Demon Slayer: Muzan, will you dance too?

Two!?

Are you kidding me?

Kiyokawa Izumi's expression changed slightly, but he did not turn around and run away.

Because he knew very well that there was absolutely no chance of escaping from the clutches of the two evil spirits.

At this moment, he felt an even stronger hatred for the original owner's overestimation of his abilities.

How dare you participate in the selection if you haven't mastered the breathing technique?

"Breathing techniques, in essence, are about using specific breathing rhythms to forcibly increase the oxygen intake of the lungs, stimulate blood circulation, and thus significantly improve physical fitness."

"Consciously control your breathing rate, rhythm, and depth."

Is this similar in principle to certain breathing methods from my past life?

Kiyokawa Izumi's brain was working at lightning speed at that moment.

You must master breathing techniques to improve your survival rate.

He suddenly remembered some videos he had seen in his previous life.

Take, for example, a karate routine that uses a similar abdominal breathing technique, which is centered around diaphragmatic breathing and involves inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth.

Inhale silently, unlike the usual shallow chest breathing, and let the breath sink into the lower abdomen. When exhaling, forcefully tighten all the muscles in your body and make a sound, thereby instantly improving core stability and explosive power.

Many traditional martial arts videos also emphasize the synchronization of breathing and movement, with the saying that one must exhale before punching.

In addition, some breathing movements during yoga seem to be similar.

A flood of fragmented memories flooded his mind, and Kiyokawa Izumi seemed to have a vague realization.

Of course, this is just an illusion.

In the previous two battles, although he had given his all, he had not made any special effort to control his breathing rhythm.

Recalling the scene of the original owner practicing breathing techniques, he began to rhythmically adjust his breathing.

This only happened in an instant.

While he certainly lacked confidence in his own abilities, to be fair, given his current state, the odds of winning against two evil spirits at the same time were truly slim.

Just then, a demon with long, jet-black hair suddenly leaped out of the forest, clearly intending to strike first.

"At least give me one leg! Don't even think about having it all to yourself!"

Following closely behind was the short-haired demon, which roared with a mixture of resentment and anger.

"Don't even think about it! He's mine!!"

The long-haired demon's body was extremely thin, but its arms were exceptionally long, and its legs were surprisingly powerful. With a light leap, it could jump four or five meters high.

Its speed appears to be much faster than the second-fastest.

"The speed is indeed very fast... but fortunately, with these eyes, it's still within the range of what I can see."

A life-or-death struggle can significantly improve a person's strength.

Kiyokawa Izumi became much calmer than before, and although he retreated repeatedly, he showed no sign of panic.

But the demon's long arm caught him off guard, with an attack range far greater than that of an ordinary person, and those slender claws. Kiyokawa Izumi hastily raised his Nichirin Blade, barely managing to block it with the help of its hard blade.

Long tracks were dragged across the muddy ground, and the carefully maintained breathing was interrupted, becoming rapid.

"You're much stronger than those humans, your flesh must taste much better, right?"

Saliva dripped down, and the long-haired demon stared at him greedily.

"I?"

"It said I'm very strong?"

Kiyokawa Izumi felt it was somewhat absurd.

The evil spirits trapped in the Vine-Covered Mountain are like frogs at the bottom of a well, unable to see the vastness of the world.

"Its speed is fast, but its strength is about the same as an adult man's... I can block it!"

Kiyokawa Izumi made a mental assessment, glancing at the back of the demon. The other demon had already been distanced, meaning that at this moment, he only needed to focus on dealing with the one in front of him.

Adjusting his posture, Kiyokawa Izumi gripped the hilt of the Nichirin sword tightly with both hands, silently reciting to himself.

Water Breathing - First Form: Water Surface Slash!

The taut muscles erupted at that moment, and a smooth, continuous slash was unleashed.

However, reality is not a novel.

Perhaps because he didn't shout out the name of the move, he failed to execute Water Breathing First Form.

That makes sense, there's no such thing as a simple matter.

The ability to silently recite the name of a move and unleash it is something that probably only exists in dreams.

It was just a normal sword swing, and the long-haired demon instinctively raised his arm to block.

Lacking sufficient strength and speed, the demon's arm was not severed, but merely scratched the surface of its skin.

But what's the point?

External injuries are never a problem for evil spirits.

After his first attack failed, Kiyokawa Izumi quickly distanced himself, feeling little disappointment.

As the second short-haired demon approached, beads of sweat began to drip from his forehead, and he was breathing heavily, but his concentration only increased.

"Perhaps I am indeed a bit stronger than those ordinary swordsmen."

Kiyokawa Izumi looked at the two evil spirits in front of him and said softly.

"If you want to kill me, one of you will probably die too."

"Who is the one?"

"Is it you, or is it still you?"

Kiyokawa Izumi doesn't actually like to talk nonsense during battles.

But isn't there no other way right now?

Isn't this because we can't win?

A verbal threat can be effective.

The brief exchange just now was enough to prove that he had the determination to fight, and was not the kind of coward who would turn and run away at the sight of a demon.

Killing him would indeed come at a price.

Even if you fight with all your might to kill him, his dying counterattack will severely injure the demon that killed him.

In this situation, how can one fight with the evil spirit beside them for his corpse?

Ghosts are not mindless beings.

They can understand the meaning behind Kiyokawa Izumi's words.

The long-haired demon paused slightly, its gaze lingering briefly on the injured arm.

"Go ahead! You can have this human!"

It turned to the demon beside it and said this.

"Huh? Are you kidding me?"

The short-haired demon looked at Kiyokawa Izumi with some apprehension, and at this moment, he also hesitated.

The selfishness of a ghost is on full display at this moment.

"So, who's going first?"

"Perhaps you can cooperate... as long as you trust each other... but can you truly trust each other completely?"

Kiyokawa Izumi sheathed his longsword, lowered his center of gravity slightly, and assumed a drawing stance.

Despite his relaxed tone, he was anything but relaxed when he said these things.

If a swordsman who has mastered the Breathing of Water technique were to pass by at this moment, he might gain something from those eyes.

"The mountain wind is so cold!"

With a soft sigh, he took a step forward, only to see the two evil spirits in front of him retreat simultaneously.

The strange balance made both the human and the two ghosts hesitant to make any rash moves.

But this is ultimately temporary.

Less than three minutes later, the desire to eat ultimately overwhelmed everything else.

The long-haired demon, unable to contain himself, made the first move.

It may be that it is very confident in its own abilities.

Or perhaps they were worried that if the stalemate continued, it would attract other ghosts, and they would end up with even fewer points.

If that one were to be attracted—a faint fear lurked in its scarlet eyes.