Time flew by, and another two and a half years passed in a flash.
Inside the master bedroom of the Star Brilliance Fortress.
Ishida Mist leaned against the headboard, her breathing shallow and ragged.
She was already 230 years old this year. If she were in the Wandenreich, constantly nourished by Reishi, this age would be nothing, merely that of a young Quincy. However, their Star Brilliance Fortress was built in the Human World, where Reishi concentration, though slightly higher than the outside, was far from comparable to the Wandenreich.
In a world with such low Reishi concentration, living to 230 years was already remarkable. In recent years, she had increasingly felt her strength failing, a clear sign that her end was near.
She looked at the pure-blood Quincy gathered around her.
"I announce that in half a month, a selection ceremony will be held. All Quincy, pure-blood or mixed-blood, who meet the age requirements can participate. The winner will be able to fuse with Yhwach… His Majesty's remaining blood."
It was clear that Ishida Mist held little reverence for Yhwach, the Quincy progenitor. In public, she almost called him by his name directly.
Now, on the verge of death, she understood things clearly. Since her most favored Ishida Soken was unwilling to absorb Yhwach's blood to enhance his power, she had to choose someone capable of acquiring Holy Text Power, so that their lineage could survive long-term.
Upon hearing this, Kurosaki Tomohiko immediately showed an expression of wild joy:
"Thank you, Lord…"
At the same time, he turned to look at a pair of blonde teenagers behind him.
The boy had a blonde buzz cut, stood about 1.8 meters tall, and had a well-proportioned, muscular physique. The girl had long, flowing blonde hair and was equally tall, her perfect curves already taking shape.
The two were the fifteen-year-old Kurosaki Hiro and Kurosaki Nan.
"Little Hiro, Little Nan, your chance has come! You must obtain His Majesty's blood this time!"
Kurosaki Tomohiko had participated in the selection ceremony years ago and had won. However, unfortunately, in the final step of fusion and absorption, he was unable to withstand the Shock of Yhwach's willpower within that drop of blood, leading to absorption failure.
Now, he placed his hopes on his two children, hoping they would succeed.
"We will definitely try our best, Father!"
The girl spoke loudly, while Kurosaki Hiro, distracted, echoed her words.
"Yhwach's blood?"
Kurosaki Hiro agreed outwardly, but deep down, he was very resistant to Yhwach's blood.
Drinking Yhwach's blood could indeed awaken Sacred Letter, but it also meant being marked by Yhwach, who could perform Soul Burial on him remotely.
Originally, ordinary pure-blood Quincy were exempt from Soul Burial, but once they accepted the power granted by Yhwach, it was like taking out a high-interest loan; it would have to be repaid in the future, along with their own power and life force.
"It seems, compared to Yhwach's blood, I have an even better method…"
...
Half a month later, in the training room.
Ishida Mist sat on the European-style sofa at the front. Beside her were a group of pure-blood Quincy, as well as more than ten young Quincy who were about to participate in the selection. Among them, only Kurosaki Hiro, Kurosaki Nan, and Ishida Zongyu were pure-blood Quincy; the remaining nine were mixed-blood Quincy of suitable age.
In the previous selections at the Star Brilliance Fortress, pure-blood Quincy had always won, so the remaining nine mixed-bloods were, to put it plainly, just there to make up the numbers.
The ultimate winner would still be born from among the Kurosaki siblings and Ishida Zongyu.
"Now, I announce that the first match will be Kurosaki Hiro versus Nishida Shang."
Ishida Mist's ancient voice slowly resounded.
The next moment, Kurosaki Hiro and another burly, bowl-cut young Quincy entered the barrier formed by hundreds of Soul Cutters.
"Young Master Hiro, be careful!"
The burly young man Nishida Shang bowed to Kurosaki Hiro, who nodded in acknowledgment.
"Chirp!"
The next moment, Nishida Shang was the first to condense a Reishi bow and arrow, drawing the bow and firing an arrow at Kurosaki Hiro.
Facing the fierce Holy Arrow, Kurosaki Hiro merely tilted his head slightly and dodged it. The Holy Arrow was silently absorbed by a Soul Cutter hanging on the wall.
