Bang!
"First Form: Unknowing Fire x 2!"
Two flames collided. These flames, born from the 'heart', were actually invisible to ordinary people.
Two Nichirin Blades clashed together.
"Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun!"
"Third Form: Blazing Universe!"
One move from bottom to top, one move from top to bottom, the two Nichirin Blades clashed again.
With a bang.
A broken blade fragment flew up.
"I lost."
Kyojuro Rengoku looked at the broken blade in his hand, then suddenly showed a brilliant smile and said to Yang Tao, "Yang Tao, you are the new Flame Pillar!"
Compared to the other Pillars, Kyojuro could honestly accept his defeat and would also deeply reflect on himself.
Yang Tao played with the Nichirin Blade in his hand, which glowed with an enchantment. He had temporarily solved some of the weaknesses of the Nichirin Blade, such as it becoming useless after one battle or breaking upon impact.
Hearing Kyojuro's words, Yang Tao smiled and said, "Kyojuro, you are being too casual. If defeating you makes one the Flame Pillar, then the Flame Pillar would be too cheap..."
"No, you use Flame Breathing even more skillfully than I do. I can't even hear your breathing..."
Yang Tao chuckled upon hearing this and explained, "I don't breathe at all during combat. This helps me concentrate better."
Holding his breath, adjusting his state; the only difference between him and others was that he could hold his breath indefinitely.
Oxygen? I'm not underwater!
"Huh?"
The handsome Kyojuro was stunned by Yang Tao's explanation. He didn't even say thank you when the Villagers took his Nichirin Blade for repair.
"Hold my breath?"
This completely went against the theory of breathing techniques.
Breathing techniques were a general term for skills developed by Yoriichi Tsugikuni to allow humans to fight against demons.
Their main function was to strengthen cardiopulmonary function, thereby allowing the blood to absorb a large amount of oxygen in a short time, which could instantly and greatly increase physical ability, temporarily granting physical prowess comparable to that of a demon.
Yang Tao's not breathing left him speechless.
"Don't overthink it. Those who imitate me live, those who copy me die."
Yang Tao patted Kyojuro's shoulder: "Come on, since you lost, let's draw some blood first..."
Kyojuro nodded slightly, and the prepared researchers led him to a chair nearby to begin drawing blood.
It wasn't much, just 400cc. Given the amount of blood lost in daily battles for the Demon Slayer Corps, this amount of blood would not have any impact.
Moreover, he specifically asked for two Chanseys to supplement Kyojuro.
"Sir Yang, do you really have the confidence to research a cure that turns demons back into humans?"
This was also why Kyojuro was so cooperative. He saw the busy laboratory.
The dozen or so demons serving as experimental materials, as well as the fleshy, spherical Muzan.
It made him understand that the two sides were not enemies. As for the Demon Slayer Corps members who were used as guinea pigs, they were not killed, but merely voluntarily participated in the research.
"Cure?"
Yang Tao, who was cooking a happy egg, laughed when he heard Kyojuro's words: "My main focus is enhancing various effects of demons and counteracting the flaws in their genes."
"As for the cure, that's at most a bonus product. It won't be long before the cure..."
At this moment, the researcher who was drawing Kyojuro's blood looked up at Yang Tao and said, "Boss, with all the data provided by Ms. Tamayo, the inhibitory serum and detoxification serum have been successfully developed..."
Tamayo developed a cure that turns demons back into humans in the later stages of Demon Slayer, which means her research direction had no problems.
Coupled with dozens of biological geniuses and Kabuto, who was temporarily transferred from the Naruto World, it seemed that developing the cure in a day or two was not a problem either.
"Uh, alright."
Yang Tao pouted, then dismissed the serum matter from his mind. Turning demons into humans held no appeal for him.
What was crucial was making demons eliminate all weaknesses, strengthening their physical bodies dozens of times over, and controlling their Blood Demon Arts.
That's what he thought, but Kyojuro was completely stunned by this sudden news.
"This... This is solved?"
"Then what else do you want? Do you want to go through immense hardship to defeat Muzan and destroy the Infinity Castle to obtain an invaluable cure?"
Yang Tao scooped out the cooked happy eggs and placed them on a plate nearby. High-end ingredients often only require the simplest cooking methods.
"Don't be silly. I'm just too lazy to look for Muzan. Otherwise, I would have caught him and made him a test subject long ago."
Clunk...
A thought that Kyojuro couldn't believe surfaced in his mind. He looked up at Yang Tao and asked, "Do you know who that fleshy sphere underground is?"
"Isn't he one of the Twelve Kizuki? He's the first test subject I caught from outside for my lab. Others still look like humans, but he just looks like a ball of flesh..."
The first test subject caught?
Kyojuro took a deep breath, feeling his Flame Breathing proficiency improve again.
"That's Muzan..."
Yang Tao, who was peeling an eggshell, paused, but only for a second, then continued peeling the happy egg in his hand and said in an indifferent tone, "That's Muzan? I remember Muzan being quite handsome..."
"Never mind, it's not important anymore. I've completely emptied his soul. Even if he's Muzan, now he's just 'miserable' (a play on words for Muzan's name)..."
Muzan's regenerative ability was very strong; basically, all experimental materials were cut from his body.
"A supplement after blood donation, I guarantee you've never had it before..."
He handed the other happy egg to Kyojuro, who had finished drawing blood and walked over.
"Sigh, I knew Muzan wasn't strong, but I didn't expect him to be this weak..."
Kyojuro: "..."
The Demon Slayer Corps has been fighting this guy for a thousand years. We weaker guys are truly sorry.
"Kyojuro, please tell the Demon Slayer Corps that I have no ill will towards you, but if you come to my door as experimental material, then I can only accept with a smile..."
Since Muzan was gone, all that was left were some small fry. Since Yahaba could bring Muzan back, then other demons would naturally be no problem.
Looking at the Villagers walking over, he held the repaired Nichirin Blade in his hand.
"Kyojuro, your sword is ready. If there's nothing else, you can leave."
Kyojuro looked at Yang Tao upon hearing this and said, "What about the cure...?"
"Cure? What do you want that for? Muzan is already here as a test subject, and other demons will be caught by my people. What use is a cure when there are no demons?"
Yang Tao stared at Kyojuro suspiciously.
Hearing his words, Kyojuro finally realized.
Muzan had been captured, so no new demons would be born in the future. In other words, with each demon killed, there would be one less.
It seemed... their Demon Slayer Corps was about to be unemployed.