Chapter 418: Shinigami and Stuff to Ichigo

"Alright, next up is the meditation session."

Seeing Kurosaki Ichigo smashed into the ground, Fang Mo began to speak.

"This power is just too... cough..."

Kurosaki Ichigo was hammered to the point he could barely speak, feeling as if the entire right side of his body was nearly numb with pain. As soon as he opened his mouth, he couldn't help but cough up blood: "Do I really have to meditate like this?"

"Sorry, I almost forgot there's no hot spring here."

Reminded by Kurosaki Ichigo, Fang Mo came to his senses, smacked his head and said, "Just bear with it a little longer, I'll build one for you right now."

With that, Fang Mo immediately walked to a nearby spot.

Then he summoned his stand, Steve, to start digging a hole.

With Fang Mo's meticulous work, Steve's pickaxe now dug at an extremely fast pace, almost instantly through ordinary stone blocks, so in the blink of an eye, he had dug a large hole in the ground.

After digging the hole, Fang Mo controlled Steve to take out a set of quartz, beginning to lay out the structure of the hot spring.

Here he replicated the pool of a bathhouse he often visited before, overall rectangular, about one meter deep. However, there were quartz steps around it, allowing one to sit without being submerged in water.

After completing the general appearance, Steve placed two blocks of magma inside for heating, then began to pour in the hot spring (sacred spring) water.

The whole process took no more than three minutes.

Steve created an almost boiling light blue hot spring pool.

"Alright, get in."

Fang Mo raised his hand, pointing at the hot spring pool not far away, and said to Kurosaki Ichigo, "You have to rely on yourself in life, so I won't help you over, crawl by yourself."

"Uh..."

Kurosaki Ichigo hesitantly looked towards the continuously rolling hot spring pool.

"What's wrong, chicken?"

Fang Mo urged: "Hurry up and crawl."

"Brother Fang Mo, isn't the water temperature of this hot spring pool too high?" Kurosaki Ichigo couldn't help but say, "This is not just soaking in a hot spring anymore, right? It feels like I'll be scalded to death the moment I get in."

"You don't understand, this is called high-temperature sterilization, it's part of scientific principles."

Fang Mo waved his hand and said, "It's a pity your family runs a hospital, and you don't even understand this simple principle. Have you become stupid being a Shinigami?"

"Is there a possibility that..."

Kurosaki Ichigo couldn't help but say, "Indeed, bacteria can't survive at high temperatures, but what if I can't survive at high temperatures either?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible."

While speaking, Fang Mo activated the gravity field of the Void Ring, forcibly pulling Kurosaki Ichigo up from the ground: "This is all a test for you. As long as you are devout in heart, the injuries on your body will definitely disappear instantly. You must believe in the omnipotent cooking."

After finishing speaking, Fang Mo waved his hand.

He directly threw Kurosaki Ichigo into the hot spring pool.

"Ah, it's hot, hot, hot!!!"

After being thrown in, Kurosaki Ichigo really started shouting, struggling in the water: "It's so hot, this is really boiling water!"

"The way you scream from the heat really makes me nostalgic."

Fang Mo said with a smile: "Not long ago, another one of my underlings also said the same thing. Honestly, you look quite similar to him, but your personalities are completely different."

"Huff... Finally escaped..."

In just a matter of seconds, Kurosaki Ichigo struggled out of the hot spring pool, collapsed on the ground, and let out a sigh of relief: "I almost got boiled to death."

"See, your wounds have healed, haven't they?"

Fang Mo asked with a smile.

"Eh?" Kurosaki Ichigo looked down in surprise and found that it seemed to be the case: "This hot spring... feels even more effective than the one in the Soul Society."

"Nonsense." Fang Mo said: "That hot spring was diluted, but this one is pure and imported. How could the effects be the same?"

"But it feels even hotter than that one."

Kurosaki Ichigo couldn't help saying: "I felt like I was going to be thoroughly cooked if I didn't climb out."

"That's the point, the principle of this hot spring is just like that."

Hearing this, Fang Mo laughed: "Practitioners are thrown into the hot spring after being severely injured, and because their injuries are too severe to struggle, they can only be boiled alive. However, their injuries will heal quickly, and since the water temperature is too high for the practitioners to endure, they will immediately climb out. There's no chance for anyone to laze around in the hot spring."

"In this way, the efficiency of training is completely maximized."

Fang Mo explained with a smile: "For this reason, I am willing to call it... the Pool of Valiant Courage."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Kurosaki Ichigo was at a loss for words, not knowing how to respond.

Fortunately, Fang Mo noticed his dilemma and directly spoke up: "Alright, the practical combat just now is over. Let's take a break for now. Later, I'll talk to you about Zangetsu."

"Hm?"

Hearing this, Kurosaki Ichigo quickly expressed his gratitude: "Then... I'm in your hands!"

Afterward, he simply lay down on the ground to rest, facing upwards. After all, he had been through a lot today and was indeed tired. He fell asleep almost immediately.

When Kurosaki Ichigo woke up, he didn't know how much time had passed, but Fang Mo was sitting not far away, daydreaming. Seeing him awake, Fang Mo smiled and greeted, "You're awake? I just went over your settings. Do you want to hear about Zangetsu or the Hollows first?"

"I..."

Kurosaki Ichigo hesitated for a moment, then said, "Please tell me about the Hollow part first. I've tried before, but I really can't defeat it."

