Upgrading in Progress (Part 2)

Zhang Miao slashed down, but the spray of blood he had expected never appeared. He did not even feel his blade strike anything.

It was as though he had cut through thin air.

Not only that, as he swung his blade down, a prickling sensation instantly swept across his entire body, prompting him to pull back his sword and block on instinct.

Clang!

A crisp sound rang out from the Soul Reaper Blade, accompanied by an immense force that sent Zhang Miao flying several meters away.

Zhang Miao had only just regained his footing when a deep voice sounded behind him.

"Ho, not bad reflexes, Bleach!"

"You're not bad yourself!"

Zhang Miao smiled faintly, then slowly turned around to look at the Adjuchas behind him, whose fist had not yet been withdrawn.

"You're the first Hollow to dodge my blade. But there's one thing you've got wrong—or rather, I got my identity wrong. Who told you I was a Bleach, Kool?"

"Hm?"

Perhaps because Zhang Miao had denied being a Bleach, or perhaps because he had called out his name, Kool froze for a moment, confusion flashing through his eyes.

"You..."

Just as Kool was about to speak, a pair of sharp claws silently appeared behind him and raked viciously toward his neck!

Slash...

With the sound of sharp blades cutting into leather, ten crisscrossing claw marks instantly appeared across Kool's right arm and back. The blood that poured out dyed half his body red in an instant.

It was Cigarette Butt's sneak attack!

Although Cigarette Butt's attack had landed on Kool, both Cigarette Butt and Zhang Miao showed a trace of regret in their eyes.

Cigarette Butt had aimed for Kool's neck. If those claws had connected solidly, even if Kool did not lose his head, he would have