Chapter 1517 - 410: Districts 1–80

Chapter 1517: Chapter 410: Districts 1–80

Su Xiao had studied it for a long time, yet still couldn’t figure out what "Blade Awakening in progress" actually meant.

Recently, Su Xiao had been using the Core of Devour frequently, sometimes keeping it active all day, but ever since the Demon Blade Phantom awakened, he could no longer use the Core of Devour as he pleased, or he’d risk Blade Demonization.

Even though Su Xiao hadn’t figured out what "Blade Awakening in progress" meant, he could feel someone calling to him. It was just that there were too many dimensions in between, so he couldn’t respond to that call. The feeling was very familiar—it was that unreliable Tutor, Marvin Hwaltz.

Dragon Slash had just reached the Blade Awakening stage, and Marvin Hwaltz immediately tried to call Su Xiao. There had to be a connection between the two.

That reassured Su Xiao a lot. If Dragon Slash’s Quality stayed stuck at this stage, it would be an outright pain in the ass. Su Xiao had poured so many Resources into Dragon Slash precisely because he valued its Growth; once it lost that Growth, Dragon Slash’s value would drop by at least 70%.

The situation was clear: Marvin Hwaltz knew how to deal with "Blade Awakening." This was the benefit of having a previous-generation Shadow of Annihilation Law lending a hand. Su Xiao would need to return to Reincarnation Paradise and use Reincarnation Paradise as a medium to contact Marvin Hwaltz.

Thinking of this, Su Xiao temporarily stopped paying attention to Dragon Slash’s state. He’d already Devoured enough Zanpakutō; any more would just be icing on the cake, not worth the risk.

As for the idea that continuing to Devour would let him get through the "Blade Awakening" stage, that was basically impossible. Su Xiao could sense the feeling Dragon Slash had when Devouring the Zanpakutō—it wasn’t that Dragon Slash lacked Blade Value, it was missing something far more important.

Su Xiao sheathed Dragon Slash. He began planning his next steps. Given the enmity between him and Jingling Court, it was obviously impossible for him to enter the Jingling Court area again. There were multiple Death God Captains who could put Su Xiao to death. As for continuing to steal Zanpakutō, that was out of the question too. Those captains and Deputy Captains would absolutely carry their Zanpakutō on them 24/7—probably even holding them in their hands when they went to the latrine.

Jingling Court was like a hornet’s nest that had been punched through, and Su Xiao was the one who’d jabbed it. If he dared get close, those hornets would swarm him at once.

Bubu Wang was lying on the ground, panting heavily. Bennie, who was in Jingling Court, had also stopped searching for Treasure chests because it was too dangerous. Ever since a "Researcher" like Su Xiao had appeared, the Guard Court Thirteen Teams treated anyone suspicious as "arrest first, interrogate later, kill at the slightest sign of trouble." Because of this, a total of nine Fourth-tier Contractors got hit by stray bullets and died at the hands of the Guard Court Thirteen Teams.

This really fulfilled the line Su Xiao had said to Sister Hua: "Remember, next time you encounter a suspicious target, kill them outright."

The looting was over. Su Xiao checked the Adventure Team Storage Space; it was stuffed with a large number of Treasure chests of various Qualities.

[Blue Treasure Chest ×42.]

[Purple Treasure Box ×26.]

[Dark purple treasure chest ×11.]

[Light Golden Treasure Chest ×6.]

[Golden Treasure Box ×4.]

...

This was the Treasure chest haul from Su Xiao flattening the First Squad’s station. Of course, there were also 86.5% of the World Source and several hundred Zanpakutō.

Right now, Dragon Slash was getting better and better at Devouring. Previously, it would take 5–10 minutes to Devour a Weapon of the same Level; now it could clean one out in under 30 seconds.

"Bubu, A Mu, let’s go. Come with me to meet someone."

