Battle (3)

Kaien Shiba frowned deeply at those words. They had already fought to this extent, and Liu Hao still had a hidden ability?

Was he really just a newcomer who had joined a few years ago?

Liu Hao held the Imperial Sword upright before him, its tip pointing skyward. He slowly closed his eyes and spoke:

"Imperial Flame, incinerate all things."

At first, there was only a spark.

A tiny golden-red spark appeared at the tip of the Imperial Sword, like the first star in the night sky.

Then the spark spread.

It flowed downward at a speed visible to the naked eye, following the dragon pattern along the sword's spine and turning the entire Imperial Sword golden-red, bit by bit. The inscriptions on the blade seemed to ignite, flowing with a lava-like glow.

When the Imperial Sword had turned completely golden-red, Liu Hao opened his eyes.

In that instant—flames erupted.

They did not rise from the blade, but surged out of Liu Hao's body, from every pore and from the depths of his soul. Golden-red flames shot into the sky, forming a Flame Domain ten zhang across around him.

Within the domain, the temperature soared.

The rain swords flying toward him were the first to suffer. They had barely entered the outskirts of the Flame Domain, without even touching the hem of Liu Hao's clothes, when they abruptly halted in midair.

Then—they evaporated.

They did not melt or burn. They were instantly vaporized from liquid into wisps of white mist, and even the mist vanished under the intense heat. The entire process was unbelievably fast, as if the rain swords had never existed.

Kaien Shiba was shaken to the core.

Flames... a power completely opposite to water, appearing in the same Zanpakuto? That contradicted Soul Society's basic understanding of Zanpakuto characteristics. A Zanpakuto's abilities might vary endlessly, but its core attribute was usually singular—ice, fire, flowing water, Kidō-type...

Dual attributes? He had never heard of it.

"You... can control flames too?" Kaien Shiba's voice carried astonishment he could hardly conceal.

Liu Hao looked down at the burning Imperial Sword in his hand, the flames illuminating his calm face. "Control them? Something like that." He raised the sword and pointed it at Kaien Shiba. "Let's begin the second half."

With that, he casually swung his sword at Kaien Shiba.

There was no fancy name for the move, no complicated opening stance. Just a simple swing.

But with that swing, a golden-red slash of flame flew from the sword. It was only three chi wide at first, but it rapidly expanded in flight. By the time it had crossed half the distance, it had become a crescent of flame three zhang wide and ten zhang long.

More frightening still was its temperature.

Even from dozens of zhang away, Kaien Shiba could feel the scorching heat rushing toward him. The air warped in the heat, blurring everything in sight. The ground beneath his feet began to crack, and even the grass and trees in the distance were turning yellow and smoking.

These were no ordinary flames—ordinary flames did not produce a heat that felt as though it could burn through the soul.

Kaien Shiba dared not be careless. Nejibana spun rapidly in front of him, and a massive slash of water took shape.

"Water Heaven Slash!"

A deep-blue blade of water tore through the air toward the flaming crescent.

The two collided in midair.

"Ssss...!"

There was no explosion, no thunderous crash. There was only the ear-splitting sound of vaporization. The water blade began to evaporate the instant it touched the flaming crescent, and vast clouds of white mist rose, instantly filling the entire barrier. His vision was completely obscured, leaving only the sound of continuous hissing.

Kaien Shiba stared fixedly into the depths of the mist. His Water Heaven Slash was powerful enough to cut through a Captain-level defense. By rights, water and fire countered each other, so they should have canceled each other out.

But the next moment... a golden-red light pierced the white mist.

The flaming crescent... had not been completely neutralized. It had shrunk and its color had dimmed somewhat, but it retained its basic shape, piercing through the mist and continuing toward Kaien Shiba.

Kaien Shiba's pupils contracted, and he instantly dodged to the side.

The flaming crescent grazed his body and struck the barrier wall behind him. Golden-red flames burst across the wall instead of immediately dissipating, clinging to it and continuing to burn, making that small section of the barrier ripple violently.

Kaien Shiba landed, still catching his breath, and immediately looked up at Liu Hao's position.

But the sight that met him filled him with foreboding.

Liu Hao... had not pursued him at all.

