Outside the alley, Lin Qiye was locked in combat with a Ghostface.
Inside the narrow passage, Lu Ming released his Zanpakuto, Senbonzakura, saving Wang Shao and Jiang Qian from the monster’s jaws.
“Y-You…” Wang Shao slumped onto the ground, his right hand trembling as he pointed at Lu Ming’s back, unable to form a coherent sentence.
Jiang Qian finally regained feeling in her legs, but her knees buckled instantly, leaving her unable to stand.
Both stared at the familiar school uniform before them, their minds reeling in disbelief.
In the night air, countless pink cherry blossom petals converged toward Lu Ming’s hand, condensing back into a single long blade.
Senbonzakura!
This was the very first Zanpakuto Lu Ming had forged inside the Soul King Palace.
Had it not been for its ability to dissolve into tens of thousands of blades for long-range strikes, he might not have managed to save Wang Shao’s life in time.
*The power of a Zanpakuto really is formidable,* Lu Ming thought.
*A Ghostface couldn’t even survive a single blow from Senbonzakura’s Shikai.* *Then again, maybe this Ghostface was just too weak.* Lu Ming sheathed Senbonzakura, returning it to its sealed state, and found his attention drawn to the remains of the monster on the ground.
*This Ghostface looks a bit like a Hollow…
but what are these orb lights?* Using the sheath of Senbonzakura, Lu Ming lightly nudged the monster’s remains.
To his surprise, the floating orbs of light were instantly absorbed into the sword.
A moment later, Lu Ming felt a new batch of forging material manifest inside his Phoenix Palace workshop.
Though it wasn’t enough to forge a full Zanpakuto, it was roughly a fifth of the required amount.
Lu Ming raised an eyebrow, murmuring quietly, “Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise!” He had been wondering where he would source materials to forge future Zanpakuto.
He hadn’t expected the remains of a Ghostface to yield exactly what he needed.
*These must be the souls of the Ghostface.
Looks like the souls of these Mysterious creatures are resilient enough to serve as raw material.* *In that case, I can’t let the other one go to waste.
Five kills make a full set of materials for a Zanpakuto.
I shouldn’t waste any.* Lu Ming’s interest in the Ghostface surged.
To others, they were terrifying monsters, but to him, they were precious crafting supplies.
“Lu Ming, it’s you!” As Lu Ming turned around, Jiang Qian and Wang Shao finally confirmed their suspicion.
They never could have imagined that the quiet student who had been made to stand in the hallway by their teacher that very morning would save them from a monster in such a cool fashion.
“Hey, Class Monitor.
Evening,” Lu Ming offered a gentle smile, his eyes narrowing into crescents.
Jiang Qian burst into tears.
She had never found his harmless, squinty-eyed smile so reassuring.
“Wang Shao, take care of the class monitor.
Get her out of here.
I’ll handle things.” Lu Ming didn’t want ordinary people getting dragged too deeply into supernatural incidents.
As for the truth about Lin Qiye, the less these ordinary classmates knew, the better…
Having just brushed past death, Wang Shao seemed to catch on immediately.
Knowing that staying behind would only make them liabilities, he reached out, helped Jiang Qian up, and hurried her down the opposite end of the alley.
As he passed Lu Ming, he whispered in a low voice, “Lu Ming, I owe you my life.
I’ll repay this debt!” The corner of Lu Ming’s mouth tugged upward, though he didn’t pay it much mind.
Right now, he needed to observe the Divine Realm belonging to Archangel Michael—and figure out how to steal the kill.
*** Outside the alley, Lin Qiye’s white blindfold cane had snapped, and he was backed into a corner by the Ghostface.
With a fierce growl of “I refuse to yield!”, a towering pillar of scorching light pierced the night sky.
In that moment of extreme peril, Lin Qiye finally opened his eyes.
Perched on the alley wall, Lu Ming clicked his tongue in wonder.
