Death God: Starting from Refining Essence into Qi

The following afternoon, as soon as the bell rang to signal the end of class, Saito Immortal appeared next to Gen's seat.

"I'm leaving." She said succinctly, her purple twin ponytails shimmering dazzlingly in the afternoon sunlight.

Xuan packed up his books, got up, and followed. As he left the classroom, he heard a few hushed whispers behind him—

"Did those two get together?"

"Nonsense, those who are strong naturally associate with others who are strong. Otherwise, why would they come to you?"

"Too……"

Saito was completely oblivious, or rather, she didn't care at all. As she walked, she asked, "Is your place far? If it's too far, I won't go."

"He moved in an instant, in half a quarter of an hour." Xuan's words were concise and to the point.

"That's alright."

The two stepped out of the Yuanzi Academy gate, and after confirming that no one was around, Xuan's spiritual energy gathered beneath his feet—

"Whoosh!"

The figure vanished from the spot. Saito grinned and followed closely behind.

In a clearing in the woods, the stilted house stands quietly.

Saito whistled as he landed, circled the platform, and looked up at the simple yet sturdy little building.

"Oh, you secretly built a house here?" She leaped up and landed on the edge of the platform with the agility of a cat. "You hid it well."

Xuan jumped onto the platform: "For cultivation."

"Cultivation?" Saito lay down sprawled out, the wooden platform creaking slightly under her weight. "This place is nice, no one bothers us, it's quieter than the dorm."

She turned her head, her only visible eye looking at Xuan: "Aren't you bored spending all day here by yourself?"

"I'm used to it." Xuan sat down cross-legged on the futon.

Saito pursed her lips and turned over to sit cross-legged. Instead of urging the lesson to begin, she remained silent for a moment.

"Hey," she suddenly said, "before I learn your demonic arts, there's something I want you to know."

Xuan looked up at her.

Saito raised his hand—and slowly removed the black eye patch from his left eye.

Xuan's gaze fell on the eye that had been covered all along.

Completely unharmed. No scars, no disabilities, nothing "special" as one might imagine. The purple eyes, as bright as the right, were now looking at Xuan with a rare, uneasy expression.

"How is it?" Saito's voice was lower than usual. "Aren't you disappointed? No scars, no secret abilities, nothing at all."

She twirled the blindfold in her hand, as if trying to hide her slight unease.

After she finished speaking, she observed Xuan's facial expressions, as if waiting to see what kind of expression he would make. But Xuan's face remained expressionless, just like usual.

Saito scoffed.

"You really are something, you don't give any reaction at all."

As she spoke, she tried to revert to her usual nonchalant tone: "My family always has such stern faces, saying that women should be gentle, kind, respectful, frugal, and yielding, that they should speak softly and walk with a swaying gait. I'll make them frown just by looking at me—you can't stand a girl like me being so arrogant? I'll show you how arrogant I can be!"

"At first, I just thought the eye mask was unique and looked pretty cool. Later, I found out it was effective—you wouldn't believe it, my family turned green when they saw me like this."

There was a hint of self-deprecation in her tone.

"I wear this thing even though my eyes are fine, just to spite those who can't stand me. It's a rather embarrassing secret to tell, after all, I'm a sixth-level Spirit Might cultivator with some strength, and I've been wearing an eye patch out of spite. Now that I've come this far, I can't even bring myself to say that my eyes aren't actually blind."

She quickly put on the blindfold, her movements practiced and skillful, clearly having done it countless times before.

"I'm telling you this," Saito said, looking directly into Gen's eyes, "for the sake of fairness."

"You have a secret, and I'll give you one too. We both have dirt on each other now."

She stretched out her hand, palm up.

"That way, you won't worry about me letting something slip, and I won't worry about you telling everyone—after all, nobody wants their secrets to be leaked, right?"

Xuan looked at the hand extended in front of him and reached out to grasp it.

"it is good."

Saito withdrew his hand with satisfaction, leaned against the pillar of the stilted house behind him, and resumed his nonchalant sitting posture: "I feel much more relaxed now, otherwise I always feel something is not right."

Xuan didn't speak.

But he knew that Saito's pursuit of "fairness" stemmed from his inability to accept the trust of others and his fear of betraying that trust, which led him to do such inexplicable things.

This behavior has a clear academic explanation in psychology, the core of which is defensive self-disclosure, also often referred to as excessive honesty/traumatic self-disclosure. However, Gen wasn't curious about Saito's past experiences; after all, her usual way of handling things was like a scab over her own heart, and Gen had no interest in smelling the blood from someone else's wounds.

