“ROAR!” Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
A gigantic four-armed Ape Hollow nearly forty meters tall stood upon the white sands of Hueco Mundo, roaring furiously toward the endless sky while violently pounding its own chest.
Each strike became faster and more powerful than the last.
Soon, blood began flowing from the corners of its mouth.
At the same time, its spiritual pressure climbed at an astonishing rate.
While beating its chest in a berserk frenzy, the Giant Ape Hollow kept its crimson eyes fixed upon the Sea of Sand below.
It had already sworn to drag that hateful snake out of hiding and tear him apart.
Whoosh!
At the exact moment the enraged Hollow’s attention was completely focused elsewhere…
Lin Huang burst from beneath the sand behind it like a silver bolt of lightning.
His body shot high into the air.
His sharp fangs sank deeply into the right side of the Giant Ape Hollow’s neck.
At the same instant…
His long body twisted.
The Sword Scales at the tip of his tail instantly condensed into a brilliant spiritual pressure blade before slashing fiercely across the opposite side of its neck.
“ROAR!!” The searing pain caused the Giant Ape Hollow to roar in fury.
Its four enormous arms frantically reached toward its neck, desperately trying to tear Lin Huang away.
Sizzle!
Just then…
A black and crimson beam of destructive energy suddenly shot across the battlefield from the distance.
It narrowly grazed Lin Huang’s body before accurately striking the back of the Giant Ape Hollow’s head.
Boom!
The devastating explosion instantly blasted apart the back of its skull.
Blood and fragments of its brain scattered across the desert.
The enormous body crashed heavily onto the white sand, never moving again.
In the distance…
Nelliel slowly closed her mouth after firing the blast before rapidly galloping toward Lin Huang.
As expected of someone who would one day become one of Hueco Mundo’s strongest Arrancar…
Nelliel had already awakened Cero after evolving into a Giant Hollow.
Although Cero was normally associated with Menos-class Hollows, exceptional Hollows occasionally displayed abilities beyond what their current stage would normally permit.
The two quietly divided the Giant Ape Hollow’s mask before consuming it.
Afterward, they devoured its four muscular arms, the parts containing the greatest concentration of reishi apart from the mask itself.
This Giant Ape Hollow had been exceptionally powerful even among Giant Hollows.
Both its mask and its flesh significantly increased the spiritual pressure of Lin Huang and Nelliel.
As for the remainder of its enormous corpse…
Neither of them bothered touching it.
First…
The remaining sections contained relatively little reishi.
Second…
Once a Hollow died in Hueco Mundo, its spiritual body would naturally decompose into reishi before returning to the environment.
Rather than wasting precious time consuming the less valuable portions…
It was far more efficient to continue hunting.
During the time they had traveled together…
Eleven Giant Hollows had already fallen beneath their combined attacks.
Both of them had undergone tremendous growth.
Although neither had become noticeably larger…
Their spiritual pressure had increased dramatically.
Nelliel’s current spiritual pressure was already more than twice what it had been immediately after becoming a Giant Hollow.
Even among Giant Hollows…
She had become exceptionally powerful.
Lin Huang’s growth was even more astonishing.
Despite still remaining a Powerful Hollow…
His spiritual pressure had increased nearly fivefold.
Its intensity had already reached the level Nelliel possessed shortly after evolving into a Giant Hollow.
Yet…
He still showed no sign whatsoever of evolving again.
This meant one thing.
His current stage had still not reached its natural limit.
A Powerful Hollow possessing spiritual pressure comparable to that of a Giant Hollow…
Even Nelliel couldn’t understand such an absurd phenomenon.
Eventually…
She could only conclude that Lin Huang possessed an unusually efficient constitution for absorbing and refining reishi.
The following day…
The snake and the antelope continued advancing deeper into Hueco Mundo while hunting Powerful Hollows along the way whenever suitable prey appeared.
After traveling for quite some time…
Nelliel suddenly frowned.
“Strange…” “There are barely any Giant Hollows around here.” “That shouldn’t be happening.” Based on their previous experience…
The deeper they ventured into Hueco Mundo…
The greater the number of Giant Hollows should become.
Lin Huang also became alert.
“When something unusual happens…” “There’s usually a reason.” Suddenly…
Almost simultaneously…
Both of them sensed an unusual fluctuation of spiritual pressure roughly ten miles to their left.
The two exchanged a glance.
Immediately afterward…
They completely restrained their own spiritual pressure before quietly making their way across the desert, relying on their spiritual perception to conceal themselves.
The closer they approached…
The more astonished they became.
At least one hundred Giant Hollows had gathered together.
Even before reaching the area…
The violent spiritual pressure filling the air was already almost suffocating.
When they finally hid behind a distant dune and looked across the battlefield…
They froze.
More than one hundred Giant Hollows of every imaginable shape were slaughtering one another across an enormous stretch of white sand.
Deafening roars shook the heavens.
