Chapter 102: Gengmu: The Matching Mechanism of the 'Jingling Court

A few hours later…

When Yuan Liuzhai released his Soul‑Cutting Blade, the farce seemed to come to an end.

Endless flames completely enveloped Gengmu, giving the young Gengmu his first lesson~

Gengmu was stunned by the sudden onslaught of flames; for the first time he realized that a Soul‑Cutting Blade could even change its form!

When he sparred with Araki, Maozhihua Lie, and the knocked‑away Zaitou Bulaobusi, none of the three had ever shown a Soul‑Cutting Blade release like he had…

"Did you hold back?!"

Gengmu was briefly taken aback, then gradually recovered.

Araki and the others must have held back when they fought him; they didn't give their all…

This sparked a hint of disappointment in Gengmu; he had already used his full strength but couldn't draw out Araki's full power, so their battle must not have been satisfying for Araki…

But more than that he felt excitement— the stronger the opponent, the longer he could play with them! As a born strongman, Gengmu never cares how strong others are; he only hopes they aren't too weak…

"Captain Yamamoto, are you alright!!"

As Gengmu and Yuan Liuzhai determined a winner, a flood of First Squad members poured in outside the shattered headquarters doorway of the First Squad.

When those First Squad members saw Gengmu collapsed on the ground, Yuan Liuzhai gripping his Soul‑Cutting Blade, and the stunned Deputy Quebu…

The First Squad members instantly set their clever minds racing, pondering what had just happened, and soon arrived at a conclusion…

"Deputy Quebu, that assassin kid was brought in by you, right?!"

"Deputy Quebu, we've always idolized you, yet you did such a thing; it's truly disgraceful to us!"

"Deputy Quebu, I really misread you!"

Amid the First Squad members' one‑by‑one questioning of Quebu, he finally came to his senses.

"No! I didn't! Don't spout nonsense…"

Hearing that, Quebu's complexion changed sharply as he kept explaining to the members.

"Stop explaining! We saw it…"

"Exactly! Exactly!"

Unfortunately, Quebu's explanation had little effect.

After all, when Quebu and Gengmu entered the First Squad dormitory, many saw that Quebu brought Gengmu in, and because Deputy Quebu was by Gengmu's side, the First Squad members never investigated Gengmu's identity…

As the saying goes, "What you hear is false, what you see is true!" Quebu leading a killer into the First Squad dormitory to assassinate Squad Leader Yuan Liuzhai is now proven!

Ahem…

"I…"

For a moment, Quebu exclaimed that Araki had set him up; now he had reason but couldn't make himself understood.

"Alright! You all may leave! There's nothing major here…"

Just as Quebu was at a loss how to explain to his own squad members…

The previously silent Yamamoto Yuan Liuzhai suddenly spoke; apparently the squad's endless chatter had irritated him, so he ordered all the members to leave.

"Understood!"

As Yuan Liuzhai finished speaking, the chattering First Squad members immediately shut their mouths, bowed respectfully to him, and then left cleanly.

"Huh…"

Quebu watched the scene, slowly exhaled; with Yuan Liuzhai backing him, he no longer needed to explain anything to the members.

"Quebu…"

But just as Quebu relaxed, Yuan Liuzhai's voice suddenly sounded beside his ear.

"Lord Yuan Liuzhai, you say!"

Quebu instantly turned, looked at Yuan Liuzhai behind him, and said respectfully.

"You may also leave."

Yuan Liuzhai waved dismissively at Quebu, indicating he could also leave.

"This…"

Quebu, seeing Yuan Liuzhai wave at him, suddenly felt a pang of heartache.

Clearly he was the one who arrived first! So now that he has a "son", does he really not need "subordinates" anymore?!

Heartache aside, after Yuan Liuzhai gave the order, Quebu had no choice but to leave respectfully.

For a moment, the vast First Squad headquarters contained only Yuan Liuzhai and Gengmu.

"What's your name? How old are you this year?"

Yuan Liuzhai looked at the boy before him, gently stroked his own beard to appear as gentle as possible, and asked for the boy's name and age.

"Name? That Araki guy said he found me in the Gengmu District, and after I joined the Eleventh Squad, Araki kept calling me Gengmu; I guess that's my name, right?!"

"As for how old I am this year, I'm not really sure! Anyway, that sort of thing doesn't matter…"

Under Araki's tutelage, Gengmu has acquired some common sense, so he understood Yuan Liuzhai's words.

Gengmu has never really cared about his name or age…

Since Araki always calls him Gengmu, he'll just be called Gengmu; as for his age, it doesn't matter! After all, age doesn't affect his ability to swing a blade and kill!

