Death God: Starting from Refining Essence into Qi

Gen didn't answer immediately. He gestured for Ise Shu to drink tea, then picked up his own teacup, took a sip, and began to organize his thoughts.

The other party was quite determined, even offering to use the fact that their family had joined the Ghost Path Clan as leverage.

This is certainly in Xuan's best interest.

His long-term goal was to train a large number of Kido followers so that a well-organized Kido force could be deployed to the front lines in the bloody war that would sweep through the Soul Society decades later.

However, the Yorozuya is currently too small, recruiting mostly scattered wandering spirits from the surrounding area, with very few possessing spiritual aptitude. Apart from Jiro, Gen, Shigeo, and Yukihira, the Kido sect has only gained two new members who have just learned to use the Okuriki technique during this period.

The Ghost Path sect does indeed lack resources; for example, it needs funding for targets during testing and for maintaining the training grounds. But what it lacks even more is people—especially those with spiritual aptitude who can systematically learn the Ghost Path.

The Ise family, on the other hand, possesses a large number of eligible spiritual practitioners, ample financial and material resources, and a network of connections accumulated over generations around the Seireitei. What they lack is precisely the demonic cultivation system that Gen possesses.

This was a mutually beneficial deal. The Ise family needed power to protect themselves, while Gen needed resources and manpower to expand the Kidoshu. Both sides had what they needed, and neither owed the other anything.

Gen doesn't need to worry about the Ise family sending a few people to learn Kido and then starting their own sect, because in the short term they still need Gen to be associated with the Shihōin clan. As for the longer-term future, they certainly can't expect to bind the Ise family and the Kido sect together through Kido, which can be learned by others.

People's hearts are always changing, especially those with vested interests. Rather than waiting for future disputes, it's better to make some concessions now and gain more benefits in the present.

"Regarding the first commission, the Ghost Path Clan has a complete points redemption and Ghost Path teaching system. After your members join the Ghost Path Clan, they will need to earn points through labor, just like other members, and then use those points to redeem Ghost Path courses."

Ise Shu was about to agree when Gen raised his hand to interrupt her and continued:

"If someone in the Ise family masters the Kido (demon arts), I will not stop them from training in private under the name of the Kido sect."

However, the Ise family would need to bear the initial costs of expanding and renovating the training facilities, training supplies, and other additional expenses. The Kidoshu sect is currently limited in size and cannot afford the external costs of large-scale training.

Ise Shu agreed almost without hesitation.

Xuan nodded: "Regarding the second request, before your side gains substantial control of the demonic power, you must protect the safety of the Ise family members for an extended period. The other members of the demonic sect currently lack the corresponding strength, and I can only protect myself against spirits of level three or higher, so I cannot guarantee the completion of this request."

Ise Shu lowered her head and pondered for a moment. Gen didn't urge her, but simply drank his tea quietly.

"I accept." Ise Shu finally spoke, her voice even calmer than before. "The Ise family is willing to fund the expansion of the Kidoshu and cover all logistical costs. In addition—"

She took out two copies of the contract from her sleeve: "The Ise family has two shops in Seireitei, mainly selling ritual implements and ceremonial clothing. I can provide one shop for the use of the Kido followers; you can choose the location. The Ise family's network of connections can also help the Kido followers promote Kido teaching courses within the Seireitei aristocratic circles."

Ise Shu placed the document on the table and looked up.

"There's one more thing—I know that the Yorozuya's points redemption system is open and transparent, and the accounts are made public to everyone. This is what the Ise family values ​​most. I hope that after joining the Kido-shu, members of the Ise family will enjoy the same rights and bear the same obligations as other members, without special treatment or discrimination. I hope you will not spread the news that the Ise family is suspected of being cursed."

Xuan took the document and scanned it from beginning to end. Every clause was written clearly, and the location of the Ise family's shops was also listed at the end. It was obviously carefully drafted beforehand.

Ise Shu came with complete sincerity. She had already made preparations long before stepping into the Yorozuya.

Her sole purpose in coming here was to personally confirm whether the Ghost Path Sect was worthy of her trust. Xuan's words, which displayed a relatively equal attitude and included a prior statement that safety was not guaranteed, solidified her final decision.

Although Gen had anticipated Ise Shu's final condition, he still mentioned it: "If anyone in the Ise family takes a liking to a member of the Kidoshu, they must let the other party know the potential risks of marrying into the Ise family before the formal marriage."

"certainly."

Gen supplemented the part of the document regarding the transfer of the shops. Although the ownership of the shops changed, the Kidoshu did not need the shops in Seireitei. It would be better to collect some rent symbolically and leave them to the Ise family to continue to profit.

Finally, Xuan signed his name at the end with a brush pen. After all, one could not use a pencil on such a formal document, as it was easy to forge or erase.

"Head of the Ise family, it's a pleasure doing business with you."

Ise Shu stared at the signature on the document, her hands tucked into her sleeves, her eyes slightly reddening. She blinked, suppressing the tears welling up in her eyes, and said calmly:

"Thank you, Great Demon Master, for giving the Ise family the opportunity to seize power."

