Death God: Starting from Refining Essence into Qi

At exactly 5:00 AM, the morning mist had not yet dissipated.

Including Xuan, all 32 freshmen of the 1034th class stood in the lecture hall.

Amidst the cacophony of voices, a Shinigami dressed in a Shinigami uniform walked onto the stage.

In an instant, the air seemed to freeze, and the immense spiritual pressure felt like a tangible weight pressing down on everyone's shoulders. Some students who were speaking were forcibly interrupted and could only try their best to breathe to relieve the pressure.

No one spoke again; the students all looked towards the source of the spiritual pressure. If you ignored the hideous cross-shaped scar on his forehead, he looked like just a man with a receding hairline. But just by standing there, he exuded a chilling aura, like a drawn blade.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni stood still, finally withdrawing his spiritual pressure, and spoke:

"We must not pursue the aesthetics of clashing swords."

"One should not pursue the virtue of dying without returning home."

"One must not only consider one's own life."

"If you wish to protect the king and his five dukes, you should slaughter all the enemies from the shadows of the leaves."

His voice wasn't loud, but it resonated throughout the lecture hall like a muffled thunderclap, and his words seemed to be imbued with a fiery spirit.

"You have come here not to learn etiquette, but to learn how to kill the enemy."

Yamamoto's voice suddenly became more forceful:

"The enemy doesn't care about your origins, nor do they salute before the battle. On the battlefield, there are only the living and the dead."

"Therefore, I, the head instructor Yamamoto Genryusai, cannot guarantee that you will leave Genji Academy alive. Those who wish to graduate must become stronger in the face of life and death."

"Class of 1034, Dismissed."

The order to disband was given, but no one moved. Only after Yamamoto Genryusai left did the others head outside.

Just as Xuan was about to leave, a hand gently pressed down on his shoulder. He turned around abruptly and saw a resolute-faced young man with white hair, a grim reaper.

"Shihouin Gen." The man's voice was calm. "I am Sasakibe Chojiro, the Chief Instructor's deputy. Please come with me; the Chief Instructor wishes to see you."

Xuan was not surprised. He nodded and followed the Sparrow Division outside.

When Yamamoto Genryusai mentioned "one king and five dukes" in his speech, Gen had already anticipated it. The so-called "one king" refers to the Spirit King, and the "five dukes" are the five great noble families, including Shihōin.

Que walked ahead with steady steps. Xuan followed silently behind, his gaze fixed on the other.

He wore ordinary shihaka uniform, used ordinary asana, and walked with an ordinary gait. There was no deliberate display of power, and Xuan didn't even feel any threat—just like an ordinary person walking down the street.

But it was this feeling that made Xuan's back feel slightly cold.

Genji knew that when Yamamoto was young, he only had a diagonal scar on his forehead, which earned him the nickname "丿字斋" (a slang term for a scar on the forehead). Later, a young man named Suzakube wanted to become his right-hand man.

Yamamoto initially dismissed the offer, politely declining with the almost impossible condition that the character learn Bankai within a month. However, within a month, the character actually mastered Bankai, leaving a second mark on the old scar on Yamamoto's head. From then on, "丿字斋" became "十字斋".

After that, Yamamoto, as the founder of Genjijuku, saw that the sparrows attached themselves to the willows, so he changed his name to Genryusai, as the willow that the sparrows followed.

Gen remembered that when Chihiro was chatting with him, he called Yamamoto Shigekuni "Genryusai," indicating that the Sparrowbeard had mastered Bankai for many years. And the corresponding strength of the Gotei 13 captains was at least third-rank Spirit Power.

Ke Xuan couldn't sense any threat from him.

There can only be one explanation—the difference in strength between the two sides is so great that Xuan's spiritual pressure perception is completely unable to reach the other. It's like a bird standing on the back of an elephant; it will never understand how terrifying the enormous life form beneath its feet is until the elephant starts moving.

Xuan was secretly alarmed, but remained outwardly calm.

The two walked through the corridor and stopped in front of a simple wooden door. Sparrow turned and nodded slightly to him:

"This is it. Let's go in."

Xuan pushed open the door and entered.

The interior was extremely simple, with only a knife rack, a writing desk, and a few cushions.

Yamamoto sat behind his desk and looked up at Gen.

"sit."

Xuan Yi sat down on the futon, her back straight.

