The Supreme Soul, Starting with Death

As Gu Shi was summarizing his experience, he suddenly realized that the process of his body "gaining" something had ended, and what followed was a faint sense of loss, as if he had lost something in an instant.

Unconsciously, Gu Shi frowned and carefully examined his body, mind, and memory, trying to find out what he had lost, but to no avail.

Both his body and mind remain intact; only his memory remains intact. Because he "cannot recall what memories he has lost," he cannot yet be certain whether he has forgotten anything.

Gu Shi was certain that he had lost something, but he couldn't figure out exactly what it was. This feeling made him unconsciously irritable.

"Perhaps you should take a look at this?"

Just as Gu Shi's frustration was rising, Stark's surprised voice suddenly rang in his ear. Looking in the direction Stark was pointing, Gu Shi's pupils instantly contracted, and he subconsciously wondered if there was something wrong with his eyes.

In Gu Shi's view, the masked man lying unconscious on the ground had a cold iron chain emerging from the hole in his chest. The chain was now moving in and out of the hole like a living snake, twisting and turning.

"...The shackles of cause and effect?"

Gu Shi suddenly realized the name of the chain and finally understood why he could be sure he had lost something but couldn't find anything when he checked. It was because what he had lost did not belong to him, but was the causal chain that he had absorbed.

Stark clearly recognized the Chains of Cause and Effect, and nodded slightly in agreement with Gu Shi's guess. However, his eyes were fixed on the void in the Spider Facet, unwilling to look away even for a moment, because there, the changes still hadn't stopped.

As the Chain of Cause and Effect twisted continuously, it gradually split apart, turning into more and finer chains, weaving a gradually tightening net at the entrance of the void, like a woven fabric.

As the web took shape, the chaotic aura of Hollows emanating from Spider-Man was rapidly dissipating. If one were to cover the remaining bone armor on his neck and the web woven from the chains on his chest with his clothes and scarf, he would look like an ordinary soul who had just died.

Theoretically speaking, an ordinary soul becomes a void because the causal lock is completely worn away, forming a void. If the void is sealed with the causal lock again, it's not impossible to turn back... right?

Stark's fingers twitched unconsciously a few times. He wanted to see what would happen if he tore the net apart. Would he "hollow out" again? After "hollowing out," would he become a regular Hollow or an Arrancar?

Stark stared intently at the Spider-Faced, whose transformations were still relentless, and slowly spoke, his voice slightly hoarse.

"Gu Shi, I suddenly have a bold idea."

"What a coincidence, me too."

Gu Shi stared intently at the Spider-Man, nodding slightly with a sense of tension as if he were about to touch a taboo. His voice was even hoarseer than Stark's.

"Then, shall we speak together?"

"Yes, let's talk about it together."

The two nodded slightly and spoke at the same time.

"Put him into a living person's body and resurrect him!"

"Send him to Soul Society to become a Shinigami!"

...?

...?

Stark and Gu Shi slowly turned their heads, their eyes filled with astonishment as they looked at each other, unable to understand how the other could come up with such an outrageous idea.

Chapter 125 Long-cherished wish and nonsense

"No, no, no, this isn't right! What kind of weird idea is it to make a Hollow a Grim Reaper? Gu Shi, look! He's become no different from an ordinary soul. Shouldn't we be thinking of giving him a body so he can come back to life?"

After staring at each other for a few seconds, Stark couldn't hold back any longer and loudly protested against Gu Shi's bizarre thought process.

Stark couldn't stand it, and Gu Shi couldn't stand it either, retorting with an aura no less imposing than Stark's.

"Stark, your idea is truly bizarre! Why do you think he can be resurrected? According to you, does that mean a recently deceased soul can be resurrected simply by entering a living person's body? That's impossible!"

After refuting Stark's argument, Gu Shi then began to explain his own thoughts.

"You yourself said that he's now no different from an ordinary soul who just died, so why can't he infiltrate Soul Society and become a Shinigami?"

“Observe, Gu Shi, you have to observe.”

Stark's composure was ultimately forged through a century of solitude. In just a few words, he had already adjusted his emotions and regained his calm. He pointed to the still unconscious Spider-Man and spoke earnestly.

“Look closely. Although he looks like he’s become an ordinary soul, his spiritual pressure hasn’t weakened at all. With his soul strength, as long as he enters a living person’s body, he can immediately squeeze out the original owner of the body and take control of it. Can’t this be considered resurrection?”

Stark's calm voice calmed Gu Shi down considerably. He took a deep breath and was about to continue his rebuttal when he suddenly realized something and nodded in understanding.

"I understand, Stark, you wanted to be resurrected, right?"

The body is the protector of the soul. A vibrant body can effectively prevent the soul from falling into nothingness. At the same time, the body is also a constraint on the soul. Without the special skills of Quincy or Fullbringers, no matter how powerful a living person's soul is or how surging their spiritual power is, it is difficult for them to exhibit any extraordinary qualities.

