26 Chapter 26: New Path of Training

In the stillness of the night, with the full moon casting its soft glow in the sky, Ace slept peacefully, nestled with Yuki, his half-naked body embracing her.

Suddenly his peaceful sleep was abruptly shattered by a sudden jolt. His eyes snapped open, and he found himself trembling a little. Beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead, and his breathing grew heavy, each inhale and exhale coming in rapid succession.

He lay there, his half-naked body covered in a cold sheen of perspiration, his chest rising and falling erratically. His hands clenched the sheets beneath him as he tried to make sense of the lingering feeling that had gripped him.

"What was that?" Ace whispered to himself, his eyes darting around the room. Finally, his gaze settled on the peaceful figure of Yuki, which calmed him down.

He sat on the edge of the futon,and took a deep breath,his mind mulling over the image of the blue spider lily with bloody miasma, blooming and suddenly consuming him in a river of blood.

'Fuck, don't tell me this is forshadowing' Ace murmured, remembering the sub-ability of his eyes that enhanced his gut feeling and intuition.

And the blue spider lily reference is certainly no coincidence and he took this dream very seriously.

He didn't want to be like those mc's who even after getting the signs didn't believe it or act upon it.

"Did Muzan find the blue spider lily?" Ace contemplated. But how? He couldn't think of any reason , as events had never deviated significantly from the canon storyline, making it unlikely for Muzan to have found the blue spider flower lily.

I need to hurry up my preparations now and up the training, no time for relaxing now. Shit, why does it have to be different from Cannon!

Realising the urgency of the situation. He knew he needed to focus on upping the training of others and even improving their Breathing styles with the reference of his own.

Previously, he hadn't seen the point in it, thinking his martial manual would be sufficient to defeat Muzan.

However, with this unexpected twist, he couldn't take any chances. Strengthening his allies became a top priority to ensure their survival. Otherwise they would be nothing more than meat paste at the end.

But before anything else, the thing that he must do is find Tamayo and establish a connection with her. And he also needed to inform her that Muzan had likely found the blue spider lily.

Rising from his futon, Ace gazed out at the moonlit night sky. Suddenly a cold look appeared in his eyes, as he thought, 'It's also time to hunt the Upper Moons now.'

- x - X - x -

The soft rays of the rising sun gently kissed the figure of a girl, who lay in peaceful slumber.

"Mhmm," The girl opens her eyes as she wakes up from her sleep.

Yawning, she pushed the bed covers aside and sat up, stretching her body to chase away the remnants of sleep.

After attending to her morning routine, which included brushing her teeth and dressing swiftly, she was ready to head out for her morning training.

Ever since her defeat at the hands of Ace ,she had upped her training , dedicating most of her time training alone.

Initially, it had been quite a blow to her, getting defeated by Ace, who had trained for just a what? a month.

However, after much contemplation and gaining some advice from Ace , she managed to overcome her feelings of discouragement. She realised that succumbing to depression would only widen the gap between them. So it's better to train more and that's what she has done since she was healed.

As she walked into the forest to reach her training spot, she was surprised to find someone already there. It was Ace, already there moving his glaive with astonishing speed and grace. Each move became more complicated than the last, combining together to form a dance.

Before she knew it, she found herself mesmerised by the breathtaking sight. The dance and the movements of his glaive soon became a graceful symphony of deadly precision, a sight that would have been nothing more than a blur if it weren't for her special eyes.

Focusing her complete attention on him with her enhanced vision, she could see the muscles in his body contract with every move he executed. He was training every part of his body with this dance.

Soon,wisps of steam began to rise from his body, as his sweat condensed coming into contact with morning cool air giving him a supernatural look.

She continued to watch him, as Ace trained tirelessly for more than four hours. Finally, he came to a halt, lying on the ground, his upper body bare and glistening with sweat, exhaustion evident on his face.

