Sanemi Shinazugawa instantly leaped up, unleashing five sharp, azure Wind Blades from above towards Shinobu Kocho.
The Wind Blades spun at an incredibly high speed, instantly forming a tornado resembling a small meat grinder.
Upon sensing the oppressive force emanating from Shinobu Kocho, he decided to go all out as a sign of respect.
"You're amazing, Mr. Shinazugawa." Shinobu Kocho moved her feet like a dancing Butterfly, easily dodging the spinning Wind Blades: "The old me would have never been able to dodge so easily."
As she spoke, she twisted her foot, instantly appearing beside Sanemi Shinazugawa, swinging her wooden sword directly at his arm.
"So fast! My eyes can't keep up!" Sanemi Shinazugawa's hair bristled, and he gritted his teeth tightly, straining to bring his sword back to parry, barely blocking the strike as it hit his arm.
Whack!
However, the force transmitted was far greater than his arm strength, directly pushing his sword back, causing him to lose his balance.
"Her strength has grown so much!" Sanemi Shinazugawa's feet left the ground, and he instinctively twisted his body, flipping twice in mid-air before landing on the ground.
But before he could stabilize, a nerve in his neck pulsed with pain, a warning from his body. He quickly tilted his head back as the wooden sword sliced past above him.
"Wind Breathing! Third Form: Clear Storm Wind Tree!"
Sanemi Shinazugawa's voice was somewhat strained as he shouted.
His body spun rapidly, and three Wind Blades instantly slashed out, attempting to force back Shinobu Kocho, who was already close.
But in Shinobu Kocho's eyes, Sanemi Shinazugawa's attacks were not fast; she could easily dodge them.
'My body feels so light, my strength has increased so much, and my speed and reactions are so fast.'
'And it feels like I have endless energy.'
Mr. Shinazugawa is stronger than me, so my base abilities were directly corrected to be the same as Mr. Shinazugawa's. At the same time, my hatred further boosted my physical attributes, thus directly surpassing Mr. Shinazugawa in base stats.
Finally, with the addition of the 'Swordsmanship Master' skill, which increased my burst power and swing speed, it became a complete Rolling .
"However, because the power surge was sudden, my accuracy and power control are very poor." Shinobu Kocho also discovered some drawbacks that appeared when the skill increased her power.
However, these drawbacks will gradually disappear as she continuously adapts to her rapidly increasing power.
Sanemi Shinazugawa also noticed the stiffness in the Insect Pillar's sword swings and quickly found an opportunity to regain his footing, using all the forms of Wind Breathing with all his might to counterattack.
Whack! Whack! Slash—
Their exchange instantly kicked up a large amount of dust, with each clash raising some dirt.
Azure and purple sword lights continuously intertwined and flashed within the vision-obscuring dust.
Even the ground was trembling slightly, and explosive sounds occasionally erupted.
Their speed was so great that even the Hashira present were somewhat dazed.
"The moment they clashed, the Wind Pillar was suppressed!" Uzui Tengen's eyes widened: "The Insect Pillar's speed and sword-swinging speed are so fast!"
Kyojuro Rengoku's eyes constantly darted, staring intently at the movements of the two combatants, his expression serious: "Her strength is also immense! With every exchange, the Wind Pillar is struggling to maintain his balance and avoid being sent flying!"
"And the Insect Pillar hasn't even used a sword form yet, only relying on her normal breathing."
Iguro Obanai: "In other words, the Insect Pillar isn't serious at all. If this were a life-or-death battle, Shinazugawa would be instantly killed the moment they clashed."
Speaking of this, he looked at Gyomei Himejima, who had his hands clasped and was twirling his prayer beads.
According to the Insect Pillar's description, she has only just received the Blessing, and her base abilities are all zero, yet she can already rival the Stone Pillar. If her base abilities were updated, there's no doubt that even the Stone Pillar could be suppressed.
No! Perhaps even now, besides skills, there's also magic. Even if she falls into a disadvantage, as long as she uses magic, she can instantly return to a perfect state, and all injuries will disappear. With this ebb and flow…
Mitsuri Kanroji rubbed her eyes with both hands: "So fast, Miss Butterfly's speed is so fast, my eyes can't keep up!"
Mr. Shinazugawa has been suppressed the entire time, how pitiful.
Shinazugawa's pride must be hurt now, how pitiful! I'm so worried.
The battle lasted for ten minutes, with Sanemi Shinazugawa being suppressed throughout, while Shinobu Kocho was adapting to her rapidly increasing power. Sanemi Shinazugawa wasn't foolish; he could also tell he was being used as a whetstone.
He wasn't angry at all; on the contrary, he was very happy. Shinazugawa felt that he would definitely make progress under such high-intensity combat.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph…" Sanemi Shinazugawa's breathing was ragged, and the wooden sword in his hand was broken. He grinned at Shinobu Kocho, whose clothes weren't even wrinkled: "You're amazing; I used all my strength and couldn't even force out a single sword form."
Shinobu Kocho smiled gently: "Mr. Shinazugawa is also very impressive."
"Although I lost terribly, I also gained something." Sanemi Shinazugawa twisted his aching muscles.
"If Mr. Shinazugawa were to receive a Blessing, the skills he'd gain would surely be incredibly powerful," Shinobu Kocho said.
Sanemi Shinazugawa casually tossed the broken wooden sword in his hand to the ground: "I don't have the same opportunity as you, Insect Pillar."
Although the Hashira envied the power Shinobu Kocho gained after receiving the Blessing, it wasn't something that could be forced.
Shinobu Kocho smiled and said: "Everyone here is more excellent than me. Lord Xia Wei might also bestow Blessings upon you all."
"So, let's all go to pay our respects to Lord Xia Wei tomorrow."
Although it might seem a bit presumptuous, Lord Xia Wei must surely be looking forward to talents like her.
After all, in the Divine Realm, Lord Xia Wei has no priestesses or divine officials by his side.
The Hashira were stunned.
"Are we also going to pay our respects to that deity?"
"Is this really alright? After all, that's a true god."
Shinobu Kocho smiled and said: "Lord Xia Wei is the God of Destiny. It must be destined for everyone to want to pay Him respects."
Upon hearing this, the Hashira exchanged glances, seeing the fervent desire in each other's eyes.
Meeting a true deity, and potentially receiving a 'Favor of God'—it was impossible not to have thoughts about it. Although they had thoughts, these thoughts were all positive: protecting more people, eradicating all demons in the world, and so on.
Next, under the arrangement of Amane Ubuyashiki, the Hashira began preparations for their audience with the deity.
Amane Ubuyashiki, being the daughter of a family of divine officials, was extremely serious about meeting a deity.
As swordsmen who were only skilled at wielding swords, being asked to perform these folk customs instantly made them flustered.
...
Meanwhile, in the Divine Realm.
A projection screen was broadcasting the events happening in the Demon Slayer Corps in real-time, and Xia Wei watched with great interest.
As long as someone possessed a 'Favor of God,' he could use the 'Favor of God' as a monitor.
Of course, he didn't have a habit of peeking; he was merely concerned about the safety of his dependents, so he could be ready to intervene and save lives at any moment.
Whether others believed it or not, he certainly did.
"Shinobu is so clever; she can even understand my hints."
Speaking of this, Xia Wei looked up at the sky: "I have to say, you, the world will, are quite useless; you couldn't even deal with a mere Muzan in a thousand years."
"So, now that the Hashira have been bestowed with Blessings, the real show begins. I hope Muzan doesn't get too scared all at once, hehe."
Because after tomorrow, there will be nine humans as strong as Tsugikuni Yoriichi, nine of them.