Death God: Starting from Refining Essence into Qi

Morning light streamed through the high windows into the kendo training ground of the Yuanzi Academy, cutting out squares of light and shadow on the floor.

Xuan sheathed his sword and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Four years have passed since the last live-fire exercise. From the very first year of his life in this world, he has consistently practiced the Yi Jin Jing (Muscle/Tendon Changing Classic) to strengthen his body. Now, his body doesn't resemble that of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old at all; instead, it's closer to that of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old teenager. His muscles are well-developed, his physique is well-proportioned, and he exudes healthy vitality.

For the past few years, Yuanzijuku has lived a regular and peaceful life. Every morning he practices his Zanpakuto, Hakuda, and Shunpo. After class in the afternoon, he studies Kido on his own. In the evening, he eats and chats with Saito in the cafeteria. After nightfall, he continues to nurture his Zanpakuto and concentrate on his training.

This is Xuan Zaiyuan's daily life at the school.

In the afternoon, Xuan left Yuanzi Academy alone and instantly traveled to the familiar mountain forest.

The stilted house still stood quietly in the forest clearing, only the surrounding trees were sparser than before. Xuan Yue stepped onto the platform, sat cross-legged on the newly added futon, and after briefly recovering the spiritual power and physical strength consumed by the high-intensity Instant Step, he jumped down from the stilted house and began his daily Ghost Path training.

In recent years, Xuan's research on the path of ghosts has never stopped.

Thanks to his superior spiritual power manipulation abilities compared to his peers, as well as his deep understanding of spiritual particle structure, the number of demonic arts he has mastered has steadily increased. Now, he has mastered most of the low- to mid-level demonic arts, and his progress in binding arts is also rapid.

Currently, it is possible to abandon chanting and release [Hado 57 - Earth Turning] and [Binding 61 - Six Staff Light Prison].

The former controls tons of soil and rocks on the ground to rise and surge, which can intercept incoming objects, create air landing points, cause falling attacks, and even be used in civil engineering—it is an extremely practical choice whether it is team battles, air battles or personal accommodation; the latter generates six beams of light to pin down the target's torso, making it unable to move its entire body, and is the fastest single-target binding demonic path.

In fact, it is not hard to understand why Gen's progress in binding techniques is much higher than that of breaking techniques: in the original work, only the "Binding Technique No. 58 - Slapping the Toe and Chasing the Sparrow" appeared among the binding techniques from No. 40 to No. 60. Gen naturally had no way to start with the other binding techniques he did not know, so he had to start trying the binding techniques starting with No. 60 early on.

Xuan knew very well how different chanting and abandoning chanting were in actual combat. In real battles, the enemy wouldn't give you time to stand still and finish reciting a lengthy incantation. Being able to chant the complete incantation could certainly enhance the power of the demonic path, but more often than not, instantaneous abandoning chanting was the key to survival.

Therefore, his rule for himself was: as long as a new Ghost Path can be released normally, he would immediately start practicing abandoning the incantation until he could release it instantly, and then he would continue to try the next one.

As for the subsequent [Hado 58: Tian Lan] and [Bakudo 62: Bai Bu Lan Gan], they are still being tested and there is no clue yet.

Xuan was not in a hurry. He took a moment to adjust his breathing and prepared to start again.

He lowered his gaze to the lingering spiritual energy in his palm, mentally re-analyzing the reasons for the failure of [Tianlan]. The essence of this move was to make spiritual energy rotate at high speed outside the body, forming a huge whirlwind—requiring continuous mental guidance of the spiritual energy, like using an invisible thread to hold a spinning top, making it rotate stably without collapsing.

This places extremely high demands on the sustained output of the primordial spirit. Because the incantation is unclear, and there's a lack of spiritual power to assist in controlling the spiritual energy, even the slightest lapse in concentration will render all previous efforts futile.

It's like programming on a computer; all you see are endless errors, but there's no example to follow along with. Fortunately, thanks to the ability to manipulate spiritual energy, the backlash from failed trials can be detected and eliminated immediately.

"mysterious--!"

A familiar shout came from outside the clearing in the woods.

Xuan turned around and saw Saito, the immortal being, standing at the edge of the open space, one hand on her hip and the other waving at him. The setting sun gilded the area behind her, and her purple twin ponytails swayed gently in the evening breeze.

"Still standing here? The cafeteria's about to close!"

"Studying your demonic arts again?" Saito glanced at him, a hint of mockery in his voice. "Stuck here all day, not eating in the cafeteria, planning to starve tonight?"

"I'm giving you a chance to try and surpass me in terms of Shunpo (instantaneous movement). You're welcome."

"Tch." Saito scoffed. "Let's see who gets to the cafeteria first—the old rule, the loser treats everyone tomorrow."

Xuan didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly.

