Chapter 350

Hmm, maybe I went a bit too far with my behavior. So what should I do now? Should I say sorry, apologize, and promise to be more careful next time and not hit you again?

Kevin was a little undecided. He turned his head and glanced at Kisuke Urahara on the other side.

Kisuke Urahara made no attempt to stop him and even gestured for him to proceed.

Alright, since Kisuke Urahara has said we can continue, then let this villain continue like this.

Ichigo felt that he wasn't running away, but rather making a temporary strategic retreat, at least for now. Given the vast difference in strength between himself and Kevin, a direct confrontation was unlikely to be successful; the only option was to retreat temporarily and devise another plan.

However, before Ichigo could run far, Kevin reappeared in front of him without warning.

He grabbed his neck and said, "Run? I thought you were a tough guy, but now I see you're nothing special. Where can you run to? Do you think you can hide? Even if I'm kind enough to let you go, what about those people in Soul Society? They won't let you go."

"Like I said, you can't pass the third test unless you're prepared to die."

"A resolve to die?" Ichigo struggled for a long time before finally stopping, and began to wholeheartedly ponder Kevin's words. To face death with unwavering resolve, to seek life even in the face of death.

Ichigo closed his eyes. Was this a sign that he had resigned himself to his fate?

"Of course not," Kevin frowned slightly. He felt like he'd seen Ichigo's behavior somewhere before.

Oh, right, doesn't MEI sometimes do similar things? Does that mean this orange-haired kid has started to understand the Dao? It seems like there really is a little bit.

Kevin could clearly sense that Ichigo's power had calmed down considerably.

This calm is not a sign of surrender, but rather the calm before a volcanic eruption; it is waiting, waiting for the final eruption!

Kevin quickly released his grip and retreated, and at that moment, a tremendous force clearly emanated from Ichigo's body...

At Honganji Temple.

"So fast?" Urd looked at the pile of Moon Stone that Li Pu brought back with some surprise and said, "I thought it would take you several days to make the Moon Stone."

"Ha~ You underestimate me." Li Pu pointed to his head and said, "It won't take long at all."

"Oh?" Urd said jokingly, "Are you referring to yourself or that strange thing inside your body?"

'System?' Li Pu certainly knew what Urd was referring to, and hearing Urd say it only fueled her anger. 'Wasn't it already sealed away by you?' she retorted.

"If I hadn't been sealed away by you, I would still be me."

"Then aren't you yourself now?" Urd retorted. "And from my personal perspective, I don't know what you were like before, but you're obviously much more pleasing to the eye now."

"As a backup for Belldandy?" Li Pu said irritably.

"No~" Urd shook his head and said, "It's because as the Battle Goddess Vivian, if she is still considered a backup for Belldandy, I would feel very awkward."

"Besides, what's wrong with being Goddess? There are many people in this world who want to become gods but cannot."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Li Pu said. "But it's not particularly good for me either, is it? Not everyone wants to be a god."

"Tch~" Urd said with a hint of disdain, "No? Are you sure you don't have any?"

"..." Li Pu was speechless. If he had to say, there was definitely a bit of it.

Only...

"This has nothing to do with you," Li Pu said firmly. "I just want to know, can't you just break the seal for me?"

"Didn't I already tell you?" Urd said, "You can break this seal yourself; it's not difficult at all. If you haven't broken the seal by now..."

"Well, you really are disappointing, at least in this respect."

"Ha~" Li Pu said even more unhappily, "I haven't learned your sealing techniques, how could I possibly know how to break the seal?! This isn't some elementary school problem like 1+1."

"For us, it's 1+1," Urd said matter-of-factly. "For you too, it's just that you don't want to. To be honest, you haven't even considered breaking the seal on your own until now."

"If you don't want to, that's fine," Urd said. "Anyway, I don't mind having another sister, Belldandy doesn't mind either."

Li Pu was utterly speechless; she couldn't reason with this Urd. It seemed that she would have to work hard to break the seal herself.

Li Pu stood up and patted the dust off his clothes.

"By the way," Urd said, "You're getting so actively involved in that Death God's game, is there something you're planning?"

"Of course there are," Li Pu said in a strangely nonchalant tone. "For example, after fulfilling this wish, you can travel directly to another world and leave this world."

Li Pu's words immediately chilled the atmosphere.

