The Supreme Soul, Starting with Death

Chapter 155 Aizen's Heart Fluttered

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Chapter 156 Look, the elephant is flying!

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Chapter 157 Dragons and Martial Arts

Speaking of which, I remember in the lore there's an Eastern Bureau in Soul Society and a Western Bureau in England, right? I wonder if a Western Bureau actually exists in this world.

If so, wouldn't that mean "dragons" also exist?

Gu Shi sat cross-legged on a towering stone pillar, a wooden puppet basking in the sun on his head, a tin puppet flying around his head, and a glass puppet swinging on his fangs.

Ignoring these small things, Gu Shi rested his chin on his hand and pondered to himself.

Both "Dragon and Witch" and "Bleach" are written by Tite Kubo, and in terms of setting, the two stories are set in the same world, except that "Bleach" takes place in the East Coast Bureau of Japan, while "Dragon and Witch" takes place in the West Coast Bureau of London, England.

However, when "Dragon and Witch" came out, Gu Shi had already become a typical exhausted office worker and didn't have the energy to follow the manga. He just wanted to wait for the anime to come out and watch it, so he didn't know the details of this new story.

Gu Shi's only knowledge of "Dragon and Witch" came from a little information he casually looked up while slacking off at work. He roughly knew that the combat power of the Western Bureau seemed to be relatively weak, and that there was a monster called "Dragon".

Unlike dragons in the traditional sense, the "dragons" in Xishaoju are all strange and bizarre creatures. Of course, among these strange "dragons", there are also some that look relatively ordinary and are just ordinary animals, but can spread their wings when they use their power.

The only thing these strange dragons seem to have in common is that they can all grow wings and possess dragon venom.

Yes, the dragons in this world have a certain "contagiousness". After ordinary people come into contact with dragons, they will be infected with dragon toxins and become something called a dragon possessor.

Gu Shi didn't pay attention to what the Dragon-possessed person's setting was, or what abilities they had, and he wasn't quite sure at the time.

What suddenly reminded him of this story, and what he cared about somewhat, was the dragon's venom itself.

Gu Shi was very curious. In the worldview of Bleach, the soul is clearly far more important than the body. Since Dragons and Witches share the same worldview as Bleach, can dragon venom also infect the soul? And what are the symptoms after infection?

The spiritual power of the void naturally possesses a strong corrosive quality. If an ordinary person's soul comes into contact with the spiritual power of the void for a long time, it will be irreversibly eroded.

So, if Hollow came into contact with a dragon, was the dragon's soul corrupted by Hollow's spiritual power? Or was Hollow infected by the dragon's venom?

Of course, unlike the void, dragons possess flesh and blood.

Generally speaking, a living body has a considerable resistance to the erosion of spiritual energy. Even ordinary people, if they are not devoured by the void, will only feel weak, powerless, and die if they come into contact with the spiritual energy of the void. They will not become void while still alive.

A living dragon might be immune to the erosion of spiritual energy to some extent by relying on its physical body, but what about the soul of a dead dragon?

Furthermore, what would happen if the dragon's soul became ethereal?

Is it true that as long as one spreads one's spiritual power, everyone who comes into contact with this spiritual power will be infected by the dragon toxin in the spiritual power, greatly expanding the scope of the dragon toxin infection?

Is it because the dragon venom of the dragon is itself composed of the spiritual power of the void, so even living things, after being infected with the dragon venom, will have their souls directly eroded by the spiritual power of the void?

I have a feeling that dragons and voids seem to have a peculiar complementary relationship in terms of their destructiveness towards life.

Fortunately, the combat strength of the West Frontier Bureau is relatively low. Even the strongest fairy tale dragon seems to be no match for an average captain or Adjuchas. The Soul Society (East Frontier Bureau) doesn't think much of them and hasn't recorded much about their situation.

Otherwise, if Aizen were to capture a few dragons in the west and add some dragon toxin to the Hogyoku while conducting Hollowfication experiments, it would be disastrous, and the speed and scope of the Hollowfication experiments would likely increase significantly.

As for the Visoreds, they're probably doomed. When they're Hollowfied, they not only have to endure the erosion of Hollow's spiritual power, but they also have to be infected by Dragon Toxin. Whether they can survive is another matter. Even if they do survive, they'll most likely become walking sources of infection because the Hollow in their bodies carries Dragon Toxin.

Moreover, considering that Aizen had his eye on Ichigo Kurosaki from the moment he was born, personally training him to become his strongest rival, once Aizen learned of the existence of dragons, Ichigo Kurosaki, a Quincy and Shinigami hybrid, would probably have some dragon blood mixed in with him.

Speaking of which, should I go on a trip to the west and capture a few dragons to study?

