I'm really not the number one slacker in Soul Society.

Looking at Mima, who remained frozen in her seat, the Spirit King let out a soft breath, raised his voice slightly, and asked again:

"After watching for so long, you must have some thoughts, right? I'm just curious."

Upon hearing this, the white-haired girl kneeling on one knee below the throne raised her head in surprise: "Lord Spirit King, what is this...?"

"Don't worry about it, Linghua. I was just talking to a guest from afar." Lingwang smiled gently at her. "I've heard your report. You did a good job. But please stay here for now. This conversation needs you to keep it going."

Urahara Ryouka, that's the name of the white-haired girl.

Unlike the vague setting in the manga, the first history lesson that Mima heard after entering the Shinigami Academy was about the Soul King and the five noble families, namely Kuchiki, Tsunayoshiro, Shiba, Shihouin, and Urahara.

That's right, it's Urahara, the same Urahara as Kisuke Urahara.

The most mysterious of the five noble families does not reside in Seireitei, nor does it participate in any political affairs.

Their sole job is to guard a gate to hell located on the border of Soul Society, constantly monitoring the movements of the evil spirits within, sharing the task with the hell guards, one inside and one outside.

However, there is very little information about the Urahara family in the books. Mima even went directly to Urahara Kisuke himself to inquire several times, but that unserious man seemed to be very secretive about it and always made various excuses to evade the question.

Now, the historical tapestry is unfolding before him, giving him the opportunity to reveal the truth.

...However, the matter of the Soul King is far more important than the small Urahara family.

Urahara Ryouka did not question the Soul King's order, responded crisply, stood up, and stood to one side of the throne. The camera followed her for a short distance.

The Spirit King's gaze shifted accordingly, making Mi Zhen's scalp tingle.

Then, the Spirit King lowered his posture and said to him with a smile, "Don't be nervous, I will not do anything to harm you as a citizen of the Three Realms."

Lies! The ashes you scattered are still scattered throughout Hueco Mundo! I could see them even if I went there right now! You call that harmless to the people of the Three Realms?!

Considering that angering this old man might result in him jumping out of the screen and strangling her, Mi Zhen wisely swallowed all these subconscious thoughts, then swallowed hard and hesitantly asked, "You... how did you..."

Just over ten minutes ago, I was forcing others to stammer, and now it's my turn. What goes around comes around...

"How do you see yourself?" The Spirit King pointed to his four-pupiled eyes. "For me, there are many ways to confirm the future, such as making good use of these eyes, using certain abilities, or finding some 'stepping stones'—do you know the principle of Fullbring?"

"The shattered remains of the Spirit King..."

Halfway through her sentence, Mi Zhen involuntarily shivered.

The Soul King himself... uttered the term Fullbring?

This thing is the product of the Soul King's shredded internal organs and a human who had been attacked by a Void!

In this way, Mizhen can verify his conjecture.

—The Spirit King knew what he would become in the future!

Judging from the scene of the suppression of the Hueco Mundo rebels... even if you tied up all of the Soul King's subordinates together and multiplied them by ten, they probably wouldn't be a match for him, let alone the mere five noble families and Hyosugabe Ichibei.

In other words, the Spirit King willingly became the wedge of the Three Realms!

“You can think of this form as the branches of a tree, I am the trunk, and my fragments are the leaves. The trunk can easily understand the state of the leaves.”

"So you actually knew you would..."

Mima hesitated for a moment, but still spoke up, "To become a 'tool'?"

"That's right, I saw it very clearly."

The Spirit King nodded without hesitation: "Including what the children of the Tsunayo family are plotting, including what my offspring might do out of fear of the cycle of life and death..."

"Of course I know perfectly well."

He really knows, but he just won't change it?

why?

A profound sense of confusion scorched Mi Zhen's mind like a fire. He frowned deeply, then cast aside his reservations and asked the deepest question: "If that's the case, why are you letting things go unchecked? They clearly can't possibly be your match, so why are you letting a bunch of... ants kill you?"

Are you angry about this?

The King of Spirit did not answer his question directly, but instead asked a question in return.

Mijin nodded.

Yes, he felt not only angry, but also disgusted!

If he were just reading manga, that would be one thing, but now that he lives in the Soul Society, he has to face a fact: the current stable Three Realms are built on the remains of the Soul King, on a shameful betrayal. The ancestors of the four noble families treated the god who gave them everything, who was like a father to them, as a tool, dismantling his body and crushing his internal organs, just to gain the ridiculous honor of "so that we are the ones standing at the highest point."

Even if he forced himself to accept everything, how could he not feel disgusted by this utterly awful reality!

Seeing the emotion in Mizhen's eyes, the Spirit King revealed a calm and compassionate smile.

“You see, there is a fundamental difference in the ‘power’ between me and the children. If everything were left to me to manage, I could easily extend my gaze into every dark corner and let all living beings bathe in the light of equality forever—how about that? Do you think that’s a good thing?”

Mi Zhen was about to nod, but then he realized the horror hidden in the scene described by the Spirit King.

