11 Chapter 10: Instinct

In a wide area of grass, two figure could be seen fighting. One was a young man with green eyes while the other was old woman. Both wore silver robes, and one might think that these two don't possess much strength from their looks. Still, don't be fooled. One was an old woman that had impeccable instincts and martial arts while the other was a young man with unfathomable abilities.

Right now, Nian Zhen was not having a good time. At first, she fought with a middle stage Qi condensation realm's power. During that period, Ulquiorra seemed to just take all the attacks thrown at him. He blocks, and regenerated. Nian Zhen was concerned at first, but over it. She decided that it would be best for her sanity to just accept things as it is. She was quite adaptable in terms of mentality.

The problem came after this. On Ulquiorra's side, he got used to utilizing and using qi for his regeneration. He understood the mechanics of qi when it came to the fleshy body. He then started to try and circulate it to his limbs, organs, and even flesh all at once. This caused him to feel a burning sensation all over. If Nian Zhen knew about this, then she would realize that Ulquiorra was taking the most brutal way of tackling the body tempering peak stage.

Ulquiorra felt his movement become hindered a bit for a short while, but after a few more clashes with Nian Zhen proved beneficial to him. At one point, he noticed blood coming up his throat. When he did notice, he backed away from Nian Zhen, and spat it out. It was black blood, and seeing it caused Nian Zhen to realize that Ulquiorra reached body. tempering peak. She was about to call it a day, but Ulquiorra was not satisfied.

"I am not done. Come once more, but this time, put more power." Ulquiorra said.

Nian Zhen hesitated, but complied. She was curious on how far such a monster could reach in a day. She then slowly increased her strength as time passed by. At some point, the strength she inserted was equivalent to that of a 1st stage foundation establishment cultivator! Nian Zhen was shocked despite her previous mental preparations.

This is due to Ulquiorra figuring out how to strengthen his body using his qi. In fact, he could now produce a qi counterpart of hierro. He reckoned that if he did it right, then he could produce even stronger defenses. He was currently utilizing qi based on his experience as the cuatro espada and by using his instincts to guide him. From the flow of the qi in his veins to the nature of his qi. He didn't need to get a cultivation technique as he was making his own at this very moment.

Nian Zhen clenched her fist, and threw another punch before doing a fake, and instead doing a kick. Ulquiorra didn't dodge, but instead sent qi to his feet and ankles strengthening it enough to the point that it wouldn't take damage. He let himself be swept which resulted in him spinning in midair. Still, that did not stop Ulquiorra from spinning himself, and then using that momentum to deliver a kick back at Nian Zhen while reinforcingit with Qi.

"Tsk! Damned rascal!Don't you have any respect for the elderly?!" Nian Zhen blocked the kick, and felt the power behind it.

With this she had already sensed that Ulquiorra had surpassed even body tempering peak, and is now at the Qi condensation realm. She felt the Qi behind that kick. The fact that Ulquiorra could utilize Qi like this is proof enough that he's already in that realm. She had not given him a cultivation technique, and yet he's able to advance realms as if there were no bottlenecks! It was absurd!

What's worse was that Ulquiorra was not your run of the mill Qi condensation cultivator. His qi felt extremely pure in quality. The utilization of it was not sloppy at all. Nian Zhen wondered if Ulquiorra was not fit for the Qi Condensation section of the Rising Dragon contest, but instead, was better for the Foundation Establishment section.

"You!How are you doing all of this, Ulquiorra!? Not just your way of cultivating, but also your way of battling! What did you do before in the past?" Nian Zhen said as she backed away.

Ulquiorra eyed her emotionlessly before speaking up.

"Instinct."

Nian Zhen was dumbfounded. It wasn't even a full day since taking in this new disciple, and yet, she had felt a rollercoaster of emotions already. In fact, they have not even done the master-disciple ritual yet! Heck, she even knew that Ulquiorra did not treat her as such a figure! She hasn't been called master by him even once. She was even called directly by name!

Nian Zhen was about to attack once more, but a voice rang out.

"Oh? Is this the Old Hag of the Moon I see? What? Have you picked yourself another piece of garbage from the streets?" A high pitched male voice spoke out while laughing.

Nian Zhen turned to the voice, and her expression contorted.

"Lu Zheng!" Nian Zhen said while gritting her teeth.

Ulquiorra looked at Lu Zheng with a piercing stare. He was a middle aged man that had a thick layer of makeup on. He wore azure robes, and carried a fan that he waved around his face. His taoist hat had a symbol of a peacock. With him, there were two kids that seemed like twins. A boy and a girl about 14 years of age kept quiet with eyes closed.

"Hm? Now, who might you be? Why do you look at me with such eyes? I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in kids!" Lu Zheng said.

Ulquiorra could sense that this person was someone that needed a beating.