A Fatal Strike

Wang Xun's pressure was mounting.

Aizen's gaze pierced his senses like an ice pick.

Wang Xun dared not make the slightest move, and tried his best to act as naturally as possible.

He knew that any slight reaction at this moment could reveal his ability to see through Kyōka Suigetsu.

But as the analysis nears completion, the hallucination will soon disappear. How should I react then?

At that moment, Wang Xun noticed a slight tremor in the Zanpakuto in his hand, and he was immediately taken aback.

The next moment, Wang Xun's consciousness sank into his own inner world.

Having been away from his inner world for so long, Wang Xun was still a little unaccustomed to it.

In this pristine space, Shackle Lotus sat in the air, swinging her slender legs, a blade of grass formed from Reiatsu dangling from her mouth.

Seeing Wang Xun enter, she raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Hey, owner of this small fish restaurant, long time no see!"

The blonde loli had bright, lively eyes with a hint of cunning.

Wang Xun had no time for arguing with her and went straight to the point.

"Help, Lianlian!"

Upon hearing this, Shackle Lotus crossed her arms and laughed loudly, looking up at the sky.

"Hehehe, now you're scared, aren't you... Wait, Lianlian?"

"That's a rather unusual way to address someone."

Wang Xun sighed softly and went straight to the point, voicing his question.

"Stop talking nonsense and think of a solution quickly."

"If the analysis is completely successful, and I become immune to the Kyōka Suigetsu and can't see his mirage, what should I do next?"

Shackle Lotus pouted, jumped down from the air, walked to Wang Xun's side, and patted his shoulder on tiptoe.

"You think 'Kyōka Suigetsu' is just something you can see with your eyes? That's the trigger condition. Everything after that depends on Reiatsu, you idiot."

"Aizen's Reiatsu invaded your senses, which is how he created this illusion."

She circled Wang Xun once, drawing a circle in the air with her finger, her tone tinged with smugness.

"Since I can analyze his abilities, I can naturally adjust your tolerance to his Reiatsu fluctuations by suppressing my own abilities. That's why I called you in."

"Don't worry, I'll help you adjust to a suitable position, maintaining both illusion and reality. After that, it'll depend on your performance."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xun felt much calmer, and then a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

"But Aizen is looking at me now, so does that mean he's noticed I can resist his Reiatsu?"

"Hmm... that's about it."

Shackle Lotus shrugged, her tone helpless.

"He turned to look at you just now, probably because he sensed that his Reiatsu was a bit off towards you."

Even if I can stabilize this fluctuation now, Aizen still noticed that anomaly earlier, therefore...

"Master, you must be careful."

With a gentle push, Shackle Lotus Wang Xun staggering backward.

The next moment, his consciousness withdrew from his inner world.

Back in reality, Wang Xun's expression remained unchanged, and nothing around him had changed.

During the time I was having an internal conversation with Shackle Lotus, it felt like only a moment had passed in the outside world.

At this moment, the sense of rift between illusion and reality in Wang Xun's eyes gradually stabilized.

Before his eyes, the illusion of Aizen no longer faded, but remained in a semi-transparent state.

Meanwhile, Aizen's true form in the distance continued to gaze silently at Wang Xun, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Aizen sensed the Reiatsu emanating from Wang Xun's side. The subtle, almost imperceptible change from before seemed to have vanished, as if it had never existed.

That's really strange...

In the distance, the Hollows were still fighting amongst themselves, but the members of the 11th Division had recovered and, with the assistance of Kyōka Suigetsu, began to take advantage of the situation to kill the heavily wounded Hollows.

"Wang Xun, what's wrong?"

The voice of the illusionary Aizen sounded beside him, tinged with concern.

Wang Xun raised his head, a perfectly measured look of surprise on his face, as if he hadn't fully recovered from the shock he was about to witness.

"It's nothing, I'm just a little surprised because it's the first time I've seen such a peculiar Shikai."

"Yeah..."

Aizen, watching from afar as Wang Xun converses normally with the illusion, grew increasingly thoughtful.

Just a moment ago, Aizen did indeed feel a slight change in his Reiatsu around Wang Xun.

