Chapter 1

"Head... it hurts so much, where am I?"

As if the light of an overcast day was shining on his cheeks, Lu Yuan slowly opened his eyes. It seemed he was not used to the long-absent light, and it took him a minute to勉强 see the things around him clearly.

Before he could carefully observe his surroundings, the scenes of his memories flooded into his mind like a slideshow.

"Didn't I... die?"

He muttered to himself.

He was originally an ordinary second-year high school student, and the only thing that could be considered extraordinary was his appearance. With a face more handsome than a celebrity, he naturally received the admiration of countless girls. However, he still maintained a diligent and studious attitude, ignoring the ignorant girls—well, actually, it was because he liked mature women. The girls in school who confessed to him were all too "young" and not his type.

Over time, his reputation as an "ice prince" spread throughout the school and even the county. Heaven help him, he just wanted to get into college quickly and flirt with those cute seniors. For this pure goal, he studied hard—after all, the higher the institution, the more intellectual and mature women there were.

And because of this, in the city's key high school, his grades often ranked around the top thirty. With this score, as long as there were no major mistakes in the college entrance exam, he could get into top universities.

As for why he didn't apply to an art school? Besides his preference for mature women...

Another reason was simple: he didn't want to rely on his looks. Isn't it better to rely on intelligence?

But a young man who had such beautiful expectations for the future and was full of positive energy... was brutally murdered on his way home one day!

The reason... he remembered the madman's roar after killing him.

"It's all your fault! If it weren't for you, how could Lanlan have broken up with me!"

Lanlan? Who is she? Could it be the name of the girl who confessed to me this afternoon?

What's wrong with this world? Is being good-looking a crime? Cold shivers...

With such regret and anger, this question became Lu Yuan's last thought.

Time returned to the present.

"Why am I in this unfamiliar place when I'm already dead?"

He looked around, and the room with a Japanese style clearly didn't resemble his home. But it gave him a strong sense of déjà vu.

"Japan?"

He got up from the bed, looked at the empty room with only the bedding and the tatami floor he had seen countless times in anime, and involuntarily said this word.

If his guess was correct, this was definitely a bedroom, and not a single person's bedroom. The sliding wooden lattice door was pushed to the sides, and outside the open door was a narrow corridor. The sunlight was neither scorching nor too dim, and he could see the distant rock garden.

"Hey, Lu Yuan, what are you still dawdling for! If you don't get up, you'll miss the sword-granting ceremony!"

A small head poked out from the side of the wooden door. The very young-looking face made Lu Yuan slightly stunned—though he looked like he was just over ten years old, his tone was quite assertive, as if he were Lu Yuan's peer.

The person was wearing a kimono, a white top, and dark blue pants, and was about 1.3 meters tall.

Lu Yuan thought to himself, "What is this person talking about? What sword-granting ceremony? And do we know each other well?"

Before he could react, the boy grabbed Lu Yuan's sleeve and forcibly pulled him up.

"Hey, who are you, what are you doing!?"

Lu Yuan was annoyed, trying to pull his sleeve back, but failed, and pouted in dissatisfaction.

"Me? I'm Zhenyan! Sei Zhenyan! We've lived together for a year, and you don't know who I am? Lu Yuan, are you still half-asleep?"

"A year!?"

Lu Yuan inwardly mocked, "What a ridiculous name," but he was completely confused and was dragged away by Zhenyan.

"Explain clearly, what is the sword-granting ceremony? Where are you taking me?"

Zhenyan seemed exasperated by Lu Yuan's reaction and answered without turning his head, "What is the sword-granting ceremony? Of course, it's to obtain our Zanpakutō!"

Zan—pakutō!?

Lu Yuan was directly stunned, and his soul seemed to have left his body.

"Did I transmigrate into the world of Bleach???"

Even if Lu Yuan was slow, he finally realized what was happening.

"That, that, that's great!!!"

Nii-sama! Rangiku-san! Unohana-san! Nell-san! Oh!

I'm fine.

Thump!

His tender waist was twisted hard, and Lu Yuan finally came to his senses, looking at the exasperated Zhenyan, "What are you doing?"

Zhenyan didn't answer, and the surroundings were silent. Lu Yuan suddenly looked around and noticed that dozens of students in the same Japanese school uniforms and a strangely dressed Shinigami were all looking at him.

"Lu Yuan, are you thinking about what to eat today? I see your saliva is almost dripping."

The Shinigami pulled at the corners of his mouth, his smile stiff, and asked.

Lu Yuan glanced around, recognizing no one. As a guide for the sword-granting ceremony, he was likely not a formal member of the Gotei 13—after all, besides the formal Shinigami in the Gotei 13, there were many lower-level Shinigami who didn't even know the names of their Zanpakutō.

Most of these lower-level Shinigami also graduated from the Seireitei Academy, the majority of whom were unnamed in the story. Among the countless spirits in the Soul Society, only one in a hundred could pass the entrance exam of the Seireitei Academy, and only one in a hundred could successfully perform the initial release upon graduation.

Well, if not for this, do you think the Gotei 13 would have so few members?

Lu Yuan awkwardly smiled and replied, "Teacher, I'm just too excited..."

Lu Yuan's appearance drew a light laugh from the students. The lower-level Shinigami shook his head helplessly and didn't say much more, even finding it somewhat amusing. Looking at the excited students, he sighed, "We were once like this too, weren't we?"

But... even after spending years, if they still only had a "shallow strike," and when they tasted the despair of powerlessness, what would their expressions be?

The lower-level Shinigami stepped aside, and behind him were dozens of swords stuck in the ground.

"This will likely be your lifelong partner. From today until you complete the graduation exam, you will only 'borrow' them. But as long as you don't give up and continue the exam, even if it takes seven or eight years, the Academy will not take them back! I don't need to say more, you must all know their importance... Now, let's begin the sword-granting ceremony!"