Chapter 93: Shitan: I Want to Be the Head of the Gangmidai Family! (Chapter

After a while…

"Pfft…"

Fuzhu didn't know how long he had been unconscious; he only felt as if he had turned into a 'carp that couldn't swim' drowning in the water, until someone lightly patted his shoulder and softly called his name, and then he remembered who he was.

Afterwards he kept struggling, struggling, finally surfacing onto the shore; the moment he reached land, he regained consciousness, and in the palace of the 'Sword God' Wang Yue, he opened his eyes…

As soon as Fuzhu opened his eyes, he seemed to want to say something, but the moment he opened his mouth, a mouthful of blood surged up from his throat and nose…

"Lord Wang Yue, this guy has woken up!"

At the moment Fuzhu regained consciousness, the several beautiful girls who had been guarding and caring for him at his side immediately shouted toward the depths of the palace, calling their master's name.

Several other beautiful girls, holding 'hot towels', 'clear water', and 'rice porridge', came up to Fuzhu, wiped the blood from his face, and then poured some of the Qilin Temple's specially made 'clear soup' and 'rice porridge' into his mouth.

"Huangmu, Teacher Huangmu…"

After drinking the clear soup and rice porridge, Fuzhu instantly felt a warm current merge into his stomach, then spread throughout his body; he felt his weary body become much lighter, and then softly called his teacher Huangmu's name.

"I'm going to find Teacher Huangmu!"

In the midst of speaking, Fuzhu had already sat up on the sickbed, looking as if he were going to find Huangmu.

"Fuzhu, you're a patient now; you can't go anywhere except here!"

Those several beautiful girls, seeing Fuzhu rise, immediately stepped forward to block him, pressing him back onto the bed.

"I'm going to find Teacher Huangmu!"

However, there was an obstinacy in Fuzhu's eyes that the girls couldn't understand; he seemed spellbound, determined to find Huangmu, and no matter how others tried to stop him, they could not change his decision. Yes, Fuzhu was merely informing those around him of what he intended to do, not asking whether he could do it…

"Oh! Fuzhu kid, you've woken up?!"

At that moment, the 'Sword God·Ermaiwu Wang Yue', 'Huangmu', and Wang Yue's entourage of guards, several people slowly approached Fuzhu's sickbed.

"Teacher Huangmu…"

Fuzhu ignored the people around him, his gaze locked firmly onto Huangmu, his eyes filled with doubt.

"Fuzhu, we've already succeeded! You can now rest properly."

After sensing Fuzhu's gaze, Huangmu instantly smiled slightly and spoke to him.

"Succeeded? Really? Then we really succeeded! This is truly great…"

Upon hearing Huangmu's words, Fuzhu's originally panicked heart finally calmed; he lay back down on his sickbed, and, feeling that the blanket he had kicked off while struggling, he picked it up from the floor and neatly covered himself with it.

"To be honest, I really can't see this kid as a patient!"

"I truly don't know where he gets his strength; the five of us together could barely hold him down…"

As Fuzhu felt himself lying back on the sickbed, the five girls who had been caring for him immediately went to Wang Yue to complain, every word of their speech expressing dissatisfaction with Fuzhu.

"Fuzhu woke up?!"

"Fuzhu, are you alright?!"

Just as Fuzhu lay back onto the sickbed, accompanied by a wail, Jingle with noodle soup still dripping from the corner of his mouth rushed wildly toward Fuzhu.

"Where are you going?!"

However, Huangmu pressed Jingle down with one hand.

"Teacher Huangmu, let go of me quickly, I want to go see Fuzhu!"

Jingle looked at Huangmu, who was blocking him, and spoke with tears welling in his eyes.

"Fuzhu is fine now, he's already asleep! If you go over, even if nothing were wrong, you'd make it wrong!"

Huangmu pinched Jingle's neck, speaking disdainfully.

"But…"

Jingle's eyes held a hint of hesitation.

"Exactly, some brainless idiot just loves to cause trouble for others; Fuzhu has just woken up and needs rest, so don't go over and annoy him."

