Chapter 94: Legendary First Generation Guard Division Thirteen Squads! (Second Update)

Three days later.

Ukitake completely overcame the 'Weak Period' caused by Mimehagi's departure, which had made his spiritual pressure unstable and his spiritual body collapse, returning to the state he should have had, and under Araki's guidance, he continued Complete Release training.

Without the hindrance of the 'Soul King's Right Arm' Mimehagi, Ukitake's training in Complete Release went much smoother than expected, and before long he successfully mastered his own Complete Release.

Meanwhile, perhaps because Ukitake had fused with Mimehagi for too long, his body still gained some of Mimehagi's power, which Ukitake called the 'God Hang'.

Thus, among Kyoraku, Ukitake, Shihouin, and Yoruichi, the only one who had not yet succeeded in mastering his/her own Soul-Cutter Sword Complete Release was Yoruichi.

Time flew by, and twenty-seven days later……

"I finally completed Complete Release!"

"In the last day of the 'one month time' limit Araki set for Yoruichi to master Complete Release, Yoruichi finally succeeded in completing her own Complete Release; she put away her Soul-Cutter Sword that was releasing endless thunder, and at the same time wiped the sweat from her forehead, her small cheeks showing an excited expression."

"To be honest, training in Complete Release was harder than Yoruichi had imagined!"

"One month?!"

Araki looked at Yoruichi, who had finally mastered Complete Release, and gave a slight nod.

"One month is the final deadline I set for my disciples; after all, that guy Quebu took exactly one month to successfully master Complete Release! My disciples' time to master Complete Release cannot be slower than Quebu's."

After Yoruichi successfully mastered Complete Release, Araki reassembled Kyoraku and the others.

"Araki teacher, is it time for the next training?!"

During the one month of training at the Soul King Palace, Kyoraku appeared increasingly mature, mainly because he had been educated many times by Araki and others, naturally becoming sensible.

"Next I will take you through practical combat training……"

"You will constantly hone your skills between life and death, and strive to increase your respective spiritual pressures!"

Araki looked at Kyoraku, Ukitake, Shihouin, and Yoruichi and spoke calmly.

"Practical combat training?! Could it be that Araki teacher is the opponent?!"

When Kyoraku heard Araki's words, his eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze revealing a dangerous glint; he seemed to be calculating whether, if he, Ukitake, Shihouin, and Yoruichi faced Araki now, they would have any chance of victory.

"Oh? You seem quite confident, huh?"

Araki looked at Kyoraku's narrowed eyes and asked calmly.

"Ahaha, isn't it because we've all mastered the Soul-Cutter Sword Complete Release? Our mindset inevitably becomes a bit inflated."

Kyoraku, being frank, directly told Araki his concern.

"Having this mindset is good!"

"But if it goes too far, it's not good……"

"With your current strength, relying on that pitifully weak Complete Release in your hands, not to mention defeating me, even injuring me would be a problem……"

"Come on! Your opponent isn't me; I'll take you to see who your true opponent is."

Araki said that, then turned and walked forward.

"Araki teacher, where are you taking us?!"

Regarding what Araki had just said, Yoruichi and the others neither agreed nor disagreed; after mastering Complete Release, their mindset indeed felt a bit flighty, but they had not become so overconfident as to think that with their current strength they could defeat Araki, who bears the title of 'Strongest'.

"Speaking of which, since you came to the Soul King Palace, you haven't visited my detached palace, right?!"

Hearing that, Araki turned his body and looked at Yoruichi and the others as he asked.

"Araki teacher, could it be that you mean…?!" Upon hearing this, Yoruichi and the others were all shocked by Araki's words; they first glanced at each other, then said to Araki: "Are you going to take us to your detached hall?!"

"How? Don't you want to go?"

Araki didn't answer their words, but instead smiled and asked back.

"Want to go! Of course we want to go!"

Yoruichi and the others kept nodding; how could they not want to go to Araki's detached hall? They had long been curious about Araki's detached hall, after all, that was the only detached hall of a Zero Division member they had not yet visited!

"Then follow me!"

Araki said that and walked toward his detached hall.

"Let's go!"

Seeing Araki stride forward, Yoruichi and the others immediately took small quick steps and hurriedly followed.

"Araki teacher, why is your detached hall a different color from the others' detached halls?!"

