The Heart of Silver Rend

Ye Yang used Utsusemi to escape Silver Rend's peerless strike. Seeing Ye Yang slip away like a cicada shedding its shell, Silver Rend spoke of his own accord for once. "Interesting. Nice footwork."

Ye Yang grinned. "The Shihoin Clan's Stealth Steps #3—Utsusemi!"

Silver Rend's expression never changed. "Nothing but a trick." He then charged at Ye Yang, raining fierce strikes down on his sword. The force of the blows churned Ye Yang's blood, nearly making him spit it out!

Silver Rend was like a god of war now. Every blow had the power to uproot mountains and rivers, and every strike came from the trickiest angle, leaving Ye Yang struggling to defend himself with no chance to counterattack.

Suddenly, Silver Rend changed his technique, switching from fierce slashes to a soft, guiding motion. Ye Yang, who had gradually grown accustomed to the slashes, was caught off guard and left himself wide open. "This is bad!" he cried, but it was too late. Silver Rend's sword had already **. Utsusemi required an outer garment, and Ye Yang had already used his for it. He didn't want to be naked, so he could only try to block with his sword. But how could he stop Silver Rend's full-powered blow with such a hasty defense?

The strike sent Ye Yang flying dozens of zhang, smashing through several buildings behind him before he was buried in the rubble.

"Hey, Ye Yang isn't going to die, is he?" Kisuke Urahara asked worriedly.

Yoruichi, however, looked confident. "No way. He's not someone who'd die that easily. He'll fight back. Just watch."

As if to prove Yoruichi right, a boom rang out! Rocks flew from the center of the rubble as Ye Yang stood there, sending the stones flying. Silver Rend said to him, "What's wrong? Still not giving up?"

Ye Yang laughed as if he had just heard a joke. "The words 'give up' don't exist in my, Ye Yang Shihoin's, dictionary."

"You have no chance of winning against me," Silver Rend said expressionlessly.

Ye Yang stared at Silver Rend, took a deep breath, and said, "Let's find out. I wasn't planning to use this sword technique, but you're stronger than I imagined. I have no choice."

"Do you have any other moves you haven't used? Let's see them all." Silver Rend didn't seem concerned in the slightest.

Ye Yang raised his sword and said slowly, "Nine Swords of Dugu: Sword-Breaking Stance!" With that, he charged at Silver Rend with all his might and engaged him, calm in mind and neither arrogant nor impatient.

The Nine Swords of Dugu that Ye Yang used was a peerless sword technique he had read about in his previous life. Its power was in no way inferior to the Tai Chi Sword, and it even surpassed it in offense. In his previous life, Ye Yang had only read about how to practice the technique without actually learning it. He had still been young then and understood all too well that trying to learn too much would leave him master of none. But in this life, Ye Yang had come to the Soul Society, where he had ample time, and had begun learning this martial art. In this life, the Nine Swords of Dugu was destined to make its name known throughout the Soul Society!

As its name suggested, the Nine Swords of Dugu consisted of only nine stances: the General Formula, Sword-Breaking Stance, Saber-Breaking Stance, Spear-Breaking Stance, Whip-Breaking Stance, Cord-Breaking Stance, Palm-Breaking Stance, Arrow-Breaking Stance, and Qi-Breaking Stance. Each countered a different kind of weapon or technique.

Of these, the General Formula and Sword-Breaking Stance had the most variations. Though the Sword-Breaking Stance was only one stance, it incorporated the essential principles of sword techniques from every school and sect under heaven. In a sense, the Nine Swords of Dugu had no fixed moves. The key was to overcome moves with no moves, and sword moves with sword intent.

Ye Yang's and Silver Rend's swords met again. Rather than contesting Silver Rend's strength, Ye Yang released his hilt and let his sword swing halfway around Silver Rend's blade. He caught its tip and thrust it forward again. The move caught Silver Rend by surprise, and had he not been exceptionally fast, it would have hit him.

As Silver Rend retreated, Ye Yang followed close behind. Now the hilt was in Ye Yang's hand again, though it was unclear when he had switched his grip. There was no discernible pattern to any of Ye Yang's strikes. To an outsider, he might have seemed worse than an ordinary Soul Reaper, but Silver Rend, who was fighting him, alone knew how terrifying he was. Every strike Ye Yang made landed where Silver Rend was about to strike next, as though Ye Yang had known all along. No matter how Silver Rend attacked, Ye Yang could always strike first. His sword constantly blocked the places Silver Rend wanted to strike, throwing Silver Rend's attacking rhythm into disarray. To an outsider, Ye Yang's seemingly crude slashes were actually suppressing Silver Rend!

Having no moves was the essence of the Nine Swords of Dugu. Sometimes Ye Yang wielded it with carefree elegance; at other times, his movements were clumsy and ungainly. Yet he kept Silver Rend suppressed all the while. It was sword intent that mattered, not moves. Ye Yang brought out the essence of the Nine Swords of Dugu to the fullest!

Ye Yang struck as he pleased, leaving no trace of his movements, like an antelope hanging by its horns. The Nine Swords of Dugu had another enormous advantage: it could suppress an opponent's Spiritual Pressure! Faced with its tidal wave of attacks and sword intent, an opponent would be overwhelmed before they had a chance to release their full Spiritual Pressure. Ye Yang knew full well that Silver Rend was much stronger than he was, so he immediately unleashed a tidal wave of attacks, attacking without defending!

