Chapter 18

Beside him, an attendant with at least the strength of a seated officer bowed, turned, and headed toward the Shihō family.

"I'm done eating. If there's nothing else, I'm heading to Rukongai." Kuchiki Senya set down his bowl and chopsticks and let out a satisfied burp.

His face still flushed from drink, he swayed to his feet.

"To Rukongai?" Kuchiki Sōjun looked completely baffled.

"Recently, a branch of Qianye Pavilion opened on Rukongai. I want to go inspect it personally." Kuchiki Senya waved a hand.

Then he rose and left at once.

"But—"

Kuchiki Sōjun stood up, wanting to stop him.

An aged palm pressed down on his shoulder.

"Let him go."

"With his strength, he can handle any problem now." Kuchiki Ginrei's eyes narrowed slightly as she watched Kuchiki Senya's retreating back.

…….

014. Slaying the Heavens, Heaven-Clearing Myriad Forms!

At this moment.

Rukongai.

The enormous plaque, its "Qianye Pavilion" gleaming with Jin Guang, was especially eye-catching.

Combined with the Gao Song, lavish towers, every corner radiated the air of a money-burning den.

"Qianye Pavilion has finally come to Rukongai!"

Countless men were in tears, hearts surging with emotion.

Seireitei's entertainment was scarce.

And Rukongai was even shabbier than Seireitei; people could only toil every day to scrape by with a shred of dignity.

And Qianye Pavilion was an oasis in their barren spiritual world.

It let them recall the life they had lived in the human world before death.

Top floor of Qianye Pavilion.

In a gaudy, lavishly and elegantly decorated private room.

Kuchiki Senya lay in a Young Lady's embrace, watching the scene outside through the LCD screen before him.

【Ding.】

【Detected that the host held a Huakui Assembly, pleasing body and mind. The host's Zanpakutō, Heaven-Clearing Myriad Forms, is evolving.】

【Evolution successful. Your Zanpakutō can now perform Shikai.】

Transit group ③7①72911⑨

In his ear—

A mechanical voice rang out.

Sensing the anomaly in his Zanpakutō within the system space, the smile on Kuchiki Senya's face deepened.

Heaven-Clearing Myriad Forms.

Without using Shikai or Bankai, its sheer sharpness alone could sever the vast majority of Zanpakutō!

Now.

Evolving once more.

Corresponding to Shikai.

Its already extreme sharpness would surely rise a step further.

Not bad.

Kuchiki Senya nodded in satisfaction.

Heaven-Clearing Myriad Forms could finally perform Shikai!

Kuchiki Senya walked backstage, to a private rest area.

He examined the Zanpakutō in his system space.

The interwoven black-and-red patterns, and the edge honed to its absolute limit, made one's eyes sting faintly.

The next instant.

A flash of cold light blazed forth.

The surrounding space subtly warped, radiating an unsettling aura.

"Slay the Heavens, Heaven-Clearing Myriad Forms!"

Kuchiki Senya gave a low cry in his heart.

Instantly.

The Zanpakutō, which had been lying perfectly still in his space, had its calm patterns twist and contort.

"Crack—"

"Crack—"

A sound like glass shattering reached his ears.

Fine, spiderweb-like pitch-black fissures appeared in the surrounding space.

Within was a stretch of inky blackness, a void and emptiness that seemed to devour everything, sending a chill down one's spine!

"As expected!"

"Heaven-Clearing Myriad Forms' sharpness alone could already warp space, and after Shikai, it can directly shatter space!"

Kuchiki Senya's heart jolted, his pupils contracting slightly.

GLOSSARY:

Kuchiki Senya, Kuchiki Sōjun, Kuchiki Ginrei, Shihō family, Rukongai, Seireitei, Qianye Pavilion, Heaven-Clearing Myriad Forms, Zanpakutō, Shikai, Bankai

He tried swinging the Zanpakuto once.

"Crackle-crackle~"

The space before him shattered like torn paper, leaving a pitch-black void tall enough for one person.

The edges of the void twisted and gnawed, as the world's power struggled to repair it.

A full ten-plus seconds.

Only then was it successfully repaired.

"With this, in battle I can directly use the sharpness of Heaven-Severing Myriad Forms to shatter space and banish the enemy!"

No matter how strong the enemy, they cannot possibly resist the power of the world itself.

The terrifying cutting force produced by the space's repair is enough to grind anyone into dust!

Kuchiki Senya nodded.

He was immensely satisfied.

If he had had Shikai earlier, the mere Tsunayashiro Tokinada would not have required getting close at all.

Just slicing open the space beside him from afar would have been enough to instantly kill him in a single strike!

……

Not long after.

Kuchiki Senya leaned against the Young Lady's bosom, watching the scene outside.

Houses were arranged in an orderly fashion, and the people were decently dressed.

At first glance.

It looked no different from Seireitei.

However.

As time went on, among the gathering crowd, some sallow, emaciated men in tattered clothes also appeared.

There were also clearly vicious-looking brutes who lived by the blade.

Like a great melting pot, all manner of people gathered in one place.

"Is this the Senya Pavilion!"

"Our Rukongai finally has its own Senya Pavilion!"

"Decorated so nicely—if the brothers could pull off one job here, we'd never have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of our lives."

"I'd advise you to give up that thought of yours. Behind Senya Pavilion stands the Kuchiki clan—there's no way to seek death like that."

"They say the boss of Senya Pavilion, Kuchiki Senya, seriously wounded Tsunayashiro Tokinada not long ago!"

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

Hearing this news, even the fiercest and most vicious of the great villains all fell obediently silent.