There.
At some point, something had appeared.
It was a sword.
A long sword.
It lay there quietly, its entire length a deep, ancient-looking purple.
The scabbard was exquisitely crafted, etched with strange patterns.
The hilt was golden, wrapped in deep purple ribbon, exuding an air of nobility and danger.
"Where... did this come from?"
Lu Chongwei stared in shock, his mind full of questions.
That thing definitely hadn't been there when he went to sleep last night.
Had someone put it there while he was asleep?
Impossible!
If someone had come in, with his alertness, he couldn't possibly have failed to notice.
Unless their strength was countless times greater than his.
Lu Chongwei swallowed and cautiously reached out, gripping the golden hilt.
A chill traveled through his palm.
The instant his hand touched the long sword—
"Ding!"
A mechanical voice, utterly devoid of emotion, suddenly boomed in his mind.
Lu Chongwei shuddered in fright and nearly dropped the sword.
"Who? Who's speaking?"
He looked around in alarm.
But the cave was empty.
The mechanical voice paid no heed to his panic and continued its cold announcement:
"Ding. The host's subconscious has detected dissatisfaction with his own weakness. He sleepwalked to another world in the middle of the night and stole 'Ryujin Jakka'!"
"..."
It was as if the air had frozen.
Lu Chongwei's mouth fell open, his face full of disbelief.
What had he just heard?
Sleepwalking?
To another world?
He'd stolen... Ryujin Jakka?!
"S-System?"
Lu Chongwei tentatively called out in his mind.
But all that answered him was silence.
The mechanical voice had apparently only come to make an announcement before vanishing without a trace. No matter how he called, there wasn't the slightest response.
Lu Chongwei sat on the bed, gripping the long sword tightly.
Slowly, his shock faded, replaced by a surge of elation.
Ryujin Jakka!
As a hardcore shut-in in his previous life (well, sort of), how could he not know that name?
It was the Zanpakuto of Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 in the Bleach anime!
Known as the strongest and oldest fire-type Zanpakuto.
In its Shikai form, it possessed the temperature of the sun's surface.
In Bankai, it could reach the temperature of the sun's core, enough to turn everything in the world to ash.
"I've hit the jackpot! I've really hit the jackpot this time!"
Lu Chongwei was so excited that his hands trembled.
With this sword, what were a tyrannosaurus or an energy tiger? They were all small fry!
He couldn't wait to draw this divine weapon and see its true form.
"Clang..."
The long sword slid halfway out of its scabbard.
Though it wasn't fully drawn, a wave of heat had already washed over him.
Just a small section of the blade showed, yet the temperature around him rose sharply.
Lu Chongwei hurriedly slid the sword back into its scabbard.
He took several deep breaths, trying to calm his excitement.
"Calm down. Calm down."
He slapped his cheeks.
"You need the Shikai command to release a Zanpakuto's power."
Lu Chongwei furrowed his brow, trying to recall the anime scenes he'd watched in his previous life.
But then came the awkward part.
In his previous life, he'd been as busy as a dog just trying to make ends meet. He'd only watched anime on and off, barely following the story.
All he knew was that this sword was incredibly powerful and called Ryujin Jakka.
But what exactly was its Shikai command?
"Let all creation turn to ash...?"
Lu Chongwei tentatively shouted at the long sword.
Nothing happened.
The sword lay quietly in his hand, as if mocking his ignorance.
"No, no. Was it... 'all things in creation'?"
He tried again.
Still, nothing happened.
Lu Chongwei was so anxious he scratched his head.
"Ugh! I should've known better than to skip through it back then!"
He thumped the bed in frustration.
This was what happened when you didn't pay attention to the show!
He had a divine weapon in hand but couldn't use it because he didn't know the password. It was the greatest torment in the world.
"No. I can't give up."
Lu Chongwei forced himself to calm down.
Since the system said I stole it—no, since the sword had accepted me (maybe)—there had to be a way to use it.
If I don't know the command, I'll try communicating with it.
He remembered that the anime said Zanpakuto had souls.
If he could earn the spirit's approval, perhaps he'd learn its name and release command.
With no other option, Lu Chongwei sat cross-legged on the stone bed.
He laid Ryujin Jakka across his knees and gently ran both hands along the blade.
"Ryujin Jakka, oh, Ryujin Jakka. I know you're powerful, and I know I'm weak."
Lu Chongwei closed his eyes and focused, trying to sense the soul within the sword.
"But I have the will to grow stronger. I want to survive, and I want to leave this forest."
"If you can hear me, please respond."
Time passed second by second.
The cave was silent.
Lu Chongwei held his pose without moving, like a monk deep in meditation.
His first attempt failed.
His mind was pitch-black. He couldn't sense anything.
His second attempt failed as well.
But he didn't give up.
He tried again and again, adjusting his breathing and concentrating.
He slowly poured the mysterious energy within him into the blade, hoping to use it as a bridge for communication.
The tenth attempt...
The fifteenth...
Sweat gathered on his forehead, and his face grew pale.
The intense concentration and outflow of energy left him utterly exhausted.
But he gritted his teeth and kept going.
Finally.
On his twenty-first attempt—
Something changed.
Ryujin Jakka, which had been dormant until then, suddenly trembled.
"Vmmm!"
A clear, ringing blade-song sounded in Lu Chongwei's mind.
Then a red light burst from the blade.
The light wasn't dazzling, but it carried an indescribable majesty and heat.
It spread quickly, covering Lu Chongwei's entire body in an instant.
Lu Chongwei's vision blurred.
His consciousness seemed to be drawn into a world filled with flames.
In that world, he sensed an ancient and powerful will.
It was the soul of Ryujin Jakka!
He was communicating with the Zanpakuto in a wondrous way.
No words were needed, only the collision of thoughts.
At the same time, however—
In the real world, Lu Chongwei's body was trembling violently.
The special energy he'd accumulated over the past month was rapidly draining away.
Like floodwaters bursting through a dam, it poured into the long sword across his knees.
In just a few seconds, he felt as if more than half his strength had been drained.
But the pull showed no sign of stopping.
Lu Chongwei was horrified.
"Oh no! This sword is absorbing my energy!"
If this continued, he'd be drained dry before he could finish communicating!
But he was trapped now, unable to do anything. His consciousness was stuck in that fiery world, and he couldn't break off the connection.
Before you continue