Chapter Summaries

Liu Ziyun woke in Soul Society as a hungry child but insisted he was dreaming, even after witnessing a Hollow attack and meeting Retsu Unohana. After Unohana struck him and her subordinates brought him back, Kiyōnosuke Yamada told him he was dead, but Liu Ziyun refused to believe it.

• Liu Ziyun woke in an unfamiliar Japanese-style landscape in a child's body and assumed he was dreaming.
• A middle-aged man warned Liu Ziyun about Hollows, then ran to confront one; Liu Ziyun followed and found the man badly wounded by the creature.
• Retsu Unohana arrived with Kiyōnosuke Yamada and cut down the Hollow, while Liu Ziyun fantasized about her and drew her suspicious attention.
• Retsu Unohana struck Liu Ziyun across the chest and sent him flying into the woods, then ordered Tazawa Kentarō and Kiyōnosuke Yamada to bring him back.
• Kiyōnosuke Yamada told Liu Ziyun he was dead and in Soul Society, but Liu Ziyun insisted he had only gone to sleep.

Liu Ziyun continued to treat Soul Society as a dream until Retsu Unohana demonstrated that her sheathed sword could cut him, forcing him to confront the possibility that he was dead. As his consciousness drifted through darkness, he chose a mysterious light below, but two voices cursed him and hurled him upward.

• Tazawa Kentarō and Kiyōnosuke Yamada brought Liu Ziyun back to Retsu Unohana, while Liu joked that he was her fan and complained about being carried.
• Retsu Unohana teased Tazawa Kentarō about being Liu's father, and Tazawa kicked Liu while Liu kept insisting he was dreaming.
• Retsu Unohana used a nearly imperceptible strike to cut Liu's forehead, and Liu collapsed as he realized the situation might not be a dream.
• Retsu Unohana ordered Liu treated and taken to the Fourth Division, noting his Spiritual Power and potential to become a Soul Reaper.
• In the darkness, Liu chose the light below, but two voices cursed him and an immense force shoved his consciousness upward.

Liu Ziyun woke in Soul Society after being treated by Retsu Unohana and realized he had transmigrated into the world of Bleach. He tried to conceal what he knew by claiming amnesia, but Unohana caught him contradicting himself, leaving him exposed and anxious.

• Liu Ziyun woke up in the Fourth Division with Tazawa Kentarō, Kiyōnosuke Yamada, and Retsu Unohana nearby.
• Retsu Unohana explained that Liu Ziyun's spiritual power had contracted his body into a child's form and warned that depleted spiritual power could turn souls into Hollows.
• Liu Ziyun decided to hide his knowledge of the future and told Retsu Unohana that he remembered only his name.
• Retsu Unohana assigned Tazawa Kentarō to find Liu Ziyun lodging and teach him about Soul Society.
• Retsu Unohana pointed out that Liu Ziyun had just claimed not to remember anything, yet had known her name and called her Sister Unohana.
• Two unseen voices discussed Liu Ziyun's poor acting as the mark on his forehead faintly shimmered.

Liu Ziyun tried to convince Captain Retsu Unohana that his arrival in Soul Society was ordinary, then begged her to take him in when she threatened to study him. The chapter ended with him clinging to Unohana’s leg as Tazawa Kentarō and Kiyōnosuke Yamada watched.

• Unohana explained how souls normally arrived in Soul Society and noted that Liu Ziyun had appeared without a recorded Konsō.
• Liu Ziyun invented explanations for his arrival, but Unohana said she had checked the Konsō records and found none nearby in the past three months.
• Liu Ziyun asked to stay with Unohana and become a Soul Reaper, but she said he would need to wait for Shin'ō Academy to accept students next year.
• Unohana suggested she might cut parts off Liu Ziyun to study him, and warned that his Spiritual Power could attract Hollows outside the Seireitei.
• Liu Ziyun clung to Unohana’s leg and pleaded to be taken in, promising to attend Shin'ō Academy and serve in the Fourth Division.
• Tazawa Kentarō and the newly arrived Kiyōnosuke Yamada witnessed Liu Ziyun’s desperate plea.

After Unohana expelled Liu Ziyun from Seireitei, he tried every desperate argument he could think of to convince Tazawa Kentarō to let him stay. Tazawa Kentarō began to find the boy persuasive and interesting, but Liu Ziyun’s latest plea was cut off by an unseen speaker.

