The bald, burly man had originally found several wild fruits in the mountains, each about the size of goose eggs. Overjoyed, he rushed down to the stream to wash them, only to find the water muddy and unusable.
Furious, the man stormed upstream to find whoever had dirtied the water, intending to beat them and seize compensation. In the end, however, he not only failed to vent his anger—he even "delivered" the fruits straight into Nakatomi Ling's hands…
…
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, Nakatomi Ling not only fully recovered from his injuries, but his Reiryoku had also grown significantly stronger. He could clearly feel the increase in spiritual power flowing within his soul body, denser and more responsive than before.
However, he did not allow himself to grow complacent. Every day, aside from eating, resting, and recovering, he practiced swinging his blade, familiarizing himself with the use of the Asauchi and improving his combat instincts.
The villagers had also become useful tools.
Under his rule, they were required to catch at least four bowls of small fish and shrimp from the nearby stream every day as tribute. Compared to before, this was already a more "efficient" system.
Those three former rulers had never even thought of organizing labor like this; at most, they forced people to gather wild fruits. No wonder they had remained as thin as starving ghosts.
These seven days had not been peaceful either.
From time to time, wandering souls with awakened spiritual power passed through this area. Those slightly stronger than average were driven away by Nakatomi Ling's Reiatsu, while weaker ones were directly killed and stripped of their belongings.
"Hahaha, so… I'm not that weak after all!"
Today, Nakatomi Ling had just driven away another soul with spiritual power. Standing near the edge of the village, he grinned widely.
"Come to think of it… that's the eighth one today trying to take my food. Why are so many spiritually aware guys passing through here lately?"
Of course, not everyone came with hostile intent. Many simply passed by cautiously and avoided conflict. Nakatomi Ling, however, had not bothered to question them.
Suppressing his excitement, he began to think carefully.
Before long, a group of more than a dozen ordinary souls—men, women, and children—came running out from the grove in panic.
"Hey, wait a minute…"
A blade suddenly flew forward and embedded itself into a tree trunk with a sharp thud. If the man in front had taken another step, he would have run straight into the sharp edge.
"Ah! That's dangerous, you bastard!"
The middle-aged man at the front shouted angrily, his face pale.
"Sorry, I just wanted to ask something. Why are so many people coming from that direction recently? Is there a reason?"
Nakatomi Ling spoke calmly, though there was no real apology in his tone.
"Damn it, if that's all, say it properly!"
The man was about to curse again, but then his expression changed as if recalling something terrifying. Cold sweat instantly covered his forehead.
"It's Hollows! Gotei 13 Shinigami are fighting Hollows nearby! You'd better run! From what I sensed… the Shinigami seem to be losing!"
After saying that, the man didn't dare stay any longer and quickly fled with his family.
The news spread quickly throughout the village.
It was the same man, out of a shred of kindness, who had warned the others before leaving. Soon, the remaining villagers began to panic and scatter, abandoning what little they had.
Some even came to bid farewell to Nakatomi Ling, fearful that disaster was about to strike this place.
"Hollows, huh…"
Nakatomi Ling narrowed his eyes, sensing the increasingly chaotic fluctuations of Reiatsu in the distance over the past few days.
"Hmph… their spiritual pressure has been getting stronger and stronger lately. I was just looking for a decent opponent to test my current strength… I'll use them to temper my blade!"
He released his own Reiatsu and swung his sword in a clean arc, instantly cutting down a nearby tree.
Having adapted to the cruel rules of Rukongai, Nakatomi Ling was no longer as fearful as before. Strength ruled everything here.
As long as he became stronger than everyone else, he could control his own fate.
To someone like him—who had once escaped into games in his previous life—this brutal world now felt strangely exhilarating.
What he didn't know was that his reckless release of Reiatsu had already attracted attention.
In the distance, a mid-level Hollow that had been hunting wandering souls suddenly paused, its masked face turning toward Nakatomi Ling's direction.
Some Hollows, especially those with stronger instincts or evolving forms, retained a fragment of awareness—but even then, that awareness only sharpened their hunger.
…
"Without anyone left, I'll have to catch fish myself again. Damn it… those runaways didn't even leave anything behind."
