Chapter 76: Collision of Fists (Happy New Year's Eve, Everyone!)
Just as Mo Yu used his fist to hammer Toshiro Hitsugaya thoroughly into the bedrock, someone else made a move.
Countless blades composed of cherry blossom petals flickered like a flowing wind, silently sweeping past Mo Yu's neck. They were beautiful, swift, and precise, but ultimately useless. The blossoms merely scraped against Mo Yu's neck, generating a few sparks before fluttering away.
Mo Yu had long sensed the attack. Even without him consciously activating it, the Reiatsu barrier naturally inherent to the Soul King's body was not something just any attack could breach.
He turned his head to look at Byakuya Kuchiki and asked with curiosity:
"Rukia pleaded with me to pardon the Kuchiki family's sins, and I agreed. As the paragon of nobility, do you not intend to follow Rukia's path? Instead, are you planning to extend your claws toward me like your unfilial ancestors?"
Byakuya lowered his gaze slightly and spoke:
"The position of Head of the Kuchiki Clan has already been passed to Rukia Kuchiki under the witness of the elders. She has made the choice on behalf of the family; the Kuchiki clan will forever remain loyal to You, Lord Soul King. As for me... I am merely an ordinary Soul Reaper who, due to an allergy to muscles, has cast aside his family name and chosen to rebel. I am guilty. Therefore, I implore Your Majesty to deliver judgment..."
Hearing this, Mo Yu laughed:
"An interesting fellow. Leaving the family's honor to your sister while taking the duty of a Gotei 13 Soul Reaper upon your own shoulders..."
One can never truly judge a person's heart until the final moment. Byakuya, the model aristocrat and head of a Great House, was unexpectedly sentimental. He entrusted everything to Rukia just so he could draw his blade according to his own heart!
The era of the Seireitei founded by Genryusai Yamamoto had lasted a millennium—long enough to cover two generations even for the long-lived Soul Reapers. Byakuya was born in it, raised in it, and ultimately, he was willing to be buried in it as a member of the Gotei 13.
"Your Majesty overestimates me. I simply do not wish to wake up every day to see the 'Golden Spirit War-Soul' of my late wife, Hisana, shouting bizarre things like 『KO-HU! EAT MY LOVE-INFINITE PUNCH!』 while flexing highly developed biceps and slamming sandbag-sized fists into my face..."
There were many reasons to draw a blade, but they were all secondary. Only the results bore witness to the truth. Mo Yu understood this and said simply:
"Come, let me see your Purity!"
"Scatter, Senbonzakura..."
Byakuya's Bankai possessed an indescribable aesthetic. Tens of thousands of blossom-blades danced in the wind, lethal intent hidden within the elegant falling petals. Mo Yu's eyes flickered with boredom; such a flashy Bankai was not considered top-tier even in the original work.
But in the next instant, Mo Yu's eyes lit up!
The petals swirled into a vortex, sweeping forward like a pink drill. And the core of that drill was Byakuya's incoming... fist!
It turned out that Mo Yu's method of "Martial Artist Inheritance" was indeed effective. Being pummeled daily by the muscle-bound war-soul of Hisana had caused Byakuya's Purity to grow passively, leading to a gradual metamorphosis.
To show his appreciation, Mo Yu did not block. He took the punch directly with his chest!
"Potent!"
Mo Yu praised him. This punch was worthy of his admiration.
The Path of Purity was not a monolith. For a Captain-level Soul Reaper, the shallowest application of Purity was the integration and redevelopment of their own Bankai. Byakuya had clearly touched the essence of this.
The cherry blossom petals—sharp but only useful for clearing mobs—had been discarded. The sight of them fluttering in the sky was now a mere disguise, a "special effect." He had stripped the form to keep the marrow. In their place were extremely fine, razor-sharp currents of Reishi force.
The Bankai of Senbonzakura had been completely transformed into the Senbonzakura Punch!