He had stood in the same spot ever since swinging his sword, without even changing his posture. The Imperial Sword pointed diagonally at the ground, flames burning quietly along its blade. His face showed no eagerness to press his advantage; instead, he seemed... calmly content to wait.

What was he waiting for?

"Are you wondering..." Liu Hao's voice came through the pervasive mist, "why I didn't take the opportunity to attack you?"

Kaien Shiba did not answer, but his expression said it all.

Liu Hao smiled faintly. "You guessed right. I do have a purpose." He paused. "Sense your surroundings for yourself, and you'll understand."

His surroundings?

Kaien Shiba immediately focused his senses. As the wielder of a flowing-water Zanpakuto, he was naturally sensitive to the "water" in his surroundings.

Then his expression changed.

At first, the change was subtle... the air seemed to have become... dry. It was not his imagination; the dryness was real. Every breath brought a slight sting to his nose and throat, a sign that they lacked moisture.

Then he realized something even more frightening.

The temperature inside the barrier... was continuing to rise.

It was not a brief surge of heat from the passing flaming crescent. The temperature throughout the barrier was climbing slowly but steadily. At first it might have risen only a few degrees, but as time passed, it had reached more than ten degrees above normal, and it was still rising.

More importantly...

"The moisture in the air..." Kaien Shiba murmured, then looked up sharply, his eyes full of disbelief. "The moisture in the air is disappearing! How is that possible?!"

Water was one of the most stable substances in nature. Evaporating the moisture in the air required a continuously high-temperature environment. But Liu Hao's Flame Domain was clearly confined to the area around him, so how could it affect the entire barrier?

Unless... these flames were not merely "burning"; they were also changing the "rules" of the environment.

Liu Hao's voice answered his question. "As I am now, this is about the greatest range I can affect... a barrier roughly a hundred zhang in diameter." His tone was calm, as if stating the most ordinary fact. "If the Captain-Commander were to do it..."

He looked up at the illusion of the night sky at the top of the barrier. "The entire Soul Society would feel the temperature rise."

Kaien Shiba opened his mouth to say something, only to find himself at a loss for words.

Captain-Commander Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai—the strongest Soul Reaper in Soul Society in a thousand years. His Zanpakuto, Ryūjin Jakka, was the strongest and oldest fire-type Zanpakuto. Rumor had it that its temperature in Shikai was comparable to the surface of the sun, and that in Bankai it could reduce Soul Society to scorched earth.

Liu Hao... a newcomer who had joined only a few years ago, was actually comparing himself to the Captain-Commander?

This was no longer confidence, but... arrogance?

But Liu Hao's next words brought Kaien Shiba's shock to its peak:

"Give me a few more years..." Liu Hao looked down at the burning Imperial Sword in his hand, flames dancing in his pupils. "Maybe, when it comes to 'flames,' I can catch up to Old Man Yama."

He raised his head and looked Kaien Shiba straight in the eye. "After all, my Imperial Flame... is a completely different 'kind' from ordinary flames."

A different kind.

Not a difference in power, not a difference in temperature, but a difference in essence.

Kaien Shiba's heart began to pound. He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and asked the question: "In a few years... you can reach the Captain-Commander's level?"

"I'm talking about the 'essence' and 'rank' of the flames," Liu Hao corrected him. "As for strength... of course not. The Reiatsu, combat experience, and mastery of Zanjutsu the Captain-Commander has accumulated over a thousand years aren't things I can catch up to in a few years."

He paused, seeming to feel the subject should end there. "That's enough. This isn't the time to discuss it. Our battle... isn't over yet."

The Flame Domain began to expand outward.

The golden-red flames spread slowly in every direction from Liu Hao, as though alive. Wherever they passed, the ground blackened and cracked, and the last trace of moisture in the air was thoroughly evaporated.

"But..." Liu Hao's voice sounded somewhat ethereal amid the flames. "From here on, your Zanpakuto won't be able to use those 'water' abilities anymore."

He raised the Imperial Sword, and the flames on its blade suddenly surged:

"Watch out, Vice Captain Kaien."

The moment the words left his mouth, Liu Hao moved.

