Ability

"Renge's ability originally greatly increased the upper limit of your Reiatsu output for a very short time, strengthening your basic skills like Zankensōki."

"The flower blooms, and the lotus appears; the flower falls, and the lotus takes form."

"Burning itself out for one brilliant instant of bloom-that is Renge."

"If you wanted, you could even pour in a huge amount of Reiatsu at once, unleash a strike far beyond your current power, and blow yourself up along with your opponent."

"Of course, in your current condition, pulling off one attack beyond your normal limits would already be pretty good."

Shackle Lotus looked at Wang Xun with eyes full of pity and sympathy.

Although she was talking about Reiatsu, it felt as though she wasn't talking only about Reiatsu.

Wang Xun curled his lip.

"What, do you want to try it?"

"Eek~ Master, you're so bad. You won't even spare your Zanpakuto?"

Only when Wang Xun was about to smack her on the head with the back of his blade did she put away her playful expression and continue.

"Although Renge's ability was preserved, it isn't my core ability anymore. What I'm going to tell you about next is my other current ability."

"'Shackle' is the new skill the system gave me."

"I can analyze the abilities of enemies you encounter, whether they're Zanpakuto abilities, Quincy abilities, Fullbring abilities, or Hollow abilities."

"Once the analysis is complete, I can resist, or even seal, the enemy's ability."

"Resistance is passive; sealing is active."

"But the effect of the seal depends on the upper limit of your Reiatsu."

"The abilities I've analyzed are saved in... Let me see, um..."

Shackle Lotus lay on her back on the ground, her two fair calves crossed and her delicate feet swaying back and forth.

She held out a finger and scrolled up and down the system interface that appeared in front of her.

"How come I can't see a single analyzed ability, meow?"

"Oh, oh, it's because I haven't been released yet, so I haven't analyzed any enemies' abilities."

"Hehe, Master is so weak~"

Watching Shackle Lotus scroll up and down the system panel with her finger, Wang Xun finally caught on.

He froze for a moment, then his eyes widened slightly.

"You have a cheat too?"

"A little cheat doesn't count."

Shackle Lotus waved a hand dismissively.

Wang Xun watched Shackle Lotus scroll with her finger, then caught on and opened his own status panel too.

[Name: Wang Xun]

Spiritual Might: eighth class (experience: 650/8000)

Kendō: lv4 (experience: 310/5000)

Hakuda: lv4 (experience: 220/5000)

Shunpo: lv4 (experience: 350/5000)

Kidō: lv3 (experience: 2650/3000)

Zanpakuto: Shackle Lotus (Shikai)

[Special abilities]

Hollowfication: lv1 (experience: 460/1000)

Hōgyoku (awakening: 0.05%)

Wang Xun saw that the Zanpakuto field had changed to Shikai and now recorded Shackle Lotus's name.

With a thought, he brought up another pop-up.

[Analyzed abilities: none]

This was the place Shackle Lotus had been scrolling through just now.

Wang Xun stood where he was and quietly took a moment to digest it.

This Zanpakuto had given him too much information to take in.

But the surprise was just as great.

Renge's own ability was closer to that of a direct-attack type, allowing Wang Xun to unleash tremendous power in a short burst.

The other ability, which could analyze and even seal others' abilities, was closer to a rules-based type.

It had both the stats and the mechanics.

The only problem now was that his own base stats were too weak.

Shackle Lotus seemed to see right through Wang Xun's thoughts.

"Hehe, Master is like someone who sees two top-of-the-line big cars right in front of him, but he's so weak that his foot can't even reach the gas pedal."

"Even though he's holding the key, he can't get it into the keyhole. He can't drive the big cars wherever he wants, so all he can do is sit on the sidelines crying, frantic with frustration."

With a thunk, Shackle Lotus took a blow to the head from the back of his blade. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground, clutching her head and wailing.

"Argh, sob... I'm being abused by my family of origin. I'm going to post about you online and call you out..."

Wang Xun ignored Shackle Lotus as she kicked her legs beside him and sighed inwardly.

What she said was true.

His progress was a little too slow.

Although he could still farm some experience from Kaien, the upper limit wasn't very high.

At that moment, Wang Xun suddenly thought of the badge Kisuke Urahara had given him, though he didn't know why.

The Detention Unit...

Perhaps it was time to take the initiative and meet his future colleagues.

After digesting the information, Wang Xun finally let out a slow breath.

Then he looked at Shackle Lotus, who had secretly started picking at her toes beside him, and asked a few questions.

"There's still something I don't understand about the analysis ability you mentioned."

"If my opponent has an additional-effect type ability, I can understand interference and control abilities not working on me."

"But what if the enemy has a direct-attack type or Kidō-type ability? What happens when they attack me while you're analyzing it?"

"During the analysis, the damage gradually decreases as the analysis progresses, until you become immune once it's complete."

"Take Ryūjin Jakka, for example. Once the analysis is complete, the flames produced by the blade won't hurt you anymore."

"But even without the additional damage, Old Man Yamamoto's Reiatsu and strength can still chop you to pieces in one stroke."

"Take Zangetsu as another example. A Getsuga Tenshō hitting you would be like a tickle."

"But if he got in your face and auto-attacked you, you could cosplay Satoru Gojo right then and there."

"If it's the most ordinary kind of direct-attack type, where only its appearance changes and its ability is to increase the efficiency of its user's Reiatsu output, all I can do is reduce the damage he deals to you."

"In the end, Master will still have to cross blades with him, meow."

After listening, Wang Xun had a general understanding.

"So, as your analysis progresses, both control effects and damage are weakened, and I can even become immune to them once it's complete, but basic attacks still do base damage."

"And I can even use my own Reiatsu to seal the other person's ability, right?"

Shackle Lotus nodded and rubbed her nose.

"That's right."

"After all, all that talk about the strongest Zanpakuto is just them hyping each other up. A Zanpakuto is only a tool that amplifies and releases their own strength."

"What is truly strong has never been the Zanpakuto's ability, but the person wielding it, meow."

Wang Xun nodded in agreement.

Although her wording was crude, her point was fair.

Wang Xun thought back once more.

"I remember that among the Bakkōtō developed by the Kasumioji Clan, there's one that can suppress a Zanpakuto's ability too. Would that work on you?"

"Besides, don't underestimate the system, dumbass! Among all rules-based abilities, mine definitely has the highest priority, meow!"

Looking at the supremely confident Shackle Lotus, who was hissing wildly, Wang Xun nodded numbly and raised his second question.

He held out a finger horizontally.

"That person-he probably doesn't know your full name and abilities, does he?"