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[Azure Dragon Bows in Tears: Fated Death]
[Category, Art Style]
[Level: —]
[Quality: —]
[Reward: Art Style Value +4]
———
[Sword Saint Martial Venerable]
[Category: Art Style]
[Level: —]
[Quality: —]
[Reward: Art Style Value +2]
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…The former needs no explanation, it came from Iori's decisive battle with the Azure Dragon. But the latter was a little strange. Iori couldn't recall ever being called that by anyone before.
He thought it over carefully. After some serious reflection, he guessed that news of the "dragon-slaying" had reached the people of the island nation, who then respectfully bestowed this title upon him.
That wasn't surprising. After all, the battle had caused far too much commotion. And afterward, torrential rain poured down, with clouds lingering and refusing to disperse for a long time.
The islanders, knowing that something major had happened, would definitely go investigate. They wouldn't be able to find the Azure Dragon's corpse, but just looking at the reactions of the large dangerous species would make everything clear.
Come to think of it, with the Azure Dragon gone, those dangerous species that had been forced into submission would surely release their long-suppressed instincts.
The island nation might very well enter a chaotic period like a night parade of a hundred demons… something no one had anticipated.
But that had little to do with Iori. His sense of responsibility wasn't that strong, he wouldn't pin the negative consequences of a chain reaction on himself.
After all, slaying the Azure Dragon was something the islanders had hoped for in the first place… it could only be said that every benefit comes with its own harm.
What he cared about was his own gains.
With the increase in art style value combined with his personal breakthrough, his current spiritual pressure cap had reached an astonishing "690".
From being slightly below the threshold of a vice-captain, he had leaped straight to a fairly veteran level, and all of this came from just one battle. From Soul Society's perspective, not even ten days had passed…
Of course, Iori's current spiritual pressure was only a little over five hundred. One reason was that the art style value had increased too quickly and hadn't fully caught up yet. Another was that he was still in a weakened state, this wasn't his peak condition.
By the way, when Iori returned to Akame ga Kill over the past couple of days to check his Zanpakuto, he discovered something quite interesting. After activating Shikai, an extra status marker "(Shikai)" would appear after the spiritual pressure value.
At first, Iori didn't understand this. Later, based on his own experience and repeated reflection on the changes after Shikai, he finally realized the truth.
After calling out the true name of a Zanpakuto, the spiritual particles that make up a Shinigami undergo a change in both form of existence and bonding structure.
It's like going from scattered irregular troops to a regular army, tighter, more solid, thereby increasing the intensity of spiritual pressure.
Efficiency also rises dramatically, allowing several times the power compared to before Shikai.
This finally helped Iori understand what the original work meant when it said Shikai and Bankai greatly boost spiritual pressure.
It's a reorganization and strengthening at the level of fundamental particles. While the total amount also increases, it isn't just a simple quantitative expansion.
Saying it "increases by four or five times" is merely a way to make it easier to understand.
And so, Iori stayed in Soul Society for a few more days. He specifically went to Rukongai to keep Granny company for a long time and informed her that he would be heading to the living world to work as an administrator in a town.
Though Granny felt reluctant to part with him, she only gave repeated reminders for him to be careful in everything.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was the day to head to Hueco Mundo. Iori, whose injuries had just about healed, looked a little pale, but his spirits were exceptionally good.
And just as he was lining up to receive his number tag, an unexpected notification rang out in his mind.
[Sword Saint Martial Venerable]
[Art Style Value: 2+1]
Iori, 'Huh? What's going on?!'
A CG that had already been obtained actually updated again, increasing art style value… This was the first time Iori had encountered something like this.
But he quickly realized that this was a rare opportunity. He had to figure out the underlying mystery, perhaps it could open up an entirely new path.
He entered the Interdimensional Gate with the army, traveling from Soul Society to Hueco Mundo, a land perpetually shrouded in night.
There were no large-scale cities or orderly streets like those in the living world or Soul Society. Only barren ground like a white desert, and withered, quartz-like dead trees scattered everywhere, a completely desolate wasteland.
However, compared to the living world and Soul Society, this place had one advantage.
The concentration of spiritual particles in the atmosphere was extremely high. Shinigami here could recover spiritual pressure faster, and even the power of Kido they released would increase.
