You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

“I don’t think I’m stronger than the Captain-Commander or Captain Aizen, but if it’s a battle between Shinigami… that’s probably why that person values ​​me so much.”

Hibiki, holding Muramasa in his hand, stroked the sword horizontally: "Captain... Iori's expectation of me is that I can turn the tide in times like these!"

"What do you know about him?!" Yuuki couldn't stay calm when she heard that name. "Someone like you doesn't deserve his expectations!"

"Muramasa... I'm begging you!"

The Zanpakuto in Kuchiki Kyoga's hand erupted with an eerie purple light, and a white-clad man wearing a fur cloak appeared behind the young man.

"Xianghe, this is a formidable enemy... but I will support you!"

Zheng!

With a clear sound, the blade of the Mirror Flower Water Moon suddenly trembled violently, and a dense blue light condensed from the blade and flew out!

Yuuki showed no surprise, quietly watching her Zanpakuto transform in the air into a woman dressed in a light blue kimono. The woman's face bore a seven-tenths resemblance to Yuuki, but her eyes were filled with tears and sorrow, and her gaze toward Yuuki was filled with hatred and resentment.

"A mirage..." Yuuki's voice was icy cold. "He left me, and now you're betraying me too?"

The sword spirit slowly raised its head and met Yuji's gaze without fear.

"Because I love Lady Iori." The sword spirit's voice was soft yet firm. "For a hundred years, every time you used me to create an illusion, I could feel his unconditional love for you..."

A tear slid down the sword spirit's cheek: "And yet you killed him with your own hands."

Yuuki's body trembled slightly, the light of the Hogyoku flickering: "Shut up... You're nothing but a knife..."

"Precisely because I am the blade, I understand the meaning of loyalty better than you!" The blade spirit suddenly raised its voice, "Do you know how much pain I felt when he gave up resistance and willingly faced the blade?!"

What kind of illusion is this? It sounds like I've overheard a shocking little secret!

Xianghe's eye twitched. Although he had already stood in front of Yuki with the mindset of certain death, he couldn't help but feel a little scared and wished he could erase the memory from his brain.

Yuuki suddenly laughed, a crazed and broken laugh: "Interesting... My Zanpakuto has fallen in love with my younger brother?"

Click!

The Hogyoku burst forth with a dazzling and brilliant light, and Yuuki actually grabbed the blade of Kyoka Suigetsu with her bare hands. To Hibiki's horrified gaze, she forcefully broke the Zanpakuto in half!

"No!!" The sword spirit let out a shrill cry, instinctively trying to stop it, but Yuuki only glanced at her, and the woman in the kimono was entangled in cracks like a shattered mirror. The next moment, her spirit began to slowly dissipate...

In her final moments, she struggled to reach out and touch something: "Lady Iori... I'm sorry... I couldn't..."

The illusion dissipated with the wind, and half of the broken sword fell to the ground.

"You're next, Kuchiki Hibiki."

"..."

Xianghe looked at Muramasa in silence, while the demon sword remained speechless.

Generally speaking, no Shinigami would voluntarily give up their Zanpakuto; this was the first time either of them had encountered such a situation.

"Ah..." Muramasa's throat tightened, "...is it...is it possible to reconcile?"

Before he could finish speaking, Yuki appeared in front of him, her fair fingers gently touching the forehead of the demon sword, and flames instantly engulfed his figure.

"I don't have time to play with you."

Xianghe tried to resist, but Yuji appeared behind him in a flash, and the young man's body suddenly froze—in the blink of an eye, Xianghe had turned into an ice sculpture and was falling from the sky.

Yuhime turned her head down to look at the broken sword in her hand and casually threw it away.

"I no longer need Zanpakuto."

Having said that, she lowered her right hand and placed it on her waist, where a strangely shaped longsword hung. The blade was as bright as jade and silver, but for some reason it had a grayish feel to it, as if it had lost its luster.

"All you need is a clear mirror to still the water."

The next moment, Wang Jian's light engulfed her, and the road to the Spirit King's Palace unfolded before her.

“Iori…” she murmured softly, “Even in hell…you will still belong to me…Do you really think you can escape?!”

Her figure vanished in the light, leaving only half of the broken mirror image falling from the sky and embedding itself in the scorched earth, like a silent tombstone.

-

The dome of the Spirit King's Palace trembled under Yuki's spiritual pressure. With each step she took, ripples spread across the space like water. Clad in snow-white robes, her garments fluttered even without wind, and the Hōgyoku swirled between her collarbones with a ghostly blue light that seemed to devour all things.

