Chapter Summaries

The Captain-Commander explained to Chōjirō that Lu Li’s instinctive combat choices had let him defeat Yoruichi despite her speed advantage. Meanwhile, Aizen mistook Lu Li’s exhaustion from secret training with Captain Unohana for the result of forbidden experiments and urged him to restrain himself.

• The Captain-Commander told Chōjirō he planned to teach occasional classes at the True Spirit Arts Academy, not reopen Genryū.
• The Captain-Commander explained that Lu Li beat Yoruichi in Hakuda by making better combat decisions, even though she was faster.
• Chōjirō considered how instinctive choices could matter more than technique in battle, and the Captain-Commander planned to return for another class.
• Aizen noticed Lu Li was exhausted and assumed he had been conducting forbidden experiments with Captain Unohana.
• Lu Li was bewildered when Aizen told him to restrain himself, since he had kept his daily training with Unohana secret.

Lu Li discussed the academy’s Seven Mysteries with Aizen, then reflected on his training and his repeated failure to resonate with his Asauchi. He wondered whether the roars and whispers in his soul meant something was wrong, and Aizen asked whether Lu Li hated himself.

• Aizen told Lu Li that rumors of his intense Healing Kidō practice had made it one of the academy’s Seven Mysteries.
• Lu Li reviewed his progress in Shunpo, Healing Kidō, and other techniques, and decided to prioritize combat skills while continuing to train.
• Lu Li tried to resonate with his Asauchi and sensed a vast purple-black abyss in his soul, along with terrifying roars and strange whispers.
• Lu Li asked Aizen what it had been like to hear his Zanpakuto’s voice for the first time.
• Aizen explained that a Zanpakuto reflected its Master’s soul and asked Lu Li whether he hated himself.
• Lu Li remembered that Master and his Senior Apprentice-Sister were the two people he cherished most, and that both had been killed before his eyes.

Lu Li investigated the strange scene he had encountered in his soul and discovered a Hell-like realm containing a chained, Demon God-like figure. The figure roared instead of revealing its name, then forced Lu Li out of the resonance as dawn approached.

• Lu Li reviewed his improved attributes and reasoned that his Reiwei might be sufficient to use Shikai.
• Lu Li entered a deeper resonance with his soul while Aizen turned out the lights and studied.
• Lu Li crossed into a purple-black Hell and found a lava cage with an open door.
• Lu Li saw a pitch-black figure bound in chains and asked for its name.
• The figure roared, shaking Hell, and Lu Li was swept out of the resonance and woke in bed near dawn.

The Captain-Commander singled out Lu Li for a Hakuda lesson and overwhelmed him with a restrained punch, but Lu Li recovered and kept fighting. As the Captain-Commander smashed him into the ground, Lu Li launched a counterattack that briefly surprised the old man.

• The Captain-Commander called Lu Li forward to spar after hearing about his Hakuda ability.
• Lu Li accepted the challenge and removed his uniform top, while the Captain-Commander revealed his battle-scarred physique.
• The Captain-Commander's presence briefly stiffened Lu Li before his first punch sent Lu Li crashing into a wall and badly injured his right arm.
• Lu Li used Healing Kidō to restore his arm and charged again, but the Captain-Commander caught his kick and slammed him into the ground.
• Lu Li's arm shot through the dust toward the Captain-Commander, drawing a hint of surprise from him.

Lu Li fought the Captain-Commander in a second round, adapting to his attacks before finally being knocked down. Afterward, Lu Li resolved to keep challenging him and asked Aizen how he could win, ending with renewed excitement despite learning how vast the Captain-Commander's advantages were.

• Lu Li escaped the Captain-Commander's hold and resumed their fight, insisting that trading blows suited him better.
• Lu Li adapted to the Captain-Commander's attacks and countered during their fast-paced exchange, astonishing Yoruichi and Aizen.
• The Captain-Commander found an opening and struck Lu Li into a wall, ending the spar, though Lu Li had briefly touched the Captain-Commander's heart.
• The Captain-Commander told Lu Li to heal and announced he would return for more training over the next two days.
• Lu Li asked Aizen how he could defeat the Captain-Commander, and Aizen explained that the older Shinigami's experience, perception, reflexes, and physical advantages could not be suppressed.
• Lu Li accepted Aizen's explanation but said it made the challenge even more exciting.

