Combat and Black Wind Mountain (Rewrite)

Liu Zheng went home and said, "Status Window."

Everything seemed the same, but when he checked his combat prowess, he was surprised to see it had reached the 6th Stage Initial realm. It was much higher than he expected but also concerning because he lacked combat experience. Suddenly, it clicked—he could spar with his zanpakutos.

He sat down in a meditative position and found both of them doing their own thing. Liu Zheng asked White if he could spar with him. White agreed but mentioned he could only spar within the mind space for now, as Liu Zheng wasn't strong enough yet. However, the old man could spar outside because of his Quincy ability to control world energy. Liu Zheng first sparred with White.

It was not fun, to say the least. Though they only used their bodies, Liu Zheng was far outclassed. White explained that Liu Zheng lacked killer instinct. They sparred for half a day, and Liu Zheng improved a lot. White mentioned that to properly drill the instinct into him, Liu Zheng would need to manifest him in the real world, which he could do after reaching the initial element stage.

The old man then started teaching Liu Zheng how to effectively control his own qi and the qi in the atmosphere. Fortunately, Liu Zheng's ability to control qi was really good. He managed to master making a qi sword in his mind space within an hour, though it took him another two hours to perfect it outside of his mind space.

(Image)

"You're a quick learner," the old man commented, nodding in approval. "But don't let it get to your head. Real combat is different from practice."

Liu Zheng nodded, feeling a mix of pride and determination. "I understand, old man. Let's keep going."

For the next two days, Liu Zheng alternated sparring between White and the old man. White focused on instinct, pushing Liu Zheng to his limits, while the old man refined his basics, improving his footwork, stance, and swordsmanship. By the end, Liu Zheng had good control over his strength and reached the Tempered Body 9th stage.

The next morning, Liu Zheng went to the contribution hall to submit a leave application for three days. This time, he found Meng Wu Ya reading an inappropriate illustration book. Liu Zheng handed over the leave application and was about to leave when Meng Wu Ya spoke.

"Liu boy, your cultivation has increased quite fast. Were you hiding your talent?" Meng Wu Ya asked.

"I don't really have any reason to hide it. Who wouldn't want to be an elite disciple from the get-go? My cultivation talent has always been average except for the past month. Maybe my talent was meant to bloom only now," Liu Zheng replied.

Meng Wu Ya studied him for a moment before nodding. "Oh, and it seems like you have a lot of yang qi in your body, which is unusual for your stage, but you seem to be doing just fine. My disciple mentioned it to me, but it's much higher than I expected. Boy, keep cultivating like this, and I might have a job for you soon."

"Who is your disciple, and what kind of job is it?" Liu Zheng asked, curious.

"The girl you met here the other day. The task requires very potent yang qi," Meng Wu Ya explained.

"I see. Then I'll get going," Liu Zheng said, intending to leave but was interrupted again.

"And don't you dare have any ideas about my disciple, kid. You wouldn't like what will happen to you if you do," Meng Wu Ya said threateningly, always protective of her.

Though Liu Zheng did have quite a lot of ideas about her, he said, "How can a mere trial disciple like me have any ideas about your precious student? And I am getting late now. See you later, Treasurer Meng." He hurriedly left the hall.

"Humph, good that you know," Meng Wu Ya muttered as he continued to read his questionable book.

Liu Zheng arrived home, made some preparations, and then left for the mountain. After half a day, he arrived at his destination and started looking for the required herbs. In a few hours, he had collected both the herbs he needed and a few other herbs and materials mentioned in the book, which he could take back for more contribution points. Knowing he would have to stay the night, he hunted a rabbit, cooked, and ate it, then found a place to sleep.

The next morning, Liu Zheng woke up and continued searching for herbs around the mountain. He ended up outside a cave covered in webs, which he recognized instantly. Carefully, he removed the webs without causing any disturbance and went inside, only to see a spider feeding on a human body. Disgusted, he formed a qi sword, charged at full speed, and using Blut Arterie to enhance his strength, cut down two of its legs from the left side at once.

"Screeeeeeeeeeeeeech...." the spider cried in pain and charged towards Liu Zheng, intending to pierce holes through his body with its sharp frontal legs. Liu Zheng skillfully dodged but the spider shot webs at his right hand, incapacitating it momentarily and jumped on him. It tried to pierce his left hand and chest, but he blocked it with Blut Vene. Using his legs, he kicked the spider away and made four qi blades to free his right hand. By the time he noticed, the spider had already sealed the entrance.

"So you intend to trap me here, huh?" Liu Zheng said, pumping his arms and legs with qi using Blut Arterie and charging with full power. The spider tried to shoot its web at him, but he skillfully dodged it. He appeared right in front of the spider, punched it in the face, and continued punching, blocking its hits with his hands. After five or six hits, the spider finally died, though it managed to make Liu Zheng bleed a little from his hands.

Liu Zheng walked a few steps away and sat on the ground, relaxing for a few minutes. "That was tougher than expected," he muttered to himself. He went outside, dug a few graves, placed the dead bodies in them, and covered them with soil, doing the least he could for the dead.

Returning to the cave, Liu Zheng found a red glowing herb. "This must be valuable," he thought, taking it. Just as he was about to leave, he received a notification from the system about a treasure nearby.

"Open MAP," Liu Zheng said. The map showed the treasure inside the cave, but there was no path. Forming a qi sword and using Blut Arterie on his hands, he stabbed the wall in front of him, causing it to fall apart. Inside, he found two swords lying on the lap of a skeleton. Apologizing to the senior for disturbing him, Liu Zheng took the swords and unsheathed them.

The swords looked simple without any special ability. Even after supplying them with qi, there was no reaction.

"You should take them with you, Liu Zheng, because they will be helpful in manifesting my zanpakuto," White explained. He told Liu Zheng how an asauchi, a plain nameless sword without any special qi or ability, is imbued with a shinigami or hollow's qi to make it a zanpakuto. Since Liu Zheng's hollow and shinigami powers were one and the same (yin and yang as one), he would need one, and the other could be used for his Quincy powers.

White explained that the power of an asauchi is as strong as the user's zanpakuto, but there's always an upper limit to what the material can handle. It is advised to make a new one when reaching the same realm as the material's grade.

Liu Zheng wrapped the swords in a cloth along with other things to not make it look suspicious and went home.

***************************************

Asauchi - A plain and nameless sword without any special abilties

It transforms into a zanpakuto after continuously imbuing it with your qi as well as spiritual energy of the Zanpakuto