Gen stood up and escorted Ise Shu to the palanquin at the Yorozuya entrance.

Xuan walked back to his hut and placed the contract documents into a wooden box specifically for storing important documents such as land deeds. The lid of the wooden box closed with a dull "click".

The Ise family provides the venue, resources, and connections, while the Kido sect provides the teaching system and protection. This is the foundation of a long-term partnership—a fair trade where both sides get what they need.

What Genwa and the Kido sect needed was never the gratitude of the Ise family; what they truly needed was manpower—people with spiritual aptitude, capable of systematically learning Kido, and able to stand firm on the battlefield of the future. The Ise family happened to have a group of people with spiritual power, but these people, having possessed spiritual power yet unable to convert it into combat strength, had accumulated a deep and abiding desire for power over a long period of time.

That evening, Gen suspended his teaching of Kido to Jiro, Gen, Yukihira, and Shigeo. Gen went straight to the point and repeated the Ise family's request.

"There's a long-term mission: you can teach them low-level Ghost Path techniques from now on. Each of you can take a few people to teach, and the reward for each person you teach is half the exchange price of the corresponding Ghost Path technique."

Their eyes lit up. The exchange price for Ghost Path techniques wasn't low. If they taught a few more people and taught them all the lower-level Ghost Path techniques, they could exchange for several higher-level ones.

Upon this thought, the group exchanged glances, as if sparks were flying in the air.

"Don't rush, think about the scene when I taught you. Go back and prepare well, consider it as reinforcing your basic knowledge."

Several people responded in unison.

Gen added at the end, "The Ise family members don't have Zanpakuto, but they generally have spiritual aptitude. We must be strict with them during the teaching process, but we shouldn't treat them differently just because they are nobles. The rules of the Kido sect are the same for everyone—the more you work, the more you earn; follow the rules."

The collaboration between the Ise family and the Kidoshu officially began.

Just over forty days after the documents were signed, the new training ground and student dormitories were completed, and Gen accompanied Ise Shu to inspect them.

In order to learn Kido, the Ise family found a way to buy the suburban land bordering the Kido Clan in the western 19th to western 22nd wards of Rukongai and incorporated it into the Kido Clan.

"How many students were in the first batch?" Xuan asked.

"Twenty people, all women in the clan with spiritual talent, ranging in age from thirteen to twenty. They have practiced swordsmanship since childhood and all have a foundation in cultivation. There are also fifteen more people who are on their way from the branch family." Ise Shu replied, standing next to Gen. "The second batch consists of one hundred and three people, both men and women, from the collateral branches and relatives of the Ise family, with spiritual talent."

Xuan turned around, his gaze passing over the brand-new wooden targets in the training ground and landing on Ise Shu. Her dedication to this training ground was even greater than mentioned in the contract.

"Head of the Ise family has sacrificed a great deal for the Ise family," Gen said. "I also hope that the first batch of students will complete their studies as soon as possible."

The Ise family is the first pillar of the Kidoshu. As the Kidoshu's network expands, more people with spiritual talent and wandering Shinigami will join the Kidoshu from Rukongai and Seireitei, making the future promising.

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In the training ground in the forest, dozens of newly added wooden targets are neatly arranged.

Jiro stood at the edge of the shooting range, clutching a rough paper booklet he had bound himself. It was a notebook he had written in pencil, recording Professor Gen's techniques for using Kido, which Jiro was now using as a teaching plan. The edges of the booklet were already curled and frayed, clearly indicating that it had been read many times.

"Bai Lei first needs to make the correct hand gestures. The second and third fingers of the right hand pinch the palm, and the thumb presses against the second and third fingers to pinch the Zi Wen—" He read his notes and suddenly stopped.

Five female students from the Ise family, ranging in age from thirteen or fourteen to their early twenties, sat cross-legged on the wooden floor in front of him. All of them stared intently at him, and Jiro froze, tense once again.

Jiro's back was already covered in sweat.

Back when he was working as a deliveryman at the Yorozuya, he'd never been this nervous, even when dealing with the most demanding noble butlers. But now, with five pairs of eyes watching him, he suddenly felt that every word he uttered weighed a ton—what if he taught it wrong? What if he missed the key points that Lord Xuan had repeatedly emphasized?

Jiro took a deep breath, thinking about the method he learned from A-Yuan—treating the trainees below as cabbages. He immediately felt less nervous, only a little hungry.

"This gesture is called 'Grasping the Thunder Gate.' The second and third fingers of the right hand pinch the palm..." He started again, his voice steady, and read the part he had just stammered over from the beginning, word for word.

The five students nodded in unison, mimicking Jiro's gesture.

"Then there's the circulation path of spiritual energy within the body..."

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The Yorozuya's accounting and point recording tasks were assigned to two young men. As for the one-armed youth, his task was to review the points every week and post any changes.

