Death God: Starting from Refining Essence into Qi

Three days have passed in the blink of an eye.

After finishing his last class, Xuan didn't go to the library as usual, but went straight back to the courtyard.

The setting sun cast long, slanted shadows along the corridor. Xuan walked slowly, his left hand always resting on the scabbard at his waist. Zanpakuto used in actual combat usually did not have tassels, but now the hilt was adorned with fine, distinct black tassels that swayed slightly with his steps.

This is a training plan devised by Gen—to maintain prolonged contact with the Zanpakuto while preserving the tassel-like spiritual energy, thereby honing the precision and endurance in controlling spiritual energy.

When I pushed open the courtyard gate, a thousand days had not yet passed.

The stone steps outside were heated by the summer sun. Xuan sat down on the steps, maintaining the tassel-like posture, and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing. About fifteen minutes later, the courtyard gate was pushed open again.

As Qianri walked in, his gaze immediately fell on Xuan's waist.

The tassel of spiritual energy swayed gently in the wind, each strand clearly discernible, its fluctuations so stable they were almost as if it were the tassel itself.

"This thing..." Qianri took two steps closer, examining it carefully, "Your spiritual power?"

Gen opened his eyes and dispersed the tassels attached to his Zanpakuto: "Practice controlling it."

Qianri stared at the gradually dissipating light spot, remained silent for several breaths, and then slowly said, "Releasing spiritual energy is not difficult, but to do it so precisely and steadily is remarkable."

He raised his eyes, his gaze towards Xuan filled with astonishment. "Your level of control is beyond 'good'; it's the limit for most Grim Reapers. At this level, the precise control of spiritual energy required for beast transformation is no problem for you at all."

He paused, then continued, "Furthermore, the fact that you can so smoothly project spiritual energy through your Zanpakuto indicates that the spiritual connection between you and the sword is already quite strong, and you're probably not far from achieving Shikai. Do you still need to learn Beast Transformation?"

Xuan remained noncommittal.

Qianri's expression was serious: "But if the tassel is faulty, we can just start over. If there are problems during the beast transformation, I can at most forcibly interrupt it, and it's uncertain whether it can be restored. One last time: do you still want to learn the beast transformation? It's not too late to back out now."

"Hmm." Xuan's tone was calm, yet unwavering.

Qianri nodded.

"it is good."

He walked to the center of the courtyard and began to untie the white trousers tied around his waist. Xuan was taken aback when he saw this, suddenly remembering that the beast transformation was merely a spiritual reconstruction and naturally did not include external objects.

In the original manga, Yoruichi provided some fan service when she transformed from a black cat back into human form in front of Ichigo, becoming the gateway for many people's dark fantasy fantasies. But now the atmosphere is gradually becoming tense.

"Close your eyes and concentrate, release your spiritual senses and perceive carefully." Qianri's voice came, "Beast transformation does not require the release of spiritual pressure, but in order for you to perceive, I will release some spiritual pressure. Be prepared."

Having said that, he no longer concealed his spiritual pressure and revealed it.

Fifth-class spiritual power!

Xuan Xin's spirit tightened. Although the spiritual pressure had been restrained, it was clearly equivalent to a fifth-level vice-captain. The surging spiritual pressure spread out like a tide, bringing a tangible sense of oppression.

In my spiritual perception, the changes began.

In a gray world, the outline of the thousand-day golden spirit body became clearly visible. As the brightest spiritual nodes gradually shifted, the entire spirit body began to change.

The spiritual particles that form the skeleton extend first—the spine lengthens like a bowstring, the shoulder blades are reshaped and widened; the flesh stretches and intertwines, constructing a completely new muscle structure; the skin and fur spread from bottom to top, with dense layers of spiritual particles covering the body surface.

Although Qianri deliberately slowed down the process, the entire process was still swift. In just five or six breaths, the spirit's humanoid topological structure had completely transformed into a beast form.

Xuan opened his eyes.

Where Qianri stood just moments ago, only a tiger and the clothes on the ground remained.

It stands as tall as an adult's chest at the shoulder and is nearly three meters long. Its fur is thick and gnarled, with broad black stripes. The coat is a striking mix of orange-yellow and jet-black stripes. Its shoulder and back muscles are prominent, its limbs are strong, and its claws reveal a sharp edge.

The tiger slightly raised its head, its golden, round pupils looking at Xuan. Its jaws opened and closed, its voice deep and resonant: "How is it? The changes in the spiritual body sensed by your spiritual pressure are much more realistic than the illustrations in the 'Secret Records,' aren't they?"

Xuan nodded: "The trajectory of the spiritual particle reconstruction and the changes in node connections are very clear."

