Chapter 186

Ishida Residence

Ishida Longxian; Heiqi Zhenxiao

Heiqi Zhenxiao; Ishida Yulong

Yu Long, your Quincy basic ability, the condensation of spirit particles, is actually already well trained! However, your application is still a bit rough; I will teach you a more streamlined method of using spirit particles to fight. After learning my method, I guarantee that your spirit particle condensation and the speed and quality of using spirit particles will both double!

Quincy; Flying Swift Foot; Holy Arrow; Complete Armor; Senior Zongxian

Heiqi Zhenxiao; Ishida Yulong

none

However, when Yu Long heard Zhen Xiao's words, he first lightly pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose, then looked at Zhen Xiao with a bland gaze and spoke in a low voice.

none

Heiqi Zhenxiao

"There's not enough time; relying solely on regular instruction, I simply cannot reach my desired level in ten days! With only a half-baked ability, I absolutely cannot intervene in the battle between Hei Qiyihu and them and the Shinigami in the Soul Society! Therefore I need a method that will grant me the greatest power in the shortest time! So let's forget the regular approach."

Ishida Yulong; Heiqi Zhenxiao

"Gain the greatest power in the simplest time?!"

Heiqi Zhenxiao; Ishida Yulong; Quincy; pure-blood Quincy

Spirit Gloves; Heiqi Ichigo; Shinigami; Quincy's final form

Yu Long fully understood his own strength—just what level it was at; even if he learned all of Zhen Xiao's techniques, with his current ability he could not make up for the experience gap of over twenty years between himself and Zhen Xiao in ten days; having only skill without experience, going to the Soul Society would likely be just a death sentence...

So Yu Long finally decided to use the gift his grandfather gave him on the day he completed his apprenticeship—a treasure most precious to pure-blood Quincy, the Spirit-Severs Glove that can enhance Quincy power; however, once the glove is worn, it can never be taken off in this lifetime, and whoever removes it will ultimately lose all of their Quincy power.

Ishida Yulong

"That Spirit-Severs Glove, once put on, cannot be taken off for life."

Heiqi Zhenxiao; Ishida Yulong

Spirit Gloves

"Don't worry! I have prepared myself to lose everything, betting all on using that glove! So I will not feel any regret about what comes after..."

Ishida Yulong; Heiqi Zhenxiao

none

"Kids these days have all grown up! Everyone has their own ideas."

"Don't worry, I will absolutely not stop you! After all, in the eyes of parents, I am also the so-called disobedient child who always has his own ideas! I sincerely hope that you, Yu Long, will absolutely not regret the decision you made today."

Heiqi Zhenxiao; Ishida Yulong

"Regret? Compared to losing one's Quincy power, this kind of trivial matter..."

"I would rather regret being unable to protect those I want to protect! So rest assured, I will absolutely not regret this—it is the result of my careful consideration!"

Ishida Yulong; Heiqi Zhenxiao

Xiaolong; Ishida Yulong

Heiqi Zhenxiao; Ishida Yulong; Ishida Longxian

none

Longxian

Yehui; Ishida Yehui

Longxian; Ishida Yulong; Heiqi Zhenxiao; Zongxian

"As expected, Little Long is still saying one thing and meaning another~"

Ishida Yulong

Heiqi Zhenxiao; Longxian

none

Upon hearing that, Yu Long merely asked himself a question and then said no more.

Longxian; Ishida Yulong; Ishida Yehui; Pian Tong Yehui; Yuhabach; Sanctification; mixed-blood Quincy; Urahara Kisuke; Kurosaki Isshin; Ishida Longxian

Ishida Family; Ishida Yehui; Karakura Town; top-rank private hospital; Yuhabach; Sanctification; mixed-blood Quincy; Ishida Longxian

none

Ishida Yu Long, under the guidance of Hei Qiyihu Zhen Xiao, began a new study of Quincy basic abilities. Therefore, Ishida Yu Long each day, besides needing to familiarize himself with the Spirit-Severs Glove, also had to learn Quincy basic abilities from Zhen Xiao; moreover, Hei Qiyihu Zhen Xiao taught Yu Long an extremely special ability.

"You know, Yu Long, the Quincy abilities mainly focus on long-range attacks; once in close combat, we can only sit and wait for death~Therefore, we Quincy developed a specialized defensive ability to prevent enemies from getting close and instantly killing us; this ability is called Blood Armor!"