Lu Li sought early graduation from the Spirit Arts Academy, but the Head Captain warned him that a difficult trial would decide whether he could leave early. With only four days of stay time remaining, Lu Li prepared for the final exam as Aizen doubted he could defeat the likely Captain examiner.

• The Head Captain defeated Lu Li in their spar and offered him one chance to graduate early if he satisfied the Examiner.
• Lu Li treated his injuries and saw that sparring with the Head Captain had greatly improved his combat specializations, especially Force Redirection.
• Aizen questioned Lu Li’s haste to graduate and warned that early graduation could mean facing a Captain in the final trial.
• Lu Li told Aizen he wanted excitement and urged him to graduate too, but Aizen declined and wished him success in setting a speed record.

Lu Li feared that a special graduation exam against a Captain could kill him, so he sought Aizen’s advice and decided he needed to master Shikai. Aizen agreed to help him and demonstrated Kyōka Suigetsu.

• Lu Li asked Aizen which Captains might examine him, and Aizen named Akimoto Yoshitaka, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, and Unohana as possibilities.
• Aizen warned that the exam would likely be an unrestricted fight and that a Captain could use Shikai, making the test extremely dangerous for Lu Li.
• Lu Li realized he needed to strengthen his Zanpakuto abilities and asked Aizen to demonstrate his Shikai.
• Aizen promised to teach Lu Li Shikai within two days, then released Kyōka Suigetsu with the command, “Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu.”

Aizen used Kyōka Suigetsu to hypnotize Lu Li and help him reach the depths of his soul, where he confronted the black Demon God again. Lu Li was thrown out of the encounter, and Aizen was left unable to explain the strange Reiatsu he had sensed.

• Lu Li saw that his personal menu listed him as under Kyōka Suigetsu's Complete Hypnosis, then explained to Aizen how the being in his soul had driven him away.
• Aizen suggested Lu Li might be resisting his own power and proposed hypnotherapy to help him reach deep resonance.
• Aizen guided Lu Li into a hypnotic state, and Lu Li returned to Hell and faced the black Demon God inside the cage.
• The Demon God sent Lu Li flying with a violent wind before he could ask its name again.
• Aizen woke Lu Li after he remained unconscious for hours and reported that Lu Li's Reiatsu had turned unusually violent and faintly purple-black.

Lu Li tried to awaken his Zanpakuto with Aizen’s help but remained unable to achieve Shikai before his early graduation assessment. After earning full marks in his standard exams, he entered the final trial and found Retsu Unohana waiting as his Examiner.

• Lu Li continued hypnosis training with Aizen, then rested before the day of his final assessment.
• Lu Li learned that early graduation required both passing the Examiner’s trial and achieving Shikai, despite still being unable to awaken his Zanpakuto.
• Lu Li completed his standard examinations, earning full marks in his courses and a Sixteenth Grade Reiatsu rating.
• Lu Li entered a restricted-reiatsu examination room on the teaching building’s top floor and discovered Retsu Unohana was his Examiner.
• Lu Li shared tea with Unohana before their opposing auras began to clash across the table.

Lu Li faced Retsu Unohana in his final examination under a Reiatsu Limiter, and their test became a bloody fight to the death. Unohana believed her experience and remaining strength made victory inevitable as Lu Li rose to continue fighting.

• Retsu Unohana and Lu Li clashed in the tea room after the Reiatsu Limiter suppressed their Reiatsu.
• Lu Li wounded Unohana, whose pain intensified her excitement, and she healed the cut instantly.
• The two exchanged dozens of strikes, leaving Lu Li wounded and his martial robe in tatters; Unohana noticed he could heal himself without using his hands.
• Lu Li used an improvised unarmed defense to stop Unohana's palm strike, then recovered his Asauchi by flipping the tatami.
• Unohana recognized Lu Li's unconventional combat style but judged that her experience and physical toughness still gave her the advantage.
• Lu Li emerged from a dent in the wall covered in sword wounds as Unohana watched, convinced that he had little chance of winning.