"Oye, you should come out now. How long will you continue watching? Aren't you bored? " Suddenly Ace shouted looking in her direction.

Seeing that he was looking directly in her direction, like he already knew her position. She had no choice but to come out and she was caught red handed.

Blushing slightly, she emerged from her hiding spot. She couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed, having watched him for hours in hiding.

"Had your fill of stalking?" Ace teased with a playful grin.

"I was not stalking," Kanao mumbled softly in her monotone voice.

"Huh, I didn't hear it clearly. What were you saying?" Ace feigned ignorance, with a glint in his eye.

A small tick mark appeared on her face as she repeated herself, this time in a louder voice, "I was not stalking!"

"Oh, but from the looks of it, you were," Ace remarked with a playful grin.

"No, I didn't. This is my training spot, and you invaded it!" Kanao retorted.

"But you didn't have to hide," Ace pointed out.

"I just didn't want to disturb you," Kanao replied in the same monotone tone, but there was a hint of emotion in her words.

Ace chuckled, "Oh, so now my dear Kanao has started to care about my little old me!"

Kanao only showed a blank face in his comment and chose not to reply.

"Ok-Ok, Don't be mad , I am just joking" Ace said seeing her blank face.

"So you have come for training right?"Ace said.

Kanao nooded seeing that he was serious now.

"Okay,can you demonstrate your breathing style for a moment," Ace requested. He had the entire manual of his own technique compiled in his mind, which was significantly more advanced than any technique in this world, including the Sun Breathing. It's a pity he didn't get the body talent and comprehensive ability of Yourichi otherwise Muzan would have beaten like a kid in a single day.

His current body was the most average one can get in this world. It was his technique that had enabled him to become strong so quickly. Without it, he might as well have ended up as a random farmer, struggling to get some food.

Back to the topic, while he possessed theoretical knowledge of the techniques, he lacked practical experience in it. It was like having a physics book in your mind which can be checked anytime but you didn't understand any physics in it .

So he can only make their techniques more aligned with his and while removing the errors which were not in his technique.

Kanao demonstrated her breathing style patterns and the proper techniques for breathing and breaks as she didn't have any problem with it and if he wanted to learn it ,he can just ask Shinobu, she will teach him herself. Ace observed her closely, nodding his head.

"Alright," he said. "Now, show me how you apply these patterns while you use your forms."

Kanao nodded and proceeded to perform each of her forms, even making them deliberately at a slower pace to ensure he could see them clearly.

Ace continued to watch closely, nodding in a supportive manner, much like a teacher to a student.

"Okay, give me a moment, I want to improve your breathing technique" Ace said, excusing himself.

Kanao watched as he walked to a quiet corner and crouched down, his gaze fixed on the ground. For the next ten minutes, he remained still, lost in thought.

She didn't believe he would be able to do it , as these forms have been passed down from hundred of years with many masters perfecting it. If it were that easy, it would have already done. But she still decided to humour him.

Then, he began to scribble on the ground, his expressions shifting from moments of satisfaction to frustration and, at times, even anger.

Kanao patiently waited for him. After an hour, he finally stood up and turned to her with a grin.

"Haha, thanks for the wait, dear. You'll surely be thanking me after this,haha" he said with a laugh, a sense of accomplishment in his voice.

"Come here, fast!" Ace called out with excitement in his voice.

Kanao walked over and saw the intricate breathing patterns meticulously drawn on the ground. It was the way breathing techniques were recorded, and it seemed he knew how to write them .

For a moment she thought he really improved it.After carefully reading the modified breathing technique, Kanao felt a hint of surprise. While it was still based on her technique, there were some significant changes.

She gave him a sceptical look, knowing that even a slight deviation in the breathing pattern could lead to self-injury.

"I know you're a little sceptical, but trust me," Ace reassured her with confidence.

"Okay," she nodded, deciding to place her trust in him.

So she started breathing in those patterns and soon she felt…

- x - X - x -

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