The Supreme Soul, Starting with Death

However, although Erlang had almost finished eating the mask fragment, his soul state seemed to be quite stable and showed no signs of becoming ethereal, which made Gu Shi slightly disappointed.

Just then, Gu Shi suddenly sensed a pure spiritual energy rapidly approaching. He immediately suppressed his chaotic thoughts and focused all his efforts on concealing his spiritual pressure to avoid being discovered by the approaching Grim Reaper.

If I suddenly jumped out now and attacked that Grim Reaper, would that madman help his comrades to kill me? Or would he help me hold off the Grim Reaper, buying me time to escape? Or would he go even further and help me kill the Grim Reaper?

Gu Shi was somewhat eager to try it out, but after thinking it over, he gave up on this suicidal decision.

He and that madman are currently maintaining a superficial peace, and he doesn't need to worry about the other party targeting him until his strength reaches a certain level.

But if he suddenly does something reckless, even if the madman does help him kill the arriving Grim Reaper, with his noble status, he most likely won't be judged as a sinner by the Soul Society. If things completely fall apart then, the madman might cut off his limbs, take him to massacre the city, and force him to eat people to increase his strength.

Shaking his head, Gu Shi stopped thinking nonsense and stared at the two Grim Reapers who had already met in the distance. Because of the distance, he could not only not hear their conversation, but he could not even see their expressions clearly.

However, even if he couldn't see it, Gu Shi could imagine that the madwoman was probably putting on that harmless act of a delicate young lady again.

Wow, no wonder they're from aristocracy, their acting skills, honed since childhood, are truly impressive.

As Gu Shi was thinking this, he suddenly smelled an enticing, sweet, and pungent odor in the air. Before he could concentrate and identify the source of the smell, he saw the bearded Grim Reaper slowly fall to the ground in the distance.

……

In an instant, Gu Shi understood what had happened.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the Death Girl opened a large hole in her chest, and the bearded man, who had already fainted, appeared in front of him using Shunpo.

"Big guy, I've found that my luck has been exceptionally good ever since I met you. Guess why the void is gathered here so unusually? I bet you'd never guess!"

Casually tossing the bearded Grim Reaper to the ground under a tree, the Grim Reaper girl beamed with joy—a pure, unadulterated happiness that seemed to...

Is it about to crouch down and eat people in the next second?

Gu Shi shook his head and quickly grabbed Erlang to stop it from licking the blood from the bearded Grim Reaper's chest.

"You've already said I can't guess it, so what's the point of me guessing? Just tell me the answer."

Gu Shi's blatant disrespect caused the Death Girl's smile to freeze slightly, and she glared at him with annoyance.

"Hey big guy, how come I never noticed before? You're so boring. Can't you just go with the flow and guess what's going on to make me happy?"

After criticizing Gu Shi for being unromantic, the Death Girl immediately cheered up and, without keeping him in suspense any longer, revealed the answer directly.

"This bearded man must have had some incredible luck. A while ago, a super genius wandered into his territory. That genius's soul was naturally powerful. Even with a physical body to cover it, his rich spiritual energy would still constantly overflow, attracting the surrounding voids to approach him."

"If that were all, it would just be an extra meal for some Hollow. But that genius not only has naturally strong spiritual power, but also an astonishing talent for manipulating spiritual power. He actually figured out a way to use spiritual power and successfully called on a portion of the spiritual power in his own soul. Not only was he not eaten by the Hollow, but he also eliminated many Hollows that came to eat him."

At this point, the Death Girl couldn't help but show a hint of admiration. Without any systematic training, she had mastered the method of using spiritual power through her own exploration. Moreover, despite the constraints of her physical body, she could still fully utilize her spiritual power and use techniques similar to those of the ancient Kido.

With such outrageous talent, if he can avoid being eaten by a Hollow and successfully be buried in Soul Society, he probably won't be long before he becomes a new Shinigami captain.

Clearing her throat and suppressing her emotions, the Death Girl continued.