• Unohana blasted Liu Ziyun away with her spiritual pressure and ordered Tazawa Kentarō to wake him and send him out of Seireitei.
• Liu Ziyun woke up, clung to Tazawa Kentarō’s leg, and begged him to let him stay in the Fourth Division.
• Liu Ziyun threatened to spread false rumors about Tazawa Kentarō, but Tazawa Kentarō warned that he could kill him without consequence.
• Liu Ziyun claimed he could see the future and argued that staying in the Fourth Division would help him survive and become useful.
• Tazawa Kentarō started to consider Liu Ziyun’s case as the boy urged him to plead with Captain Unohana, but someone interrupted with, “That’s enough.”

Unohana arranged for Liu Ziyun to stay in the Fourth Division Barracks and work until Shin'ō Academy began recruiting, while privately revealing that she had noticed his unusual spiritual power and hidden self-healing. Liu settled into his new room, unaware that two voices in his consciousness planned to teach him more after observing him.

• Unohana ordered Tazawa Kentarō to house Liu Ziyun in the barracks, assign him chores, and take him to Shin'ō Academy when recruitment began.
• Unohana warned Liu to work hard, and Liu happily believed he had secured a powerful backer.
• Kiyōnosuke Yamada asked Unohana whether Liu could become a Soul Reaper, and Unohana said he might someday succeed her as Fourth Division Captain.
• Unohana explained that Liu's spiritual power naturally healed his wound, but something controlled the healing to hide his ability.
• Tazawa Kentarō showed Liu his room and gave him an early-morning work schedule, then warned him not to cling to Unohana again.
• Liu settled into the barracks and fell asleep as Unohana watched from her office and wondered how far he would go.

Liu Ziyun learned that he would enter Shin'ō Academy within days, settled into the Fourth Division, and worried about surviving academy training while planning to save Unohana from her future sacrifice. After his injuries healed, he was left dismayed by a prominent scar across his face.

• Liu Ziyun realized Captain Unohana had misled him about when Shin'ō Academy would recruit, and Tazawa Kentarō claimed he would enter early as a promising transfer student.
• Tazawa Kentarō explained the academy's four disciplines and warned Liu Ziyun that students could fail out, die on missions, or disappear for other reasons.
• Tazawa Kentarō brought Liu Ziyun food in his dorm room and told him to rest until his injuries healed, then take on simple work in the division.
• Alone in his room, Liu Ziyun accepted that he had transmigrated and resolved to become a Soul Reaper and prevent Unohana from sacrificing herself for Kenpachi Zaraki.
• A few days later, Liu Ziyun's injuries had mostly healed, but a scar running across his left eye made him despair over his changed appearance.

Liu Ziyun enrolled at Shin'ō Academy after passing its Reiatsu test, met his three roommates, and resolved to grow stronger while keeping a low profile. The chapter ended with Retsu Unohana reading his enrollment report and taking interest in him.

• Tazawa Kentarō brought Liu Ziyun to Shin'ō Academy, where Liu registered as a student from District 56.
• Liu passed the Reiatsu test with grade 18 and received Tazawa Kentarō's warning to avoid trouble with noble students.
• Liu met his roommates Kentarō, Ryōta, and Yūji, who discussed which divisions they hoped to join.
• Liu resolved to train carefully, avoid attracting attention, and survive his new life in Soul Society.
• Retsu Unohana read Liu's enrollment report and wondered how far he would go.

Liu Ziyun spent five years secretly pushing himself through extreme Zanjutsu, Kidō, and flash step training while pretending to be clumsy at Shin'ō Academy. After surviving dangerous experiments and using his skills against a Hollow, he continued to conceal his abilities from the instructors and other students.

• Liu Ziyun began training with increasingly heavy swords, then learned to wield a willow switch with enough control to split a wooden post.
• Liu Ziyun repeatedly blew himself up while simplifying Kidō incantations, eventually learning to cast spells below number 70 instantly and practicing more dangerous spells in secluded places.
• Liu Ziyun trained his flash step by running with heavy weights and developed enough speed to evade a Hollow and strike it down.
• Liu Ziyun pretended to fall repeatedly during flash step class, while privately analyzing his movements and planning how to improve.

Liu Ziyun secretly trained in Hakuda and tested his abilities against Hollows while pretending to be untalented at Shin'ō Academy. Unohana grew suspicious of his changed behavior and ordered Kiyōnosuke Yamada to keep observing him.