Like Ichigo Kurosaki, whose spiritual power was even stronger than some captain-level Shinigami, but after losing his Shinigami powers in the battle against Aizen, he had a huge amount of spiritual power but could not use it. He could only turn his spiritual power back into strength by learning Fullbring.

Stark's greatest wish is to find a powerful enough partner, or rather, a partner who won't be accidentally killed by his spiritual pressure. If he could be resurrected and his soul hidden within the constraints of his body, perhaps he wouldn't have to worry about the potential danger of his spiritual pressure leaking out and wiping out all living beings around him.

It's no wonder that Stark, a Hollow who is several hundred years old, should have had no attachment to anything from his past life, yet upon discovering the changes in the Spider Arrancar, his first thought was to resurrect him.

However, Gu Shi was not optimistic about Stark's conjecture. Putting aside the fact that his resurrection theory was simple, crude, and outrageous, with no possibility of being realized, Gu Shi seriously doubted that even if he were to be resurrected in this way, he would quickly damage his new body.

After all, with his spiritual pressure capable of crushing Vastod, it's impossible to imagine that a mere physical body could restrain him.

Stark fell silent after Gu Shi guessed his thoughts. As his excitement subsided, he realized that it was unlikely that an ordinary person's physical body could restrain his spiritual pressure.

However, Stark did not intend to give up. The possibility was slim, but there was still a chance of success, wasn't there? As long as there was a possibility of success, he was willing to spend time and energy to try.

It's like he clearly didn't believe that people could live on the stars, but he still agreed to Gu Shi's bet to go to the stars to find his friends three hundred years later.

Stark remained silent, and Gu Shi also kept quiet. He knew that since the matter was related to Stark's long-cherished wish, Stark would not give up easily, and there was no point in trying to persuade him.

"...Gu Shi, you need to get stronger quickly."

After a long silence, Stark was the first to break it.

In the process of turning Arrancar back into ordinary souls, Gu Shi absorbing the Arrancar's Zanpakuto is clearly an extremely important step. Gu Shi is currently just a Killian; if he were to absorb Stark's Zanpakuto, there would be no other possibility but an immediate explosion.

According to Stark's estimation, it would probably be difficult to absorb his Zanpakuto until Gu Shi became the top Vasto Lorde.

Now, even if he desperately wants to be resurrected, he doesn't have enough resources.

"Don't worry, I will. If it can help you, I certainly won't refuse."

Gu Shi nodded and solemnly made the promise.

Becoming a Vasto Lorde is not easy. According to Gu Shi's own estimation, it would take him at least one or two hundred years to evolve into a Vasto Lorde.

By then, it will be the end of the 20th century in the real world, and cloning technology will be mature. Finding someone to clone a soulless body for Stark as an "outer shell" can reduce the difficulty of Stark's "resurrection" and also prevent Stark from randomly killing a lucky passerby.

Although Gu Shi only hated cannibalism and did not reject killing—he killed a gang of bandits on the very first day he transmigrated—it was still better to avoid killing if possible, lest he erode his already precarious humanity.

After calming Stark down with promises, Gu Shi changed the subject and started talking about his own ideas again.

"So, it's probably better to send him to Soul Society after all?"

Stark thought that even if he couldn't try to resurrect for the time being, he should at least use this Spider Faceless Man to conduct an experiment. However, he then remembered that Gu Shi had more than twenty blue crystals. If he wanted to conduct an experiment, he could create a few more Faceless Man. There was no need to keep clinging to the Spider Faceless Man. So he stopped arguing with Gu Shi and just shook his head helplessly.

"...Gu Shi, what are you thinking? What's the point of sending an Arrancar to become a Grim Reaper?"

Of course it's meaningful. At least if we have informants in Soul Society, we can get information about Soul Society in a timely manner. Once a Shinigami disappears, leaving only their clothes, I will know that Aizen has started to take action. I can then hide in the human world in time to avoid being captured by Aizen and used to fill his Las Noches Palace.

Unable to voice the answer in his heart, Gu Shi could only put on a serious face and solemnly begin to ramble on.

"Of course it's meaningful. It means we can learn from them. You should be able to sense that the spiritual power stability of the Arrancar is far higher than that of the Hollows. If you practice hard, you might be able to learn Kido."

"If the people we send to Soul Society can steal back all the Shinigami's Kido, Barrier Techniques, and other technologies, we might be able to create the Gotei 13 in Hueco Mundo."

"Even if we encounter problems and can't get away, weak companions like Lilynette can be effectively protected. Isn't that significant enough?"

Gu Shi spoke with righteous indignation, but in his heart he thought he was just talking nonsense. He believed that if he built up a power in Hueco Mundo, he would eventually end up like Barragan, being beaten and subdued by Aizen in front of a bunch of his underlings when Aizen conquered Hueco Mundo.