Just like Saito's habit of squatting in a corner against the wall, driven by a sense of physical unease, many people have this habit.

"Alright, let's get down to business." Saito stood up, stretching his shoulders. "You promised to teach me that—Kido—yesterday, right? Come on, come on!"

Xuan stood up and walked to the edge of the platform.

"First, I divide Kido into two types: Hado and Binding Do. Hado is Kido used for offense, while Binding Do has a functional aspect, but it is relatively more difficult. I have numbered them according to their level of difficulty."

"I'll teach you the simplest one first, [Hado One: Rush]." He extended his right index finger.

Saito leaned closer, observing with great interest.

"Spiritual energy flows out from the Soul Sleep, passes through the Locking Knot, and gathers at the fingertips along the meridians. This is the simplest way to break through the Dao, nothing special." Xuan said, while controlling the speed of the spiritual energy flow, allowing the spiritual light at his fingertips to gradually condense. "The key is compression, not accumulation. Accumulation is just piling up spiritual energy, compression is preparing it for release."

The faint light at the tip of his index finger grew brighter and more solid—

"laugh!"

A shockwave shot out and struck the trunk of a tree three zhang away with precision, leaving a shallow dent.

"Like this."

Saito's eyes lit up, and he immediately copied him, extending his right index finger: "Easy! Watch me!"

Spiritual energy gathering—

"Hado One: Rush!"

Nothing happened. A wisp of smoke rose from her fingertip, and that was all.

Saito was stunned: "...?"

Xuan carefully observed her movements: "You're using too much force. It's not about more, it's about compression, not accumulation."

"Compress...pile up..." Saito muttered, trying again.

The second time: The shockwave veered seven zhang away, hitting an innocent tree and startling a flock of birds.

The third time: It dissipated into the air as soon as it was released, leaving only a gust of wind.

The fourth time: The power was enough, but the recoil made me take two steps back and almost fall off the platform.

Fifth time: ...no response.

"What kind of junk is this!" Saito shook his hands, a rare look of frustration on his face. "I did exactly as you said!"

"You're too hasty," Xuan said incisively. "The path of the ghost requires a calm mind. Every time, you're thinking about 'releasing it quickly' instead of 'controlling the spiritual power'."

"Isn't this almost the same?"

"Very different."

Xuan told her to sit cross-legged: "Calm your mind first, three breaths."

Saito did as instructed, and opened his eyes three breaths later: "And then?"

"Didn't you notice anything different?"

"I feel... a bit bored."

Xuan paused for a moment, then gave up on trying to calm her down: "Fine, let's try again. This time, don't overthink it. Just focus on 'pushing the spiritual energy out,' compress it at your fingertips first, and then push it out."

Saito took a deep breath and raised his right hand—

This time, her movements slowed down. Xuan could feel the spiritual energy gathering at her fingertips, though not as precisely as his own, it already showed signs of compression.

"Hado One: Rush!"

A shockwave shot out! Although it was five feet off course, it was indeed a [rush].

Saito's eyes lit up: "It's done!"

Then there is no more.

She tried more than ten times, with a success rate of less than 10%. The shots either went way off track, had negligible power (like a fart), or simply had no effect. On the rare occasion she succeeded, she had no idea how she managed to do it.

"I'm not practicing anymore!" Saito plopped down, waving his hands. "This thing isn't for me!"

Xuan glanced at the sky; she had practiced for less than half an hour.

"Half an hour is enough for me to chop down ten Hollows," Saito said with a sneer. "Instead of staying here, I'd rather go find a bear and have a good fight."

Xuan did not refute.

He looked at the purple-haired girl in front of him and recalled how she had single-handedly defeated the three Void Demons yesterday—her blade flashed like lightning, her movements were swift as the wind, without the slightest hesitation or delay.

She really doesn't need the Ghost Path.

She has her own way of fighting.

"Whatever you say," Xuan said.

Saito stretched and resumed his carefree demeanor: "But this trick is quite fun. I'll try it again when I have some free time."

She suddenly leaned closer: "You won't be upset that I wasted your day, will you?"

Xuan shook his head.

Saito grinned, stood up, and patted off imaginary dirt. "That's good. Let's go back for dinner, I'm hungry."

The setting sun bathed the forest in a warm golden hue.

The two left the base and walked back along the path they had come from. The birdsong gradually thinned out, and the night wind began to blow from the depths of the forest.

Back at the dormitory area of ​​the Genji Academy, Saito Okigen waved goodbye without saying a word and strode away.

