BLEACH: Blade of Purification

"It's nothing major."

Ling Qing let out a faint sigh. He reached out and patted the tachi at his waist. "I just feel like this sword no longer meets my needs."

"Hm?"

Ling Qing's statement stunned Souichirou for a moment. He didn't seem to understand what Ling Qing meant.

Seeing Souichirou's expression, Ling Qing had no choice but to draw the sword again, pointing the tip to the side and gesturing to its size. "You might not believe this, but for the me right now, this sword is far too short. It needs to be at least two or three times longer to be barely suitable. Just the blade, I mean."

It was normal for tachi to vary in length, but extending the blade by two or three times was somewhat incredible. If only the blade length changed while the hilt remained the same, it couldn't even be used as a nodachi. Wielding a sword nearly two meters long, or even longer, with a single arm was simply astounding.

Ling Qing knew this himself. If Souichirou hadn't asked, he wouldn't have brought it up. His original plan was to go to the Seireitei and see if he could find a blacksmith or swordsmith to custom-make one for him. After all, he had picked this sword up from a dead Shinigami's body. The Shinigami must have a service for custom-making swords.

But before he could do that, Souichirou had shown up at his door. And he had offered a price Ling Qing couldn't refuse. Ling Qing had optimistically thought that a little delay wouldn't matter.

Yet now, for some reason, the feeling was becoming increasingly unbearable. It wasn't obvious on the outside... well, maybe it was. At least Souichirou had noticed. It was a sensation like a feather constantly tickling his heart, unbearable yet helpless. Now, every time Ling Qing swung his sword, he wished he could just throw it away. It would be simpler and less troublesome to just tear the Hollows apart with his bare hands.

Ling Qing truly couldn't understand how he could one day be tormented by such a thing. Before this happened to him, if he heard a similar complaint, he would probably have dismissed it with a detached "any sword will do, stop being so picky."

Hearing Ling Qing's words, a look of surprise appeared on Souichirou's face, a surprise so evident that even Ling Qing could see it. This was the first time Ling Qing had ever seen such an expression on his face.

Souichirou looked at the sword in Ling Qing's hand, thought for a moment, and then said hesitantly, in a probing tone, "Could you... let me see the sword in your hand?"

Soul Society had no firearms, only bladed weapons. Asking someone to hand over their sword was, in a way, almost equivalent to asking them to entrust their life to you. If someone in the 80th District had dared to say that to him, Ling Qing would have cut them down without a second thought.

But now...

Ling Qing hesitated for several seconds before finally reversing his grip and handing the sword, hilt-first, to Souichirou.

Ling Qing had no particular attachment to this sword. He had only been using it because it happened to be with him. The fact that he was planning to go to the Seireitei to find a blacksmith to replace it showed that he didn't care about this sword at all. If he were in the Seireitei now, he would have no problem giving this increasingly awkward sword to Souichirou.

The reason for Ling Qing's hesitation was whether he should entrust his current weapon to another person. Even though the sword was becoming more unwieldy, in a battle, the difference between being armed and unarmed was still huge. This was why Ling Qing hadn't thrown the sword away yet.

But in the end, Ling Qing chose to trust Souichirou. After spending half a month together, even though he still couldn't completely see through Souichirou, who seemed to be hiding some secret, he believed he had at least seen through a part of Souichirou's character. In the part he saw, Souichirou was not the kind of person who would do something treacherous.

If Ling Qing had misjudged, then it only proved that he had made a mistake in reading people. And that would be his own mistake to bear.

Souichirou was also an astute person. Ling Qing's few seconds of hesitation allowed him to clearly understand Ling Qing's thoughts. He was quite moved that Ling Qing ultimately handed him the sword. But he didn't say anything, simply taking the sword and examining it carefully.

Ling Qing didn't know what kind of craftsmanship this sword had. From the day he picked it up until now, he had never once sharpened it, yet it had never become dull. In fact, it had become sharper with his use. If the blade didn't automatically clean itself of blood after killing a person or a Hollow, Ling Qing would have suspected it was the legendary cursed sword, Muramasa.

Souichirou examined the sword in his hand, and the surprise on his face grew even more intense. His eyes widened, and he looked at Ling Qing in astonishment, his voice filled with a disbelief that even he found incredible.

"You've been... fighting with an Asauchi this whole time?"

"?"

Ling Qing was confused by the term Souichirou used. "Asauchi? What does that mean? Is that the name of this sword? Do you know it?"

"This is impossible..."

Even Souichirou was momentarily overwhelmed by a sense of dread and fear. All this time, he had appeared calm and composed, even taking pleasure in observing Ling Qing's fighting style, but that was based on the assumption that Ling Qing had at least achieved the initial release of his sword.

To achieve Shikai, and accumulate a significant amount of experience through numerous battles to the point of being able to easily slay dozens of ordinary Hollows, was surprising but not impossible. Therefore, Souichirou had never carefully examined the sword at Ling Qing's waist. He knew that staring at someone else's weapon was tantamount to a provocation, or even an invitation to fight.

And it was precisely for this reason that Souichirou was now engulfed by a belated terror!

Not only had the sword not been released, but the sword itself had not changed at all. The handguard was the standard-issue style of an Asauchi! The blade itself was too!

In other words, the power Ling Qing had displayed had absolutely nothing to do with the sword in his hand! His true strength came from himself, not from combining his power with his sword to achieve a result where 1+1 > 2!

What a terrifying monster... Souichirou groaned inwardly with difficulty.

When he had previously observed Ling Qing suppressing his spiritual pressure in an extremely crude manner, he had vaguely sensed that something was amiss. Now it seemed he should have paid more attention back then!

A storm raged in his heart, but on the surface, he managed to maintain his composure. Souichirou returned the sword to Ling Qing.

He asked, again in a probing tone, "Have you... never considered communicating with your sword?"

"...Huh? Becoming one with the sword? Is that really possible? I'm not some kind of sword god."

Just as Souichirou was about to say more, the air suddenly grew heavy. An immense pressure descended abruptly, pressing down on both their shoulders.

They both subconsciously looked up at the sky—

At some point, a crack had appeared in the sky. It was as if the dark night was tearing this sky apart, transforming into a giant black shadow that fell from above.

It was a colossal figure, as large as a hill. Its body was like a witch's cloak with a huge hole in the center. It was entirely black, with the only white parts being the long nose and white mask on its face, resembling a clown.

Compared to it, Ling Qing and Shihouin Souichirou were as small as mice...

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