"Araki teacher, why does a rumbling sound constantly come from above your detached hall?!"

"Araki teacher, why have you not let us go to your detached hall until now?"

Yoruichi, Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Shihouin surrounded Araki, exchanging questions back and forth, continually asking him.

"Stop stop stop……"

"Once you get there, you'll naturally understand everything! Before then, please let my detached hall retain a bit of mystery~"

After hearing Yoruichi and the others' words, Araki's eyelid twitched slightly; indeed, gathering these people together was not good—it was really too noisy.

"Araki teacher, how exactly are we supposed to get to your detached hall?!"

Shihouin, who had been silently following behind Araki, noticed that there were no intersecting stairs between Araki's detached hall and the Front Approach; his brow furrowed slightly, a sense of foreboding rose in his heart, but even so he honestly looked at Araki and asked.

"Pa~"

In response, Araki merely looked at his own detached hall hovering in the sky, lightly snapped his fingers; as his will stirred, the detached hall immediately emitted rumbling sounds, and then one after another, translucent glazed steps flashing with endless light appeared out of thin air, thus connecting Araki's detached hall and the Soul King Palace's Front Approach.

"Let's go~"

Araki said that, then led the way onto the glazed steps before him, stepping one by one toward the sky.

"This……"

Behind Araki, Yoruichi, Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Shihouin gazed at the shocking scene before them, first stunned, then quickly followed Araki. In this way, they stepped onto the transparent glazed steps hovering in midair, moving one step at a time toward Araki's detached hall……

"These steps hovering in midair are really high! If anyone among us fell from here, they'd probably splat straight into mud?!"

Kyoraku walked beneath the steps, craning his neck to look down, and immediately broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead.

"Don't look down if you're afraid of heights!"

Shitan watched Jingle, who kept breaking out in a cold sweat, and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"That's not necessarily..."

Jingle shook his head and continued climbing up the steps.

Not long after...

As everyone climbed the translucent steps up to Huangmu's detached palace, the steps vanished one after another; noticing this, Shitan furrowed his brows even more.

"Come over and look, this is my detached palace!"

Huangmu stood on a higher step, lightly waving at everyone, gesturing for Jingle and the others to hurry to his side, because from his position he could see the entire detached palace.

"Huh?!"

Following Huangmu's call, Jingle, Fuzhu, and Yeyi immediately walked to his side; as for Shitan, who was last, he hesitated a few seconds, gritted his teeth, and steeled himself to go over.

"This is..."

As everyone reached Huangmu's side, they were all stunned by the sight before them; looking in the direction he pointed, they gazed upon the detached palace...

Glittering glass light shone in all directions, exquisite gatehouses, splendid streets, a bell tower exuding an ancient simplicity, and countless glass-made objects kept Jingle and the others from looking away, staring fixedly.

"Teacher Huangmu, this place is too beautiful!"

"Is this the legendary lower immortal realm?"

"Teacher Huangmu, how exactly did you use such splendid glass to create such a wonderful city?"

"Teacher Huangmu, on a city made entirely of glass, is there really a place suitable for us to train? I'm really afraid that if I'm not careful while training, I'll shatter this glass, and I'll definitely feel heartbroken."

Jingle, Yeyi, and Fuzhu were completely immersed in the beauty of the city before them; even Shitan couldn't help but be drawn in, forgetting the unease that had risen deep inside him earlier.

"Let's go~"

Seeing this, Huangmu wasted no words, kicking each of Yeyi, Jingle, Fuzhu, and Shitan in the buttocks, sending them tumbling down from the high platform.

"Huh?!"

The four didn't think twice, instantly falling from the sky into that glass-colored world.

"Ow, ow, ow..."

"Teacher Huangmu, what do you mean by this?!"

As Jingle rose from the ground, covering his sore buttocks and turning to look at Huangmu, Huangmu already, through sheer will, lifted the platform beneath him, completely separating it from the detached palace below.

"Good, good, enjoy the feast I've prepared for you~"

Huangmu paid no heed to Jingle and the others; he simply lightly clapped twice at the sky...

"Boom!"

The next second, the entire glass-colored city let out a tremendous roar!

"What's going on?!"