But looking at Wang Xun now, his Reiatsu was stable, and his eyes were dazed, which was a normal reaction after being trapped in an illusion.

What was the reason just now...?

Aizen didn't think it was his imagination.

At this moment, the members of the Fifth Division around Aizen exchanged glances, and one of them asked in a low voice.

"Lord Aizen, is something wrong?"

Aizen did not answer. He slowly walked up to Wang Xun, the Kyōka Suigetsu in his hand gleaming with a faint silver light.

Suddenly, a chilling killing intent erupted from him without warning.

That killing intent wasn't as ferocious and bloodthirsty as the Unohana's, but rather carried an extreme coldness and decisiveness.

In an instant, Aizen's Zanpakuto swung down without warning, its tip aimed directly at Wang Xun's neck.

The blade tip flew closer and closer; Wang Xun could even feel the cold blade almost slicing through his skin.

But just as the blade was about to touch his skin, Aizen's hand suddenly stopped.

Aizen silently watched Wang Xun Wang Xun, who was whispering to an illusion beside him, without reacting at all.

The next moment, Wang Xun seemed to sense something was amiss. He raised his hand to touch his neck and looked around with a surprised expression.

His gaze swept calmly over Aizen's silent eyes before looking away.

What's wrong? My neck suddenly feels a little itchy.

After watching Wang Xun around in bewilderment, and then return to talk to the illusion beside him.

Aizen's killing intent gradually subsided.

His Zanpakuto had already moved away the instant Wang Xun raised his hand.

Then, Aizen sheathed his sword, as if the deadly test had never happened.

Aizen then turned around and spoke calmly to the members of the Fifth Division beside him.

"It's nothing, let's continue with the mission."

"Yes, Lord Aizen."

Although the team members were full of doubts, they dared not ask any more questions and answered respectfully.

Aizen didn't linger. He led the few people behind him and turned to walk towards the outer edge of the camp.

Their figures quickly disappeared into the night.

Even after Aizen's Reiatsu had completely dissipated, Wang Xun dared not show any abnormality.

His fingertips were slightly white, and his back was covered in a fine layer of sweat.

Just now, he truly felt like he had walked through the gates of hell.

Aizen's sudden slash was absolutely genuine.

If Wang Xun had made the slightest change at that time, even if it was just a hint of something in his eyes, or even if his breathing had become a little erratic.

That cut will never stop before it reaches the skin.

Fortunately, Wang Xun won the bet.

The key to this is that over the past few months, he has faced Unohana's killing intent countless times at the sword-training ground behind the Fourth Division.

Under Unohana's murderous intent, he learned how to remain calm under the threat of death.

He has learned to remain calm even when facing a knife, and has learned to make the right response when life and death are at stake.

Those days when I was tortured to the point of death in the back mountain, the moments when Unohana's murderous intent made it hard for me to breathe, and the countless times I felt like I was dying under a wooden sword.

Everything came in handy at this moment.

At this moment, Wang Xun finally let out a deep breath.

Aizen's mission this time was indeed for another purpose.

Under the cover of the virtual horde attack, he secretly arranged for people to carry out other missions.

Whether he was letting himself see Kyōka Suigetsu or not was part of his plan.

Wang Xun looked up in the direction Aizen had left, a hint of seriousness flashing in his eyes.

Aizen's mind is too meticulous and his methods too ruthless; if he is not careful, he will be doomed.

Wang Xun did not let his guard down, maintaining that hypnotized expression.

After all, there were other squad members around, and no one could guarantee that there weren't Aizen's spies among them.

The battle in the distance gradually came to an end after Kiganjō.

The Hollows that attacked were all killed by the members of the 11th Division, and at the same time, the number of wounded was also increasing.

As the last Gillian let out a mournful howl, its massive body crashed to the ground, and the Garganta in the sky finally began to slowly close.

The dark crack, like a wound on a living creature, wriggled and gradually closed, eventually disappearing completely.

Only a pale, cold moon and a few sparse stars remained in the night sky.

Only the stench of blood in the air and the ravaged earth testified to the existence of the battle that had just taken place.