Nakatomi Ling muttered to himself as he walked back toward the stream, slightly annoyed.
Perhaps he had been too lenient. He should have forced at least a few villagers to stay behind and serve him.
The fish and shrimp in the stream had already been heavily depleted after days of harvesting. Just as he finished blocking part of the stream again to trap the remaining fish—
A terrifying, violent Reiatsu surged from behind him.
Nakatomi Ling's instincts screamed. He immediately leaped to the side, drawing his blade.
BOOM!
A massive crater exploded where he had just been standing.
Slowly, Nakatomi Ling turned his head.
What stood before him was not human—but a towering monster.
A Hollow, standing upright at nearly four meters tall, with a white bone mask covering its face, hollow eye sockets glowing with a reddish hue. Its arms were wrapped in thick, bone-like armor, and at its chest was a perfectly circular hole—the signature void of a Hollow.
Its greenish body was grotesque, with a ring of red fur around its neck, making it appear even more feral.
At that moment, it stared at Nakatomi Ling like prey, saliva dripping from its jagged mouth.
Gulp!
"What a huge monster…"
Nakatomi Ling swallowed hard, cold sweat forming on his forehead. Compared to the creature, his 1.6-meter frame seemed insignificant.
More importantly—its Reiatsu was overwhelming.
A casual strike from it had already created a crater in the ground.
"Heh… not bad. A soul with decent Reiryoku… worth eating."
The Hollow let out a distorted hiss—remarkably, it could speak.
With a sudden burst of speed, it lunged forward.
"Dare to look down on me? Die!"
Nakatomi Ling roared, releasing all of his Reiatsu and slashing forward with his blade.
Clang!
The collision produced a metallic sound.
His blade struck the Hollow's arm—but couldn't cut through. The bone-like armor covering its limb was as hard as steel.
"Hahaha!"
The Hollow laughed grotesquely.
Before Nakatomi Ling could react, its other fist smashed into him.
BOOM!
Nakatomi Ling was sent flying, crashing heavily into a tree. Blood spilled from his mouth as his internal Reiryoku churned violently.
The Hollow pressed the attack immediately.
Leaping high into the air, it attempted to crush him beneath its massive body.
"Ugh… damn it… I can't win this head-on…"
Nakatomi Ling gritted his teeth, forcing his Reiatsu to stabilize his injuries as he rolled away just in time.
BOOM!
The ground shattered where he had been lying.
Without hesitation, Nakatomi Ling turned and ran.
"My food wants to run? Don't even think about it!"
The Hollow opened its mouth wide. Spiritual energy gathered rapidly—
Then it fired multiple small, condensed projectiles—low-level Bala-like attacks, far weaker than a true Cero, but still deadly.
The glowing projectiles shot toward Nakatomi Ling like bullets.
Seeing them coming, Nakatomi Ling had no choice but to reinforce his back with Reiatsu and endure several hits directly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Pain surged through his body, but he did not stop running.
"Red-haired freak… I'll come back for you!!!"
Even while fleeing, Nakatomi Ling shouted defiantly.
"Hmph… I'll be waiting."
The Hollow's laughter echoed through the forest as it watched its prey escape—for now.
The red-haired Hollow, though possessing a degree of awareness, clearly lacked intelligence. After hearing Nakatomi Ling's provocation, it did not continue the chase. Instead, it turned around abruptly and charged straight toward the village, intending to hunt easier prey.
"A monster is still just a monster… I can't beat you now, but I'm smarter than you. I won't come back until I'm strong enough to kill you."
Nakatomi Ling, having run nearly a kilometer, finally slowed down, his chest heaving. Despite his injuries, he felt a surge of relief, even a bit of pride—at the very least, he had survived.
From this moment on, he silently warned himself not to act recklessly again before gaining sufficient strength. Even trained Shinigami from the Gotei 13 could fall to Hollows; how could someone like him, who had never received formal training, hope to fight one head-on?
Of course, he also understood that powerful individuals did exist—those who could easily destroy Hollows. But such people either had undergone training at the Shin'ō Academy or possessed overwhelming Reiryoku far beyond ordinary souls.
After running another two kilometers, Nakatomi Ling suddenly spotted three figures in black Shihakushō rushing toward him from the distance.