"After discovering that genius, this lucky bearded man took the initiative to show himself and invited him to settle in his territory, promising to provide him with housing and food. His only request was that after the genius crippled the Hollow, he would hand it over to him to kill."

"For Shinigami stationed in the human world, there is no other way to gain merit except by killing Hollows. They can only simply kill time. This bearded man wants to cooperate with that genius to gain a lot of merit for himself and then apply to be transferred back to Soul Society."

As she spoke, the Death Girl glanced at the unconscious bearded man and curled her lip in disdain.

"If the Soul Society were so easy to fool, a whole bunch of noble children would have come here to rack up merits long ago. Why would he be stationed in the human world? The number of Hollows he has killed is unusually high. The higher-ups will definitely suspect that he deliberately killed a large number of people in order to gain merit and attract Hollows to his territory by accumulating souls."

"When the investigation team arrives, they will find that he leaked information about Soul Society to the living and even cooperated with the living to deceive Soul Society. He won't even live three days before he is executed."

After mocking the bearded man's stupidity, the Death Girl grinned again and patted Gu Shi's shoulder forcefully.

"He's going to die sooner or later anyway, so I might as well send him on his way sooner and take over that super genius while I'm at it."

"With that genius helping to lure the Hollow, you can eat to your heart's content, big guy. Moreover, we can continue to use the bearded man's cooperation method, let that genius cripple the Hollow, and then you can go up and start eating. The efficiency is exceptionally high!"

Chapter Twenty-Five: Aizen? Alive!?

Gu Shi had to admit that although the Death Girl was a madwoman, her reaction speed and action were indeed exceptionally strong. She had just heard the bearded man talk about cooperating with a super genius, and then she immediately came up with a way to profit from it, and then she could stab the bearded man to death without hesitation.

but……

"What do you plan to do with this person? If a Shinigami stationed in the human world dies, the Soul Society will definitely send people to investigate, right?"

Gu Shi pointed to the bearded man who was still unconscious, wondering how the Death Girl would handle it.

Collaborating with the living and leaking Soul Society information is a serious crime. Even though Soul Society believes in "the emperor breaking the law and the common people having fun together," and the Shinigami girl, as a noble, doesn't have to worry about being punished even if she breaks the rules, if the investigation team arrives, the collaboration she wants to take on probably can't continue.

After all, no matter how much the nobility dominates Soul Society, at least on the surface, they should still maintain the authority of the "rules" in order to continue controlling ordinary Shinigami. They can't possibly turn a blind eye to obvious violations.

The Death Girl was aware of this, so she never intended to kill the bearded man from the beginning.

"That's simple. Just find a cave or dungeon and lock him up. As long as you slash him a couple of times every now and then, keeping him in a state of severe injury and unconsciousness, you don't have to worry about him causing any trouble."

"When you've had your fill, I'll report him for collaborating with the living, and the Soul Society will deal with him swiftly and severely."

"As for that super genius, when the cooperation ends, find a way to kill him by poisoning or something similar, and then immediately send him to the Soul Society for a soul burial. After the soul burial, most of the memories will be lost, so there's no need to worry about him retaliating against us, and our cooperation with him will not be leaked."

The Death Girl had clearly considered all aspects when she stabbed him, and she answered Gu Shi's questions with remarkable fluency.

Gu Shi thought about it for a while and didn't find any obvious flaws, so he nodded to indicate that he had no objection.

After that, the Death Girl unleashed a barrage of demonic arts, blasting a cave open and stuffing the bearded Death Girl inside. Then, she had Gu Shi break off several large trees and pile them at the cave entrance as a prison door, thus completing the setup of this temporary prison.

As she left, the Death Girl didn't forget to deliver another blow to the bearded man and take his Zanpakuto, completely eliminating any possibility of his escape.

After that, the Death Girl took Gu Shi and excitedly headed towards a very conspicuous mountain in the distance. Even when they encountered Hollows along the way, they were too lazy to stop and deal with them.