The little trio of man, dog, and bull had finally regrouped. Bennie continued treasure-hunting; as for Shadow, he was in charge of patrolling nearby. This was, after all, Su Xiao’s second base of operations and couldn’t be exposed lightly.

Taking Bubu and A Mu with him, Su Xiao walked out of the Forest, heading straight for the eastern side of Hollows Street.

So-called Hollows Street wasn’t actually a single street. In the entire Soul Society, aside from Jingling Court in the Central District, every other place was considered the Hollows Street area.

Hollows Street formed a ring encircling Jingling Court. Compared to Jingling Court, Hollows Street’s area was many times larger.

The eastern, southern, western, and northern Zones of Hollows Street could be subdivided into 320 regions. Each major Zone contained 80 subregions. Su Xiao was currently in the eastern major Zone; this, too, was Zones 1–80. Zone 1 had the most stable law and order, located right on the edge of Jingling Court. Some relatives of mid- to low-ranking Soul Reapers lived here.

The further back you went in Hollows Street, the more chaotic it became. By the time you reached District 80, "chaos" couldn’t even describe it. There, souls determined their basic right to live through mutual Slaughter. There were no factions, no rules—only jungle law. As long as you were strong enough, you could do whatever you wanted in District 80.

Zaraki Kenpachi hailed from District 79, Grass Deer District. After slaughtering a great number of souls in Grass Deer District, that guy drew the attention of Jingling Court. Compared to the chaotic eastern major Zone, the other three directional major Zones were much better.

Su Xiao’s goal this time wasn’t District 80; he had no interest in those souls tearing each other apart.

Two hours later, Hollows Street Block Thirty-six, Empty Vulture District.

Empty Vulture District was a relatively stable area and the main production site for Metal. Because of this, it was the district with the most souls living in it.

Rather than calling its residents "souls," it was more accurate to call them the commoners of Soul Society. They would likewise be born, grow old, fall ill, and die. In theory, they didn’t need to eat, but after labor they still needed to replenish Spirit. There was no such thing as a perpetual motion machine in this world, including souls.

Forty percent of the commoners here were Miners, with the rest being their families and people working in industries revolving around the mines. The pedestrians’ clothes on the streets looked worn, but in reality they weren’t poor. On the contrary, this was one of the most prosperous areas in Hollows Street.

For some reason, when Su Xiao saw the Miners clustered in threes and fives on the street, he immediately thought of the Contractors from Apocalypse Paradise. If those Buddha Nature Contractors entered Bleach World, they wouldn’t infiltrate Jingling Court at all—they’d head straight for Block Thirty-six, coming here to sweat to their hearts’ content.

Su Xiao walked along the muddy street. It was dusk, and there were many pedestrians. A middle-aged man, dead drunk, was walking toward Su Xiao from the opposite direction. The man’s face was flushed red; one look and you knew he was deeply intoxicated. He nearly bumped straight into Su Xiao.

"Watch where you’re going."

Su Xiao grabbed the middle-aged man by the collar. The Drunkard, who had almost fallen while dodging Su Xiao, steadied himself.

"Thanks, little bro, hic~"

The Drunkard chuckled and let out a boozy hiccup. His gaze was somewhat unfocused from drunkenness, but when he saw Su Xiao’s face, his expression gradually went blank and finally turned into sheer terror.

"You, you, you, you..."

The Drunkard sounded like a broken recorder. He staggered back a few steps.

"Help! Somebody help!"

The Drunkard shouted in a very dramatic fashion, then turned to run. He had barely taken two steps before he fell face-first onto the ground, struggling for ages before getting up and continuing to flee.

The Drunkard’s strange behavior drew the attention of a nearby youth. He was a student of the Central Spiritual Arts Academy, a Reserve Death God.

"You over there, don’t move from where you’re standing—no, get down on the ground!"

The Reserve Death God gripped the hilt at his waist. It was a Shallow Collapsing Soul Cutter Knife.