Ling joined them because everyone was banding together to seize food. He didn't want to be shut out when he got there and go hungry for several more days. The feeling of hunger was unbearable.
The strongest among them, Genji, led the little group. He was stronger than everyone present, but Ling felt his Reiatsu was a little lower than his own. Perhaps Genji simply hadn't released it at full strength.
They were in no hurry and proceeded slowly. Along the way, they kept encountering residents fleeing West District 68, but they didn't run into anyone with Reiryoku...
"Here, today's food!"
"A persimmon? And it's not even ripe? We only get one a day?"
That evening, a balding man was in charge of handing out food, and Ling fired off a string of questions. The balding man was one of Genji's trusted followers. At first, there had only been three of them.
"What's with all the questions? If you don't like it, go find your own!"
"Tch, you bald donkey!"
"How dare you insult me? You little brat, you're asking for death..."
"Want to duel? I don't think you're a match for me!"
In just a few days, Ling had learned to fight using Reiatsu. He wasn't the least bit afraid of people whose Reiatsu seemed lower than his.
"Stop arguing. Once we take West District 67, we'll have everything!"
Genji had spoken. He was the leader in name, and everyone showed him respect.
Ling stopped mouthing off too. Clutching the Asauchi he had picked up, he prepared to sleep. He couldn't afford to lose his weapon; it was how he made a living. But he tossed and turned in the grass, unable to fall asleep.
Lately, Ling had been thinking. In the short videos from his previous life, those guys could shout "Bankai" and become incredibly powerful. He had tried it himself for ages a couple of days ago, but it hadn't worked...
It wasn't his fault. Forget studying it; he had only seen a few clips of the Bleach anime. How could he possibly know everything from those clips...?
A Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto started out as an Asauchi, which was formally bestowed upon them when they joined a squad.
A Soul Reaper had to eat and sleep alongside the Asauchi, endure hardships, and imbue it with the essence of their soul before it could become a Zanpakuto.
Then, through "Zan Zen," they communicated with the Zanpakuto. Only after learning its name could they release its various abilities. This was called Shikai.
After gaining a deeper understanding of the Zanpakuto's power, they had to train rigorously for decades to materialize it. By defeating the materialized Zanpakuto, they could obtain "Bankai" (wan jie).
Clearly, no one had taught Ling any of this. He didn't know a damn thing, but by now he had inadvertently fulfilled the first requirement: eating and sleeping alongside his Asauchi...
That night, Ling dreamed that a beautiful woman stood before him. Just as she was about to undress, she turned into a rugged brute from their group, jolting him awake.
Sure enough, a man with a spear stood before him, raising the stone-tipped weapon to stab him.
"Die!"
After being discovered, the burly spearman didn't stop. Instead, he roared and went in for the kill. Ling reached out and seized the spearhead, then drew his sword and slashed horizontally, opening a gash in the man's belly. His entrails spilled all over the ground.
"What's going on?"
Ling slowly released his Reiatsu and looked at the other seven men who had just become his companions. They were all awake too. Ling prepared to fight for his life.
"Bastard." Genji saw the reason at a glance. After cursing, he explained to Ling, "Nangong, don't misunderstand. This guy only joined today too. He probably had his eye on your Asauchi!"
At that, two of the others looked at the sword in Ling's hand, their eyes full of greed and desire. But when they met Ling's gaze, their greed receded.
A Soul Reaper who received an Asauchi would turn it into their own Zanpakuto within a year or two at most. When a Soul Reaper died, their Zanpakuto would disappear as well.
Obtaining an Asauchi was a stroke of great luck.
Nangong Ling's luck had also made the spearman, who had survived for years upon years, jealous. If he had an Asauchi, he might have become as strong as a Soul Reaper, or even surpassed one.
"Turning an Asauchi into a Zanpakuto isn't that easy. Of the few of us, only Brother Genji succeeded. Being greedy won't do you any good..."
The balding man's name was Yamabi. His eyes were clear, and he didn't covet the Asauchi, mainly because he had tried it himself, to no avail. His current weapon was a short axe.
"That's right. As long as everyone understands that, it's fine. Nangong isn't weak either! And don't disrupt morale here..."
Genji glared at the others and said nothing more, but it was clear that he was angry too.
For a group like theirs, setting out to conquer territory together, nothing was more taboo than distrusting the people at their side.
Ling had originally planned to take his leave, but when he heard the bald Yamabi's words, his eyes lit up. He hurried after Genji and began asking about how to turn an Asauchi into a Zanpakuto...
To win Ling over, Genji told him everything he knew, holding nothing back. He even told Ling about the communication needed for Shikai.
When Ling asked why he knew so much, Genji said he had once saved a Soul Reaper, who had taught him. Unfortunately, that Soul Reaper had later died in battle.
The two had gone from being wary of each other to an older brother and younger brother confiding in each other...
Two more people joined the next day, and one on the third. The group gradually grew, and by the eighth day, it had thirty-three members, nearly matching the other side's numbers.
At last, they reached the border of Silverfall District. Ling and the other armed men didn't march in openly. Instead, they entered in batches of two or three.