According to the bearded man, there was a dilapidated little shrine on the mountain. Although no one went to worship there anymore, some of the rooms could still be lived in if they were cleaned up. Since the genius was dressed as a Shinto priest, he arranged for the genius to stay in the shrine.

It must be said that the bearded man was indeed an honest man, and he did not tell a single lie. When the two of them arrived at the top of the mountain, they did see the red torii gate that is a standard feature of shrines. Although the shimenawa rope hanging on the torii gate was rotten and broken, the faded torii gate was still wiped clean, which meant that someone had been active in the vicinity recently.

Beside the torii gate, the stone tablet was also wiped spotless, and the neat characters "Aishō Inari Shrine" could be seen engraved on it.

Beyond the torii gate, you can see a young man, about sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing a faded Shinto priest's robe, diligently sweeping dust and fallen leaves from the shrine.

The young man seemed to possess a unique quality. Even though the shrine was dilapidated and the roof of the main hall behind him had collapsed, he stood in this desolate and ruined environment, yet he inexplicably felt incredibly natural. The surrounding dilapidated buildings seemed to have gained an extra sense of "returning to nature."

Gu Shi stopped far away to avoid recklessly entering the other party's field of vision and being easily killed by that supposedly very powerful genius, while the Death Girl brazenly barged in.

“Little guy, you must be the genius that the bearded man was talking about? My name is Saito Yoru. The bearded man was reported for drinking while on duty and has been sent back to solitary confinement. He'll probably be locked up for two or three years before he's released. I'm the Grim Reaper in charge of that area. He contacted me before he left and asked me to take care of you for a while until he comes back.”

Spouting lies that no living person could verify, the Death Girl casually patted the young man's shoulder in a domineering manner, giving him no chance to question her, and continued speaking.

"Alright, hurry up and introduce yourself. The bearded man left in a hurry and didn't even have time to tell me your name. He just said you're a genius and that taking care of you would definitely not be a loss for me. Pshaw, no matter how talented a living person is, what help can they possibly be to me?"

Upon hearing this series of unexpected news, the young man was only slightly stunned before he smiled gently again and bowed to the girl of death in a generous manner.

"Lord Saito, just call me Yusuke. I usually advise Lord Yamamoto to drink less alcohol, but Lord Yamamoto says that life is meaningless without alcohol. Now that he is in solitary confinement for drinking, it might be a good thing for Lord Yamamoto if he can take this opportunity to quit drinking."

The Death Girl raised an eyebrow and patted him on the shoulder with amusement.

"Not bad, little guy. You're quite cautious and know how to test me. Don't worry, I call that guy 'Big Beard' because I'm used to calling him that in the team. I know his name is Oniki Ryo, not Yamamoto."

The young man immediately showed a sincere apologetic smile and bowed respectfully to the girl of death once again.

"It was Yusuke who was overthinking it. Please forgive him, Lord Saito."

"Alright, alright, I'm not that strict. You don't need to be so reserved in front of me. By the way, let me introduce you to a new friend. Just stay calm and don't lay a hand on him."

The Death Girl, of course, was unwilling to waste time on such a trivial matter. She waved her hand to indicate that she didn't mind, and then waved to Gu Shi outside the torii gate.

"Come here, big guy!"

Once Gu Shi got closer, Yusuke could see Gu Shi's appearance clearly, and then the Death Girl explained.

"Don't let his current appearance fool you, he was actually a Grim Reaper not long ago. When he first joined the team, I even mentored him for a while."

"However, this guy was unlucky. He was attacked by several Hollows while on a mission some time ago. Although he successfully eliminated those Hollows, he was also corrupted by their spiritual power and became Hollow himself."

"Fortunately, although he has become a Hollow, his consciousness has not been affected, and there is still a possibility of saving him. However, he needs to accumulate enough spiritual power to break through the boundary between the Shinigami and the Hollow and regain his original form."

