Looking at the young man lying in front of him, Ubuyashiki Kagaya smiled gently. Yet, in Kyūjō's eyes, he saw something new—a sincerity and resolve that he had never seen before.

Tachibana Kyūjō lowered his head and whispered softly, "Thank you, Oyakata-sama… from the bottom of my heart."

Kagaya's smile warmed.

He knew that the light, which had once almost faded from Kyūjō's eyes, was now slowly starting to shine again.

"Rest well for the next few days," Kagaya spoke softly. "And please, don't act recklessly again."

Kyūjō nodded obediently.

With that, Kagaya, along with the Demon Slayer Corps members who had come to visit, left the room.

— — —

Five days later, Tachibana Kyūjō was allowed to return to his home.

From that day on, he hardly left his house. Every day was spent in silence, digging into the memories of his previous life.

Kyūjō pondered, searching for ways to heal the injuries in his lungs—or at least slow the damage that was continuing to progress.

Day after day, time passed in stillness.

Before he knew it, half a month had gone by.

Yet, Kyūjō still hadn't found a single method that he could use.

His body was gradually weakening, and if this continued, Kyūjō knew he would become a frail human just waiting for death.

Refusing to give in to his circumstances, that morning, Kyūjō woke up earlier than usual.

In the peaceful backyard of his home, under the clear dawn sky, he began to practice a set of slow and gentle movements—

Tai Chi.

An ancient martial art from his world, one that anyone could learn without requiring extraordinary strength.

Back when he was still a teenager on Earth, he had downloaded a video of these movements at an internet café, filled with dreams of becoming a martial arts master like the heroes in those stories.

Did it truly make a difference?

Considering how he had died in his previous life, probably not.

But that wasn't because Tai Chi wasn't useful.

It was because he had never truly committed to practicing it.

Now, Kyūjō didn't expect to become a martial arts master simply by practicing Tai Chi. He didn't buy into the myth of "just one session and you're a master."

Besides, the version he was practicing was a modified "24-Step Tai Chi" style—one that had been adapted into a fitness regimen by official institutions.

Even so, Tai Chi had one key advantage—it gradually and safely strengthened the body.

And for a body as damaged as his, that was enough.

Kyūjō just hoped to slow the decline of his physical condition.

— — —

That evening, as the sun began to set and the air grew cooler, Kyūjō practiced once again under the ginkgo tree in his yard.

The slow movements felt different this time.

And Kyūjō, now able to sense small changes in his body, realized—Tai Chi was indeed having an effect.

Though small, it was real.

So real... that now he even began inviting Ubuyashiki Kagaya, who had been frail since birth, to practice alongside him every morning.

As the evening wind flowed gently, brushing against Kyūjō's sweaty body, he paused for a moment, peeled off his damp outer clothing, and walked over to the well at the side of the yard.

Grabbing a bucket of cold water, he intended to wash his clothes.

But suddenly...

Kyūjō noticed an earthworm wriggling at the edge of the well.

"This place is too dangerous for you, little one," Kyūjō muttered softly as he picked up the worm with two fingers.

But as his fingers made contact with the moist and slippery surface of the worm's body...

An idea flashed in his mind.

Kyūjō froze his hand in place.

He stared at the worm in silence.

This creature... he knew it well.

In his previous world, Kyūjō often used earthworms as bait when fishing. He knew firsthand how effective they were at attracting fish like carp, catfish, gourami, and others.

But now, that wasn't what mattered.

What inspired Kyūjō was the way this creature breathed.

Earthworms didn't have lungs.

Yet, they still breathed.

Through their skin.

"…If that's the case, why do humans always have to breathe with their lungs?"

The question struck Kyūjō like a bolt of lightning.

It might sound insane, but he couldn't ignore it.

Could humans also breathe through their skin and pores?

— — —

In reality, Kyūjō's line of thinking wasn't completely wrong.

The human skin—covered in millions of pores—can perform a small-scale gas exchange.

Under certain conditions, human skin can absorb oxygen in quantities of 3–4 grams per 24 hours, depending on the surrounding temperature.

When the temperature reaches around 30°C, the skin's gas exchange can account for 1% of the body's total gas exchange.

And in high-temperature conditions, the skin's ability to metabolize gases can increase up to 15–20%, taking over much of the lung's work.

This happens without conscious awareness, simply as a natural response to the environment.

But what if the human body had the ability to consciously control its pores?

Could it mean that... one could actually breathe without lungs?

— — —

Staring at the earthworm in his palm, Kyūjō closed his eyes.

Then, he began to dig through the memories of his past life.

Searching for any information about "body breathing," "breathing through pores," and internal techniques from his world.

A few minutes later, Kyūjō opened his eyes.

His gaze was clear, resolute.

Kyūjō walked slowly to the damp ground near the tree, then gently placed the earthworm back on the soil.

"Both of us," Kyūjō whispered softly, "still have a bright future ahead."

— — —

Yes.

Kyūjō had found a glimmer of hope.

A possibility that felt real—an untrodden path that no one had ever taken in this world.

Body Breathing.

— — —

In his previous life, Kyūjō had once read an ancient article on the internet about the stages of cultivation for martial arts masters of old.

According to the writing—whether true or just a legend—True Martial Arts Masters who reached the level of Xiantian were said to be able to open up all the energy pathways in their bodies, even controlling every pore of their skin.

With that control, they could breathe through their bodies.

Even during the Qing Dynasty and the era of the Republic of China, when many martial arts were forgotten due to war, practitioners still believed in the concept of the "breath of the body" as the pinnacle of mastery in the internal martial art style known as Neijiaquan.

Some referred to it as:

"Breaking the Void, Merging with the Divine, the Body Unblemished."

In Taoist mythology, sages were even said to be able to breathe without lungs, merging with nature through similar techniques.

All these stories and data Kyūjō had gathered...

Convinced him.

That...

Humans could breathe through their pores.

And he would prove it.

— — —

Note: The information about human skin breathing in this chapter is based on actual scientific sources. This is not purely fictional.

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