• Liu Ziyun built increasingly difficult Hakuda training equipment, developed new techniques, and concealed his progress during academy classes.
• He began fighting Hollows in Rukongai, gradually gained combat experience, and narrowly escaped a cunning Hollow that disguised itself as an ordinary soul.
• Liu Ziyun continued acting incompetent in public classes, convincing instructors that he had little talent despite his hard work.
• During visits to the Fourth Division, Liu Ziyun behaved politely and reservedly around Retsu Unohana while secretly seeking treatment and learning Kaidō.
• Unohana noticed Liu Ziyun had become unusually quiet and sent Kiyōnosuke Yamada to investigate his academy life.
• After hearing that Liu Ziyun seemed ordinary and withdrawn, Unohana recalled his lingering facial scar, wondered whether he was hiding something, and told Kiyōnosuke to keep observing him.

Liu Ziyun received an Asauchi and struggled to communicate with its spirit, which resisted his sword meditation. After building a hidden underground training ground and revealing his full strength, he realized the spirit was sulking because he had stopped carrying the sword, though its faint response suggested their connection was not over.

• Liu Ziyun received an Asauchi and carried it everywhere while steadily imprinting his spiritual power on it.
• After a month, he began sword meditation, but the sword spirit repeatedly resisted his attempts to communicate.
• A distant voice asked Liu Ziyun what he feared, prompting him to question his habit of hiding his strength and to put the sword away.
• Liu Ziyun built a private underground training ground in the mountains behind Shin'ō Academy and unleashed his full spiritual pressure while training.
• He tried sword meditation again and confessed that he avoided trouble and feared attracting Aizen's or Yhwach's attention, then realized the sword spirit was sulking because he had stopped carrying it.
• Liu Ziyun left the training ground, and his sheathed Zanpakuto flickered faintly as if it had heard him.

Liu Ziyun entered his Zanpakuto’s inner world and found a lifelike but empty version of the city from his previous life. He met the sword spirit, a beautiful woman named Life-Taker, who revealed her name before transforming into battle armor.

• Liu Ziyun focused on his Zanpakuto during training and was drawn into its inner world.
• He explored an empty replica of the city where he had lived in his previous life and felt grief at its lifelessness.
• A veiled woman appeared and teased Liu Ziyun about his disappointment and his hopes of earning her recognition.
• The woman revealed that she was his Zanpakuto, and Liu Ziyun asked her name while openly admiring her beauty.
• She introduced herself as Life-Taker and teased Liu Ziyun before transforming her hanfu into a female general’s battle armor.

Liu Ziyun fought Life-Taker in his inner world to earn her recognition and unlock her power. After being beaten down, he found his resolve and launched a fierce counterattack, but the duel’s outcome remained undecided.

• Life-Taker explained that Liu Ziyun could not use his Zanpakuto or spiritual abilities until he defeated her and earned her approval.
• Life-Taker gave Liu Ziyun his Asauchi and attacked, overwhelming him, disarming him, and wounding him.
• Life-Taker accused Liu Ziyun of hiding his fear behind claims that he merely disliked trouble, then urged him to give up and return to an ordinary life.
• Liu Ziyun rose, focused on Life-Taker’s saber, and declared that he trained and planned so he could fight freely rather than be trapped by schemes.
• Liu Ziyun charged Life-Taker with renewed resolve and forced her back a step, beginning an intense exchange of attacks as she secretly admired his fighting spirit.

Liu Ziyun risked being run through to earn Life-Taker’s recognition, only to discover that she was ready to accept him. Before she could say so, Tulu appeared and demanded that Liu Ziyun prove his resolve to the Zanpakuto’s destructive side.

• Liu Ziyun charged Life-Taker and let her Tang Dao pierce his shoulder so he could press his Asauchi to her throat.
• Liu Ziyun declared that he wanted Life-Taker to recognize him and fight beside him, and she revealed that he felt no pain because she had acknowledged him.
• Life-Taker teased Liu Ziyun about his private thoughts concerning Unohana and several other women.
• Tulu appeared, identified himself as the manifestation of Liu Ziyun’s killing and destruction, and challenged him to earn his recognition.

Liu Ziyun released Life-Taker and fought Tulu, but his opponent’s overwhelming speed and strength left him unable to land a hit. After Liu Ziyun refused to risk damaging his companion for victory, Tulu challenged his understanding of what a sword was meant to be, leaving him shaken.

• Life-Taker urged Liu Ziyun to call her name, and his Asauchi transformed into a golden Tang Dao.
• Tulu attacked at startling speed, slashed Liu Ziyun across the chest, and left a nick on Life-Taker’s blade.
• Liu Ziyun healed his wound and fired a powerful arc of golden sword energy, but Tulu dodged it with ease.
• Tulu criticized Liu Ziyun’s approach to fighting, and Liu Ziyun insisted he would rather lose than treat his companions as disposable tools.
• Tulu explained that swords existed to fulfill their wielder’s desires and told Liu Ziyun that he could not defeat enemies while holding back.

