BLEACH: Blade of Purification

The wind whipped the snow, and the snow covered everything.

The blizzard, which seemed as if it would never end, suddenly froze in place.

A moment later, a hurricane erupted from within the still air, its shockwave expanding outwards in a circular ripple!

It was unrestrained Reiatsu, released at full power. The spiritual pressure surged forth with astonishing force, blasting every single snowflake out of the training grounds in an instant!

This Reiatsu, stronger than that of most high-seated officers in the Gotei 13, expanded outwards. Even the spectating Captains felt a faint stinging sensation on their faces.

And in the center of the training grounds, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, the target of this Reiatsu, opened his eyes slightly, his gaze fixed on Ling Qing, who had closed the distance in an instant to attack him!

Ling Qing seemed to teleport. In the blink of an eye, he had crossed the distance between them and was before Yamamoto, his oversized blade acting more like a spear. Even so, he wielded the massive sword with an air of casual ease.

The long, slender blade moved like a stream of light. By the time one noticed it, it was already too late. It swung down mercilessly towards Yamamoto!

But in the face of such a strike, Yamamoto demonstrated the composure of a Shinigami who had lived for a thousand years. He didn't even consider drawing his own sword, nor did any surprise show on his face.

With a simple lean and a slight turn of his body, he dodged the blow that would have killed most officers of the Gotei 13!

Ling Qing had fully expected Yamamoto to dodge the attack. In fact, he would have been disappointed if the Captain-Commander couldn't do at least that much; it would have made him doubt the entire standard of the Gotei 13.

The downward slash did not follow through completely. The moment it missed, Ling Qing's wrist turned, and the blade pursued the slightly leaning Yamamoto! It was like a shadow, a phantom. To think that one could dodge his attacks with such minimal movement was nothing but a foolish dream!

This was the message Ling Qing's assault seemed to convey.

However, Yamamoto merely let out a soft chuckle.

Then, Ling Qing's swinging blade met an obstacle.

With an air of nonchalance even greater than Ling Qing's, Yamamoto had raised his cane, blocking the strike just before it could land on his body. At the same time, as if swinging a sword, he flicked the cane and batted Ling Qing's longsword away!

Though he wasn't using his full strength, it was no playful tap. Even his probing attacks were serious, yet such a strike was still unable to test even a fraction of Yamamoto's true power. The Captain-Commander hadn't even gotten serious yet!

The first strike having failed, Ling Qing immediately launched a furious, storm-like assault without pause. The longsword, swung with a special technique to leverage its force, seemed to vanish into the air. All that could be seen were endless silver arcs of light striking out from Ling Qing's position towards Yamamoto!

Yamamoto was completely surrounded by these arcs, which came from every direction, seemingly leaving no room to dodge.

Yet, faced with this relentless and merciless barrage, Yamamoto remained utterly composed. He moved unhurriedly through the storm of silver arcs that left deep gashes in the ground around him, using his cane to parry and disperse each strike that came for him.

Ling Qing constantly shifted his position, attacking Yamamoto from every angle, but the Captain-Commander remained rooted in place, meeting every change with his own unyielding stance.

None of the Captains present—not even Chōjirō Sasakibe, the nominal Lieutenant—was a novice. Even as spectators, they could see things that most Shinigami would miss.

This was the first time Shunsui Kyōraku, Jūshirō Ukitake, and Chōjirō Sasakibe had seen Ling Qing fight. Yet, they quickly perceived the true threat hidden within his attacks.

Shunpo, the Flash Step, is an essential technique in a Shinigami's battle. It wasn't that Shunpo was useless against an opponent like Yamamoto; it was that Ling Qing hadn't used it even once from the very beginning! Every attack, every retreat, every counter—all of his movements could be clearly observed. In the high-speed combat of Shinigami, his pace seemed almost too slow.

An ordinary Shinigami, like Saitō Gotsuki, might think just that.

But only the Captains understood the breathtaking combat mastery hidden within his seemingly slow movements. It was a fighting talent that, even against an opponent like Yamamoto, refused to yield an inch of momentum, constantly striving to seize control of the battle!

If Ling Qing's opponent were anyone else, they might have surrendered the flow of the battle before they even realized it.

But unfortunately for him, his opponent here was the Captain-Commander, a Shinigami of a thousand years, the founder of the Gotei 13.

So far, Ling Qing hadn't even forced Yamamoto to draw his sword.

Perhaps it's still too early for him to be fighting the Captain-Commander? Just as this thought of regret began to surface in Shihōin Sōichirō's mind, the situation suddenly changed!

Yamamoto met all of Ling Qing's attacks with his unyielding defense. Ling Qing, never discouraged, constantly switched tactics and angles, searching for a single flaw in Yamamoto's guard.

Or rather... he would create a flaw himself!

Yamamoto calmly dispersed another incoming slash. He was quite impressed and intrigued by Ling Qing's swordsmanship, which could almost manifest his slashes into physical projectiles. He would even say it was a completely new style of kenjutsu.

If this had been eight hundred years ago, Ling Qing would surely have been challenged by the now-retired 'Kenpachi' of that era. But with Ling Qing's current power, he was still too weak to bring out the true potential of this style.

The reason Yamamoto didn't draw his sword was not out of disrespect for Ling Qing. On the contrary, it was a sign of his care. Though he had accepted the challenge and advised Ling Qing to give up before the fight began, Ling Qing was not an enemy. There was no reason for Yamamoto to strike him down without mercy.

So, before he got serious, before he truly drew his sword, he wanted Ling Qing to understand the vast distance that still separated them—a distance that required great effort to cross. In a way, this was little more than a warm-up. Yamamoto was both testing the limits of Ling Qing's power and trying to make him back down.

But, in that very instant—

A strike as fast as lightning seemed to cleave the very air!

"!!"

From the side, an attack came that even Yamamoto could not ignore. Though he evaded in time, still—!

With a heavy boom, a massive vertical crack appeared on the wall of the training grounds on Yamamoto's other side!

A wisp of white filament was blown away by the cold wind, carried up into the sky...

It was Yamamoto's beard!

His impressively long, silver-white beard, which he cared for meticulously and tied with a purple band, had not been as quick to dodge as its owner. In that split second where Yamamoto had been unable to completely evade, the unbreakable flash of the sword had torn through the wall and his most treasured possession!

Only then did a genuine smile appear on Ling Qing's face.

Though it was just a small strand of his beard, and at first glance seemed insignificant, Ling Qing, Yamamoto himself, and all the spectating Captains instantly tensed up!

Because they all knew that from this moment on, something had fundamentally changed!

There was an essential difference between being unable to break through Yamamoto's defense no matter how hard one tried, and being able to sever a single strand of his beard!

It was the decisive difference between 0 and 1.

The former meant that no matter what Ling Qing did, he could not touch Yamamoto.

But the latter meant...

Ling Qing could now pose a threat to Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni!

Even if that threat was, in some ways, almost negligible.

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