Never mind West District 67—even districts in the teens had poor public order. If a major killing occurred and someone reported it to Seireitei, they would send Soul Reapers to deal with it.
Only in districts numbered below ten could public order be considered good. Those districts had by far the most souls and the most resources, and quite a few lesser nobles even lived there.
In particular, quite a few lesser nobles lived in Junrinan, District 1. At this time, the Shiba Clan, one of the Five Great Noble Clans, had yet to decline and had not yet moved to Rukongai.
Rukongai surrounded Seireitei like the rings of a target around its bullseye. Each ring was a district, and there were eighty district names in total.
The higher the number, the worse the public order. The farthest was Zaraki, District 80.
The eighty districts were further divided into four regions to the east, south, west, and north of Seireitei, making 320 districts in all. The one Ling and the others had now entered was West Fallen Silver District.
There was a settlement here, and with the people who had recently fled to it, at least ten thousand people lived there. It was called West Fallen Silver Town, and it was also the stronghold of the largest force in West Fallen Silver District.
Other places might have had their own forces, but none could possibly match theirs in scale. More than thirty men who had fought through all kinds of battles had held this place for three years...
Ling had draped a large, tattered cloth over himself, concealing both his long black hair and his handsome face. He had been instructed to accompany Yamabi and deliver a challenge.
Ling thought they should launch a surprise attack, but Genji thought it dishonorable and rejected his suggestion outright... Since Genji had told him how to turn an Asauchi into a Zanpakuto, Ling accepted the task.
As soon as the two entered the settlement, they saw two exceedingly arrogant men going from house to house collecting food. When the men reached Ling and Yamabi, one stopped him...
"Hey, you're new here, right? This is our turf. You need to pay enough food or a hundred ryo to enter and receive protection."
The man who stopped them had short red hair and a strip of gray cloth tied around his right hand. He demanded that they hand over goods or Soul Society currency.
"Pay? Heh..."
Clang!
Ling raised his head, his eyes full of killing intent. Without hesitation, he drew his sword and slashed at the man's left hand, cutting it clean off.
"Aaah! My arm!"
"Bastard! Urgh..."
The red-haired man fell to the ground in agony. The short, fat man beside him was carrying a basket of food in one hand. Seeing his companion wounded, he was about to drop the basket and draw his sword, but Ling was faster, slashing his throat in a single stroke.
"Redhead, go back and pass on a message for me. This afternoon, we'll be waiting for you in the hills two kilometers outside town. Have your leader gather his men!"
Ling shouldered his sword and turned to leave. As Yamabi followed, he made sure to pick up the basket full of food and handed Ling an apple, a very rare find.
"Hey, you just ate one."
"I took this."
After finishing it, Ling reached out for another and started arguing with the balding Yamabi again. In the end, Yamabi gave in, and Ling ate his fill...
On a hillside, a group of people in ragged clothes, most of them barefoot, watched from afar. A group was already approaching from the settlement, carrying all manner of weapons.
At their head was a burly man about two meters tall. His height made him stand out like a crane among chickens.
There were already more than thirty men on the other side—at least fifty. They had also recruited a few more people recently.
"Leave their leader to me. You just need to hold off their attack!"
Seeing how confident Genji looked, Ling felt a little more reassured. This was his first time facing a large-scale group battle like this, so he couldn't help feeling a little nervous.
"Boys, kill them all!"
"Die!"
"Hahaha!"
As the two sides drew close, the enemy leader, who was missing an ear, let out a roar. His men charged forward, laughing wildly.
"Charge, brothers! Take them down, and I'll never have to wander and starve again!"
Genji swept out a hand and led their thirty-odd men charging down the slope, their eyes red. Ling, on the other hand, deliberately held back a little.
To these wanderers, the lure of food outweighed everything else. They had never thought they could get food by working hard, because they would probably starve to death before any crops could grow.
In the relatively open stretch of hillside, the two sides crashed into each other. More than ten seconds later, Ling, who was following behind, encountered an enemy vanguard who had fought his way through.
The man was laughing wildly and had already taken two slashes, but he paid them no mind. He swung his sword at Ling, who raised his own blade to block.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
As their blades clashed repeatedly, Ling couldn't help marveling inwardly, What heavy strikes!
"Hahahaha! Brat, is that all you've got? Run back to your mother's breast! Remember, the man who killed you is called Wuliang!"
Wuliang's hair was filthy and disheveled, and his left shoulder and right chest were still bleeding. As he swung his sword, he kept taunting Ling and even gave his name, all while releasing his Reiatsu to its fullest.
Ling remained silent. Seeing that he couldn't cut Ling down after so long, Wuliang changed his slash into a thrust, aiming for Ling's throat.
This was the opening Ling had been waiting for. He abruptly increased his Reiatsu, grabbed Wuliang's blade with his left hand, and pulled it aside. Then he swung the sword in his right hand, cutting open Wuliang's chest.
Even as he fell, Wuliang could still see the disdainful sneer on Ling's face. He closed his eyes in regret.