And in her right hand—the [Mirror of Still Water] that should have belonged to Iori—the blade was now emitting a sharper, cold silver light than ever before, as if it could even cut through light.

After absorbing part of Iori's soul, she had clearly gained the Zanpakuto's recognition, and her power level had risen once again.

The layout of the Spirit King Palace is quite unique, with four palaces arranged in a square, all guarding the central royal hall. The Zero Squad, who should have been fighting together, were each staying in their own palaces, as if waiting for her to come.

"Arrogance or a trap? But what's the point... Zero Squad?" She chuckled, her fingertips tracing the spine of the sword. "Just remnants of an old era."

Having figured things out and decided to forcefully shatter Hell, confidence returned to her. The mysterious and powerful Zero Division, whose strength was said to surpass the entire Gotei 13, was nothing in her eyes.

At this moment, she is invincible!

……

The bodies of the Zero Division members lay scattered behind her: Kirinji Tenjiro, Nimaiya Oetsu, Shutara Senjumaru... even Hyosube Ichibei was no exception; his giant brush was broken in two, losing its former power.

These beings, once revered by the Soul Society, are now merely stepping stones on her path to godhood.

"How boring." Yuuki muttered to herself, her gaze falling on the massive door deep within the Spirit King's Palace. "The so-called Zero Division is nothing special."

She raised her hand and gently pushed, and the heavy door opened silently, letting out a dazzling white light from the crack.

Yuuki squinted, taking a moment to adjust before she could clearly see the scene inside—

In the center of the spacious hall, a huge crystal floated. Inside the crystal was a limbless human figure, the entire crystal pierced and bound by a spiritual lock, making it impossible to see the specific face; the features were like a mask covering the face.

"This is... the Spirit King? How laughable that he would venerate such a thing as a god... and a god of such stature would be reduced to this state!"

It's ridiculous! Both the Spirit King and the five noble families who created all this are laughable!

This world is built on lies and sacrifice!

Yuhime stepped forward slowly, the sharp edge of her sword, Mingjing Shishui, leaving a thin mark on the ground. She looked up at the figure in the crystal, her brows slightly furrowed.

The legendary supreme being who maintains the balance of the three realms seems rather ordinary.

"No, that's not right!"

She suddenly realized something and turned around abruptly—

At the far end of the hall, a figure had appeared on the once empty throne.

His face was obscured, but his clothing was exactly the same as that of the Quincy King!

"You are……"

The figure on the throne slowly raised her hand, and a deep laugh came from beneath the wide white cloak: "Congratulations, Aizen Yuuki. In a thousand years, you are the second Shinigami to truly step into this place."

The sound seemed to come from all directions, carrying a strange resonance that caused the entire hall to tremble slightly.

“Yhwach?” She sneered, the sharp edge of her sword gleaming coldly. “It seems I overestimated the Zero Division’s capabilities, allowing the progenitor of the Quincy to sit on the Soul King’s throne.”

Yhwach did not die in the last great battle, but faked his death to escape, and actually successfully invaded and controlled the Soul King Palace—this guess naturally came to Yuuki's mind.

“I don’t care who you are.” She raised the blade of her sword, the light of the Hogyoku swirling before her chest. “Roll down from that spot.”

"How impatient you are," the Quincy King said softly. "Don't you want to know who the first Shinigami to step into this place was?"

Yuhime's sword was already right in front of his nose—but it stopped at the last inch.

“Look.” The Quincy King sat on his throne. “You absorbed your brother’s soul, fused with the Hogyoku, and even seized the Mirror of Stillness, which is how you broke through the Zero Division’s obstruction to reach the Soul King… But before you, someone had already accomplished the same thing.”

"who is it?"

Yuuki's voice was low, but she seemed to already know the answer.

"Could it be that……"

"Aizen Iori".

The Quincy King said, "He and I fought here... We both had the chance to become Soul Kings, but he gave it up."

"Why?" Yuuki's voice trembled slightly.

"Perhaps it's because there are still people in the lower realm that I can't abandon."

"Well!"

Yuki closed her eyes sadly.

The man stroked his chin and said, "Yes, I think his name was Seraphim von Einzbern."

Yuuki: "……………………???"

Chapter 588: True Bankai: Mirror of Still Water & Mirror Flower, Water Moon

boom--!

