Wind Cutter's Resurrección Challenge?

"How... how is that possible?!"

Er Ming pounded his massive fist against his chest, producing dull, booming thuds.

"Xiao Wu, you're not joking, are you? Gaining several thousand years of cultivation out of thin air? That's even more absurd than us Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts devouring heavenly treasures! What kind of sorcery did that human called Lu Ming use?"

"I don't know." Xiao Wu shook her head blankly. "He said it was called 'Formless Transformation.' It breaks the shackles of a soul beast's body, allowing the soul to be liberated and reborn. And... the process isn't guaranteed to succeed. Soul beasts that fail will have their souls scattered."

"Souls scattered?" Da Ming's voice became extremely grave. "What a tyrannical method! This is practically toying with life!"

"But..." Xiao Wu hurriedly defended him, "Lu Ming isn't toying with them! I can feel it. Yue Xi, Feng Qie, and the others are filled with joy over their new identities! They've gained intelligence, gained greater strength... they did it willingly!"

"And Lu Ming said he wanted to change the fate of soul beasts! He wants to establish a nation belonging only to the Arrancar, so soul beasts will no longer be hunted and slaughtered by humans at will!"

Xiao Wu repeated Lu Ming's impassioned declaration to Da Ming and Er Ming.

Yet after hearing it, Er Ming let out a disdainful snort!

"Establish a nation? Change fate? What a ridiculous joke! He's just a human soul master in his twenties. Where does he get the nerve to say something so outrageous? I think he wants to use this method to control more soul beasts and build an army of his own to fulfill his ambitions!"

"That's not it! Er Ming, you misunderstand him!" Xiao Wu grew anxious. "He's different! He really is different! The way he looks at us is completely different from those greedy human soul masters! He... he even sympathizes with what we soul beasts have suffered!"

"Sympathizes?" Er Ming looked as though he had heard the funniest joke imaginable. "Xiao Wu, did he feed you some kind of bewitching potion? How can you trust anything humans say?!"

"I..." Xiao Wu was left speechless by Er Ming's words.

Yes, why did she trust Lu Ming so much?

They had only known each other for a few days, and she herself was still deceiving him...

But whenever she thought of Lu Ming's clear eyes, of the gentle way he had rubbed her braid, of him saying, "We're friends," Xiao Wu's heart became a tangled mess...

"Enough, Er Ming." Da Ming stopped Er Ming's outburst.

He looked deeply at Xiao Wu and asked, "Xiao Wu, tell me. What do you think now?"

Xiao Wu fell silent for a moment, then raised her head. Her eyes became resolute.

"Da Ming, I want... to stay by his side."

"What?!" Er Ming jumped up again. "Are you crazy? That kid is a monster! He's far too dangerous!"

"No, he isn't a monster." Xiao Wu shook her head. "I want to see with my own eyes what he truly intends to do. I want to know whether the path of the Arrancar can truly change the fate of us soul beasts."

"And..." A flash of determination crossed Xiao Wu's face. "I want to tell him who I am."

"No!"

"Absolutely not!"

Da Ming and Er Ming rejected her in unison.

"Xiao Wu, do you know what you're saying?" Da Ming's voice became stern. "Once your identity as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast is exposed, do you know how much trouble it will bring? That Lu Ming may appear harmless, but he is still human! How can you trust him so easily?"

"But I don't want to lie to him anymore!" Xiao Wu's eyes reddened. "He trusts me so much. He told me so many secrets, but I... I've been lying to him all along! It feels awful!"

Seeing Xiao Wu's aggrieved yet determined expression, Da Ming and Er Ming both fell silent.

How could they not know how kind-hearted she was?

Making her deceive a "friend" who sincerely treated her well truly was a form of torment for her.

After a long while, Da Ming slowly sighed.

"Xiao Wu, we can agree to let you remain by his side and observe him. But your identity must never be exposed. That is the bottom line..."

"Why?" Xiao Wu asked, confused.

"Because we still cannot fully trust him." Da Ming's voice carried a trace of exhaustion. "That boy called Lu Ming is too mysterious. His appearance, everything he has done, is filled with the unknown. Until we understand his purpose completely, we cannot gamble with your safety..."

"But..."

"No buts!" Er Ming rudely cut her off. "Xiao Wu, this is not up for discussion! If you dare tell him on your own, then I... I'll personally drag him here and lock him at the bottom of the Lake of Life for ten thousand years!"

