Death's Hidden Mobile

Xia Yan was slightly taken aback, then shouted, "Hold on, I'm coming to save you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Yan gripped his Zanpakuto tightly and charged towards the Hollow.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Killing the Void

This is not a Hollow, but a Hollow transformed from an ordinary soul. It has no intelligence, only the instinct to kill.

When Xia Yan saw Sanada Ryoji being attacked, he was only stunned for a moment before drawing his Zanpakuto and rushing towards the opponent.

Seeing someone approaching, Xu suddenly swung his arm, throwing Sanada Ryoji aside. Ryoji slammed against the wall and slowly slid down.

Then he opened his mouth wide, let out a roar, and charged towards Xia Yan.

Whoosh.

As Xia Yan rushed towards Xu, he took a step and his body suddenly disappeared, reappearing beside Xu, where he drew his sword and thrust it straight at him.

But the moment it appeared, Hollow's tail swept across.

Xia Yan can injure the Hollow, but he will inevitably be attacked by the Hollow. Trading injury for injury is not worth the risk.

Therefore, Xia Yan lightly touched the ground with his toes and suddenly retreated, dodging the attack.

The void's tail missed its target, and it turned around to pounce on Xia Yan again.

Xia Yan did not rush forward immediately, but instead dodged the attack.

Although it was his first time facing the Hollow, Xia Yan remained extremely calm, recalling the various introductions about the Hollow.

Cruel, strong, quick-reacting, and primarily uses physical attacks.

Xia Yan's mind was filled with knowledge about Hollows. In the instant the Hollow lunged, his left hand swept through the air, his fingers emitting a yellow light, and a rope flew out from between his fingers, wrapping around the Hollow's forelimbs.

The fourth type of binding method is the gray rope.

boom.

The lizard's forelimbs were locked, its forward momentum abruptly halted, and it fell heavily to the ground.

The void struggled violently, and the gray rope snapped instantly. The void struggled to get up, but this brief hesitation gave Xia Yan time. He leaped high into the air, appeared behind the void, and slashed at the void's tail.

It's better to cut off one finger than to injure all ten. If you can't kill the opponent in this attack, it's better to reduce the opponent's attack power first.

puff.

Under Xia Yan's full-force slash, the thick tail let out a painful roar and turned to lash out at Xia Yan with its claws.

But Xia Yan tapped his toes again, leaping high into the air to avoid the opponent's claws and arrive above the void.

The Zanpakuto, its tip pointing downwards, slammed down.

puff.

Xia Yan's Zanpakuto pierced the Hollow's head, but only an inch deep. Unlike the tail, which was all muscle, the Hollow's head was covered by thick armor.

Since that's the case, then let's cut off the whole head of the charlatan.

Xia Yan made up his mind. At this moment, Xu suddenly fell to one side. Seeing this, Xia Yan stepped on Xu's head and leaped high into the air.

However, while it was rolling, it stretched out its claws and slapped Xia Yan's abdomen.

Damn.

Xia Yan was in mid-air and had no way to dodge, so he could only extend his left arm.

boom.

Xia Yan was hit by the feint and flew to the side, but he rolled in mid-air and landed slowly. Apart from a slight pain in his arm, he was not seriously injured.

This is because Xia Yan used the Eight Repulsions of Binding Path while he was in the air.

A spiritual energy shield forms on the outside of the arm to block enemy attacks.

Although Xia Yan abandoned the incantation, he still had no problem dealing with attacks from ordinary Hollows.

After Xia Yan landed, Xu pounced on him. Without its tail for balance, its body swayed from side to side.

Xia Yan raised his hand and gently pressed it on the ground. The next moment, red smoke enveloped Xia Yan.

Xu rushed into the smoke, unable to see the surrounding scenery or sense Xia Yan's presence.

But then, a low chanting came from afar, "Your Majesty, mask of flesh, all things, flapping wings..."

When Xu heard the sound, he rushed toward the source. Just as he arrived in front of Xia Yan, a huge red fireball shot toward Xu.

Hakudo Chapter 31

boom.

The fireball struck the Hollow's head, sending flames flying. When the flames subsided, most of the Hollow's head was destroyed.

"Roar."

It let out a painful roar, but was not yet dead.

At that moment, Xia Yan's blade flashed, and Xu's head flew up and crashed heavily to the ground.

The illusory body collapsed to the ground, utterly dead.

At this moment, the Hollow's form slowly dissipates. The Hollows killed by the Zanpakuto will have their sins erased, and their souls will enter Soul Society to participate in the cycle again.

Upon seeing the dead, Xia Yan sat down on the ground with a thud, but then, as if remembering something, he ran towards Sanada Ryoji.

At this moment, the sixth-grade students, drawn by the strange phenomenon, rushed over. Qingyan shouted, "What happened?"

Xia Yan didn't answer. Qingyan ran to Xia Yan's side, reached out to grab Xia Yan's shoulder, pulled him close, and found that his eyes were full of tears. He cried and said to Qingyan, "Sanada was attacked by a Hollow and is dead."

