps was truly full of talented individuals, with hidden dragons and crouching tigers gathered together.
Stone Pillar Gyomei Himejima, who cried tears like rain and never stopped;
The irritable elder brother, Wind Pillar Sanemi Shinazugawa;
Love Pillar Mitsuri Kanroji, whose mind was full of romance;
The energetic young man and master of overthinking, Flame Pillar Kyojuro Rengoku;
Insect Pillar Shinobu Kocho, who seemed amiable but was actually two-faced;
Sound Pillar Tengen Uzui, whose actions and words were always extravagant;
Serpent Pillar Obanai Iguro, who was constantly sarcastic;
Mist Pillar Muichiro Tokito, who was always in a daze;
And the taciturn but narcissistic little prince, Water Pillar Giyu Tomioka, who thought he was very popular.
Looking at it this way, Fang Hao increasingly felt that the Demon Slayer Corps was truly overflowing with talent.
Fang Hao also became a Pillar during this time. He chose "Sound Pillar" over "Thunder Pillar," after all, his old man was Sound Pillar, and he also thought Sound Pillar sounded better.
In short, the Demon Slayer Corps went from nine Pillars to ten Pillars. Fang Hao's sparring sessions with the Pillars during these days not only allowed him to learn various breathing techniques but also made the Pillars aware of his strength. Coupled with his meritorious service in slaying a Twelve Kizuki, becoming the Sound Pillar was only natural.
However, what made Fang Hao happiest was that the title of Sound Pillar was recorded in the legendary compendium and truly became his title.
Title: Sound Pillar (Thunder Breathing provides a 10% enhancement bonus)
The bonus brought by this title made Fang Hao very satisfied, because his current merged breathing technique was also recognized as Thunder Breathing by the legendary compendium. Once he integrated all breathing techniques into Thunder Breathing, his strength would experience an explosive growth.
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Tanjiro's injuries were minor, and he was out of the Butterfly Mansion within a few days. After he recovered, Kagaya Ubuyashiki asked him to teach Sun Breathing to the Pillars, and Tanjiro readily agreed.
But the result was that no one could learn it. However, the Pillars did gain a lot of inspiration from Sun Breathing, and they believed that with time, their own breathing techniques would also advance further.
"Ah, damn it!" Inosuke Hashibira still refused to give up after several days of trying. The pursuit of the strongest power was his goal, and of course, he wouldn't miss the opportunity to learn Sun Breathing. "This isn't a breathing technique at all!"
Zenitsu, who was beside him, was also very frustrated. Sun Breathing made no sense to him at all.
Tanjiro originally wanted to teach Sun Breathing to all Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen at the headquarters, but Kagaya Ubuyashiki stopped him. He felt that Sun Breathing was very difficult to learn, and most Demon Slayer Corps members couldn't even master their own breathing techniques, so how could they learn Sun Breathing?
Moreover, Kagaya Ubuyashiki wanted to use Sun Breathing as one of the trump cards to slay Kibutsuji Muzan, and he would naturally protect Tanjiro, who inherited Sun Breathing. Information about Tanjiro and Sun Breathing naturally needed to be kept highly confidential. It wasn't that he didn't trust the Demon Slayer Corps members, but the more people there were, the harder it was to keep a secret, especially with the myriad of Blood Demon Arts. What if there was a Blood Demon Art that could interrogate? Therefore, caution was needed.
However, Tanjiro naturally trusted Inosuke and Zenitsu, after all, they were the ones who knew Nezuko before and had never wavered in their trust in Tanjiro because of it. So, Tanjiro taught them Sun Breathing.
"Tanjiro, is this really Sun Breathing? You're not tricking us, are you?" Zenitsu naturally trusted Tanjiro's character; he was just complaining.
"Even if you ask me that, what I taught is indeed correct. Fang Jun learned it," Tanjiro used Fang Hao's example to prove that what he said was true.
"Big Brother? Isn't it normal for Big Brother to learn it?" Zenitsu was truly discouraged during the time Fang Hao was learning, especially since Kuwajima Jigorou became much stricter with him during that period.
Compared to the time he spent learning breathing techniques, Fang Hao learned breathing techniques by the breath. In just a few breaths, he understood the breathing method of Thunder Breathing, and it was the same for sword techniques; after seeing it once, he could perform it perfectly. These were Zenitsu's personal experiences, so now that Tanjiro said Fang Hao could learn Sun Breathing, Zenitsu wasn't surprised at all.
"Speaking of which, why hasn't Big Brother come out recently?" Zenitsu asked curiously.
"Fang Jun said he wants to integrate all the advantages of all breathing techniques into Thunder Breathing. He should be in seclusion during this time," Tanjiro replied truthfully.
"As expected of Big Brother."
"As expected of Big Brother, I need to work hard too! I still want to surpass him!"
If Fang Hao were there, he would probably tell Inosuke to get his name right first.
Fang Hao was indeed in seclusion at this time, diligently studying breathing techniques. Actually, Fang Hao's initial idea was to merge all breathing techniques into a single "Void Breathing" technique, so that he could use whatever breathing technique he wanted.
But later he found that the difficulty of operation was too high, so he then had the idea of integrating the advantages of all breathing techniques into Thunder Breathing.
"Explosive, heavy, fiery, sharp..." Fang Hao recalled the many breathing techniques, using different ones over and over again. Gradually, he became immersed in them, forgetting everything else...
He felt as if he was in heaven and earth, and also as if he was swimming in the vast ocean. He was a speck of dust between heaven and earth, and also a wave in the boundless sea...
Numerous breathing techniques appeared and converged in his mind, seemingly merging together, yet also completely separating, even breaking down into more breathing techniques...
Finally, "I succeeded!" Even though Fang Hao was extremely confident in his talent, the joy of success made him unable to help but exclaim.
All breathing techniques, including Sun Breathing, had their various advantages now become a part of Thunder Breathing.
"If it weren't for the title bonus, I'd really want to change the name," Fang Hao couldn't help but sigh, and then his seclusion ended.
He also went to see Tanjiro and the others with a bit of a desire to show off. His good mood lasted for a long time, until...
"A mission?"