Chapter Summaries

After nearly a month of training under Kūkaku, Duan Mu left the Great Kūkaku Training Hall and used most of his saved experience to improve his Spiritual Pressure and combat techniques. He reached Stage Five, equivalent to a High-ranking Officer, and kept 2,000 experience points in reserve.

• Kūkaku finally let Duan Mu leave the training hall after his results barely satisfied her and he argued that he needed to earn money; Iwao remained underground, struggling in the specially made arenas.
• Duan Mu assessed his training gains and planned to invest experience in Spiritual Pressure, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kidō rather than putting everything into Spiritual Pressure.
• Duan Mu spent 4,160 experience points to raise his Spiritual Pressure to 7,000 and invested over 3,000 points to bring Hakuda and Shunpo to Intermediate.
• Duan Mu activated Raikōhō, improved Rikujōkōrō and Seki, learned Enzansen, and raised Post-chanting to Intermediate.
• Duan Mu spent 13,000 experience points in total, saved 2,000, and reached Stage Five, equivalent to a High-ranking Officer.

After returning to District 38, Duan Mu found Daimaru’s men waiting outside Yorozuya and learned that Uzuki had been dealing with them. Their second-in-command, Diao Ao, explained that they had come to commission work: they wanted Duan Mu to help them hold their territory in District 79.

• Duan Mu returned to District 38, where Brewing Granny warned him that intimidating men from a higher-numbered district had been visiting his shop.
• Duan Mu hurried to Yorozuya and found Daimaru’s men standing guard outside, then nearly punched Diao Ao when he heard him call for Uzuki’s help.
• Uzuki told Duan Mu that the men had claimed to be customers for five days but had scared away the shop’s customers by lingering outside.
• Duan Mu invited the men into Yorozuya, and Diao Ao introduced himself as Daimaru’s second-in-command.
• Diao Ao asked Duan Mu to help the group hold their territory in District 79.

Diao Ao and his companions hired Duan Mu’s shop to stop followers from District 80 from targeting them after Daimaru’s death. Duan Mu accepted the commission for two hundred thousand rings, intending to test his strength.

• Diao Ao explained that news of Daimaru’s death had drawn the attention of a faction connected to District 80’s Great Villains.
• Duan Mu initially refused the job because District 80 was involved, but reconsidered when Scarface offered two hundred thousand rings.
• Diao Ao said the commission was to make the attackers stop targeting his group by any means.
• Duan Mu accepted the money and promised not to betray his clients for a higher offer.
• Diao Ao left the commission in Duan Mu’s hands.

Duan Mu accepted Diao Ao’s commission to protect West District 79 from Habutae, a powerful leader from District 80 who threatened to take over the district by noon. He planned to visit the Shiba Clan first to evade the Onmitsukidō monitoring him, then head to District 79.

• Uzuki asked whether Duan Mu was confident about the commission, and he said his time with Brother Iwao had prepared him for it.
• Duan Mu told Uzuki to reopen Yorozuya the next day and accept non-urgent commissions while he handled the job.
• Diao Ao and his companions arrived early and warned Duan Mu that Habutae would forcibly take over West District 79 if they did not submit by noon.
• Diao Ao explained that Habutae was as strong as Daimaru and had once ruled District 78 before joining a Great Villain in District 80.
• Diao Ao said his group would fight Habutae rather than become her cannon fodder, and Duan Mu told them to return while he visited the Shiba Clan first.
• Duan Mu realized the Onmitsukidō had resumed watching him and planned to use his visit to the Shiba Clan to shake their surveillance before going to District 79.

Duan Mu arrived in West District 79 to help its residents face an invasion from District 80, expecting to assess the situation before acting. When the fighting began without warning, Diao Ao convinced him to stop worrying about strategy and get it done.

• Duan Mu arrived in West District 79 and found its residents feared him because of his brutal reputation.
• Diao Ao asked whether Shiba Kūkaku had come, then urged Duan Mu to stay when he learned Duan Mu had arrived alone.
• Duan Mu sensed nearly two hundred people approaching, and the residents of District 79 gathered to meet them.
• Habutae led the District 80 villains in an attack, ordering them to kill everyone as the two groups charged at each other.
• Duan Mu grabbed Diao Ao to ask why they were fighting without talking, then let him go and shouted for everyone to get it done.

