this infinite world

The microcosm is the power that can break through limits and shatter stars.

Although he has not received systematic training, and even made the foolish mistake of not knowing how to use cosmos energy to refine the Saint Cloth, resulting in the Sagittarius Silver Saint Cloth, which he obtained by spending money on a side quest, being unable to be unsealed, Zhang Heng is indeed a passionate young man with strong beliefs... And when he is excited and unable to control himself, he can naturally trigger the resonance of his internal cosmos, thereby unleashing power beyond the limit!

"Bullet time, 20x speed, go!"

Just a moment ago, he had broken through the nine-times limit and reached the ten-times speed that even the God of War had not exchanged. Then, like Goku activating the Kaioken, Zhang Heng once again crossed an insurmountable boundary... At this moment, he actually pushed this skill to an unprecedented twenty times speed!
"Watch closely, this is my resolve!"

Beneath the crimson glow, Zhang Heng's roar transformed into countless overlapping sonic waves, just like his swung right fist. And under the influence of the third-tier gene lock, which had been activated at some unknown time, every cell in this young man was operating at overclocked speed amidst the blazing flames of his cosmos, and the surface of his Saint Cloth displayed profound patterns resembling the movement of stars: "Pegasus... Meteor Fist!"

Legend has it that every Saint Seiya's fist can cleave the sky, and their feet can tear the earth apart. While Zhang Heng wasn't using that legendary fist technique capable of slaying gods and demons, his fist, which clearly far exceeded the speed of sound, was in no way inferior to Seiya's, who had just become a Bronze Saint!
Who says archers can't fight in close combat? Even before Zhang Heng's fist touched the target, the shockwave had already spread, sending pebbles flying into the air and then instantly turning them into powder under the ensuing wind pressure!

Danger--!
His own Shikai, "Good and Evil are Retributed," was shattered by the most basic and purest form of brute force, causing Ling Xin's pupils to instantly shrink to pinpoints. Almost instinctively, he gripped his Zanpakuto with both hands, using the massive sword, longer than himself, to block the impact in front of him at the last second, executing a perfect parrying and deflecting maneuver!

"Clang clang clang—"

The continuous clang of metal against metal echoed across the battlefield, and Ling Xin's figure was forced back step by step by the meteor-like punches. Even with his fourth-stage gene lock unlocked, he could not withstand Zhang Heng's sharp edge.

Speed ​​is power. With the bullet time amplified by twenty times the speed, even a light touch is no less lethal than a rifle bullet leaving the barrel. Not to mention, Zhang Heng, fueled by his inner universe, has gained immense explosive power... At this moment, he is essentially a combination of Yang Yun with his "super senses" activated and Zheng Zha with his "explosion" activated!
At that moment, Zhang Heng's fists seemed to truly transform into meteors, their attack frequency exceeding the limits of physics. Before the shockwave of the previous punch could even spread, the energy fluctuations of the next three punches had already superimposed; and when the tenth punch was unleashed, the sonic boom of the first punch finally arrived... In an instant, Zhang Heng, at the third rank, had actually managed to leave the fourth-rank Ling Xin in a sorry state!

"boom!"

With the final, powerful punch crashing down like a comet, the seemingly endless, relentless barrage of blows finally came to an end. When Zhang Heng's exhilarating punch struck the surface of the Zanpakuto, Ling Xin was instantly blasted nearly a hundred meters away, and the resulting energy ripples caused the ground within a thousand-meter radius to sink three feet!
It must be said that Ling Xin looked quite disheveled at this moment, completely lacking the ease and composure he displayed as the captain of the Celestial Team. His feet left two long, charred tracks on the scorched earth, reaching up to his ankles, and this was only after he had used his subtle power to transfer most of his force into the ground... Even so, the remaining force still caused the tiger's mouth holding the sword to burst open, and bright red blood dripped down the hilt of the sword.

"...I underestimated you, Zhang Heng, the comedic killer."

After taking a few deep breaths, Ling Xin finally steadied his trembling hands and looked straight at Zhang Heng, who was striking a pose on the spot. His voice remained calm, but with a rare hint of respect: "But do you still have the strength to fight again?"

"Funny my ass... Pfft!"

