Death's Hidden Mobile

Opposite the stone chamber, there is a high platform with stone steps leading up to it.

Soi Fon explained, "This is their activity room, and of course, their living room. They live and work here."

Xia Yan looked around at his surroundings, which were mostly made of stone and metal. Although there were some recreational tools, the living conditions were extremely harsh, dull, and hopeless, like being a walking corpse.

Many of them have lived here for decades or even centuries, and Xia Yan finds it hard to imagine how they manage to survive.

Although I had known about the worm nest for a long time, it was only after coming here that I realized what kind of suffering they endured.

Was the Seireitei right or wrong to imprison them here because of their dangerous thoughts and actions?

Xia Yan had no answer in his heart. He could think of the advantages and disadvantages of doing so, but he probably didn't have much right to judge whether it was right or wrong.

All he can do is continue this work.

Soi Fon led Natsuhiko into the stone chamber. Just as they reached them, a whooshing sound rang out, and a figure pounced towards Natsuhiko.

Soi Fon took a small step back, while Natsuhiko stepped forward and threw a punch.

boom.

Xia Yan's fist struck a gigantic fist, which was more than ten times the size of Xia Yan. The owner of the fist was also incredibly burly, comparable in size to the giant Daoist Bi Ju who guarded the Zhuwa Gate.

However, after a moment of pause, the enormous figure flew backward and crashed heavily to the ground.

The opponent's strength was immense, but it was only physical strength. Xia Yan's spiritual pressure had reached level six, and the power of his punches and kicks should not be underestimated.

Soi Fon said to Natsuhiko, "If you encounter a threat, you have the option to handle the situation however you want."

Xia Yan asked curiously, "Is it okay to kill him?"

Soi Fon nodded and said, "That's fine. However, many of them attack people simply because they might be imprisoned here and, during their long period of captivity, have become mentally unstable. Therefore, if possible, just subdue them and try not to kill them."

Xia Yan nodded and said, "I understand."

Soi Fon added, “Similarly, you also have the ability to release them. But remember, precisely because you possess this ability, they might try every means to threaten you, persuade you with words, or move you with their own painful experiences or their families. So if you intend to release someone, you must think carefully about whether you can really release them, whether they are truly not a threat, and you must bear the consequences of the damage they cause after leaving here.”

We must maintain an absolutely rational judgment of these people, while also sparing them from their attacks.

Ruthlessness and affection are two truly difficult emotions to choose between.

Xia Yan knew this was a contradictory place, and then Soi Fon added, "There's a passageway there with some cells inside, used to imprison particularly dangerous people. Of course, these cells have only held one person in the last hundred years, and that person was released more than sixty years ago."

Xia Yan nodded and said, "The captain of the 12th Division, the director of the Technology Development Bureau, Mayuri Kurotsuchi."

This is not a very secretive matter; many people know that Mayuri Kurotsuchi is a terrifying character who came from the Worm Nest.

Soi Fon snorted coldly, "Sixty-two years ago, I clearly expressed my opposition. Now it seems I shouldn't have let him out."

Sixty-two years ago, it was Kisuke Urahara who released Mayuri Kurotsuchi. He was the captain of the Third Division. When the inspectors reported to Yoruichi, Yoruichi did not remember giving Kisuke Urahara the authority to release Mayuri, but she still casually let him go.

Soi Fon expressed her opposition at the time, but to no avail, and Yoruichi even told her she was being long-winded.

Soi Fon was furious at the thought of Yoruichi's trust in Kisuke Urahara and the fact that the two of them had defected from Soul Society together, and therefore felt that she shouldn't have released Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

However, as the story unfolds, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, despite his madness, has made a significant contribution to Soul Society.

She killed Szayelaporro, one of the Eight Espada, and also killed Giselle Juair and one of her Royal Guard members, Penida Pajaca, in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc.

They also rescued Hitsugaya Toshiro, Kaedehashi Ryujiro, and Rokusha Kensei.

Kenpachi Zaraki and Izuru Kira were both rescued by him, as were Renji Abarai and Uryu Ishida.

In some respects, Mayuri Kurotsuchi's release was more beneficial than harmful to the Seireitei.