Qingyan shuddered, leaped over Xia Yan to look, and found Sanada Ryoji lying on the ground with a large hole in his chest, no longer breathing.

Qingyan opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

But Bai Lu noticed a problem and asked, "Where is Xu? He attacked Sanada Ryoji, where is he now?"

"Yes, where's the void? Let's go kill it," Qingyan asked anxiously.

Xia Yan cried and said, "I've already killed it."

"Killed?"

Qingyan was slightly taken aback and asked, "You said you killed it?"

Xia Yan nodded, while Qing Yan looked surprised. He hadn't expected a fourth-year student to be able to kill a Hollow. At least fifth-year students would not have the opportunity to practice fighting Hollows.

Qingyan nodded, patted Xia Yan on the shoulder, and said, "Alright, you killed it and avenged Sanada Ryoji. Don't be sad anymore. What we need to do now is send him back to Soul Society so that he can be buried there and become a part of Soul Society."

Xia Yan nodded through his tears, trying to pick up Sanada Ryoji's body, but Qingyan took it from him and carried it on his shoulder.

"Get up! What kind of state are you in, lying on the ground like that?" Bai Lu scolded Nozawa Keizo, who was lying on the ground in fright.

Xia Yan followed Qingyan to the gate between realms. Qingyan said to Bailu and Yidong, "The internship is over. Our mission has failed. You gather the students and we'll go back."

After receiving the reply, he looked at Xia Yan and said, "You're coming back with me. You need to report to the teacher."

Xia Yan nodded and followed Qingyan through the interdimensional gate, returning to the Soul Society through the severance, where he found his teacher.

Xia Yan reported the situation to his superiors and waited for the other students to return so that Sanada Ryoji could hold a funeral before returning to his dormitory.

Xia Yan's eyes were red, and he was deeply saddened.

Although his relationship with Sanada Ryoji was not as close as that with Abarai and the others, he was still one of his few close friends.

Xia Yan could remember that the man had spoken to him when he entered the fourth grade, that he had borrowed his notes, and that he had asked him for guidance on the Way of the Demon.

Xia Yan considered him a friend, but his friend died in front of him.

Xia Yan felt somewhat guilty; if he had discovered it earlier, this wouldn't have happened.

Renji Abarai patted him on the shoulder and said, "If you're sad, just cry."

Renji Abarai also attended Ryoji Sanada's funeral and stayed by Natsuhiko's side throughout, so he naturally knew what had happened.

Upon hearing this, Xia Yan could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Graduation

In the blink of an eye, half a year has passed.

Inside the auditorium, Xia Yan stood calmly in the line, awaiting the formal conferment of his Zanpakuto.

After finishing his fourth year of study, Xia Yan applied for graduation directly and was approved.

Today is the day for all graduates to hold their graduation ceremony and the formal ceremony to award their Zanpakuto.

Not everyone can graduate. Some die during their three-year internship, some fail to meet the graduation requirements, and some are not selected for the squad.

Only three-fifths of the students in a grade are able to graduate; the other two-fifths have their Zanpakuto taken back and lose all contact with the Shinigami.

Xia Yan waited quietly, and during this six-month period, his strength gradually increased.

In the second semester, Xia Yan devoted more energy to Kido. He first learned the basic Hado and the basic Binding. The most useful one was Binding 21: Red Smoke Release, which releases a huge red smoke screen to cover his figure. It was the signature technique of Omaeda Norichiyo.

There is also the Binding Path Twenty-Six Curved Light, which covers objects and makes them invisible to others.

Binding Technique Thirty: Mouth Thrusts Three Times, releasing three huge, sharp, beak-shaped beams of light that fix the opponent's waist and hands to an object, restricting the enemy's movement.

Having learned the basic Kido, Xia Yan only had one month left in his third year, so he could only learn some practical intermediate Hado and Bindo.

For example, the 31st chapter of the Hado technique, the Red Fire Cannon, fires out a huge ball of fire at extremely high speed, with both impact force and extremely high temperature.

The Red Fire Cannon is also the most frequently used Devil Fruit technique by Shinigami, as its power and difficulty are quite suitable.

In addition, there are Hado 32 Yellow Fire Flash, a high-speed fireball; Hado 33 Azure Fire Drop, a blue explosive attack; and Hado 58 Heavenly Storm, which unleashes a giant tornado at the enemy, among others.

These are relatively practical intermediate-level Breaking Arts. There are also some Binding Arts, such as Binding Arts Thirty-Seven Hanging Stars, which uses spiritual power to create a hammock in the air and use it to support a falling person.

The Thirty-Nineth Binding Spell, the Round Gate, is a protective shield in its original form. The Fifty-Eighth Binding Spell, the Scratching Toe Chasing Sparrow, is used to sense the enemy's spiritual pressure and to track the enemy.

These demonic arts are more than enough for Xia Yan to handle ordinary void-based missions.

. . .

After the graduation ceremony, Xia Yan slowly walked out of the auditorium and stood outside, somewhat dazed, when a voice rang in her ears, "Xia Yan, over here."

Xia Yan raised his head and looked into the distance, where Renji, Rukia, and the other three were standing.