A Fateful Encounter

Renji Abarai wasn't in much better shape. He wasn't upside down, but he was sprawled on the sand in a starfish position, kicking up clouds of dust. He lay there coughing for a while before turning over, panting heavily, his entire body covered in dirt.

Rukia Kuchiki's posture was more elegant than the other two. She tried to use Shunpo to cushion the impact as she landed, but ultimately failed to completely counteract the force of the fall. She staggered several steps before barely managing to stand, her skirt and cuffs covered in fine white sand.

Liu Ziyun looked at the three disheveled figures, and his lips twitched slightly. He crossed his arms and looked at them with the eyes of someone looking at three disappointing students, his expression full of helplessness, "I knew this would happen."

"The three of you," he said, his voice tinged with disbelief, "Are you really Soul Reaper?"

Ichigo Kurosaki spat out the sand in his mouth, looking at him innocently. Renji Abarai got up from the sand, brushing the dust off his body, his expression complicated. Rukia Kuchiki lowered her head, adjusting her skirt, her ears slightly red, clearly feeling a little embarrassed as well.

Liu Ziyun shook his head, his tone tinged with helplessness, disdain, and a mixture of amusement and exasperation. "You guys don't even know how to use Shunpo or Reiatsu, how have you survived to this day? Falling from such a height, you didn't even do the most basic cushioning, just burying your heads straight into the sand... Are you ostriches?"

The three exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions more varied than the last. Ichigo Kurosaki wanted to offer an explanation, but upon opening his mouth, he realized he had nothing to say—he had indeed forgotten he could use Shunpo to cushion the blow.

Renji Abarai slapped his head in frustration, seemingly blaming himself for making such a silly mistake.

Rukia Kuchiki silently examined herself in her heart—as a top student of the Shin'ō Academy, as an adopted daughter of the Kuchiki Clan, and as a full member of the Gotei 13, she had actually made such a basic mistake, which was an insult to her years of training.

Liu Ziyun a deep breath to calm himself, then said in a tone as if instructing a student, "Using Reiatsu to create a foothold in mid-air, isn't that a very simple way to utilize Reiatsu? The Reishi here is so dense, and you all don't even know how to use it... You're truly a bunch of incompetent Soul Reaper."

His gaze swept over the three of them, finally settling on Ichigo Kurosaki: "Let's not even talk about that half-baked Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki; he's basically only alive because he's incredibly lucky."

Then he looked at Renji Abarai and Rukia Kuchiki, "You two are top students who graduated from the Shin'ō Academy, and you can't even do this... I really don't know how Old Man Yama allowed you to graduate. Has the teaching quality of the Shin'ō Academy deteriorated to this extent?"

Renji Abarai and Rukia Kuchiki were so embarrassed they wanted to disappear into the ground. They wanted to argue, but found they had no way to refute it— Liu Ziyun was right, and they had indeed made an extremely basic mistake, a mistake that no qualified Soul Reaper should make.

Liu Ziyun's gaze finally landed on Yasutora Sado, and his tone softened. "Chad, you also need to make good use of your power. Your ability is called Fullbring, which is a power that can communicate with the souls of all things."

Hmm... Orihime Inoue's ability is actually similar to this kind of power. You are all exceptionally talented people, but you haven't found the right way to develop your potential yet."

Yasutora Sado listened attentively and nodded. He knew that every word Liu Ziyun said was meant to help them grow, even though his methods were sometimes so direct that they were hard to accept. The kindness and care he showed were genuine.

After saying this, Liu Ziyun ignored the reactions of the others and leaped into the air. His body drew a graceful arc in the Hueco Mundo, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's as he surveyed the surrounding terrain.

The landscape of the Hueco Mundo was exactly as he remembered—an endless white desert, the sand grains as fine as powder, gleaming a pale white in the dim light. There was neither sun nor clouds in the sky, only an eternal, oppressive, dusky yellow.

In the distance, a few oddly shaped Stone Pillars occasionally rose from the sand, like the skeletons of some enormous creature, whistling in the wind. At the edge of his vision, he saw several dilapidated buildings.

The style of those buildings was completely different from both the World of the Living and the Soul Society. The lines were rough and primitive, and the surface was covered with a thick layer of white dust, indicating that they had been abandoned for a long time. But among those Broken Wall, he could feel faint Reiatsu fluctuations—it was not as empty as it appeared on the surface.

He landed back on the ground, strode in that direction, and said without turning his head, "Let's go, don't just stand there."

The four looked at each other, then sighed simultaneously, got up from the sand, brushed the sand off themselves, and quickly followed Liu Ziyun.

The white sand rustled beneath their feet, each step leaving a deep footprint, which was quickly filled with fresh sand blown in by the wind.

The surrounding air was dry and the Heat; breathing it made one feel a burning pain in their throat. This desert was not friendly to the living; it reminded visitors in every way that this was a virtual world, a forbidden zone for the living.

Not long after they started walking, a commotion suddenly arose on the sand ahead.

A small figure was stumbling towards them. It was a little girl who looked only seven or eight years old, wearing a tattered green cloak, the hood blown down by the wind, revealing short, bright green hair and a round, cute little face.

She ran very fast, her small footsteps leaving crooked footprints in the sand, her breathing rapid and disordered, her large green eyes filled with fear and helplessness.

Behind her, three Hollows were hot on her heels. In the lead was a huge, Beetle-like Hollow, its body covered in a jet-black carapace, its six segmented limbs moving rapidly across the sand, making a rustling sound.

It had a huge horn on its head, which glowed with an ominous purple light. Behind it were two humanoid phantoms, their faces covered with white bone masks, chasing after it and shouting.