The Supreme Soul, Starting with Death

Therefore, in neighborhoods with later numbers and thugs, unless you have strong abilities like Yusuke, eating is a potentially deadly act.

The skinny boy smiled innocently, then handed the small piece of cloth wrapped around the food towards Yusuke, lowering his voice as he spoke.

"Don't worry, Brother Yusuke. I inquired about the common knowledge of Rukongai before I came to you. Nobody knows that I need to eat. I asked the boss for these in your name. You are so powerful, you must have spiritual power. Nobody will find it strange that you eat."

As he spoke, the boy quickly added, as if afraid that Yusuke would misunderstand.

"Oh right, all the food that the boss gave me is here. I didn't steal any of Yusuke's food, okay?"

Looking at this seemingly simple-minded boy, Yusuke's smile subtly widened.

"Yes, what's your name?"

A look of obvious surprise appeared in the boy's eyes, and he quickly raised his voice, answering loudly in a way that those secretly watching could definitely hear.

"Shota! My name is Shota!"

"Okay, Shota, then walk with me for a while."

Nodding, Yusuke took the small cloth bag from Shota's hand, turned around and continued walking towards his "home," talking as he went.

"There are still more than half a year until the next enrollment of the True Central Spiritual Arts Academy. During this time, I will be staying in the third room on the right at the end of the alley. You can come to find me there from now on. You can also bring these little things to my room to eat."

Shota was overjoyed and quickly jogged to catch up with Yusuke. Behind them, many people who were secretly observing them showed expressions of envy and jealousy.

The fact that Yusuke asked his name meant that the little brat, who looked like a stick, had clearly gained Yusuke's initial approval and could be considered as having established a relationship with Yusuke. From now on, anyone who wanted to mess with him would have to consider Yusuke's attitude.

A burly man with a tattered, chipped longsword at his waist stared at Shota's back and spat out a curse under his breath at the "lucky brat."

Shota, who was respectfully following Yusuke, suddenly turned his head slightly and met the gaze of the burly man. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, and a faint mockery appeared in his honest smile.

After a brief exchange of glances with the burly man, Shota reverted to his innocent and naive demeanor, turning back to listen attentively to Yusuke's words.

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Chapter Fifty-One: Memory and the Five Senses

"Alright, Shota, find yourself a place to sit. I'll go get something to eat."

After returning to the residence given to him by an organization, Yusuke's attitude was noticeably gentler than when he was outside. He smiled and reassured Shota before going into the inner room.

Upon entering Yusuke's house, Shota was clearly very excited, unsure of what to do with his hands and feet. He would stand ramrod straight with his hands pressed tightly against his thighs, and then he couldn't help but pinch his right hand with his left and his left hand with his right to stop himself from touching things indiscriminately.

Fortunately, Yusuke soon came out of the inner room with a plate of senbei (rice crackers) and some dried meat.

"Why are you still standing? Sit down quickly. When we're outside, there are other people watching, so I have to act a little arrogant to avoid being looked down upon and to prevent anyone from causing me trouble. Now that we're home, I don't want to keep pretending."

Yusuke sat down at the table with a gentle smile and waved to Shota, who was staring in disbelief.

“Shota, you have the talent to become a Shinigami. When the Shinigami Academy recruits students in six months, you will definitely apply. Then we will be classmates and family. I don’t want to pretend in front of you, and you don’t have to be so reserved in front of me. Let’s chat. You’ve been acting arrogant every day lately, and I’m about to burst.”

As he spoke, Yusuke seemed a little embarrassed and scratched his face lightly with his fingers a few times.

"Sorry, did I disappoint you, Shota? I'm actually not that handsome."

Upon hearing this, Shota, who had just sat down, immediately stood up again, his back ramrod straight, his head held high, and shouted with a fervent, almost fervent, tone:

"No! Yusuke-nii, you're super handsome! And even more handsome than before! Please allow me to follow you forever!"

Yusuke seemed even more embarrassed and quickly pressed Shota's shoulder to make him sit down again.

"Okay, okay, I understand what you mean. You don't need to shout so loudly; everyone outside can hear it."

Shota snapped out of his daze, gave a sheepish smile, and quickly lowered his voice, whispering like a thief.

"Brother Yusuke, I'm telling the truth. You're so strong and gentle. I can't think of anyone more handsome than you. I really want to follow you."

"Alright, alright, stop praising me. I'm going to blush if you keep praising me. As for following me, I've already said we'll definitely be classmates from now on, so there's no need to talk about following me anymore."

Yuusuke smiled and pushed the plate containing senbei and jerky towards Shota.

"You probably don't have time to eat in peace, right? Come on, don't be shy, let's eat and talk."

Shota covered his mouth and nodded vigorously, swallowing the praise that was about to come out. Then he carefully took out the small bag from his arms, took out the few pieces of konpeito and yokan, and placed them on the table.

