Flash Step!

Without even sparing a glance at Taka's gradually cooling corpse, Chen Wuming raised Wabisuke in his hand and quietly examined it, as if trying to discern something from it.

"This feeling..." He lightly closed his eyes and sensed the gloomy yet immense magic power filling his entire body. The corners of his mouth curled slightly, revealing a faintly gloomy smile as Chen Wuming murmured, "Is this... power?"

"Wabisuke really is quite a fine Zanpakutō..." Opening his eyes, Chen Wuming stared at Wabisuke's strangely bent blade and could not help muttering to himself, "But it seems that using this sword has also rubbed off a little of its former owner—Kira Izuru's gloomy personality—onto me..."

"But it doesn't matter..." Thinking of this, Chen Wuming's lips curled up again, and he could not help chuckling. "All I need is this power. This powerful strength. For it, even if I become slightly influenced by the sword's former owner's personality, it doesn't matter. As long as I have power, that is enough..."

"I suppose I should give you a name?" As though something had occurred to him, Chen Wuming muttered, "It seems every unusual Requip Magic should be given a new name by its owner..."

"But what kind of name should I give you?" Looking at the Zanpakutō Wabisuke in his hand, Chen Wuming became conflicted. Frowning, he began to rack his brains. After all, his Requip Magic might be the only one of its kind in this world. No matter how he looked at it, he ought to give it a suitably impressive name! Only then would it do justice to the Zanpakutō in his hand, and to this Miracle Flower that had so rarely bloomed in his hands!

Just then, waves of shouting and battle cries suddenly jolted him out of his thoughts! Chen Wuming frowned and listened carefully for a while, but he still could not make out what exactly was happening outside. Why was it so noisy? It sounded as though two armies were at war!

Could someone be attacking this island? Chen Wuming thought. But which faction could be attacking it? Upon hearing the commotion outside, his first reaction was that someone was assaulting the island! Otherwise, there would never be such intense sounds of battle!

The Forbidden Magic System built on this island must have been discovered by outsiders, Chen Wuming thought. But should I go out and see what is happening? Hmm, forget it. In this chaos, I should be looking for Gerard and Erza first! If they get caught up in the fierce battle between both sides, that would be terrible! With my current strength, I should be protecting them!!

Because Chen Wuming was currently at the island's westernmost edge, he had no idea that those fighting the unknown evil mage organization on the other side of the island were Erza and the others, who had long suffered under forced labor!!! Nor did he know that his disappearance was one of the fuses that had ignited this all-out war...

Having finished thinking it through, Chen Wuming immediately prepared to act. But just as he took one step and before he could leave, dozens of surging water pillars suddenly closed in on him from all directions!

Without a second thought, Chen Wuming casually swung Wabisuke in his hand. The water pillars all fell from the air! As if the gravity acting upon them had suddenly increased, they crashed to the ground before they could even reach Chen Wuming and harm him in any way!!

"Water Demon Dance—Third Chapter, Sixty-Seventh Form!" The burly man waved both hands in rippling motions, and thirteen large azure magic circles appeared around him and began spinning!

"Hundred-Demon Execution Arrows!!!"

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—" As the magic circles spun at high speed, more than a hundred long torrents of azure water surged out of them! Like over a hundred sharp spears tearing through the air, they shot toward Chen Wuming from every direction! Their incredible speed even ripped the invisible air apart, producing wave after wave of piercing shrieks!!!

"Oh? Heh..." Chen Wuming coldly watched the hundred water spears shooting in from all directions, surrounding him through a full three hundred and sixty degrees and nearly cutting off every escape route. A mocking curve rose on his lips. He slowly lifted Wabisuke in his right hand above his head, and magic power erupted from his entire body once more! Chen Wuming softly uttered in a low, gloomy voice, "Raise your head—Wabisuke!"

"Buzz—" The instant the final word of the release command left his lips, Wabisuke's strangely bent blade began to tremble faintly. Then, waves of dense magic power filled with a gloomy aura suddenly erupted from the blade!

"Hah—" With a low shout, Chen Wuming smashed Wabisuke heavily into the ground!

"Boom—" A deafening explosion rang out as Wabisuke's bent blade slammed into the solid ground! Perhaps because of Gravity Doubling, not a single stone was sent flying despite the sudden impact!

"Bang—" Though not a single pebble was scattered, a dim violet, gloomy magic power erupted wildly from Wabisuke's strange blade at the instant it struck the ground! The dense, gloomy magic power instantly enveloped Chen Wuming and everything within ten meters around him!!

"Splash—" Under the cover of that gloomy magic power, every water spear entering its range instantly came to a halt! Then, crushed by gravity that had suddenly increased severalfold, they all slammed viciously down from midair!