"That's good." The tiger shook its massive head. "I'll transform back into human form, and you can sense it carefully."

As spiritual energy flowed, the tiger transformed back into human form. Qianri picked up the clothes, putting them on as he asked, "The 'Secret Record' lists seven common templates: tiger, wolf, owl, cat, bear, ox, and horse. Which form did you choose?"

"Owl".

"Have you memorized the owl topology?"

"Um."

Qianri fastened the white hakama belt around his waist and sat down opposite Xuan: "Once you've fully mastered it, transform a few more times. Once your body gets used to the different form, there won't be any danger in future transformations. But your current trial phase can't be rushed—" He pointed to Xuan's left arm, "First, lower your spirit activity level, then try transforming your left arm into a beast. After that, try both arms, then the limbs, and finally the torso and head."

Xuan Yi sat cross-legged and guided his spiritual power according to the method recorded in the "Secret Records" to reduce the activity of spiritual particles in his body.

With reduced activity, spiritual particles are easier to guide. However, this step is no longer needed once the transformation into a beast is fully mastered. Reducing the activity of spiritual particles in the body is mainly to minimize rejection during partial transformation into a beast.

Then, Xuan recalled the topological diagram of the owl-shaped forelimb spiritual particle structure in the appendix of the "Secret Record". It was an extremely complex three-dimensional network, with precise parameters marked on the nodes and spiritual energy transmission paths.

He began to guide the spiritual particles in his left arm to reconstruct.

The first thing to change is the skeletal psychic energy. The psychic nodes of the ulna and radius slowly shift and stretch, the metacarpals contract, and the phalanges lengthen and slightly bend.

As the skeleton transforms, the original muscle fiber psychic structure is gradually dismantled and rewoven according to the shape of a bird's wings. The psychic connections of the tendons are adjusted accordingly to ensure the stability of the psychic energy transmission in the new structure.

Finally, there are the surface-level feather-like spiritual particles. Countless tiny spiritual particle nodes emerge from beneath the skin, arranging themselves into layers of feather-like structures. The grayish-brown texture gradually solidifies, covering the entire left arm.

This process was extremely slow. Xuan was completely focused, ignoring the tingling sensation in his arm.

After an unknown amount of time, Xuan opened his eyes and looked at his left arm.

The spirit attached to the left shoulder was no longer an arm, but the forelimb of an owl. To be precise, it was the left wing.

The feathers rustled gently in the evening breeze, their textures tangible. The appendix to "The Secret Record of Beast Transformation" consisted of stacked pieces of cloth, with over a dozen pieces depicting owls, each larger than a person. The adjustment of nerves and meridians occupied the majority of the text.

After sitting quietly protecting the Dharma for a thousand days, Xuan stopped and nodded slightly: "With the precision you demonstrated in controlling spiritual power, it went smoothly indeed. How does it feel?"

Xuan tried moving his left wing.

An indescribable sense of unease welled up within me. Even though my reason clearly indicated that this was a change in my spiritual body, the conflict between sight and touch remained intense. When the wings flapped, I could clearly perceive the subtle resistance of the air flowing over the feathers—an experience I had never had with my human arms.

"It's strange," Xuan said truthfully, "I can probably adapt."

"That's good," Qianri said. "While the spirit's memories haven't disappeared yet, guide the spirit back to its original state as soon as it adapts."

Xuan closed his eyes again.

The recovery process was even faster than when the beast was transformed. A few minutes later, the left arm returned to normal.

Xuan moved his fingers; his joints were flexible, and his sense of touch was normal, as if the wings he had just seen were merely an illusion. But he knew it wasn't—deep within his spirit body, the spiritual particles in that area had temporarily memorized another arrangement. After several more transformations in the future, the spirit body would remember this form and would no longer need to adjust the individual spiritual particles on its own.

Qianri stood up: "That's enough for today. Successfully completing the local transformation on the first attempt is excellent. Observe your left arm for the next few days for any abnormalities. If there are no discomforts within a week, then proceed to the next step."

Xuan stood up and asked, "Approximately how long does it take to fully master beast transformation?"

"If we maintain this pace and everything goes smoothly, we should be able to initially master it in about six months, and achieve rapid beast transformation in a year." He said solemnly, "This cannot be rushed. Even if everything goes smoothly, we must give the body enough time. In the most ideal situation, it will still take a year."

He turned and walked towards the courtyard gate, his voice carried on the wind: "We'll continue at this time next week. If you feel unwell, come find me or your head instructor as soon as possible. He has also mastered beast transformation."

Xuan stood still, stretching his left arm as he watched Qianri leave.