"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much!!"
At some distance from where Lingqing had slain the Hollow, in an area closer to the settlement, a gray-haired old man excitedly grasped Lingqing's hands, expressing his gratitude.
"Thank you so much for killing that monster! That monster... that monster had already killed so many people in our village. Even my son was..."
By the end, the old man's voice was choked with emotion.
Although the Soul Society was said to be the afterlife, where most people arrived after dying in the living world, it was indeed like a second world. Before death or reincarnation, souls could form new families with other souls, unite, and even give birth to children. The old man was probably this type of soul.
Only the elderly man, who served as the village chief, had come to meet Lingqing. It seemed he was driven by hatred and wanted to immediately know whether Lingqing had succeeded.
When Lingqing returned completely unharmed, without even a hair out of place, the old man knew that just as the rumors said, the Hollows that were so terrifying to them were no problem at all for this mysterious jack-of-all-trades shop owner who had suddenly appeared and was suspected of being a Soul Reaper.
"No need to thank me. I take people's money and eliminate their troubles - this is what I should do. I hope no more Hollows will appear here in the future."
Lingqing patted the old man's hand, then subtly withdrew his own hand from the old man's grasp.
Although some people suspected whether Lingqing had any connection to the Hollows that had suddenly appeared in large numbers throughout the Rukongai, or if there was any possibility of self-directed drama, in the end, the crisis was imminent and most people who came to find Lingqing were those who needed to solve the problem.
Those who had hired Lingqing to drive away or kill Hollows could also hear the sincerity in Lingqing's words.
Lingqing truly did not want Hollows to appear in the Rukongai anymore. His initial motivation for hunting Hollows wasn't particularly noble, but what he did was indeed humanitarian.
However, at this time when he was gradually feeling that Hollows were becoming useless to him, Lingqing didn't think he would continue doing such things in the future. At that time, if no one else took responsibility for the Hollow problem, many innocent people would surely fall victim to the Hollows.
Lingqing wouldn't consider that to be his responsibility, because even now, in places he knew and didn't know about, people were certainly still suffering from Hollow attacks. He wasn't a god and couldn't save everyone.
And he would absolutely not waste all his time and energy on things that were meaningless to him.
If he could help others achieve win-win results while accomplishing his own goals, that would naturally be best. But when it came to 'moral blackmail' that would be good for others but damage his personal interests, Lingqing would respectfully decline.
So even if he would be further misunderstood, it didn't matter. If no more Hollows appeared after he stopped, that would be even better.
"For you, it may be so, but for me... this gratitude, this gratitude I will remember forever in my heart! I will personally deliver the remaining payment to you tomorrow. Please forgive me."
Despite being much older than Lingqing, the old man used respectful language toward him.
In certain details that people wouldn't normally notice, Lingqing had more than once recognized that this Soul Society afterlife was indeed based on strength as its fundamental principle.
Although his mouth was full of gratitude toward Lingqing, after completing the task handover, the gray-haired elder left hurriedly as if he had urgent business. He didn't even look back at Lingqing once as he went to announce the good news to others waiting for information.
Lingqing certainly wouldn't get angry over such small matters, but to say he was completely indifferent would be false.
Because it wasn't just this elder - Lingqing had strangely discovered that recently, all the people who came to him seemed to show similar signs.
Simply put, they would avoid getting close to him if they could help it, and even when they came to him to say something, they would immediately leave quickly once the conversation ended.
This strange situation had once left Lingqing completely puzzled, even making him wonder if he had worn the wrong clothes, had a bad smell, or if his reputation had gone bad.
But after carefully checking everything, Lingqing couldn't find any reason at all, and he remained confused about this inexplicable situation even now.
However, as long as he completed his contracts, that was good.
With nothing else to do, Lingqing headed back toward the 45th District.
Lingqing could use spiritual power to assist his rapid movement, and could even achieve brief flight and gliding. Therefore, his travel speed was much faster than when he had walked out from the 80th District.
The distance to the 45th District wouldn't take him very long at his current level.
It could only be said that martial arts training was indeed a money-consuming endeavor. Without money and resources, there was truly no way to keep up.
During his journey back, Lingqing had tried more than once to see if he could use spiritual power for brief flight, but all attempts ended in failure.
Strangely, the words of that peculiar young man floated into Lingqing's mind.
'You should become a Soul Reaper.'
In fact, Lingqing felt that he should probably start making plans for this matter. Because he had clearly sensed that his training had probably entered a bottleneck period.
No matter how much he practiced, he couldn't make any further progress. Or to put it another way, his current bottleneck simply couldn't be solved through pure practice and mastery.
In fact, Lingqing didn't think he was particularly strong now. Even though he could kill Hollows that were difficult for Rukongai residents to resist with a single strike, to paraphrase a famous saying: "I'm indeed not that strong, but that doesn't mean you're not weak."
That's right. Lingqing didn't consider himself very strong at all. Although he lacked a horizontal comparison object, lacking a benchmark to determine what level he was at among the group of "Soul Reapers."
But he could compare himself to himself.
Or rather, compare himself to the power he should possess.
Sephiroth's signature moves - Octaslash, Heartless Angel, Supernova - and such techniques, Lingqing couldn't even say whether he could use them or not; he hadn't even come close to grasping them.
What Lingqing could currently use, or in gaming terms, what he had maxed out in proficiency, was only the basic skill [Slash] - the special swordsmanship of casually throwing out a blade of light.
And [Shrink] - the move that could send people flying and then quickly close in.
And extending from these: [Shake], [Gale], [Lingering Heart], [Amaterasu], [Instant], and half of [Dark Fusion Arts].
Beyond these, he couldn't use any more advanced techniques.
Not to mention the aerial techniques that required relying on spiritual power to glide through the air - Heaven Shaker, Divine Speed, Void, Hell Gate, and such - were completely impossible to execute.
Such a Lingqing really had no face to claim he was strong. Even when others said he was strong, he would bashfully shake his head.
Those who know themselves know their own affairs; flattery shouldn't be given like this.
Relying purely on practice and cutting down weaklings could no longer make Lingqing progress further. A voice in his heart seemed to tell Lingqing that if he wanted to break through, he must fight.
Not overwhelming battles, but battles that could bring out all his power, evenly matched or even battles where he was at a disadvantage. Only by truly experiencing what real combat meant, what it meant for a momentary mistake to bring death, could he achieve some kind of breakthrough.
And this condition, in the Rukongai...
Seemed completely impossible to achieve!
"Which means... it's time to go to the Seireitei? That place gathers Soul Reapers who have accumulated over hundreds of years in this world. There are probably countless people stronger than me there."
Thinking about his plans for what to do next, Lingqing had already returned to the 45th District.
He had only stayed at Weitang Liu's house for a few days at the beginning, then immediately moved out when he had the idea, temporarily borrowing one of the Weitang Liu family's unused properties.
It was located in a corner of the street, in an area that wasn't particularly well-located. But for Lingqing, it was sufficient.
As Lingqing walked down the street, he noticed that many people on the street showed slight abnormalities when they saw him, or even before they noticed him, and then moved away from him as if clearing the area.
It was as if an invisible field that repelled people was spreading out with Lingqing as the center.
Somewhat strangely, all the way back to his current office and residence, a slight smile appeared on Lingqing's face.
"Brother Lingqing!!"
Outside the closed door, a young man was crouching. When he saw Lingqing, he immediately jumped up and greeted Lingqing with some excitement.
"I've found out about what you asked me to investigate. In the Zaraki District, there seems to be someone who meets your requirements."