It was not Shunpo, but Flame Jump. His body broke apart and reformed in the flames. One moment he was ten zhang away; the next, he was already in front of Kaien Shiba. The entire movement left no trace, as if he had always been part of the flames.

The Imperial Sword slashed down, carrying scorching heat.

Kaien Shiba clenched his teeth and raised Nejibana horizontally to block.

"Clang...!"

The sound of metal striking metal was duller than any previous clash. It was not a difference in strength, but the effect of the heat. The water flowing over Nejibana's shaft began to evaporate violently the instant it touched the Imperial Sword, making a hissing sound.

More frightening still was the transfer of heat.

Even through the spear's shaft, Kaien Shiba could feel the searing heat traveling along the metal. His palms stung, and his skin began to redden, as though he were holding a red-hot iron bar rather than a weapon.

He had to retreat, trying to open up some distance.

But Liu Hao followed him like a shadow. Every slash carried scorching flames, and every block diminished the water on Nejibana a little more. Kaien Shiba tried to form walls, blades, and pillars of water, but every water attack rapidly evaporated upon entering the Flame Domain, unable even to touch the hem of Liu Hao's clothes.

In the end, he gave up using his water abilities.

It became a pure Zanjutsu duel.

Nejibana and the Imperial Sword, spear and sword, clashed fiercely within the superheated domain. Kaien Shiba's spear technique was still exquisite, every thrust aimed at an opening in Liu Hao's assault. But the heat had become his greatest obstacle—with every block, heat traveled up the shaft, making his palms hurt more and more and causing a slight delay to creep into his movements.

Liu Hao's sword, meanwhile, grew faster and faster.

The flames did not drain his stamina; instead, they seemed to be his source of strength. With every slash of the Imperial Sword, the flames surged and the temperature climbed again. The longer the battle continued, the hotter it became inside the Flame Domain.

Sweat seeped from Kaien Shiba's forehead, but the heat evaporated it as soon as it emerged, leaving only a thin layer of salt on his skin. His breathing grew difficult. The heat had thinned the air, and every breath made his lungs burn.

His Reiatsu consumption was also increasing.

To withstand the heat, he had to continuously release Reiatsu to protect his body. Every one of Liu Hao's attacks carried that special "Imperial Flame," and his Reiatsu was "scorched" on contact, consuming it far faster than in a normal fight.

As one side weakened, the other grew stronger.

The two moved at high speed within the Flame Domain, sword light and spear shadows interweaving. On the surface, they still seemed evenly matched. But only Kaien Shiba himself knew that the scales had tipped.

At last, after a violent clash, the two leaped backward in unspoken agreement, putting ten zhang between them.

Liu Hao pointed the Imperial Sword diagonally at the ground, flames burning quietly around him. His breathing remained steady, as if the fierce battle had merely been a warm-up.

Kaien Shiba, meanwhile, knelt on one knee, Nejibana driven deep into the scorched ground to support him. His forehead was covered in traces of sweat, his breathing was heavy, and both hands gripping the spear trembled slightly. Clear burn marks showed on his palms.

"Do you still want to continue?" Liu Hao's voice was calm and even. "Your defeat is certain."

It was neither mockery nor provocation, merely a statement of fact.

Kaien Shiba raised his head. Sweat ran down his cheeks and dripped onto the ground, instantly evaporating into white vapor. But a light that refused to admit defeat still burned in his eyes.

"I still want to..." He gritted his teeth and slowly straightened. "Try again!"

Liu Hao looked at him, a trace of approval flashing in his eyes before it was replaced by deeper thought. "Getsuga Tenshō? Or something else?"

Kaien Shiba was taken aback. "You know about Getsuga Tenshō?"

"Of course." Liu Hao nodded. "It's Captain Isshin Shiba's ultimate move, a slash unleashed after compressing Reiatsu to a high degree. Its power is astonishing." His tone carried a hint of inquiry. "He has another move called Final Getsuga Tenshō. I wonder... can you use it?"

Kaien Shiba was silent for a moment, then gave a wry smile. "I can. But you can tell from my Zanpakuto's form..." He raised Nejibana, water glimmering as it flowed over the spear. "That move isn't suited to me."

