A Lesson in Shikai 15: Chapter 15: The Sword Borrower!
A Lesson in Shikai “What’s the name of this Zanpakuto?” Lu Ming stroked his chin and said in a low voice, “This pair of blades is called Katen Kyokotsu!
The long blade is Katen, and the short blade is Kyokotsu.” “As for Katen Kyokotsu’s Forbidden Realm ability, Old Zhao, you’ll need to gain the blade’s recognition before you can awaken it.
You didn’t think my Zanpakuto were so cheap that you could master its Forbidden Realm the moment you laid hands on it, did you?” “How naive!” Lu Ming’s expression grew exceptionally serious.
“Old Zhao, Katen Kyokotsu is the Zanpakuto that suits you best!
But high compatibility doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to earn its approval.” “Katen Kyokotsu is both the name of the Zanpakuto and the name of its Forbidden Realm.
Strictly speaking, you should have sought out and discovered the Zanpakuto’s true name yourself, rather than having me tell you outright.” Zhao Kongcheng paused, suddenly realizing he had indeed been too impatient.
He opened his mouth to explain, but Lu Ming gave him no chance, continuing in a grave tone to reveal even more about the Zanpakuto.
“Now that you possess a Zanpakuto and have become the proxy wielder of a second Zanpakuto, you’re qualified to learn more about their capabilities.” “Leng Xuan, you might as well listen too.
Your Starblade broke because of a Zanpakuto, so I’ll forge a suitable Zanpakuto for you later.
Understanding this in advance will save me some trouble down the line.” Leng Xuan, who had been about to discreetly excuse himself, stopped in his tracks.
Having received a definitive answer from Lu Ming, his heart surged with overwhelming excitement.
In this moment, he had no time to mourn his shattered Starblade; his gaze was entirely captivated by the Zanpakuto Katen Kyokotsu in Zhao Kongcheng’s hands.
Lu Ming stood under the eaves, but he could sense that directly above him, Hongying and Si Xiaonan could also hear every word.
He didn’t mind letting more people listen.
Originally, he hadn’t been in a rush to forge Zanpakuto, intending only to craft one for Zhao Kongcheng—who was destined to meet an early demise—to protect himself.
However, he hadn’t expected that after Zhao Kongcheng obtained Katen Kyokotsu, as the master swordsmith, he would gain insights directly from Zhao Kongcheng’s recent spar.
To put it in MMORPG terms, it was just like gaining EXP.
He hadn’t even paid close attention to Zhao Kongcheng’s test run earlier, yet as long as Zhao Kongcheng used the Zanpakuto, Lu Ming seemed to absorb experience points directly from him.
In just that brief test drive, Lu Ming felt his mastery over swordsmanship reach a whole new level, while his physical combat skills grew noticeably sharper as well.
His suspicion was swiftly confirmed by the voice in his mind.
[As the Blade God, all proficiency gained in foundational Soul Reaper skills by any borrower while wielding a Zanpakuto shall be absorbed by the Sword God.] Lu Ming had never imagined that forging Zanpakuto for others would carry such a benefit.
Zan, Ken, So, Ki—the four basic skills of a Soul Reaper.
Zan—Swordsmanship!
Ken—Hand-to-Hand Combat!
So—Shunpo!
Ki—Kido!
Yesterday, Lu Ming had become the proxy of the Soul King and gained access to the Soul King Palace.
In reality, however, he had merely obtained a Zanpakuto and mastered the use of spiritual energy; his physical stats and combat experience remained unchanged.
During his fight against the Ghostface, he had relied entirely on Senbonzakura’s sheer power to instakill his opponent.
In truth, Lu Ming was anything but proficient in combat techniques.
If Senbonzakura ever failed to pull off an instant kill and forced a pure melee brawl, Lu Ming would end up looking utterly miserable.
After all, he didn’t know the first thing about the four foundational Soul Reaper skills.
But now, that problem appeared to be solved!
As long as he lent his forged Zanpakuto to others, those “sword borrowers” would become his personal EXP power banks.
Every fight the borrowers fought would feed relevant experience back to him.
In other words, as long as he lent blades to enough people, he could sit at home without lifting a finger and still watch his proficiency in Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kido continuously soar.
This unexpected bonus was precisely why Lu Ming decided to disclose more information about Zanpakuto to Zhao Kongcheng and the others.
For Lu Ming, the best candidates to borrow his Zanpakuto were undeniably the members of Squad 136, the main cast.
The sooner he entrusted Zanpakuto to them, the sooner he would gain proficiency, boosting his own combat strength.
The instant he learned about this feature, he had resolved to sweep all of Squad 136 into his net.
…
Class on Zanpakuto is now in session!
Lu Ming walked to the center of the courtyard and summoned his Zanpakuto, Senbonzakura, out of thin air, presenting its unreleased form to everyone.
“This is a Zanpakuto’s sealed state.
It’s essentially an extraordinarily sharp and durable weapon.” “Leng Xuan noticed the subtle differences earlier.
Apart from Katen Kyokotsu being a unique pair of blades, the only real distinctions between sealed Zanpakuto lie in their handguards and hilts.” “However, once released, no two Zanpakuto share the exact same ability.
Just as no two leaves in the world are identical, no two Zanpakuto are either.
I will never forge blades with duplicate powers.” Lu Ming raised Senbonzakura to his chest once again.
“You view Senbonzakura as a Forbidden Object that possesses its own Forbidden Realm.
I won’t deny that classification.” “Once you gain a Zanpakuto’s recognition and achieve unity of soul with it, you can perform its release.
I call this Shikai—the Initial Release.” “Watch closely this time.
Especially you, Old Zhao—this is the third time you’re witnessing Senbonzakura’s Shikai.
After this, you’ll have to figure out how to achieve Katen Kyokotsu’s Shikai on your own.” Zhao Kongcheng subconsciously tightened his grip on Katen Kyokotsu’s hilts, his eyes glued to Senbonzakura in Lu Ming’s hands.
From their vantage point on the second floor, Hongying and Si Xiaonan didn’t dare to breathe too loudly, terrified of missing a single instant.
Leng Xuan was already locked in complete concentration, requiring no reminder from Lu Ming whatsoever.
Seeing everyone’s rapt focus, Lu Ming gave a slight smile.
He gently turned the blade in his grip so its left side faced him, reflecting his countenance, and murmured softly: “Scatter, Senbonzakura.” Lu Ming’s low incantation reverberated softly, its deep resonance belying his teenage appearance.
Under everyone’s gaze, a faint pink glow began to bloom along the length of the Zanpakuto in Lu Ming’s hands.
In an instant, the entire blade seemed to be forged purely of light.
A moment later, the pink blade of light quivered violently for a fraction of a second.
Everyone thought their eyes were playing tricks on them.
But then, the blade shattered completely, dissolving into a shower of pink motes that scattered across the entire courtyard.
In Lu Ming’s hand, nothing remained except a bare hilt, as though the blade itself had vanished into thin air.
*Where did the Zanpakuto go?
Why is it different from before?* The same question flashed through everyone’s mind.
In the next instant, the scattered motes of light suddenly surged into full view.
The entire courtyard became engulfed in glowing particles, causing all four onlookers to experience a momentary lapse in perception.
By the time they snapped back, Hongying and the others found their vision swarmed by fluttering pink cherry blossom petals, just like back at the office.
Lu Ming had completely vanished from sight.
The petals filled the entire courtyard, swirling endlessly and brushing past Zhao Kongcheng and Leng Xuan.
Neither man dared to move a single muscle.
Because at such close proximity, they could feel the true horror of Senbonzakura—every single delicate pink petal was, in reality, a razor-sharp blade.