"I've said it before, that Hollow is your instinct."

Fang Mo spread his hands and said, "It's like how you naturally breathe when you're born, or how you struggle to get out when scalded by hot water. These instincts are a part of you, they exist to protect you. Do you really want to fight against these instincts, as if you're tired of living?"

"But..."

Kurosaki Ichigo couldn't help but argue, "If a person is completely dominated by instincts, thinking only about eating, plundering, protecting themselves every day... then what's the difference between him and a beast, or a Hollow?"

"See, you've hit the nail on the head."

Fang Mo smiled and spread his hands, "He must have mentioned something about 'king and steed' before. My point is to let you ride the steed to increase your fighting power, not to obey the steed in everything. A steed is naturally a beast full of instincts. So if the steed eats grass, must you also eat grass?"

"Eh?"

Kurosaki Ichigo was stunned upon hearing this.

"Your problem is... you're insisting on going against your own steed." Fang Mo spread his hands and said, "First, you have to acknowledge your instincts, and then you can try to persuade it, find your own way to willingly turn it into your strength."

"That means..."

Kurosaki Ichigo thoughtfully said, "I have to acknowledge that I also have a side like the Hollows, instead of rejecting it, but at the same time, I can't really become like a Hollow, controlled by instincts, right?"

"Exactly."

Fang Mo nodded, "You use your own instincts to become stronger. Like how you also crave battle, you also have negative emotions, you can turn these into motivation, instead of letting the instincts control you completely."

"I understand."

The confusion in Kurosaki Ichigo's eyes gradually turned into determination: "Thank you, Brother Fang Mo!"

"Uh-huh, Kuroko is teachable."

Fang Mo looked at Kurosaki Ichigo with satisfaction: "Now let's talk about some of your other issues, such as the several limiters on you."

"Limiters?"

Kurosaki Ichigo asked curiously, "What is that?"

"Strictly speaking, limiters are generally a means to prevent the protagonist's strength from becoming too strong, leading to the loss of control in subsequent parts of the story," Fang Mo glanced at Kurosaki Ichigo and asked with a smile, "Have you noticed... why your Bankai, which was unbeatable in the Soul Society, suddenly became less effective in the real world?"

"Indeed..."

Hearing this, Kurosaki Ichigo nodded: "Even though the strength of the Espada No. 6 is very strong, Bankai is something that only captain-level fighters can learn. Yet, Grimmjow... was able to catch my blade with his bare hands."

"Have you heard of the 'Limit Release' of a Shinigami?"

Fang Mo asked.

"What is that?"

Kurosaki Ichigo was completely baffled.

"When captains, or lieutenant-level Shinigami come to the real world, their strong spiritual pressure could affect the souls of the living world," Fang Mo explained. "Therefore, out of necessity, they inscribe their squad's spiritual emblem on themselves to limit their spiritual pressure to about 20%, meaning they can only exert one-fifth of their strength."

"Is that so?"

Kurosaki Ichigo was a bit surprised. He didn't notice the spiritual pressure changes of others during his battle with Grimmjow, because the opponent was too strong: "Then I..."

"Correct, your power was also suppressed."

Fang Mo nodded: "Ukitake Jushiro should have given you a Substitute Shinigami badge, right? That thing has the function of monitoring and limiting spiritual pressure. Considering the setting of the Limit Release, I guess your spiritual pressure was also reduced to one-fifth?"

"What!?"

Kurosaki Ichigo was shocked upon hearing this: "Monitoring? Limiting spiritual pressure? This..."

"The Soul Society is dark from its heart to its swallows, you'll get used to it." Fang Mo waved his hand and said: "This matter is related to the birth of the three realms in ancient times, I won't get into details... Well, I won't elaborate further, but those people within the system, in order to maintain stability, are capable of doing any unscrupulous deeds."

"But…"

Kurosaki Ichigo said with some disbelief, "Captain Ukitake doesn't seem like that kind of person..."

"I admit that the captains of the Gotei 13 have their humane shining moments, and every character has their own likable traits. Ukitake is especially known far and wide as a good old man."

Fang Mo said calmly, "But in the end, they are spirits, part of the Soul Society, so it is not unreasonable for them to protect the order of the Soul Society at any cost. Moreover, the power structure of the Soul Society itself is problematic. They are a race built on betrayal... This is the core of all conflicts; it's just a matter of different standpoints."

"This..."

Hearing this, Kurosaki Ichigo was also lost. After all, he was still just a high school student who hadn't experienced the harsh realities of society. These considerations of standpoints and human nature were a bit premature for him.

"Actually, simply using the Substitute Shinigami Badge, you can't limit your spiritual pressure."

And as Kurosaki Ichigo was confused, Fang Mo spoke again, "But the problem is... Yhwach inside you is also betraying you. You are practicing hard to become stronger, risking your life, but he is inside you, stabbing you in the back like crazy. Who can withstand that?"

"What do you mean?"

Kurosaki Ichigo had heard the name Yhwach more than once, but to be honest, he was still clueless. Uncle Zangetsu basically didn't tell him anything, so at this moment, he had no choice but to ask Fang Mo.

"To put it simply, it's like others post pictures and he reports them, others work and he sleeps, others light a fire and he urinates on it, others celebrate their birthday and he wears mourning clothes..."

Fang Mo spread his hands and said, "In short, there's a mole, deal's off."