Just as Jingle was about to say something, Shitan had already come up behind him and expressed his dissatisfaction.

"Heh, you say Fuzhu needs quiet rest and shouldn't be disturbed, yet when you heard the news that he woke up, you also came running over excitedly, didn't you?!"

Jingle looked at Shitan behind him, first gave a cold snort, then mocked.

"You bastard…"

Shitan's old face rarely blushed, and he defended himself: "I came over because I saw you coming; if you hadn't come back, I definitely wouldn't have come."

"Heh~"

Upon hearing that, Jingle merely gave a dismissive smile.

"Tsk! Sometimes I really can't control the urge to kill you, you bastard…"

Shitan's face darkened; he fiddled with the Soul-Cutting Sword in his hand, contemplating whether to use his first Complete Release on Jingle, this bastard, to make him feel his body being corroded by wind, his spiritual pressure eroded by shadow, and ultimately dissipating in this world, vanishing into nothing.

"Everyone, rest easy! I'm fine!"

As Jingle and Shitan faced off, Fuzhu on the sickbed tremblingly stretched out one arm from under the covers and gave everyone a thumbs-up.

"Fuzhu!"

For a moment, Jingle and Shitan stopped arguing and simultaneously spoke Fuzhu's name.

"Heh~"

"Tsk~"

Immediately afterward, Jingle and Shitan almost simultaneously turned their heads away from each other…

At the instant their gazes crossed, Jingle and Shitan both vigorously shook their heads in opposite directions, simultaneously making sounds of disdain toward each other.

"Heh~"

Fuzhu on the sickbed watched the scene, slowly retracted his arm, and showed a bit of a bitter smile.

"This kid actually looks a bit like a patient now, so where on earth did he just get that strength to resist us sisters?!"

Moreover, the bevy of beautiful sword-spirit girls personally crafted by Wang Yue to care for Fuzhu, upon seeing his frail state that seemed as if he might die at any moment, furrowed their brows and muttered to themselves.

"Anyway, let's discuss what comes next after Fuzhu wakes up!"

Araki looked at the peacefully lying Fuzhu, walked over to Jingle and Shitan, put his arms around their shoulders, and headed out of Fuzhu's resting chamber.

"Araki‑sensei, Fuzhu is okay, right?!"

Jingle looked at Araki and asked.

…

Shitan said nothing, but also felt worried about Fuzhu's condition.

"Rest assured! Fuzhu's current state is simply excellent; in all these years he's never been this well! Right now it's just a loss of strength because his spiritual pressure has been depleted, which is no big deal~"

Araki explained to Jingle and Shitan.

"So, Araki‑sensei, does that mean your plan with Fuzhu was successful?!"

At that moment, Shitan looked at Araki and asked.

"Mission accomplished!"

Araki gave Shitan a deep look upon hearing that; it seemed the kid cared about Fuzhu more than Araki had imagined. He then said to Shitan in a calm tone.

"As long as it's successful…"

Shitan nodded and said no more.

"Then what exactly are you two talking about?!"

Jingle replied that he's a dunce and can't understand what the two people beside him are saying.

"A fool doesn't need to understand."

Shitan didn't explain anything to Jingle, just said coldly.

"Bastard…"

Jingle's eyelids twitched at the words; indeed, he also dislikes Shitan.

"Hey! You guys, is my junior Fuzhu okay?!"

Just as Araki led Jingle and the others to Wang Yue's reception hall, Ye Yi of Si Feng Yuan, who had just stuffed his belly, puffed out his round stomach and asked Jingle and Shitan.

"So you actually care about Fuzhu? After hearing that Fuzhu had awakened, you kept focusing on shoveling food into your own mouth, completely indifferent to Fuzhu's condition~"

Jingle, upon seeing Ye Yi, couldn't help but retort.

"Idiot! Since Araki‑sensei and Wang Yue‑sensei have already gone to Fuzhu, you and I going there would just be meddling! We'd be better off staying here quietly, which is the most helpful thing for Fuzhu's recovery."

