Chapter 248

During the preliminary rounds of the third exam, they noticed that Sasuke was completely different from the other ninjas. The sensory ninjas couldn't sense a single Chakra from him, yet he could easily defeat them. In particular, his ability to make everyone present feel heavy made them very curious.

Now that the legendary Otsutsuki Butler has appeared, they also want to see what abilities this Otsutsuki Butler has, especially the fact that he knows Otsutsuki Butler Wood Style, which is what they care about the most.

After all, the memory of being beaten by Wood Style decades ago has not yet faded from the shadows of the major villages.

Li Yue didn't mind and let them follow behind. Li Yue led Sasuke to the Uchiha clan's training ground. The two arrived at the center of the training ground, which was surrounded by a group of people. The rest of Team 7 were also present, including Kakashi Hatake, who was the instructor but had no idea how to deal with the Bleach; Naruto Uzumaki Asura, the overpowered king of this generation; and Sakura Haruno, whose purpose was unknown.

"Hey, Jiraiya, you said that butler is taking Sasuke to a place for training, what kind of place is that?"

"The place where Sasuke trains is called Soul Society."

Jiraiya was also present, standing next to Naruto asked him about Sasuke.

What is the Soul Society?

The Third Hokage, standing nearby, couldn't help but feel curious as he listened to Jiraiya's words.

When the Third Hokage asked the question, everyone around him perked up their ears. Whether they were from Konoha or other villages, they all kept their eyes on Li Yue, but their ears were turned to Jiraiya. Even Orochimaru, who was hiding among them, was no exception.

"According to the butler, the Soul Society is the home of souls. After a person dies, their soul is chosen to go to the Soul Society and live there as a soul. Sasuke's current power is the power of his soul. So the best way to train the power of the soul is to go to the Soul Society."

The homeland of the soul and the power of the soul!

The ninjas, who had spent their entire lives manipulating Chakra, couldn't understand it at all, but they were deeply shocked.

The souls of the dead live in another world? And after becoming souls, they even possess the power of a soul? The power Sasuke displayed during the exam completely overwhelmed his peers—this is a completely new kind of power!

Most people thought this was a completely new power, with only one exception: Orochimaru.

Yesterday, Orochimaru overheard some information about Mount Myōboku and learned some of the "secret history" of the three holy lands. However, he did not hear the part about the Soul Society that Li Yue mentioned before, as he was not present at that time. So now that he has heard it, he is also very shocked.

While others were focusing on the power of the soul as a new force, Orochimaru was concerned with whether the ability of the soul to live in another world constituted a form of immortality.

Sasuke is currently using the power of his soul. Does this power come from Sasuke's own soul? If so, since Sasuke's soul is immortal, does that mean he can live forever?

By the way, this butler has lived for over a thousand years. This is no secret, because he mentioned it when he introduced himself a few months ago. Orochimaru didn't believe it when he heard it, but now, combined with the power of the soul, Orochimaru thinks that the butler really has lived for over a thousand years. The reason he has been able to live for over a thousand years is because he has mastered the power of the soul!

Thinking of this, Orochimaru's gaze towards Sasuke burned with passion once more.

He originally wanted to possess Sasuke's body, but because of Li Yue's presence, he had no intention of making a move against Sasuke after arriving in Konoha. But now, with immortality right in front of him, his desire for Sasuke has been rekindled!

However, Li Yue beside him made him abandon the idea again. He was well aware of the risks involved. Although he could gain immortality if he succeeded, immortality did not mean immortality. Li Yue, the butler, was an old man who had lived for thousands of years. He was definitely more knowledgeable about the soul than he was. If he possessed Sasuke, he would probably be killed by Li Yue before he could even properly experience his new life. After all, Sasuke was the Indra clan leader appointed by Li Yue.

Orochimaru looked at Li Yue's back.

I need to find a way to connect with him and get the power of his soul!

Orochimaru's eyes began to light up as he looked at Li Yue. He started to think about what he could offer to get Li Yue to teach him about the power of the soul. He felt he was willing to do anything to obtain this power!

But Li Yue was unaware of Orochimaru's thoughts. He glanced at the surrounding ninjas and nodded in satisfaction.

Yes, that's exactly the kind of scene we want. It's only more interesting when so many people see it.

After nodding, Li Yue looked at Sasuke beside her.

"I said yesterday that I would give you special training today, but I have absolutely no interest in training you personally, because a useless and incompetent person is not worthy of my personal attention."

Upon hearing this assessment again, Sasuke's fist hardened.

Can't you just say less?

But he couldn't argue, so he could only nod along reluctantly.

