NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 179: Ten Years Later
Time flew by like an arrow, the sun and moon like shuttles. Bit by bit, time passed, and before they knew it, ten years had flowed by.
Asakusa City had now returned to its former prosperity, and even surpassed it.
Tall buildings rose from the ground, their neon lights dazzling and making the night brighter than the day. Many changes emerged, advancing with each passing day.
And the legends of Demons and Demon Hunters never died out.
Because within Asakusa City, there were indeed many Demons residing and hiding.
The new Lower Moons were among them.
Because Hongyue wanted to establish a Demon empire after Kurozawa left, she spared no effort, intending to complete the preliminary preparations.
Swordsmen who had not yet fully matured but possessed exceptional talent, and were rightfully the protagonists of this world, were found by Kurozawa. Through various means such as coercion, temptation, and seduction, he developed them into Demons.
These individuals did not disappoint Kurozawa. In just a few years, they all reached the Upper Moon level. Especially the current Upper Moon One, Blazing Flame Kizuki, and Upper Moon Two, Thunder Kizuki, who in many aspects were no less than the original Kokushibo and Doma, and even slightly stronger.
However, suppressed by the peak powers of this world, Kurozawa and Hongyue, they couldn't cause any significant trouble.
As for Kurozawa himself, he had nothing to do in his leisure time and had also learned the Moon Breathing left behind by Kokushibo, as well as Thunder Breathing, Flame Breathing, Wind Breathing, and others obtained from some Swordsmen. He had even thoroughly studied Akaza's Destructive Kill and Compass Needle Domain.
Now, besides Hongyue, Kurozawa truly had no equal in the Demon Slayer World.
He was someone who enjoyed fighting. After reaching the peak, he felt somewhat less exhilarated than before. Only when intensely sparring with Hongyue could he feel a bit of the thrill of combat.
In addition, Hongyue's progress in cultivating Sun Breathing was faster than initially anticipated.
Beginner level was difficult, Total Concentration was difficult, but as each hurdle was overcome and her Demon body gradually adapted to Sun Breathing, Hongyue's understanding of Sun Breathing also increased accordingly.
Generally speaking, she should have been happy to be one step closer to an Immortal Body, but Hongyue's mood was clearly just average.
Because when she fully mastered the Immortal Body, it would also be the time for Kurozawa to let go and leave.
Even so, Hongyue did not deliberately slow down her training progress, but rather let nature take its course, training at the expected pace. Just as she had said before, she did not want to become Kurozawa's burden.
Early this morning, Kurozawa went to Mount Sagiri alone.
It was autumn now, and many trees in the mountain forests were a fiery red, interwoven with the orange-yellow sunlight falling from the sky, creating a beautiful scene.
At the summit of Mount Sagiri, Kurozawa sat on the edge of the cliff, gazing down.
Layer upon layer of mist enveloped the upper half of Mount Sagiri, with only the summit protruding from the fog layer, shimmering with fragmented gold under the rising sun's rays. Everything seemed hazy and dreamlike, not clearly visible.
Withdrawing his gaze, Kurozawa turned to look at the open space on the mountaintop.
The scattered boulders were already covered in thick green vines and moss. Beneath the moss, there seemed to be many indentations of various sizes and depths. If Swordsmen observed closely, they would find that these indentations were marks like fist prints, palm prints, and finger holes.
Before he had even left Mount Sagiri, Kurozawa often trained alone on the mountaintop, honing his body and strengthening his physique.
Memories flooded back; the days of the past were still vivid, but reality had changed, and things were no longer the same.
Now, what Kurozawa's eyes saw was a grave made of bricks and stones at the edge of the open space.
In front stood a stone tombstone with an inscription carved on it.
Grave of Sakonji Urokodaki, former Water Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps.
In this world, Sakonji Urokodaki was the only person Kurozawa felt guilt towards.
After looking deeply at the tombstone for a few moments, Kurozawa stood up, spreading his arms as if embracing the scorching sun, or perhaps attempting to encompass the sky in his embrace.