Hei Qiyihu Zhen Xiao said, as she directly revealed her Blood Armor; only seeing on her arm, along her slender blood vessels, a streak suddenly lit up, followed by another streak of purple pattern, making Hei Qiyihu Zhen Xiao look incredibly otherworldly at this moment.

Blood Armor

Ishida Yulong; Heiqi Zhenxiao

Ishida Yulong

Heiqi Zhenxiao; Ishida Yulong

Ishida Yulong; Heiqi Zhenxiao

In fact, Blood Armor is not that unusual; it can even be said to be a standard Quincy ability, and because pure-blood Quincy innately know how to use it without instruction, it is actually quite ordinary!

However, although Blood Armor is ordinary, its defensive power is truly formidable—this is one reason why Quincy all like this ability! At the same time, each person's Blood Armor also differs! Each person's Blood Armor also varies according to the user's strength, thereby displaying different defensive strengths.

Heiqi Zhenxiao; Blood Armor; steel; Cangdu

none

Ishida Yulong; Heiqi Zhenxiao; Holy Arrow

none

Yulong's Holy Arrow; Heiqi Zhenxiao

This...

At this moment, Ishida Yu Long was completely stunned by Hei Qiyihu Zhen Xiao's still Blood Armor ability.

The defensive power of the Blood Gear is so strong that if he could also use it, he could escape the awkward situation where Eradicators have high attack but low defense, are poor at close combat, and are easily killed up close.

"This is the power of the Blood Gear~"

To this, Heizaki Masaki gave Ishida Yulong a gentle smile.

"Originally, this ability was a power that pure‑blood Eradicators could naturally wield!"

"Now, after modification, even mixed‑blood Eradicators can use it."

"It only requires a little, small training! Rest assured, I will have you successfully master the Blood Gear's power within ten days~"

Heizaki Masaki assured Ishida Yulong.

"Thank you!"

Yulong, after hearing Heizaki Masaki's words, bowed deeply toward her.

"It's nothing~"

Heizaki Masaki smiled lightly at the courteous Yulong. It seemed that, as a pure‑blood Eradicator, teaching Yulong to use the Blood Gear was merely a trivial task for her.

"Ichigo! You also need to give it your all~"

At the same time, while Masaki was teaching Ishida Yulong, she still worried in her mind about the safety of her own son, Heizaki Ichigo.

Even though Urahara Kisuke and Heizaki Yixin had repeatedly assured her that they would definitely take good care of Heizaki Ichigo, and Yixin even told her to entrust Ichigo to Urahara without worry, she still couldn't help worrying about Ichigo.

In fact, the reason Masaki came to teach Yulong was that at home she couldn't control her thoughts; whenever she honestly thought of Ichigo, she even went out to the front of Urahara's shop several times, almost intruding on Ichigo's training! To keep herself occupied and not delay Ichigo's cultivation, Masaki decided to come and educate Ishida Yulong.

Meanwhile, at Urahara's shop.

"Hey hey hey! It's already been a few hours?"

"This thing on my chest has already devoured my lock knot for the fourth time!"

"If this continues, when they awaken next and start devouring the lock knot for the fifth time, I'll definitely die here…"

Heizaki Ichigo lay in the pitch‑black cave, roaring toward the outside.

"…"

However, what returned to Heizaki Ichigo was complete silence.

"Damn! Anyone there?!"

"Urahara Kisuke, you treacherous merchant Urahara! Are you really out there?"

"Urahara, wait for me; don't let me get out of here!"

"Otherwise I will definitely kill you! I promise I will kill you…"

Heizaki Ichigo kept snarling; he had already decided that once he regains his Shinigami power, his first move will be to stab the smirking Urahara Kisuke to death.

"Sorry, Heizaki Ichigo, from now on you can only rely on yourself~"

Urahara Kisuke sat outside the cave, sipping green tea comfortably, silently watching Heizaki Ichigo in the hole with no intention of helping him.

In fact, it was unavoidable; it wasn't that Urahara Kisuke didn't want to help Heizaki Ichigo, but he was simply too powerless right now because his Hōgyoku had been hidden inside Rukia Kuchiki's body…

Therefore, for the time being he has no good way to aid the constantly phasing Heizaki Ichigo in the hole; at this moment Urahara Kisuke can only firmly believe that Ichigo's will is strong enough and that he will, through his own effort, become a Shinigami again.

Time flew by.