Violent spiritual pressure erupted in every direction.
The entire battlefield trembled beneath the constant impacts.
These Hollows, whose intelligence had already become clouded by instinct, appeared to have been further driven into madness by some unknown force.
Every pair of eyes glowed blood red.
Every Hollow released its full spiritual pressure while attacking everything nearby without hesitation.
It was nothing less than complete carnage.
“This is…” “Hundred Hollow Devouring.” Lin Huang and Nelliel spoke almost simultaneously.
Their voices carried obvious astonishment.
The so-called Hundred Hollow Devouring referred to a phenomenon in which more than one hundred Giant Hollows gathered together under special circumstances before endlessly killing and devouring one another.
Only one survivor would remain.
That survivor would then begin evolving into the first stage of a Menos.
A Gillian.
This was one of the methods by which a Giant Hollow could become a Menos.
However…
More than ninety percent of Gillians born through this process permanently lost their individuality.
They became mindless giants driven purely by instinct or controlled by stronger Menos such as Adjuchas.
These ordinary Gillians all possessed nearly identical appearances.
Towering black bodies over one hundred meters tall.
Long cylindrical forms.
Featureless masks.
Rows of spikes surrounding their necks.
Only an extremely small number successfully suppressed the countless consciousnesses within themselves during the evolution.
Those rare individuals retained their own sense of self.
Only they possessed the potential to continue evolving toward Adjuchas.
Many exceptionally talented Giant Hollows therefore chose another path instead.
Rather than relying upon mass slaughter…
They continuously hunted powerful Hollows individually before eventually evolving through their own accumulated strength.
A Menos born through that route retained its original appearance and generally possessed far greater combat potential.
However…
The danger remained equally great.
Failure still meant losing one’s own consciousness forever.
“What a terrifying sight…” Lin Huang quietly murmured.
In the original history of Bleach…
The ordinary Gillians that Captain-class Shinigami effortlessly defeated had actually been born through such a horrifying process.
The excitement he had felt from becoming stronger quickly faded.
Compared with the truly powerful beings inhabiting Hueco Mundo…
He still had an unimaginably long road ahead.
“Little Huang…” “We should leave.” Nelliel instinctively wanted to retreat.
Lin Huang slowly shook his head.
His eyes never left the battlefield.
“Let’s wait.” “This may also become our opportunity.” Unlike ordinary Hollows…
Intelligent Hollows possessed sufficient self-awareness to resist the violent influence spreading throughout the battlefield.
Therefore…
Lin Huang decided to wait.
After all…
It was incredibly rare for more than one hundred Giant Hollows to gather in one place.
The danger before them was enormous.
But so was the opportunity.
If they seized it…
Their strength would undoubtedly advance by another tremendous leap.
“ROAR!” Amid the endless slaughter…
More Giant Hollows continued falling.
The victors greedily devoured the masks and flesh of those they killed.
Each became increasingly stronger.
Yet almost immediately afterward…
Many of those victors themselves became prey for even stronger Hollows.
Hidden within the distance…
Lin Huang and Nelliel silently watched this merciless battle of elimination.
They watched a Hippopotamus Hollow shatter the shell of a Turtle Hollow before being tackled from behind by a Lobster Hollow, eventually being crushed into mangled flesh during their struggle.
They watched a Giant Dog Hollow and a Pangolin Hollow battle until both collapsed together in death.
The white sands of Hueco Mundo had long since turned dark red.
The slaughter continued without pause.
Three entire days passed.
Lin Huang and Nelliel remained hidden throughout all three days.
They neither relaxed nor revealed themselves.
Finally…
Only one Hollow remained standing.
It possessed a grotesque humanoid appearance.
Its head was enormous.
Its limbs were unnaturally thin, short, and twisted.
With great difficulty…
It tore away a Leech Hollow that remained attached to its back sucking its blood before casually stuffing it into its mouth and chewing it apart.
The instant the final opponent disappeared…
The corpses of more than one hundred Giant Hollows simultaneously dissolved into a massive torrent of reishi.
Like an overwhelming flood…
Every particle surged into the victor’s body.
Its countless wounds rapidly healed.
Its spiritual pressure rose explosively.
Its evolution had begun.
However…
Only moments later…
The Hollow suddenly clutched its own head while trembling violently.
Painful howls echoed across the battlefield.
The countless wills absorbed during the massacre were beginning to devour its consciousness.
Soon afterward…
A thick layer of black substance rapidly enveloped its entire body.
Within moments…
A gigantic cocoon over one hundred meters tall stood upon the battlefield.
It had failed the final struggle for dominance.
Its individuality was about to disappear forever.
“Now.” Lin Huang’s eyes suddenly sharpened.
He spoke only a single word.
The instant his voice fell…
One silver serpent.
One enormous antelope.
Shot from their hiding place like arrows released from a bow.
Their target…
The enormous black cocoon.