"What a hasty name! Very well! Since Araki calls you that and you have no objection, from today on you'll be called Gengmu…"

Yuan Liuzhai sighed helplessly after hearing Gengmu's account, but at least he didn't have high expectations for Araki's naming of others.

"Araki, did you say anything about me?!"

Yuan Liuzhai paused, then continued questioning Gengmu.

"Hmm! Araki told me about you; he said you're an incredibly powerful old man, and if I can defeat you, I'll become the strongest being in the Jingling Court…"

Gengmu nodded after hearing Yuan Liuzhai, then replied.

"Tsk~"

Yuan Liuzhai heard the words, and his eyelids twitched slightly.

Although many of Gengmu's word choices were inaccurate, the gist was correct, and Yuan Liuzhai thought to himself that Gengmu truly was Araki's child— even his ambition was laid bare, exactly the same…

"Araki even told me to learn properly from you!"

Immediately after, Gengmu looked at Yuan Liuzhai and continued.

"Learn from me? What do you want to learn from me?"

Yuan Liuzhai looked at Gengmu and asked.

"I want to learn from you the technique that made your Zanpodo catch fire just now!"

Hearing this, Gengmu's eyes lit up.

"The Zanpodo's Liberation?"

"Little Gengmu, each person's Zanpodo is unique! Therefore each one's Zanpodo Liberation is different! Your Zanpodo can indeed be liberated, but it need not involve fire."

Yuan Liuzhai looked at the young Gengmu and instructed.

"Not necessarily related to fire?!"

Gengmu fell into contemplation upon hearing that.

"If each person's Zanpodo ability is tied to their own self, Gengmu, what kind of power do you most wish to obtain?!"

Yuan Liuzhai, watching the pensive Gengmu, continued to ask.

"Slash!"

Gengmu heard it and, almost without hesitation, said to Yuan Liuzhai.

"Slash?!"

Yuan Liuzhai seemed not to have expected such an answer from Gengmu.

"I want my blade to be able to cut through everything in this world!"

Gengmu, excited, drew the knife at his waist and shouted loudly.

"Buzz!"

With the uncontrollable excitement in Gengmu's heart…

The Zanpodo in his hand seemed to respond, emitting a series of rumblings.

"Cut everything?! Interesting!"

Yuan Liuzhai was extremely curious about Gengmu's reply and the way Gengmu resonated with his own Zanpodo; suddenly he felt a bit of anticipation toward Gengmu, wanting to see what kind of Zanpodo Gengmu might awaken…

At the same time, Yuan Liuzhai's thoughts seemed to return to countless years ago, when he had not yet founded the Guardian Court Thirteen Squad, and was teaching at the Yuanzi Academy as chief instructor!

Back then, he asked Araki the same question…

Araki's answer was: "I hope to obtain a power that 'All Things' and 'All Matters' cannot destroy!"

After that, Araki obtained the strongest recovery-type Zanpodo in the Soul Society!

If it were Gengmu, would he obtain the Soul Society's strongest physical‑attack Zanpodo? Shanben Yuan Liuzhai Zhongguo awaited this…

"You brat! If you want a Zanpodo that can 'cut everything', empty boasting won't do! Most importantly, it depends on how much effort you can actually put in…"

Yuan Liuzhai said, and drew his waist Zanpodo once more.

"Just my liking!"

Gengmu at this moment seemed largely recovered; it must be said that Gengmu possessed not only great Spiritual Pressure and a resilient body, but also a recovery ability far surpassing ordinary Shinigami Squad Members.

"Ding!"

The next second, at the instant Gengmu and Yuan Liuzhai simultaneously drew their waist Zanpodos.

Inside the First Squad's headquarters, silver‑white blade light once again bathed the room…

Yuan Liuzhai seemed to have grasped Gengmu's temperament; since Gengmu loved battle so much, he let him seek breakthroughs in combat— if one fails, try twice; if twice fails, try three times…

Thus…

Yuan Liuzhai and Gengmu, inside the First Squad's headquarters, engaged in countless battles.

In the blink of an eye, a year had passed…

During that year, most of the First Squad's duties were handled by Deputy Captain Quebu Chang Jirou leading the team; as for Yuan Liuzhai himself, he was constantly busy training Gengmu and had no time to manage other squad affairs.

"Boom!"

Since a year ago, when Gengmu arrived at the First Squad's headquarters to meet Yuan Liuzhai, the squad's quarters have never been clean for a day, each day passing amid wave after wave of explosions.

Thus, a message began to ferment within the First Squad.

"Deputy Captain Quebu, I have something I need to ask you!"