Zhang Heng was about to shout a rebuttal when a mouthful of blood gushed out like an arrow, followed by an even more horrifying sight. Crimson blood seeped from the corners of his eyes, earlobes, and nasal cavity; even fine beads of blood began to seep from his skin's pores, making him look exceptionally gruesome…

"Zhang Heng!" Chu Hao's exclamation came from afar.

"I'm fine!"

Although he was almost covered in blood, Zhang Heng gritted his teeth, knowing that this was the backlash from activating twenty times the bullet time. Ignoring the pain in his body, he used the power of the second-stage gene lock to forcibly seal every pore to prevent himself from losing his strength.

Forcing himself to give Chu Hao a thumbs-up behind him, Zhang Heng took a deep breath and once again ignited the inner universe within him: "I can totally... fight you like this for a whole day!"

"A very good level of awareness, but if you want to defeat me, this level of power is far from enough."

Looking at Zhang Heng, who was clearly at his limit but still stubbornly refused to collapse, Ling Xin stood up: "Very well, if this is the potential you've shown, then I do need to show you what true power is..."

"Swastika."

There were no fancy, poetic words of liberation, no dazzling visuals of the Zanpakuto being unleashed again, and no earth-shattering scenes. Ling Xin simply uttered these words calmly: "If good and evil go unpunished, then Heaven and Earth must be biased!"

Then, Ling Xin took a step forward in a very ordinary manner, swung his sword, and made a simple and unadorned move that was not difficult at all.

But this seemingly ordinary strike caught Zhang Heng off guard. Before he could even react, a crescent-shaped sword aura rushed towards him!

"laugh--"

The sound of flesh being torn apart lingered for half a second before slowly escaping. Zhang Heng's barely managed sideways movement was utterly meaningless against this sword energy that could traverse the sky, and his silver holy armor only managed to offer a brief moment of resistance before shattering and exploding instantly. He was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, embedding himself in the rock wall behind him, his fate unknown...

"...This is my Bankai."

After cleaving Zhang Heng away with a single strike, Ling Xin gripped his Zanpakuto, which hadn't changed much in form except perhaps becoming a little sharper, and looked at Chu Hao in the distance, who seemed still too stunned to react. He slowly said, "Chu Hao, after hearing the name of my Bankai, you should understand what those ten characters truly represent, right?"

—Chu Hao understood, of course. The reason there was no further path for exchanging Zanpakuto at the main god's place was because it didn't require the main god's help to advance. Just like how each Shinigami in the manga is assigned an "Asauchi," only by knowing the name of the Zanpakuto given to them and engaging in a spiritual dialogue with it can they obtain power from this Zanpakuto, which is modeled after the Shinigami's own soul…

That is, to awaken the "light of the soul" that belongs to oneself.

Chu Hao had long known that the Main God possessed an exchange that could prematurely elicit the nascent form of the Light of the Mind. The lower limit of this exchange was pitifully low, its initial power even less than ordinary enhancement; however, its upper limit was astonishingly high. Once one could forge their own path, they could directly overcome thresholds that ordinary people could hardly cross… In the Arctic team, Zhang Heng's Cosmo ability and the “Nen” ability that Sterry exchanged were both exchanges that could directly elicit the nascent form of the Light of the Mind!
Just like the previous two, Ling Xin's Zanpakuto exchange is clearly one of these exchanges. And whether it is Shikai or Bankai, it is what this young man thinks and desires, the path he has walked all along, and his most essential wish.

The initial understanding is "good and evil are rewarded accordingly," and the final understanding is "if good and evil are not rewarded, then Heaven and Earth must be biased." So, in other words, what Ling Xin is thinking now is...

"...You've never truly let go."

Chu Hao stared into Ling Xin's eyes. Through the holes in the silver metal mask, he could see that the other's eyes, which were originally normal, had turned into pitch black. They were no longer human eyes, but rather two black holes that devoured all light.

His once clear pupils were now completely stained black, even the whites of his eyes turning a chaotic dark color, as if countless twisted, turbid currents were surging within them. Even more chilling was the churning energy fluctuations around Ling Xin; the spiritual pressure energy that a normal Shinigami would use, colorless and transparent, was no longer what it had been. Instead, it had transformed into layer upon layer of pitch-black waves, more primal, more dark, still visible to the naked eye even from a great distance…

The surging spiritual pressure ruffled Chu Hao's clothes, stirring up pebbles in the center of the battlefield. The goblins near the battlefield had fallen silent, trembling under the oppressive spiritual pressure. Only Chu Hao remained unaffected. He simply looked at Ling Xin with a slightly sorrowful gaze and softly said, "Ling Xin, answer me... have you lost hope in this world?"