Duan Mu revealed himself as a powerful Soul Reaper by incinerating Habutae’s forces as they fled into town. With his deathly aura on display, Daimaru wondered how someone like him had died so young.

• Habutae’s forces overwhelmed Daimaru’s side with superior combat skills, while Daimaru searched for the vanished Duan Mu.
• Habutae confronted Daimaru and noticed that the spiritual pressure of the groups she had sent to block the town’s exits was rapidly disappearing.
• Daimaru mistook Habutae’s returning subordinates for reinforcements and cursed Duan Mu for abandoning them, unaware that they were fleeing.
• Duan Mu appeared behind the retreating forces and used Bakudō no Thirty-One: Kakka Hō to engulf them and the rear of the town in flames.
• Duan Mu walked through the blaze with a deathly aura, and Daimaru wondered how such a dangerous man had died.

Duan Mu intervened in the battle between Diao Ao’s group and Habutae’s forces, ensuring they could retreat before facing Habutae. He overwhelmed more than a hundred attackers with Hakuda, leaving Habutae to watch as her force’s coordination collapsed.

• Duan Mu concealed himself with Light-Bending and moved to secure the group’s escape route as Habutae gathered her scattered subordinates.
• Diao Ao stationed stronger subordinates on both sides of the town, while Habutae challenged Duan Mu and ordered her forces to attack him.
• Duan Mu’s feint provoked the attackers into unleashing their Spiritual Power before they could coordinate, and he vanished to strike their flank.
• Duan Mu killed the attackers with rapid punches, kicks, and Hakuda techniques, throwing the survivors into disarray.
• Habutae observed Duan Mu tearing through her forces, while he used the fight to practice his moves.

Duan Mu defeated Habutae’s forces in West District 79 and reflected on how much he enjoyed the battle, while Diao Ao nervously confirmed that the commission was complete. Habutae fled to West District 80, grew curious about Duan Mu, and unexpectedly raised her favorability toward him.

• Duan Mu fought through Habutae’s attackers, becoming more precise as he gave in to the thrill of combat, while Habutae retreated.
• Duan Mu let the remaining attackers flee or die, then reviewed the battle and saw that his Shunpo, Hakuda, and spiritual pressure had improved.
• Diao Ao backed away from Duan Mu until Duan Mu asked whether the commission was complete, prompting Diao Ao to confirm it and offer extra payment.
• Habutae reached West District 80, feared Duan Mu’s growing strength, and decided to investigate him because she found him more appealing than the district’s other villains.
• Duan Mu saw that Habutae’s favorability had increased by five points and gained 200 experience, then remarked on the villains’ strange thinking.

Duan Mu dealt with new commissions and arranged for Diao Ao’s group to gather timber for house repairs. As Ganju learned why the men had come to respect Duan Mu, the group set off to cut trees on Kofusan.

• Uzuki complained about Duan Mu’s drinking and unpaid wages, then gave him the urgent commission slips.
• Shiba Ganju returned with Hawk and his other lackeys, saying he had completed all ten of Kūkaku’s training platforms.
• Diao Ao and his men arrived, apologized to Ganju, and admitted they were afraid of retaliation from District 80.
• Duan Mu assigned Diao Ao’s group to cut the trees needed for upcoming house-repair commissions and leave them at the foot of Kofusan.
• Uzuki explained the situation to Ganju, who became curious about why Diao Ao’s group feared and respected Duan Mu.

Duan Mu finished a renovation for Emiri and learned that her adopted son, Kosuke, longed for modern Human World comforts. Back at Yorozuya, he found Uzuki turning the shop into a tavern and accepted a goods-escort commission tied to an upcoming Fourth Division ceremony.

• Duan Mu renovated Emiri’s house, gained her favorability, and heard her praise her son Kosuke and describe his requests for a kotatsu, television, and handheld game console.
• Duan Mu returned home with food from West District 7 residents and tallied 2,800 experience points after a busy month of work and training.
• Duan Mu found the villains drinking at Yorozuya, ordered them out, and watched Diao Ao lead them away.
• Uzuki told Duan Mu she planned to move Yorozuya upstairs and turn the first floor into a tavern, with Iwao and Diao Ao helping with the renovation.
• Uzuki gave Duan Mu a commission from families in District 43 to escort goods to Byakudō Gate, explaining that the Fourth Division was preparing for a lieutenant captain replacement ceremony.

