Death God: Starting from Refining Essence into Qi

The controversy over the fate of the Ryudoji family was brought to the table of the Central 46th Chamber on the second day after the war.

When the news reached the Kidoshu, Kiyoko Ise was reporting to Gen with the latest casualty statistics: all thirty-two Kidoshu from the Ryudoji family had participated in the rebellion, of whom seventeen had died in battle and fifteen had been captured.

The Central 46 claimed that although the Ryudoji family had committed the heinous crime of treason, they were still a superior noble family with a thousand-year-old lineage, and their internal affairs were governed by noble laws. The Gotei 13, as a military organization, had no right to overstep its bounds and interfere in the interrogation and imprisonment.

The captain of the 9th Division, Kentsu Hisamii, seemed quite displeased upon learning of this, as the number of prisoners in the 9th Division's prison had decreased by two.

The final verdict was handed down, sentencing the entire Ryudoji family to exile. All clan members would be sent to the Seireitei execution grounds to fight against captured Hollows. Those who survived the Hollows' onslaught would be sent to the Dangai without the Hell Butterflies, never to return to Soul Society.

It might sound like it gave the Ryudoji family a glimmer of hope, but that's not actually the case.

A dankai is an isolated dimension formed by multiple overlapping, severed spaces, completely surrounded by the torrent of time. It is a gap between different spirit worlds, such as the human world and the Soul Society, which are separated by a dankai. Within it exist two almost insurmountable and deadly threats: the gullible flow and the gullible turmoil.

The Flow of Restraint is a high-density torrent of spiritual particles that fills the entire boundary, automatically attracting and binding all spirits that enter it.

Once entangled by the current, the spirit will be completely unable to move, and the body will be slowly decomposed into spirit particles, eventually becoming part of the severed boundary.

However, the main threat within the boundary is the sudden and unexpected attack.

Its movement speed far exceeds that of ordinary Grim Reapers, making it almost impossible to dodge. Even more terrifying is that creatures caught in its assault are not killed, but are instead thrown into the past or future hundreds or even thousands of years away from the current timeline, ultimately collapsing and dying due to the time distortion.

Whether it's the Grim Reaper traveling between the human world and the Soul Society, or sending the spirits of dead humans into the Soul Society through Soul Burial, they all rely on a special creature—the Hell Butterfly.

Their bodies are pure black, and their wings are black with dark purple edges.

Only with the guidance and accompaniment of the Hell Butterfly can one avoid the Flowing Stream and the Ruinous Strike, and safely pass through the Dangai.

Sending people into the severance zone without the presence of Hell Butterflies may seem like giving them a chance at life and showing the nobility's magnanimity, but in reality, it forces prisoners to endure prolonged torture and ultimately die a painful death.

Perhaps because everyone felt that the Ryudoji family would surely perish if they entered the Dangai without the guidance of the Hell Butterfly, no one objected to the judgment of the Central 46 Chambers regarding the Ryudoji family.

Even if there are objections, it will not affect the judgment of the Central 46th Bureau.

One month later, at the execution ground.

The members of the Ryudoji family huddled together, their cries, pleas for mercy, and curses echoing through the empty space.

Gen, dressed in the haori of a great demon lord, stood on the high platform on the east side of the wall, silently watching below. Thirty-two members of the Ryudoji family's demon lords had participated in the rebellion, including some high-ranking demon lords whom Gen had personally trained.

"Everyone who can fight, come with me to the front! Everyone else, stay in the corners and protect yourselves!" Ryudoji Souichirou's voice pierced through the chaos.

The heavy iron gate slowly opened, and a steady stream of phantoms were driven into the execution ground.

As many members as there are in the Ryudoji family, that many heads will be sent to the execution ground. Therefore, Ryudoji Soichiro and his men will face a prolonged and arduous war of attrition.

Xuan watched all of this silently.

Ryudoji Souichirou's fighting skills were not particularly refined, but his spiritual power was even stronger than Gen's, reaching the level of third-grade spiritual power.

Even so, despite being in poor condition, he fought while protecting his people behind him, and still sustained many wounds.

The duel lasted for a full four hours.

When the last Hollow fell, fewer than five hundred members of the Ryudoji clan remained in the execution ground. Ryudoji Souichirou stood in the pool of blood, leaning on his Zanpakuto. His wounds had long since stopped bleeding, and his face was as pale as paper, yet he still did not fall.

The guards opened the main gate on one side of the execution ground, and not far behind the gate was the newly opened entrance to the rift. Black mist surged out from the entrance, like a gigantic maw ready to devour its prey.

