Chapter 53: How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift, Young Lady?
Mo Yu had been watching the negotiations between Rukia and Byakuya Kuchiki the entire time.
The process went quite smoothly. Although Rukia clearly mixed in some of her own strange, selfish motives, Mo Yu didn't mind. In fact, he felt Rukia was doing a stellar job.
As a system created by Mo Yu, the rise and fall of the "Martial Artist" path was not just an evolution of power; at this stage, it could be viewed as a political weather vane.
The reason a "Letter of Allegiance" has prevailed throughout history is that it possesses an indelible value. In the grand enterprise of reshaping the Three Worlds, if these nobles aren't even willing to put down a mere Zanpakuto, how could Mo Yu believe they are truly willing to change sides?
"What those above like, those below will follow to excess." This is an old saying with a derogatory slant, but in the study of "Thick Black Theory," it also has a positive connotation. At the very least, it shows that both top and bottom are moving in the same direction. If not, it easily evolves into another saying: "The top has policies, the bottom has counter-measures," where everyone starts dragging each other's feet.
Of course, these things are hard to explain clearly; they can only be analyzed case-by-case. If Rukia hadn't mixed in her personal desire to create a world of muscle-men, Mo Yu's assessment standards for the nobles would have been even harsher. He might have even replicated some "dark and gritty" operations from ancient Japanese political history into the Seireitei to ensure these 2D nobles saw what true 3D political ruthlessness looked like.
At the moment, although the will Rukia was conveying had some playful elements, it didn't matter. In fact, whether serious or joking, as long as Rukia spoke these words on behalf of Mo Yu, it was enough. In this setting, the speaker might be casual, but if the listener took it lightly, the problem would be massive.
Byakuya's wavering came faster than expected. Clearly, compared to Rukia—whose noble education was incomplete—Byakuya, who carried the Kuchiki family name, possessed deeper political wisdom and understood the stakes better. Furthermore, this wavering also stemmed from Byakuya himself.
In his youth, Byakuya had been reckless. To marry Rukia's sister, Hisana—a commoner from the Rukongai—he had sworn to the clan elders that this would be the only time he broke noble tradition. From then on, he would treat noble regulations as his life's creed.
Byakuya had been excellent at keeping that promise. For years, every action of his was strictly by the book, earning him the title of the "Paragon of Nobility." Even in the original story, when Rukia was sentenced to death, he chose to uphold the law over his own feelings.
But as they say, the wheels of heaven turn. Rukia had escaped her original fate only to plunge Byakuya into a crisis of faith in a different way. How should a noble family, whose ruling legitimacy is based on the Soul King, choose when faced with the will of the Soul King Himself?
Ultimately, Byakuya used the excuse of "needing time to ponder such a heavy matter" to dismiss Rukia and the others. Once the room was empty, he remained silent for a long time. He drew his Zanpakuto, staring at it repeatedly, before letting out a sigh and placing it aside with great care.
Then, he stood up, picked up a vase from the corner of the room, and did a few curls with it as if it were a dumbbell—as if pre-rehearsing the future.
Seeing this, Mo Yu stroked his chin. Anime like How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? seemed quite popular lately. With Byakuya's looks, if he filmed a version called How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift, Big Brother?, it felt like it had great potential.
While Byakuya had reached a internal decision, he wouldn't act alone. He summoned the clan elders for a secret meeting. These elders then contacted loyal vassal nobles, engaging in vague communications that seemed cloudy on the surface but were packed with information to those reading between the lines.
The noble system of the Soul Society is deeply interconnected. Each of the Five Great Houses has a large number of vassal families. Thus, the moment the Kuchiki family moved, the noble circles were flooded with messengers and secret letters, followed by a storm of gossip.
Mo Yu's perspective split continuously to follow these links. Since he couldn't watch them all, he had the infant angels help, assigning them to different "feeds" to record observations in TXT files. Although the angels weren't very smart, their learning ability was decent. Their early notes were gibberish, but they soon became professional. Mo Yu checked the files periodically to grasp the situation.
Naturally, the nobles had no idea that from a higher dimension, God and all the angels of Heaven were spying on them with high intensity. Their conversations quickly revealed the general attitude of the noble class.
To Mo Yu's surprise, before the situation was clear, the more powerful noble houses were conservative or even resistant to the "Secret Decree." The most active and positive were actually the Lower-Class Nobles. After thinking it over, Mo Yu understood why.