He paused, then continued, "The essence of Getsuga Tenshō is to compress Reiatsu to its limit and then 'release' it. But my Reiatsu's attributes lean toward 'flow' and 'change,' so forcibly compressing it actually weakens its power. That's why I developed that water-blade slash from before... blending Reiatsu into the water to form a rapidly spinning slash."

He looked at Liu Hao. "But for now... it still can't compare to the genuine Getsuga Tenshō."

"Oh?" Liu Hao's interest was piqued. "Then what other moves or abilities do you have to try against me?"

Kaien Shiba took a deep breath and slowly raised Nejibana. The water on its shaft began to spin faster, giving off a low hum.

"This move is quite powerful." His voice grew low. "Normally, I wrap my Reiatsu in water to form a high-pressure water blade. But your Imperial Flame is too hot..."

He glanced at the Flame Domain still burning around them. "I can't gather enough water to bring out its full power."

He tightened his grip on the spear shaft, his gaze sharpening. "But... given our current condition, if I use pure Reiatsu to perform it, compressing it to the limit before releasing it, the form will be different, but the principle will be similar to Getsuga Tenshō. I think I should still have a chance to win."

With that, he began pouring Reiatsu into Nejibana.

It was not the Reiatsu blended into water as before, but pure, highly concentrated Reiatsu. Deep-blue light emerged from within the spear shaft, faint at first, then brighter and brighter, until it became a tangible stream of light flowing slowly along the shaft.

The streams of light moved like living things, following the patterns on the shaft and gathering at the spear tip to form an increasingly bright point.

Liu Hao watched the flowing layer of blue light, a flicker of understanding in his eyes. "Reiatsu mimicry? Compressing Reiatsu until it's nearly materialized..."

He raised the Imperial Sword as well.

The Imperial Flame on the blade began to change. The blazing golden-red flames began to contract and condense inward. Their color gradually shifted from bright gold-red to a deep dark red, and finally to a crimson so deep it was almost black.

At last, all the flames were "contained."

They no longer burned outward, but became a dark-red ripple flowing slowly over the blade like blood. The inscriptions on the blade now shone dark red, as if lava were surging within it.

Liu Hao planted the Imperial Sword in the ground before him and placed both hands on the end of its hilt, one atop the other.

"In that case..." His voice grew low. "I'll respond in a similar way."

The moment he finished speaking—

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Five enormous pillars of fire erupted skyward from the ground around them.

The pillars had not appeared at random. They stood at five specific points, enclosing the two men in the center. Each pillar was more than three zhang in diameter and reached all the way to the top of the barrier. Golden-red flames burned violently within them, lighting the entire barrier as brightly as day.

More frightening still was the temperature.

After the five pillars appeared, the temperature within the barrier soared again. The air warped even more violently, and everything in sight became blurred. The ground began to melt, the blackened soil turning into a thick, lava-like substance.

Kaien Shiba's face went pale.

Nejibana was still gathering Reiatsu in his hands, and the point of light at its tip had grown dazzlingly bright. But faced with the five pillars of fire reaching to the sky, he felt a sense of helplessness.

This was not a power he could contend with.

And what happened next made him abandon all thought of resistance.

Things began to "emerge" from within the five pillars of fire.

Not flames, not lava, but swords.

Sword blades made entirely of dark-red flames slowly "grew" from the pillars. At first there were only their tips, then their blades, and finally they separated completely from the pillars and hovered in midair.

One, ten, a hundred...

In the space of only three breaths, hundreds of flaming blades hovered around the five pillars. They varied in shape, but each burned with dark-red Imperial Flame, and every tip pointed at Kaien Shiba in the center.

They slowly rotated, arranging themselves in a mysterious formation, as though waiting for a command.

Once that command was given, hundreds of flaming blades would shoot out at once, burning everything in the center to ashes.

Kaien Shiba gazed at the deadly formation in silence for a long, long time.

At last, he slowly lowered Nejibana. The point of light at its tip gradually dimmed and vanished. He drew the highly compressed Reiatsu back into his body, little by little.

"Forget it." His voice carried deep exhaustion, but also a trace of relief. "I concede."

He raised his head and looked at Liu Hao. "An attack on this scale... I definitely can't withstand it."

