Chapter 313

"Huh?!"

Fushiguro Miroku immediately stood up, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins, glaring furiously at Luo En: "What did you just say?! I'm stupid? Where did I say anything wrong just now? Go ahead and explain! Yes, I'm no match for you, but whether it's me or every single member of the Demon Slayer Corps, we're all willing to die to kill Muzan Kibutsuji—yet you dismiss everything we are with just one sentence! Even jokes have limits, don't they?!"

"Miroku."

Fushiguro Miroku did not stop at Ubuyashiki Kyojuro's words; his bloodshot eyes locked onto Luo En, seated on the mat:

"You're just some outsider with unknown origins, acting like you know everything—so tell me, what exactly are you doing here at the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters?"

Luo En took a sip of wine, then slowly stood up.

"You really are an idiot."

Fushiguro Miroku's pupils shrank; he could no longer maintain his composure and instantly kicked out at him.

Luo En's eyes widened.

Brilliant light blazed from his azure eyes.

An invisible repulsive force erupted.

Fushiguro Miroku was instantly blasted backward like a cannonball, smashing through layer after layer of wooden walls and flying out of the room.

23, the Shocked Pillars

"!!"

Before the Pillars could react, they felt the air around them suddenly solidify—a crushing, weighty invisible pressure settled on their shoulders, paralyzing their spirits and making it hard even to rise.

The Pillars looked up in horror.

There stood the black-clad young man holding the silver-blue wine flask, his azure eyes looking down upon them like a god.

Koyoharu Gotouji stared at him, her heart reeling with shock.

Just by aura alone, he made the Pillars unable to stand… This man was truly not on their level.

He was as powerful as a god.

Among them, only Ubuyashiki Kyojuro, frail and sickly, was unaffected by the pressure.

Blind as he was, he still did not understand what had happened.

But he sensed something through the atmosphere.

"Mr. Luo En, are you angry?"

Ubuyashiki Kyojuro asked softly.

"A little. I don't like being insulted by fools—I've temporarily rendered him immobile."

Luo En said calmly: "When I called him an idiot, I wasn't referring to what he said—I meant he misunderstood my meaning."

"Your current strength truly cannot match Muzan Kibutsuji or the Twelve Kizuki, but strength can grow stronger—and Muzan Kibutsuji and the Twelve Kizuki can grow weaker."

Ikkyu Shobu's pupils narrowed.

The others' expressions also shifted slightly.

"Can our strength increase in a short time?"

Kanroji Mitsuri couldn't help asking.

Luo En looked at Koyoharu Gotouji: "Do you still remember what I told you about the Crimson Blade and the Demon Slayer Mark?"

Koyoharu Gotouji nodded dazedly.

Luo En said calmly to her: "As soon as one person awakens the Demon Slayer Mark, those around them will gradually awaken it too—and the Crimson Blade can be mastered quickly through instruction."

Koyoharu Gotouji's eyes slowly widened.

"Muzan Kibutsuji is currently sending demons to hunt down Tanjiro—if lower-rank demons die, the upper-rank demons may reveal themselves. Seize the opportunity—it's not impossible to eliminate the weaker upper-rank demons."

As Luo En spoke, he stepped forward to stand before Ubuyashiki Kyojuro, raised his right hand, and held it palm-down above his head.

Before the stunned, wide-eyed gaze of the Pillars:

A gentle rain of green light streamed from Luo En's palm, falling over Ubuyashiki Kyojuro's entire body; his grotesque, terrifying scars healed at a visible, rapid pace.

Ubuyashiki Kyojuro, blind from illness, felt an unprecedented sense of comfort in his body; the darkness before his eyes gradually brightened, then sharpened into clarity.

"This… this is…?"

Even as composed and stoic as Ubuyashiki Kyojuro, he now gazed at the clear world before him, feeling as if in a dream, unable to believe it.

Tengen Uzui stared blankly at Ubuyashiki Kyojuro: "Has the Master's wound… healed?"

Muichiro Tokito clasped his hands together, tears streaming down his face: "Is this a miracle?"

Tengen Uzui also stared, utterly stunned, at Ubuyashiki Kyojuro—his facial scars vanished, his eyes now clear and bright.

The Master's injuries were so severe—and yet they were healed in an instant?!

"Unbelievable!"

Kyojuro Rengoku's face was filled with awe.

Ikkyu Shobu rubbed his eyes, speechless with shock.

Kanroji Mitsuri covered her gaping mouth with both hands, gazing at the black-clad young man with profound reverence and admiration: "God… Mr. Luo En must be a god, right?!"

Koyoharu Gotouji stared dazedly at the tall, upright back of the figure facing away from them.

As a master of pharmacology and poison, what she had just witnessed threatened to shatter her entire worldview.

How could such power possibly exist in this world?

Luo En withdrew his hand and said casually to Ubuyashiki Kyojuro before him: "I can't fully cure your illness, but I can restore your bodily functions to roughly what they were at age fifteen—enough to let you survive another decade or so."

Ubuyashiki Kyojuro looked up, gazing at the black-clad young man standing before him; his vision had not fully recovered, so he could only make out a blurred face and those calm, azure eyes like still water.

"Mr. Luo En… who exactly are you?"

"You don't need to know."

Luo En picked up the wine flask, took a sip:

"The Demon Slayer Corps, led by a cursed clan, and the Twelve Kizuki, led by the progenitor of demons—I merely wish to witness an interesting battle. That is why I came to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters."

After saying this, Luo En glanced briefly at Yoichi Shinobu: "I'm not treating you for free. I'll be staying at the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters for a while—this will be my payment. Don't spread word of my presence. I hate being disturbed. If you need me, have Shinobu Young Lady notify me."

After saying this.

Luo En's figure flickered and vanished.

Only the deeply stunned Pillars remained.

…

Butterfly House.

One of the Butterfly House's caregivers, one of the three girls known for their beady eyes, Terai Kiyomi, smiled as she hummed a tune while drying quilts.

"Perfect! That should do it, Kozue—you're done…"

She turned her head toward her companions, but as soon as she did, she saw a tall figure standing behind her—appearing out of nowhere.

"Eeek!!!!"

"What happened?!"

Shinazugawa Aoi, a Butterfly House caregiver with butterfly hairpins and twin tails, dashed out from inside at the shout.

She immediately saw Kiyomi lying on the ground and the black-clad young man standing before her.

Her eyes narrowed instantly as she gripped the hilt of her Nichirin Blade.

"What did you do to Kiyomi?!"

"What did I do? I didn't do anything."

Luo En, who had appeared here using the Rinne Sharingan technique, was speechless.

Shinazugawa Aoi didn't listen to his explanation. She pushed off the ground, leapt high, and lashed out with a spinning kick toward the intruder.

Though far inferior to Kanako, the adopted daughter of Shinobu, she was still a member of the Demon Slayer Corps and possessed combat ability beyond her caregiving duties.

Luo En tilted his head slightly.

Shinazugawa Aoi's kick missed entirely.

"What?!"

Shinazugawa Aoi's eyes narrowed. After landing, she stomped hard and was about to draw her blade and attack when—

A figure appeared before her, one hand pressing down on her elbow, preventing her Nichirin Blade from being drawn.

Shinazugawa Aoi stared at the figure before her in shock: "Kanako Young Lady?!"

"Stop."

Kanako whispered to her: "This is Mr. Luo En. He is… Shinobu's guest."

"Shinobu's guest?!"

Shinazugawa Aoi's eyes widened in shock as she stared at Luo En behind Kanako.