After noticing the disturbance beneath their feet, Jingle and the others rose from the ground, drew the soul-cutting swords at their waists, and realized that their teacher Huangmu had never intended to make things easy for them as disciples...

"Roar!!"

Before Jingle and the others could think further, accompanied by a chorus of howls, glass-colored monsters emerged from all directions, heading toward them.

"Are these hollows?!"

Yeyi, looking at the monster's appearance, said instinctively.

"No! They're just dolls made of glass, not the same as true great hollows!"

Shitan, sensing the monsters' spiritual pressure, kept shaking his head.

"In any case, strike first!" Jingle declared, and as his words fell, he already lunged forward to slash at the monsters, murmuring, "They're merely glass-made monsters! Watch me shatter them with a single blow!"

"Hehe~"

When the monster saw Jingle's slash, a hint of mischief flashed in its eyes, allowing Jingle to hack at its body however he pleased.

"Clang! ~"

With a light ringing sound, Jingle felt his soul-cutting sword strike something like alloy, unable to penetrate at all.

"Roar!"

After seeing Jingle's shocked expression, the monster immediately counterattacked; but before its strike could reach him, Jingle dodged out of the way.

"Really?!"

Jingle used an Instant Step to create distance from the monster, then raised his soul-cutting sword and struck the ground with all his might.

"Clang~"

Another loud bang, and Jingle's soul-cutting sword was directly rebounded by the glass-made ground...

The recoiling force shocked Jingle, making his tiger's mouth ache.

"You'd better be careful! These monsters' bodies are harder than steel! Moreover, I've discovered that the material composing these monsters' bodies is the same as that of the city's 'ground' and surrounding 'buildings'..."

This was Jingle's conclusion upon contacting the monsters.

"In other words, are these monsters all made by Teacher Huangmu?!"

Upon hearing this, Fuzhu instantly understood.

"Moreover, even if we knock these monsters down, they quickly get back up! Utterly troublesome!"

Yeyi, crackling with electricity, after using her Instant Coax to smash a glass monster, saw it rise again shortly thereafter, and the spot she had shattered continued to repair itself over time.

"Simply put, should we retreat first?!"

After hearing everyone's words, Shitan summed up.

"Right! Let's first go to a monster-free place to think of a countermeasure! Right now we have no idea about these monsters' numbers, strength, speed, intelligence, or how to defeat them! We need to gather as much information as possible to find a way to pass this trial..."

Jingle gave a slight nod and shared his thoughts with everyone.

"Then let's withdraw..."

Everyone present was decisive; after deciding to retreat, none hesitated, immediately heading toward the direction with the fewest monsters.

However, as the crowd surged forward, the monsters did not decrease; instead, they grew more and more numerous, until finally there were so many that if the crowd did not defeat the monsters before them, they could not advance……

"Flower Heaven Mad Bone!"

"Twin Fish Principle!"

"Catch the Wind, Seize the Shadow!"

"Go berserk! Martial Vat Hammer!"

It was clear that battle was now unavoidable!

In an instant, all four completed the release of their Soul-Cutting Swords.

"Get out of my way!"

Having released their Soul-Cutting Swords, the four switched to an offensive stance; since they couldn't dodge, they decided to annihilate all the monsters before them! Thinking this, boundless spiritual pressure burst forth from the four……

"Boom!"

For a moment, Kyoraku, Ukitake, Shitan, and Yoruichi caused a huge commotion on this lapis-colored street.

"Ahhh! It's so noisy! Could it be that newcomers have arrived again?!"

Just as Kyoraku and the others were causing a huge commotion on this lapis-colored street, the many 'Ashura' who had been waiting on the Detached Palace for over a hundred years slowly awakened.

"Kyoraku, Ukitake, Shitan, and little Yoruichi~"

"I never said that the content of your trial was to eliminate the monsters on the Detached Palace~"

"Your true opponents in the trial are existences far more terrifying than the monsters……"

Araki floated in midair, taking in everything that happened inside the Detached Palace, the corners of his mouth slightly turning up.

Meanwhile……

After Kyoraku and the others had annihilated those monsters one after another, they finally collapsed to the ground, gasping heavily,

"Is it over?!"

Even with their strength, after continuously slaughtering these monsters hundreds of times, they would become too exhausted to catch their breath.

"Not yet!"