[If we could get a few dragons, that would be best. Even if we couldn't, we could give the scraps to Tianpeng to refine pills; who knows, he might be able to refine something new and interesting.]

Gu Shi shook his head, flung the glass doll hanging from the fangs away, grabbed the chattering tin doll, and subconsciously squinted his eyes.

Judging from the Hollowish white within Ichigo Kurosaki's body, it's possible for a Zanpakuto's spirit to also become Hollowfied. Could this spirit be infected by dragon venom? And if infected, would every strike be equivalent to inflicting poison damage?

The tin doll felt a chill run down its spine from Gu Shi's gaze and instinctively shut its mouth, pretending to be dead.

With a cold laugh, Gu Shi casually tossed the tin doll aside and began to communicate with the wooden doll on his head, trying to find out its name.

Unfortunately, even after Erlang woke him up, Gu Shi still couldn't hear the wooden doll's name.

Upon returning to the material world, Gu Shi opened his eyes and saw Erlang's excited face.

"Gu Shi, I succeeded! I created the first set of martial arts!"

Gu Shi was stunned for a moment before realizing what Erlang meant, and couldn't help but get excited.

"Quick, quick, show us!"

Without Gu Shi urging him, Erlang had already impatiently mobilized the spiritual power in his body, making it circulate along a specific route. Then, he proudly pounded his chest, producing a harsh sound like metal being struck hard.

"Golden Bell Shield and Iron Shirt! How about that? My defense is incredibly strong now. Even Tianpeng couldn't easily injure me!"

Gu Shi also reached out and tapped Erlang's chest, secretly pondering to himself.

Among the many talents of the Menos Grande, there is one called "Steel Skin," which can greatly enhance the Menos Grande's defense. The Fifth Espada, Nnoitra Gilga, has this ability.

However, although the Great Hollow's steel skin is called steel skin, it doesn't actually turn the skin into steel, and when Nnoitra's steel skin is cut, it doesn't produce a metallic clang.

The ability that Jiro is displaying at this moment is more like Iron Body from One Piece than Steel Skin, or like Cheng Shifei's "Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill," both of which have the characteristic of turning the body into steel.

So, Erlang really succeeded? Did he really create a "martial art"?

"Erlang, if it hurts, just bear with it."

As he spoke, Gu Shi grabbed a corner of Erlang's black robe and began to tear it forcefully.

Killian's black robe is actually part of his body. At this moment, the black robe on Jiro's body, like his skin, has become incredibly hard and possesses a certain metallic-like property. Gu Shi intends to tear off a piece to see if there will be any changes after it is separated from Jiro's body.

Chapter 158 Tumu Tiankeng!

It must be said that Erlang's self-created new martial arts are indeed extraordinary. His physical strength has increased to an absurd level. Gu Shi spent a lot of effort to finally tear off a corner of the black robe.

Interestingly, even when separated from Jiro's main body, the metallic nature of the black robe remains, giving it a unique feel that is both hard and flexible when held in the hand.

After careful study, Gu Shi finally confirmed that Erlang's martial art did not make the body "like" metal, but rather turned it into real metal. If a craftsman were to open a furnace, he could probably forge a soft knife directly from the fragments of the black robe.

"...How is this done? Is it similar to the principle of kidney stones?"

Gu Shi held the fragment of the black robe in his hand, then patted Erlang's stiff body, his eyes full of doubt.

Erlang was filled with a sense of accomplishment and couldn't wait to show off. When Gu Shi asked him a question, he immediately began to explain.

"Hehe, Gu Shi, didn't you tell me before that I should take a look at the information I brought back from Soul Society when I had free time? A few days ago, when I was killing time, I happened to come across a book called 'Space, Order, and Aesthetics,' and I really found some inspiration from it!"

The information he brought back from Soul Society was all written down by Gu Shi himself. During the copying process, he remembered most of the information, even from books he wasn't particularly interested in. Now, hearing Jiro's words, he immediately recalled the general content.

Although the title contains words like "space" and "order," which might sound like some kind of magical manual explaining the laws of nature, this book should actually be classified under the category of civil engineering and architecture.

The book mainly discusses how to design and manufacture aesthetically pleasing buildings while ensuring the rationality of each structural element, avoiding architectural errors that are both laughable and frustrating.

Although Shinigami Academy is a school for training Shinigami, it does not only send new members to the 13th Division. Every once in a while, Shinigami opens various specialized classes to train new members for organizations such as the Kido Sect and the Construction Class. The Construction Class is responsible for building necessary new buildings for the Seireitei and repairing buildings damaged by battles or other accidents.

This book, "Space, Order, and Aesthetics," is an extremely obscure book specifically designed for students in architecture-focused programs. Without such programs, it might sit in a corner for centuries without being read.

...Did this book inspire Erlang to create new martial arts techniques?