Being able to witness Michael’s Divine Realm at such close range this early in the story…
he was probably the only person in the world doing so.
*As expected of an Archangel’s Divine Ruins!
We’re both Proxies, so why don’t I have a Divine Ruins?
What would the Soul King’s Divine Ruins even look like?* Lu Ming idly twirled Senbonzakura in his hand, feeling a flicker of anticipation.
Although he was nominally the Proxy of the Soul King, he was currently relying entirely on the power of the Zanpakuto.
He had hoped that witnessing the birth of a Divine Realm firsthand might stimulate the Soul King’s power within him, but even at this distance, his body showed no reaction whatsoever.
*Is it because the Soul King is currently a limbless torso, so he can’t grant me a Divine Realm?* Lu Ming’s mind wandered freely.
Though he possessed the Soul King Palace within his consciousness, the Phoenix Palace was the only area he could access so far.
Under these circumstances, any thoughts about the Soul King were purely speculative.
“Shoot, I didn’t get to steal the kill!” When he snapped back to reality, he realized he was too late.
Faced with Lin Qiye, who now wielded Michael’s Divine Realm, the Ghostface actually dared to launch an attack.
Lu Ming could only admire its sheer suicidal bravery.
In the next instant, he watched as the Ghostface’s eye was impaled by the broken half of Lin Qiye’s cane, completely snuffing out its life force…
“A loss, a total loss,” Lu Ming muttered, swinging his legs back and forth on the wall, his heels tapping against the brick as he grumbled under his breath.
The emergence of a Divine Realm was simply too breathtaking.
Even though he had prepared himself, he had still zoned out for a brief second when Michael’s power burst forth.
Two Ghostface: one taken by him, one by Lin Qiye.
All dealt with.
Lin Qiye gasped for air, his chest heaving violently.
Having just unleashed the divine power of the Archangel Michael, his body felt completely drained.
Yet he didn’t dare lower his guard, knowing there was still another Ghostface inside the alley.
His mind raced as he calculated his next move.
However, after several seconds of tense waiting, the expected ambush failed to materialize.
Once his breathing evened out, he sensed another gaze locked onto him.
Lin Qiye instinctively looked up.
First, he saw a pair of dangling legs clad in the trousers of the No.
2 High School uniform.
Then, he saw a familiar face.
“Hey, evening!” Lu Ming met Lin Qiye’s gaze, offering a narrow-eyed smile.
Lin Qiye hadn’t expected Lu Ming to appear here at all.
Having awakened Michael’s Divine Realm, he picked up a subtle trace of danger emanating from Lu Ming.
He realized at once that the second Ghostface inside the alley must have been dealt with by his classmate.
His intuition hadn’t betrayed him.
This classmate named Lu Ming was far from ordinary.
Just like himself, Lu Ming was no ordinary human.
As the two exchanged looks and just as Lin Qiye was about to ask a question, a new presence entered their perception, approaching at a speed even faster than the Ghostface.
Lin Qiye’s expression shifted slightly, worried it might be monster reinforcements.
Lu Ming, on the other hand, let out a soft chuckle.
The opportunity he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
With a flash of a dark red cloak, a figure dropped from the sky.
The gleaming blade of a straight sword caught the light, glaring painfully into Lin Qiye’s eyes.
“Ghostface!
Yield your head!” The blade slashed downward toward Lin Qiye, only to freeze mid-air a split second later.
“Eh?
Huh?
They’re already dead?” The middle-aged man looked at the motionless corpse of the Ghostface, hurriedly checking his momentum.
Pulling a hard brake right in front of Lin Qiye, he lost his balance and faceplanted hard onto the pavement.
*Old Zhao, that entry wasn’t very cool of you.* Lin Qiye stood frozen, utterly flabbergasted by Zhao Kongcheng’s dramatic entrance.
Lu Ming covered his face in second-hand embarrassment, unable to voice his internal critique.
Still, a smile tugged at his lips.
A living Old Zhao was definitely much cooler than a dead one…