Ye Yi, hearing that, placed both hands on his hips and said confidently.

"Senior sister, you're right!"

Shitan, for once, agreed with Ye Yi.

"Huh?! Weren't you going with me too?"

Jingle's expression shifted repeatedly, and eventually he realized he couldn't refute Ye Yi, so he angrily lashed out at Shitan.

"I saw you go, and I tried to stop you; I just regrettably couldn't catch up! I have to admit your flash step is superior to mine!"

Shitan patted Jingle's shoulder, acknowledging his flash step was inferior to Jingle's.

"You're talking nonsense! You're a 'Qingfeng style' Zanpakuto user, and your Zanpakuto has even awakened the ability to advance using atmospheric spirits, yet you claim you can't catch me?!"

Jingle said he wasn't listening to Shitan's nonsense at all.

"Can't catch up, really…"

Shitan turned his head away from Jingle's eyes; his mouth kept busy, repeatedly claiming he couldn't catch Jingle. Of course, if the discussion is purely about speed, there's no doubt he's the fastest among Jingle, Fuzhu, and Ye Yi, second only to Ye Yi.

"You bastard…"

Jingle felt a fire inside; indeed the Gang Mi Dai family are born evil, their lies are fabricated on the spot without even a blink.

"Enough! Enough! This is noisy…"

"Everyone, go back to your own seats and sit!"

Araki, seeing Jingle and Shitan's argument escalating toward a duel, intervened, broke up the fight, and ordered everyone back to their seats.

"Hmph!"

Jingle and Shitan let out a cold humph and obediently returned to their seats on standby.

"Then the assessment time begins…"

"How are your Bankai trainings going?!"

Araki asked Jingle, Shitan, and Ye Yi.

"Simple~"

"I've already successfully mastered my Bankai!"

Jingle's mouth twitched upward involuntarily as he answered Araki.

At the same time, Jingle couldn't resist a provocation, glancing at Shitan and Ye Yi.

"Fortunately, I have also successfully mastered my Bankai!"

Shitan was a bit displeased that Jingle spoke first, but it didn't matter; after all, he had mastered Bankai too. Bankai is that simple—could anyone still fail to learn it?!

…

However, Shitan and Jingle didn't notice that Ye Yi subconsciously tucked her neck and remained silent on Araki's question.

"Ye Yi, what about you?!"

Unfortunately, even though Ye Yi had already exerted all her effort to lower her presence, Araki still called on her.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! It's really annoying! I'm just a little bit away, just a little bit, from defeating that cat demon and learning my Zanpakuto's name."

Ye Yi, after hearing Araki, first let out a few desperate screams, then stretched out two fingers toward Araki and the others, creating a tiny gap at the tips, indicating the distance between her and her Bankai.

"If you really can't learn it, you can ask Wang Yue."

Araki, seeing this, gave Ye Yi a reminder.

"I can learn it!"

Ye Yi immediately interrupted Araki; as the senior sister, she absolutely cannot be weaker than her junior brother.

"Fine, as you wish! My latest deadline for you several is one month. If within a month anyone cannot master Bankai by their own power, I will have Wang Yue tell you the name of your Bankai directly! And after a month, you will begin the second trial…"

Araki ignored the formidable Ye Yi and gave her a full month of buffer time.

"The second trial?!"

Jing Le and Shi Tan, however, were clearly more curious about the second trial Araki mentioned.

"You don't think that mastering Bankai means you've passed the assessment, do you?!"

"My requirement for you is that from the day you graduate from my sect, you can go straight to the Guardian Corps Thirteen Squad to take over a captain's position, and with your current strength, do you consider yourselves capable of leading a division?!"

Araki looked at the puzzled Jing Le and Shi Tan and asked in return.

"Ugh! It seems leading a division isn't impossible, right?!"

Jing Le, after hearing Araki's words, muttered to herself.

Honestly, Jing Le is currently brimming with confidence in herself…

"So, Master Araki, what are our real graduation requirements?"

Shi Tan thought for a moment, then asked Araki.

