Training for Complete Shikai (II)

She raised her head, a bloodthirsty glint in her eyes. "Don't think you can gain power by willingly accepting a blade, like in anime. This isn't power you can acquire through trickery—it's a trial you have to gamble with your life."

Before he finished speaking, Liu Ziyun had already made his move.

The moment the Life-Taker Tulu was unleashed, he felt the threat of death. The oppressive feeling was several times stronger than when he faced Retsu Unohana unleashing her full Reiatsu. He dared not hold back in the slightest, unleashing his full Reiatsu, and his twin swords intertwined in front of him to form a defensive net of blades.

However, all of this is as fragile as paper in the face of Life-Taker Tulu.

The woman simply took a step forward and casually swung her crimson-black Tang Dao.

There were no dazzling sword flashes, no violent bursts of Reiatsu, just a simple horizontal slash.

"Click--"

The twin swords in Liu Ziyun's hands snapped in two with a sharp sound. The cuts were clean and smooth, as if they had been cut by the most precise instrument. The swords continued their momentum, lightly slicing across his chest.

Time seemed to slow down at that moment.

Liu Ziyun watched helplessly as his Shihakusho tore open, his flesh rolled back, and his ribs were exposed. The excruciating pain took half a second to reach his brain before engulfing him like a tidal wave. He was sent flying by the force of the blow, crashing heavily against the boundary wall of his Inner World. When he slid to the ground, he had already lost most of his fighting ability.

"Liberate yourself," the voice of the Life-Taker Tulu said calmly, "Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to withstand even one move from me. The difference in strength is too great."

Liu Ziyun coughed up blood and struggled to stand up, only to find that the wound on his chest was so deep that the bone was visible, and his Spiritual Power was rapidly draining away from the wound. This was damage to the soul, far more fatal than physical injury.

He closed his eyes, countless images flashing through his mind: the training grounds of the Shin'ō Academy, the banquet with Shinji Hirako and others, the cherry blossoms outside Captain Unohana's office window, the daily arduous training in the Underground Training Grounds...

And those futures he knew about but couldn't change.

"I... can't die here yet."

Liu Ziyun gritted his teeth and used the broken hilt of his sword to prop himself up. Blood dripped down the hilt, turning into Reishi particles and dissipating in the void. He took a deep breath and mobilized all the remaining Reiatsu within his body.

Fate Is but a Plaything in the Palm.

His voice was hoarse but firm, each word seemingly uttered with all his might.

"Life-Taker Tulu!"

The moment the Release Phrase were uttered, a sudden change occurred.

The broken hilt in his hand began to tremble, and the scattered fragments of the blade seemed to be summoned, turning into streams of light and flying back. The fragments were reassembled and fused in Liu Ziyun's hands, eventually forming a crimson-black Tang Dao exactly the same as the one in the hands of the Life-Taker Tulu.

The moment the blade was drawn, Liu Ziyun felt a surge of violent power rush into his body.

The wound on his chest healed at a visible speed, not through healing, but by being forcibly "covered" by some more powerful force. His Reiatsu began to surge, climbing from the initial first-level to the intermediate and advanced levels, eventually stabilizing at the threshold of the Captain-level.

But what follows is the erosion of consciousness.

A bloodshot appeared in Liu Ziyun's eyes, spreading like a living thing and quickly staining his pupils red. A strange impulse grew in his heart—a desire to destroy, Killing, and annihilate everything entwined his reason like a poisonous vine. He seemed to have returned to the time when he first fought against the Tulu, and that feeling of being driven to madness by the beating came back to him, a hundred times stronger than before.

"No... I can't..." Liu Ziyun his forehead, desperately suppressing his madness. "Calm down... I must calm down..."

Seeing his struggle, a complex emotion flashed in Life-Taker Tulu's eyes. She didn't give Liu Ziyun any more time to adjust before disappearing again.

This time, Liu Ziyun to keep up with her speed.

"Clang!"

The two swords clashed, unleashing blinding sparks. In his Complete Shikai state, Liu Ziyun finally had the right to fight against the Life-Taker Tulu. But he soon discovered that this right had been earned at the cost of his reason.

With each swing of the blade, the madness in his heart intensifies.

With each block, the bloodlust in his eyes intensified.

The Life-Taker Tulu's swordsmanship appears simple, but in reality, it contains countless variations. Unlike Life-Taker, it does not pursue precision, nor does it glorify violence like Tulu. Instead, it represents a higher level, almost a "Tao." Every strike directly targets the flaws in Liu Ziyun, and every attack forces him to respond in an even more frantic manner.

After thirty moves, Liu Ziyun was covered in blood.

After fifty moves, his consciousness began to fade.

Seventy moves...

"Enough!"

The Life-Taker Tulu suddenly changed tactics, delivering a precise side kick to Liu Ziyun's temple. The force of the kick was perfectly controlled, causing neither a fatal injury nor too little to knock him unconscious.

Liu Ziyun's body went limp and collapsed.

The moment he fell, the figure of Life-Taker Tulu also began to dissipate, splitting back into two independent entities: Life-Taker and Tulu. Each of them held a Tang Dao, and both had somewhat pale faces.

Tulu looked at the unconscious Liu Ziyun, a rare hint of fear flashing across his face. "Thank goodness he didn't lose control... otherwise Ziyun would definitely be dead."

Life-Taker forward and knelt beside Liu Ziyun, his hands glowing with healing Kaidō: "That state is just too difficult to control. I can feel it; with each additional strike, I lose a bit of my sanity... Can we really return to normal from that frenzied state?"

"Perhaps," Tulu's voice was low, "But that requires Ziyun to hold on until then. What I fear most is not that he loses his mind, but that we and he both lose our minds. If that happens, and he can't recover, he will surely die."

Life-Taker a bitter laugh, "You're afraid too?"

Tulu rolled his eyes. "Nonsense. Our lives are tied together. If he dies, we'll vanish too."

The two watched Liu Ziyun in silence. The green light of the Kaidō flowed around him, repairing the damage to his soul. But the damage was too deep, some even touching the very essence of his soul, and could not be healed in a short time.

"Awaken him," Tulu finally said. "This is our first time entering Complete Fusion State, and we can't hold it for long. Hopefully, when we can maintain it for longer in the future, he can regain his lost sanity while we are conscious. Only then can we completely transfer this power to him."

Life-Taker shook his head. "You overestimate us. I can sense that there's only one situation in which he can completely control this power—when all three of us lose our minds and fight in pure madness. Only in that extreme state can he regain his sanity and awaken us."

Tulu's expression changed. "Then what do we do? If we let him enter a state of madness first, we won't be able to easily subdue him while he's in a frenzy. If we can't hold on any longer and also go berserk, then he'll only have one way out: death."

"So..." Life-Taker a deep breath, "We need to train him as much as possible so that he can fight us on equal terms before he enters his dementia state. Once he's strong enough, we can let him enter that state."

She looked down at Liu Ziyun's peaceful sleeping face and said softly, "After all, this is a hurdle he had to overcome sooner or later. We can only trust him unconditionally. In Ziyun's own words—we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate."

After saying that, Life-Taker reached out and gently tapped Liu Ziyun's forehead, sending him out of his Inner World.