Death God: Starting from Refining Essence into Qi

Yuanzi Academy Sword Dojo.

Morning light streamed through the high windows, and Xuan and his classmates stood on the polished wooden floor. Wooden knives were neatly arranged on a knife rack by the field, and a faint scent of wood filled the air.

The kendo instructor stepped into the center of the arena. His face was stern, a sword was at his waist, and his gaze swept across the entire arena, instantly silencing everyone.

"My name is Ono, and from today onwards I will be responsible for the basics of your kendo." His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears. "You are all new students, and your foundations vary. I will first teach you the basics of kendo, and once your foundations are solid, then the head instructor, Lord Han Genryusai, will personally teach you."

He paused. "Now, take the wooden sword."

The teaching assistant pushed the wooden sword cart past, and the students took turns receiving them. When it was Saito's turn, he pointed to the asabu at his waist.

"I have a Zanpakuto, can't I use this?"

Ono frowned: "Use wooden swords uniformly."

"This is my sword." Saito tilted his head, his single eye filled with confusion. "There's no written rule saying you have to use a wooden sword. Aren't Shinigami supposed to practice their swordplay by using shallow blows?"

A low murmur arose in the room.

Ono's face darkened: "I said use a wooden sword, so use a wooden sword."

Saito stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly turned to Gen: "Hey, Shihouin, you came with a Zanpakuto too, right? Let's spar with real swords—"

"Saito," Ono's voice turned cold, "say one more word and you'll be running laps until dark today."

Saito scoffed, took the wooden sword with a smirk, and casually swung it—creating a whooshing sound.

"This is so boring," she muttered, but didn't insist any longer.

Ono walked to the center of the arena, drew his sword, and raised it above his head: "Watch closely. Suzhen is the foundation of swordsmanship."

The wooden sword suddenly cleaved down! "Swoosh—" The sound of it cutting through the air was short and sharp.

"Your goal is one hundred times." He sheathed his sword. "Work in pairs, supervise each other to ensure proper form, and count. Begin."

Before he could finish speaking, Saito strode up to Gen, slung the wooden sword over his shoulder, and said, "You're the one."

Xuan nodded.

The two walked to an empty spot at the edge of the field and stood facing each other.

Saito raised his wooden sword with a posture so perfect that it surprised Gen—the angle of his weight shift, the strength of his grip, and the point of his gaze were all impeccable.

"drink!"

The wooden sword cleaved down with astonishing speed, without any fancy moves.

Xuan sidestepped.

"What?" Saito raised an eyebrow in displeasure. "Sparring, sparring, why are you dodging?"

"One hundred repetitions," Xuan said. "Not a battle."

Saito paused for a moment, then burst into laughter: "You're really something! You were ready to retaliate, but you suppressed your urge to attack."

But she still put away the knife and obediently began to perform the ritual.

One, two, three...

The precision of the movements surprised Xuan.

"What are you looking at?" Saito noticed his gaze and said while brandishing his sword, "Don't think I'm just a liar, I'm at least—"

She suddenly stopped and didn't continue.

"Hmm?" Xuan asked.

"It's nothing." Saito grinned. "Swing your sword, Shihouin."

Two figures stood side by side, their wooden swords rising and falling, creating a whooshing sound.

In the distance, Ono Shizuru's gaze swept over the two, and he frowned slightly. Then his brows relaxed—their movements were both standard, at least impeccable for his skill level.

He looked away and focused on instructing the other trainees.

Noon, in the cafeteria.

Xuan carried his food tray and found a corner to sit down. Just as he picked up his chopsticks, a figure sat down opposite him with a "thud".

Saito, who was immortal, glanced at the food on the plate: "How can you maintain your figure after eating so much?"

Xuan didn't say anything and continued eating.

Saito didn't seem to care, shoveling rice into his mouth and mumbling between bites, "That Ono today was so stubborn. What's wrong with using a Zanpakuto? Aren't swords meant to be used?"

"Rules," Xuan replied succinctly.

"Tch, rules." Saito scoffed. "When I'm at home, I have to sit up straight while eating, speak politely, and walk with proper manners... It's so annoying! I finally get away from home, and I still have to follow the rules?"

Gen looked up at Saito.

"Are you a nobleman?" he asked. Although Gen knew that Saito was immortal, he had never heard of such a surname among the nobles of Soul Society. However, this was not surprising, as there were many nobles in Soul Society, and Gen was not the omniscient and omnipotent Soul King Adnes.