The two of them moved out almost simultaneously.

The wind whistled past their ears as two figures darted swiftly through the forest. This was a tacit understanding that had gradually formed between them—every evening, Saito would go to the base to call Gen to go to the cafeteria together, and then the two would compare their speed and endurance with their Shunpo (flash step), seeing who could move faster. Over the years, both of their Shunpo had improved rapidly, but Gen had to admit that Saito seemed to have a greater talent for it than he did.

Perhaps because of that exercise, Gen finally agreed to fight Saito, but Saito was bound from head to toe by a continuous barrage of [Binding Spell No. 4: This Rope] before he could even get close. From then on, he never mentioned fighting Gen again, and instead poured all his competitive spirit into Shunpo.

Xuan's stronghold for cultivating the Ghost Path is not close to the Yuanzi Academy. Even with their current Instant Step speed, it would take them about ten minutes to maintain Instant Step.

On the way, Saito suddenly spoke up: "By the way, you know about the live-fire exercise tomorrow, right?"

Because the two were moving at similar speeds and were not far apart, they were able to communicate normally despite their extremely high speeds.

Xuan used Instant Step as he spoke, "I've heard about it. The arena, right?"

"Hmm." Saito raised an eyebrow. "Old man Yamamoto is playing pretty big this time. That place was originally used by nobles to punish criminals, and they specifically kept a group of Hollows to fight with the prisoners. This time, they're sending our class of students up one by one to fight."

She paused, a hint of schadenfreude in her voice: "But the two of us are an exception."

"except?"

"Nonsense." Saito rolled his eyes, nearly bumping into a tree. "We can both take down large Hollows, where are we going to find stronger Hollows for us to practice on? That's why old man Yamamoto said we'll take turns watching from the sidelines, and go to save whoever can't hold on."

She grinned, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as usual: "Isn't this just being a 'nanny'?"

Xuan didn't reply, but simply nodded slightly.

Being a babysitter is fine with him. For him, being able to observe other Shinigami fighting Hollows up close is a form of learning in itself. Besides—

He lowered his eyes, a thought flashing through his mind.

If someone is truly in danger, he can try out the new Kido he has mastered—of course, he must first use Shikai to disguise himself.

While casually responding to Saito's rambling, Xuan was mentally reviewing his own progress in strength.

The path of the demons has finally been put on the right track.

So, what about the path of the Zanpakuto?

Xuan lowered his head, his gaze falling on the shallow belt at his waist.

Although he rarely unleashed [Zhenyuan] because it caused a sudden increase in the tearing sensation deep within his soul when used, he found after several releases that it was only temporary, and the intensity of his usual pain was not affected by the release.

Therefore, the ability of initial release has been gradually understood by Xuan:

Energy absorption allows it to passively absorb external spiritual particles and transform them into more stable spiritual power, resulting in a significant amplification effect when releasing the Ghost Path.

Manipulating spirit particles allows one to freely adjust the concentration of nearby spirit particles—changing the concentration of nearby spirit particles makes one feel as if they have come from water into the air, making them more agile; it can also cause the concentration of spirit particles around enemies to change frequently, making it difficult for them to create a foothold in the air; and it can even cause the trajectory of incoming attacks to deflect slightly by changing the concentration of spirit particles around oneself.

Although he had developed his Shikai quite well, Gen had absolutely no clue about the prerequisite for mastering Bankai—the materialization of the Zanpakuto's spirit.

In his letter a thousand days ago, he mentioned that he had spent nearly ten years mastering Bankai. As usual, the letter was filled with complaints—the head of the family had added more lessons, the old-fashioned etiquette teacher was nitpicking, and the accounts in the management class were so complicated that they gave him a headache… His exhaustion was evident between the lines.

Xuan sometimes thinks that Qianri must be very tired.

Despite not wanting to be the head of the family, he shoulders the responsibility; despite yearning for freedom, he is trapped in the cage of aristocratic rules. Even with exceptional talent, having mastered Bankai at a young age (for a Shinigami's lifespan), he still has to waste time and energy on things he finds tedious.

Aside from those whose talent is ridiculously exaggerated, someone like Senri, who only spent ten years mastering Bankai, is already considered a genius.

The normal process of comprehending Bankai seems to be a slow and painstaking process, relying on time to accumulate experience.

But Xuan felt that something was wrong.

The physical abilities honed through the Yi Jin Jing far surpass those of his peers; his precise control over spiritual energy has reached a level unattainable by ordinary Grim Reapers; with focused concentration and steady progress, his primordial spirit grows stronger day by day—

With all three elements of essence, energy, and spirit present, one should theoretically be able to reach the threshold of Bankai.

However, the reality is that Gen has no clue about Bankai.

No, let alone Bankai, we haven't even seen a glimpse of the physical manifestation of the sword spirit.

