The genius of Naruto is a bit ordinary.

After Lilinette appeared, Xia Li also discovered that Stark's spiritual pressure was indeed much weaker.

But it still exceeds the spiritual pressure of the average captain level, and there are still not many Hollows who can get close to Stark.

Therefore, Stark's idea of ​​weakening himself in order to be closer to more companions is doomed to fail.

Xia Li looked at Stark and Lilinette who had appeared and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Xia Li has always been pursuing how to become stronger, but the Stark in front of him may be thinking about how to weaken himself.

Lilinette's appearance was of little help to Stark, and it also gave Stark a fatal weakness.

Although the souls of Lilinette and Stark were split into two individuals, they were still actually one person, so when Lilinette died, Stark would also die, and vice versa.

Generally speaking, no one would be willing to do this. Not only would they not become stronger but they would also have an extra weakness. Only a fool would do this.

But when you think about Stark's purpose of wanting companions and his extremely lonely soul, perhaps you can understand Stark's actions.

Perhaps, even among the Ten Espadas, Stark was the kind of person who returned to his original level only after returning to the Blade, and did not become stronger.

But even so, he was still classified as a single blade by Aizen. Perhaps Stark could not compare to the guy with the second stage of return blade, but he was definitely strong enough.

But if Stark had found companions from the beginning, and then broken the mask in the most reasonable way to form a hollow Zanpakuto, then Stark's strength would probably have been improved to a higher level.

And now it's obviously too late.

"What a pity..." Xia Li shook his head, but did not say much about Stark's choice. As long as the other party was willing, it was fine.

At this moment, Lilinette was staring at Xia Li with great interest. She licked her lips and said, "You smell so good~"

Suddenly, Stark's face froze, and he seemed a little helpless.

Xia Li also glanced at Lilinette. If a human or a god of death said this to him, perhaps they had some thoughts about him.

But when Lilinette said this, she meant it literally.

The essence of the Hollows is still Hollows, and the Hollows' pursuit of spiritual power is instinctive, so Xia Li, who possesses such a level of spiritual power, naturally attracts these Hollows.

In fact, Stark also had this feeling, but his desire for companionship far outweighed this attraction.

"I'm sorry, Lilinette was a little outspoken." Stark apologized on Lilinette's behalf helplessly.

"It's okay. She can't do it anyway." Xia Li said indifferently.

Even the combined strength of Stark and Lilinette was not taken seriously by Xia Li, let alone Lilinette alone.

Xia Li could see that after separation, most of the power was still on Stark, and the spiritual pressure on Lilinette was inferior to that of an ordinary Hollow.

Lilinette seemed a little annoyed when she heard this, but she didn't say anything in the end. She also noticed Xia Li's power when she was on Stark.

Lilinette glanced at Stark and asked, "Why did you ask me to come out? There's no need at all. Now that we have a companion, it's much better to talk to each other than we are essentially alone."

As she spoke, Lilinette once again transformed into two guns and returned to Stark's body, as if she had no regard for Stark at all.

Stark scratched his head a little embarrassedly and looked at Xia Li.

"It's nothing. I've seen it, and she is right. In essence, you are just one person. You... probably can't really be each other's companions." Xia Li also thought of himself at this time.

Xia Li also has another soul outside, but he is a little different from Stark. That is, Xia Li only has one consciousness, while Stark has obviously evolved a second consciousness in order to overcome loneliness.

"Actually, I understand that, but even so, it's much better than being alone in this place where there's no end and I can't find any companions." Stark said with a wry smile.

Xia Li nodded. Everyone has their own difficulties.

Stark suddenly thought of something and asked, "The souls in my twin guns were split by myself, so where did the soul in your Zanpakuto come from?"

Xia Li was stunned for a moment, and looked at his own calm mind.

Stark's words seemed to ring a bell directly in Xia Li's heart.

Yes, why haven’t I noticed such an obvious thing before?