Duan Mu joined President Shinno’s caravan to escort goods from District 43, but Shinno reassigned him to push carts after learning he had come alone. Shinno explained that unusually strong bandits had begun robbing caravans about a month earlier, and Duan Mu suspected the timing might be connected to the Yorozuya’s new tavern employees.

• Duan Mu arrived at the farm and President Shinno identified him as the Yorozuya’s owner from District 38.
• President Shinno accepted Duan Mu for the commission but told him to stay in the convoy’s middle and help push carts.
• Duan Mu set out with the caravan and asked President Shinno why it needed protection.
• President Shinno explained that bandits from District 55 sometimes robbed caravans outside Procurement Season and that unusually strong newcomers had begun taking goods about a month earlier.
• President Shinno said he had hired Duan Mu because he had heard the Yorozuya had gained several strong, fierce-looking employees.
• Duan Mu told President Shinno that Uzuki had turned the Yorozuya’s first floor into a tavern, then wondered whether the timing was more than coincidence.

Duan Mu considered how to strengthen his combat style and develop new techniques, relying on the system to help him refine promising prototypes. As the convoy traveled through bandit-prone territory, he reflected on the system’s ability to deduce a new skill from a single acknowledged prototype.

• Duan Mu joked with President Shinno and the others that he could carve a safe tunnel through the mountains if they could afford to hire him.
• The convoy reached the foot of the mountain near District 55, and its guards spread out and watched for bandits.
• Duan Mu assessed his strength and considered combining Hakuda with Shunpo or Kido to prepare for enemies wielding Zanpakuto.
• Duan Mu recalled how he fused Seikaku with White Lightning to create the prototype Lightning Rope, then used the system’s deductions to complete the new Kido.
• Duan Mu concluded that the system’s strongest ability was developing a technique from an initial prototype to its limit.

Duan Mu detected an ambush on President Shinno’s convoy and defeated the bandit leader, only to recognize him as Takahashi, a regular at the Uzuki Bar. After frightening the bandits into fleeing, Duan Mu told President Shinno to continue the journey.

• Duan Mu spotted an ambush ahead and warned the convoy, prompting President Shinno to halt it.
• Dozens of bandits rushed down the hills, and their leader demanded the convoy leave its cargo behind.
• When the leader recognized Duan Mu, Duan Mu appeared behind him and pinned him to the ground.
• Duan Mu recognized the leader as Takahashi, a regular at the Uzuki Bar who supplied the bar with liquor bought using protection money.
• Duan Mu released his spiritual pressure, terrified the bandits, and sent them fleeing before kicking Takahashi into the forest.
• Duan Mu told President Shinno to keep the convoy moving.

Duan Mu escorted President Shinno’s caravan to Seireitei, where he reunited with Jidanbō at the Byakudō Gate. The Fourth Division arrived to collect the delivery, led by the timid-looking Yamadatarō.

• After the bandits fled, President Shinno moved Duan Mu from cart-pushing duty into the caravan’s guard party.
• The caravan traveled along the main road to Seireitei, and hungry Duan Mu resolved to buy himself a meal after the delivery.
• At the Byakudō Gate, Jidanbō greeted Duan Mu warmly and praised the rest house Duan Mu had built for him.
• When a caravan member asked what Duan Mu had done while alive, Duan Mu pointed out the approaching Fourth Division delegation.
• Yamadatarō led the Fourth Division group to the caravan and asked them to hand over the goods.

Duan Mu unexpectedly reunited with Konai, his former student, while the Patrol Team inspected Fourth Division supplies at the Byakudō Gate. Her greeting revealed their connection, and the Fourth Division members recognized Duan Mu as the Yorozuya owner who had helped train their talented new Advanced Medical Unit member.

• Duan Mu spotted Konai among the Fourth Division personnel and remembered teaching her Kido and other subjects at his Shinigami cram school.
• Konai overcame her shyness, greeted Duan Mu, and called him her teacher, puzzling the Fourth Division members and President Shinno.
• Duan Mu explained that Konai had studied with him before graduating from the Soul Reaper Academy and joining the Fourth Division.
• The Fourth Division members recognized Duan Mu as the Yorozuya owner Konai had described as skilled in medicine preparation and Kido.
• The chapter explained that Konai’s talent and broad training helped her excel in the entrance assessment and join the 14th Advanced Medical Unit directly.