After suffering heavy injuries in his final exam with Unohana, Lu Li awakened his Zanpakuto, Prison Demon, and fought her at full strength. Their battle ended with Unohana conceding defeat, while Lu Li chose to leave the Fourth Division and see the wider world.

• Lu Li named his Zanpakuto Prison Demon and released it, gaining a surge in Reiatsu and combat ability.
• Unohana welcomed Lu Li’s Shikai and resumed their final exam, exchanging dozens of strikes with him across the room.
• Lu Li used the recoil of a blocked strike to launch himself from the ceiling and press his attack.
• Lu Li and Unohana charged through a shattered wall and struck each other, leaving Lu Li’s left arm nearly severed and Unohana with a deep wound across her chest.
• Unohana recognized Lu Li as the victor and offered him a place in the Fourth Division, but Lu Li declined so he could explore the wider world.

Lu Li passed Unohana’s assessment and completed his main quest after winning their fight, awakening Prison Demon as his exclusive Zanpakuto. With two days left before End Space forcibly returned him, he left the examination hall and found Aizen waiting with fresh clothes.

• Unohana healed Lu Li’s severed arm and told him he had passed the assessment, while Lu Li realized she had held back and asked what the test required.
• Unohana revealed that passing only required surviving ten minutes against her, then awarded Lu Li full marks and said he would join the Gotei 13 the next day.
• End Space notified Lu Li that he had completed the main quest and could remain in the Shinigami world for at most two more days.
• Lu Li inspected Prison Demon and found that it had become a Rare-grade growth-type Zanpakuto with Shikai abilities that boosted his combat attributes and inflicted stacking Erosion.
• Lu Li left the examination hall and found Aizen waiting outside with a fresh set of clothes.

After passing Captain Unohana’s assessment, Lu Li graduated from the Spirit Arts Academy and chose to join the Fifth Division despite the Captain-Commander’s invitation to the First Division. The Captains accepted his choice, leaving Lu Li set to begin his new assignment before returning to End Space.

• Lu Li told Aizen that he had passed Unohana’s assessment, awakened his Zanpakuto, and planned to join the Fifth Division.
• At the graduation ceremony, the Captain-Commander praised Lu Li and invited him to join the First Division, drawing the Captains’ attention.
• Lu Li declined the Captain-Commander’s offer and announced that he had chosen the Fifth Division.
• Akimoto Yoshitaka welcomed Lu Li to the Fifth Division, while Unohana’s hope of training him personally faded.

Lu Li drew a Menos Grande away from civilians in the Living World, then was pulled back to End Space just before it vanished into a Black Portal. He settled into his private room and received an S- evaluation, a level increase, and a choice of rewards.

• Lu Li and his fellow Shinigami encountered a Menos Grande rampaging through an Edo Period town.
• Lu Li activated Prison Demon’s Shikai, attacked the Menos Grande, and drew it toward the outskirts while ordering the others to retreat east.
• The Menos Grande opened a Black Portal and dragged Lu Li toward Hueco Mundo, but End Space extracted him as his remaining time ran out.
• Lu Li arrived safely in his private room, learned about his Explorer Mark and new permissions, and reshaped the room into his former martial arts school.
• End Space awarded Lu Li an S- evaluation, an S-rank Honor Badge, and a promotion to level three, then offered him six rewards from which to choose three.

Lu Li chose his rewards, accepted End Space's offer to become a Pioneer, and emerged into the space to seek information about his new surroundings. He began learning the basics from Black Cyclone after bargaining down the price.