"So, once we get to Soul Society, you'll have to rely on yourself for everything. I'll just watch over you from behind and make sure you don't die. As for the rest, even if you get badly injured by those guys, I don't care. Do you understand?"

"I see!"

Sasuke nodded again.

"Now that you understand, let's set off."

Li Yue drew her Enma's Blade, unleashing a burst of Reiatsu.

The immense Reiatsu pressed down on everyone around them, and the Reiatsu, many times greater than before, instantly forced everyone present to the ground.

"This... feeling..."

"I... I can't... breathe."

"I feel like I'm going to die..."

After intimidating everyone present with his Reiatsu, Li Yue swung his Enma's Blade and performed a cross slash in front of him. Space was torn apart, and a dark blue Portal appeared in front of Li Yue and Sasuke. Those who were lying on the ground also turned their heads to look at the Portal, their eyes wide open, wanting to see what the Soul Society looked like. Unfortunately, they could not see it; all they could see was a dark blue light screen.

"Let's go, let's go to Soul Society."

As Li Yue spoke, she stepped directly into the Portal, and Sasuke a deep breath and followed her in. After the two entered the Portal closed, and everyone present felt a sense of lightness. They then got up one by one, panting heavily.

Orochimaru also got up, clutching his chest and panting heavily.

The experience he had just gone through filled him with terror. He felt as if his soul had frozen, his body lying on the ground completely unable to move, and he couldn't even use his Chakra. You must understand, for a ninja, being unable to use Chakra is terrifying; he's basically half a cripple. All that's left is Taijutsu, but with his Taijutsu pinned to the ground, what Taijutsu could he possibly use?

While Orochimaru was still shaken, his eyes were fixed on the spot where Li Yue and Sasuke had disappeared.

Sasuke had shown the same pressure during the preliminary rounds of the third exam, but the pressure Sasuke exerted on the audience was worlds apart from the pressure Li Yue had just exerted!

Is this the power possessed by a soul that has lived for thousands of years?

He must obtain the power of the soul! No matter the cost!

453. Ulquiorra: I'm afraid I'll slap you to death.

The gray-white desert, the silvery crescent moon, and the Hueco Mundo remained as barren as ever.

Li Yue and Sasuke stood on the desert of Hueco Mundo, feeling the desolation together, and also feeling the incredibly active Reishi environment around them.

"Is spiritual energy everywhere here?"

Sasuke looked around in surprise, especially at the grayish-white sand on the ground. He was shocked because the sand was made of Reishi, and the air was filled with spiritual energy. In the ninja world, there was practically no spiritual energy at all, and he relied entirely on his own soul to maintain his power. But here, he felt like he had fallen into an ocean of Reishi. He felt that even breathing here could make him stronger!

"That's right, everything here is made of Reishi, and the air is filled with spiritual energy."

"Is this the Soul Society?"

"No, this is the Hueco Mundo."

Sasuke looked at Li Yue with a puzzled expression.

What is the Hueco Mundo?

"Some excellent souls are chosen to enter the Soul Society and become the souls residing Soul Society, while some fallen souls are chosen to enter Hueco Mundo and become terrifying Hollows. Like Bleach, they use the power of the soul. Hollows and Bleach are natural enemies and they will fight each other."

"So I'm using the power of Bleach to fight the Hollows, right?"

Sasuke felt he understood what Li Yue meant.

"No, we are not going to fight the Hollows."

"But aren't we in Hueco Mundo right now? Didn't you say you were going to Soul Society?"

"That's right, but we're heading to Soul Society. Before that, we need to stay in Hueco Mundo for a while."

As Li Yue spoke, she looked into the distance. Aizen's Las Noches was there, and a colossal cylindrical palace could be seen in the distance.

"Is the environment in Soul Society better than here?"

Sasuke squatted down, grabbed a handful of sand, and asked Li Yue a question.

The environment here was simply perfect in his eyes. He could feel his Reiatsu rising as soon as he took a breath. If this place called Hueco Mundo was like this, wouldn't the Soul Society, his final destination, be even more extreme?

"No, the environment in Soul Society is the same as here, and there are even more restrictions."

Both Hueco Mundo and Soul Society are pure Reishi environments. Everything in these two worlds is composed of Reishi. It's just that Hueco Mundo is relatively desolate, while Soul Society is more prosperous because of the management of the Bleach. After all, Soul Society at least has a certain degree of order, while Hueco Mundo is completely without order. It was only with Aizen's arrival and the establishment of Las Noches that it barely gained some order.

"Then why not just stay here?"

Sasuke was puzzled. The environment was the same, so couldn't this place work too?