"Let's go." Ryudoji Souichirou's voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible. He turned around, looking at the surviving members of his clan behind him, his eyes filled with weariness and relief. "If you've survived, then live well."

The surviving members of the Ryudoji clan formed a long line, silently walking towards the entrance to the severed boundary. No one looked back, no one spoke; only the heavy footsteps echoed in the empty execution ground. Gen stepped down from the high platform, preparing to leave.

A little girl who looked about five or six years old broke away from the group and ran towards Xuan. Her clothes were stained with blood and dust, her hair was disheveled and stuck to her face, and she was clutching something tightly in her hand.

She ran to Xuan, looked up, her clear eyes filled with tears, but stubbornly refused to let them fall.

"Big brother, are you the Great Demon Master of the Ghost Path Sect?" The little girl's voice was trembling with tears.

Xuan crouched down to look her in the eye and nodded gently.

The little girl held out her small hand and presented a jade pendant engraved with the crest of the Ryudoji family to Gen. "My brother's name is Ryudoji Takuma, and he's a Kido-shu. He said that if he dies, he'll give this to the Great Kido-sama to say sorry on his behalf."

Xuan took the jade pendant, looked into the little girl's eyes, and said softly, "I remember him. Your brother is very smart." The little girl nodded, and finally couldn't hold back her tears as she turned and returned to the group heading towards the Boundary.

As the last member of the Ryudoji clan entered the Broken Realm, the entrance to the Broken Realm gradually closed, separating the two worlds.

Xuan held the jade pendant in his hand and stood there motionless for a long time.

Over the past few days, Xuan has gathered information and pieced together the events, but he feels increasingly suspicious.

As a high-ranking noble family, the Ryudoji clan had placed many Shinigami (death gods) into the Gotei 13 and the Kidoshu. Logically, they should have known about the strength of the Gotei 13 and the Kidoshu.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's strength was unfathomable, and the captains of the Gotei 13 were all of the third-rank Spirit Power. Ryudoji Soichiro himself and the Ryudoji family's private army simply could not shake the rule of the Seireitei. This rebellion was doomed to fail from the very beginning, and Ryudoji Soichiro couldn't possibly have been unaware of this.

But he did it anyway, and killed all the family's top officials before surrendering.

Unless the superior noble family of Ryudoji is mentally unstable and has appointed Ryudoji Soichiro, who is equally mentally unstable, as the head of the family, he must be hiding something.

But if they could have used their trump cards, they would have done so already. And their continued holding onto Room 46 seems like they are delaying or waiting for something.

Their insistence on holding onto the Central Chamber 46 did not seem like an attempt to overthrow the Seireitei single-handedly. It was as if they were stalling for time, or waiting for something to happen.

The Ryudoji family must still have a trump card, a trump card that Ryudoji Soichiro believes can turn the tide of the battle.

However, this trump card never appeared, which is why he chose to surrender. Therefore, this trump card must have been an uncontrollable external force, and exceptionally powerful enough to rival the Seireitei.

A name suddenly flashed into Xuan's mind—Queen Master.

If the Ryudoji family had long been colluding with the Quincy, then everything would make sense.

This rebellion was not a power struggle within the Ryudoji family, but rather a test by the Quincy against the Seireitei's military strength.

They wanted to gauge the Seireitei's reaction speed, the deployment of its armed forces, and the strength of the Gotei 13. The Ryudoji family was merely a pawn they were throwing out to weaken the Seireitei's fighting strength and gather intelligence.

The real storm is coming.

-----------------

Back at the Kido-shu's headquarters, Gen immediately convened a meeting with all the high-ranking members. The atmosphere in the meeting room was heavy. Kiyoko Ise placed the latest personnel roster on the table, marking all the vacant positions in red. The Ryudoji family's rebellion had caused considerable losses to the Kido-shu, leaving many mid-level Kido-shu positions vacant, requiring the rapid replenishment of new recruits.

"This rebellion has exposed many of our problems." Xuan sat in the main seat, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "Faced with the sudden attack, our reaction was not fast enough, and our preparations were insufficient. There were also significant gaps in the coordination between the various teams, and many orders failed to be relayed in time."

He paused, his tone turning serious: "From today onwards, all members of the Kido Corps are on high alert. All non-essential leave is cancelled, and daily training is intensified. The focus of training will be on large-scale Kido offensive and defensive operations and coordinated operations with the various divisions of the Gotei 13. Ise Kiyokko, you are responsible for developing the new training plan and personnel deployment scheme, and submit it to me in three days."

"Yes, Great Demon Master." Kiyoko Ise nodded immediately and quickly took notes in her notebook.