Therefore, it's more reliable to stay with a group of friends and move around freely, and to retreat decisively as soon as Aizen arrives.

Chapter 126 The Despicable Killian

The idea of ​​forming the 13th Division of Hueco Mundo was just a reason Gu Shi made up on the spot, but Stark was actually quite tempted by it.

For someone who seeks companionship and connection, joining an organization or creating one with others would undoubtedly be a wonderful experience, giving him a sense of belonging.

Perhaps, instead of searching for other powerful lone wolves, building and training one's own pack is a good option?

With that thought in mind, Stark no longer opposed Gu Shi's idea, but pointed out the biggest problem with this line of thinking.

"The person sent to infiltrate must be trustworthy enough, right? This spider has no loyalty whatsoever."

Gu Shi certainly wouldn't overlook such a basic question. However, although the state of the Hollow Void being covered by the causal web makes the Spider Arrancar appear like an ordinary soul in their perception, it's still unknown whether they can deceive the Soul Society. Perhaps they have special inspection methods there that could expose the undercover agent in one go?

Therefore, before sending reliable people to Soul Society, we must first find a few cannon fodder to test the waters.

Ideally, one should first go to the human world, find a Shinigami stationed there, and stage a scene of an Evil Hollow chasing after an "ordinary soul" to see if the other party can see through the deception. If not, let the other party rescue the person and see if the "ordinary" Arrancar can be Soul Buried.

While it wouldn't be too difficult to open the Black Chamber in other parts of Soul Society as long as it doesn't directly target the Seireitei, the stronghold of the Shinigami, it would still be a flaw. It would be best if the undercover agent could go through the proper procedures and enter Soul Society via the Soul Burial Passage.

Gu Shi explained his idea in detail, and Stark thought about it carefully and felt there was no problem, so he nodded.

"Since they're just cannon fodder, it's better to prepare a few more."

As Stark spent more time with Gu Shi, he became quite adept at using terms like "cannon fodder," which he had never heard of before. In fact, he quite liked these terms.

Because, in Stark's view, who had never actually seen cannons, although they were essentially describing the same kind of thing, cannon fodder sounded milder than sacrifice or expendable pawns, at least in terms of intuitive feeling.

"Well, since we'll be adding more cannon fodder later, this one isn't that important anymore, right? Speaking of which, how old is Lilynette now?"

Gu Shi had no objection to adding more cannon fodder. While agreeing with Stark's words, he reached out his claws toward Spider-Face's chest.

In the next instant, Stark appeared beside Spider-Face and, before Gu Shi could react, tore apart the web woven from the chains of cause and effect on Spider-Face's chest with a flick of his finger.

For a fundamentalist Hollow like Stark, who was hundreds of years old, he was already used to the idea that "Hollows must have Hollow holes." Therefore, seeing the Hollow hole of the Spider Facet blocked up made him feel uncomfortable. That feeling was even stranger than seeing someone with two heads.

In Stark's eyes, that web wasn't a web at all, but a big red button with "Don't press it" written on it. If they hadn't been discussing serious matters and hadn't yet determined the Spider Face's purpose, he would have already lost his temper.

Now that the serious business is over, that despicable Killian Gu Shi actually tried to distract him with Lilynette and make his move before him. Fortunately, his strength far surpasses Gu Shi's, and even if his attention was indeed distracted for a moment, his movements were still much faster than Gu Shi's.

Gu Shi's eyes twitched a few times, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Stark, do you have to be so dramatic? You even used the Resonating Bell for such a small thing."

Stark grinned, having successfully torn apart the net that concealed the void. He was in an extremely good mood and had no intention of arguing with Gu Shi, treating it as sour grapes.

As the web of cause and effect was torn apart, the Spider-Man's aura quickly began to change again, and in the blink of an eye, it reverted to a pure Spider-Man, seemingly unharmed.

[...It seems that although his aura has changed, the spiritual power within him is still that of an Arrancar. Therefore, even if he manages to infiltrate the Shinigami Academy, it's unlikely he can become stronger using the methods of Shinigami training.]

From a covert perspective, this might not be a bad thing. Students who "exhaust their potential and can't grow stronger, have poor control over their spiritual energy, and can't even unleash their Zanpakuto" will likely only be able to become low-ranking Shinigami members after graduation, and won't catch the eye of those captains and vice-captains. In this way, the risk of exposure is greatly reduced.

After quickly considering the situation, Gu Shi reached out and grabbed the still unconscious Spider Mask. After only a slight hesitation, he forcefully snapped his neck.

Spider-Faced was just a minor Hollow, lacking talents like super-fast regeneration. Once its neck was severed, it immediately lost its breath, and its corpse began to slowly dissipate, turning into pure spiritual particles that scattered into the world.

Having confirmed that Spider Mask was truly dead, Gu Shi closed his eyes and carefully sensed the changes within his body. After a moment, he opened his eyes and nodded, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.