Not long after, the void that had been devouring the lock knots on Heizaki Ichigo's body seemed to have fully digested the knots they had previously consumed. At that moment, it revived once more; upon awakening, it opened its massive maw and continued to devour the last small segment of lock knot on Ichigo's chest. The instant the lock knot was completely consumed and merged with Heizaki Ichigo, the void's power entered his body, causing Ichigo to spew countless white substances and a void mask to appear on his face.

"Phasing!"

Urahara Kisuke watched Heizaki Ichigo's appearance, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Indeed, Heizaki Ichigo still manifested the same symptoms that had appeared on Mako Hiyoshi and others years ago! This proves that the void that had been residing in Heizaki Masaki's body back then was indeed the hidden mastermind that had plagued him and the captains like Mako Hiyoshi.

"Ichigo! Tame it~"

To this, Urahara Kisuke, with a composed demeanor, smiled at the phasing Ichigo and said.

Indeed, Urahara Kisuke was confident about Heizaki Ichigo's phasing; he knew Ichigo would succeed, after all, at Ichigo's birth he had already used his Hōgyoku to treat Heizaki Ichigo.

"Damn it!"

As for Heizaki Ichigo, after shouting an angry curse, he finally lost consciousness completely.

"Heizaki Ichigo! Heizaki Ichigo, wake up!"

"Heizaki Ichigo, open your eyes and see who I am!"

"Heizaki Ichigo, wake up quickly, then call out my name!"

Heizaki Ichigo didn't know how much time had passed; he only felt a continuous stream of calls echoing in his ears, one after another, the noise preventing him from falling asleep.

When Heizaki Ichigo opened his eyes, what fell upon his vision were towering skyscrapers reaching the clouds and two people standing atop them.

One of them had long, dark shoulder‑length hair, wore a jet‑black cloak, and sported stylish sunglasses on his nose, giving off a cool‑uncle vibe; he was the incredibly handsome uncle who had been calling Ichigo.

The other was a man in a Shinigami uniform, with a Zanpakutō at his waist—a classic Shinigami figure—who appeared rather young, perhaps in his twenties or thirties, in the prime of youth, sunny and handsome.

However, to Ichigo's surprise, for some reason he could never recall the face of this sunny, handsome man; he only thought the guy was good‑looking but couldn't retain his appearance, which felt strange to Ichigo.

"What is going on?! Who are you?"

Heizaki Ichigo stared at the two exceptionally handsome men before him, each with a completely different style, and was stunned over and over.

"Heizaki Ichigo, we are the power within you~"

"We are the most familiar existence to you in this world~"

The man in the Shinigami uniform spoke first:

"The existence most familiar to me in this world?!"

Heizaki Ichigo's expression froze after hearing the man in the Shinigami uniform speak.

"Exactly!"

"Now, Heizaki Ichigo, make your choice~"

"Your choice will determine the path you walk from now on."

When Hei Qi Yi Hu was still puzzled, the uncle wearing a black cloak continued speaking, cutting straight to the point as soon as he began.

"Choice? Path? I don't understand what you're saying…"

Hei Qi Yi Hu was extremely confused at this moment; he had undertaken cultivation to become a Shinigami, and as soon as he entered his inner world, he encountered two people he felt very unfamiliar with. For some reason his intuition told him that these two were not merely the two forces within his body; they seemed to have other identities…

"Hei Qi Yi Hu, you don't need to think about this!"

"You only need to know one thing, and that's enough!"

"No matter which path you choose, we will protect you!"

The man in the jet‑black trench coat, wearing sunglasses and looking exceedingly dashing, answered calmly after hearing Hei Qi Yi Hu.

In fact, the trench‑coat man, who was the Extinction Master power inside Hei Qi Yi Hu, could not bear it any longer; at this moment he revealed a great deal of information to Yi Hu.

"Yes, Yi Hu~"

"No matter whom you choose, we will always support you~"

Now, using the young Huangmu as his image, the power composed of the various chaotic forces that Huangmu left inside Hei Qi Yi Hu also spoke, and he gave his rare approval to the power of You Ha Ba He beside him.

"Let me choose?!"

After hearing Huangmu and You Ha Ba He's words, Hei Qi Yi Hu seemed to fall into contemplation.

"If I were to choose…"

"I would probably choose… you!"

After Hei Qi Yi Hu's gaze shifted between Huangmu and You Ha Ba He, he ultimately chose You Ha Ba He, since You Ha Ba He appeared more steady, while Huangmu gave off a frivolous impression.

