"My first night out in the open!" Yun Che threw his voice to the heavens, arms spread wide as if announcing himself to the stars. If not for the brutal training he endured using his Shinigami powers before arriving in this world, he might've collapsed from exhaustion hours ago.
Flash step after flash step carried him far from Floating Cloud City, and by the time his feet touched solid ground again, he was two hundred kilometers away—standing before the modest gates of Cyan Town.
According to the system's database, this was where Jasmine would appear.
Or rather—where she would crash-land.
In the original timeline, she wouldn't fall into this region for several more days. The old Yun Che would've still been in Floating Cloud City, waiting for Xia Qingyue to finish protecting him before leaving. Then, when Xiao Kuangyun pushed him into a desperate chase, he'd flee to Cyan Town and stumble across Jasmine, half-dead and poisoned.
But after today's wedding massacre, the system's notification had arrived with a jolt:
=========================
[Warning: Jasmine's descent is imminent.]
=========================
It was another reason—perhaps the biggest—that pushed him to leave tonight.
If she appeared early, the timeline was already warped. The butterfly effect had begun.
Yun Che dismissed his Shinigami mode and returned to his human body. The transformation completed in a faint shimmer, and he immediately looked down at himself.
"…Seriously?"
He was still wearing his damn wedding robes.
Because his human and Shinigami bodies were considered separate "models," the system simply swapped them—meaning whatever outfit he wore last in each form remained.
Which meant he, Yun Che—citywide menace, mountain-splitter, walking catastrophe—was strolling into a backwater town at midnight wearing a luxurious ceremonial groom's outfit embroidered in gold.
"Oh great," he muttered. "Now I look like a runaway groom. Or worse—a groom who got dumped halfway through the ceremony."
He rubbed his forehead.
Floating Cloud City probably already hated him; half the younger generation now feared him as a monster, the other half despised him for marrying Xia Qingyue. But out here, in the wider world, he wasn't the Black Emperor who shattered mountains. He was just some guy walking around in wedding clothes.
People might think him as mad or pitied him for being dumped.
"Perfect impression, Yun Che," he sighed. "Great start to a new life."
People would stare. People would whisper. People would assume he was insane.
Well… he did humiliate an entire city earlier today, but he hadn't humiliated the world.
Yet.
"System, access shop."
A translucent window shimmered into existence before Yun Che as he skimmed through the endless list of purchasable items. Because the only compendium he'd unlocked was Bleach, the entire marketplace was filled with Shinigami gear, Quincy tools, Hollow augmentation modules, and all sorts of vaguely familiar—but entirely mysterious—artifacts he hadn't had the time to explore.
For now, he needed something simple.
Something subtle.
Something low-profile.
Walking around in a wedding robe wasn't exactly blending in, even with a hood on. And after pulverizing a mountain in front of half the city, it was only a matter of time before rumors spread from Floating Cloud City to every major settlement in Blue Wind Empire.
The last thing he needed was to be recognized on sight.
His eyes narrowed as he found an item that immediately fit the bill.
===================
[Kurosaki Ichigo – Shihakushō (Rukia Execution Arc)]
1000 SP
Purchase? [Yes] / [No]
===================
He tapped Yes.
A chime echoed.
===================
[Purchase successful. Equip now?]
===================
He selected Yes again.
Light flared around his body—subtle, contained—and Yun Che felt the texture of his clothes shift dramatically. When the glow faded, he was wearing the iconic black shihakushō Ichigo wore in the Rukia-rescue arc: cloth flowing like the mantle of a wandering warrior and a brown robe.
It was simple, practical, and best of all?
It didn't make him look like a runaway groom.
He quickly threw a long brown cloak over himself and pulled the hood down. The cloak draped past his boots, masking his silhouette completely.
"Perfect," Yun Che muttered, tugging on the hood. "Low-profile… but still handsome as hell."
And he wasn't wrong.
Sasuke's brooding presence + Ichigo's iconic robes?
Absolutely unfair.
Before he could admire himself any further, two system notifications blinked in front of him:
======================
[Host's previous outfit has been stored in the Inventory.]
[Compatibility detected between Sky Poison Pearl and System Inventory.]
[Initiating fusion…]
[Fusion successful!]
[All stored items will now use the System Inventory.]
=======================
Yun Che blinked, pleasantly surprised.
"So I don't need to cram everything into a limited pearl anymore? Nice. Unlimited storage it is."
He dismissed the window and stretched. His new attire felt lightweight, responsive—perfect for traveling. But clothing wasn't the only problem.
His human body was still a cripple.
His Shinigami form was powerful, but it wasn't always practical to enter battles in soul state, especially if he wanted his physical body to grow. His Quincy abilities were tied to his soul as well; unlike Ishida Uryu, he had no innate reishi pathways in his flesh. And Hollow powers? Same issue. All spirit-based.
Meaning his current physical body had:
– No profound strength
– No reishi flow
– No reinforced physical structure
– No combat capability
If he were forced to fight in human form right now?
He was essentially a handsome, well-dressed feather.
He needed a method to infuse spiritual power into his body, not just his soul.
And there was only one path suited for spiritually awakened humans:
Fullbring.