"Furthermore," Xuan continued, "accelerate the popularization of advanced Ghost Path techniques. All Ghost Path practitioners must suspend the study and research of Ghost Path techniques and focus on mastering the release of those techniques, striving to achieve a state where no incantation is required. We must improve the overall combat effectiveness of Ghost Path practitioners in the shortest possible time."

……

The meeting lasted two hours, and by the time it adjourned, the sun was already setting. Xuan saw off all the senior executives and remained alone in the conference room. He took out the jade pendant of Ryudoji Takuma, placed it on the table, and fell into deep thought.

He must improve his own and the Kido's strength as soon as possible, as the Quincy are far stronger than the Ryudoji family:

Yhwach possesses at least a second-class or even first-class spiritual power, far exceeding the strength of an ordinary captain. Perhaps only Yamamoto Genryusai after his Bankai can confront him head-on. The Sternritter has been established, and Bazzby and Yugran Haschward both possess strength surpassing that of ordinary captains a thousand years later.

If the Sternritter truly participates in this war, it means that their current strength is sufficient to survive the direct combat of this war.

Early the next morning, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni convened an emergency meeting with all the captains. Gen, as the Grand Master of the Kido Clan, went to the First Division's meeting room with Saito Immortal.

When the two entered the conference room, most of the team leaders had already arrived.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni stood in the main seat and did not comment upon seeing Gen's arrival.

When Nobuaki and Shikatori Hakunsai saw Gen, they nodded amicably. Shihōin Senhi waved to Gen and quietly waited for the captains' meeting to begin.

"Regarding the Ryudoji family's rebellion, I'm sure everyone is already aware," Yamamoto's voice was deep and authoritative. "What are your thoughts?"

"The Ryudoji family is also a high-ranking noble family. None of the high-ranking nobles who have survived to this day are fools; those kinds of people would have all died long before the Gotei 13 was established," said Zenjoji Yubin, clapping her fists together in front of her.

"Cough cough... The Ryudoji family must have something to rely on to launch a rebellion. And this reliance, cough... never appeared until they were defeated and captured." Nikotsu Saizo said in a hoarse voice, his tone firm.

All the captains were seasoned veterans, and the youngest among them were Gen and Saito, who were immortal. Naturally, they could all sense that something was amiss in this rebellion.

"The 46th Division refused to allow Captain Hisamii to conduct the interrogation, but we can't ignore the potential threat. The 6th Division will be in charge of the investigation. Does Captain Saito have any objections?" Yamamoto Genryusai asked.

Saito shrugged and said, "I'm fine, but I might not be able to find out the result."

"I have some suspicions about what you mean by reliance," Xuan said.

Seeing that everyone else had turned to look at Xuan, Xuan continued, "I once entrusted the Shinigami of the Thirteenth Division to copy down the general history of the present world."

This was to confirm what countries and cultures existed in this world, but Xuan ultimately only confirmed that this world was similar to his previous life, but not the same.

"There exists a force in the mortal realm called the Empire of Light. They are skilled in archery and call themselves Quincy. They are very aggressive and have already conquered a large part of the mortal realm. Perhaps they intend to launch an attack on the Soul Society."

Xuan wanted to reveal some more crucial information, but unfortunately, the Shinigami of the Thirteenth Division had not copied it in detail, so Xuan could only say so much.

Now that Gen had the Kido power and Kido followers he had created beforehand, and the enemy's identity had already been revealed, it was believed that others would gather relevant intelligence. In the original story, the Seireitei had already won this war; even if war broke out now, it should proceed even more smoothly.

"So, am I done with my mission?" Saito asked excitedly.

"No. The Great Demon Master only put forward a conjecture. Regarding this conjecture, the Second Division, together with the Thirteenth Division who are familiar with the human world, will go to the human world to verify it, so as not to alert the enemy. The Sixth Division still needs to investigate the backing of Ryudoji."

Yamamoto Genryusai remained serious and continued, "In short, this rebellion has exposed numerous shortcomings in the Gotei 13's emergency response and coordinated operations. From today onwards, all non-essential leave for each squad is cancelled. Daily training will be intensified, with a focus on practicing rapid assembly and joint operations in emergency situations. No one is allowed to slack off!"

"Yes!" all the captains responded in unison.

It was getting late. After the meeting, Gen and Saito Immortal walked out of the First Division's base together.

Xuan looked up at the dark night sky, where there was no moon, only countless stars. He could almost see a vast army of Quincy gathering in the distant present world, their gazes fixed intently on this tranquil Soul Society.

War is imminent.