"I was so foolish, truly. I only knew that I should use Breathing to enhance my strength and speed, allowing me to use Danku to its fullest extent. I didn't realize that the nichirin blade also needed to be reinforced…" Fang Hao was now stuck in a Xianglin Sao-like state, unable to extricate himself.
Tanjiro looked helplessly at Fang Hao. This state, which Fang Hao called "emo," had been Fang Hao's constant companion throughout their journey.
Tanjiro was not one to gloat, and he could empathize, but seeing Fang Hao in this state always made him feel that it was a bad omen. He resolved never to fall into such a state himself.
"But it's understandable, after all, Fang Jun's blade became like that." Fang Hao had shown him the nichirin blade before. Remembering how a beautiful nichirin blade had become so pitted and uneven, Tanjiro couldn't help but shiver. He resolved to cherish his own blade, though he felt a bit sorry for Fang Hao thinking this way; he really didn't want his blade to end up like Fang Hao's.
Fortunately, Fang Hao was currently in an emo state and unaware of Tanjiro's thoughts. Otherwise, he would surely feel wronged and start complaining, "How dare you, the 'Broken Blade Prince,' say that about me?"
In truth, Fang Hao's emo state wasn't due to how much he cherished his nichirin blade. He had never considered himself a pure Swordsman; to him, a blade was merely a Tool. If there were a better, more suitable Tool, he wouldn't mind using something else, even an axe or a hammer, despite how it might affect his aesthetic.
After all, he used a blade because of his Swordsmanship Prodigy talent. Breathing could be adapted to other weapons, such as the hammer used by the Stone Pillar or the chains used by the Sound Pillar, and so on.
What truly plunged him into this emotion was his oversight. This oversight wasn't about him slashing at the Temari Demon's head, but rather his true oversight was not considering the protection of his blade.
"Sasaki Kojiro's sword even interfered with parallel worlds, and nothing happened to it! Why did this nichirin blade end up like this?" He thought about it and still felt that his own realm was insufficient. Yang Guo could turn a blade of grass or a tree into a sword, yet his nichirin blade dulled after killing a demon. It must simply be that his understanding of Swordsmanship was not enough.
Understanding this, Fang Hao returned to normal. In short, he just needed to keep working hard.
Fang Hao and his mission was to "investigate the demon sightings in Asakusa, Tokyo," which could be considered a complete success. More than just a success, Fang Hao even felt it wouldn't be excessive for a few Pillars to bow to them. What was supposed to be an investigation into demon sightings was forcibly turned into a mission to discover the Demon King's hidden abode.
Of course, given Muzan's usual behavior, he would likely move and hide elsewhere, but that was no longer Fang Hao's concern. Tanjiro tied the message of the Demon King's appearance in Asakusa, Tokyo, to his Kasugai Crow's leg and sent it back to the Demon Slayer Corps.
As for Fang Hao's Tool Bird, although it was late, the Kasugai Crow had no labor protection laws to protect it. He directly ordered the Tool Bird to send back the news that his blade was broken. Although the Tool Bird complained a lot, Fang Hao clearly didn't care. Is there a problem with a worker making things difficult for a Tool Bird? No problem.
The two, not yet having received their next mission, also embarked on their journey home, which could be considered a vacation.
Although they didn't live in the same house, their paths were somewhat aligned, so they traveled together.
Along the way, the two diligently trained without ceasing. Besides eating and sleeping, they were either traveling or training.
This was their consistent belief: maintain a certain amount of daily training to keep their bodies in peak condition. If a Swordsman doesn't train for too long, their sword will dull. Of course, Fang Hao's sword did dull, in the literal sense.
Of course, the most important training along the way was Sun Breathing. After some attempts, Tanjiro discovered that his family's ancestral Hinokami Kagura Dance was indeed Sun Breathing; that scorching feeling, like the sun, could not lie.
Tanjiro not only familiarized himself with Sun Breathing but also taught Sun Breathing to Fang Hao. The two learned Sun Breathing together on the road.
After some time, Fang Hao also returned to Peach Mountain.
"Old man, I'm back!" Fang Hao called out before even seeing Kuwajima Jigorou.
"Brat, you're back, so why are you so loud!" Kuwajima Jigorou was still the same, looking serious when he saw someone. "Are you greeting me, the old man? Or are you greeting the house?"
"It's all the same." Fang Hao waved his hand. He felt very relaxed on Peach Mountain. Although he didn't put most of the demons outside in his eyes, he really didn't feel as comfortable outside as he did on Peach Mountain. Perhaps he had long considered Peach Mountain his home.
"Why are you back again? Have you become complacent because you haven't encountered any demons in your recent missions?" Kuwajima Jigorou frowned and asked.
Fang Hao pouted, directly translating: "Is the old man worried that I'll encounter trouble while slaying demons?"
"Don't worry, I'm fine."
"I never said that!" Kuwajima Jigorou was furious, his beard bristling and his eyes wide.
"Stop being stubborn." Fang Hao had long seen through this old man. When he first arrived, due to a lack of security, he over-completed his training every day. Then, after a few days, the old man scolded him, saying he wasn't following the training plan or something.
Later, after Zenitsu translated, Fang Hao understood that the old man was subtly expressing concern. That's when Fang Hao completely saw through the old man.
"I won't have any missions for a while. My blade is broken," Fang Hao said casually.
"As a Swordsman, it's unacceptable not to cherish your blade. You must also pay attention to your blade when slaying demons."
Translation: Be careful when slaying demons, pay attention to your safety.
"Got it. I just cut too hard and accidentally broke the blade; I wasn't in danger."
Kuwajima Jigorou was speechless upon hearing Fang Hao's words. He had lived for so many years and had never seen such a situation. He had only seen demons break blades, never a person breaking a blade by cutting too hard. It seemed his experience was limited.
"Time to train." Fang Hao also took advantage of this leisure time to resume training. This time, he found a river. He wanted to train in the river. This was mimicking Yang Guo training in the ocean tides of the East Sea, but Fang Hao had no internal energy, and his physical quality wasn't that good, so he definitely couldn't train in the ocean tides, let alone there was no sea nearby.
In this way, practicing swordsmanship underwater could both improve his swordsmanship and enhance his physical fitness, as well as train his Breathing.
He had never thought of such a good method before, which was a pity. Perhaps after having a training method, he became too complacent and lacked his own ideas. Although following the routine is not a bad thing, sometimes having more of one's own ideas might be better.
It might also be a mindset. When learning Breathing in the Demon Slayer World, he naturally thought of integrating Breathing, and thus worked towards that direction. He began to familiarize himself with Breathing, and then started integrating it after obtaining other Breathing techniques, which also led him to not think about other things.
But no matter what, Fang Hao still began practicing swordsmanship underwater.