Great, a Time-Type Zanpakutō

The Divine Realm of the Douluo Continent.

"Pfft—"

With a soft sound, blood sprayed from Tang San's mouth.

His face instantly paled. He slowly raised a hand to wipe the blood from his lips, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"What happened? My vision... was interfered with?"

His expression turned grim as his icy gaze swept his surroundings. Instinctively, he extended his divine sense to investigate, but a sharp pain struck the moment it spread outward, and he hastily withdrew it.

"My divine sense is damaged... Did Destruction make a move?"

Tang San's brows knitted tightly. He quickly suppressed his agitation, gradually calming down as he began to assess the situation.

"No, he wouldn't stoop to ambushing me in secret."

"Never mind. My priority is to repair my divine sense as quickly as possible."

"Otherwise, even if I confronted Destruction, I'd be at a disadvantage."

He lowered his gaze, looking toward the Douluo Continent below through a nearly impenetrable barrier.

"That variable in the lower realm... I hope it doesn't spiral out of control."

In the small town where Song Que lived.

Xu Sanshi had dragged Bei Bei and Tang Ya out to buy supplies.

Wang Dong, likewise empty-handed, trailed at the back of the group with a thoroughly reluctant expression.

None of them had expected their departure from Shrek Academy to come so suddenly.

The town was small. It took the four of them little time to gather everything they needed before heading back.

Bei Bei turned to Xu Sanshi beside him and asked in puzzlement, "What's gotten into you? Weren't you against dropping out? Why don't you seem interested in going back now?"

Xu Sanshi pursed his lips, looking shrewd. "Your great-great-grandfather specifically told you to leave the academy and gain experience out in the world. Doesn't that strike you as strange? I figure there must be some hidden benefit to this."

"Heh, I'll stick with you for now and see. Maybe I'll get a nice surprise."

Bei Bei chuckled and teased him, "Aren't you worried my great-great-grandfather might take care of your withdrawal paperwork while he's at it?"

"Please." Xu Sanshi looked utterly confident. "The academy would jump at the chance to have someone as talented as me. I can go back whenever I want."

Bei Bei couldn't be bothered to banter with him and shook his head helplessly.

Just then, Xu Sanshi stopped dead, his pupils abruptly contracting.

"Something's different!"

He hurried forward, his eyes fixed on the figure in the clearing ahead.

"Song Que! You broke through?!"

Bei Bei and Tang Ya followed his gaze at the same time.

Song Que stood quietly in the middle of the courtyard.

Soul rings lit up around him one after another: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black. The five rings shimmered as his powerful soul power steadily surged.

Xu Sanshi looked baffled. "Didn't you only reach rank forty-seven recently? How did you break through so suddenly?"

Standing off to the side, Tang Ya's eyes flickered with complicated emotions and delight.

Song Que had passed rank fifty. That meant the time to avenge the Tang Sect was almost upon them.

She silently clenched her fists, staring at Song Que with a burning gaze.

Xu Sanshi strode up and looked Song Que over in amazement. "You really passed rank fifty? Now you've left me completely in the dust."

Song Que looked up with a chuckle. "Don't flatter yourself. You've never beaten me anyway."

"Fine, fine, you're amazing." Xu Sanshi laughed awkwardly, then suddenly teased, "So why are you keeping your soul rings out? You've finished your breakthrough, but you're still showing them off? Doesn't that get tiring?"

"Quiet."

Song Que closed his eyes and focused.

"My martial soul is undergoing a second evolution. I can customize all my soul skills again, and I'm rebuilding my skill set. Don't disturb me."

Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and the others froze at those words, their faces filling with astonishment.

Customizable soul skills? Could such an unbelievable martial soul ability really exist?

They simply stood quietly to one side and waited for Song Que's evolution to finish.

Song Que sank his consciousness into the Hōgyoku within his martial soul, silently considering his plans for his Zanpakutō.

For the first four soul rings, I can prioritize Zanpakutō with exceptionally powerful Shikai in actual combat.

Suzumebachi, Shinsō, Hyōrinmaru, Senbonzakura... Those would all be good choices.

My fifth soul ring was generated by the Hōgyoku, so Zangetsu would suit it best. After all, that soul ring's age can keep increasing as my rank rises.

Maybe I can even unlock Zangetsu's different later forms down the line.

As his thoughts flowed, he was just about to select his first soul skill.

Beside him, Xu Sanshi couldn't help marveling aloud. "Choosing your own soul skills is ridiculous. If you could choose time or space skills, wouldn't you be invincible?"

He tossed the remark out casually.

Song Que's concentration wavered slightly, and a thought instinctively flashed through his mind.

Time-type...

For some reason, a name came to mind—Kensei Muguruma, the "powerhouse" said to possess time-type abilities.

He chuckled and casually muttered to himself, "Time-type? Then why don't I make Tsuchinamazuki my first soul skill and have some fun?"

At that fleeting, subconscious thought, the Hōgyoku inside his blade suddenly glimmered.

Humm—!

His first hundred-year soul ring suddenly lit up.

Song Que's eyes snapped open, and his expression froze.

It wasn't Suzumebachi, the one he had intended to choose.

The long blade in his hand transformed drastically, and a dense surge of blue-green wind power burst forth.

"No! I was joking!"

Dumbfounded, Song Que frantically sent his thoughts to the Hōgyoku.

"Hōgyoku! I was just talking! Change it back!!"

"Come on, buddy, don't do this to me!"

But no matter how he tried to communicate, the Hōgyoku's power continued to work. Within moments, his first soul skill was fixed in place.

Tsuchinamazuki had taken shape.

Staring at the Zanpakutō in his hand, Song Que wanted to cry but had no tears. He lost it on the spot.

"Xu Sanshi! You and your damned big mouth!!"

Xu Sanshi looked bewildered and innocent. "What's it got to do with me? I was just making a comment..."

What was done was done. There was no changing it.

Song Que took a deep breath and decided he might as well roll with it.

"Fine. Since it's settled, I'll give it a try."

He steadied the long blade in his hand and called out in a low voice.

"Release, Tsuchinamazuki!"

Green light bloomed. The long blade instantly shrank into a finely crafted, razor-sharp dagger, wisps of blue-green wind blades swirling around it as violent wind pressure swept through the surroundings.

Song Que casually swung it toward the space ahead.

Whoosh—!

A gale erupted, sending condensed wind blades sweeping outward. Xu Sanshi, who stood closest, had no time to react. The wind hurled him several meters away, and he stumbled and crashed to the ground in a sorry heap.

Silence instantly fell over the courtyard.

Bei Bei, Tang Ya, Wang Dong, and Huo Yuhao all stared wide-eyed in shock.

"A wind-type martial soul? What incredible explosive power!"

Bei Bei studied the short green blade with a grave expression.

As Song Que felt the new power flowing through him, his earlier frustration actually eased considerably.

Many people had thought Tsuchinamazuki was weak. Perhaps the problem had never been the Zanpakutō, but the way Kensei Muguruma fought.

In his hands, Tsuchinamazuki might develop entirely different abilities.

"Forget it. This will be my first soul skill."

"Besides, as long as I don't use Bankai, it won't be 'time-type,' right..."