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"Wow, Captain Aizen, your Kyōka Suigetsu is insane! Just now, I tried to raise my left hand—but somehow I stretched out my right leg. Then I thought I was moving my right leg, but it turned into my right hand instead. It's absolutely unbelievable!" Su Li babbled with wide-eyed amazement inside the Fifth Division captain's quarters, his voice bubbling with excitement.
"Captain Su Li, please, your voice—don't wake the entire barracks," Aizen chided gently, a soft, helpless smile on his lips.
"Ahahaha, sorry... I got carried away," Su Li said, rubbing the back of his head, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Then, as if struck by inspiration, he stood with a beaming smile and bowed deeply. "Captain Aizen, witnessing your Shikai tonight was... enlightening. Thank you. Truly." He paused, then tilted his head thoughtfully. "Actually—how about this? To express my gratitude, I could teach you my white-killing technique. What do you say?"
Aizen chuckled and politely shook his head. "No, no, Mr. Su Li. That really won't be necessary."
A trace of disappointment flickered across Su Li's face. "Even so... I'm grateful. Please accept my thanks," he said, bowing again with stiff sincerity.
Aizen returned the gesture with equal politeness, though his voice subtly nudged the conversation toward its conclusion. "No need for all this ceremony. You should rest. After all, your retreat begins tomorrow."
Su Li blinked, then smiled. "You're right. I'll head out. But after the retreat—let's share a drink."
Aizen nodded. "Of course. May your retreat be fruitful." Without another word, Su Li gave a small wave, turned, and walked away.
---
The door slid shut with a quiet snap. Aizen remained motionless for a moment, then turned to the window. His warm expression fell away like a mask, replaced by the cold gleam of calculation. "That boy's louder than a Menos scream... No wonder Kurotsuchi detests him," he muttered, narrowing his gaze as he watched the young figure vanish into the distance. "Still just a child." But even as he spoke, a slow, predatory smile curled across his lips. The thorn in his side—the unpredictable variable—was gone. Dealt with. Now, there would be no more interference. Nothing would stand in the way of his plans.
---
Out on the silent streets, beneath a flickering lamppost, Su Li's figure moved alone—until it didn't. His shadow suddenly split. From one boy came two. The second figure peeled away from the first like a reflection stepping free of a mirror—identical face, identical robe—except one held an invisibility cloak.
The Su Li who had just exited Aizen's room turned to the other and grinned proudly. "Brother, did you see that just now? My acting completely fooled him!"
The second Su Li, the real one, answered with a cool expression. "I saw it. Though that final scene... a bit overacted."
The soul pill wearing Su Li's corpse gave a dramatic scoff. "You don't understand the subtle layering I put in—gratitude, awe, tension—it was a performance!" He folded his arms, then added gloomily, "What a waste... Top-tier acting talent, trapped inside a pill."
Indeed, the Su Li who had just shared tea and illusions with Aizen wasn't Su Li at all—but Fazai, the animated soul pill inhabiting a righteous corpse. And while Aizen had been watching Fazai, the real Su Li had remained cloaked, hiding nearby.
"Too much flair ruins the tension," Su Li muttered, brushing dust from his sleeve. "Fortunately, he never noticed."
Fazai grinned. "Of course he didn't! I'm the best performer among soul pills!"
Su Li allowed himself a faint smile. "You get half the credit tonight."
Fazai's grin faltered. "Half?"
"Your movement was sharp. But I had to mirror your breathing, posture, gait... everything. Down to the smallest twitch. From the outside, we were one." It wasn't just precision. It was Ultra Instinct. That subtle sixth—or perhaps even seventh—sense Su Li had developed made the impossible effortless. Their footsteps never faltered. Their rhythm never broke.
To seal the illusion, Su Li had continuously projected his Reiatsu behind Fazai throughout the entire conversation. Aizen, sensing the signature, had no reason to question the identity. Kyōka Suigetsu deceived the five senses. But Su Li? He had used Aizen's own method—to trick the deceiver.
Aizen believed he'd manipulated Su Li. In truth, Su Li had manipulated Aizen. All of it—this elaborate play—had been designed for one purpose: to lull Aizen into comfort, to make him believe Su Li remained ignorant. Only then would Aizen continue with his plan.
The performance hadn't been a farewell. It was a return gift. The consequence of that slap Aizen once landed—repaid in full.
What Su Li truly looked forward to was the day Aizen used Kyōka Suigetsu in earnest—only to realize its illusion had failed. To watch the liar discover he'd been lied to. That expression... would be exquisite.
A smirk tugged at Su Li's lips. "Alright, you've done your part. Time to return."
"Next time you need a performance, call me," Fazai said cheerfully. "I can do tragedy, romance, noir—"
Smack.
Su Li chopped his forehead.
The soul pill popped free from the corpse as the righteous body collapsed. Su Li pocketed the pill, deflated the gigai, and sealed it away. Then he exhaled.
"Now that this is done... it's time to begin real cultivation."
Forty years. An uninterrupted window. How strong could he become?
A quiet chime echoed in his mind.
[Ding!]
[System upgrade complete! Booting interface...]
[Startup successful!]
Su Li blinked, then grinned as the system UI flared open in his consciousness. He had nearly forgotten—today marked the end of the system update period. He'd been so busy deceiving captains and planning out fake deaths that it had slipped his mind entirely.
The interface burst into view—and what he saw left him momentarily stunned.
"Holy—! Ultra Ego? Destruction energy? Rokushiki? Shenyue Sword Dance?!"
The list went on—techniques and skills from multiple worlds, each more absurd than the last. And now, he could directly select both the skill and the travel location to train. Each technique came with a time cost—some a few days, others several months. The more advanced... years.
Suddenly, a familiar chirp rang out. A frog cub leapt from the system storage and landed on his shoulder, nuzzling affectionately against his cheek.
Long time no see.
Su Li chuckled softly, stroking its back. "Still a clingy little bug."
The new system wasn't just upgraded—it was VIP-tier. A cheat code within a cheat code. With this... his next leap in power was inevitable.
"Looks like these next forty years are spoken for," he muttered with a sigh. "Though... I'll still keep in touch with Dandan. That's my Dandan, after all."
As he walked beneath the moonlight, the frog perched on his shoulder and a half-smile on his lips, Su Li felt the spring wind pick up. He stepped forward, light-footed, eyes set toward the distance.
Toward Yuanzi Academy.
Toward the next stage of his evolution.
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