"You..." Urd seemed not to have reacted yet.

"It's already decided," Li Pu said. "I'm leaving here. Besides, you were the one who forcibly brought me from my world to this place, so it's not incomprehensible that I'm going to leave, is it?"

That seems to be true...

Urd couldn't say anything, and she probably didn't know what to say either. Li Pu had indeed been forcibly brought here by her.

"But we have already accepted you," Urd said. "The Lord God have already issued you a license, it wouldn't be right for you to just leave like this."

"Then please thank the Lord God for me?" Li Pu shrugged and said, "It might be a little inappropriate, but I still need to return to my original world."

"Why?" Urd asked in return.

"How should I put it?" Li Pu seemed stumped by the question; she genuinely didn't seem to understand it. Why? Why did she strive to become stronger? And why did she have to return to that world?

Compared to that world fraught with danger and constant troubles, this is undoubtedly a safe world.

He doesn't need to become particularly strong to easily resolve the various dangers he faces in this world, but in that world, his current strength is still far inferior.

And it seems that, just as Urd said, he can indeed stay in this world and not have to go back.

They also accepted themselves.

Then why should I go back?

"Because of my friends in that world," Li Pu said. "For those in that world who remember me and fought alongside me."

Perhaps they don't necessarily remember him, nor are they entirely the people who fought alongside him. But if he didn't say this reason Li Pu himself wouldn't know what he was talking about.

Perhaps only by returning to that world can she find more reasons for her existence and for fighting.

"Oh~" Urd seemed to understand something and said, "If it was your own choice, then I won't stop you. It seems the gods had already foreseen that you would leave."

"Did he say anything?" Li Pu asked in return.

"No, he just said he's waiting for you to return to this world," Urd said. "And the gods said there aren't that many conspiracy theories in the world, and he doesn't want anything from you."

"Your transformation into the Battle Goddess Vivian is not due to the Yggdrasil system, but may be related to what was sealed away."

Chapter 415 Forging My Blade

"We got the items."

When Kevin returned to Honganji Temple, he saw Li Pu waiting for him at the entrance.

The atmosphere seemed a little strange, as if something must have happened. But Kevin didn't ask any questions. Unless it was a very serious conflict, Kevin didn't think he should get involved in the affairs between Li Pu and the other Goddess.

He simply handed over what Li Pu wanted him to have.

"You're right," Kevin said. "That orange-haired kid is definitely something else, and so is the knife he's carrying."

At first, Kevin Zanpakuto, looking down on them entirely. If there was anything special about them, it was simply a weapon that Shinigami (Grim Reapers) possessed.

But after this training sparring match with Ichigo, it completely exceeded his expectations.

"Your sideburns are cut off a bit." Li Pu noticed a tuft of hair near Kevin's ear that had been cleanly severed and asked, "Did Ichigo do this?"

"Hmm." Kevin readily admitted, "His two states are like two completely different people. If he's that powerful, why didn't he use it in the first place?"

"Because it's difficult," Li Pu explained. "Ichigo Kurosaki can be considered quite lucky. If an ordinary soul were to follow the usual path to reach this point, gaining spiritual power, learning, finding their Zanpakuto, communicating with others, and learning its name, and then achieving Shikai, each step would be a hurdle, and each step would eliminate a large number of people."

"Ichigo Kurosaki is an exception, not the norm. He might be repeatedly tortured by you for days or months and still not be able to unleash his Shikai."

"Oh..." Kevin didn't say much more; he had already witnessed Ichigo's difference. Ichigo's weakness lay in his lack of training and experience fighting skilled opponents.

Once he fills in these Ichigo, Ichigo's future will be no weaker than anyone else's.

"Then what do you want this Zanpakuto fragment for?" Kevin asked curiously.

Li Pu naturally wouldn't let Kevin provide guidance casually; her goal was to obtain the fragments of the Battle Soul Blade for research.

"I'd like to see if I can forge a Zanpakuto," Li Pu said.

"Forge?" Kevin asked curiously. "I've heard that Zanpakuto are formed based on the soul of a Shinigami (death god). In other words, they're something that was born with the Shinigami, making them unique. Can this be forged?"

"Who told you all this?" Li Pu asked when he heard Kevin's familiarity with the Zanpakuto.

"Kisuke Urahara." Kevin replied.