"Brother Yuzhu, these few pieces of candy are enough for me. You need to eat something too. If I eat too much, you'll go hungry."

"Don't worry about me, you can eat whatever's on the table without worry. Okay, take this as an order for you to eat, let's not talk about this anymore, let's chat."

Without giving Shota a chance to continue refusing, Yusuke picked up a senbei (rice cracker), took a bite, and immediately started a new topic.

"Speaking of which, Shota, do you still remember anything about your life before you died?"

Shota hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't dare to disobey his older brother's order. He picked up a senbei, but didn't eat it immediately. Instead, he answered Yusuke's question first.

"I can't remember most of it, I only remember my name, and I think I used to live near a bamboo forest and I could weave some simple bamboo crafts."

After answering, Shota carefully recalled his answer to make sure there were no omissions before letting out a sigh of relief and solemnly taking a bite of the senbei in his hand.

"So you're the same way. I've also forgotten everything about my past life, only remembering that my name is Yusuke and some other trivial things."

With a senbei in his mouth, Yuusuke nodded thoughtfully, then asked again after a moment of silence.

"Shota, what do you think? Are memories stored in the body or the soul?"

"Of course it's the soul. I don't have a body now, but I still remember clearly how Yusuke knocked down those thugs with just a few punches and kicks. Isn't that proof that memories exist in the soul?"

Shota answered immediately without hesitation, taking the opportunity to praise Yusuke's good looks. Yusuke, who was deep in thought, didn't notice his personal opinion and nodded in agreement before continuing to ask questions.

"That's right, memories should be stored in the soul, and memories from one's previous life should be no exception. So why can't we recall our experiences from our previous life?"

"Uh, it must have been the Grim Reaper, right? I heard from people in the organization that we were all sent to Soul Society by the Grim Reaper through a strange ritual. Maybe the Grim Reaper did something to us?"

Shota answered somewhat nervously this time. He didn't know much about the Grim Reapers and could only guess wildly. He was worried that his answer wouldn't satisfy his older brother, Yusuke.

Yusuke didn't seem to mind and nodded again, but didn't delve deeper into the topic. He figured he'd study the issue of Shinigami after he became one. He quickly asked the question he was really thinking about.

"The soul is made of spiritual power. Since memories exist within the soul, the essence of memories should also be spiritual particles. If I can manipulate spiritual power, why can't I manipulate memories?"

As he spoke, a small ball of spiritual energy emerged from Yusuke's body and floated in mid-air. Its shape kept changing as Yusuke moved his fingers. Shota stared in disbelief, while Yusuke frowned slightly in dissatisfaction and continued to ask questions.

"If I can think of this now, wouldn't I have thought of it in my previous life? I can manipulate spiritual power so skillfully, I must have practiced a lot in my previous life. So, could it be that I backed up my memories or hid them by manipulating spiritual particles in my previous life, in order to prevent them from being completely erased by the Grim Reaper?"

Hearing these absurd questions, Shota was speechless, not knowing how to answer them at all. Fortunately, the questions that followed were more like questions that Yusuke was asking himself than asking him, since he wasn't expected to be able to answer them anyway.

Yusuke retracted the spirit orb into his body and answered his own question.

“That’s right. I must have preserved my memories from my previous life in some way. I just forgot how to retrieve them. I just need to find them again.”

At this point, Yusuke looked at Shota with an expectant look in his eyes and solemnly extended an invitation to him.

"Shota, would you be willing to help me find a way to regain my memories?"

Upon hearing that his older brother Yusuke needed his help, a surge of passion rushed through Shota's heart, and he stood up without a second thought.

"Yes! Of course I'm willing! Just tell me what you can do, Yuusuke-nii, and Shota will do it even if it costs him his life!"

Yuusuke quickly pressed Shota back into his seat, shaking his head with amusement.

"That's an exaggeration. How could I possibly let you do something that could kill you? Don't worry, there won't be any danger."

After calming down the agitated Shota, Yusuke thought for a moment before explaining his thoughts.

"Strictly speaking, memory is actually the sum of what we see, hear, smell, touch, and taste within a certain period of time. To unlock the secrets of memory, it is certainly impossible to do it all at once. Let's break it down and try it out."

"Hmm, let's test the taste first. Here, Shota, try this senbei. My spiritual power has already covered your body. Is what you're tasting now still the taste of senbei?"

P.S.: Starting today, I'll be updating twice a day. There will be another chapter tonight. Please add this to your favorites and recommend it!

Chapter Fifty-Two: Farewell (Second Update)

"I'm so full, I can't eat anymore."

In Soul Society, Shota, who had devoted everything to his older brother Yusuke, clutched his stomach and groaned in pain. Far away in Hueco Mundo, a Killian shared the same sentiment.