If equality in all things is based on the blessing of "one will," then an absolutely insurmountable chasm will appear in the world. No one can restrain an eternal class that can decide everything based solely on its own whims. As the Spirit King said, the boundary between God and man will always exist, forever.

Perhaps it's just a dark fantasy, but it's certainly very possible.

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Spirit King's Messenger

“You asked, ‘Why don’t I resist?’” the Spirit King said. “Because… I love you all.”

"like?"

"Because I love all the people of the Three Realms, I do not wish to become a burden to you—"

“Yes, I can take over everything, become the supreme god, and make you dance in my palm, be born, grow, and die in blissful ignorance. But such a cycle is too fragile, no different from pigs and sheep in a pen. Would you consider that true happiness?”

Mima sighed and replied, "Of course not."

"Therefore, I choose to give everything to you."

The Spirit King lowered his eyes, his expression a mixture of aloof indifference and warmth like candlelight, contradictory yet harmonious: "After my death, there will be no more powerful beings in the Three Realms capable of destroying everything. Even if someone tries to rule all things, they will inevitably be struck down by the spear of resistance. Everything will be balanced, and all beings in the Three Realms will gain greater freedom and happiness within this balance. This is precisely the purpose for which I chose to face death."

"..."

Such compassion is beyond imagination...

The King of Spirit's vision was so grand that Mi Zhen was momentarily speechless.

For him, his goal was also to become a good person. He was willing to risk his life for the people he loved and to make certain efforts for a just world. But this saintly act of leaving great love to everything in the world was beyond his imagination. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have found it hard to believe that it was real.

Besides creating everything, the Spirit King also bestowed such a profound grace upon all beings in the Three Realms, which is truly worthy of gratitude from all living beings.

However, Xu might have a different opinion on this.

Mima rubbed her temples and glanced at Urahara Ryoka, who was standing to the side.

She made no response to the King of Spirit's words...

There is clearly only one possibility: she knew everything all along.

The Shiba family refused to participate in the persecution of the Soul King because of righteous indignation. Yama originally thought that the remaining four noble families were all traitors, but now it seems that this impression needs to be overturned.

It's possible that the Urahara family is acting on the orders of the Soul King...

"Hmm...it seems you need a cover to conceal your true identity."

The Spirit King changed the subject, "So, do you need my help?"

"Uh-huh?"

Faced with that friendly older brother smile, Mi Zhen took half a second to understand the meaning behind the Spirit King's words, and then immediately felt a sense of unreality, as if she had just gone out for breakfast and found a lottery ticket that could be redeemed for a five million prize.

"What's wrong? Don't you need it?"

"Yes, we definitely need to."

As the saying goes, the bold get rich while the timid starve. Since the Spirit King himself brought this up, what reason does Mi Zhen have not to accept it? However, his basic vigilance still led him to ask an additional question.

"That's true... but may I ask why you want to help me?"

The air suddenly became quiet.

After looking at him for two seconds, the Spirit King suddenly lost his composure and burst into laughter, slapping his thigh with glee.

"Hahaha, Watanabe Yama... Think about your abilities."

The Spirit King pointed to his head, laughing as he said, "Do you think this is our first meeting? Ah... it seems so to you."

Damn it? !

Wait, wait, what did you say?

After taking a deep breath of cold air that could exacerbate global warming, Mi Zhen's thought process became somewhat chaotic.

"No... this... wait... you mean, you and 'my future self' will meet again?" Mima tried hard to make sense of it. "Is it Fullbring? Or Bankai? Will I be able to jump between timelines in the future?"

“I can’t tell you that.” The Spirit King casually propped his head up with his hand. “Talking about the future with someone like you who can interfere with time would seriously disrupt the law of causality. Believe me, you don’t want to see that happen.”

"..."

Mi Zhen almost blurted out two commonly used modal particles.

Damn it, it's the Riddler!

"Since... since that's the case, then I won't ask any more questions."

He forcefully suppressed the intense curiosity that gnawed at his heart.

Mizhen then shifted her attention to a more practical aspect: "You mentioned helping, but what specific level are you referring to?"

“I can give you ‘an identity’,” the Spirit King replied. “‘The Spirit King’s messenger,’ what do you think?”

Although she wasn't quite sure what the significance of this identity was, in just one second, Mi Zhen came up with dozens of different ways to play based on its literal meaning.

"...If it's not a particularly busy job, then of course it's great."

"Ha, it's alright, I won't assign you any extra work, after all, you and I both know this is fake." The Spirit King chuckled. "The real 'messenger' is a secret technique of the Linghua family, but as you can see, she is right here, so you don't have to worry about being exposed."

“That’s true…” Mima nodded, stroking her chin. “Then how can I prove this identity?”

"It's very simple, I will leave you a 'token'."

At this point, King Rei turned his head toward Urahara Ryouka and waved to her.

"Linghua, lend me your spirit weapon for a moment."

"No."

Urahara Ryoka, who had always appeared quite loyal, rolled her eyes at this request: "I have a feeling that Lord Rei-ou would do something disgusting with this child."