"Yes, I'm disappointed."

Ling Xin answered without the slightest hesitation, saying directly, "You're at the third stage of the gene lock right now, right? I'll tell you in advance... When a person unlocks the fourth stage of the gene lock, he will encounter what is called an inner demon, and my inner demon is what I call 'Great Freedom'."

"Great Freedom" signifies the vast power to accomplish anything, symbolizing ultimate freedom, unrestrained and omnipotent. If Yang Yun were here, he would surely be astonished that this was the same inner demon Zheng Zha encountered in the fourth stage of the original timeline... and now, Ling Xin's inner demon is exactly the same.

Was this truly a coincidence? Ling Xin didn't know, or rather, he had only heard of Zheng Zha's existence, let alone possessed such confidential information. However, his relationship with Zheng Zha didn't prevent him from recounting his initial experience of entering the state of inner demons in a dreamlike tone: "Although this inner demon might just be triggering something I've been suppressing deep within me—after all, everyone has two sides; even the most cheerful and sunny person inevitably has a dark side, and I, a mere mortal, am no exception..."

"It's so good, that feeling. No more pain, no more sorrow, everything can be easily resolved..." Ling Xin's whisper was so clear at this moment: "Unfortunately, things in this world never go as I wish..."

"..."

Chu Hao naturally knew why Ling Xin's inner demons were in such a "free and easy" state. All along, that figure who always stood at the forefront of the organization had been carrying unimaginable pressure and enduring countless pains and torments.

He loves humanity and wants to protect this beautiful world and his loved ones from the crisis caused by the meme effect; but his childhood experiences and the human nature he has witnessed make him, like Adam, deeply abhor the ugliness shown by humanity.

It was precisely that burning desire to protect what is good, and the goal he had always strived for, that allowed Ling Xin to witness more clearly the darkest abyss of humanity. Like carrying a bright lamp into the darkness, the more light he illuminated, the deeper the shadows he saw…

"If good and evil go unpunished, then Heaven and Earth must be biased. This is my Bankai."

Suddenly, Ling Xin spoke again, saying, "Once the rules I set using my Shikai are broken, my Bankai will naturally take effect. In other words, this is actually a passively triggered effect."

At this moment, he actually took the initiative to explain his Bankai ability: "When a thought arises in a person's heart, the world knows it all. If the world is unwilling to deal with all the injustices in this world, I will destroy the world. And every time I break a rule I set and enter this state, all my strength will be enhanced in all aspects, ten times or even dozens of times the original strength."

"If I were a hero, I would repay good and evil. This is my belief, and the belief for which I will fight to the death..."

As he spoke, Ling Xin casually swung his longsword, and the spiritual pressure gathered on the blade carved a semi-circular trench in the ground. The power of the sword was several times greater than before: "Chu Hao, can you defeat me in this state?"

“Ling Xin, didn’t I tell you before? I’ll wake you up, I’ll make you understand that your thinking is wrong.”

Chu Hao rummaged in his pocket with his right hand and pulled out a pair of ordinary non-prescription glasses.

With a soft "click," the young man finally put on the glasses and entered "God Mode." The instant he put on the glasses, Chu Hao's entire demeanor changed drastically. His previous agitation receded like a tide, replaced by an absolute rationality that transcended humanity. He seemed to have lost all emotion in an instant.

At the same time, countless runes and magic circles appeared on Chu Hao's body surface, visible to the naked eye. However, unlike his usual practice of setting up rune magic circles and casting powerful spells that could change the course of a battle like a mage, this time the countless runes around Chu Hao's body contracted inward, one by one imprinting themselves onto his skin and merging into his body...

"Level 1 preparation restrictions lifted, computing power sufficient, soul state perfect, rune array diagram fully prepared..."

Chu Hao's tone dropped two octaves, transforming from his previous excitement into a completely emotionless, utterly cold voice, unlike a human voice, more like a mechanical or electronic one: "Overload state..."

"Start." (End of Chapter)