"Ahhh—that feels good—"
With a long stretch, a sigh of pleasure escaped Ling Qing's throat.
He lay stretched out in the spring water, clearly feeling the fatigue in his body being drawn out bit by bit, as if it had been materialized. His whole body was gradually being emptied, but there was no sense of emptiness, only a blissful feeling as if he were floating on a white cloud.
"Heh heh, feels good, right? Just look at whose masterpiece this is."
Opposite Ling Qing, Tenjirō Kirinji couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, speaking with immense pride.
The two of them lay in the hot spring, one on the left and one on the right, both with a small towel on their heads. Ling Qing's was on his head, while Tenjirō's was draped over his pompadour.
Tenjirō's attitude towards Ling Qing was now worlds apart from the beginning. Although he was as proud and arrogant as ever, compared to the initial business-like manner, he now even joked with Ling Qing and showed off.
This was because Tenjirō's perception of Ling Qing had changed.
Ling Qing had indeed deliberately held back a big move to ambush him, but on the other hand, if this had been a real battle, Tenjirō would have been taken down by now.
If Tenjirō positioned himself as Ling Qing's instructor, then when Ling Qing's fangs turned back to bite him, and he couldn't completely suppress him, it meant he could no longer continue to teach him.
And the truth was, after Ling Qing had perfected his own style, he could already be considered a figure to be recorded in the annals of history in the field of Shunpo.
From now on, the Shunpo practice between Tenjirō and Ling Qing could no longer be called 'teaching'. It could only be called 'sparring'. Because if Tenjirō were to force his own methods and habits on Ling Qing, it would no longer be teaching, but misleading a student.
When someone touches you in your area of expertise, it's hard not to change your opinion of them. Tenjirō was no exception.
"But I was quite surprised that you dared to jump in so directly."
Next to the hot spring where the two were soaking, there was a sign with several large words written on it—White Bone Hell!
That's right, this was where Ling Qing's journey in the Soul King Palace had begun.
Tenjirō's hot springs were not just for healing injuries; they could also expel the fatigue and wear and tear produced by the body. Even such a thing was possible.
However, apart from Tenjirō himself, no one had dared to try using it like this before.
The reason was simple. The effects of Tenjirō's concocted hot springs were too powerful. The flip side of their powerful efficacy was that improper use would result in one's bones being dissolved. Over-supplementing, as they say.
Hearing Tenjirō's words, a disdainful smile appeared on Ling Qing's face. He pointed a thumb at himself and said with great pride, "Just kidding, I'm super brave!"
As he spoke, Ling Qing glanced at Kazuo and Kazuhiro, who were helping out nearby. Ling Qing had been with Tenjirō for quite some time now; after all, Shunpo wasn't something you could master in a day or two of extra practice.
Ling Qing's progress could already be described as miraculous, but he himself had no concept of how much time had passed. After all, the scenery in the Soul King Palace was too unchanging. You could open and close your eyes and even doubt if a day had passed at all.
During this time, Ling Qing had soaked in the hot springs with Tenjirō countless times, but he had no memory of Kazuo and Kazuhiro ever joining them. Not only that, but the two of them acted strangely. Every time they came to the hot springs, they would put on thick, protective-suit-like clothing. Ling Qing always wondered if they weren't afraid of the heat.
On the other side, Tenjirō noticed Ling Qing's gaze and couldn't help but roll his eyes.
He thought to himself that the reason Ling Qing was so brave was because he still didn't know the terrifying effects of the White Bone Hell and the Blood Pond Hell. Even wearing a special protective suit woven from Super Spirit Thread, a moment of carelessness could cause the contacted area to rot and rupture due to the excessive healing effects of the hot springs.
But there was no need to say this now, because Ling Qing's body had already become strong enough to ignore the excessive healing effects of the hot springs. At first, Tenjirō couldn't help but be amazed, but now he was used to it.
With a splash of water, Ling Qing's gaze, which had been secretly observing Kazuo and Kazuhiro, was drawn back. He saw Tenjirō get up from the White Bone Hell and head towards the Blood Pond Hell.
Estimating that it was about time, Ling Qing also got up and followed him. After draining all the fatigue in the White Bone Hell, it was time to recover stamina in the Blood Pond Hell. The principle was the same as with healing.
Even in the Blood Pond Hell, they were on the left and right. This was a tacit understanding they had developed during this time.
When soaking in the bath and bored, they would always chat about all sorts of things. Tenjirō originally wanted to continue the story of the ramen ninja that Ling Qing hadn't finished yesterday, but today the situation was a bit special, so he turned the conversation to more practical matters.
"By the way... you've been in the Soul King Palace for quite some time, haven't you?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
How long had it been? Ling Qing thought about it carefully and found that he still had no impression.
Time flies when you're in the mountains, it was probably a similar principle.
"Ōetsu's side said that his research is almost successful, and he wants you to go back and take a look soon."
Ling Qing was slightly taken aback, then nodded. "I understand."
"But you can also wait a little longer," Tenjirō continued. "Your Shunpo style has just been formed, and you're now in a phase that requires repeated practice and consolidation. If you stop now and miss this critical period, you'll have to spend several times the effort to make up for it later."
Although Ling Qing had already formed his own Shunpo style and had successfully defeated Tenjirō once, this didn't mean it was the complete version. What Ling Qing was using now could only be considered a prototype; it still needed to be further refined and practiced.
However, whether Tenjirō's words contained the idea of defeating the new-styled Ling Qing to regain his pride, only he himself knew.
"That's... true."
What Tenjirō said was right, and Ling Qing knew it very well.
Thinking about it carefully, the training regarding mastering his Shikai was also missing the final step. It was because of a sudden whim of his that got Nimaiya Ōetsu excited, and he just took his sword and sent him over to Tenjirō's place. This left the last little bit of his Shikai training dangling.
If he left a loose end in his Shunpo practice here as well, Ling Qing felt that he might develop some bad habits. He hadn't noticed it before, but now he should pay attention to such details. He really needed to do one thing perfectly before moving on to another.
Thinking of this, Ling Qing also had a question. "By the way, how many members does the Zero Squad have now?"
"What, you want to join the Zero Squad too?" Tenjirō said with a half-smile.
"Give me a break," Ling Qing shook his head with a bitter smile. "I'm not even a member of the Gotei 13, how can I just skip a grade and get promoted to the Zero Squad?"
Thinking about it carefully, Ling Qing was quite a strange case, or rather, an ultimate case of nepotism. Before even joining the Gotei 13, he had already benefited from the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, and as if that wasn't enough, he continued to benefit from the Zero Squad, and still hadn't finished.
"No, no, no, you've got it wrong. The Zero Squad is not a superior organization to the Gotei 13, and there is no promotion channel at all. As the name suggests, the Zero Squad existed before the Gotei 13."
At this point, Tenjirō pinched his chin and clicked his tongue. "However, whether the Gotei 13 was modeled after the Zero Squad, or whether the Zero Squad was restructured into this form after the Gotei 13, I'm not too clear. Maybe only the Monk and Ōetsu know."
Tenjirō's words made Ling Qing pause for a moment. It was only then that he noticed a detail. That is, much of the information circulating in the Seireitei, even within families of the level of the Five Great Noble Clans like the Shihōin Clan... seemed to contain a lot of falsehoods?
Vaguely, Ling Qing felt that he had grasped some kind of thread, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong right now.
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