Xia Li looked at Ming Jing Zhi Shui, he seemed to have been in the dark all along.

Because he was too familiar with Mingjing Zhishui, he didn't notice this most obvious problem.

The woman in palace dress, like a calm mirror, has her own unique consciousness and is naturally an independent soul.

When Xia Li first came into contact with the original form of Zanpakuto, Asado, he had actually already sensed the soul without self-awareness in Asado.

It’s just that Xia Li had just arrived in this world not long ago, and he had no idea about the rules of this world.

Plus, his vague memory of his Zanpakutō being a soul of its own didn't bother him.

If we look into it more deeply now, the origin of this soul becomes very strange.

Souls don't come out of thin air, so whose soul is this unconscious soul? Human? Death? Or Hollow?

At this moment, Xia Li also understood what it meant to use one's own spiritual power to cultivate Zanpakuto before Asado achieved his Shikai.

In fact, it means using one's own soul to cultivate the soul inside the Zanpakuto. After all, spiritual power itself is a substance that constitutes the soul.

In this process of continuous cultivation, the soul inside the Zanpakutō absorbs enough of the sword owner's soul and forms a consciousness similar to that of the master.

This is also the reason why Xia Li is obsessed with becoming stronger, and why Meikyo Shisui, as the soul of his Zanpakuto, is also so persistent.

Of course, they are two different souls after all, so the soul of the Zanpakuto is only similar to that of its master, not exactly the same.

Then the process of Zanpakuto's continuous tempering and strengthening is no different from that of Hollow.

The void increases its own strength by devouring other voids or souls.

The Zanpakuto relies on its owner's continuous input of spiritual energy to increase the power of Shikai and even Bankai.

Their essence is to become stronger by absorbing spiritual energy...

Therefore, Xia Li confirmed once again that since Ming Jing Zhi Shui was a separate soul, she must be able to become virtual.

Moreover, Mingjing Zhishui still has his own spiritual power in his body. When Mingjing Zhishui successfully becomes virtual, it will inevitably lead to the virtualization of this part of Xia Li's spiritual power.

Then Xia Li only needs to find a way to let this part of the spiritual power that originally belonged to him return to himself, so that he can merge with Mingjing Zhishui...

This also means the Bankai of the Arrancar, or it can be called the Return to the Blade.

At this moment, after Stark's reminder and combined with Stark's example, Xia Li basically figured out all the key points and the path to take next.

So the next question is how to make Meikyo Shisui complete the virtualization. Of course, there is already a plan for this, which is to stay in Urahara's shop.

Use the Hougyoku sealed by Urahara Kisuke to transform it bit by bit, or let Meikyo Shisui fall into despair, and complete the transformation of the soul into Hollow in the most normal way.

When Xia Li was thinking this, he clearly felt Ming Jing Zhi Shui's blade tremble, as if worried about something.

Xia Li couldn't help but chuckle, then stroked the blade and said, "Don't worry, I won't let you go this way."

Suddenly, Mingjing Zhishui felt relieved. Based on its understanding of Xia Li, since Xia Li said so, it must be true.

Xia Li actually knew that it was not difficult to make Ming Jing Zhi Shui despair. He just had to abandon the other party. Maybe Ming Jing Zhi Shui would not believe it at first, but after a while, that would be enough.

But there is no point in doing this, as it will definitely take faster than relying on Urahara Kisuke's Hougyoku transformation.

The problem is that Mingjing Shisui, who was transformed by despair, still needs to merge into Guiren and Xiali.

Xia Li didn't think that using a Hollow who hated him to return to the Blade was a good choice.

Apart from this, he couldn't think of what else Ming Jing Shisui would despair about. After all, he himself was a fearless man, and Ming Jing Shisui, who inherited part of his character, was obviously the same.

So since Ming Jing Zhi Shui is already willing to transform into Xu, then he just needs to wait.