Soi Fon then said:

“From now on, you will come down here once a day to check their list and prevent anyone from escaping, even though it’s practically impossible. Other than that, you don’t need to stay here.”

“Your primary responsibility is not them, but other dangerous individuals within the Seireitei. You have the right to monitor, arrest, and investigate anyone.”

"All the officers involved in the arrests have their files in your office. You need to review them carefully."

"Alright, that's enough for now. I'll take you to the office and tell you the specifics of what needs to be done."

After Soi Fon finished speaking, she called out to Natsuhiko and left.

Xia Yan glanced at the people in the stone chamber, realizing that he would likely be staying there for a long time to come.

Chapter 53: Shaping

The Worm's Nest holds 32 dangerous individuals. The oldest, 243 years old, is also the one who has been imprisoned for the longest period, 120 years. His name is Kimura Hara, and the reason for his imprisonment is that he opposes the existence of nobles and hopes to abolish the noble system.

In Seireitei, nobles are divided into high nobility, upper nobility, and lower nobility. Nobles have a higher status than ordinary people, and upper nobility are more prestigious than lower nobility.

The current head of a noble family is eligible to inherit the noble rank.

The head of a branch family is considered to be from a different branch and is eligible to succeed the head of the main family when the main family loses its heir.

Kimura Haruto believed that nobles were useless, enjoying enormous resources, and were maggots of the Seireitei.

However, in reality, the second division of the Gotei 13 is controlled by the Shihouin family, one of the great noble families, who have fought to protect Seireitei for generations. The lower-ranking noble family, the Hachi family, has been in the Execution Army for generations. In the Hachi family alone, all five of Soi Fon's older brothers died fighting for Seireitei.

The other six divisions are controlled by the Kuchiki family and are responsible for protecting the Seireitei, where they have a proven track record of success.

Furthermore, Kyoraku Shunsui was born into an upper-class noble family, Ise Nanao was born into a Shinto family, and the Ukitake family was a lower-class noble family, but the family had declined and he was sickly from childhood. He had eight siblings, and they all depended on him for support.

The Shiba family, once one of the five great noble families, has declined in recent years, but still has two members: Shiba Kaien, who serves as the vice-captain, and Shiba Isshin, who serves as the captain.

In the Gotei 13, a quarter of the captains and vice-captains are nobles.

In a sense, the nobility played a vital role in the Seireitei. Or rather, their very existence as nobility was a testament to their significant contributions to the Seireitei.

Of course, it is undeniable that they occupy enormous resources and possess extremely high power.

In private, many Grim Reapers probably discuss this point, but Kimura's original thinking was somewhat extreme, even advocating for violent methods to change this disparity. However, before he could implement his ideas, he was brought here and imprisoned.

Kimura Haruno is the oldest and has been imprisoned the longest, while the youngest is a man named Nagagaya Shizukawa, who is only eighty years old but has been imprisoned for twenty years. He has approached the Confession Palace multiple times and investigated its information, including how to destroy the Killing Stone.

The Palace of Penitence is a place to imprison serious criminals. Although it is not as good as the prisoner in the Infernal Realm, it basically violates the important rules of Soul Society.

Shizukawa Nagakawa's actions may have been an attempt to rescue someone, but he was imprisoned before he could carry it out.

However, the shortest imprisonment period belonged to a 110-year-old man who was imprisoned for twelve years. He believed that Hollows had committed immense atrocities and should not be dealt with using Zanpakuto, but rather should be completely annihilated, including their souls. He even experimented with this method during the extermination of Hollows.

This is exactly what the Quincy wanted, but it would cause an imbalance among the souls in the Soul Society of the present world, leading to confusion of the boundary.

According to the rules of the Seireitei, large-scale extinction of Hollows will be punished.

However, he was investigated and arrested after killing only three or four.

Xia Yan looked at their files and found that most of them did not meet the criteria for a crime, but were sent here because they might pose a threat to the Seireitei.

After reviewing the documents, Xia Yan left the underground supervision office.

Being the captain of the inspection team was actually easier than being the adjutant in the second detachment's patrol team. Back then, he needed to change guard posts and make rotation lists. Now, he only needed to go to the worm's nest once a morning to check the list.