"Ha. You wouldn't have guessed, would you?" Saito picked up another piece of food with his chopsticks. "Anyway, I hate all that formality. You have to bow when you meet someone, you have to use honorifics when you speak, you can't even laugh loudly—you can't even control how you laugh, isn't that insane?"

Xuan ate silently, occasionally responding with a word. Unexpectedly, Saito, who was immortal, was not only naturally outgoing but also a chatterbox.

"And another thing, I like fighting, I like bloodshed, what's wrong with that?" Saito got more and more excited as he spoke. "But my family said it's 'unbecoming of their status,' 'unseemly.' Pshaw, can seeseeing put food on the table?"

She suddenly stopped and stared at Xuan: "Why are you so expressionless? Do you not like to smile, or do you dislike me?"

Xuan: "That's just how he is."

Saito stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly reached out and poked his face.

Xuan raised his hand to block, his movement even faster than hers.

"What are you doing?" he frowned.

"Let's see if you're wearing a mask on your face." Saito withdrew his hand, grinning. "You can't do it like that, you need to smile more! Come on, learn from me—hahahahaha!"

Her unrestrained laughter drew sidelong glances from students at several surrounding tables.

Xuan looked at her, and only one word came to his mind: crazy.

But perhaps because such uninhibited laughter, unconcerned with anyone's gaze, is so rare, Xuan wasn't particularly bothered by it—unless it was during a meal.

Saito put down his chopsticks and carefully examined Gen: "I knew it during kendo class; you were definitely hiding something. With that look in your eyes, you're definitely not weak."

Xuan didn't reply.

"But it doesn't matter." Saito waved his hand and picked up his chopsticks again. "Everyone has their own things to do. Me too."

"My family has arranged a marriage for me," Saito said, his expression as if he were commenting on the weather. "I don't even know the other person's name, and I'm supposed to give up my freedom. Isn't that ridiculous?"

"So I ran away." Saito shrugged. "The head teacher of the Genji Academy is too powerful, they don't dare to come looking for me, they'd be too ashamed. Maybe in a few years, that mess will fall through."

Saito breathed a sigh of relief: "Phew, I feel much better after talking to someone."

She looked at Xuan: "And you? You're quite strong. I've wanted to fight you several times, but you always refuse. Did you come to Yuanzi Academy because of Yamamoto Genryusai, hoping to become Yamamoto's true disciple and become even stronger?"

Xuan thought to himself, "It seems that intermarriage among nobles is quite common in this era," and replied, "More or less."

This wasn't just a perfunctory response. On one hand, he was also engaged, sharing a similar plight; on the other hand, he genuinely wanted to know why Yamamoto and Suzakube were so powerful—there's always something to learn from those who are strong. This was indeed quite similar to Saito's conjecture.

Just as Saito was about to say something more, a commotion suddenly broke out at the other end of the cafeteria.

The sound of bowls and plates clattering was mixed with suppressed screams.

The two looked up at the same time.

By the window, three well-dressed students were surrounding a commoner boy carrying a food tray. The boy had his head down, his shoulders trembling slightly, and the tray in his hands was tilted, with soup dripping from the sleeve of one of the three noblemen.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."

The commoner boy's voice was soft and trembling.

"Not on purpose?" The leading boy wore a gentle smile, but that smile was as sharp as a knife when it fell on the commoner. He looked down at the stain on his cuff, patted it lightly, and said, "Taguchi-kun, do you know how many years this fabric could feed your family?"

The commoner boy named Taguchi trembled even more violently.

The other two noble boys standing beside him laughed, their laughter full of mockery.

"Kitashirakawa, why are you telling him all this? What would ordinary people know about these things?"

"Exactly, maybe his whole family couldn't save enough to buy this piece of cloth even in a hundred years."

Taguchi lowered his head even further, and could barely hold the food plate in his hands.

"Taguchi-kun." Kitashirakawa Hideaki's voice was still gentle, even tinged with concern, "How will you manage at Genji Academy if you keep acting so clumsy? How about this—"

He reached out and gently patted Taguchi's head, as if comforting a frightened little animal.

"From now on, follow me around and learn the rules. With me protecting you, at least you won't be bullied."

These are well-spoken words, but everyone can tell that this is an attempt to recruit followers and establish authority.

Taguchi stood frozen in place, unsure how to respond.

The students around him kept their heads down and ate, as if they hadn't seen him.

Saito put down his chopsticks and got up to walk toward the source of the commotion.

Seeing this, Xuan ate a couple more mouthfuls of rice and then set off as well.