Of course, Hollows also became stronger. And since this was their home turf, their home-field advantage was far greater than that of the Shinigami.
The Hueco Mundo expeditionary force was led by Saito Furofushi. After regrouping with the stationed personnel, the force totaled about one hundred and fifty Shinigami. Among them, more than twenty were capable of Shikai, making it a highly elite unit.
With Bankai users and many veterans holding the line, and relying on a camp protected by barriers, even an attack led by an Adjuchas-class Menos could be dealt with easily, as long as they didn't provoke a Vasto Lorde.
Vasto Lordes were extremely rare in Hueco Mundo. Saito had lived for so long and still hadn't seen many of them.
But if one truly appeared, they would have to consider abandoning the camp and retreating back to Soul Society.
It was in this harsh environment that Iori used the abundant spiritual particles to quickly pass through his weakened phase.
While adapting to life in the expeditionary force, he also continued exploring the secrets of that special CG. Time flew by amid the busyness…
———
[Akame ga Kill, Far Eastern Island]
With a miserable howl, a silver-blue giant wolf nearly fifty meters long collapsed to the ground. Its massive body crushed tree after tree, and the blood flowing from it soaked into the land.
Looking around, nearly half the forest had been wrecked. Trees cut down by wind blades lay scattered in all directions, and the ground was riddled with cracks. One could only imagine how fierce the battle must have been to leave such a scene.
As the silver wolf lost all signs of life, excited cheers immediately erupted. Warriors, some injured, some exhausted, supported one another, raising their cross-spears and tachi high as they unanimously praised the name "Martial Venerable."
That kind of fanaticism was what every famous general who led troops into battle hoped to obtain, because it meant complete devotion from their subordinates, meaning they would die for your orders.
But standing before the silver wolf's corpse and basking in the cheers, Iori merely glanced back lightly and showed a gentle yet distant smile.
Which only made the warriors even more excited.
They hadn't even counted as true warriors before. If they wanted to join the army and build merit, they could only start from the very bottom as ashigaru.
To climb to the position of samurai general in their lifetime was almost impossible. For those born in the Warring States era with ambitions in their hearts, this was undoubtedly a tragedy.
But the strongest swordsman before them, who looked like a mere youth, had changed their fate. How could they not admire him from the bottom of their hearts?
Compared to their excitement, Iori's expression was relatively calm. He soon withdrew his smile and ordered people to collect materials.
Before long, someone brought specialized nether tools to cut the silver wolf's hide, claws, and fangs.
He watched as the wolf king, once so imposing, now looked like a dead insect, being divided into chunks of various sizes by ants coming and going… At first, scenes like this would stir emotions in him, but after seeing them often enough, his heart no longer felt much.
After the fall of the Izumo Azure Dragon, the large dangerous species that had previously been forced into submission indeed became restless, eager to carve out their own territories.
But most of these areas already had human villages, so many tragedies inevitably occurred.
Some small states even abandoned these mountain folk out of fear of monsters.
It was under these circumstances that Iori returned wielding the dragon-slaying blade, exterminating dangerous species that plagued entire regions one by one, saving village after village. At some point, the title "Martial Venerable" began to spread and became a shared consensus.
This Martial Venerable who appeared out of nowhere repeatedly refused opportunities to become the lord of a city or territory, leaving the outside world deeply puzzled.
No one ever saw him pursue material pleasures, nor display any ambition. He simply continued to slay harmful beasts. Sometimes, the reward he received from mountain villagers was just a rice ball, and he never complained.
Gradually, he became a legend of the land, making people believe that there truly existed warriors as pure and flawless as moonlight, undefeated in a hundred battles, invincible wherever they went!
From one day on, people voluntarily began following behind him, braving danger to hunt dangerous species. Iori didn't drive them away, simply letting things develop naturally. After every kill, he shared the materials with those who took part in the battle and commissioned craftsmen to forge them into nether tools.
More and more people gathered, gradually forming a fairly sizable group. During this process, some people left, but only after obtaining nether tools and being persuaded by Iori to go pursue their own futures.