Relying on the fact that the young man was alive and knew almost nothing about the Grim Reapers and Hollows, the Grim Reaper Girl casually fabricated outrageous lies that no Grim Reaper would believe, while beckoning to Gu Shi, who was standing there dumbfounded.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and say hello!"

Gu Shi stared blankly at the young man with the gentle smile, feeling his whole body stiffen.

Although the other person wasn't wearing glasses, had a slicked-back hairstyle, wasn't dressed in a shihata suit or a stylish white coat, and his eyes, which were narrowed into slits when he smiled, didn't reveal any coldness in them.

but!

This face!

That kind of temperament!

Isn't this Aizen?!

It's still alive!?

Chapter Twenty-Six: Excuses

The moment Gu Shi saw the young man's face, he almost couldn't help but turn and run away.

Previously, when Gu Shi saw Aizen through the screen, he only thought that this person was handsome and charming. He once praised Aizen on the Internet as the most handsome and classy villain in history. He even used his terrible skills to make a few mashup videos, trying to promote the charm of this character to more people.

However, when the screen that ensured absolute safety was gone and the two sides were truly face to face and could make contact, that kind of superficial admiration vanished instantly, replaced by a strong sense of dread. Gu Shi even considered jumping into the sea and swimming to another country to say goodbye to this dangerous place forever.

Even though this living boy who is suspected to be Aizen hasn't done anything bad yet and seems to be just a gentle and respectful young man who can face Shinigami without being humble or arrogant, and it's not even certain whether he is Aizen or not, the sense of crisis he brings to Gu Shi still instantly surpasses that of the crazy Shinigami girl.

Instinctively, Gu Shi was about to take a step back, but just then, Erlang suddenly barked happily and ran past him, seemingly very fond of the boy, sniffing him lightly and circling around his feet.

Jiro's actions instantly jolted Gu Shi awake. He realized that if he did anything unusual at this moment, he would be in real trouble. So he quickly suppressed his nervousness, acted unhurriedly, stepped over the torii gate, and walked steadily to the boy's side.

"Hello, Shao..."

Gu Shi intended to greet him naturally, but as soon as he approached the boy, a strange fragrance that went straight to the depths of his soul made his eyes turn red instantly, his mouth immediately filled with saliva, and an intense appetite surged to his head.

Gu Shi quickly took a few steps back, barely managing to regain his composure after nearly losing control. He was somewhat pleased to realize that he seemed to have a legitimate reason to keep his distance from the boy. He quickly wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, feigning lingering fear, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Phew, as expected of the genius praised by Senior Guiqi. Just getting close to you almost made me lose control. Impressive. Young man, my name is Gu Shi. For your safety—no, judging from your talent, it should be for my safety—it's best if we keep our distance."

Seeing Gu Shi's performance, a hint of disappointment flashed in the eyes of the Death Girl. Her main purpose in bringing Gu Shi here was actually to see if the soul of this super genius could ignite Gu Shi's appetite and make him lose control and eat people.

Once a rule is broken, the bottom line is completely lost. After that, a gentle push is all it takes to make Gu Shi abandon his current principles and devour people as wantonly as an ordinary Xu.

Unfortunately, even though Gu Shi hadn't considered the issue of cannibalistic impulses beforehand, he still managed to control himself the moment his appetite erupted.

The boy who called himself Yusuke had an exceptionally good attitude. Even when he saw a little drool at the corner of Gu Shi's mouth, he showed no nervousness or disgust. Instead, he revealed a look of sincere admiration.

"Lord Gu Shi is joking. Even after you become intangible, you are still able to restrain your cannibalistic impulses. This is the first time I have ever seen such a strong will in my life. I suppose your strength must be extraordinary. The fact that you are willing to keep your distance from me must be for my protection."

"No, no, no, I'm not joking. I'm just an ordinary person. You're a super genius. With your talent, once you become the Grim Reaper, you could probably kill me with a single finger after just a few days of training."