"I've been lying in bed for three days with a headache and toothache. My wife is preparing medicine and a maid is helping me. But I'm telling you, my stomach hurts so much!"

Jiro clutched his stomach, squatting on the ground with a pained expression. Beside him lay half a Kirian that he hadn't finished eating.

"Wake up! Where did you get a wife and maid? Don't just make up a poem with the word 'pain' in it just because there aren't any poems that describe abdominal pain."

Gu Shi, who was picking his teeth with the pointed nose of the Killian mask, rolled his eyes in annoyance, too lazy to pay attention to this idiot who had eaten four and a half Killian heads in one go.

A Kylian is thirty meters tall. Even if it's thin, it still weighs several tons. Even if the void is a soul and can't be calculated entirely by weight, it's still quite exaggerated that it can consume more than four times its own spiritual power in a short period of time.

This kind of eating recklessly when seeing delicious food is called "scared to death" in the local dialect of Gu Shi's hometown. When Gu Shi was a child, he was greedy and received such "praise" from his mother during the Spring Festival for three consecutive years.

For those three years, while other children were happily setting off firecrackers, Gu Shi was always suffering from stomach aches so badly he couldn't straighten up. He could only keep praising his mother for cooking so deliciously, saying that he had eaten so much that he was in such a terrible state, in exchange for his mother's seemingly impatient stomach-rubbing treatment.

Seeing Erlang groaning while clutching his stomach, Gu Shi felt as if his embarrassing past was being replayed in front of him. He felt both disgust and shame. With each groan from Erlang, Gu Shi's shame increased.

Finally, out of sight, out of mind, Gu Shi simply abandoned this shameful fellow and enjoyed the beauty alone. He bypassed the dense swarm of Killian and walked to the center of the Killian group. He grabbed a Killian that had already dried up and shriveled, broke its neck, and sat down as a stool, starting to talk to Xu Shan.

"Bat, you bastard, I knew you were peculiar, but I never imagined you could be this peculiar. You made something as simple as evolving into a Hollow so complicated."

"The number of Kyrians gathered nearby has increased to more than 700. According to Jiro's observation, another sizable Kyrian group is moving this way from the south. It is estimated that it will arrive in two days at most. At that time, the number of Hueco Might here will be more than 1,000."

Despite having its neck broken, Killian was still alive thanks to its relatively strong vitality. It let out weak howls and stretched out its claws to try and scratch Gu Shi's buttocks. Gu Shi's eyes twitched, and he stomped on its claws to break them, silencing the little stool, before continuing to speak to Xu Shan.

"To be honest, I'm starting to wonder if you're some kind of legendary reincarnated demon king, or the egg of a demon god or something like that."

"Look at this guy under my butt. Two days ago, he was a normal Hollow. He's been standing next to you for two days, and now he's not only become skin and bones, but he won't even eat Jiro. He's so weak that he can't even use Cero anymore."

"There are over seven hundred Kylians around here without any self-awareness. Their spiritual power is all continuously converging on you. I'm alright, though. My self-awareness is intact and my thinking ability is complete. I don't need to resist, so I can avoid having my spiritual power drained by you."

"That idiot Erlang is a bit worse. He has to resist your calls at all times to avoid losing spiritual energy. In order to make up for the spiritual energy you took away, he has been eating like crazy these past two days. I'm afraid he will develop anorexia in the future."

"Does evolving into a Gillian really require this much spiritual power? You wouldn't happen to evolve directly into an Adjuchas, would you? Haha, maybe I should be more optimistic and guess you'll evolve directly into a Vasto Lorde (a high-level Hollow)?"

Gu Shi rambled on and on, as if chatting with a friend, but the Void Mountain in front of him remained silent, only relentlessly drawing spiritual energy from the surrounding Void, its aura becoming increasingly terrifying.

Taking a deep breath, Gu Shi patted the dust off the hem of his black robe, stood up, and touched the Xushan statue in front of him with some regret.

"Alright, since you're still not awake, I won't ramble on. I came here mainly to say goodbye. Your spiritual pressure is getting stronger and stronger. I've only talked to you for a few minutes, and I'm already having trouble breathing."

"I'm afraid that in another day or two, if I try to get close to you again, I'll be forced to my knees by your pressure. If it goes on any longer, I might even be crushed to death by your spiritual pressure."

"So... let's leave it at that. Erlang and I are leaving. I hope that when you finish your evolution, you will wake up as the bat I know. Then I will teach you linear equations."

Shaking his head with some regret, Gu Shi turned and left. Halfway there, he suddenly remembered something, found a rock about the same size as himself, carried it back, and firmly fixed it next to Xu Shan. Then he began to carve words on it with his claws.

3X+7=31

X = ?