BLEACH: Blade of Purification

Entering the noble district, the number of passing Soul Reapers suddenly decreased. Both the streets and the surrounding buildings became more stylish. However, compared to the grandeur of the surrounding environment, the Soul Reapers passing by here all carried a bit of arrogance. Or rather, a sense of looking down on people.

Thinking about the name of this area, it's not hard to imagine that most of the Soul Reapers active here should be nobles.

Before entering the noble district, Shihōin Sōichirō still had the interest to introduce this and that to Ling Qing, but after entering, he didn't say much more. And his speed also quietly accelerated a lot.

Ling Qing noticed that the passing Soul Reapers, upon noticing him, would mostly have a subtle change in their faces, then shift their gaze and pretend not to see him, or hurry away. From these details, one could glimpse that his reputation in the noble circle was not very good. It was unknown if this was related to the matters he had to handle in the Seireitei.

Fortunately, the Shihōin family residence was soon reached. In keeping with the surrounding environment, it was a rather grand mansion. But if one were to ask what other feeling it gave besides grandeur, perhaps one could add 'solemn'. It was a feeling that carried the characteristics of weapons or an army.

In a conspicuous place, one could see the family crest: a hexagon on the outside, with two overlapping rectangles inside, the edges adorned with maple leaves, and in the very center, a small square containing a crescent moon.

Noticing that Ling Qing was sizing up his family's mansion and even showing a thoughtful expression, Shihōin Sōichirō was slightly stunned, then realized what he was feeling. He shook his head with a helpless chuckle and explained, "Our Shihōin family is the family specifically responsible for the Onmitsukidō. As one of the five founding families, our other name is—the Heavenly-Bestowed Arsenal."

"Heavenly-Bestowed Arsenal?"

It's unknown if it was because he was home, but his appearance also seemed more upright, no longer the unserious, flamboyant man from before.

"Simply put, we manage the divine weapons and tools bestowed by the Soul King."

Ling Qing nodded, understanding in his heart. Since they managed weapons and also the army-like Onmitsukidō, it was natural for the whole family to have this feeling. This was perhaps the Soul Society's version of holding military power.

"Alright, let's not talk about these common sense things. You'll naturally understand later. Come in with me first."

He followed him into the Shihōin family's residence. After walking a few steps, a rather robust man, whose skin tone was fairer than his own and darker than Sōichirō's, appearing quite normal, came up to greet them. His body also carried a solemn feeling that matched the Shihōin family, but he still gave people a rather kind impression.

"Master, you're back." He first bowed respectfully to Shihōin Sōichirō, then looked at Ling Qing behind him. "This must be Young Master Ling Qing, right?"

"This is Saitō Gotsuki, our family's butler," Shihōin Sōichirō introduced him.

"Mr. Saitō." Ling Qing still had the necessary etiquette. Plus, Saitō Gotsuki was very respectful to him, so he also greeted him politely.

"Haha, you're too kind, too kind. If there's anything you need, Young Master, please just give me the order."

"Alright, Gotsuki, you can try to get close later. For now, first clean up a room for us. I have something to say to Ling Qing."

"I'll go right away."

Saitō Gotsuki's movements were quite fast. Before the other members of the family got the news and ran over to watch the excitement—whether people are alive or dead, gossip is always indispensable—Shihōin Sōichirō had already led Ling Qing to a secluded room.

This was a rather grand small courtyard, completely not in line with his words of 'just find a random room'. He, as if seeing through his confusion, told him that this was actually the small courtyard specially cleaned up for him. If there were no accidents, he would be living here from now on.

The room in the small courtyard had already been cleaned up, but it was a bit too clean, to the point that there was nothing in it. But now was not the time to worry about that.

Ling Qing and Shihōin Sōichirō sat on the veranda. He briefly told him what he had done here while he was in the world of the living fighting the Quincy. He said it very lightly, perhaps because he didn't want to leave an impression of an 'old, cunning politician' in his mind. Because once he left such an impression, it would be difficult for him to fool around in front of him in the future.

Since meeting Ling Qing, he had found such a channel to release the pressure that had always been suppressed in his heart. Therefore, being unceremoniously ridiculed by him, being treated disrespectfully, even being punched and kicked, he found it all very interesting. Of course, that was also on the premise that he himself had no malice.

Shihōin Sōichirō first congratulated him on escaping the attention of the Central 46, and that the Golden Seal Noble Council would not pose an obstacle. But what he talked about more was the resistance from the Shihōin main family, the side that should have supported him.

