Chapter 220: 220: The Unreached Realms
Reiger hadn’t forgotten the purpose of his visit to this world and the successive trips he made through Dimensional Travel.
It was to level up and acquire the strength needed to be called a Sword Saint in the continent of Akasha.
Unfortunately, this world did not have a formidable opponent that could help Reiger achieve greatness, including the two demons that had previously sparked a slight interest in him.
The Upper Moon One, Kokushibou, was very strong, but he was only a Lv.5.
Kibutsuji Muzan was very strong, but even after consuming thousands of people and gaining sufficient enhancement, he was still merely a Lv.6.
Such demons were indeed powerful to the rest of this world, but to Reiger, who could take down a Lv.6 even before coming to this world, they were somewhat less impressive, let alone after he had upgraded the Sun Breathing technique and gained the stable ability to surpass one level of combat power.
So, even after engaging in a fierce battle with Kibutsuji Muzan, Reiger still managed to kill him unscathed.
As a result, Reiger’s plans to gain significant level upgrades in this world naturally went down the drain.
If it weren’t for the somewhat magical breathing styles of this world, and if Reiger hadn’t brainstormed, combining the breathing techniques from two different worlds and merging them, thus evolving the Sun Breathing and obtaining power on par with Lv.7, the gains from this Dimensional Travel might not have met Reiger’s expectations.
Reiger even planned to spend the next half month relaxing, which clearly showed he truly had no way to find a further opportunity in this world.
But now, the opportunity had appeared.
Tsukiguni Yoriichi, the true ceiling of this world, the most powerful and terrifying swordsman who nearly killed Kibutsuji Muzan hundreds of years ago in an instant.
If it was him, would he be able to put pressure on himself, pose a threat?
Thinking of this, a fighting spirit finally surfaced in Reiger’s eyes.
"Would you honor me with a duel?"
Thus, Reiger challenged the greatest swordsman of the Warring States period.
"..."
Tsukiguni Yoriichi did not reply immediately but looked at Reiger, his eyes seemingly piercing through Reiger as if they could see right through him.
Those eyes could not be described as wise, but they were incredibly clear, as if they truly could see through one’s heart.
Looking into those eyes, Reiger felt that the world seen by this man was indeed different from that of others.
Because Yoriichi had understood the world on his own since childhood, the world he saw was always different from others, which was why his demeanor remained so calm and enlightened, like someone who had seen through the mundane and was unbound by the secular world.
If it were not for the existence of a demon like Kibutsuji Muzan, perhaps Yoriichi would have truly seen through the secular world and become a saint.
After watching Reiger for a while, he finally nodded his head.
"If it would be of assistance to you, I’d be glad to."
Yoriichi agreed.
"Zing..."
Reiger did not speak again but silently drew his hermit sword.
If there had been someone there who had witnessed all of Reiger’s battles until now, he would have been surprised.
After all, whether facing Kokushibou or Kibutsuji Muzan, or those so-called Upper Moon demons and Pillar-level swordsmen, Reiger never drew his sword before the battle began.
He always moved after his opponent attacked, immediately drawing his sword and beheading them in an instant.
To draw his sword before the battle started, preparing for combat, might truly be the first time.
And this signified that Reiger would put his entire heart and soul into this battle, putting forth his full strength.
Facing the true ultimate being of this world, if even Yoriichi couldn’t make him go all out, then he really had no hope of achieving greatness.
Therefore, in this battle, Reiger would unleash all his tricks, fighting to the end.
Such determination set his eyes ablaze with flames, filled with intensity and a sharp gleam.
In contrast, Yoriichi, though he too had drawn his sword, emitted not even a hint of aura from his body, like an ordinary person, unremarkable at a glance.
Seeing such a Yoriichi, Reiger suddenly understood the feelings Kibutsuji Muzan must have had upon their first meeting.
Even he almost felt that the swordsman before him was just an ordinary man, a mere mortal, not worth his full, concentrated effort to battle seriously—let alone Muzan.
Yoriichi, who had self-taught clarity of the world from a young age, had perfected the closure of his own aura and fighting spirit, making it imperceptible to anyone that this unremarkable swordsman was in fact a terrifying presence who could easily kill the progenitor of demons with his human strength.
If one could not rouse their fighting spirit and activate the battle intent in their heart, giving full attention, they would surely lose track of Yoriichi’s figure in an instant and be slain by a single stroke of his blade.
That’s how Muzan had met his terrible defeat.
Reiger naturally would not make the same mistake.
However...
"Swoosh!"
Suddenly, the figure that had been standing in the distance appeared right in front of Reiger.
Even though Reiger was fully focused and his fighting spirit was aroused, he still lost sight of Yoriichi’s figure.