"You have already graduated! But you have not yet been dispatched…"

Araki corrected Shi Tan's wording: graduation is graduation, dispatch is dispatch; the two must not be confused.

"So, Master Araki, what are our dispatch conditions?!"

Shi Tan was momentarily stunned, then continued to ask Araki.

"Master Bankai, Spiritual Might Rank 2! Go to the Guardian Corps Thirteen Squad and serve as the leader of any division! Those are the dispatch conditions for Shi Tan, Fu Zhu, and you three, Jing Le~"

Araki first clarified the dispatch conditions for Shi Tan, Jing Le, and Fu Zhu.

Then, Araki looked at Ye Yi and continued: "As for your dispatch conditions, Ye Yi, they're a bit more troublesome than the others…"

"First, 'Master Bankai' and 'Spiritual Might reaching Rank 2' are hard requirements that will not change! These are the conditions for you to leave the Spirit King Palace!"

"On top of that, I also want you to fully complete your 'Shun Hong'; remember, completing 'Shun Hong' does not mean presenting the half‑finished version you showed me before…"

"What I need to see is the complete form of your 'Shun Hong'! Only by achieving this can you smoothly depart from the Spirit King Palace…"

"In addition, after leaving the Spirit King Palace, you must secure the support of the elder of the Four Maple Court family, become the head of the Four Maple Court, defeat the current commander of the Secret Mobile, take over his position, and fully bring the Secret Mobile under control!"

"All of that, Ye Yi, can you accomplish it?!"

After Araki finished stating Ye Yi's dispatch conditions, he asked her.

"Isn't that obvious? For me, it's really too easy!"

Ye Yi puffed out her 'thin' chest and said Araki's words.

"Very well."

Araki nodded at the words.

"Master Araki, regarding my dispatch conditions, could you add one more for me, please!"

Just as Araki finished Ye Yi's dispatch conditions, Shi Tan raised his hand and cheerfully said to Araki.

"Oh?!"

Araki saw Shi Tan's sly grin and knew the other guy was already brewing trouble again.

"Since one of the conditions you gave Ye Yi is for her to successfully become head of the Four Maple Court family, I hope you can also add a condition to my dispatch criteria: only after I successfully become head of the Gang Mi Dai family will the dispatch be permitted."

Shi Tan looked at Araki and voiced his 'ambition'.

"Oh?!"

Araki heard this and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Shi Tan, are you really sure?"

"You should know, although one of the conditions I gave Ye Yi is for her to successfully become head of the Four Maple Court, in reality Ye Yi would face almost no resistance; as long as she has enough strength and a mature mind, she can…"

"But Shi Tan, you're different; if you aim to become head of the Gang Mi Dai family, countless obstacles stand before you, and a slight misstep could lead to a shattered, broken end."

Araki looked at Shi Tan and asked.

After all, Ye Yi is already the next‑in‑line heir of the Four Maple Court, whereas Shi Tan is merely a child of a branch of the Gang Mi Dai family, with countless senior heirs ahead of him—let alone the Five Elders and the like.

"I know! But I believe I can…"

"Otherwise, Master, all the effort you've poured into teaching me the twin‑blade style would be in vain, wouldn't it?"

Shi Tan said, flashing a fox‑like smile.

"Hahaha! Good!"

"Then I'll add another dispatch condition for you! Shi Tan, become the head of the Gang Mi Dai family!"

Araki laughed upon hearing that; he knew Shi Tan now understood the years of painstaking effort his master had invested.

"Hm?!"

At this moment, only Chun Shui wore a completely bewildered expression.

"Only one sword, yet practicing a twin‑blade style? Is that why?"

Ye Yi glanced at the Zanpo Blade at Shi Tan's waist, where clearly only one sword was sheathed.

If Shi Tan's Zanpo Blade is only one, it obviously can't be used for a twin‑blade style, so in Araki's mind Shi Tan will eventually possess two Zanpo Blades; after all, the heirloom of the Gang Mi Dai family head is a Zanpo Blade…

So, does that mean Araki has already helped Shi Tan map out his goal while teaching him?!

(End of chapter)