Xiao Wu looked at the unquestionable attitudes of her two younger brothers and knew there was no room left to compromise.

She could only nod helplessly.

"Fine. I promise you."

Only after receiving Xiao Wu's promise did Da Ming and Er Ming let out a breath of relief.

"Since you want to stay beside that human, go back early. Don't let him grow suspicious," Da Ming instructed. "We'll think carefully about the information you brought us... As I said, we can refrain from acting against that human, but you absolutely must not reveal your identity as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!"

Xiao Wu answered softly, glanced at the Lake of Life with mixed emotions, then turned into a pink shadow and vanished into the night.

The lakeside returned to tranquility once more.

"Big Brother, are we... really just going to watch?" Er Ming still sounded unwilling.

"What else would you have us do?" Da Ming asked. "Rush over and capture him? Then what? Force his secrets out of him? Or kill him?"

"I..." Er Ming was at a loss for words.

"Er Ming, haven't you noticed? Xiao Wu... has changed." A complicated light flashed through Da Ming's golden eyes.

"She has developed a kind of... dependence and trust toward that boy called Lu Ming, something we have never seen before."

"This may be a good thing, or perhaps... the beginning of a disaster."

"All we can do now is wait."

"Wait for Xiao Wu to bring us more answers..."

When Xiao Wu quietly returned to the valley with mixed feelings, what greeted her was a sight that left her dumbfounded.

The gloomy, oppressive atmosphere caused by the daytime conflict had completely vanished.

In its place was an almost fanatical atmosphere of training!

In the valley clearing, Feng Qie moved as swiftly as Gui Mei, constantly darting between trees and boulders. Green wind blades flew from his hands, carving deep cuts into the hard stone.

The usual playfulness had disappeared from his face, replaced by an unprecedented focus.

Elsewhere, the newly joined Giant Fang was hugging a boulder weighing more than a thousand jin, doing squats again and again.

The muscles all over his body bulged high, and sweat streamed down him without pause, soaking a patch of ground beneath him.

Every time he squatted, a dull roar came from his throat, as though he were venting something...

As for Black Blade, he sat alone atop the crown of a large tree, his eyes closed as though meditating.

Yet the air around him was permeated with a faint sharpness that made others reluctant to approach...

Even Yue Xi, who was usually the quietest, sat on the steps of the wooden house, cradling a gentle ball of white light in her tiny palms.

The light ball continuously shifted shape in her hands. Clearly, she was practicing precise control over her abilities!

What was going on?

Everyone... suddenly competing like crazy?

Xiao Wu stared at the bustling sight before her, unable to react for a moment.

I... I was only gone for how long? Not even a day, right?

What happened here? Why are they all acting as if they've been injected with adrenaline?

Her gaze instinctively turned toward Zhu Mao.

Zhu Mao stood quietly outside Lu Ming's wooden house. As though sensing Xiao Wu's gaze, he turned toward her and gave a slight nod.

Xiao Wu noticed that a strange dark-green longsword had appeared on Zhu Mao's back.

What is that? A weapon? Did Lu Ming create that too?

Xiao Wu's heart was filled with questions.

She could sense that Zhu Mao's aura seemed far more solid and powerful than before she had left.

Just as her thoughts ran wild, Feng Qie, Giant Fang, and Black Blade stopped what they were doing almost simultaneously, then walked toward Lu Ming's wooden house together.

Every one of their faces was filled with longing and determination.

"Master!"

Feng Qie spoke first, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

"I want to undergo Resurrección right now!"

"So do I!" Giant Fang echoed in a deep voice that rumbled like thunder.

Black Blade said nothing, but he too dropped to one knee, showing his resolve through his actions.

The door to the wooden house slowly opened.

Lu Ming walked out, his calm gaze sweeping across the three of them.

"Have you thought it through?"

"We have!" the three answered in unison, their voices firm and decisive.

"The process of Resurrección is filled with danger. Your souls will confront your most primal beastly natures. One moment of carelessness, and you will be consumed by instinct. Your will shall vanish completely, leaving behind only an empty shell that knows nothing but slaughter."

Lu Ming's voice carried clearly into everyone's ears.

"Are you truly prepared to face the deepest darkness within your hearts?"

Feng Qie was the first to step forward. He grinned, revealing two sharp canine teeth.