Some returned home to protect their land. Some joined the service of lords and became fierce generals. Some chose, like Iori, to wander the world and continue honing their martial skills… No matter the choice, all of it made the name "Martial Venerable Iori" spread even further.
Back to the present, the silver wolf that had just fallen was the last of the infamous overlord-level harmful beasts in the world, and it too had been exterminated by Iori.
By now, among the warriors who had emerged from under his banner, there were dozens who had opened martial schools and dojos across various regions and revered him as their master.
A similar number had joined the armies of different states. In addition, countless ronin warriors were chasing after his shadow.
It could be said that Iori had spread his name throughout the entire Far East, becoming the "model of the realm" here.
With such power, if he wished to raise an army and contend for supremacy, he could certainly sweep the world. Unfortunately, Iori had no such ambition, conquering was easy, but ruling consumed far too much energy.
And during this process, Iori verified his hypothesis.
Art style CGs can indeed be updated.
However, this was related to sustained influence. Iori's slaying of the Azure Dragon left behind the legend of a dragon-slaying sword saint in the Far East.
As more and more people learned of it, the influence fermented and eventually underwent a qualitative change, granting an additional boost to art style value.
To obtain similar CGs, several conditions had to be met. For example, the scope of influence had to be large enough, not just a few people or a small group, but a city, a nation, or even an entire world, on a scale vast enough to form "legends" and "myths".
As proof, when Iori began exterminating harmful beasts across various regions, his reputation expanded further.
More people witnessed it with their own eyes and developed a tangible sense of reality, causing his art style value to slowly increase… until the mid-to-late stage, when his image became fixed and updates gradually stopped.
Now, he was revered as "Martial Venerable" by the warrior class, regarded as the strongest exorcist among the common folk."
"Some even began writing supernatural tales based on him, calling the dangerous species "hundred demons," while portraying him as the reincarnation of Myoo or the Thunder God, descending to subdue monsters and banish evil."
That[[Sword Saint Martial Venerable' CG had now completely transformed into something else.
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[Martial Venerable Iori]
[Category: Art Style (Legend)]
[Level: —]
[Quality: —]
———
[Reward]
[Art Style Value +11!]
[Spiritual Pressure Cap: 780]
[Current Spiritual Pressure: 741]
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He had spent about eight months in the world of Akame ga Kill, but only a mere two weeks had passed in Hueco Mundo, most of which was spent coming back to "recharge."
Yet Iori's spiritual pressure had skyrocketed from barely 500 to 740… Comparing the two really made one marvel at the convenience of time acceleration.
Wasn't this basically carrying around a Hyperbolic Time Chamber?
The Dangai with a two-thousand-times time flow was truly an amazing thing.
"Mmm…"
Back in his tent, Iori stretched lazily. This time, he had stayed in the Far East for a full month before returning to recharge.
His spiritual pressure was nearly depleted, and Hueco Mundo's special environment felt like sweet rain after a long drought, filling him with an uncontrollable sense of pleasure.
In a good mood, he lifted the tent flap. Beneath his feet was the barren ground covered in white sand.
Looking up, there was only the eternal night sky with a single crescent moon, and looming vaguely outside the barrier, once again gathered together, massive dark silhouettes, Menos Grande Gillians.
So, having just returned from the Far Eastern battlefield, Iori sincerely said, "Ah, praise the Soul King. Another harmonious and beautiful day!"
Hueco Mundo really was a blessed land of talent. Not only were spiritual particles abundant, but there were also large black-and-white wild animals coming every day asking to be petted. After going back, he definitely had to recommend relatives and friends to come visit if they had the chance~
Ignoring the dozen-plus Menos towering like skyscrapers wandering outside the barrier, Iori strolled calmly toward his workplace.
In theory, he was an auxiliary staff member dispatched by the Twelfth Division.
Specifically, he was responsible for checking whether communication and positioning devices were functioning properly, conducting scheduled contact with Soul Society at regular intervals, and recording and archiving Hollows with unusual forms if encountered… basically, all kinds of miscellaneous tasks.
"Tsk!"
The Menos outside let out more meaningless calls. Annoyed, Iori plugged his ears. Just like that, his good mood for the day was ruined.