Therefore, many First Squad members who heard the 'wind rustling the grass' went straight to Deputy Captain Quebu Chang Jirou, needing to confirm the accuracy of the news from his mouth.

"You say…"

Quebu Chang Jirou looked at the newcomers, his brows slightly furrowed.

Although Quebu appears as a 'trickster' before Araki and others, in front of his own squad members he must maintain his Deputy Captain authority.

"Deputy Captain Quebu, we recently heard a rumor and don't know if it's true or false, so we want your opinion!"

The First Squad members, exchanging glances, hesitated for a moment, then finally decided to verify with their Deputy Captain.

"Speak! Whether it's squad matters or cultivation issues, feel free to ask me!"

Quebu nodded at the crowd, indicating they could freely seek his counsel—whether squad work troubles or cultivation problems— as a man who had followed Master Yuan Liuzhai for a thousand years, from the Yuanzi Academy to the First Squad Deputy Captain, he was confident he could answer all his squad members' questions.

"Deputy Captain Quebu, currently rumors are spreading that the youth who has been staying in General Shanben's headquarters is actually Shanben's illegitimate son; what do you think about this?!"

The speaker was a senior officer of the First Squad; aside from him, no one else dared to ask.

"I…"

Upon hearing that, Quebu's eyes went black; at that moment of the squad members' question, he had prepared over a hundred set phrases in his mind, most of which were used to teach them how to work and cultivate…

But these squad members didn't follow the usual script; they actually came to him to gossip?!

"I don't know!"

Que Bu frowned, and first forcefully expressed his stance.

"Um..."

With Que Bu's reply, the group of 'First Squad' soldiers instantly showed disappointed expressions.

"Who did you hear that from?!"

Before these First Squad soldiers could think further, Que Bu's words continued to ring in their ears.

"From outside..."

The soldiers answered as such.

"Don't let them keep spreading it; it's all rumor! Absolutely don't believe it! Also, make everyone who discusses this matter shut up!"

Que Bu looked at the soldiers before him with a solemn expression and said coldly.

"... No matter which squad, no one may continue discussing this matter!"

Immediately after, Que Bu added another sentence.

"From now on, set aside your tasks and extinguish this illogical rumor for me! Understood?!"

Que Bu ordered the soldiers before him.

"Yes! Yes, sir..."

As Que Bu's words fell, the First Squad soldiers all nodded in understanding.

"Troublesome! I didn't expect anyone actually discovered Lord Yuan Liuxi's secret?"

"No! The one spreading rumors probably only got some 'catching wind and shadows' information; they have no clear picture yet, still in the guessing stage..."

"If he has already confirmed the relationship between Gengmu and Lord Yuan Liuxi, there's no need to spread rumors; using it to threaten Lord Yuan Liuxi is enough!"

"In that case, the other side intends to use the rumor to cement this point! Then, regardless of whether Gengmu is Lord Yuan Liuxi's child, it doesn't matter..."

"Damn! Those nobles are indeed not easy to deal with..."

Que Bu, being over a thousand years old and having weathered countless storms, naturally knows that sometimes rumors are more useful than facts; his brows furrowed as he constantly contemplated how to quell the matter.

On the other side...

"I didn't expect Deputy Captain Que Bu also doesn't know about this?!"

"Haha, indeed it's just a rumor!"

A group of First Squad soldiers gathered, continuously analyzing Que Bu's reaction.

"Don't you think Deputy Captain Que Bu's reaction was a bit excessive?!"

"If it's truly just a rumor, is it really necessary for the entire First Squad to mobilize and swiftly extinguish it?!"

At that moment, among the First Squad soldiers, a clearly smarter-looking soldier gently adjusted his near‑sighted glasses on his nose and whispered to those around him.

"Huh, you mean?!"

When the others heard that First Squad soldier's words, their faces changed; as he said, if it's truly just a rumor, does it really need to be taken so seriously?!

"Shh! I didn't say anything..."

The soldier, feeling everyone's gaze, quickly made a shushing sound, indicating that the following words should not be spoken.

"Um..."

Everyone, upon hearing that, closed their mouths.

"That's not what I said; that's what Deputy Captain Que Bu said..."

The soldier, seeing everyone silent, continued.

"Understood! Understood! We all get it..."

The soldiers, hearing this, all nodded; they understood.

If Que Bu heard their conversation, he would surely say, "Ah, six six six! It's all my fault, huh?!"

At the same time...

"... Flowing Blade Like Fire!"

Inside the First Squad's command room, the Zanpō Blade was released again, taking the form of the endless flame master Yamamoto Yuan Liuxi Zhongguo, who, facing Gengmu, brandished the endless flames and shouted loudly: "Gengmu, use your Zanpō Blade to completely cleave my flames! If it's you now, you should be able to do it!"

