"Gyomei! Can you do something like this?"
After witnessing the destructive power of Su Yan's punch, Kagaya Ubuyashiki did not immediately answer his question. Instead, he looked gravely at the Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima, who was still crying and praying to the side.
Due to his frail and sickly nature since childhood, he lacked a clear understanding of the combat capabilities of Breathing Styles and swordsmen. Therefore, asking the strongest in the Demon Slayer Corps, the Stone Hashira, was definitely the right move.
"I am sorry, Master. I cannot do it."
Gyomei nodded in response. "This is simply not something that can be achieved with a mere Breathing Style. Even if I were to use my Nichirin Sword and execute the strongest form of Stone Breathing, it would be impossible to achieve such an effect."
"Is that so?"
Hearing Gyomei's definitive answer, Kagaya's breath hitched, and the gaze he directed at Su Yan grew fervent.
He had heard the story more than once—the tale of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the strongest swordsman of the Sengoku period who had created the Breathing Styles. That was the closest they had come to eliminating the Demon King, Muzan, in a thousand years.
Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, although the strongest swordsman Yoriichi had successfully defeated Muzan upon encountering him, he allowed the demon to escape. Not only that, but Yoriichi's older brother was subsequently turned into a demon by Muzan and killed the Master of the Demon Slayer Corps at the time. Yoriichi was subsequently expelled from the Demon Slayer Corps.
In the four hundred years since then, the Demon Slayer Corps had believed they would soon welcome a new Yoriichi to finally end their feud with Muzan.
Unexpectedly, let alone killing Muzan, the Hashira over the past four centuries only had records of killing the Lower Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki. As for the Upper Ranks, aside from replacements caused by internal battles among the demons themselves, the Demon Slayer Corps' kill count against them remained at zero! This even led to the grim conclusion that a single Hashira facing an Upper Rank demon would face certain death.
Now, right before his eyes stood a figure who might be comparable to Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Coupled with the reappearance of Sun Breathing, the strongest style created by Yoriichi, the thought that the millennium-long blood feud with Muzan might finally end in his hands made it impossible for him to contain his excitement.
A flush of color even crept onto his pale face.
A moment later, a violent fit of coughing erupted from his throat.
"Master!"
Seeing this, the members of the Demon Slayer Corps rushed forward to check on his condition.
"I am fine."
Kagaya gently raised a hand to stop them, then looked at Su Yan with utter seriousness. "Honored guest, are you truly certain that you possess the power to destroy Muzan?"
He trusted the Stone Hashira's judgment, but he wanted a definitive answer directly from Su Yan. As long as Su Yan could give him the answer he desired, he was willing to pay any price to ensure this opportunity to eliminate Muzan did not slip away.
"Of course!"
Su Yan stated it as a matter of fact. "I can guarantee that, aside from me, you will absolutely not find a second person in this world capable of dealing with Muzan."
Su Yan was highly confident. On one hand, this stemmed from his own strength. On the other hand, he knew that in the anime, the Demon Slayer Corps' ultimate victory over Muzan was actually the result of a combination of various unexpected factors.
First, after joining the Demon Slayer Corps, Tanjiro coincidentally encountered Muzan disguised as a human. This caused Muzan to casually create a demon to trigger a panic so he could escape. However, this demon was later taken in by Tamayo. During the final battle, the Demon Slayer Corps relied on this exact demon's Blood Demon Art to successfully restrain Muzan.
Next was the poison Tamayo specifically developed for Muzan, which drastically weakened his regenerative abilities during the fight. This prevented the restrained Muzan from splitting his body into eighteen hundred pieces and scattering to escape, just as he had done when he faced Yoriichi Tsugikuni four hundred years ago.
Finally, with their combat power greatly increased by awakening their marks, the Corps members worked together to kill him by striking along the twelve scars left on his body by Yoriichi's Sun Breathing.
Now, due to the butterfly effect caused by Su Yan, Nezuko had not turned into a demon, and Tanjiro had never caught Muzan's scent. It was uncertain whether Muzan would still create that demon with the SSR-tier Blood Demon Art, or if that demon would even be controlled by Tamayo. As for whether the Demon Slayer Corps could awaken their marks like in the anime, that was even more unpredictable.
"Good! Good!"
Kagaya's tone was agitated, his voice losing its usual gentleness and carrying a slight tremble. "Please state your request, sir. No matter how difficult it may be, the Demon Slayer Corps will do our utmost to fulfill it!"
"Well, don't be so tense."
Su Yan waved his hand and said casually, "I don't have any grand designs on your Demon Slayer Corps. Besides certain individuals, there isn't much here worthy of my attention."
'Certain individuals? Could he be referring to me?'
Shinobu Kocho's heart skipped a beat, though she didn't let it show on her face in the slightest.
"Furthermore, the requests I am about to make will not have any negative impact on the Demon Slayer Corps. On the contrary, they will be highly beneficial to you."
Unaware of Shinobu's reaction, Su Yan continued, "First, I want the Demon Slayer Corps to designate an area to house the demonized Kamado family members until they turn back into humans."
"What?!"
Hearing this, expressions of shock appeared on everyone's faces. Tanjiro couldn't care less about anything else and hurriedly asked, "Mr. Su Yan, is what you just said true? Can my mother and the others really turn back into humans?"
Su Yan did not answer him. Instead, he looked at Kagaya with a playful expression. "Mr. Ubuyashiki, you should be very aware of exactly why Muzan has been continuously creating man-eating demons for the past thousand years, shouldn't you?"
"The Blue Spider Lily! It is said to be a plant that can allow demons to overcome their weakness to sunlight." Kagaya answered with a solemn face. "But that is merely a legend. Muzan has searched for over a millennium without finding it, so I do not believe the Blue Spider Lily actually exists."
"No." Su Yan shook his head. "The Blue Spider Lily is actually real."
"What?!"
This time, even the usually composed Kagaya was thoroughly shocked. "How is that possible?"
Su Yan calmly explained, "The reason Muzan hasn't been able to find the Blue Spider Lily for a thousand years is because the ones searching for this plant are man-eating demons who cannot step into the light. The Blue Spider Lily, as it turns out, only blooms during the hottest days of the year, and it only blossoms briefly under the sun right at noon."
"I see, no wonder..."
Kagaya muttered. Then, a mocking laugh escaped his lips. "Hahaha, how truly ironic! A demon who cannot bear the light has searched for a thousand years, only to look for a plant that only blooms in the sunlight."
"So, is your goal to use the power of the Demon Slayer Corps to find the Blue Spider Lily, and then use it to become a more perfect demon than Muzan?"
Kagaya looked at Su Yan with a grave expression. As his words fell, the other Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps couldn't help but cast suspicious glares at Su Yan. They secretly placed their hands on the hilts of their Nichirin Swords. In an instant, the atmosphere grew incredibly tense, as if a battle could break out at any second.
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