Over the past year, Henry Yanguang had witnessed Ryan Carter's enormous appetite and equally exaggerated physical prowess.
Coupled with Ryan's astonishing talent and strong pursuit of swordsmanship recently, he felt as if he saw his younger self in this young man.
After their recent conversation, Henry Yanguang truly began to take Ryan seriously.
It would be a great pity for such a talented swordsman, with a clean background and a singular focus on martial arts, to be overlooked.
However, after careful consideration, he decided not to personally instruct him. It wasn't due to a lack of care, but rather that with this young man's talent, he wouldn't be able to teach him for many years. Yet, he knew someone who was absolutely qualified to teach.
That person was named Rengoku Shinjuro.
Shinjuro was the current Flame Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps, and it was said that he was currently idle at home due to certain special reasons, making him the best possible instructor Henry Yanguang could think of.
As for how he knew so much, that would have to start from his past experiences.
Henry Yanguang hailed from a long-standing swordsmanship family and had been immersed in swordsmanship since childhood. However, unlike his other family members, he did not pride himself on their family's martial arts, because he knew that the strongest martial art in this world was actually the Breathing Technique.
In his youth, he had personally witnessed a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman slay a demon.
He could never forget the scene at that time, whether it was the monster regenerating limbs or the miraculous Breathing Technique moves, it was a power beyond ordinary people, and he yearned for this power.
Thus, he went through immense hardship to find the Demon Slayer Corps and obtained the opportunity to learn Flame Breathing.
Henry Yanguang's swordsmanship talent was outstanding; he quickly mastered the pure Nichirin blade techniques. Unfortunately, his physical condition held him back. Due to the short duration he could maintain Flame Breathing, he ultimately failed the cultivator's test.
Powerful swordsmanship was right before him, yet he couldn't master it; how could he be content?
Harboring this unwillingness, he did not join other departments of the Demon Slayer Corps like other failed trainees. Instead, he traveled down the mountain to continue honing his swordsmanship, and after ten years, combining his experience of learning Flame Breathing, he created a Flame Blade Swordsmanship.
To pass down this swordsmanship, he used his family's connections to open a Ren Martial Hall in Yoshiwara.
With his superb strength, the martial hall quickly gained renown, and investigators from the Demon Slayer Corps also noticed this martial hall master who had learned Flame Breathing.
Soon after, the Demon Slayer Corps visited Henry Yanguang and asked him to recommend any promising talents to the cultivators, as a way to help the Demon Slayer Corps recruit new blood.
He agreed on the spot.
And now, Rengoku Shinjuro was the most suitable Flame Breathing cultivator.
He put away his memories, picked up a pen, and wrote a letter of recommendation.
That night, while Ryan was still troubled by learning the Breathing Technique, he was unaware that someone had already paved the way for him.
Five days later, a letter was sent to the Rengoku Family through a special channel.
"Dad, you have a letter!"
The second son, Rengoku Senjuro, held the letter and ran to Shinjuro's room with his short legs.
But there was no response from inside the room.
Senjuro's spirits drooped. He knew that his father must be drunk and not yet awake, so he left the letter at the door and returned to the courtyard to continue practicing his swordsmanship.
Ever since his mother, Ruka, died from illness, his father had been dispirited, no longer teaching him and his older brother, spending his days at home drowning his sorrows in alcohol.
Now that his older brother, Kyojuro, had just joined the Demon Slayer Corps, he had no choice but to practice swordsmanship alone at home, enduring his father's indifference and his own loneliness.
The Rengoku Family returned to silence once more.
At noon, Shinjuro was awakened by the sunlight. He shook the empty sake flask beside him and reluctantly stood up to go outside and buy more sake. As he pulled open the door, a letter caught his eye.
Is it another letter from the Demon Slayer Corps? It's all just useless talk about pulling myself together!
A flicker of annoyance crossed Shinjuro's eyes, and he prepared to ignore it completely. But just as his right foot was about to step on the letter, he withdrew his foot.
He noticed a peculiar mark on the envelope's surface—it was the Ren Martial Hall's emblem.
Ren Martial Hall?
Distant memories flooded his mind, and Shinjuro finally sobered up. He picked up the envelope, took out the letter, and quickly read it. A hint of surprise couldn't help but appear on his face.
If what the letter said was true, Henry Yanguang had truly found a genius!
Although fifteen years old was a bit old, his extraordinary physical condition indicated that he wouldn't need excessive training to withstand the physical burden brought by the Breathing Technique.
Mastering the Flame Blade Swordsmanship in just a few months meant that the Flame Breathing techniques would also be no difficulty for him.
Coupled with his pursuit of swordsmanship, this was a rare and promising talent!
With this talent alone, learning Flame Breathing was a certainty. As long as he didn't die prematurely, inheriting his position as Flame Pillar was not impossible.
Shinjuro reread the letter carefully, and after confirming he hadn't misread, his hands trembled slightly, and his once stagnant heart began to ripple.
But soon, he let his hands drop, feeling even more dejected.
Even if that genius could inherit the position of Flame Pillar, what then? Wasn't he just a useless Flame Pillar who couldn't even protect his wife? At best, it would only be a repeat of his own tragedy.
With an even darker mood, he tossed the letter aside and staggered to the front yard. There were still a few gourds of sake in the warehouse ahead.
The direct sunlight on his head caused a psychological discomfort, and he instinctively shielded his eyes with his hand. The sunlight piercing through his fingers was still so dazzling.
It's too bright outside, I should go back inside.
Shinjuro turned around, feeling even more muddled.
Suddenly, the sound of a wooden sword cutting through the air reached his ears. Following the sound, in the sunlight, a small child was practicing swinging motions alone, putting all his strength into each swing, over and over again.
Oh, it's Senjuro. His sword practice is still so stiff. This child simply isn't cut out for it!
Words of reprimand welled up to his lips, but Shinjuro froze in place.
He just stared blankly at his youngest son swinging his sword repeatedly in the courtyard, just like himself when he was young. As he watched, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart:
Perhaps the sun isn't so dazzling after all.
He couldn't describe his feelings at that moment; he just felt that he had to do something to feel better. So, he slapped his face, and his expression regained some of its former sternness.
"Foolish boy, this isn't how you practice Flame Breathing!"
The booming reprimand echoed in the courtyard. Senjuro stopped his practice in surprise. It was his father's voice, a tone both familiar and strange.
"Fa... Father!"
Senjuro turned back excitedly, wondering if his father had finally pulled himself together?
"Swinging like that a thousand times is useless. You need an opponent for actual combat."
Hearing this, Senjuro grew even happier. Was his older brother coming home to practice swordsmanship with him?
"Yes!"
"I've just found a promising talent. Go pack your bags now. You're coming with me to Yoshiwara tomorrow."
After speaking, Shinjuro turned back into the house, no longer sparing a glance for his slow-witted youngest son.