"Oh~" Li Pu was not surprised. Kisuke Urahara was a smart man. As the former captain, he must have seen through Kevin's little trick before telling him about the characteristics of the Zhanpaotou.

It should be said that Kisuke Urahara was simply trying to tell himself through Kevin's words.

"Kisuke Urahara probably didn't tell you that Zanpakuto can actually be forged." Li Pu carefully examined the fingernail-sized Zanpakuto fragment in his hand and said, "The first Zanpakuto of a Shinigami wasn't created with the birth of a Shinigami. For Shinigami, the chicken-and-egg problem is easily solved. Zanpakuto came into being because of Zanpakuto!"

Li Pu had forgotten most of the things, but he still remembered some of the details very clearly.

The problem with the Battle Soul Blade is now clear.

The first Zanpakuto was forged by a middle-aged black man. As for why Li Pu remembers this detail, it's because of that black man! This is also what Li Pu most wants to complain about: Zanpakuto are, in every respect, traditional Japanese samurai swords. But the person who forged, or rather, created, the Zanpakuto was a middle-aged black man. Well... this "middle-aged black man" isn't literally a person with dark skin.

Rather, from a racial perspective, he is the kind of dark-skinned man from Africa.

Li Pu was confused as to why the author would create the first Zanpakuto, the one who created the Zanpakuto, a character who, apart from wearing a Shinigami outfit, was basically a stereotypical American or non-American.

This is somewhat like how a traditional Chinese sword was created by an African-American man, which is utterly meaningless except for bringing shame upon himself.

Anyway, different ideas lead to different settings, and it was this seemingly ridiculous setting that left a deep impression on Li Pu.

"If it could be manufactured," Kevin said, more curiously, "Would such a small piece be enough to manufacture?"

"Of course not enough," Li Pu said, shaking his head. "We need more samples."

Zanpakuto are no ordinary samurai swords. To think that a real Zanpakuto could be reconstructed from just such a small fragment would be to greatly underestimate its power. Therefore, more samples are needed to increase the chances of creating a true Zanpakuto.

"We're going to Soul Society anyway," Kevin said, hands in his pockets. "We have no shortage of samples."

There's absolutely no shortage of these kinds of things in Soul Society.

After Ichigo completed the third test, he finally sensed a change in the atmosphere. If before he felt tense, worried, and at a loss, now he felt more calm.

He no longer had many thoughts about Soul Society. This was not only because he had gained powerful support, but more importantly, because his strength was different from what it used to be.

The comparison to his past self is absolutely irrelevant. The current Ichigo is confident he can overpower his former self. And as the day of his eventual journey to Soul Society approaches, his calmness seems all the more unusual.

Until the actual assembly command is issued, gather at the entrance of the Urahara Shop.

For the Ichigo felt his heart begin to pound violently. He was about to step into a completely new battlefield, facing a group of different enemies. The pressure of the battle and the strength of his opponents were incomparable to the Hollows he had faced before.

So what does this racing heart mean? Fear? Nervousness? And excitement? Probably a bit of all of those.

"Where's Mr. Urahara?" Chad Yasutora seemed rather taciturn, asked once he felt everyone had arrived. "Everyone should be here now, so what do we need to do?"

"No, no," Ichigo waved his hand and said, "We're still short of someone."

"Who?" Uryu Ishida adjusted his glasses and said, "Could it be that someone else is coming with us?"

So not everyone has arrived yet? If there are others, who could they be? There probably aren't many left who can truly fight against Soul Society, right? Unless...

"It's a bit late..."

Just then, a beautiful figure appeared here, dragging along a figure that everyone was quite familiar with.

"It took a little longer because someone was planning to vandalize the temple."

"It looks like you all arrived quite early."

Chapter 416 Kōtotsu and Destroying Him

That person looks like a dog.

This specifically refers to Kisuke Urahara, who was dragged to the entrance of Kisuke Urahara's shop like a dead dog. The one who dragged him there like a dead dog was, of course, Li Pu.

"I saw someone with no sense of public decency writing threatening slogans at the entrance of the temple where we are staying," Li Pu said dismissively. "So I beat him up, and I never expected it to be Kisuke Urahara."

"You did this on purpose," Kisuke Urahara said in a low voice.

"What are you saying?" Li Pu lifted Kisuke Urahara off the ground and said, "Speak louder, I can't hear you!"