"Because the battle isn't taking place here, it's taking place in Soul Society. It's the same environment, but the battle will make you, a useless and incompetent person, stronger much faster, understand?"

"..."

Sasuke chose not to respond. He gripped the sand on the ground, sensing the Reishi in the air, and breathing as deeply as possible, as if he felt that he could absorb more Reishi this way.

Li Yue couldn't help but curl her lips as she watched Sasuke breathing heavily.

"Fool, breathing like that is useless. The way the soul receives Reishi is not through breathing. No matter how fast you breathe, it won't help."

Sasuke, who was breathing heavily, turned pale and then shut his mouth.

"The person has arrived."

After Li Yue finished speaking, she looked into the distance, Sasuke also looked into the distance.

"Who?"

Li Yue did not answer him, but continued to look in the direction of Las Noches. Soon, a figure appeared in front of Li Yue and Sasuke.

"Lord Li Yue, welcome."

A white bone helmet, green tear stains—Uruchiora, the fourth seat of Las Noches, appeared before Li Yue.

"Long time no see, Ulquiorra."

Li Yue immediately greeted him happily.

"Yes, it's been a long time, Lord Li Yue."

Because of the orders given by Aizen last time, Li Yue is now the number two in Las Noches. Originally, the number two in the story was Gin, but now Gin is still in his Soul Society as the Third Division Captain because he has not been exposed at all. Aizen is even more of a tragic male protagonist who chose to join the Quincy in order to revive his white moonlight.

"Ulquiorra, take us into Las Noches."

"Yes, please follow me."

Ulquiorra turned around and disappeared in a Sonído. Li Yue sensed Ulquiorra's Reiatsu and followed with a Flash Step. Sasuke also quickly activated Flash Step to catch up, but unfortunately, Sasuke's Flash Step speed and distance were far inferior to Li Yue and Ulquiorra, and he was soon left alone.

By the time Sasuke followed the two to the gates of Las Noches, he was already panting heavily.

Although Las Noches doesn't look far, that's only because of its enormous size from a distance. In reality, it's more than ten kilometers away. Sasuke used Flash Step at his maximum speed to catch up, and by the time he landed, he felt like his calves were about to cramp.

"Lord Li Yue, who is this weak soul?"

Ulquiorra stood at the entrance of Las Noches, looking at Sasuke who had followed, and asked Li Yue a question.

"He's just a useless and incompetent piece of trash, you don't need to care about him."

"I see."

Ulquiorra nodded. Li Yue's words meant that Sasuke did not have the same status, position, and privileges as Li Yue in Las Noches. Not to mention that Arrancar might bully him, even a passing Hollow could slap him.

"Alright, that's enough for now. I can already sense Captain Aizen's location from here."

As Li Yue spoke, she drew her Enma's Blade and opened a Portal. On the other side of the Portal was the conference hall where Aizen was located.

After opening the door, Li Yue pointed at Ulquiorra and spoke to Sasuke.

"Useless. You can just follow Ulquiorra. As for Ulquiorra, if he gets into a fight with those guys from Las Noches, you don't need to stop him. Just make sure he doesn't die."

"Yes, Lord Li Yue."

Ulquiorra nodded and accepted the order.

Seeing Ulquiorra nod, Li Yue immediately crossed the Portal to find Aizen, while Sasuke looked at Ulquiorra.

"Li Yue just told me to follow you. Are you very strong?"

He had just witnessed the terrifying speed of Ulquiorra and Li Yue. Judging from Li Yue's attitude towards him and himself, Xiao Wu should be stronger than him. However, Xiao Wu was so respectful to Li Yue, which made him feel that Ulquiorra was definitely not that strong.

"I am weak compared to Lord Aizen and Lord Li Yue."

Ulquiorra answered honestly. Li Yue's Reiatsu this time was vastly different from the last time, so Ulquiorra understood that his Reiatsu was no longer a match for Li Yue's.

"Really? Then how about you have a match with me?"

Upon hearing Ulquiorra say that he was no match for Li Yue, Sasuke immediately perked up.

Fighting someone at Li Yue's level directly would be pointless, but fighting someone weaker than Li Yue would be just right, wouldn't it?

Ulquiorra coldly stared at Sasuke, who wanted to challenge him.

"You want to fight me? Why?"

Li Yue had previously said that he wouldn't stop Sasuke from fighting other Arrancar, but he didn't expect this human to come looking for him.

"You must be human, right? As a human, do you want to challenge me, an Arrancar?"

"That's right, Li Yue brought me here to fight, and you are the first person I've met besides Li Yue, so let's start with you!"