Duan Mu tried to build connections with Fourth Division members by offering medical exchanges, then overheard a 9th Division researcher spreading dubious rumors about Rukongai. He left the tavern convinced the reported war between South District 80 and West District 80 was fake news.

• Duan Mu invited Fourth Division members to exchange medical knowledge at his shop and offered them discounts.
• The Fourth Division completed its cargo inspection, settled payment, and entered Seireitei.
• Duan Mu visited Uncle Watanabe’s tavern and overheard two 9th Division members discussing the Fourth Division’s former Lieutenant Captain and rumors from Rukongai.
• A young Soul Reaper claimed South District 80 was preparing for war with West District 80, based on unconfirmed information from North Rukongai.
• Duan Mu dismissed the claim as fake news and left the tavern.

Duan Mu encountered the badly wounded Habutae carrying her nearly dead boss and accepted her commission to protect them. He faced a group of armed pursuers and prepared to defend them.

• Duan Mu walked through the wilderness with wine and thought about training and his dwindling experience.
• Habutae burst from the woods, wounded and carrying a gravely injured man whose presence made Duan Mu instinctively wary.
• Habutae offered Duan Mu a commission fee of one million rings, and he shielded her and the man from their pursuers with Enzansen.
• Duan Mu asked for the commission's terms, and Habutae told him to protect the two of them until her boss woke up.
• Duan Mu gained experience from Habutae's favorability and accepted the commission.

Duan Mu accepted Habutae’s commission and faced Jiu Su, whose combat instincts nearly caught him with a sword strike. Recognizing the danger of the District 80 fighters, Duan Mu advanced into their coordinated attack with his spiritual pressure unleashed, and the chapter ended as their weapons closed in around him.

• Jiu Su offered Duan Mu double the commission fee to hand over Habutae and the other woman, but Duan Mu disappeared to attack him.
• Jiu Su anticipated Duan Mu’s Shunpo and slashed his clothes, making Duan Mu realize his opponent’s battle instincts and experience were formidable.
• Jiu Su ordered his dozen fighters to attack Duan Mu after his own strike failed to stop him.
• Duan Mu unleashed his spiritual pressure and walked toward the attackers instead of retreating or using Shunpo.
• Duan Mu dodged an axe strike as the other fighters attacked from every direction, surrounding him with their weapons.

Duan Mu unleashed his full strength against Jiu Su’s subordinates, using skilled swordsmanship, close combat, and powerful Kidō to defeat them. Habutae realized how much stronger he was than when they had last fought, while Jiu Su’s whereabouts remained unclear.

• Duan Mu used Intermediate Zanjutsu to read the attackers’ movements and dodge their blades while blocking unavoidable strikes with Bakudō #8: Kyaku.
• Duan Mu killed one swordsman with Hado #4: Byakurai and attacked a bald man with Kakka Hō.
• Duan Mu blasted the ground with Kakka Hō, throwing Jiu Su’s charging subordinates off balance and launching himself into the air.
• Jiu Su warned his subordinates as Duan Mu chanted and unleashed Kidō #63: Raikōhō, leaving the attackers charred in a vast crater.
• Habutae stared at Duan Mu in shock, realized Jiu Su was missing, and shouted a warning.

Duan Mu survived Jiu Su’s ambush by spending his remaining experience to heal while evading him, forcing Jiu Su to flee. As Iwao and the others arrived, they mistook Habutae for an enemy, and Duan Mu ordered them to stop.

• Jiu Su shattered Duan Mu’s Kidō restraints and slashed him severely, but Duan Mu began healing himself by pouring his remaining experience into Kido.
• Duan Mu used Shunpo to evade Jiu Su while healing, and Jiu Su eventually abandoned the fight and escaped.
• Duan Mu sat down, exhausted, and Habutae approached him; her favorability rose to 40 and earned him 640 experience points.
• Iwao arrived with Diao Ao and their companions, and Diao Ao mistook Habutae for a threat and charged at her.
• Duan Mu glared at the man who called for them not to waste his sacrifice and told Iwao to stop them because Habutae was not an enemy.