The Seireitei is a capital co-governed by nobles and the Gotei 13, but not all nobles are qualified to live inside it. Most minor nobles work as attendants or minor officials for middle or high-ranking houses, while their own families reside in the Rukongai districts closest to the Seireitei.
For these minor nobles, having someone working for a Great House is the foundation that separates their bloodline and status from commoners. But this foundation is fragile. A single word, a look, or a political gamble from a High Noble could result in an entire minor family being ground into the dust.
They naturally wanted to rise, but the Soul Society had been ruled by the Five Great Houses for a million years. The decay and stagnation were obvious. Many tried to join the Gotei 13 by entering the Spiritual Arts Academy, but that path was just as blocked.
Soul Reapers are long-lived. Once a genius commoner or minor noble secured a "Seated Officer" spot, they'd hold it for centuries. Even when vacancies opened, the competition was fierce, with middle and high nobles often stepping in to claim the spots.
For example, when Yoruichi Shihoin defected, her Captaincy was eventually given to Soi Fon, who was pushed forward by the Shihoin family. The seated positions of that division—including the Onmitsukido and the Punishment Force—remained the territory of the Shihoin family and its vassals. There was no room for outsiders to reach in.
With no upward mobility in the noble system and little hope in the Gotei 13, most minor nobles lived in obscurity. When news of the Soul King's Secret Decree leaked, although they only dared to discuss it in secret, they were exhilarated.
They craved change more than anyone!
Mo Yu laughed, realizing he had fallen into a "Cognitive Barrier." History had already proven that the greatest revolutionary force against a decaying noble class always comes from within that class itself.
Since these minor nobles craved change, Mo Yu was willing to give them a chance—and optimize the Purity system in the process.
Inside the Kuchiki manor, a certain "refined lady" suddenly went missing!
Then, several minor noble families in the middle of their secret discussions were shocked to find their front doors kicked wide open. A massive giant, with muscles exuding infinite power and beauty and a bone-like mask on his face, walked in slowly!
"I, the Demon Muscle Man, Supreme Chief Justice of the Fighting World and Mentor for New Recruits, have heard your soul's cry to put down the Zanpakuto and pursue the truth of muscle and strength! Come! Let me show you the beauty of High-Purity Muscle!!!"
Before the bewildered nobles, the Demon Muscle Man slowly flexed his arm. His bulging biceps suddenly erupted with a blinding light of spiritual power, blasting into the crowd!
How could these minor nobles resist this High-Purity Muscle Light? Along with their house guards, they were sent reeling. Once they hit the floor, they began to scream in agony as muscles began to grow at a frantic speed—so violent that the skin tore, spraying blood!
After demonstrating the beauty of muscle, the Demon Muscle Man departed leisurely to kick down the door of the next minor noble house.
Even with the "Ryoka" invasion intensifying, the mass attack on nobles triggered a massive reaction from the Seireitei. When the news reached the Kuchiki family, Byakuya couldn't sit still. He abandoned his meeting and used Shunpo at full throttle to burst into Rukia's room.
Rukia was sitting in her room, elegantly and demurely arranging flowers. Though nothing seemed amiss, Byakuya couldn't help but ask:
"Rukia... do you have any thoughts on the fact that a large number of nobles were attacked by a 'Demon Muscle Man' capable of firing strange Ceros from his muscles? Is this also the Soul King's will?"
Rukia turned her head toward Byakuya and said calmly and elegantly: "Brother, as a refined lady, I have been here arranging flowers the whole time. I have no idea what happened. Nor do I know who this 'Demon Muscle Man' is—the one who uses his biceps to fire High-Purity Muscle Light for forced body modification. Perhaps... only the Soul King knows the truth!"
Byakuya felt that his sister's gaze looked as if she had experienced infinite eons—filled with the indifference of one who has seen through the mortal world, yet hiding a flicker of a fanatical and dangerous flame.
Byakuya went silent for a moment, then looked away. "Better to not know."
He closed the door and turned to leave, but after a few steps, he couldn't resist turning back to ask one more thing:
"That 'Demon Muscle Man'... surely he wouldn't be bold enough to attack the Head of the Kuchiki family?"
His only response was Rukia's soft whisper:
"You'll have to ask the Soul King!"
End of Chapter
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