Fullbringers—humans born capable of manipulating the soul within physical matter—used spiritual energy to enhance their actual bodies. With Fullbring, Yun Che could channel reaitsu through flesh and bone, turning his human form into a weapon instead of dead weight.
The system shop began auto-scrolling as he searched.
"…Come on, there's gotta be something."
Fullbring was the missing link. The bridge. The conduit to merge both halves of himself into a seamless whole.
"System, is there any way I can use Fullbring Mode?"
The response appeared instantly.
====================
[Host does not meet the requirements to activate Fullbring.]
[To unlock Fullbring Mode, host must complete the achievement: The Final Strike.]
[Achievement requirement: Use Final Getsuga Tenshou at least once.]
====================
Yun Che froze.
"…Shit."
Final Getsuga Tenshou—Mugetsu.
The technique that drained Ichigo of all his powers for years in the original world.
"Great," he muttered, rubbing his face. "So I need to nuke myself to unlock Fullbring. Perfect. Absolutely perfect."
That meant one thing:
He was stuck with the annoying dual-mode setup for the foreseeable future.
With a sigh, he opened the System Shop again, hoping for a miracle.
He found none.
Physical Quincy weapons? Required reaitsu.
Kido converters? Soul-only.
Every Zanpakutō? Pure spirit Shinigami form only.
His human body had zero reaitsu access.
Meaning every single Bleach-type weapon was unusable in human mode.
The shop was vast, but utterly useless for mortals.
"Fine. Whatever." Yun Che shrugged, closing the interface. "More compendiums will come later. I'll just have to stick to being a sword-waving expert in soul mode and a useless potato in human mode."
He dug through the chest from Xiao Lie—his adoptive father's saved inheritance.
At least the money was good.
Profound cyan coins, yellow coins, and a handful of profound gold rested in his palm. The system had already converted their values for him:
1 Gold Profound Coin = 100 Cyan Profound Coins
1 Cyan Profound Coin = 10,000 Yellow Coins
Yellow coins served as the copper of this world—common, abundant, and barely worth noting. Above them were silver, gold, and white-gold (platinum) coins, each step representing a sharp rise in purchasing power.
Then came the Purple Profound Coin, also known as Purple Gold—the most valuable standardized currency in the mortal realms. Forged entirely from condensed purple crystal shards, these coins were prized for their stability and rarity. In some regions—most notably the Illusory Demon Realm—the shards themselves were used as raw currency, their value often exceeding that of the coins made from them.
Above all of these, reigning at the apex of the world's economy, were the Purple Vein Crystals. These were the true currency of the higher realms, especially within the divine domains. Their worth was beyond metals or coins; they represented pure, condensed spiritual value. Among gods and those who dealt with them, Purple Vein Crystals were the standard of ultimate wealth.
It wasn't a fortune, but it was enough to keep him alive for a while.
By now, dawn brushed faint light across the treetops. He walked deeper into the forest, keeping his breaths shallow and his steps intentionally clumsy. Jasmine would be arriving soon—bleeding, poisoned, and extremely aggressive. And she had to believe he was a cripple. If she sensed anything weird, she would vanish, kill him, or refuse to teach him the cultivation of the gods.
He needed her trust.He needed her knowledge.And he needed her to believe he was harmless.
As he wandered, something sharp pricked at his senses. Yun Che froze.
That smell.
Metallic. Heavy. Raw.
Blood. Human blood.
His eyes sharpened. As a doctor in both his past life and this one, he could never mistake that scent.Someone was bleeding—badly.
"Blood… a human… at dawn…"
That matched perfectly with the novel's timeline.
His steps quickened. He followed the scent through the trees, the smell growing stronger with each stride.
And then—He found her.
He followed the scent deeper into the forest, each step guided by the unmistakable metallic tang of fresh blood. Eventually, the trail led him to a massive tree whose roots curled like giant claws across the ground. Yun Che shifted around the trunk—and froze.
There she was.
A small figure lay crumpled against the roots, her delicate body drenched in blood. Yun Che moved slowly, cautiously, not wanting to startle someone who was clearly hanging by a thread. Kneeling beside her, he gently turned her onto her back—
—and his breath caught.
Even soaked in blood and dirt, the girl's beauty was otherworldly. Long, crimson hair spilled around her like a pool of rubies. Her features were impossibly refined for someone so young—skin pale as snow, lashes long enough to cast tiny shadows, lips the color of spring rose petals. Her body, though petite and still immature, radiated an ethereal grace that would one day shake the world.
Jasmine.
Her tiny frame trembled weakly, breaths shallow and uneven. Violet-black veins pulsed faintly beneath her skin—the unmistakable signature of the Sky Poison Pearl's poison counterpart, still ravaging what remained of her profound veins. If he were the old, crippled Yun Che, he wouldn't have even known where to begin. But now?
He knew exactly what this was.
"She must have escaped after acquiring the Heretic's blood," he thought grimly. "Which means her pursuers might still be nearby."
He needed to move her. Now.
Yun Che slipped an arm beneath her back, preparing to lift her—
When her eyes snapped open.
Brilliant crimson met his own.
"KYAAAAAAAAA!!!"
SMACK!
Her palm cracked across his face with enough force to send birds fleeing the treetops.
The system chimed in, unfazed:
=====================
[Ding…]