The result was that the entire day, no one knew what possessed those things, they just kept howling nonstop. Iori's spiritual pressure was almost fully recovered, yet they were still howling away.
But getting angry was useless. These black beasts had no brains and only acted on instinct to hunt and fight.
This type of Menos was called 'Gillian', formed by the fusion of hundreds of low-level Hollows. Most had the same appearance, like a No-Face with a pointed nose, then enlarged to the height of an office building.
They had no self-awareness and no combat technique. Their only notable trait was a considerable scale of spiritual pressure. Usually, it took multiple seated officers or vice-captain–level fighters to deal with one safely.
If one of these things appeared in Rukongai in Soul Society, a single one could cause a horrific massacre. But in Hueco Mundo, they were merely considered "large wild mobs," the lowest tier among the three types of Menos.
With Iori's current strength, fodder Hollows and Gillians were no match for him. He could even try a one-man mowing run.
If he encountered a mid-level Menos, 'Adjuchas', he would have to take it seriously. But with his Shikai abilities, ordinary Adjuchas didn't pose much of a threat.
As for the highest-level Menos, 'Vasto Lorde'… yeah, better not run into those.
These things were rarer in Hueco Mundo than giant pandas. Every single one was terrifyingly strong. In the original story, even the arrogant Aizen regarded Vasto Lordes with great respect.
That said, Vasto Lordes generally possessed intelligence, unlike their low-level kin who knew only slaughter.
They usually had little interest in Shinigami or Soul Society. Many captains of the Gotei Thirteen went their entire lives without ever seeing a Vasto Lorde.
Even in the textbooks of the Shin'o Academy, Vasto Lordes were introduced to students merely as legendary humanoid Hollows.
"Ang…"
'Damn it! Enough already!'
In a foul mood, Iori estimated his spiritual pressure, confirmed it had recovered to about seventy or eighty percent, then stood up and headed toward the "gate." Just then, he happened to run into Amagai Shusuke, who was leading a small squad of Shinigami past.
"Yo~ Amagai-senpai~"
"That's too flippant. At the very least, I count as your superior. Watch your wording, Iori."
"Well, this is Hueco Mundo. Saying 'good morning' just feels weird," Iori said, glancing up at the crescent moon eternally hanging in the sky and pursing his lips.
Amagai was momentarily speechless. On second thought, Iori's complaint was surprisingly spot-on…
A newcomer like Iori being so casual toward a superior would be a major taboo in any army. Yet from Amagai to the members of the squad he led, no one showed any displeasure. On the contrary, they all acted as if it were perfectly natural.
For them to trust him like this, it was only natural, after all, Iori had demonstrated strength worthy of respect, having done something extremely eye-catching shortly after arriving in Hueco Mundo.
When his assigned squad was accidentally isolated and attacked by a Hollow group, Iori consecutively unleashed three Hado spells above number fifty without chanting, instantly turning the tide of the entire battle.
Even after that, he still had energy to spare and personally led the subsequent breakout. His swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, and flash step techniques flowed effortlessly, each one more proficient and professional than even the instructors at the academy.
In the end, he relied purely on flawless, overwhelming strength to protect the squad, achieving the feat of zero casualties and successfully rendezvousing with reinforcements.
After that, Iori also had a record of solo-killing a Gillian in one battle. Despite being a newcomer, he was highly anticipated.
It was said that those squad leaders all believed that even without Shikai, Iori already possessed the strength of a third or fourth seat, or even vice-captain level, and would soon become one of Saito's Four Heavenly Kings.
Yes, this "Four Heavenly Kings" referred to the battalion commanders under Saito, each basically possessing vice-captain or comparable strength, Amagai Shūsuke included.
Before Iori arrived, there had only been three battalion commanders. It was just that "Four Heavenly Kings" sounded better…
"What are you heading out to do?" Iori asked, seeing how fully armed Amagai's group was. "Don't tell me you're going to drive off Menos?"
As he said this, Iori felt eager to try. He had already built his basic image. What he lacked now was a chance for ultimate sublimation, to completely conquer these veterans and, along the way, reveal his Shikai.
Amagai was left speechless by Iori's attitude.
'This kid didn't come to Hueco Mundo because he's a born battle maniac, did he?'