"In the original work, only a very few vice-captains learned the basics of Bankai. Does that mean one must reach the fourth level of spiritual power?" Xuan frowned in thought.

Fourth and fifth rank spiritual power are equivalent to vice-captain level. He is currently at the fifth rank spiritual power level, corresponding to the strength of someone who has just reached the vice-captain level. The gap between him and the top vice-captain level of the fourth rank spiritual power is not large.

"Or...the problem isn't the accumulation of spiritual pressure, but rather 'acceptance'?"

Gen recalled the conditions for Bankai summarized in the letter from a thousand days ago: the Zanpakuto materializes and forces it to submit.

Other people's Zanpakuto have independent spirits that need to be summoned from the spiritual world to the real world by the Shinigami through long-term training.

But his sword spirit...

Xuan recalled the scene he saw when he first entered the spiritual world.

The Taoist temple stood quietly, with the perfectly round golden elixir floating in the center.

This was his sword spirit, seemingly completely devoid of consciousness. Gen always entered the spiritual world on his own; he was never pulled in by his Zanpakuto. Gen truly didn't know how to learn Bankai, which was already the quickest way to reach captain-level strength before the war.

In this world, the Grim Reaper's lifespan exceeds two thousand years, and a few years is but a blink of an eye. But for Xuan, who was used to the "fast pace" of his previous life, these few years of waiting felt so long that it made him anxious.

"He's getting impatient again."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly.

The greatest taboo in spiritual cultivation is being impatient for quick results. My master in a past life often said, "Haste makes waste, and hasty progress only leads to ruin."

He understood the reasoning, but in the past two years, because his progress in strength had slowed down, he subconsciously began to feel anxious.

Yhwach's advance was overwhelming; even his soldiers required the personal intervention of the first captain of the Gotei 13, demonstrating that the battle was so dire that Shinigami below the captain level were completely unable to withstand the onslaught.

If he followed his heart's desire, leaving Soul Society early to avoid disaster would certainly not be a problem. However, Gen had ultimately formed a bond with Senji and Saito, and he couldn't bear to watch them fall into the battlefield while he remained uninvolved.

However, the Shinigami's strength increases slowly, especially at the stage of mastering Bankai. Yamamoto set a condition that Sasakibe master Bankai within a month and become his right-hand man because this condition was considered impossible to achieve. Although the Shinigami's lifespan limit exceeds two thousand years, countless Shinigami never learn Bankai in their entire lives, so much so that the names of Shinigami who do learn Bankai are recorded in the history of Soul Society.

The goal of mastering Bankai and achieving captain-level strength over the next century seems impossibly distant. This has led to increasing pressure on Gen each day, gradually affecting his mental state.

At this moment, Xuan regained his composure because he finally realized that he had become impatient, and that impatience would not help improve his strength.

Rather than being overwhelmed by the chaos of war a century from now, it's better to focus on the present: lay a solid foundation, perfect the Ghost Path system, and push your body to its limits.

It's still about a century before Yhbach's attack. If we do our best, there will always be a turning point.

Have you not heard that Heaven never closes off all paths?

Xuan let out a long breath, feeling as if an invisible stone in his heart had quietly fallen.

Xuan suddenly had a thought.

His own sword spirit was different from the other Shinigami, resulting in no signs of the sword spirit materializing at all.

But if that's the case, why should I use other methods to train for Bankai?

Since the initial liberation is the golden elixir—

What about Bankai?

In Taoist cultivation, what is the next step after forming the Golden Core?

It is the shattering of the elixir and the formation of the nascent soul.

When the Golden Core shatters, the cultivator's essence, energy, and spirit give birth to the Nascent Soul.

Nascent Soul, Nascent Soul...

Xuan had a sudden realization.

The day I reach the Nascent Soul stage in my cultivation will be the day I learn Bankai.

Furthermore, why do those Shinigami who have mastered Bankai not need a Release Phrases to perform Shikai?

Because the "Nascent Soul" has been formed. The "Golden Core" that was the initial release has been completely absorbed by the body and has become instinct. The power of the initial release has been integrated into every swing of the sword and every battle.

However, his sword spirit appeared to be a Golden Core cultivator from the very beginning.

"No wonder he had no clue how to materialize the sword spirit and gain its recognition," Xuan thought to himself.

His sword spirit is not something that "needs recognition" at all; it only needs to steadily advance its cultivation.

Gen and Saito used their Instant Step to dash out of the forest and skim across the ground. There was no path originally, but the two of them had carved one out over two years. The outline of Genji Academy gradually became clear in the twilight.

On tomorrow's execution ground in Seireitei, there may be bloodshed, and there may be accidents that lead to death, just like the First Blood War, which took place much further back.

But at this moment, Xuan was just walking on the road with a noisy friend beside him.