Because the one-armed youth was very familiar with the management of the Yorozuya, Xuan formally adjusted his responsibilities in front of the Yorozuya members—he was responsible for managing many matters of the Yorozuya, and did not need to report to Xuan except for major decisions.

The one-armed youth stood still, his lips moving. He had many things to say, but in the end, he simply bowed deeply.

The one-armed youth lost all his memories of his previous life, including his name, during the soul burial. Therefore, he has always been called "One-Handed" by everyone.

From the moment he was promoted by Gen to be in charge of all matters, big and small, the wandering spirits of the Yorozuya began to call him "the head of the Yorozuya," and the one-armed youth also used "head of the Yorozuya" as his name.

Xuan had no objection to this form of address.

Xuan was monitoring Zhen Yuan's recovery.

Zanpakuto has two release methods: Bankai and Shikai.

Once a Zanpakuto is Bankai, it cannot be repaired if damaged. However, damage to a Shikai is not irreparable, since Shikai originates from the wielder. As long as the wielder takes the time to nurture it, it can repair itself.

After two years of continuous nurturing, Xuan Neng felt that Zhen Yuan had fully recovered. However, he did not rush to test it. At this time, Zhen Yuan was more powerful than Wan Xiang Jie Xu, and Xuan Neng would not easily release Zhen Yuan until Wan Xiang Jie Xu could contend with Zhen Yuan.

It was already afternoon, and according to Xuan's cultivation schedule, it was almost time to cultivate the Instantaneous Burst Technique.

Xuan removed his Shinigami uniform from his upper body, revealing a combat suit specially made for his Shun's Form: a black halter-neck vest with cutouts on the shoulders and back; and black tight-fitting trousers, the lean muscles clearly defined under the sunlight.

The demonic energy exploded out, and at this moment, the clothes were finally spared from being destroyed before the enemy.

No longer as violent and out of control as it had been a year ago—the highly concentrated, compressed spiritual energy condensed into a semi-transparent membrane in his shoulders and back, flowing rapidly along the meridians. He issued a command from the depths of his consciousness, directing the spiritual energy downwards along the three Yang meridians of his hand, briefly pausing at the wrist's outlet, then intercepting and drawing it back with his will, reinjecting it between his shoulder blades. One surge, one withdrawal, a continuous cycle.

This principle is derived from Soi Fon's "Infinite Instantaneous Strike". Spiritual energy flows out from the shoulders, along the meridians of the arms, into the wrists, and then out. At the moment of expulsion, it is infused into the fists and feet, and then swirls back to the shoulders like a vortex, forming a closed loop. Theoretically, as long as this loop is not interrupted, the duration of the Instantaneous Strike can be greatly extended.

Theory is one thing, but in practice it's a completely different story.

The moment the spiritual energy was forcibly cut off at the wrist outlet by the will, the recoil flowed back along the meridians to the Jianjing acupoint, like throwing a punch only to have your wrist grabbed halfway through.

When he first tried it a while ago, the recoil force directly ruptured the spiritual energy membrane at his shoulder blade, causing the ghostly energy to dissipate and leaving a large bruise on his shoulder and back. Even though he specifically changed the medicinal pool formula to a healing one for those few days, it still took three days for the bruise to fade.

Having learned from his previous failure, Xuan realized that the key to the problem wasn't speed, but rather the limit of what the Jianjing acupoint could handle. After the ghost energy was cut off from the wrist, the returning spiritual energy surged into the Jianjing acupoint like a receding tide. If this returning force exceeded the upper limit of the spiritual energy flow that the Jianjing acupoint could channel per unit time, the excess spiritual energy would accumulate and expand in the shoulder blade until it exploded.

It's like pouring water into a funnel; if you pour too fast, the water will just overflow.

Xuan recalled his master's commentary on the *Dong Shen Ming Zang Jing* quoted in the *Yun Ji Qi Qian*: "The smooth flow of all the waters is not achieved by force, but by regulation. Water rushing into a ravine, if too rapid, will breach the dike; if too slow, it will nourish all things. When all the waters surge together, one should be like a butcher carving up an ox, following its natural contours, not using divine intervention or force. With moderation and consistency, the flow will be uninterrupted."

It's not about speeding up the flow, but about finding the rhythm. Change the ghost energy from a "one-time infusion" to a "rhythmic pulsation"—like breathing, one inhale and one exhale, one contraction and one relaxation.

He closed his eyes and readjusted the frequency of the stimulation of the Jianjing acupoint.

As the energy of the ghost path travels downwards along the three Yang meridians of the hand, it is divided into several waves, each wave's flow precisely below the upper limit that the Jianjing acupoint can withstand. When the first wave of energy reaches the wrist's outlet and is intercepted and flows back, the second wave just enters the Jianjing acupoint. The two opposing spiritual energies pass each other across the meridians without colliding. Like two parallel threads, one above the other, they interweave in an orderly fashion.

After several attempts, I finally succeeded. Even though the clothing on my shoulders and back would still burst open after entering the instantaneous state, the duration of the instantaneous state was greatly extended.