The sunlight fell upon him, brilliant and dazzling.
"Senior Disciple Danryu, long time no see."
A clear and pleasant voice rang out, but it no longer held that carefree emotion.
Makomo had reached the mountaintop and appeared before Kurozawa.
She and Sabito had become partners a few years ago and settled on Mount Sagiri, while their other junior disciples were scattered across the land, unable to gather together.
The Swordsmen of the Mount Sagiri lineage did not participate in the battle at Asakusa back then, and thus survived.
However, if Kurozawa had truly faced them, it would likely have been difficult for him to strike them down.
Kurozawa turned around and looked at this junior disciple, who had once been very close to him.
Her blue eyes had shed their childishness, and her brows conveyed maturity and steadiness, mixed with a hint of hardship.
"Yes, it's been a long time."
"Makomo, you still insist on calling me Danryu."
It had been a long time since anyone had called Kurozawa that. The name Danryu was already a blank space in the past.
Makomo spoke only one sentence, then stood in place, silent.
"What, still angry?" Kurozawa smiled slightly.
Makomo nodded, then hesitated and shook her head: "The Demon Slayer Corps is gone, it's all in the past."
Because Hongyue no longer casually developed low-level Demons, only wanting elites who were rational and could be controlled, Demons no longer attacked humans.
They were gathered in Asakusa, obtaining food through places like hospitals, biding their time, waiting for Hongyue's command.
There were also many high-ranking humans who, after learning that Demons could live forever, defected to Hongyue, hoping to gain the qualification to become elite Demons.
Of course, there were also people operating in the shadows, wanting to get rid of Hongyue.
However, generally speaking, the world has been much more peaceful for a while. Demons no longer ran rampant, and the remaining Swordsmen like Makomo gradually lost their purpose. Their spirit was gone, so the Demon Slayer Corps completely disappeared.
Kurozawa said, "That's not necessarily true. Similar organizations will appear soon."
The current calm was just the calm before the storm. As soon as he left, Hongyue would start fulfilling her vision. This world would once again descend into war, and it would be even more brutal than before.
That would be a true war.
But Kurozawa didn't stop her. If Hongyue liked it, he would let her. Moreover, he silently supported her.
However, he still needed to come and warn his former junior disciples like Makomo.
Otherwise, if Makomo and the others blocked Hongyue's path, Hongyue wouldn't kill them out of respect for Kurozawa, but imprisoning them or crippling their Breathing Technique was certain.
"What do you mean?" Makomo asked, confused.
Kurozawa answered calmly, playing the role of a riddle-maker.
"You'll know later."
"At that time, don't recklessly come down from the mountain."
Makomo was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "I understand."
She only said she understood, but didn't say whether she would listen. However, Kurozawa didn't care about that point either. He was just giving advice and leaving the choice to Makomo herself.
Afterward, Kurozawa left Mount Sagiri and returned to the bustling city of Asakusa.
After returning to the mansion, Hongyue's tangible Fighting Spirit leaped into view, becoming increasingly powerful, its aura climbing steadily.
At the same time, wisps of blazing Fighting Spirit fluctuations were mixed within, spreading rapidly. After about a hundred breaths, a clear layer of blazing color covered her crimson Fighting Spirit.
A familiar, homologous aura was keenly sensed by Kurozawa.
The Immortal Body, Hongyue had cultivated it successfully.
The next second, a red phantom broke through the roof, carrying surging power and charging straight towards him like a bolt of lightning.
Kurozawa didn't dodge or evade, punching straight out with his front fist.
*Bang!* Amidst the continuous roaring sounds, circles of air waves surged out, and all the glass products in the nearby rooms were instantly shattered into powder.
Kurozawa grabbed Hongyue's fist, the ground beneath his feet sank a layer, but his body remained motionless.
"Very strong Strength," Kurozawa praised.
"And you didn't take a step back either," Hongyue pouted, a little unhappy.
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