"Is this the foundation of a former Pillar-ranked swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps? Or… is it that miraculous Breathing Technique?"
He pondered inwardly.
Just as Tanjiro's legs trembled, barely able to support his body, his consciousness began to blur, and he was on the verge of collapsing completely, Urokodaki Sakonji finally stopped.
He turned to the two of them and said, "Next, you will descend the mountain from here and reach my house at the foot of the mountain before dawn."
Before he finished speaking, a cold, viscous mist surged from all directions without warning, instantly engulfing their vision.
Luo En felt his vision blur, and when he focused again, Urokodaki Sakonji's presence and figure had vanished without a trace.
"Hoo…"
Luo En did not rush to act; instead, he leaned against a relatively flat rock, greedily savoring a moment of respite.
He hadn't rested at all on the way, and the day's exertion had almost drained him.
"Brother Luo En!"
Tanjiro's voice rang out in the fog, accompanied by an irrepressible gasp.
"Let's go together! We must… hurry down the mountain!"
Although the thick fog in the mountains made it easy to get lost, Tanjiro, relying on his keen nose, had memorized Urokodaki-sensei's scent, so the kind young man wanted to take Luo En down the mountain with him.
"You go first,"
Luo En's voice was calm.
"I need a little time. Don't worry, I can get down the mountain myself."
Luo En, breathing heavily against the rock, declined Tanjiro's offer.
This was no excuse. Since dusk, Luo En had felt a strange change.
The invisible shackles from this world, which had been restricting the magic power within him, seemed to have loosened slightly, as if he was slowly adapting to the rules of this world.
The magic power, once frozen solid, now flowed like a stream thawing in early spring; though still weak and cold, it had begun to move slowly.
"Then… alright!"
Tanjiro no longer insisted. Although he was also extremely tired, he still needed to make haste.
He no longer hesitated, took a deep breath, and tried to discern the wisp of Urokodaki-sensei's scent in the fog, rushing in that direction.
"Thump!" "Snap!"
Almost as soon as he took a few steps, the muffled sound of a triggered trap and the crisp snap of a taut rope, accompanied by Tanjiro's surprised cry, came one after another.
Luo En shook his head helplessly, no longer paying attention to Tanjiro's situation, and focused all his attention back on himself.
Although he still didn't seem to have any offensive or defensive abilities, he could at least extend his magic power to perceive his surroundings.
After a brief rest, his physical strength recovered somewhat, and Luo En stood up, closing his eyes, no longer purely relying on his vision.
With a slight thought, magic power, centered on him, quietly spread out like invisible ripples.
Within tens of meters around him, the thick fog seemed to have been peeled away, and everything appeared in his mind in a peculiar "sensory" form.
Taut tripwires, disguised pits, suspended logs… all the fangs lurking in the shadows were exposed.
This assessment consisted only of dense fog and traps set everywhere, which now posed virtually no difficulty for Luo En.
After a brief rest and some recovery of his physical strength, Luo En stood up and walked steadily into the fog.
He moved like a phantom, precisely bypassing all dangers, only seeing broken traps that had been triggered along the way—evidently all the "masterpieces" of the trailblazer, Tanjiro.
"This guy…"
A complex scrutiny, rather than mere sympathy, crossed Luo En's mind.
"He's truly risking his life to clear the path…"
Not long after, he caught up with the "trap magnet." Tanjiro was struggling to climb out of a deep pit, covered in mud and with scrapes on his face.
Tanjiro also noticed Luo En following him, but Luo En showed no signs of having fallen into a trap and continued down the mountain without pausing.
"So… so amazing!"
Tanjiro's eyes widened as he watched Luo En, who was heading down the mountain without triggering any traps, and he exclaimed from the bottom of his heart.
"No! If… if I keep falling into traps like this, I won't make it down the mountain by dawn!"
Tanjiro couldn't help but stop, slapped his cheeks hard, forcing himself to calm down. He closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing.
Utilizing his keen sense of smell, he identified various traps by distinguishing different scents. Although he couldn't identify and avoid all of them, his speed was significantly faster than before.
Luo En, on the other hand, clearly knew where each trap was and could easily avoid them.
By the time he reached the small house at the foot of the mountain, Tanjiro was still struggling on the mountain.
When Luo En pushed open the door and entered, Urokodaki Sakonji was preparing something by the hearth. Hearing the door, he paused slightly and slowly turned around.
Urokodaki Sakonji looked at Luo En, a flicker of imperceptible surprise in his eyes. He indeed hadn't expected Luo En to descend the mountain so quickly, and with his clothes tidy and his breathing steady.
However, Urokodaki Sakonji did not inquire further about Luo En's situation. He simply watched Luo En silently for a few seconds, then nodded slightly, signaling him to rest aside, and then turned back to continue what he was doing.
Afterward, Urokodaki Sakonji continued to prepare food, occasionally looking out the window to see if Tanjiro would also pass this test.
Time passed in silence, with only the crackling of burning firewood and the gentle simmering of soup in the pot.
It wasn't until the latter half of the night that a few stumbling footsteps were heard outside the house.
"Creak—"
The door was laboriously pushed open by a mud-stained hand.
Tanjiro, filthy all over and covered in scrapes, gasped at the doorway for a long while. His vision was already blurred, yet he used his last bit of will to utter the words:
"I… I… I'm back!"
With that, he could no longer hold on, leaning against the doorframe and about to collapse.
Luo En immediately stood up and stepped forward, steadily supporting Tanjiro's almost unconscious body, helping him into the house.
He didn't even manage to drink a sip of hot soup before falling into a deep sleep.
Urokodaki Sakonji watched Tanjiro, who, despite being covered in injuries and utterly exhausted, still persevered until he completed his trial before collapsing.
This made him take the letter from Tomioka Giyu seriously and earned his approval for the young boy.
The next morning!
Urokodaki Sakonji immediately began training the two of them to become Demon Slayers, explaining knowledge about demons and the selection criteria for becoming an official Demon Slayer.
He started their physical training, various trap training, and the most basic sword-swinging practice.
In the days that followed, Luo En truly experienced the harshness of the training on Mount Sagiri.
Daily physical training seemed to wring out their last ounce of strength; monotonous, repetitive sword-swinging practice made their arms swollen, numb, until they lost all sensation, only to recover briefly before facing a new round of torment.
Traversing the trap-filled mountain forest with Tanjiro tested their alertness and reactions, not just refining their bodies but also tempering their wills.
Once their fundamentals met Urokodaki Sakonji's requirements, he also began to teach them basic sword techniques.
Urokodaki Sakonji would also occasionally have the two of them spar against him in unwinnable matches to test their mastery.
However, even with swords in hand, there was little difference; they were still no match for an unarmed Urokodaki Sakonji.
Tanjiro was defeated in a single move, while Luo En, relying on his perception, could occasionally struggle for a moment or two.
Both of them couldn't help but marvel at how impossibly strong the old man was; even when both of them attacked together, Urokodaki Sakonji still seemed to handle it with ease.