Chapter 28: Bankai Training (Part - 2)
Liu Zheng had never thought that he would ever see the form which Zangetsu used for teaching the final getsuga but he realized immediately that one special thing about final getsuga was that it combined all of Ichigo's powers so in this all his powers would have to be one as well.
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"Before fighting there is something we need to do a small training regiment to ensure that you will even be able to fight us properly because with your current state it is impossible for you to defeat us and achieve bankai." transcendent zangetsu said to him as he activated an array covering my whole knowledge sea and continued.
(Transcendent Zangetsu/Zangetsu is what we will call him until he learns the name of his bankai.)
"This is a spiritual array which is usually used for training or to learn a technique faster by increasing the flow of time inside your knowledge sea compared to outside.
This array can be used by anyone with the sole requirement is that your body has to stay still but for normal people it helps them by increasing the flow of time here compared to outside by twice to thrice maximum which isn't very useful as techniques need to be comprehend by your body too not just your mind and for soul race it is up to 5 times.
But if someone has a lot of pure spiritual energy then it can be used to supplement the array and increase the flow of time. We are going to use one third of what you had gained previously to increase the flow of time here 100 times compared to outside."
"So what are you going to train me for?" Liu Zheng asked.
"We will refine your swordsmanship i.e. your understanding of the Dao of Sword." Transcendent Zangetsu replied as formed a Qi sword on his hand.
Liu Zheng did the same and charged towards zangetsu to attack him but as he swung his sword on his, It was blocked. Blocked as if it was a very trivial thing for him to do while Liu Zheng has used more than half of his strength.
He continued to attack him from several positions as well as using several techniques that he had learned over the course of his life here but all of them we blocked or deflected easily by Zangetsu without even moving from his position.
"It seems that your killer instinct have taken over your fighting style after your previous battle. Though it is a very necessary part of you, it shouldn't be everything you have. Your mind is just as much as a part of you as your body is, so let's help you realize the potential of your mind as well." He said said as he came in front of Liu Zheng and started attacking him.
Liu Zheng was simply getting overwhelmed by him, only being able to dodge with his instinct but not able to counter-attack as zangetsu seemed to have formed a sort of perfect defense with just his sword.
Even though he was loosing, he was also getting amazed by his swordsman ship which was beautiful in its own right but most importantly effective and efficient.
He realized that it was not something that is going to be easy to awaken and utilize but a slow process to be able to absorb and refine it into his own and much harder to surpass.
20 days later,
It has been 20 days since they have been fighting continuously with only a little improvement from Liu Zheng's side as he had been finally been able to block some of his attacks and how found himself gaining a new found balance between his instinct and mind where they are now able to work together much more effectively than before though still not at a desirable stage.
45 days later,
Liu Zheng's understanding of the Dao of sword has increased much more than before and now he is able to make much better combination of attacks with just simple sword movements and a few complex ones which might appear to be a small feat but a zanpakuto's swordsmanship is always somewhat better than his wielder because when a soul race awakens a zanpakuto they also awaken talent towards their respective weapon Dao.
And this Dao comprehension gap is bridged after one awakens bankai and from there on they grow together.
One more fact which can't be ignored is that Old man zangetsu who had received a few memories of Yhwach also had also received a few fragments of the Grand Dao of Sword of Yhwach, though due to lack of cultivation even old man can't utilize most of it but it is still present in his sword movements.
60 days later,
After constantly absorbing Transcendent Zangetsu's swordsmanship for two months without any breaks and slowly but surely refining it as well as understanding his sword more and more, he has made a lot of progress in his own unique sword style.
He is now able to counter attack and fight back on almost equal footing with a slight disadvantage because of his incomplete comprehension of his sword style needing an opportunity which was a bit far from him but still visible.
80 days later,
Liu Zheng after grasping the right opportunity has entered a state of enlightenment, comprehending his own sword style after fighting and learning so much from zangetsu.
100 days later,
Liu Zheng's body explosively releases a tremendous amount of energy and he slowly opens his eyes, now ready to give Transcendent Zangetsu a proper fight. He got up and created a quincy qi sword for himself.
Zangetsu also slowly materialized outside of his knowledge and said "The training is over Liu Zheng. From here on out you are allowed to use all your techniques you want to use."
"Everything?" Liu Zheng asked
"Yep, You are going to need everything to be able to defeat me. Now, get ready
The real battle begins now."