Hidden Chambers Beneath the Celestial Palace
Dust blanketed the long-abandoned underground sanctum.
Cracked walls lined with rusted formation plates. Old diagrams half-scorched into stone. Ghosts of ancient artificers clung to every shadow and into this graveyard of genius walked Kisuke Urahara, humming.
Behind him, Li Tianming watched as the eccentric man in sandals tossed aside a collapsed spirit furnace like it was scrap.
"Elegant," Kisuke said, tapping a crumbling wall with his cane. "This used to be an imperial formation workshop?"
"Three generations ago," Tianming replied. "Now it's a mausoleum for lost potential."
Kisuke spun around and grinned. "Oh, I love mausoleums. They make the best laboratories. No politics, no noise… just dead ideas waiting to be reanimated."
Tianming raised a brow. "You're enjoying yourself."
"Of course," Kisuke said. "I've always believed true creation begins after someone else gives up. You just have to be shameless enough to dig through the ruins."
Tianming crossed his arms. "You're going to need more than a grin and a hat to defend a dying kingdom."
Kisuke tilted his head. "A grin and a hat are essential, my dear king. But yes—I'll need more."
He pulled out a cracked jade disc and tossed it to Tianming. You know what this is?Tianming caught it. "A misdirection array… from the western border fortress?"
"Stolen, actually," Kisuke winked. "They left it half-burned in a war camp. I've been wanting to upgrade it since I saw it. Needs a better energy core. Something spicy."
Tianming turned the disc over. "What do you need from me?"
Two barrels of Phoenix Blood sediment," Kisuke replied immediately. "And a fragment of a lunar ore catalyst. Oh, and the bones of a spiritual beast that's died twice.Tianming blinked. "Died twice?"
"Preferably in different timelines, but I'll take creative substitutions," Kisuke shrugged.
Tianming sighed. "How about I get you the blood and a dead phoenix feather, and you make me a wall that doesn't collapse when a strong wind blows?"
"Deal!" Kisuke shouted, startling a sleeping rat on the ceiling.
⸻
Urahara's Integration – Formation Project I
Project Name: Phantom Warding Array
Purpose: Capital Defense
Design Features:
– Misdirect enemy scouts
– Conceal internal spiritual fluctuations
– Collapse into a firestorm if breached
Power Source: Phoenix Blood Residue + Spirit Ore Catalysts
Blueprints drawn in chalk, ink, and the occasional wine stain.
⸻
Meanwhile, Upstairs – The War Council Fails Again
In the royal court, the nobles continued pretending things weren't falling apart.
They argued about grain routes and tribute taxes while three enemy nations prepared to descend upon the Vermilion Capital like carrion birds.
The senior general—Grand Marshal Fei—suggested evacuating the border provinces.
No one objected.
No one even looked at Tianming.
They didn't yet understand the silence before lightning.
⸻
Back Underground – Tianming's First Kill
Tianming stood in front of a war map, laid out across an ancient summoning table.
Kisuke studied it over his shoulder. "You're outnumbered."
"Always," Tianming replied.
"But not outwitted. That's your thing, isn't it?" Kisuke smiled. "So… are we testing the phantom ward?"
"Not yet. First, I'm going hunting."
⸻
Howling Peaks – Black Tortoise Scout Camp
A group of seven Black Tortoise scouts sat around a fire, laughing over old wounds and stolen wine.
They never saw him coming. A blur in the night. A shadow in robes.
Li Tianming, now dressed in black and red. His presence cloaked with Kisuke's early-stage formation shroud.
His voice cut the wind.
"You came to scavenge a corpse. But I'm still breathing."
The closest scout stood, drawing his blade. "Who—?"
Too slow.
A flick of Tianming's fingers. Razor-like spirit talismans lanced through the air, slashing tendons and slicing open throats.
One scout tried to run. A mirror appeared in front of him. Then behind him. Then beside. He was trapped in an endless loop of reflected terrain.
Kisuke's field test: Mirage Prison Array.
Another charged, only to find himself standing in front of a phantom Tianming—then being stabbed by the real one from behind.
Only one remained.
Tianming walked toward him slowly.
"Wait—wait! I surrender!"
Tianming paused.
Then sighed.
"I haven't earned my first summon yet. And you're worth ten seconds of KP."
A single strike.
⸻
System Notification
Enemies Killed: 6 (Qi Gathering)
Bonus: +40 KP (Formation Use)
Total Earned: 60 x 10 multiplier = 600 KP
[Summon Available – Copper Tier]
"Congrats, warlord. You've officially earned your first fantasy friend with blood and fire. Ready to burn something else?"
⸻
Back in the Workshop – Urahara Reacts
Tianming returned to the underground lab, blood on his sleeves, a subtle satisfaction in his eyes.
Kisuke looked up from a cauldron. "Back already? Did they scream?"
"Only the last one," Tianming said, tossing him a spirit ring with their dog tags. "That enough for your signature?"
Kisuke held the ring to his ear. "Hmm. Echoes nicely. Very musical."
He poured the blood into the furnace."It sings. Let's build the wall."