In fact, he also wanted to see what a Hollow without resentment that was transformed by his Zanpakutō looked like. Perhaps he could give Xia Li a surprise.

Another question is how to return the blade.

Xia Li actually had some idea about this, but he could only wait until Ming Jing Zhi Shui completed his virtualization before conducting the experiment.

Stark looked at Xia Li who fell into deep thought after he finished speaking, and did not disturb him, but stood guard by his side silently.

After a long while, Xia Li looked at Stark, smiled and said, "Thank you, that's a great help."

"Well, I'm glad I can help." Stark also smiled and said a little lazily.

At this time, Stark was a little hesitant and didn't know how to start.

"What's wrong?" Xia Li asked, a little surprised.

"Have you found a way to go further?"

Xia Li thought about it, nodded, then shook his head and said, "I just thought of a way. Whether it works or not can only be verified after it is completed."

"Oh." Stark nodded, but he didn't really care about this. He cared about another question, "Are you leaving now?"

After hearing this question, Xia Li saw that the handsome middle-aged man in front of him, Stark, actually showed a trace of panic.

After all, he had finally found a companion who could get close to him. If he left, Stark really didn't know where to find the next companion.

Xia Li felt it was a little funny. It looked like a wolf, but was actually a wolfdog that was afraid of being alone?

That doesn’t seem right. Wolves are also social animals.

"Well, there's really no point for me to stay here." Xia Li said. He still had to rush back to the real world to go to Urahara Shop.

"Really?" Stark was a little disappointed, but didn't say much.

"But I will stay here for a while."

"Ugh?"

Stark was a little confused.

Xia Li looked into the distance and said, "After all, you have helped me, so I plan to accompany you for a while and teach you how to control your own power. When you have mastered your power to a certain extent, you will probably be able to get close to some ordinary virtual beings, and then you will be able to find more companions."

"Control your own power?" Stark was a little confused. His power was innate and indeed uncontrolled.

"Let's go. I'll teach you as we go. And in the process, maybe I can find your next companion."

Xia Li thought of the other blades among the Arrancar. They were basically Achucas. If it were them, they should have the ability to approach Stark and become his companions.

Since Aizen was able to find them, Xia Li didn't think he couldn't find them, it just would take some time.

"Oh, okay." Stark nodded, then put his hands in his pockets and followed.

Stark actually didn't think that he could meet other companions. After all, he had been searching for so long before he found Xia Li, a companion who could be close to him. How could he possibly find the next one easily?

Along the way, Xia Li also fought with Stark several times. Basically, Stark fell down before Xia Li had even used much strength.

This also made Xia Li understand Stark's problem. Not only did the other party not know how to control his own power, but his combat experience was also extremely poor.

This is not difficult to understand. In the past, any hollow that approached Stark was directly shattered to death by his spiritual pressure. Therefore, Stark has no experience in serious combat and relies entirely on the power of his spiritual pressure.

In this respect, Stark is completely no match for Kenpachi Zaraki. At least, while Kenpachi Zaraki has strong spiritual pressure, he also has monster-like instincts.

Even though Kenpachi Zaraki had no combat experience at the beginning, he was able to unleash enough power to defeat Unohana simply by relying on his instincts.

But Stark does not have this instinct, and his potential is actually not as good as Kenpachi Saraki. Now that he has taken the initiative to split his soul... he is even more inferior to Kenpachi.

Stark finally realized how powerful Xia Li was. If the other party was really hostile, then no matter he returned to the blade or not, the result would be the same, he would not be able to escape at all.

Xia Li's strength has exceeded Stark's imagination, and Stark cannot imagine what Xia Li will be like after taking a further step. That is obviously beyond Stark's understanding.

However, Stark decided to quickly take control of his own power. The other party was obviously wasting his time to help him, and Stark actually felt that he had not helped Xia Li much.

So Stark had a cute yet silly idea that he should not cause trouble to his companions.