Liu Zheng woke up early, the excitement coursing through his veins as he prepared to cultivate the secret arts he had "received" the day before.
He found a secluded spot where the rising sun was visible. . This was the perfect place to begin practicing the Tempered Body Record.
As Liu Zheng started, he felt his bones cracking and healing in a rhythmic cycle. Despite the pain, he could feel his physique strengthening, becoming more resilient with each passing moment. After half an hour of intense pain and practice , he experienced a breakthrough.
[The host has reached Tempered body 2nd stage]
He doubled over, vomiting, before heading home to wash up, the exhilaration of progress outweighing the discomfort.
After a quick meal, Liu Zheng set out for the second location marked on his [MAP], Destitute Dragon Ravine. He knew from the story that a yang attribute treasure was sealing Yang Bai there, so he kept a safe distance and began practicing the True Yang Secret Art.
Immediately, he felt yang qi surging through his body. The process was slow, but for sure rewarding.
Over several days, Liu Zheng reached the 5th stage tempered body and finally condensed his first drop of liquid yang essence in his dantian.
"Finally, I have condensed my first drop of yang essen--"
[Congratulations, The host has completed the requirement for the first awakening.]
Suddenly, Liu Zheng found himself in a vast, plain grass field. Or rather, his consciousness did, as he could still feel his physical body in a meditative position.
"Hellooo,..... King"
The voice was chaotic yet familiar, a twisted version of his own. Liu Zheng smiled, turning to see a white and black version of himself (mostly white), clad in a shihakusho, smiling and looking at me.
"Well, hello. It's nice to finally meet you," Liu Zheng greeted with a smile.
The figure studied him with an unsettling grin. "Oh, it looks like our guest knows about me. I thought you'd be a bit more afraid. The fun part is ruined, but still, what else do you know about me?"
"I know that you are supposed to be my zanpakuto spirit and nothing more, really," Liu Zheng replied, being quite confused himself. He knew the spirit's name moments ago but couldn't recall it now. He remembered the entire plot of Bleach but had forgotten this crucial detail, guessing this was the part where he would learn about the spirit and gain its acknowledgment.
"But are you the only one here?" Liu Zheng asked, remembering the old man.
"Aren't you quite an interesting one? He already knew about you, old man. You can come out now." The white figure beckoned, and an older man with glasses, cloaked in a black coat, appeared.
"It is nice to finally meet you, Liu Zheng. We've been waiting for you for a long time," the older man said. Liu Zheng identified him as Yhwach's younger self, representing his Quincy powers.
"Ah yes, it's nice to meet you too. But could you explain all this to me?" Liu Zheng asked.
"I suppose you have the right to know, considering you are probably the last of your race," the old man began, delving into the history of the soul race.
There were two types of Soul Race: 1. Shinigami, who dealt with yang/light qi (not soul reapers, just the name), and 2. Hollows, who dealt with yin/dark qi. The 3rd, Quincy, had no specific attributes.
Shinigami awakened a light-style spirit weapon with two released states, while Hollow awakened a dark-style weapon with two release states.
The spirit weapon, or Zanpakuto, had its own personality. To harness its power, one needed to be in sync with it. Without the acknowledgment of their Zanpakuto, they were merely normal human beings.
Zanpakutos were made of spiritual and world energy, capable of significant improvement at high cultivation realms. They resided in the mind space because the soul race's mind space (later referred to as the knowledge sea) could hold them.
Quincy absorbed surrounding world and spiritual energy rapidly to form weapons and enhance their bodies.
The old man explained that their race was once among the most powerful, rivaling dragons and phoenixes, though it was hard to believe. They went extinct due to constant infighting, and the remaining clan members scattered across the outerverse millions of years ago, vanishing from history.
Liu Zheng learned he was a rare hybrid, an existence almost impossible because it usually led to soul destruction. However, due to unique circumstances, he awakened these powers, having yin qi and yang qi simultaneously.
The white figure told Liu Zheng he needed to reach the initial element realm before starting the process of gaining acknowledgment. The old man mentioned Liu Zheng could already use some of his abilities, like the Quincy ability to absorb world energy faster for cultivation instead of forming weapons (though it didn't dramatically absorb qi like when forming weapons, to avoid body explosion, also refining qi to make it your own is not effected by quincy lineage but increased cultivation speed by at least tenfold).
He also learned about Blut Vene and Blut Arterie, defensive and offensive Quincy techniques. In these techniques, world energy mixed with one's own qi (or just one's own qi) pumped through the blood vessels, enhancing durability or offensive power by five times (though they couldn't be used simultaneously).
In simple terms:
- Blut Vene = blood vessels + qi (outside and/or inside the body) = 5x defensive power
- Blut Arterie = blood vessels + qi (outside and/or inside the body) = 5x offensive power
- Quincy cultivation advantage = 10x absorption when cultivating