Liu Ziyun and Life-Taker acknowledged their bond as he released the power he had suppressed for five years and faced Tulu in a fierce battle. Tulu recognized the fight as an outlet and joined Liu Ziyun in his long-overdue reconciliation with himself.

• Liu Ziyun realized Life-Taker would sacrifice anything to fulfill his wishes, and he apologized before unleashing his suppressed reiatsu.
• Life-Taker's damaged blade healed as Liu Ziyun's power surged to near Captain-level.
• Liu Ziyun attacked Tulu with every technique he had trained, trading blows instead of being overwhelmed.
• Liu Ziyun fought recklessly through severe injuries, then used Heal to recover and charge back into battle.
• Tulu realized Liu Ziyun was releasing five years of suppressed instincts and desires, so he fought in earnest.
• Life-Taker understood that the battle had become Liu Ziyun's reconciliation with himself.

Liu Ziyun’s reckless sparring with Tulu ended when she overwhelmed him with a devastating sword technique and challenged his excuses for holding back against other students. He struggled to answer her accusation that he was only willing to fight without restraint against himself.

• Tulu stopped Liu Ziyun’s charge and unleashed Flying Blade, then Shattered Blade Slash, filling the street with cyan blades that badly wounded him.
• Life-Taker watched the attack from a high-rise as the smoke cleared and Liu Ziyun knelt with his cracked Asauchi.
• Liu Ziyun laughed at Tulu’s insults, then explained that he had been frustrated by holding back during five years in Soul Society and apologized for getting carried away.
• Tulu listed Liu Ziyun’s losses to Kentarō and Ryōta and questioned why he claimed to hold back against classmates while fighting Tulu without restraint.
• Tulu angrily asked Liu Ziyun what he was afraid of, and Liu Ziyun admitted her accusation made sense before insisting there was no need to slash the other students.

Liu Ziyun survived Tulu’s devastating Shattered Blade Slash by awakening Life-Taker’s Change Fate ability and healing his wounds. Though exhausted and facing Tulu’s doubts, he refused to give up on earning her recognition.

• Liu Ziyun tried to explain why he had spared the students and told Tulu and Life-Taker they were his steadfast companions, but Tulu remained unconvinced.
• Tulu launched a serious attack and used Flying Blade, Shattered Blade Slash to unleash blade arcs from inside Liu Ziyun’s body.
• Life-Taker prepared to intervene as Liu Ziyun collapsed, but he awakened Change Fate and instantly healed his injuries.
• Tulu identified Change Fate as Life-Taker’s ability, and Liu Ziyun said he had learned it while facing death.
• Tulu warned that Liu Ziyun was nearly out of Reiatsu and could not earn her recognition, but Liu Ziyun refused to give up.

Liu Ziyun used a Shunpo feint to defeat Tulu and earn a temporary loan of Tulu’s power, though Life-Taker still considered him too weak and hesitant for full acknowledgment. He woke in the real-world training ground with a new crimson-black pattern on his Zanpakuto’s sheath.

• Liu Ziyun admitted his shortcomings and vowed to keep improving until Tulu acknowledged him.
• Liu Ziyun concealed his movement in the dust with Shunpo and placed his Tang saber against Tulu’s neck, winning their duel.
• Tulu blasted Liu Ziyun into a high-rise, and Life-Taker treated him while insisting he had already won.
• Life-Taker said Liu Ziyun still lacked strength and resolve, but Tulu lent him some of his power temporarily.
• Liu Ziyun woke in the underground training ground with a crimson-black pattern on his Zanpakuto’s sheath.

After recovering in his inner world, Liu Ziyun learned that Tulu would lend him some of his power, though Tulu still expected him to grow stronger. Tulu sent Liu Ziyun back to the academy, where he was due for Headmaster Yamamoto’s Hakuda class.

• Liu Ziyun woke in Life-Taker’s embrace after she healed him and asked what had happened to Tulu.
• Life-Taker told Liu Ziyun that Tulu had left because he thought Liu Ziyun was too weak.
• Liu Ziyun thanked Life-Taker and declared he would keep training until he could fight alongside her and Tulu.
• Tulu returned, criticized Liu Ziyun’s performance, then agreed to lend him some of his power and demanded that he survive until he earned Tulu’s full approval.
• Liu Ziyun remembered his academy class, and Tulu swept him into a whirlwind that hurled him out of the inner world.