Shitan poked the twitching monster fragments on the ground with the sheath of his Soul-Cutting Sword, and said helplessly.

"Honestly, monsters that revive no matter how many times we defeat them are really poorly matched with us!"

Kyoraku sighed helplessly; he was clearly fed up with being tormented by these monsters.

"No, these monsters don't seem to intend to attack……"

"They're actually fleeing?!"

Just as Ukitake stood up, preparing to continue fighting the monsters, he was astonished to see that the monsters before him, one after another, began running in all directions along the streets, as if they had encountered something terrifying, fleeing in panic.

"First of all, they definitely weren't scared by just us, right?!"

Kyoraku watched the scene, his eyelid twitching slightly.

"You're absolutely right!"

Ukitake nodded, his cheeks already covered in sweat.

"In other words, whatever appears next will be even more terrifying than those monsters just now……"

Shitan continued to add.

"I want to go home!"

Yoruichi's eyes were vacant; she was already exhausted.

"Hey hey hey! Are you newcomers?!"

Just as Kyoraku and the others gripped their Soul-Cutting Swords, gritting their teeth in readiness, accompanied by a hoarse sound, figures one after another clad in white captain's overcoats stepped out from the surrounding streets and walked toward them.

"People?!"

When Ukitake and the others saw that the figures emerging from the streets were not monsters but people, they all froze; the situation indeed exceeded their imagination.

"How could there be people other than us here?!"

Kyoraku felt increasingly confused; the situation made him more and more bewildered.

"Look, what they're wearing seems to be the captain's overcoat of the Guardian Thirteen Squads!"

At this moment, Yoruichi faintly sensed their identities; she at least confirmed that these people were related to the Guardian Thirteen Squads.

"Captain's overcoat?!"

Kyoraku and Ukitake stared for a moment; this was yet another piece of information beyond their expectations.

"How could this be? Weren't they supposed to all be dead?!"

Only Shitan present seemed to recognize the identities of those before him.

During this hundred-year period, in order to understand Araki, Shitan had thoroughly studied all knowledge concerning the Guardian Thirteen Squads that had been absorbed by the Kangmi Dai family……

It was precisely because Shitan had learned about the history of the Guardian Thirteen Squads' establishment through books that he recognized the identities of this group before him.

"The situation is dire! The people we have encountered now are worse than the monsters! To be precise, these people should be even more brutal than the monsters……"

"I never expected that, in my lifetime, I would still be able to see the senior predecessors of the First Generation Guardian Thirteen Squads who once fought alongside Captain-Commander Yamamoto to win the realm……"

Shitan gazed at the arriving crowd, his expression tinged with shock.

"You're saying they are the senior predecessors of the First Generation Thirteen Squads?"

As Shitan's words fell, Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Yoruichi all showed stunned expressions.

"Weren't they all supposed to be dead?"

Yoruichi's expression carried a hint of doubt.

"It seems this is also the master's hidden hand!"

Shitan looked at the faces of the crowd before him and gave a wry smile.

Originally he thought that these monsters, which existed only in legend, could only be seen in hell after his death……

As it turned out, I never expected these people to not be dead! This is completely different from what was written in the Gāngmídài family's intelligence; it seems their Master once again treated the nobles of Soul Society as monkeys to play with...

I ask you? You are the brats that Huangmu had us come to train, right?!

Just as Shitan and the others were looking at the members of the First Generation Thirteenth Squad before them, feeling their pressure increase...

Yan Yuan Jin Le, Zhi Dao Zhi Wu, Wei Hua Dan Er Lang, Zhi Xing Nai Wu Gang, Lu Qu Bai Yun Zhai, Jiu Mian Jing Yan Tie, Wang Tu Chuan Yu Xu Fei, Shan Ding Si You Bin, and Ni Gu Cai Zang!

All nine captains of the First Generation Thirteenth Squad showed a harmonious smile on their faces and walked toward the crowd...

That terrifying aura made Jing Le and the others' faces drastically change.

Don't come over, you guys!!

Even though Jing Le and the others had already reached third-tier spiritual might, seeing this group of all evil people before them, they couldn't help feeling the pressure increase, and they wailed loudly.

Sorry everyone, I have something today, the update is a bit late; first two chapters of ten thousand words, and then there's more, but it'll be updated later! By the way, please vote~

(End of chapter)