In an instant, the ground around Chen Wuming became soaked. The fallen water spears turned the entire area into puddles. Yet strangely, not a single drop splashed onto Chen Wuming! Even the water that sprayed in his direction suddenly fell early, before it could come near his body...

This, too, was the effect of Wabisuke's gravity magic.

"Damn it! My magic was ineffective?!! How is that possible?!" The burly man naturally witnessed this scene. While cursing in disbelief, he slammed his hands together without pause and roared, "Water Demon Soul Burial!!! Ninth Chapter, Eight Hundred and Sixty-First Form—"

"Calm down! Are you trying to die with him?!! You're using that move in such a cramped place?!!!" The black-robed man, who had been watching from the side for a long time, immediately changed expression and roared at the burly man, "Have you forgotten? That move must never be used in a confined area!! Are you trying to drag all of us into it too? Huh?!!!"

Like the burly man, they had arrived the moment Chen Wuming killed Tucker, and they had just happened to witness Tucker's head being severed by Chen Wuming! This undoubtedly left them both shocked and enraged! What shocked them was why their opponent, clearly just a child, possessed such formidable strength. Even Tucker, whose skills were far from weak in their eyes, had ultimately died at the other party's hands!

What enraged them was that Chen Wuming had killed Tucker right before their eyes! Yet they had been unable to save him! Consumed by fury, the burly man attacked before the black-robed man could. Seeing this, the black-robed man, who believed his friend could easily deal with Chen Wuming, could only stand aside and calmly watch his friend perform!

But when he saw his friend's seemingly foolproof move prove completely ineffective against Chen Wuming, the black-robed man was truly startled! Even so, he still watched the situation develop with cold indifference, because he always believed his friend could handle the opponent. But what he never expected was that his friend—the burly man—would suddenly lose his mind! Instead of using any other moves, he immediately brought out his ultimate trump card?!!

This time, he could no longer remain calm. He immediately shouted at his friend! No one understood the devastating range of his friend's ultimate technique better than he did! Even though this place did not look small, compared to that move, it was far too cramped!!!

However, his warning had clearly come too late. The burly man, whose mind had already been completely consumed by rage and fear, had released that move.

"Soul Surge! Seven Soul-Cleaving Blades! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" The burly man's face flushed crimson as he threw back his head and roared furiously.

Gathering every bit of magic power in his body, the burly man used all his strength to unleash his strongest—and possibly final—move!

At once, powerful magic power surged from the burly man's body like roaring ocean waves, like a tsunami! A huge azure magic circle appeared out of thin air above his head. It spun rapidly, ready to unleash this devastating magical technique! But just then—

"It's over..." At some unknown moment, Chen Wuming had appeared behind the burly man. Wabisuke lightly hooked around the man's neck as Chen Wuming softly uttered in a gloomy voice, "Remember to repent to the King of Hell for me in hell..." With that, he gently pulled with his right hand.

"Pfft—" With shock and unwillingness still on his face, the burly man's head slowly fell to the ground amid spraying blood, landing with a dull "thud."

The magic circle that had long been poised in the air quietly dissipated along with its master's death...

"Bastard!!!" The dull sound of the head hitting the ground instantly jolted the black-robed man from his daze. Looking at his friend's eyes, still wide open in death, his own gaze was filled not only with deep horror but also towering rage!

"I'll kill you! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!"

The black-robed man roared and slammed his hand heavily onto the ground. As waves of red magic circles flashed, countless hideous Magic Soldiers poked their heads out from within them!

"Is that so?" Chen Wuming paid no attention whatsoever to the Magic Soldiers charging toward him. He merely said this in a gloomy voice. The instant his words fell, the countless Magic Soldiers had already rushed before him, raising their mechanical arms to tear the enemy before them to pieces.

His figure paused slightly. Just as the Magic Soldiers' mechanical arms were about to touch the corner of his clothes, Chen Wuming suddenly vanished from where he stood! Yes! Vanished! As though he had disappeared through teleportation!

"Then you..." Wabisuke once again hooked around the neck of the person before him from behind. Chen Wuming emotionlessly uttered in a gloomy voice, "Go keep him company..."

A pull!

"Pfft—" Another burst of spraying blood rang out...

However, the instant after killing the black-robed man, Chen Wuming's face turned pale and he dropped to his knees. His lips trembled as he murmured, "I never thought Flash Step would consume so much magic power..."

That was right! Flash Step! The move he had used to suddenly appear behind the burly man and then behind the black-robed man was none other than Bleach's supreme movement technique—Flash Step!

But just as he had said, although he had barely managed to use Flash Step through the Zanpakutō's power, his magic power was now nearly exhausted. He was not quite at the point where just anyone could kill him, but he was not far from it...