All he saw was a blur, and the Sword Saint of the sun was already before him.
The next moment, a fiery slash came swinging, aimed at his body.
"...!"
Reiger’s pupils shrank, and without thinking, he pressed his foot against the ground, exploding with flames beneath his feet. His entire form flickered like a heat haze, transforming into the illusory mirage of a sea market, and he burst away from his original position.
Sun Breathing Fourth Form· Illusory Sun Rainbow!
From the start, Reiger was forced to use a sword technique from Sun Breathing!
The Swordsman’s slash only cut through Reiger’s afterimage, while Reiger himself, flickering like a shimmering mirage, appeared in the distance.
"Impressive reflexes," Tsukiguni Yoriichi finally sheathed his sword and stood upright, praising, "You really have mastered Sun Breathing quite exquisitely. Just with this form alone, I can’t say I could use it better than you."
This was an affirmation from the founder.
Yet, Reiger felt no joy at all.
He just stared intently ahead, at Tsukiguni Yoriichi, and noticed a strand of his hair had floated down, cut perfectly at the end.
Yes.
His hair had been trimmed.
In other words, he had almost been struck by that last strike.
"...So you’re really that strong, huh?"
Reiger knew Tsukiguni Yoriichi was formidable.
Even hundreds of years ago, when Kibutsuji Muzan in his prime wasn’t as strong as he is today, Yoriichi was suspected of being able to reach the power level of Lv.6 as the King of Demons. Yoriichi was able to instant-kill Muzan, and although part of it was because Muzan was misled by Tsukiguni Yoriichi’s transparent world and didn’t take this opponent seriously, there was also the fact that Yoriichi had spontaneously comprehended the thirteenth form of Sun Breathing. Nevertheless, this proved that Yoriichi’s strength was definitely far beyond that of Muzan at that time.
Therefore, in Reiger’s view, Tsukiguni Yoriichi might have already reached the limit of Lv.6, only a step away from Lv.7.
Such power, pushed by various factors, made it not impossible to instantly kill Kibutsuji Muzan, who was suspected to possess the power of Lv.6 but hadn’t reached the upper echelons like he has today.
But based on the power Tsukiguni Yoriichi displayed at this moment, his strength was definitely not just at the limit of Lv.6.
He was Lv.7.
Absolutely Lv.7.
Incredible!
While Reiger thought so, he was unaware of one thing.
"While alive, I never reached the realm I am in now."
Looking at Reiger, Tsukiguni Yoriichi smiled faintly at him.
"It’s all thanks to you that I’ve taken a step further after death. This feeling is indeed wonderful," he said.
At those words, Reiger was stunned.
All thanks to him?
What did that mean?
Reiger was puzzled.
Until, Reiger realized, the way Tsukiguni Yoriichi was breathing seemed different from before.
No, it wasn’t just the way of breathing.
Through the transparent sight of the transparent world, Reiger could clearly see that with each of Tsukiguni Yoriichi’s breaths, his muscles, internal organs, blood vessels, blood, and even every cell appeared to be infused with immense power.
"...!"
Suddenly, Reiger understood.
"You... have you learned my breathing technique?"
Reiger looked at Tsukiguni Yoriichi with a face full of astonishment.
Indeed, Tsukiguni Yoriichi was not using the original Sun Breathing he had created, but the Sun Breathing that Reiger had evolved by integrating the principles of the breathing techniques of two worlds!
"I witnessed the entire process of your improvement of Sun Breathing."
Yoriichi nodded slightly, openly acknowledging it.
"I must say, you are very imaginative and bold, to have evolved a breathing technique that originally could only enhance cardiopulmonary function and accelerate blood flow, thus indirectly enhancing physical abilities to such an extent. You’ve strengthened every organ, every muscle, every drop of blood, even every cell in the body, thoroughly enhancing the human form. This truly broadened my horizons," he said.
"You’ve even integrated some kind of power within your body that I cannot comprehend into the bloodstream, further enhancing the power of the breathing technique. When I saw all this, I almost thought the ’world’ in my eyes had gone mad."
"This is a great innovation. Sun Breathing has thus transformed into a power of another dimension, remarkable."
Yoriichi smiled at Reiger once more.
"So, I attempted it myself and succeeded, although not like you, being able to mobilize some mysterious force within to join in the blood circulation. I still managed to achieve enhancement in every part of the body, every cell."
In other words, even though Tsukiguni Yoriichi was dead, he had evolved the Sun Breathing technique just like Reiger had, inspired by him.
Even without stirring up the Magic Power inside like Reiger, able to circulate it through his blood, Yoriichi still achieved a uniform enhancement throughout his body.
And so, he stepped into a new realm.
He stepped into the realm that Reiger had referred to as "Lv.7," which he had not reached in life.