Preparing to Return to Soul Society

In the intense yet restrained battle, a Life-Taker voice kept reaching the depths of Liu Ziyun's consciousness. "'Decide Fate' is not simply about 'changing fate.' Its essence is 'decision'—choosing the only desired outcome from among infinite possibilities."

The twin blades clashed, Life-Taker the force of the impact to propel him backward before charging forward again. "'Slay God's' power is not simply 'destruction.' Its essence is 'transcendence'—severing all shackles and breaking through all limits, whether god or demon."

She sidestepped Liu Ziyun's slash, then turned her blade to strike his center. "Your Bankai is not a simple superposition of two swords, nor a brutal fusion of two abilities. It is the unity of 'fate' and 'transcendence'—it determines the outcome first, then transcends the process; it reaches the destination first, then returns to the starting point."

Liu Ziyun gritted his teeth and blocked with all his might. "I don't understand!"

Life-Taker softly, "You don't need to understand. What you need is... to feel."

Her attacks suddenly quickened, the blades raining down like a storm. "Feel the power flowing within you, feel the resonance deep within your soul, feel the echoes from the endless future as you grasp these two blades!"

Liu Ziyun closed his eyes.

He no longer used his vision—whether real or perceived by Reiatsu —to detect the Life-Taker attack. He simply... felt it.

Feeling every vibration from the blade, every trace of the Reiatsu flowing, and every pulse of the three-colored light deep within my consciousness.

Then, he "saw" it.

It's not with the eyes, not with Reiatsu, but with the soul itself.

He "saw" the strike he had unleashed—it would collide with the Life-Taker blade in 0.3 seconds, unleash an energy storm powerful enough to tear through the void at the moment of impact, and leave behind countless fine cracks after the battle ended.

He also "saw" another possibility—if he infused more "Decide Fate" power into this strike, the point of impact would shift by two centimeters, thus revealing a tiny opening in her Life-Taker, which he could then exploit to penetrate her defense.

He also "saw" countless possibilities—every cut had countless directions, every choice would open up new branches, endless, as brilliant as stars, as vast as the universe.

This is the power of "Decide Fate".

It's not about predicting the future, nor about choosing your destiny, but rather about discarding the infinite branches of fate and weaving the destiny you desire.

Liu Ziyun opened his eyes.

His blade veered slightly, narrowly missing the Life-Taker parry, and aimed directly at her chest.

Life-Taker neither dodged nor parried. She simply smiled, letting the blade stop a centimeter from her chest.

"Very good," she said softly, "You finally... felt it."

The Real World.

Liu Ziyun opened his eyes, and the Wristguards on his wrist returned to its normal state.

He stood up and walked towards the Visored members who were still surrounding Mashiro Kuna, looking worried.

"Now that you've started cultivating and communicating with the void within your body, how does it feel?" he asked Mashiro Kuna.

Mashiro Kuna repeated what he had said before, his face full of grievance and frustration.

After listening, Liu Ziyun nodded slightly. "Then you must fight it. Let it see your determination, let it acknowledge you—not as a master, but as a partner."

He paused, then added, "Zanpakuto is a mirror image of the soul. Your attitude towards power, your determination in battle, your self-awareness... it sees it all and feels it all. If you only want to 'use' it, it will resist you. If you want to 'understand' it, it will respond to you."

Mashiro Kuna nodded thoughtfully.

Liu Ziyun to the others, her tone becoming more serious. "For you, it might be more difficult. My guess is that Mashiro Kuna didn't undergo Hollowfication extension training because the Hollow within her might have been more accepting of her—willing to cooperate with her from the beginning, which is why she didn't stop her from using her power."

He paused, then continued, "But even so, you must maintain a firm will during cultivation, not be misled by power, and guard your true self. Alright, you can continue your cultivation."

He turned around, ready to leave.

"Ziyun," Shinji Hirako suddenly called out to him.

Liu Ziyun stopped and turned to look at Shinji Hirako: "... What is it?"

Shinji Hirako looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly asked, "Are you... about to go back?"

"Hmm." His voice was soft, yet clear to everyone. "I'm preparing to return to Soul Society."

A brief silence fell over the training ground.

Shinji Hirako took a deep breath and asked the question that had been weighing on his mind, "Will Isshin Shiba... become a test subject?"

Liu Ziyun shook his head.

"No. He just happened to run into him—a hot-blooded guy with an excessive sense of justice who happened to be passing by."

A barely perceptible smile played on his lips, "However, his future wife will be possessed by Aizen's experimental subject. In the end, the Child of Destiny will be born carrying the power fused with that subject's."

Shinji Hirako paused for a moment, then a complicated expression appeared on his face. "Then Aizen... wouldn't you say he shot himself in the foot?"

Liu Ziyun finally turned around, a playful smile playing on his lips, "Hmm, more or less."

He paused, then his tone became serious. "Alright, I'll go see Kisuke now, and then I'll go back."

He surveyed the crowd, his empty eye sockets seeming to see into the depths of each person's heart. "You must cultivate diligently. Not for anything else, but for yourselves—to protect yourselves, to survive the storms to come."

His voice was soft, yet exceptionally firm. "The path we take in the future is one we can only choose if we have the strength to do so. Otherwise... we can only be oppressed, dominated, and sacrificed."

Shinji Hirako was silent for a moment, then nodded solemnly. "Yes, we understand."

Liu Ziyun smiled.

That smile held none of its usual cynicism or deliberate mockery, only a sincere, relieved warmth. "Okay, I'm leaving."

He turned and walked towards the door.

"I'll come back to catch up with you all next time," he said, raising his hand and waving gently behind his back. "Bye-bye."

The door slowly closed behind him.

In the training field, everyone silently watched the direction he left in.

After a long silence, Shinji Hirako said softly, "... See you next time."