Gu Shi squeezed the fragment of the black robe with metallic properties in his hand, and a flash of inspiration struck him, and he suddenly understood Erlang's meaning.

Unlike the civil engineering of the present world, in Soul Society, where everything is made of spiritual particles, the Shinigami of the construction team do not need to dig stones or trim timber by hand. Their work process is relatively simple. As long as multiple people work together to connect the spiritual power of several or dozens of people to build a stable framework, the construction team's special equipment can collect spiritual particles from the atmosphere and introduce them into the framework.

Those special instruments can automatically change the arrangement of the spiritual particles within the frame, transforming them from free, active spiritual particles into more stable spiritual particle structures such as wood, stone, and metal, and adding many aesthetically pleasing "natural" patterns to them.

The job sounds simple, but because the equipment is not very efficient, the work of the construction team is actually quite arduous.

Even though each person doesn't need to output much spiritual energy per unit of time, they must output spiritual energy steadily for several hours or even more than ten hours to maintain the stability of the spiritual energy framework. After a round of work, almost everyone will be severely exhausted.

If they were assigned a large-scale emergency construction mission, some team members would work to the point of affecting the stability of their own spirits and need to be sent to the Fourth Division for emergency treatment.

Therefore, the construction class was almost the least popular unit in the entire Serenity Court. Given a choice, many people would rather clean in prison than work in the construction class.

When Gu Shi saw the introduction to the architecture class, besides gloating that even in the afterlife, civil engineering was still a bottomless pit, he also remarked with a sigh:

"It turns out that it's not just high-level ghost arts like the Five Pillars Iron Pendant and the Black Coffin that can convert spiritual energy into a metallic or similar material structure. Ordinary death gods can also do it with special equipment, and the material they convert seems to be more stable than that of high-level ghost arts. It's true that everyone has their own expertise."

Upon hearing Erlang mention that his new martial arts were related to architecture specially provided by Soul Society, Gu Shi immediately recalled his own past reflections.

"You've transformed the surface around you into a real metal structure?"

Seeing that Gu Shi had guessed his thoughts, Erlang was initially a little annoyed, but then his emotions became even more excited.

"Gu Shi, you really understand my thinking! That's right, our bodies can be seen as a stable 'framework'. As long as we use spiritual energy to mimic the working principle of construction machinery and change the arrangement of spiritual particles in this 'framework', we can transform the body into materials of various properties!"

As he spoke, Erlang slapped his body hard again, making a series of metallic clanging sounds.

"My current body structure is made of the same material as the torture instruments in the special prison of the Criminal Investigation Department. Not only is it difficult to damage, but it also has the characteristic of reducing the activity of spiritual particles. If I hold someone in my arms, their spiritual energy circulation will immediately become sluggish!"

Erlang became more and more excited as he spoke, and opened his arms to hug Gu Shi, to give him a real demonstration. Gu Shi could understand Erlang's pride, so he simply gave up resisting and let Erlang hug him generously. Sure enough, he felt that his spiritual power seemed to have become a bit more inert.

"Great idea! Erlang, your concept is really excellent!"

Gu Shi first praised Erlang, affirming his intelligence, before raising his own question.

"However, wouldn't it be a bit slow to activate this martial art? Also, after transforming into metal, can you transform back?"

Erlang was not discouraged by Gu Shi's question. It didn't matter if the martial art he created for the first time had some flaws. Taking the first step was enough to satisfy him. So he answered with a smile.

"It is indeed relatively slow, but because it actually changes the body structure, it does not need to be specially maintained after activation. It can be kept in the activated state all day long. It only needs to be maintained every once in a while, so there is no need to worry about it not being useful in battle."

"As for turning back, it's not difficult. You just need to rearrange the spiritual particles in your body and return to your original state."

Chapter 159 Transparent Human World!

"Uncle Gu Shi, are you alright?"

While carrying the giant rock frog jump, Bai looked at Gu Shi's body with some concern. Asiduo, who was sitting cross-legged on the giant rock, also had some concern in his eyes.

It's no wonder the two were so worried. Gu Shi's appearance, shimmering with seven colors in the sunlight, was truly unsettling. They were both afraid that if Gu Shi moved even slightly, it would shatter into pieces.

"It's nothing. I just transformed my body into glass. I can transform it back in a bit."

Gu Shi casually offered a word of comfort to the two of them, then continued to look down, staring intently at his own body. Erlang naturally didn't hold anything back from him, and under Erlang's hands-on instruction, he quickly learned the new martial arts that Erlang had created.

However, unlike Erlang's approach of transforming his body into metal to increase his defense, Gu Shi, after learning the technique, transformed his body into pure glass on his first attempt. Through those transparent glass bodies, he could see the path of the spiritual energy within his body with unparalleled clarity and grasp the destination of every strand of spiritual energy.