The onlookers were rendered utterly speechless by the spectacle before them.
With a single strike of his sword, Aizen had nearly cleaved the entirety of Seireitei in two. The sheer magnitude of his strength was terrifying to behold.
Even Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto could not conceal the surprise in his eyes. Had Aizen not chosen to reveal his hand now, Yamamoto would never have guessed that his subordinate harbored such formidable power.
Aizen glanced at the empty space ahead, noticing that his attack had failed to hit Lin Xuan. However, he showed no sign of disappointment.
"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu," he whispered softly.
His Zanpakuto emitted a clear, crisp hum, radiating a faint blue glow as it unleashed its Shikai: Complete Hypnosis!
In an instant, Aizen's figure vanished from Lin Xuan's sight. The world around Lin Xuan warped as countless hideous, monstrous beasts materialized out of thin air, roaring ferocious shrieks as they lunged toward him.
Lin Xuan merely smiled, completely unfazed by the terrifying illusion.
"Kyoka Suigetsu's Shikai? That trick won't work on me!"
In the very next second, Lin Xuan's eyes turned crimson as he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Instantly, the monstrous illusions shattered like brittle glass, and the battlefield returned to its original state.
Realizing his illusion had failed, Aizen condensed a dense mass of Spiritual Pressure in the air, instantly forming an incantation without chanting.
"Hado #99: Goryutenmetsu!"
A colossal, roaring dragon formed entirely of dense Reiatsu materialized in the sky, shattering the ground beneath it. With a violent roar, the energy dragon descended, aiming to devour Lin Xuan whole.
This time, Lin Xuan did not bother dodging.
He coated his Zanpakuto with a dark layer of Armament Haki and casually executed a single horizontal slash.
SWOOSH!
With just a casual strike, the immense dragon of Spiritual Pressure summoned by Aizen was sliced cleanly down the middle, dissipating into harmless sparks of light.
Aizen narrowed his eyes.
A rare glint of intense curiosity flashed deep within his gaze.
Although it lasted only a fraction of a second, he had distinctly felt a strange, unknown force emanating from Lin Xuan—a power he had never encountered before in his life.
This piqued Aizen's interest immensely. He felt as though he had just uncovered a brand-new pathway to breaking past existing limits!
At this moment, Aizen's objective had shifted. He no longer merely wanted to snatch the Hogyoku from Lin Xuan's hands; he was now seriously considering capturing Lin Xuan alive and bringing him back to Hueco Mundo. Studying the mysterious power within Lin Xuan's body might lead to unexpected breakthroughs.
Meanwhile, millions of viewers watching the battle through the sky projection screens held their breath in shock.
Aizen's strength was undeniably frightening. Every casual gesture or strike carried enough destructive force to seem capable of obliterating Soul Society itself. Even through a projected screen, the pressure was so intense it made the audience feel a suffocating sense of crisis.
Yet against such terrifying assaults, Lin Xuan remained completely calm, dodging and countering with effortless ease.
Not only that, he even had the leeway to tease Aizen mid-combat.
"Impressive! You almost hit me just now! If I hadn't been careful, I might have been reduced to ashes!"
"So spiritual energy can be used like that? Wow, I actually learned something new today!"
"Fascinating. To think all these high-level Hado spells could possess such power in your hands even without incantations."
The audience had originally anticipated a earth-shattering, bloody duel between Lin Xuan and Aizen, akin to Lin Xuan's battle against Yamamoto earlier.
Nobody expected the fight to turn out like this.
At this moment, Aizen was feeling thoroughly frustrated.
He relentlessly unleashed a barrage of lethal attacks, yet Lin Xuan barely bothered to counterattack, choosing instead to casually dodge every blow while throwing out sarcastic remarks.
Aizen desperately wanted a proper duel, but all his attacks hit nothing but air. Lin Xuan's speed was simply too ridiculous—so fast that even Aizen found himself unable to catch up.
Fixing a cold gaze on Lin Xuan, Aizen sneered, "What? Are you afraid to face me in direct combat?"
Lin Xuan shook his head without a second thought, replying with complete sincerity, "No, not at all. I'm just afraid that if I actually hit you, I'll beat you to death in one punch!"
Aizen was nearly choked by those words.
This guy was absurdly arrogant!
Aizen himself was an exceptionally proud individual, but he had never met anyone more arrogant than Lin Xuan.
Afraid of beating him to death in one punch?
How could anyone say something like that with a straight face? He truly was an infuriating bastard!
In truth, Lin Xuan was not teasing Aizen out of some twisted sadistic hobby.
He had done it because Aizen had built up such an overwhelming, menacing aura, only to be repeatedly clowned on—which was generating a massive influx of Reputation Points for Lin Xuan!
However, as the growth rate of his Reputation Points began to slow down, Lin Xuan quickly lost interest in continuing this cat-and-mouse game.
Shaking his head, he waved a hand casually. "Forget it. I've had enough fun for today. I'll leave you to this guy!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a white, pale figure—a White Zetsu—emerged from the ground before him.
Aizen's eyebrows knitted together.
Having watched the live stream earlier, Aizen had witnessed Lin Xuan use Super-Dimensional Impure World Reincarnation to summon Uchiha Itachi and others. Thus, the moment he saw White Zetsu appear, he knew Lin Xuan was about to summon someone new.
Yet Aizen made no move to stop him.
He possessed absolute confidence in his own power; no matter whom Lin Xuan summoned, Aizen did not believe he could possibly lose. On the contrary, he was quite curious to see who would step forth.
BANG!
Moments later, the white cocoon formed by White Zetsu peeled away rapidly, revealing a black-haired man clad in dark red armor stepping into the battlefield.
It was none other than Uchiha Madara!
Uchiha Madara vs Aizen Sosuke!
The corners of Lin Xuan's mouth curled up into a smile. This match was going to be extremely entertaining.
----------
T/N:
You'll also get 5 extra chapters just for being a free member!
Access 60 chapters in advance on my Patreon: [email protected]//allbluestories