Original God, But Chat Group

On the rooftop, Li Yue, who had crawled out of his coffin early, sat cross-legged facing east, eyes shut tight, greeting the rising sun. His Asauchi lay flat across his thighs as he engaged in a crucial step for a Shinigami awakening their Zanpakuto: Blade Meditation!

Calm yourself, sink your consciousness deep into your inner world—your Zanpakuto waits for you there.

After dinner last night, Li Yue had climbed into his coffin and immediately opened the Chat Group. As a good 21st-century youth, how could he skip scrolling through his phone before bed?

Even if the group only had three members, it was still worth checking!

Kasumigaoka Utaha hadn't come online that night because of Akise Tomoya, but Aizen was there. As a researcher, staying up late was second nature to him. So Li Yue and Aizen had exchanged thoughts on awakening Zanpakuto and the subsequent issues with Hollowfication.

When a Hollow undergoes Shinigami Transformation and becomes an Arrancar, releasing their Zanpakuto might turn them ugly—after all, most Hollows aren't much to look at.

But Shinigami Hollowfication is different. It just puts on a mask, and the appearance is way cooler!

In the world of Shinigami, style and flair are the eternal themes!

Aizen seriously explained Hollowfication and Shinigami abilities to Li Yue. Since Li Yue already had spiritual pressure on par with Kensei Muguruma, awakening his Zanpakuto would be a breeze—maybe even in one session of Blade Meditation. Aizen himself had awakened his Zanpakuto in a single go.

Li Yue had reason to suspect Aizen was showing off, given how good he was at it.

So the next morning, Li Yue got up early to try Blade Meditation.

Calm down, let your thoughts sink into your heart.

"Hey! Li Yue!"

Sink into your heart, enter your inner world—that's where your Zanpakuto is.

"Li Yue! Li Yue!"

Then call out its name.

"Li Yue, hurry up and come down!"

Well, there was no way he could focus!

Li Yue opened his eyes in frustration, turned his head, and saw Hu Tao beside Zhongli, jumping and waving at him.

"Hu Tao, what's up?"

"We agreed the other day to go find Xingqiu today! Remember?"

"The other day?"

Li Yue was confused at first, then blinked.

"Ah, I remember! Coming right down!"

Li Yue had earned room and board by helping Hu Tao sell custom noble coffins, becoming a resident of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. He'd gotten his first income by having Xingqiu publish The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, but that alone wouldn't last a lifetime. So he planned to submit a few more books—no brainpower needed, just copying. He'd read plenty of wuxia novels.

They'd agreed today to visit Xingqiu and publish his second wuxia novel, The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Li Yue had even had Hu Tao write out the original draft early on.

Though Li Yue had come to Liyue, he couldn't read a single word of Teyvat's script. So when copying novels, he had someone else write for him. Last time, he'd used Xingqiu, which left the publisher baffled—Xingqiu had to practically re-narrate the whole book. This time, Li Yue had Hu Tao do it, so he'd bring her along to see Xingqiu.

Too bad Inazuma was in lockdown; otherwise, Li Yue could copy some light novels for Yae Publishing House. Just the two in the group would do!

Jumping off the roof, Li Yue followed Hu Tao out, leaving Zhongli alone at home to sip his tea.

They arrived at the Feiyun Commerce Guild. The staff didn't stop them, letting them right in—one was a recent big name in Liyue Harbor, the other a long-established celebrity, and both were friends of their second young master.

"Xingqiu! We're here!"

Hu Tao announced herself first, shouting before she even saw him.

Inside, Xingqiu heard her voice and stepped out, one hand behind his back.

"No wonder I felt so cheerful this morning—it's because distinguished guests have arrived!"

"Huh? Xingqiu, that's an interesting way to talk. Where'd you learn it?"

Li Yue looked at him curiously.

"From your The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, of course! That's how the sect leaders speak."

Xingqiu kept his hand behind his back as he answered, but after a few seconds, his expression froze.

"Let me think... Among the sect leaders in The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, the one who likes talking like that is most famously Chief Yue. So you're imitating Chief Yue?"

Li Yue grinned, chin in hand, watching Xingqiu.

"Are you trying to be the Gentleman Swordsman too?"

"I'll pass on that."

Xingqiu quickly dropped his hand, looking helpless.

"I just thought it sounded stylish, but being the Gentleman Swordsman? No thanks. Before your The Smiling, Proud Wanderer came out, 'Gentleman Swordsman' might've been a compliment. But now that everyone's read it, it's become an insult."

"So what brings you two here today?"

"I've got a new wuxia novel ready. Hu Tao wrote it out for me, and I wanted you to come with us to the publisher."

"Oh? A new wuxia novel? Let me see!"

Hearing it was wuxia, Xingqiu perked up. As a wuxia author himself, he loved the genre.

"Right here!"

Hu Tao handed over The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Xingqiu started reading on the spot, ignoring Li Yue and Hu Tao entirely.

But both Li Yue and Hu Tao knew this was just Xingqiu's old habit—once he started reading, he completely ignored everyone around him. So they each found a spot to sit down and told the butler to bring them food.

They'd gotten up early without breakfast, so why not mooch a meal off the second young master?

The butler, understanding the situation, served them breakfast. They ate and chatted, and by the time they finished, Xingqiu was still reading. Hu Tao decided to start peddling Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's packages inside the Feiyun Commerce Guild.

Even though Li Yue had suggested Hu Tao create a limited luxury package, ordinary folks still needed business too. So Hu Tao's public promotion of the "second monument half-price" deal was still going strong. Since she was already at the Feiyun Commerce Guild, why not spread the word to the employees here?

Hu Tao went off to promote, Xingqiu kept reading, and Li Yue simply grabbed a chair, sat cross-legged, and began Blade Meditation again.

He closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and sank his consciousness into his inner world.

The pitch-black field of vision gradually brightened. Li Yue opened his eyes to see a blue sky. Looking down at himself, his clothes had turned into a Shinigami uniform.

Success! This was his inner world. Entering it meant he was in his soul form, and since his soul was a Shinigami, he naturally wore the Shinigami uniform.

Li Yue clenched his fists, confirming he could move freely, then began to look around.

What surprised him was that his inner world looked rather peculiar. The entire space seemed to exist on a floating island. Looking up, he saw only the blue sky; looking down, he saw gray-white rocks and soil, along with vine-like gray-white objects everywhere.

"Is my inner world really this desolate?"

Li Yue couldn't help but wonder—this didn't match his love of chaos! He immediately started searching for his Zanpakuto. Since the inner world had already formed, his Zanpakuto must have been born too, though he had no idea where it was.

He began wandering around the massive floating island, searching for his Zanpakuto. But no matter where he went, all he saw was gray-white earth and rock. It wasn't until he reached the edge of the floating island that he spotted something completely out of place.

A chair, brimming with power, its back turned to him.

12. Give me the Zanpakutou!

A sky-bound island, gray-white earth and vines, and at the edge of the floating island, a white plastic patio chair facing away from him!

!Clue detected!

Li Yue's eyes sharpened instantly. He straightened his already tidy clothes, cleared his throat, and started walking toward the White Plastic Chair.

From a distance, he could only see the chair. But as he got closer, he noticed someone sitting in it—though they seemed short, with only a tuft of white hair visible at the top.

That's more like it. This fits my love of chaos!

Li Yue smirked slightly and walked right up.

"Hey, my friend, your lonely days are over."

He extended his right hand.

"Give me the Zanpakutou!"

"If you want it, then you'll have to take it."

A light voice rang out. The figure sitting in the plastic chair, back to Li Yue, slowly stood up, reached out to grab a long sword with a white hilt beside the chair, and stepped out.

"But you already knew that."

White hair reaching the lower back, crimson eyes, delicate fair skin, wearing a modern short-sleeved kimono-style dress with a short skirt, white socks, and black wooden clogs. She was probably under 1.6 meters tall. A perfect image! It was like she was dancing all over his preferences!

Li Yue nodded in satisfaction. His Zanpakuto wasn't some sunglasses-wearing middle-aged man but a white-haired, red-eyed beauty—perfect! His soul really knew what he wanted!

He raised his right hand, and an Asauchi appeared, slung over his shoulder. Li Yue smiled.

"I had a feeling you'd say that."

"How many times have we fought?"

The White-Haired Girl tilted her head slightly.

"Not once! This is our first meeting."

Li Yue drew the Asauchi and pointed it at her. The girl smirked.

"Time to finish this, girl."

She raised her hand and flicked the blade toward him with one hand.

"Once and for all!"

The two faced off, then simultaneously cracked grins.

"Hahaha~"

"Hehehe~"

They both burst out laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, that's the spirit! No wonder you're my Battle Soul Blade!"

Li Yue laughed, pointing at the girl, who looked completely unimpressed.

"Obviously. A Zanpakuto is a product of the soul, basically your soul's other half. I'm your soul's other half—how could I not know what you're thinking? It's just like that meme we love."

"No one knows me better than myself!" X2

They spoke in perfect unison, then locked eyes and burst into laughter again.

"Hahaha~"

"Hehehe~"

After laughing for a while, Li Yue stopped, rubbed his chin, and carefully studied the girl. She noticed him sizing her up, so she put one hand on her hip and flicked her hair with the other, letting him take a good look.

"Well, how do I look? Am I pretty?"

"Pretty! No wonder you're my Zanpakuto—this appearance fits my tastes perfectly!"

Li Yue didn't hesitate to give a thumbs-up, voicing his true thoughts without reservation.

"Of course. I'm your other half—no one knows your tastes better than me. Just like you love pretty girls, I love pretty girls too. But your soul space doesn't have any pretty girls for me to look at, so I figured I'd just become one myself. That way, I can look at me all I want."

Brilliant. No pretty girls to look at, so just become one yourself—so you can admire yourself, like dressing up in a maid outfit during holidays, snapping a photo, and posting it in the group chat to compete with your fellow goofballs over who rocks the crossdress better. As expected of me—truly unique thinking!

"Following the logic of those games you used to play—since there are ship girls and gun girls, I'm basically a sword girl now. The result satisfies both you and me, doesn't it?"

The girl's words made Li Yue raise both hands in agreement.

"Exactly! Characters like this should definitely be pretty girls. No one in their right mind would pull for a guy!"

"Tch, then why did you pull for Zhongli, Kazuha, and Neuvillette?"

"My friend, you know me. I only pull for pretty girls. Male characters just don't do it for me—unless..."

"Unless they're too strong!"

The girl finished his sentence for him.

"Right. The Geo God's weight is reassuring. As for Kazuha—well, he's the Anemo Archon. When you play Original God, why wouldn't you pull for the Seven Archons? And Neuvillette—what can I say? There's a team called 'Neuvillette'!"

"Barbatos feels seriously screwed over."

The girl gave Li Yue a thumbs-up, offering him a virtual like.

"But there's one thing I'm curious about."

Li Yue pointed at the girl's outfit.

"You definitely match my tastes—white hair, red eyes, and white stockings. But why a kimono? You know I've been into JK the most, right? Especially the hottest trend right now—'Don't show your armpits, sensei'—all I think about are my good students. You should be thinking the same as me, so why'd you go with a kimono?"

"What, is a kimono not your thing anymore? Besides, don't some of the students at Schale wear kimonos too? Got a problem with Hyakkiyako Academy?"