"Master, I've been ready for a long time!"

"I don't want to keep getting suppressed by that gloomy Zhu Mao! If he can do it, there's no reason I, Feng Qie, can't!"

Fierce fighting spirit burned within his amber eyes.

"Fine." Lu Ming sighed and nodded. "Since you were the first to step forward, we'll start with you."

"Zhu Mao, Giant Fang, Black Blade, step back."

The three immediately obeyed, retreating and leaving Feng Qie ample space.

Resurrección? What is that?

It sounds like something even more powerful than becoming an Arrancar?

With a face full of confusion, Xiao Wu continued watching from the side. She had no idea why this so-called Resurrección had made Giant Fang and the others so fired up.

She had no idea that while she was away, Zhu Mao had already completed his transformation and opened a door to a new world for the entire group.

"Domain Expansion: Self-Contained Perfect Enclosure!"

Lu Ming shouted in a low voice. The enormous white sphere formed from countless pale arms appeared once again, enveloping him and Feng Qie within it...

Inside the domain.

Feng Qie curiously examined the strange space, his face filled with novelty.

"Master, is this where Zhu Mao was before? It feels... so oppressive."

"Focus." Lu Ming ignored his glibness. "Like Zhu Mao, calm your mind. Feel it. Search for the 'imprint' that belongs to you."

"Got it!"

Feng Qie answered, then imitated Zhu Mao by sitting cross-legged and closing his eyes.

His talent was extremely high, and his soul was pure enough.

He barely had to exert any effort before his consciousness connected with the domain. Soon, following that intangible guidance, he found his own soul imprint.

It was a small green Wind Spirit Leopard imprint, shaped like a drifting cloud condensed from wind.

That easy?

Joy rose in Feng Qie's heart.

Looks like I'm much more talented than Zhu Mao!

Without hesitation, he extended a "hand" of consciousness toward the imprint.

However, the instant his consciousness touched it!

"Boom—!"

A wild, unruly will filled with an infinite longing for freedom erupted violently!

Countless images instantly appeared in Feng Qie's mind.

Chasing the wind across vast hills, racing birds through the boundless sky, frolicking through mountain streams, roaring amid violent storms...

Those were the memories of the Wind Spirit Leopard.

Freedom was everything to him...

And now, a "cage" sought to bind him!

"No—!"

A resistance originating from the depths of his soul surged forth madly.

Feng Qie felt his consciousness being torn apart by that wild will. His human reason was rapidly fading away.

His body began trembling uncontrollably. His short green hair stirred without wind, and the cloud-shaped bone fragment at the corner of his eye began to emit a dangerous gleam.

"Ah—!"

He let out a pained roar.

"Control it! Don't let it consume you!" Lu Ming's voice rang out beside his ear.

"Freedom is not indulgence! True freedom is control! Control the wind, control power, control yourself!"

"I..." Feng Qie's consciousness struggled amid the chaos.

Control...

He remembered Zhu Mao's powerful form after undergoing Resurrección. He remembered the expectant look in his master's eyes.

I don't want to become a beast again!

I am Feng Qie! I am an Arrancar!

I am... the man who will become the fastest blade in Master's hand!

"Come... to me!"

At that moment, Feng Qie's will condensed to its peak!

He clutched the imprint tightly, using every ounce of strength to tear it free from the domain!

"Bzzzz—"

The entire domain trembled violently.

Blinding green light burst from the wind imprint as it made its final resistance against Feng Qie's will!

However...

In the end, he was still just short.

Although Feng Qie's will had condensed, his soul lacked the ruthlessness and resilience Zhu Mao had honed through countless life-and-death battles.

His pride made him unwilling to yield.

Yet his nature also prevented him from truly doing what Zhu Mao had done—tearing apart his own soul for power.

"Pfft!"

Azure light suddenly exploded!

Feng Qie's consciousness was violently thrown back. His vision went black, and he completely lost consciousness...

Outside the domain.

The white sphere slowly dissipated.

Lu Ming appeared, Feng Qie already unconscious in his arms.

Feng Qie's face was deathly pale, and his aura had weakened to the extreme. Clearly, he had overexerted his mental power, and his soul had suffered considerable damage.

He had failed.

Giant Fang and Black Blade watched this scene, their expressions turning incomparably grim.

Even Feng Qie, who had always been brimming with confidence, had failed...

Just how difficult was this "Resurrección"?