Seeing his attack miss, Nishida Shang used Hirenkyaku, transforming into streaks of afterimages that appeared around Kurosaki Hiro.
In an instant, blue-glowing Reishi arrows shot from all directions. However, Kurosaki Hiro remained unmoved, only catching an arrow that was directly aimed at his waist amidst the barrage of Reishi arrows. In that very instant, the myriad arrows dissipated.
The other arrows were fake; only the one caught by Kurosaki Hiro was real.
Kurosaki Hiro held the arrow in his palm, and using Hirenkyaku, he instantly flashed in front of Nishida Shang, placing the arrow's tip directly against his throat.
"I… lost."
Nishida Shang looked dejectedly at the arrow pressed against his throat. He never expected to be subdued without even forcing Kurosaki Hiro to use his Reishi bow and arrow.
"Indeed, can mixed-bloods never defeat pure-bloods?"
Seeing Nishida Shang so weak, Kurosaki Hiro immediately lost interest in individual matches and nonchalantly picked his ear.
"All of you, come at me together!"
Kurosaki Hiro glanced at all the young Quincy who were about to participate and spoke indifferently.
"Wow, Big Brother is so amazing~"
Kurosaki Nan, beside him, looked at Kurosaki Hiro with adoration.
"You come too!"
Kurosaki Tomohiko, realizing his son's erratic statement, immediately scolded him:
"Little Hiro, don't be foolish!"
Ishida Mist, lying on the sofa, showed a faint smile on her aged face:
"Since the child has an idea, let him try!"
Then she turned her head to look at the young Quincy who were about to compete.
"In that case, I'll change the rules. All of you enter the arena for a free-for-all. Whoever is standing at the end is the winner."
Ishida Mist's cloudy old eyes scanned the group of young men behind her, then lingered on Ishida Zongyu for a moment.
"Pardon us, Young Master Hiro…"
The eight young mixed-blood Quincy in the arena exchanged glances, then all eight entered and began to jointly attack Kurosaki Hiro. Although they were only mixed-blood Quincy and knew they were just there to make up the numbers in this selection, they were all young and had their own pride, so of course, they were unwilling to be looked down upon.
Kurosaki Nan and Ishida Zongyu, the two young pure-blood Quincy, did not rush into the arena.
The next moment, several mixed-blood Quincy youths, as if planned, decided to team up to defeat Kurosaki Hiro first.
Kurosaki Hiro remained expressionless. No matter how many opponents like these came, they were just easy pickings for him.
In an instant, the eight mixed-blood Quincy youths all raised their Reishi bows and arrows, aiming at Kurosaki Hiro.
"Chirp"
"Chirp"
"Chirp"
In a flash, dozens of Reishi arrows shot at him from all directions, as if they would pierce him like a beehive in the next moment.
The older pure-blood Quincy observing from the sidelines were already ready to intervene at any moment.
Unexpectedly, the scene of Kurosaki Hiro being turned into a pincushion, which everyone had anticipated, did not occur. Instead, just as each arrow was about to hit his body, he always avoided every arrow with the smallest possible movement.
The pure-blood Quincy watching from outside the arena exclaimed in admiration:
"How is Little Hiro's footwork so skilled!"
At this moment, they realized that Kurosaki Hiro's displayed combat awareness and footwork were completely unlike a fifteen-year-old who had not experienced real combat, but rather like a warrior forged in countless bloody battles.
Perhaps because the powers of Hollows and Quincy inherently clashed, Kurosaki Hiro could not borrow Reishi from his main body through Reishi sharing like the Shinigami clone.
Although he could not borrow Reishi, the combat experience accumulated from every battle his main body and Shinigami clone had gone through, as well as over ten years of arduous training, remained. Therefore, the attacks of these novice mixed-blood Quincy were as laughable as a child's punch to Kurosaki Hiro.
Among all the Quincy in the arena, more or less knew that Kurosaki Hiro was very strong. But the only one who knew exactly how strong he was, was Ishida Soken.
After all, in that unannounced battle two and a half years ago, Kurosaki Hiro had already defeated him, let alone now.
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