As stated before, the Nine Swords of Dugu was in no way inferior to the Tai Chi Sword. The Tai Chi Sword focused on defense, while the Nine Swords of Dugu focused on offense. The saying that offense was the best defense described the Nine Swords of Dugu. With the Nine Swords of Dugu, there was only advance and no retreat! Every move was an attack, striking where the enemy had to defend. Naturally, there was no need to defend oneself.

The Sword-Breaking Stance countered every sword technique under heaven, and Silver Rend was no exception! Suddenly, an upward flick of Ye Yang's sword left Silver Rend wide open. Ye Yang naturally wouldn't let the opportunity pass. He slashed, and Silver Rend was unable to block. He could only watch as Ye Yang's sword came down and struck his shoulder.

A long streak of blood flew through the air. Silver Rend clutched his shoulder with one hand and said, "What a Nine Swords of Dugu!"

Blood still dripped from Ye Yang's sword. He looked at Silver Rend and replied, "It's impressive that you lasted so long against the Nine Swords of Dugu."

Silver Rend gently wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth. Suddenly, he burst into wild laughter, as if he had gone mad. "Hahahaha..." His laughter echoed throughout the underground base, carrying a note of sorrow.

The laughter stopped. "Nine Swords of Dugu! Impressive! Ye Yang, you really are a genius!" Silver Rend said, disappointment in his voice.

For some reason, what should have been praise sounded grating to Ye Yang. He could clearly sense Silver Rend's will: it was an emotion of sorrow. Ye Yang asked worriedly, "Silver Rend, are you all right?"

Silver Rend resumed his usual impassive expression and looked Ye Yang straight in the eye. "I'm fine. Let's go again."

"But..." Ye Yang had barely begun to speak when Silver Rend charged at him. Ye Yang hurriedly raised his sword to block. Clang! Their swords collided. Ye Yang took a look and saw that Silver Rend's sword had somehow assumed the form it took when Silver Rend used Shikai. Strangely, Ye Yang's sword hadn't been cut in two. Ye Yang attacked with the Nine Swords of Dugu, but Silver Rend merely swung his sword, and a spatial rift appeared before him. No matter how strong Ye Yang was, he couldn't withstand a spatial rift head-on, so he immediately used Shunpo to get away.

But after Ye Yang put some distance between them, Silver Rend didn't pursue him. Instead, he stayed where he was and held his sword in one hand, cutting upward through the sky as he chanted, "Space—Dimensional Slash."

A massive spatial rift surged toward Ye Yang, devouring everything in its path. The terrifying rift seemed ready to swallow everything in the world. Ye Yang was shocked; he had never imagined that Silver Rend could unleash a strike like this. Every time Ye Yang released Silver Rend, he attacked his opponent directly. Those who didn't know Silver Rend's ability were often beheaded with a single strike.

The Dimensional Slash caught Ye Yang completely off guard. He had a feeling that if the move hit him, he would surely die. At this critical moment of life and death, Ye Yang no longer cared how he looked. Just before the spatial rift struck him, he vanished, leaving only a black Shihakushō behind. The rift swallowed the Shihakushō, leaving not even a scrap.

Standing off to one side, Ye Yang watched his Shihakushō get swallowed and couldn't help shuddering. If he hadn't dodged, he would certainly have died. Ye Yang was now bare-chested, revealing the well-developed muscles that his loose Shihakushō had hidden. The sight couldn't help but inspire a sense of security, and beneath his less-than-fair skin lay astonishing explosive power!

"So it can be used like that too," Ye Yang murmured.

Silver Rend's hearing was exceptionally keen. He said to Ye Yang, "Why couldn't it be used like that? There's plenty you haven't thought of. Have you ever seriously developed my abilities?" With that, Silver Rend vanished from where he stood and appeared behind Ye Yang. He struck Ye Yang in the back with his sword hilt, knocking him to the ground with the sudden blow.

Silver Rend had moved with extreme speed. Not only Ye Yang, but even Yoruichi, who was watching from the side, hadn't seen him. His speed was breathtaking!

Ye Yang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, puzzled. Silver Rend explained directly, "That wasn't just Shunpo. I first used my ability to shorten the distance through space, then used Shunpo to cross it."

"How is that possible? Shorten the distance through space?" Ye Yang was shocked.

Silver Rend sneered. "Why wouldn't it be possible? I'm a space-type Zanpakuto! Shortening the distance through space is effortless for me. You simply never noticed."

As if he had found an outlet, Silver Rend said, "For the past few years, you've spent every day practicing those so-called martial arts of yours. When have you ever noticed my true abilities? Yes! I admit those martial arts of yours are powerful, but what do you take me for? Nothing but a tool. I told you long ago that my abilities go far beyond that. Have you ever trained me?"

Faced with Silver Rend's questions, Ye Yang didn't know what to say. It was true that he had immersed himself in his martial arts for the past few years and had never developed Silver Rend's abilities. Thinking of this, Ye Yang felt deeply guilty.

"I'm sorry..." What else could he say? Ye Yang had no words. An apology was all he could offer.

But Silver Rend didn't answer. He charged straight at him, leaving Ye Yang able only to dodge. As Silver Rend slashed, he said, "I'm not just a blade for cutting. I'm a Zanpakuto with thoughts of my own! I'm the companion in the depths of your heart. Why can't you believe in me?" Silver Rend's expression grew resolute as he continued, "In that case, today I'll show you my strength!"