They were Shinigami.
The three also noticed Nakatomi Ling—disheveled, bloodstained, and clutching an Asauchi—clearly having just fled a battle.
"Wait a minute! What happened up ahead?"
Before Nakatomi Ling could react, a burly, bearded Shinigami appeared directly in front of him in an instant, using Shunpo to block his path. The sudden movement startled Nakatomi Ling so much that he almost swung his blade reflexively.
"Shinigami! You nearly scared me to death!"
Nakatomi Ling forced a fierce expression, though inwardly he was shocked.
'What was that speed? He just vanished and appeared in front of me…'
He had no understanding of Shinigami combat systems, nor did he know of the four core disciplines—Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō.
"Ah… sorry about that. What exactly happened over there?"
The bearded Shinigami spoke politely, realizing he had startled him.
"There's a really powerful Hollow in the village ahead. I couldn't beat it, so I ran. You guys should go take care of it—that's your job, right? I'm leaving!"
After saying that, Nakatomi Ling didn't wait for a reply. He immediately turned and ran off again, not noticing the subtle change in the bearded Shinigami's gaze as two of his companions caught up.
One of them glanced at the direction Nakatomi Ling had left and asked, "What's wrong? Did that kid take someone's Asauchi?"
The bearded man chuckled softly.
"No… that blade and his Shihakushō were probably scavenged from fallen comrades. What surprised me is that he actually dared to fight a Hollow—and lived."
"Seriously?"
"That takes guts. Before we entered the Shin'ō Academy, we wouldn't even think about fighting a Hollow—we'd just run."
The two accompanying Shinigami exchanged glances, clearly impressed.
"Alright, enough talking. Let's move. We need to eliminate that Hollow."
"Right!"
Without hesitation, the three Shinigami rushed toward the village Nakatomi Ling had fled from. Purifying Hollows and maintaining the balance of souls was their duty—there was no room for delay.
…
Nakatomi Ling finally slowed down his pace, no longer running blindly. Instead, he cautiously moved toward the neighboring district.
After some time, he encountered a group of people walking together along the path.
There were about eight of them, all carrying weapons, their clothes stained with dirt and blood. Unlike ordinary souls, each of them emitted noticeable Reiryoku—they were clearly not weak.
Among them, a bald, thin man with a long scar stretching from his upper lip to his eyebrow stepped forward. He looked Nakatomi Ling up and down, noticing his blade and altered Shihakushō.
"Hey, kid… are you alone?"
Nakatomi Ling narrowed his eyes slightly.
'What does he want?'
"Isn't it obvious?" Nakatomi Ling replied coldly. "What's it to you?"
The scarred man smiled.
"Hehe, don't be so tense. If we wanted to kill you, we'd have done it already. My name is Yuan Zhi. I can tell you've awakened Reiryoku—we'd like to invite you to join us."
"My name is Nakatomi Ling. Join you? Give me a reason first."
Nakatomi Ling glanced at the group carefully. Though they looked ragged, there was a faint sense of coordination among them—clearly not amateurs.
"Hahaha, this kid's got attitude…"
"He probably hasn't even left his district before."
"Yuan Zhi, forget it. He's just a brat."
The others behind Yuan Zhi laughed mockingly. Nakatomi Ling's expression didn't change, though inwardly he remained cautious—he knew he couldn't win against all of them at once.
"Enough."
Yuan Zhi raised his hand to stop them, then looked back at Nakatomi Ling.
"You only recently awakened your Reiryoku, right? Then you probably don't know much about the surrounding districts."
"Our West 68th District doesn't have many organized groups, but the neighboring 67th District is different…"
As Yuan Zhi explained, Nakatomi Ling gradually understood.
In most districts of Rukongai, especially those closer to the Seireitei, strong individuals would gather followers and form groups, monopolizing scarce resources like food and territory.
Outsiders like Yuan Zhi's group would face immediate hostility if they tried to settle there. Passing through was one thing—but staying meant fighting.
Unfortunately, due to the recent surge of Hollow activity in District 68, many souls had been forced to flee toward District 67.
And in that district…
There was already a powerful organization of nearly thirty spiritually aware individuals waiting.