"Cleave the flames..."

Gengmu clenched the Zanpō Blade with both hands, gazing at the sky‑filled flames, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Even Gengmu himself had long forgotten how many times he had faced Yuan Liuxi's Flowing Blade Like Fire...

During the past year, whether training with Yuan Liuxi in the command room, eating in the First Squad's dining hall, or even while sleeping at night, he constantly pondered one thing: to cut through the flames before him! As long as he can cut through them, he can discard everything without a second thought!

"Ah!!"

In the instant Gengmu was deep in thought, Yuan Liuxi's flames already swept from in front of Gengmu...

The scorching flames, in just an instant, burned Gengmu's entire body to a glowing red; the tens of thousands of degrees caused the spiritual pressure coating his body to begin melting, and even though Gengmu's regenerative ability was extraordinary, it was hard to resist...

"Cut! Cut it for me!"

Yet Gengmu did not give up; the only thing in his mind was to completely sever the flames before him.

Time ticked by, second after second, without pause...

Yuan Liuxi, releasing flames, looked at Gengmu, who fell again amidst the fire, and shook his head helplessly.

"Is this the end?!"

Yuan Liuxi sighed helplessly; although Gengmu's spiritual pressure or spiritual body had reached the level of a captain‑grade Death God or higher, he simply could not resonate with the Zanpō Blade in his hand, leaving Yuan Liuxi somewhat helpless; even though Gengmu could not achieve the Zanpō Blade's 'Initial Release' or 'Bankai', his strength was already formidable enough...

"Failed again? Ah, I still couldn't learn your name this time!"

Gengmu lay in the blaze, letting the flames scorch his skin, yet he ignored the pain, gripping his Zanpō Blade tightly while continuously whispering to it.

"If it's the current Gengmu, he should be able to call out my name, right?!"

As Gengmu stared blankly at the sky, unaware of his thoughts, a 'young' female voice suddenly echoed in his ears.

"Hm?!"

When Gengmu heard that sound, his previously exhausted body was once again filled with energy.

"Ha ha! I can hear you, and what I say now is crystal clear!" Gengmu burst into laughter, rose from the ground, then brandished his Zhanpo Blade, shouting loudly: "Devour, Wild Sun!"

As Gengmu's words fell, the firefield released by Yuanliuzhai was instantly split by Gengmu with a massive gap; endless gale howled, causing Yuanliuzhai to squint slightly.

"Did it succeed?!"

Yuanliuzhai stared at Gengmu, who stood on the charred floor of the 'Team Leader Chamber', his whole body reddened by the flames, his face twisted like a demon, holding a weapon that looked like a giant axe yet also like a kitchen knife magnified dozens of times—a massive machete that could barely be steadied with two hands, and whispered to himself.

Undoubtedly, the form of the Zhanpo Blade in Gengmu's hand at this moment was definitely the Blade's liberated state!

"Win! I will definitely win!"

Gengmu hoisted the massive Zhanpo Blade, looking like an Asura emerging from a furnace, and stepped toward Yuanliuzhai step by step. At this moment Gengmu considered himself to have already mastered the Blade's liberation; he was now a competitor of the same rank as Yuanliuzhai and would certainly not be defeated by him again.

"Very good! You have already grasped the initial liberation of the Zhanpo Blade. Next, I will give you its ultimate technique—Bankai!"

Yuanliuzhai looked at Gengmu, who had successfully learned the 'Initial Release', and showed an exceedingly pleased expression. Gengmu's performance did not make his more than a year of teaching in vain; now it was time to get serious and teach Gengmu something real.

"Bankai?!"

Gengmu frowned after hearing Yuanliuzhai's words, and an ominous premonition suddenly rose in his heart.

"Bankai! Charred Fire Greatsword!"

Just as Gengmu was puzzled, Shanben Yuanliuzhai, in front of Gengmu, completed his own Bankai.

"Boom!!"

The sky‑rising flames instantly devoured Gengmu completely.

After just a glance, Gengmu collapsed to the ground once again.

"I forgot to tell you…"

"The Initial Release is only the entry point on the path of the Zhanpo Blade; its true ultimate technique lies in its Bankai!"

"Your cultivation path is only just beginning now!"

Yuanliuzhai sheathed his Zhanpo Blade, walked to the fallen Gengmu before him, and spoke softly.

"..."

In response, Gengmu lay on the ground in silence, thinking that it took him more than a year just to enter a gate?!

When you curse a game's matchmaking system as trash, you might as well look at dear boy Gengmu…

From the moment he entered the 'Jingling Court', everything he encountered was beyond his ability to defeat.