As he conceded, the killing intent around Liu Hao slowly dissipated.

"You're very smart, Vice Captain Kaien." Liu Hao's voice returned to its usual calm. "Once I unleashed this move, I really couldn't guarantee... that I could leave you alive."

Kaien Shiba gave a wry smile. "We're only sparring. There's no need to go that far, is there?"

"No." Liu Hao shook his head, his expression serious. "There is."

He pulled the Imperial Sword from the ground. With that movement, the five pillars of fire began to sink slowly, and the flaming blades vanished one by one. The temperature inside the barrier began to fall. Though it was still high, it was no longer deadly.

"If I couldn't gain your trust today..." Liu Hao looked straight into Kaien Shiba's eyes. "I could only kill you here."

His voice was soft, but every word carried immense weight:

"I don't want the information I've revealed to you to bring... utter disaster down on me and my companions."

Kaien Shiba fell silent.

He looked at the young man before him, his whole body wreathed in flames and his gaze unwavering. Though he was saying the most ruthless things, there was not a trace of madness in his eyes, only cold reason.

This man... is serious.

After a long while, Kaien Shiba let out a deep sigh. "All right. I'll do as you say and have Miyako withdraw from the front lines and return to the division to handle internal duties, right?"

Liu Hao nodded.

With that motion, the last pillar of fire withdrew into the ground, and the last flaming blade vanished without a trace. The dark red ripples on the Imperial Sword's blade gradually faded as well, restoring its original metallic sheen.

The temperature inside the barrier finally fell to a bearable level.

Liu Hao sheathed the Imperial Sword. The moment the blade slid into its sheath, the Four Symbols pillars of light at the edge of the barrier began to dissipate. The spectral forms of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise faded one by one, until they vanished completely.

The night sky grew clear again, and a gentle breeze once more swept over the hillside.

It was as though the breathtaking battle just now had been nothing more than an illusion.

But the scorched, cracked ground, the melted soil, and the heat still lingering in the air all proved that it had been real.

"Then..." Kaien Shiba walked up to Liu Hao, his expression turning serious. "Let's talk about what I need to watch out for."

Liu Hao sat down on the ground and gestured for Kaien Shiba to do the same. After a moment's hesitation, Kaien sat down cross-legged opposite him.

"First." Liu Hao held up one finger. "You absolutely must not die at the hands of that Hollow."

His tone was graver than ever. "Otherwise, our secret will be exposed."

Kaien Shiba frowned. "That Hollow... which one?"

"A special Hollow," Liu Hao began. "Its features are a white mask, orange eyes, reddish-brown tentacles on its back, six arms, and five legs. Its name is... Metastacia."

Kaien Shiba committed those features to memory. "What are its abilities?"

"Contact with it makes a Zanpakuto disappear," Liu Hao said gravely. "It can also leave its shell, burrow into a Soul Reaper's body, and fuse with them."

Kaien Shiba's pupils abruptly contracted.

A Zanpakuto disappearing? Burrowing into someone's body and fusing with them? It was a Soul Reaper's worst nightmare.

"You need to be especially careful about that," Liu Hao emphasized. "Once it gets inside you, you'll gradually lose consciousness and fall under its control. So if you encounter it, it's best to take it out from a distance. Don't give it any chance to get close."

Kaien Shiba nodded slowly. "I'll remember. Then when... will we encounter it?"

"I don't know that." Liu Hao shook his head. "The movements of Hollows are hard to predict. I can only tell you it will appear, but I can't say exactly when or where. What you need to do is stay alert at all times. Don't put yourself in danger for any reason, especially not to protect your companions."

He paused, then continued, "There's one more thing you need to pay particular attention to."

Liu Hao leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice:

"After we go back, even if you meet me again, you must act as though we never said any of this today, and never did any of these things."

Kaien Shiba was taken aback. "Why? Even if we talk in private, it could still get out?"

"It will get out." Liu Hao's expression was deadly serious. "That's why I keep emphasizing it. Our enemy can use certain methods to 'see' what he wants to see."

Seeing the confusion in Kaien Shiba's eyes, he gave him a chilling example:

"Otherwise, how do you think he made the former Twelfth Division captain, Kisuke Urahara, take the blame?"