"Hehe~"

"Hei Qi Yi Hu, congratulations, you chose correctly~"

Assuming the form of You Ha Ba He inside Yi Hu, the Extinction Master power, after hearing Hei Qi Yi Hu's words, suddenly laughed.

In fact, the powers of You Ha Ba He and Huangmu made a wager inside Hei Qi Yi Hu: whichever Yi Hu chose, they would tell him he was right and lend him their sword for battle.

Thus, after Hei Qi Yi Hu chose You Ha Ba He's power, the Extinction Master power, which had shown itself to the world a thousand years ago as You Ha Ba He, produced a Zanpakuto that resembled a kitchen cleaver. This is the Extinction Master's blade, i. e., You Ha Ba He's power, intended to be lent to Hei Qi Yi Hu.

"Hei Qi Yi Hu, catch my sword; if you are the present you, you should be able to call my name! Go, use my sword to defeat the enemies outside! Remember, your friend is still waiting for you, you don't have much time…"

The You Ha Ba He power inside Hei Qi Yi Hu spoke to Yi Hu earnestly.

"I understand!"

Hearing You Ha Ba He's words, Hei Qi Yi Hu hesitated not; gripping the massive cleaver, he marched straight toward the outside world…

"Huangmu, it seems I won this game!"

The You Ha Ba He power, after Hei Qi Yi Hu left this world, gave Huangmu a faint smile! There are few things that please You Ha Ba He in this world, and defeating Huangmu happens to be one of them.

"Is that so? I feel like I won."

Huangmu's power, after hearing You Ha Ba He's words, laughed.

"Hm?!"

You Ha Ba He's power's complexion changed slightly upon hearing that.

Based on You Ha Ba He's understanding of Huangmu, Huangmu was trapping him again…

Meanwhile, Hei Qi Yi Hu's consciousness finally reconnected with his outside self. In an instant, the previously struggling, now fully ethereal Hei Qi Yi Hu suddenly calmed down~

Without waiting a second, the spiritual pressure inside Hei Qi Yi Hu erupted instantly, forming a terrifying spiritual pressure pillar that shot skyward! At this moment, his spiritual pressure approached third‑rank spiritual authority, i. e., the level of a captain‑rank Shinigami.

"Kach… kach… kach…"

It was precisely as Yi Hu's spiritual pressure burst that the white, bone‑like substances remaining after his ethereality began to crack continuously, revealing Hei Qi Yi Hu's true form.

"Yi Hu, congratulations on your success~"

"Now you have reclaimed your Shinigami power~"

The instant Yi Hu's true form appeared, Pu Yuan Xi Zhu's figure landed before him, smiling at Yi Hu.

"Pu Yuan Xi Zhu, I told you! When I regain my Shinigami power, I'll definitely cut you down! Now is the time to let you experience the power of my Zanpakuto…"

Hei Qi Yi Hu said, and drew a massive, jet‑black Zanpakuto that resembled a kitchen cleaver.

"Hei Qi Yi Hu, do you already know the name of your Zanpakuto?"

The way Hei Qi Yi Hu brandished his Zanpakuto left Pu Yuan Xi Zhu stunned.

Normally, learning his Zanpakuto's name would be part of the next training stage, but Hei Qi Yi Hu completed it ahead of schedule.

"Hehe, of course I know my Zanpakuto's name!"

"The name of this blade is Zan… You Ha Ba He!!"

Under Pu Yuan Xi Zhu's astonished gaze, Hei Qi Yi Hu announced his Zanpakuto's name.

"Ha?!"

In an instant, not only Pu Yuan Xi Zhu but also the Extinction Master power inside Yi Hu, appearing as You Ha Ba He, was stunned.

"Hehe…"

Only Huangmu's power inside Hei Qi Yi Hu smiled.

Others might think they profit, but Huangmu never loses.

"No! Huangmu, you set me up!"

"Where does such a strange Zanpakuto name come from!"

At this moment, the You Ha Ba He power inside Hei Qi Yi Hu could no longer stay still; it glared at Huangmu and scolded.

"This is the awakened Zanpakuto name inside Hei Qi Yi Hu~"

"Besides, didn't you tell Yi Hu that? Why are you blaming me now?"

Huangmu, hearing this, asked the You Ha Ba He power with a cheerful smile.

"To you…"

At this moment, the You Ha Ba He power inside Hei Qi Yi Hu began to break its guard.