Yamamoto cut to the chase, asking, "What brings people from the Shihōin family here?"

Xuan understood. It was probably because of his identity as a member of the Shihōin clan that Yamamoto Shigekuni had misunderstood. He only needed to state that he was there solely to improve his strength on his own behalf.

"To improve my strength," Xuan replied calmly. This was the main purpose of his coming to the Genji Academy; as for preparing to leave the Shihōin family, he couldn't possibly tell Yamamoto Shigekuni.

Yamamoto raised an eyebrow, the cross-shaped scar twisting slightly in his expression. "Can't the Shihouin family's own academy teach you?"

"I can teach," Xuan said, "but a lot of time is wasted learning etiquette and ancestral history. I've heard of Genryusai's exceptional abilities, so I wanted to come and learn from him." He also happened to see the living Yamamoto Shigekuni and Sasakibe Chojiro.

Perhaps feeling uneasy under Xuan's gaze, Yamamoto changed the subject and asked:

"What do you think is most important to Death?"

Xuanlue pondered for a moment. Yamamoto must have asked this question to countless people.

"Strength," Xuan replied. He didn't mention his inner thoughts, simply because explaining them would be too troublesome.

Yamamoto shook his head, his voice low but undeniable:

"No. It's the awareness of sacrifice."

He stood up, walked to the window, his back to Xuan, and slowly said:

"No matter how strong you are, if you lack the awareness to sacrifice yourself and retreat in the face of battle, you will only cause the death of your comrades and are not worthy of being called the Grim Reaper."

Xuan wasn't sure if Yamamoto said those words to him because a noble comrade had retreated in battle, causing his fellow soldiers to die, or if he simply hoped that Xuan would be prepared to sacrifice himself and train at the Genji Academy.

"Awareness is important," Xuan said, his voice still calm. "But without strength, awareness is just empty talk."

Yamamoto turned around, his gaze returning to Gen.

Xuan continued, "Those who die on the battlefield are not necessarily those who lack awareness; they are simply not strong enough. If they were strong enough, firmly believing that there are no enemies ahead, they would have neither the awareness to sacrifice themselves nor the courage to retreat in the face of battle. I came to Yuanzi Academy to become stronger."

Yamamoto looked at Gen, a strange glint in his eyes. It wasn't anger, nor was it offense, but rather a sense of re-examination.

"You brat from the Shihouin family," he said slowly, "you dare to say that."

Xuan did not back down: "I'm just stating my thoughts."

"Since you're here, learn properly." Yamamoto changed the subject, saying, "Sword techniques, hand-to-hand combat, footwork—you can't neglect any of them. Don't even think about slacking off in the theory classes—those aren't just for ordinary people to build a foundation; if you want to become stronger, you need to fill in the gaps in your knowledge."

Xuan nodded.

Yamamoto waved his hand: "Go ahead. Since you think strength is more important and you're just here to learn skills, then learn them well."

Xuan bowed respectfully, turned and left the quiet room, heading towards his dormitory.

Just as I turned the corner of the corridor, a figure crouched in the shadows.

Xuan paused in his steps.

Saito, who was immortal, raised her head, grinned, and her tongue habitually darted out from the corner of her mouth:

"Hey, what a coincidence, we meet again. The weather's nice today. How about a match?"

Xuan looked at her, speechless for a moment.

"...I don't think it's a coincidence," he said. "You clearly followed me here specifically to get beaten up."

Saito blinked, but did not deny it.

Xuan continued, "I'm here to see Lord Yuan Liuzhai. Are you here too?"

Saito snorted lightly, raising his chin slightly: "I've come to see Genryusai too, is that not allowed?"

Having said that, she strode past Xuan and headed straight for the wooden door. Her movements were swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

Xuan stood there, watching her retreating figure.

Then Saito raised her hand, but instead of knocking, she opened the door with a "whoosh," stepped inside, and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Bang."

Xuan stood under the corridor, speechless for a moment.

She actually went in, and slammed the door shut as she entered.

Xuan's lips unconsciously curled up slightly, unable to imagine what was happening inside the room.

Xuan withdrew his gaze and continued walking towards the dormitory.

He'll probably be able to glean something from Saito's face during tomorrow's kendo class.

—If the hot-tempered Yamamoto Shigekuni hadn't drawn his sword.