For the head of the family to adopt a foster son was by no means a small matter. This was different from a foster brother or sister. To put it mildly, everyone would suspect if this was the head's illegitimate son, which was not conducive to family unity. To put it seriously, even if he wasn't an illegitimate son, for the head of the family to suddenly have a foster son, for the head who held the greatest power in the family, this meant there was now another existence to share power with in the future.

Even more conspiratorially, if something unexpected happened and the main and branch families of the Shihōin bloodline all died out, at that time, the Shihōin family would fall into the hands of this inexplicably appeared foster son. The family would fall into the hands of an outsider, a different clan. This was the biggest point of contention in his struggle with the family.

Fortunately, in this aspect, Ling Qing himself had also given him face. Although he seemingly had not appeared in the world of the living, reports about him were continuously sent back to the Soul Society and delivered to his hands.

In the battle with the Quincy, he showed an invincible, almost superior combat power to all the 11th Division members. And among those he surpassed, there were many seated officers who had already mastered Shikai, even high-ranking seated officers.

And at this time, he had not even completed Shikai!

For the Central 46, this was an existence with terrifying potential that had to be eliminated. For the family, this was an overly dazzling, almost must-have resource!

Different positions considered different things. When he noticed his potential, the first thing he thought of was also not to let go, we boys must get what we want. It's not that this kind of family-oriented thinking wasn't at play.

For the various noble families, even those like the Five Great Noble Clans, it was common to secretly collect rare resources or Soul Reapers with special talents. For example, the Tsunayashiro family had been secretly collecting something for hundreds of years.

A treasure like him delivered to the door, only the Central 46 would see him as a thorn in their side. Both the Gotei 13 and the nobles would only treat him as a treasure. Of course, the premise was that this person could be controlled.

On this point, Shihōin Sōichirō could be said to have bet his life on the guarantee, and even said that if he had any rebellious intentions, he would erase him before he could fully grow!

With the guarantee of the head of the family, plus the confidence in his own Heavenly-Bestowed Arsenal family, and finally, his talent, the dissenting voices within the Shihōin family gradually disappeared.

The nobles had powerful bloodlines passed down, and it was easier for Soul Reapers with combat talent and those with naturally strong spiritual pressure to appear. But it was unknown if it was a side effect of this bloodline inheritance, but in recent centuries, the fertility rate of the nobles, especially the Five Great Noble Clans, had been declining.

And he had a powerful potential that even surpassed the bloodline of the Five Great Noble Clans themselves, which also made these nobles have some crooked ideas. For example, marrying a certain scion of the Shihōin family to him. Maybe it could give birth to a mixed-blood with even stronger talent than the Shihōin family bloodline. After all, although he was a member of the Shihōin family, the bloodline was not connected, right?

Of course, this was just a crooked idea that a few people only imagined in their hearts. No one dared to say this in front of the spirited Shihōin Sōichirō. After all, the other party had just adopted him as a foster son, and you immediately wanted to use his foster son for breeding. Wasn't that just asking for death?

But even if these people didn't say their thoughts out loud, it was difficult to escape his eyes. For example, now, he said it with a teasing look, looking forward to seeing what kind of expression he would have.

And what kind of expression could he have? Besides sighing, he could only feel helpless. As a somewhat famous amateur cosplayer, he had indeed encountered some strange people, both men and women. But he himself was quite self-respecting and cherished his feathers. Being treated as a stud horse, this was the first time.

Seeing his helpless expression, Shihōin Sōichirō, as expected, burst into a satisfied, loud laugh. After laughing until he couldn't close his mouth, he looked at him seriously and asked, "So, what do you think now?"

Whether it was the Central 46 who fought with him, or the other nobles, or even the people of the Shihōin main family, they didn't know that the much-talked-about foster son of the Shihōin family had not yet nodded in agreement.

In the eyes of almost everyone, this was a commoner from the Rukongai climbing up the social ladder. But in reality, it was Shihōin Sōichirō, the head of the Shihōin family, who was seeking something he couldn't get.

"What else can I do?" Ling Qing shrugged and spread his hands helplessly. "You've already done all the work in all aspects. Even if I refuse, I'll still be recognized as your foster son, right?"

Shihōin Sōichirō smiled without speaking. Maybe he had brought him for a good tour of the Seireitei, then had Saitō Gotsuki appear, and finally, he himself had said a whole bunch and pointed at this small courtyard, saying to him, "This is the empire I have built for you," also had this purpose in mind.