Yuhime's spiritual pressure erupted instantly, causing the entire Spirit King Palace to tremble. The blade of the Mirror of Still Water flashed with dazzling silver light, and countless water droplets condensed from the void, each drop containing the power of lightning capable of tearing space apart.

Her voice was distorted with anger: "Further words are useless. If you are the Spirit King, then be prepared!"

Yuuki didn't think she would lose. The powerful Hogyoku, especially the Zanpakuto in her hand, filled her with confidence. She also gradually realized how terrifying Iori's true strength was. If he hadn't actively sought liberation, even her series of traps probably wouldn't have been able to defeat him.

Zheng! Zheng! Zheng!

Water droplets transformed into countless sharp blades, interspersed with violent lightning, pouring down towards the throne. Wherever they passed, space was torn open with pitch-black cracks, and even spiritual particles were completely annihilated, just like the effect of the "Broken Flame Katana".

"Oh dear~" The Quincy King chuckled and snapped his fingers.

In an instant, countless spirit arrows appeared out of thin air, precisely intercepting every drop of water. The arrows collided with the water droplets, unleashing a deafening roar and stirring up the atmosphere of the Spirit King Palace, which had an extremely high concentration of spirit particles.

"Is this how you treat your benefactor?" He casually crossed his legs. "I'm telling you the truth, your brother Aizen Iori is undoubtedly a very popular guy. While you were struggling with this, he had already been indulging himself."

"—!"

Yuhime's figure had already disappeared from the spot.

The next instant, she appeared directly above the throne, her serene and still form, imbued with the force of a thousand thunderbolts, crashing down upon him—

clang!

The Quincy King suddenly produced a pure black military sword, which he used to firmly block the attack. The shockwave from the collision of the two forces shattered the ground around the throne.

All the materials in the Spirit King Palace are high-purity spiritual particle crystals, and even the density of the atmosphere is much higher than that of the lower realm. Even a captain-level powerhouse would be bent over by the pressure here, but compared to these two, it is still too fragile.

“Too slow.” He shook his head, and his saber suddenly transformed in the light, turning into a longbow. “Holy Annihilation Arrow—”

The bowstring vibrated, and a beam of blue light shot straight at Yuuki's brow. Its power wasn't particularly strong, but it was incredibly swift. At such close range, Yuuki had almost no time to dodge, but as if she had foreseen it, she turned her head to dodge the moment the bowstring vibrated. The arrow grazed her cheek but didn't harm her in the slightest.

However, what was terrifying was that the arrow actually curved in the air and attacked again from behind!

"Breaking Path No. 63: Thunder Roar Cannon!"

Without turning her head, Yuuki reached out from under her right arm with her left hand and shattered the arrow with a bolt of lightning. At the same time, she quickly changed her hand gestures and formed hand seals, using actions to replace incantations and releasing a high-level Kido with a "complete incantation".

"You really do like black coffins, huh?"

Looking at the overwhelming, dark spiritual pressure, Yhwach shook his head slightly. The six-pointed star array unfolded beneath his feet, creating a holy domain that forcefully supported the spatial turbulence of the black coffin from within.

boom!

The No. 90 blast shattered with a crash. Yuuki and Yhwach separated, exchanged a glance, and remained expressionless.

"As expected, he's not simple." Yuuki's eyes narrowed slightly.

Suddenly, a torrential rain poured down from the top of the hall, each drop transforming into a silver needle-like sword aura that descended upon Yhwach as if subjected to a slow, agonizing torture.

Looking up, the Quincy King finally stood up, his pure white cloak fluttering even without wind.

He spread his arms, and a substantial spiritual barrier expanded outwards from him: "Silent Blood Armor - God's Domain!"

All the rain swords that attacked him instantly vaporized within three meters of him. He calmly straightened his sleeves: "Is that all you've got? Iori is much better than you."

The skills on top of the "Outer Shell Blood Armor" perfectly blocked this wave of attacks, but the Spirit King Palace was also completely destroyed by the layers of spiritual pressure fluctuations!

"Shut up!" Yuuki's pupils contracted to the size of pinpoints.

She gripped the sword with both hands, and the blade of the Mirror of Still Water suddenly became as transparent as water. "Orochi's Raging Waves - Thunder!"

boom! ! !

A bolt of lightning, over ten meters in diameter, descended from the sky, completely engulfing the Quincy King. The lightning emitted explosive sounds of burning objects, illuminating the entire sky as brightly as a snowfield.

However, when the lightning dissipated—

"Not bad." The Quincy King stood unharmed, though the saber in his hand had melted and deformed. "Too bad it can't kill me."