As a prodigy of the Quincy lineage, Ishida Soken had been warned more than once by the elders of his Clan to refrain from slaughtering any form of Hollow in the Human World.
Yet every time he encountered a Hollow, he couldn't suppress the urge to kill within his heart.
To Ishida Soken, the cries of human souls sounded like sharp blades ruthlessly piercing his heart.
He was a Quincy, but at the same time, he was human.
Hollows devouring human souls meant they were slaughtering his brethren.
Ishida Soken didn't believe there was anything wrong with his actions. Even if he faced punishment from the elders of his Clan after killing a Hollow, he never regretted it.
However, today's situation seemed somewhat different.
Ishida Soken looked at the sudden appearance of a figure with vigilance, his expression becoming extremely serious.
With broad white haori and the familiar shihakusho underneath, the figure exuded an intense pressure, and at his waist hung a Zanpakuto emitting an ominous aura...
A Soul Reaper, and one of the strongest!
Ishida Soken instinctively tightened his grip on his Quincy bow, and the Reishi in the air began to stir.
Quincies themselves didn't possess strong Reiatsu; they typically manipulated Reishi from the surrounding environment for combat.
They had the ability to absorb Reishi from the atmosphere, and after strengthening them, this ability could even disintegrate and absorb objects composed of Reishi.
Ishida Soken had only a vague understanding of the history from a thousand years ago, knowing only that the Quincy progenitor had led the original Sternritter to war against the Soul Reaper, ending in a disastrous defeat.
However, a hundred years ago, the Soul Reaper initiated another war against the Quincy under the pretext that Quincy killing of Hollows would disrupt the balance of souls between worlds.
After a bitter battle, the surviving Quincy reached an agreement with the Soul Reaper, the most crucial part of which was the Quincy side's prohibition against killing any form of Hollow.
Thinking of this, Ishida Soken's body suddenly tensed up, and he became extremely nervous.
Could this Soul Reaper be coming for him?
Compared to Ishida Soken, Tokikaze seemed much calmer.
According to the information he knew, besides the large number of Quincy hiding in the shadows, there were also Clans of Quincy in the Human World such as the Kurosaki and Ishida Clan.
This guy in front of him was probably just another self-righteous fellow who couldn't stand seeing Hollows devouring human souls.
"Name, gender, purpose," Tokikaze asked casually, taking out the communication device.
Under the gradually pervading oppressive pressure, Ishida Soken instinctively swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Although he wasn't sure what the other party wanted to do, it was better to obediently answer his questions.
"Ishida Soken, male, seeking revenge for the human souls devoured."
Tokikaze was about to jot down the relevant information on the communication device when his fingers suddenly stopped, his brow raised, and he looked ahead:
"Ishida... Soken?"
Under Tokikaze's gaze, Ishida Soken became nervous again.
Judging from the Reiatsu emitted, the other party's strength definitely far surpassed any Soul Reaper he had seen before.
If the other party had any ill intentions toward him, he feared his life would end here.
Although Ishida Soken didn't fear death, he was worried that his death might reignite the conflict between Soul Reaper and Quincy.
The current Quincy couldn't afford any more loss.
"About this matter, I can explain!"
Ishida Soken's heart was pounding. "This Hollow not only devoured human souls but also tortured them in various ways. I couldn't just stand by and watch..."
"Do you have a son?"
"???"
Ishida Soken had a puzzled expression, finding it difficult to accept such a sudden change of topic.
Under the coercion, he thought it over and chose to answer honestly:
"My family has arranged a marriage for me, but I feel that I have no right to inherit the Quincy Cross yet, so I've postponed the wedding."
The Quincy Cross, the highest honor of the Quincy, could only be inherited after obtaining all the abilities and techniques from the previous generation of Quincy.
For a moment, Tokikaze's gaze towards this guy seemed a bit off.
So, he was still a career-oriented individual after all.
But have you distinguished the priority?
The population of the Quincy in the Human World was sparse, and any slight misstep could lead to the extinction.
In such a situation, striving to produce offspring should be your ultimate goal.
"I'll let you off the hook this time for what happened today," Tokikaze contemplated for a moment, then made a decision, "But I've taken note of this."
With that, he raised the communication device in his hand and flashed it in front of Ishida Soken.
"According to the agreement from a hundred years ago, you should know the consequences of Quincy killing Hollows, so..."
"What do you want me to do?" Ishida Soken was a smart person and immediately understood Tokikaze's intentions.
As one of the key figures, Ishida Soken naturally didn't want him to perish just like that.
Although his power level was average, the value hidden within him was not low at all.
Just the Quincy artifacts he inherited alone had significant research value.
The future Thousand-Year Blood War would be extremely brutal, and even if Tokikaze didn't care much, he still had to prepare for it in advance.
The Quincy lineage in the Human World was undoubtedly the best channel to understand the Quincy.
"Maintain communication with the Soul Society," Tokikaze smiled slightly, "I will have a Soul Reaper deliver a communication device to you some time later."
"As for other requests, I'll let you know when I think of them."
Seeing Ishida Soken's expression of distress and hesitation, Tokikaze added casually, "You should be well aware about the consequences of the Quincy violating the agreement, right?"
With these words, Ishida Soken instantly calmed down.
Indeed, in this situation, besides agreeing, he had no other choice.
Once it became known to the Soul Society that he had killed a Hollow and violated the agreement, it would undoubtedly bring disaster upon other Quincy!
"I... I promise."
As soon as the words fell, Ishida Soken seemed to be completely drained of all his strength, becoming as lifeless as a walking corpse.
Just as his teacher had said before, he was ultimately paying the price for his reckless actions.
"Oh, since you can't bear to see Hollows devouring human souls," Tokikaze decided to give a bit of a sweet after the stick, at least to make Ishida Soken let go of some hostility so that the two sides could cooperate better, "The communication device can be used to contact the Soul Reaper stationed in the Human World."
"On the premise that you don't kill the Hollows, you can notify the Soul Reaper to come and clean up."
Upon hearing this, Ishida Soken's eyes lit up. His gaze towards Tokikaze underwent a tremendous change. Overwhelmed with excitement, he suddenly bowed deeply, bending ninety degrees, and buried his head deeply:
"Thank you, esteemed Soul Reaper!"