One punch unleashed tens of thousands of sharp currents, ever-changing yet lethally powerful. But if it were just a physical representation of his Bankai, it wouldn't have earned such praise. This "Drill Punch" represented a fundamental breakthrough; it possessed a terrifying power to split, shatter, and pulverize!
It felt as if anything blocking this fist would be bored through. Through this force, Mo Yu seemed to hear the roar of Byakuya's inner heart:
"A world where a muscle-soul version of my late wife Hisana exists... SMASH INTO DUST!!!"
The will was intense and pure. Though the meaning was a bit subtle, Mo Yu didn't care as long as it was "macho" enough. The Soul King's natural barrier was bored through, touching the flesh, and golden blood splattered.
This punch was not just landed on the Soul King's body; through the sensory link, it mapped onto Mo Yu's 3D body sitting at the computer. It stung slightly—not because Byakuya's force was cross-dimensional, but because the Soul King's body faithfully transmitted the sensation. Mo Yu could have blocked it, but he didn't. Under the stimulus of pain, he discovered that as a web-novel author, he possessed a hidden talent for combat!
Pain caused his urge to fight to skyrocket uncontrollably. Sitting before the screen, Mo Yu let out a grin so wild it could be a "Face-Acting" meme!
"If you don't like the Golden Spirit version of your late wife, I shall grant your wish! Martial artists with 'Golden Spirit' who can be used as inheritance templates are... uncountable, goddammit!!!"
The Soul King's eyes flared. Surging battle intent exploded as He threw a heavy counter-punch.
Facing this punch, Byakuya's eyes went wide. Not because of its power, but because it was incomprehensible. As the fist approached, he saw countless high-purity giants marching toward him: there was Fisher with Vaseline, Fisher with a chrysanthemum in his mouth, Fisher striking bodybuilding poses...
Mo Yu could also use the Endless Fisher Punch pioneered by Ichigo, and his version was more potent. It wasn't just extracting a mental will; it was using the force of the punch to manifest vivid, real War-Souls.
In an instant, Byakuya was surrounded. Endless Fishers moved in from all sides—front, back, left, right... he was literally "surrounded by men."
One didn't need to research who Fisher was. Just looking at that loathsome, degenerate expression and gaze told Byakuya everything. The noble circles had a long history with such... "eccentricities."
Byakuya had made peace with death, but he absolutely refused to die "surrounded by men" in such a fashion under the gaze of everyone. Driven by this thought, his will and power broke through once more.
The Senbonzakura Punch reached a new peak. With every strike, invisible cutting forces roared. Amidst his frantic roars, his fists moved like the wind—hundreds, thousands of strikes in the blink of an eye. He replicated Ichigo's peak speed from the original story, using raw hand-speed to cut everything within a several-meter radius into millimeter-sized pieces, ensuring the Endless Fishers couldn't get close!
Mo Yu realized that Grand Fisher truly was the "Gold-Medal Mentor" of Martial Artists. Every fighter taught by him progressed at lightning speed. Even without personal instruction, just facing him caused a mid-battle breakthrough.
Inspired, Mo Yu decided that in the next Purity system update, he would increase the spawn rate of the Fisher Golden Spirit by several dozen percent. He wanted to ensure every "newbie" martial artist had the chance to be personally tutored by this world-class mentor!
"My, my... Lord Soul King. Perhaps you should stop that 'filthy adult game' and play a child's game with me instead? For instance... the first one to catch the other wins!"
While Mo Yu was locked in battle with Byakuya, Shunsui Kyoraku silently entered Shikai. Holding his twin blades, he lunged into the fray with Shunpo, swinging his steel!
Mo Yu sensed the sneak attack but didn't care. He knew Kyoraku's personality. As the number two of the Gotei 13, Shunsui had the "bad habit" of interfering in others' duels. He inherited Yamamoto's philosophy: a Captain cannot let rules hinder victory. To him, victory was a Captain's only duty.
