The End

Name: Duan Mu

Race: Human

Level: Seventh Stage

Physique: Beginner (108/500)

Spiritual Pressure: Intermediate (84/10000)

Hakuda: Low (894/1000)

Shunpo: Low (576/1000)

Zanjutsu: Low (203/1000)

Zanpakuto: Not Activated (Activation Conditions Unknown)

Kido:

Hado:

Low-Level Hado 'Numbers 1–29': Quantity (4) (↓Expand to View Details)

Intermediate Hado 'Numbers 30–59': Quantity (2) (↓Expand to View Details)

Bakudo:

Low-Level Bakudo 'Numbers 1–29': Quantity (5) (↓Expand to View Details)

Intermediate Bakudo 'Numbers 30–59': Quantity (2) (↓Expand to View Details)

Special Techniques:

Canceled Incantation, Low (486/1000)

Kido: Low (64/1000)

Current Experience: 11400

↓Expand to View Affinity Interface.

Over the past six months, the "Soul Reaper Cram School" founded by Duan Mu had recruited more than a hundred students. Over sixty of them were female, and these female students had provided Duan Mu with anywhere from ten experience points to several hundred each.

Altogether, they had actually contributed more than five thousand experience points. But in order to guide the students better and have them bring in more classmates, Duan Mu had invested all those experience points into Kido.

To possess enough knowledge to teach his students, he needed at least the corresponding Kido to reach the low level.

Activating a Kido required fifty experience points, while advancing it from beginner to low level required another five hundred. Duan Mu had to spend at least 550 experience points on each Kido, leaving him perpetually in a state of "running at a deficit."

Thanks to this, his level had risen from the "Seventh Stage," equivalent to that of an elite Soul Reaper, to the "Sixth Stage," where he could contend with a low-ranking seated officer.

To fill the gap, he had also invested the experience points he obtained from other people into Kido.

Naturally, those other people included Shiba Kūkaku. However, several months ago, after Shiba Kūkaku had provided him with 2,700 experience points, her affinity had hit a bottleneck. No matter how Duan Mu tried to make his presence felt in front of her, her affinity remained fixed at 9 points.

Simply making his presence felt was no longer enough to increase Shiba Kūkaku's affinity toward him.

In the end, Duan Mu could only helplessly give up on obtaining more experience points from Shiba Kūkaku and instead rack his brains for every possible way to increase his students' affinity toward him.

Thoughts flashed rapidly through his mind, and a trace of regret appeared in Duan Mu's eyes.

If he had known he would encounter such a powerful enemy in Rukongai, he would have kept the experience points even at the cost of damaging his shop's reputation, so he could deal with the current situation instead of squandering them all—

Huh?

Duan Mu's pupils abruptly widened, and his will once again focused on the system interface in his mind.

Current Experience: 11400

How was this possible???

Duan Mu felt his head buzz. The spiritual pressure flowing into the White Lightning in his hand stopped, and without the replenishment of spiritual pressure, the White Lightning rapidly dispersed and gradually vanished!

In the distance, smoke curled from Daimaru's right fist, sending out waves of meaty aroma. The intense pain twisted his expression slightly.

Even with the support of his formidable spiritual pressure, his right hand had still suffered severe damage. However, Daimaru, who had struggled on the brink of life and death for years, paid no attention to such pain. His gaze toward Duan Mu was even burning with fervor.

A guy whose spiritual pressure was far weaker than his own had actually posed such a great threat to him with nothing but low-level Kido.

If he learned it himself...

A feral grin spread across Daimaru's face. He had decided that not only Shiba Ganju, but also the black-haired young man before him, would become his!

Judging from what had just happened, this young man had clearly reached his limit and was no longer capable of threatening him.

With that thought, and not giving Duan Mu any chance to recover or regroup, he charged toward him again, the fanaticism in his eyes growing even more intense.

At this moment, however, Duan Mu's attention was no longer on him at all, because he had finally figured out where the 11,400 experience points had come from!

"Shiba Kūkaku" Affinity +1, obtained 600 experience points. Current affinity: 10.

