Recaps

Liu Ziyun mastered the first steps of Bankai, helped the Visored prepare for future dangers, and returned to Soul Society to serve under Retsu Unohana. He kept his strength and connections concealed while Sōsuke Aizen concluded that he was no threat.

• Liu Ziyun defeated Shinji Hirako in a punishing sparring match, then left the Visored to take their training seriously.
• Liu Ziyun tested his power against Life-Taker and Tulu, entered his destructive state, and restored Life-Taker's reason by stabbing her with his broken blade.
• Liu Ziyun awoke and began training his Bankai, Fate-Deciding God-Slayer, while explaining to the Visored the dangers awaiting the Three Worlds.
• Liu Ziyun trained with Life-Taker in his Inner World and advised the Visored to communicate with their Hollows and Zanpakuto as partners.
• Liu Ziyun returned to Soul Society, accepted the Fourth Division Fifth Seat position from Retsu Unohana, and declined Kaname Tōsen's offer of a Ninth Division lieutenant post.
• Liu Ziyun concealed his ties to Shinji Hirako's group when Sōsuke Aizen questioned him, and Aizen later judged him a slightly bigger ant who posed no threat.

Liu Ziyun changed the fates of Hisana, Kaien, and Miyako while helping the Visored prepare for Aizen’s plans. After reviving Kaien and Miyako, he pushed his Bankai beyond its limits and underwent a dangerous recovery, with Retsu Unohana watching over him until he awoke.

• Liu Ziyun warned Retsu Unohana about Aizen’s interest in him, then spent years keeping a low profile while courting Isane Kotetsu.
• Kuchiki Byakuya married Hisana, and Liu Ziyun treated her illness, awakened her Soul Reaper powers, and warned the Kuchiki family about Rukia’s future.
• Liu Ziyun told Retsu Unohana that Metastacia would kill Kaien Shiba and Shiba Miyako, and Unohana gave them talismans to preserve their souls.
• Metastacia possessed Miyako and Kaien, and Rukia Kuchiki killed Kaien to free him before he died in her arms.
• Liu Ziyun used his Bankai in Kisuke Urahara’s secret base to restore Kaien and Miyako from their preserved souls, then revealed that Aizen had been behind the Hollow experiment.
• Liu Ziyun visited the Visored, shared warnings about Aizen, and advised them on training their Zanpakuto and Hollow powers.
• After learning that reviving Kaien and Miyako had weakened him, Liu Ziyun entered his Inner World and used his complete Bankai to destroy and rebuild his body.
• Retsu Unohana found Liu Ziyun unconscious in his hidden cultivation space and watched over him until he awoke, then warned him to control his new power.

Liu Ziyun watched Isshin Shiba and Masaki Kurosaki’s encounter with White, then helped prepare for Masaki’s Hollowfication and revealed what he knew about Aizen’s experiments. The arc ended with Isshin accepting a life in the World of the Living while Kaien Shiba and Shiba Miyako agreed to assist from the shadows.

• Liu Ziyun trained under Retsu Unohana while Isane Kotetsu and Retsu gradually acknowledged their feelings for him, and he later kissed Isane when she demanded that he choose between them.
• After Tenth Division members disappeared in the World of the Living, Liu Ziyun joined Isshin Shiba’s mission to Karakura Town and covertly followed Isshin’s encounter with White and Masaki Kurosaki.
• Liu Ziyun watched Masaki defeat White with Isshin’s help, then brought three unconscious Soul Reapers to Kisuke Urahara and asked him to alter their memories.
• Yoruichi Shihōin watched over Masaki for Liu Ziyun, and Liu later helped Kisuke Urahara and Isshin respond when Masaki began Hollowfying after a Menos Grande attack.
• Kisuke Urahara linked Isshin to Masaki through a special Gigai so Isshin could confront the Hollow threatening her soul, while Liu Ziyun revealed that he had rescued Kaien Shiba and Shiba Miyako.
• Liu Ziyun told Isshin that Sōsuke Aizen, Kaname Tōsen, and Gin Ichimaru were involved in White’s creation and the Hollowfication plot, and explained that Kaien and Miyako’s apparent deaths had concealed their escape.
• Liu Ziyun warned Isshin not to seek further details about the Visored, told him to live quietly with Masaki, and left Kaien and Miyako to assist them from the shadows as Isshin agreed to open a clinic.

Liu Ziyun prepared the Kurosaki and Ishida families for Yhwach’s Auswählen, then protected them while training Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryū Ishida. As the boys entered Soul Society to rescue Rukia Kuchiki, Liu stayed hidden and watched Aizen’s deception unfold, leaving Ichigo to train for his coming fight with Byakuya Kuchiki.

• Liu Ziyun entered his Inner World, where Life-Taker and Tulu explained that his prematurely awakened Creation Power was draining him, and Tulu forced his consciousness out.
• After Ichigo Kurosaki was born, Liu Ziyun warned Isshin Kurosaki, Ryūken Ishida, and their families about Yhwach’s Auswählen, then used Life-Taker to restore Yoshizumi Ishida and Sōken Ishida.
• Liu Ziyun opened the Isshin Dojo and trained Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryū Ishida, while arranging for Soul Reapers to stop monitoring the Ishida Family.
• When Auswählen struck, Liu Ziyun rescued Masaki Kurosaki and Ichigo from Grand Fisher, then healed Masaki Kurosaki and Kanae Ishida after removing their Still Silver with Ryūken Ishida.
• Soul Society branded Liu Ziyun a wanted criminal, but he secretly agreed with Yamamoto to remain hidden in the World of the Living, and Isane Kotetsu joined him there.
• After Ichigo became a Substitute Soul Reaper, Liu Ziyun watched him and Uryū fight in Soul Society, treated Renji Abarai, and stayed out of Aizen’s planned defection.
• Liu Ziyun watched Ichigo Kurosaki defeat Kenpachi Zaraki, then arranged for Yoruichi Shihōin to take Ichigo for training with the Tenshintai.
• When Ichigo confronted Byakuya Kuchiki over Rukia Kuchiki, Yoruichi Shihōin stopped their fight, and Liu Ziyun warned Byakuya and Jūshirō Ukitake that Ichigo could defeat him before vanishing.