His Shikai ability, Katen Kyōkotsu, was simple: "Children's Games." He could impose rules like a child's game and gain the advantage. Currently, the rule was [First to catch/touch the other wins]. In reality, his blade touching the Soul King's body first constituted "victory."
The result was clear. A strike that wasn't exceptionally strong landed on the Soul King, yet it felt like a giant swinging a massive axe. The blood loss was staggering!
In terms of haxi, Shunsui's Katen Kyōkotsu was terrifying because it was a "Rule-Based" Zanpakuto.
In the 3D world, Mo Yu felt the pain of a slash from his shoulder to his stomach. He shakily reached out, put a cigarette in his mouth, and lit it. As he exhaled a smoke ring, the wild grin on his face didn't fade, but his voice remained flat:
"So, 'victory' means a sixteen-fold amplification of a single attack? As expected of a child's game; the reward is too small. Is there anything... more potent?"
The Soul King's wound closed instantly. The golden blood flowed backward into his body.
Kyoraku's pupils shrank. Possessing massive insight, he lunged to the left just as the Soul King's fist whistled past his ear. The residual shockwave tore a hundred-meter trench into the earth.
"Crap!"
Though he dodged the direct hit, Kyoraku cursed inwardly. The Soul King had two fists. One missed, the other was already cocked.
Just then, Jushiro Ukitake rushed in. His Shikai, Sōgyo no Kotowari, transformed into two blades connected by a chain. He intercepted Mo Yu's punch with the left blade. Bizarrely, the terrifying power of the Soul King's fist was absorbed, transferred through the chain, and unleashed through the right blade. Ukitake swung the right sword; its force was identical to the Soul King's own punch.
This strike left another mark on the Soul King's vessel. But it wasn't over. Sajin Komamura charged forward. He didn't use his blade; he didn't need it. Bankai power filled him, causing his body to swell into a six-meter-tall mountain of a werewolf!
The power of Purity was intuitive for Komamura. He wasn't human; he carried the blood of beasts. That innate aggression and savage will were high-purity by birth, merely restrained by reason.
A fist slammed down, creating a massive crater in the earth! A punch landed on the crown of the Soul King's head, hammering His lower body deep into the ground.
Every strike landed, but the Captains showed no joy. From the start, the Soul King had not defended. He was tanking their attacks without reservation. This fighting style told them clearly: their attacks were still "lacking."
"Komamura... do you know? For you, and the 'minority race' behind you, I held special expectations. But sadly, they disappointed me!"
Ichibe wasn't the only old monster in the Three Worlds. Behind this wolf-man lay another: the Great Elder of the Werewolf Clan, an ancient being whose size rivaled mountains. But even as the tournament raged and Hell invaded, the Great Elder had simply sealed his territory and ignored the world.
"I won't punish them specifically. Giving up their right to vote on the fate of the Three Worlds is punishment enough. But for you, who dares to face me... I will be a little harsher. Now... stand firm. Guard well. DON'T DIE!!!"
Light-wings sprouted from the Soul King's arms, extending to His back. They danced, exhaling immeasurable torrents of Reishi, while aggressively vacuuming the spiritual energy from His enemies to make it His own. This was the ultimate mastery of Reishi: absolute dominance over all spiritual particles!
"ULTIMATE REISHI BLASTING FUNCH..."
A fist of boundless radiance erupted. Komamura's vision turned absolute white; he couldn't see a thing. He wanted to dodge or counter, but the feeling of his spiritual energy being vacuumed out left him without the strength to even form a thought.
Right then, a charred, withered hand—covered in traces of red magma—clenched into a fist and collided with the fist of boundless light!
Brilliant white radiance clashed with scorching dark fire, turning into two forces that blotted out the sky. Every other Captain could do only one thing: flee in panic.
When the light settled, Mo Yu and Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto stood face-to-face, fists pressed against each other!
"Strongest Soul Reaper... you finally acted. Are you ready to face death?"
"Lord Soul King... please die once first!"
With those few words, a boundless radiance exploded from their fists as they swung at each other!
End of Chapter
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