He didn't think he couldn't see it. He did it precisely so that he could see it, because he believed he was a smart enough person.

And he did see it. With the external conditions already in place, he was now like a Wallfacer. Even if the Wallfacer himself said he wasn't thinking about anything, just wanted to have a good time, people would still derive various thoughts and purposes from it.

Shihōin Sōichirō's dirty trick was that while he was fighting for his life in the world of the living, he had already stirred up a great storm in the Seireitei, creating a fait accompli.

To say he was completely devoted to him was definitely not the case. To say he didn't use any means against him, this was actually a means. But to say he had any malice towards him? That was definitely not there.

In short, if one were to delve into it, it would be quite complicated and messy. But if one considered that whether it was life or the world, or anything else, it was all equally messy, this wasn't so bad.

Judging things by their results and not their intentions might make life a lot easier.

"Well, well, well. We'll count things separately in the future. You call me Dad, and I'll call you Son."

Shihōin Sōichirō wouldn't know that if he had just simply crossed over to the world after death and could still see his parents upon returning to the world of the living, he might have unconsciously resisted this kind of thing. Even if it was just a foster father who counted things separately, even if this actually meant nothing.

But now he realized that he hadn't just simply died, but had crossed over to another world to start a second life. Then he saw things much more openly.

"Fine. We'll count things separately in the future. I'll call you Dad, and you'll call me Son."

Hearing him say this, Shihōin Sōichirō also quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He crossed his arms and said with satisfaction. Even if the great trend was already set, if he didn't nod, it would still make one feel a little uneasy, a feeling that something wasn't quite right.

But suddenly, Shihōin Sōichirō realized something was not quite right. "Wait, is it backwards? Shouldn't it be you call me Dad, and I call you Son? You scoundrel, you're taking advantage of me!"

"Heh, who was it that wanted to take advantage first."

"That's not up to you! Anyway, from now on, even if you don't want to call me, you have to,桀桀桀桀桀桀 (jiejiejiejiejie)!"

With the last matter weighing on his mind gone, even in his own home with no one around, Shihōin Sōichirō still revealed his true nature. He raised his hands and laughed maniacally.

Ling Qing immediately looked at him with disgust, quietly moved a little away from him, with a look that said 'I don't know him'.

"Oh, right." After cackling for a few moments, he suddenly reacted. "Although I've handled most of the matters, there are still some things you need to do later. You'll need to go to the household registration bureau in the seventh district to submit your file first, then go to the high-ranking spirit bureau in the sixth district to register. But that can wait. After you join a squad, you can go to the Gotei 13 members' administration bureau in the fourth district to submit your application first. The most important thing is that to become a member of the Five Great Noble Clans, you need to go to the Golden Seal Noble Council in the central first district to submit an application, and also a name change application."

"?"

In an instant, he looked at Shihōin Sōichirō with a completely baffled expression.

"Oh right, you should go early. The household registration bureau is in charge of many things. Generally, you need to wait there for a whole day to get your business done."

"??"

Does it have to be this troublesome just to be a foster son? And what's with you all kicking the ball around? Do you need to run here and there just to register? Can't you simplify the administrative process and not be so bureaucratic?

Ling Qing immediately cupped his hands at him. "Farewell! If the mountain doesn't turn, the water will. If the water doesn't turn, people will. We will meet again someday!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!!"

Shihōin Sōichirō, who had wanted to see his baffled expression, didn't expect him to have this move. He quickly reached out his hand in an 'Erkang' face.

"I was just kidding, just kidding. Why are you so serious? As your daddy, of course I've already taken care of all these tedious procedures for you."

"Ugh... so disgusting. And! You scoundrel have already taken care of everything! Does it matter whether I agree or not anymore?!!!"

"No, it's still important." Shihōin Sōichirō's expression suddenly became solemn. He reached into his robe and took out a yellow piece of paper, handing it to him.

He took the paper. On it was written "Gotei 13 Member Registration Name Change Application Form."

"At least, before you yourself write this, there is still room for redemption. As a member of the Shihōin family, bearing the name Shihōin is unavoidable. This is your last chance to back out."

"..., don't try to be so profound at a time like this. Suddenly acting so profound isn't cool at all."

"Ah... ah? Really? I thought this was pretty cool. Ahem, forget it. So how are you going to change it? Shihōin Qing, or...?"

"Ling Qing. Shihōin Ling Qing. Even if everyone in the future thinks Ling Qing is my first name, I will not give up this surname."

"Is that so... I understand. Shihōin... Ling Qing!"

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