Xuan walked towards the gatehouse. A package arrived precisely on time every month, around the 1000th of the month.

I sat down on the prayer mat in the entryway. The package was opened—

A stack of banknotes with a face value of 10,000 rings, about twenty in total, much thinner than in the previous two years.

There was also a letter with the Shihouin family crest printed on the envelope.

Xuan unfolded the letter, and familiar, flowing handwriting came into view.

"I heard you made a big splash at the Yuanzi Academy. To be able to kill a large Hollow so quickly, your strength is impressive."

As for the Ghost Path you mentioned, Genryusai's evaluation of it certainly wouldn't be high, after all, he himself carved it out by himself with just a sword.

Frankly, for me personally, releasing spiritual energy is a thankless task. I have more faith in my own fists and my Zanpakuto.

Sosuke was intimidated by you back then, not only because of the unprecedented way you used spiritual power. Your age combined with that power made him feel that your future was not to be underestimated. We are even more optimistic about your prospects and your future. As for the Kido, it is only a part of the talent you have shown.

I previously warned you not to reveal your Kido (Demon Arts) because I was afraid you might make mistakes and harm yourself while researching it alone. This time, you used Kido to save your classmate and kill a large Hollow, proving its potential. However, it's still best to be cautious when developing Kido and to manage it yourself; we probably can't help you much in this regard.

However, don't be timid. If Kido truly changes the way Shinigami fight, even if Soul Society is thrown into chaos because of Kido's future, it won't affect the Shihouin family. Other nobles wouldn't dare to be so disrespectful, much less attack you on Shihouin family territory.

In addition, this month's pencil allowance also arrived. It's less than in the previous two years—there are already plenty of pencils on the market now, so I only buy new ones when I run out.

Focus on your cultivation and don't overthink things. When you return, we'll have another match. Let me check if your strength has declined, and let me witness the power of the Ghost Path.

As for the immortal Saito you mentioned in your letter—that's an interesting name—a friend who has caught your attention must be extraordinary. If you have the chance, you might consider inviting him to visit the Shihōin family.

"Sifengyuan Thousand Days"

Xuan finished reading the letter, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Chihiro's tone was as always, teasing yet caring, casual yet approving. That's just the kind of person he is: he believes in his own skills and the secret techniques passed down through generations of the Shihouin family, but he never denies the path others have taken.

So this was the real reason Qianri had told him not to reveal the Ghost Path. It wasn't because he was afraid the Ghost Path would attract covetousness, nor because he was worried that it would threaten the family's interests; he was simply worried that Qianri would get hurt.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. No one would dare to provoke the Shihouin family. Besides, the Shihouin family isn't worried that the spread of Kido will shake the status of the five great noble families, since the strong always remain strong.

Xuan folded the letter and put it in the drawer.

Outside the window, the setting sun had completely sunk behind the mountains, and night had quietly fallen. The distant forests were blurred into a hazy silhouette in the twilight, with only the occasional chirping of birds.

Xuan took out paper and pen, and began writing a reply in the afterglow of the sunlight streaming through the window. He reported that he was safe and well, briefly mentioning his recent situation. He then signed the letter and put it away.

Night has fallen, and the moonlight is like water.

Gen sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, his Zanpakuto lying horizontally in front of him. Spiritual energy flowed slowly, surging from his Soul Sleep, passing through a lock, and flowing to the Zanpakuto and his upper dantian respectively.

A faint halo appeared on the blade, flickering with the rhythm of breathing.

Night had fallen, and the cultivation practice had finally come to an end.

Before going to bed, Xuan would reflect on whether his behavior throughout the day had been inappropriate, a habit he had always maintained.

The events of today flashed through my mind one by one.

He didn't teach Saito the immortal way of the demon.

Gen has little educational experience; his only experience in his two lives is being educated. If he wants to gather power in Soul Society by teaching Kido, the prerequisite is that he can teach others. How to teach Kido is a question worth exploring; he can think about it when he's relaxed.

There is also a letter from a thousand days ago.

Although the letter from a thousand days ago said, "I'll wait for you to come back and we'll have a fight."

But Gen knew that he only had a few years left before graduating from Genji Academy, and he would only be able to return to the Shihōin family during occasional holidays. After graduation, for the sake of his freedom, he would never return to the Shihōin family.

At that time, we might really not see Qianri again.

Xuan lowered his eyes, not wanting to think about it any further.

Outside the window, the night breeze carries the scent of distant mountains and forests.

The road ahead is still long.

But in this unfamiliar world, at least for now—

He is not alone.