"Shiba Kūkaku" Affinity +1, obtained 600 experience points. Current affinity: 11.

"Shiba Kūkaku" Affinity +1, obtained 600 experience points. Current affinity: 19.

"Shiba Kūkaku" Affinity +1, obtained 1,200 experience points. Current affinity: 20.

"Shiba Kūkaku" Affinity +1, obtained 1,200 experience points. Current affinity: 25.

Shiba Kūkaku was nearby!!

Duan Mu instantly understood. Only that could explain why her affinity toward him had suddenly surged so dramatically.

And furthermore...

She had most likely been following them from behind the entire time.

The bottleneck had been broken through!

The affinity that had shown no movement despite months of effort had actually risen so much in an instant.

Although the method of breaking through had taken Duan Mu completely by surprise, that did not stop him from looking at the snarling Daimaru charging toward him with an incomparably gentle gaze!

This guy...

Why did he suddenly look so adorable?

Meeting Duan Mu's gentle gaze, Daimaru felt a chill run through his entire body!!

This kid...

Was there something wrong with his head??

However, in that brief moment, Daimaru had already reached Duan Mu. Carrying tremendous force, his fist smashed straight into Duan Mu's chest.

Bang—!

Amid the dull impact, Duan Mu was sent flying backward like a soccer ball kicked away, blood spraying from his mouth.

"Duan Mu!!"

The sight made Iwao, who had been watching this side the entire time, change expression. He rushed toward Duan Mu.

However, at that moment!

Duan Mu staggered to his feet while clutching his chest. Without even wiping away the blood at the corner of his mouth, he roared at the top of his lungs:

"Brother Iwao, get out of here! Don't worry about me!!!"

Hearing this, Iwao not only failed to stop, but quickened his pace.

"Go!"

As Duan Mu shouted, blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. Spiritual pressure surged around him as he roared, "I'll hold them off! Take this chance to leave and have Sister Kūkaku avenge me! If both of us die here, Hawk and the other three will soon be caught by them as well! Don't let all my efforts be wasted!!"

His speech was truly stirring and deeply moving. If he had not felt that praising Shiba Kūkaku at a time like this would be somewhat out of place, he would even have added adjectives such as gentle, considerate, beautiful, and kind before "Sister Kūkaku."

At these words, Iwao finally stopped running toward him, his eyes filled with struggle.

Just as Duan Mu had said, if he and Duan Mu both died here, these people would inevitably concentrate their forces on pursuing Hawk and the others. If that happened... none of the six of them would escape.

"None of you are getting away!!"

Daimaru snarled and charged toward Duan Mu once more.

However...

"My little brothers have caused you quite a bit of trouble."

An icy female voice entered Daimaru's ears. Before he could react, he felt a terrifying force strike the back of his head. In the next instant, his entire upper body was forcibly pressed into the ground.

And the culprit behind it all was merely a fair, delicate palm.

Seeing Shiba Kūkaku suddenly appear before him, pressing the burly man's head into the ground with one hand, Duan Mu's attention immediately shifted to the system interface!

"Shiba Kūkaku" Affinity +1, obtained 1,200 experience points. Current affinity: 26.

"Shiba Kūkaku" Affinity +1, obtained 1,200 experience points. Current affinity: 29.

"Shiba Kūkaku" Affinity +1, obtained 2,400 experience points. Current affinity: 30.

Duan Mu closed his eyes in satisfaction, and his consciousness sank into darkness.

He had not touched a single bit of the experience points he had gained. He had also endured that earlier blow head-on. If he had not forced himself to hold on, he would already have passed out.

The purpose of doing this was precisely to make Shiba Kūkaku feel more favorably toward him.

Although Duan Mu really wanted to kill Daimaru himself, and could have achieved it simply by spending experience points,

he had already acted as though he was fighting for his life. If his strength had suddenly surged and he killed Daimaru now, Kūkaku's affinity toward him might not increase. There was even a risk that it would decrease.

It was better to let things end this way. In any case, Daimaru would die in the end!