Arriving in Hueco Mundo

Ichigo Kurosaki's forehead instantly covered in black lines, and he stood there listlessly, like a wilted eggplant. His face turned bright red, and his lips moved as if he wanted to refute something, but he found that he had nothing to say at all— Liu Ziyun was indeed telling the truth; his Reiatsu control was indeed terribly bad.

The people behind her watched this scene with varying expressions. Rukia Kuchiki covered her mouth with her hand, her shoulders trembling slightly as she tried to suppress her laughter, but her large purple eyes were already brimming with joy.

Renji Abarai grinned without any hesitation, revealing a set of white teeth, and laughed so hard he almost fell over. His usually fierce face softened considerably with his smile. Even Yasutora Sado, who was usually taciturn, couldn't help but smile slightly, a rare hint of amusement appearing on his angular face.

Liu Ziyun shifted his gaze from Ichigo Kurosaki to Renji Abarai. The tall, red-haired man was still laughing, tears welling up in his eyes, completely unaware that he was being watched.

"Renji." Liu Ziyun's voice was calm and even, yet it brought Renji Abarai's laughter to an abrupt halt.

"Huh?" Renji Abarai moment, a smile still lingering on his face, but a hint of something ominous had already appeared in his eyes.

"You go too." Liu Ziyun gestured towards the darkness ahead. "Find your own place to settle down and practice your Reiatsu control. Don't just laugh at others; your own level isn't much better."

Renji Abarai's smile froze on his face. He scratched his head, a guilty look appearing on his angular face. His gaze lingered for a moment on the shabby path paved by Ichigo Kurosaki, then looked at the smooth, flat treads under Liu Ziyun, silently comparing his own Ichigo Kurosaki's.

"I... I think this road is alright, isn't it?" He chuckled awkwardly, trying to bluff his way out. "Ichigo's road isn't great, but it's usable. We can just follow his road; why bother opening another one..."

"If you don't go," Liu Ziyun interrupted him, his tone still calm, but a chilling glint flashed in his eyes, "I'll throw you down there."

Renji Abarai's smile vanished completely. He knew Liu Ziyun was not joking—this man meant what he said, and if he were really thrown into the abyss of the Garganta, he probably wouldn't even have a place to cry.

"Go! I'll go!" He quickly raised his hands in surrender, then strode forward and stood side by side with Ichigo Kurosaki.

He took a deep breath, lifted his foot, and carefully stepped forward. Red Reiatsu surged from the soles of his feet, condensing into a platform in the void. The platform was more regular in shape than Ichigo Kurosaki's, and its surface was also relatively flat. Although it was far from being as perfect as Liu Ziyun's, it at least looked the part.

Renji Abarai breathed a sigh of relief, glanced back at Liu Ziyun, and looked at him with a hint of expectant praise in his eyes.

Liu Ziyun looked at him expressionlessly, offering neither praise nor criticism, and simply said, "Continue."

Renji Abarai had no choice but to turn his head and continue paving the way forward. His progress was faster than Ichigo Kurosaki's; each step was more precise than the last, and his control over Reiatsu became increasingly stable. After all, he was a regular graduate of the Shin'ō Academy, and his foundation was much more solid than that of Ichigo Kurosaki, a half-baked amateur.

Liu Ziyun found a new foothold, and this time he didn't ask anyone for "help." The footboards beneath his feet were like meticulously crafted works of art, each one flawless, radiating a stable, ethereal blue light, arranged neatly like a blue staircase leading to an unknown land.

"Rukia, Chad," he glanced back at the two behind him, his tone carrying a hint of caution, "You two come with me. Their hideout—it could be a trap."

Rukia Kuchiki finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, but she quickly covered her mouth with her hand, trying to regain her composure. She hurried after Liu Ziyun, stepping onto the flawless blue treads, each step steady and firm.

Yasutora Sado walked at the very back, a faint smile still playing on his lips, but a thoughtful look lingered in his eyes.

He glanced at the rugged path beside him, paved by Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai, then looked at the smooth, wide blue avenue beneath his feet. He gained a deeper understanding of Liu Ziyun's strength—this man was not only powerful, but his control over power was also incredibly refined.

In such a harsh environment, in Garganta where he could be swallowed up by spatial turbulence at any moment, he was still able to walk so calmly, as if this were not a dangerous void passage, but his own backyard.

Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai exchanged a glance, their faces filled with helplessness and frustration. The path they had painstakingly paved was nothing more than a "trap" in Liu Ziyun's eyes.

Neither of them refuted the claim—because they themselves knew that compared to the road paved by Liu Ziyun, their skill level was indeed only that of a bumpy, rural dirt road.

The two had no choice but to obediently follow behind the main group, carefully walking on the rugged path they had laid out, afraid that they might accidentally break one of the weakest treads.

After a long and tedious walk, the darkness ahead finally began to change. It was no longer an endless void, but a hazy, faintly white light. The light shone through from afar, weak and soft, like the first rays of dawn on the horizon.

Liu Ziyun stopped and looked back at the four people behind him. "We've arrived."

As soon as he finished speaking, the void beneath their feet suddenly vanished, replaced by a strong sense of falling. The group felt as if they had been thrown from the sky by some force, their bodies plummeting rapidly, the wind whistling in their ears, and white flashes of light rushing past their eyes.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Several dull thuds rang out in succession, stirring up large swaths of sand and dust that formed plumes of yellow smoke in the air.

The moment Liu Ziyun landed, he reached out and grabbed Yasutora Sado's arm. His feet lightly touched the sand, and his body was already airborne. The Reiatsu under his feet condensed into a foothold, steadily supporting him in mid-air.

Then he exerted his strength again, using the Shunpo to leap continuously in the air. Each time he landed, he left a fleeting blue stepping stone on the sand. Finally, he landed steadily and gracefully on the sand with Yasutora Sado, without even splashing a single grain of sand.

Ichigo Kurosaki plunged headfirst into the sand dune, kicking his legs several times before finally pulling himself out. His face, hair, and clothes were covered in sand, making him look like a sweet potato just dug out of the sand.