Another duty is surveillance, but in reality, only one person is detained every ten years or so, and there aren't many people worth arresting.

However, this is also good, as it gives Xia Yan more time to test his abilities.

. . .

Outside the Seireitei, Natsuhiko appeared at Mount Koibushi in the North 3rd Ward and arrived at the summit.

This was the closest and most secluded place he had found to Seireitei. If he stayed here, he wouldn't be discovered by others and wouldn't bother anyone.

He stood atop the empty mountaintop, gripping his Zanpakuto tightly in his right hand, and murmured, "Descend, Tenraimaru."

As he spoke, dark clouds gathered in the sky, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and then a bolt of lightning struck down, landing directly in Xia Yan's hand and transforming into a short gun.

Xia Yan gripped the short gun and channeled his spiritual energy into it. The short gun was directly converted into lightning energy, which was then transmitted into Xia Yan's body and finally gathered into two lightning wings on his back.

With a flap of his lightning wings, Xia Yan vanished instantly, and the next moment, he appeared in the distance.

This movement speed is much faster than Shunhong Can, and it is comparable to Shunhong.

Of course, the size, position, and energy consumption of the Thunderwing all need to be tested little by little to find the combination that best suits our needs.

Xia Yan adjusted his Thunder Wings for a while, but his spiritual energy was mostly depleted.

Although Lei Yi's movement speed is strong, it consumes too much energy. Even if I fight at full strength, I can only last for five minutes.

Five minutes is enough for a battle, and this energy conversion efficiency is already higher than that of Instantaneous Roar.

My own Instant Bomb (Crippled) can only be used a few times, which puts a great strain on my body.

Even a complete Instantaneous Roar, with its sixth-level spiritual pressure, can only last for three or four minutes.

Whether it's Lei Shunhong or Lei Yi, both emphasize extreme speed, and battles can usually be ended in one or two minutes, so they don't need to worry about battles that last too long.

Of course, his own spiritual pressure was not enough to support the consumption of Tenraimaru. After allocating it to Raiyu's spiritual pressure, it would shorten the conversion of other abilities.

Therefore, increasing spiritual pressure was imperative, but it took me nearly two years to advance from level four to level five.

It took five years to advance from the fifth to the sixth rank.

Reaching the seventh level of spiritual pressure would take at least a decade or more, so there's no need to rush.

After using Thunder Wing, Xia Yan began to try to evolve his second ability, Thunder Shaping.

Xia Yan converted spiritual energy into lightning energy with the short gun in his right hand. As the spiritual energy surged out wildly, the lightning energy transformed and flowed along the gun, resembling Xia Yan's arm, before arriving at Xia Yan's left arm.

The next moment, Xia Yan made a staff made of lightning, which slowly extended to be more than five feet long.

Xia Yan twirled his left hand, the long staff spinning along his arm, no different from an ordinary metal weapon, except that it consumed too much spiritual energy.

Xia Yan gripped the long staff, looked at the distant mountain peaks, and then controlled one end of the staff to transform into a spearhead, turning it into a long spear.

Then Xia Yan gripped the Thunder Spear tightly, threw the spear, and it flew away into the distance with a whoosh.

However, it didn't fly very far, only about three meters away from the body, before exploding in mid-air.

boom.

A blue light enveloped the surroundings, including Xia Yan's body. The ground was blasted open, soil flew high into the air, and the surrounding trees were hit and crashed to the ground.

When the smoke cleared, Xia Yan was holding a blue shield in his left hand. This shield was made of lightning energy and blocked all the heat and shock waves generated after the lightning exploded.

Xia Yan dispersed the shield and saw a large crater not far away, more than a meter deep and about six meters in diameter.

Although its power is not as great as the Flying Dragon Strike Thunder Cannon and its range is not as great as the Thunder Roar Cannon, it does not consume much spiritual energy, unlike the Thunder Wing, which requires constant replenishment of thunder energy during its duration.

This lightning spear only requires one-tenth of spiritual power to have power comparable to the Thunder Roar Cannon, which is not weak.

However, the only drawback is that the lightning spear explodes when it is thrown into the air.