At the edge of Rukongai in the Soul Society, in a secluded corner—
A spatial rift split open. Two figures stepped out: Lin Xuan and Ichigo Kurosaki, freshly arrived from the living world.
"So this is the Soul Society—where Shinigami and souls live? The reishi concentration is way higher than the living world!" Ichigo exclaimed, staring at the old-fashioned buildings around them.
Lin Xuan scanned the surroundings, quickly pinpointed their location, grabbed the still-gawking Ichigo, and headed in another direction.
Before long they reached a wilderness area with no one in sight.
But on a patch of grass not far away sat a house.
When Lin Xuan saw it, the corner of his mouth twitched.
The house itself was ordinary enough—but behind it rose a pillar over ten meters tall, wrapped in rock, with a massive cannon barrel inside.
Beside the pillar stood a stone statue. It was painfully hard to look at.
Why?
Because the statue depicted a person—and that person was Ganju Shiba. It was absurd.
No need to guess. This had to be Kūkaku Shiba's house.
Only she would build something this bizarre.
Lin Xuan wasn't surprised Kūkaku had moved here.
Her previous house had been accidentally destroyed when he absorbed reishi. This one was newly built.
But even without that, Kūkaku moved often. She loved wandering and relocated frequently.
Beside him, Ichigo was equally stunned. He'd never seen a house with this much personality.
"Let's go."
Lin Xuan walked straight inside. Ichigo hurried after him, muttering under his breath, "That statue is hideous. Who built that?
It's terrifying."
This time, Kin and Gin greeted Lin Xuan with smiles and welcomed him and Ichigo in.
Walking in behind Lin Xuan, Ichigo felt a little nervous—but watching Lin Xuan's back, his unease settled somewhat.
As they descended the stairs, Ganju Shiba came toward them.
Ganju saw Lin Xuan and was about to greet him—when Ichigo interrupted.
Ichigo stared at Ganju, stunned. "Holy crap—someone really looks that ugly!"
Ganju's face went dark. He glared at Ichigo. "Kid, what did you just say?"
"You heard me!" Ichigo didn't back down an inch.
Both had explosive tempers. After a round of shouting, they were soon brawling.
Lin Xuan ignored them and found Kūkaku quickly.
A black cat sat before her—the transformed Yoruichi Shihōin.
When Lin Xuan appeared, both Yoruichi and Kūkaku turned to look at him.
"You came after all," Kūkaku said.
"Of course. Our deal isn't finished yet."
Lin Xuan sat down uninvited and smiled. "What's happened in the Soul Society these past two days?"
Yoruichi and Kūkaku exchanged glances.
Yoruichi spoke gravely. "Quite a lot, actually. The most shocking thing—yesterday, Aizen Sōsuke was ambushed and killed on the spot."
"The killer hasn't been found. The entire Seireitei is searching. All Gotei 13 members have been recalled—but there's still no trace."
Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow.
Knowing the original story, he knew Aizen hadn't truly died.
What surprised him was that despite his intervention, Aizen still used the fake-death tactic.
"Also, there've been several battles in the Soul Society over the past two days. Strange powerful fighters appeared each time, using all sorts of bizarre techniques with devastating power. That's drawn a lot of attention too."
Yoruichi's gaze drifted to Lin Xuan.
She suddenly realized—ever since Lin Xuan appeared in the Soul Society, its former peace had been shattered.
"The cannon's ready. We can launch anytime," Kūkaku said.
She tossed Lin Xuan a transparent sphere.
"This is a Reishi Bead Core—a special hardened reishi barrier generator I invented. Infuse it with spiritual energy and it forms a temporary hard protective shell. That'll let you force through the Seireitei's barrier wall."
Kūkaku was about to explain the operation in detail—
But the bead in Lin Xuan's hand suddenly glowed. A circular barrier formed around him instantly.
Kūkaku and Ganju stared, stunned.
Lin Xuan had never touched a Reishi Bead Core before—and succeeded on the first try.
Ganju even ran up and punched the barrier several times. It held firm.
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T/N:
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