• Lu Li selected Free Attribute Points, the Fearless title, and a Small Inheritance Crystal as his rewards.
• End Space offered Lu Li a Pioneer contract, and he accepted after reviewing its risks, duties, and privileges.
• End Space changed Lu Li's number to Pioneer 008 and upgraded his Explorer Mark to deep violet.
• Lu Li left his room and explored the vine-filled settlement, where Black Cyclone approached him and offered information.
• Lu Li negotiated Black Cyclone's fee from 500 Doomsday Coins to 50, and Black Cyclone began explaining End Space.

Lu Li learned more about End Space, reinforced his attributes, and visited the First-Tier Explorer Trading Market to look for a cultivation method. He found a Rare-grade Armament Haki Training Method and began considering its potential.

• Lu Li learned from Black Cyclone that failed Explorers could become Supporters, then paid him 50 Doomsday Coins for the information.
• Lu Li entered a Man-Eating Flower at the Reinforcement Hall and allocated his five free attribute points to Constitution, Strength, and Agility.
• After reinforcement, Lu Li visited the First-Tier Explorer Trading Market and learned about equipment prices and the difficulty of finding Inheritance Crystals.
• Lu Li inspected a Rare-grade Armament Haki Training Method and considered its growth potential and possible usefulness in future mission worlds.

Lu Li traded two small Inheritance Crystals for an Armament Haki learning item and awakened the ability in End Space. After testing its defenses, he decided to study it through practice before spending resources to upgrade it.

• Lu Li bargained with the stall owner and traded two small Inheritance Crystals for the Armament Haki item.
• The stall owner explained that the item had been a Marine Headquarters textbook certified after his mission in the One Piece World.
• Lu Li bought a Rare-grade recovery item, returned home, and asked End Space to awaken his Armament Haki.
• After five hours, Lu Li gained Armament Haki at level three and tested its metallic coating against Prison Demon.
• Lu Li judged the skill valuable but chose to seek insight through training before using an Inheritance Crystal and Doomsday Coins to upgrade it.

After training in End Space, Lu Li was deployed to the mutated world of Kengan Ashura to contain the Seed of Origin. He arrived in Shikubi Prison as a death row inmate, with the world’s fighters growing stronger as the mutation progressed.

• Lu Li completed his training, raising his Armament Haki to Level 4 and improving his attributes.
• End Space announced a Seed of Origin had appeared in Kengan Ashura and explained that containing it could grant a unique ability.
• Lu Li spent an Inheritance Crystal and Doomsday Coins to raise his Armament Haki to Level 5 before deployment.
• End Space sent Lu Li into the mutated Kengan Ashura world alongside eighteen other Explorers.
• Lu Li discovered he had arrived cuffed in a Shikubi Prison cell as a death row inmate whose identity shared his name.

Lu Li entered a prison execution match hoping to gain access to powerful fighting techniques, but he killed the other contestants and attacked the event’s organizer. He left the Warden alive as he moved on from the execution yard.

• Lu Li was summoned from his cell and identified the other prisoners as Nagashima Ginji and Bando Yohei.
• Takada Kiyosuke announced that the prisoners could earn temporary freedom by defeating their opponents.
• Nagashima Ginji crushed his handcuffs and killed Bando Yohei with a single punch.
• Lu Li broke his cuffs, killed Bando Yohei with a knee strike, and leaped to the second-floor platform.
• Lu Li killed Takada Kiyosuke after the president called him a potential hunting dog, then walked past the trembling Warden.

After escaping prison, Lu Li weighed his missions and learned from the Public Channel that the Seed of Origin was one of nine legendary Seeds. He sought a way to reach the Wu Clan as he prepared to pursue the Seed and the Violator.

• Lu Li escaped prison, rejected the idea of fighting as a merchant's pawn, and reviewed his tournament, Violator-hunting, and Seed of Origin missions.
• Lu Li reasoned that the Seed of Origin was likely held by one of the tournament's known fighters and decided to locate himself before choosing his next move.
• The next day in Tokyo, Lu Li ate ramen with money taken from street punks and read the Public Channel's discussion of the Seed.
• Lu Li concluded that the Seed was valuable and considered whether the Violator could also access the Public Channel.
• Lu Li asked the Public Channel how to get to the Wu Clan.