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Entering the examination grounds, Shigure found the venue much larger than he had imagined.
It was the last day of recruitment, but there were still plenty of people lined up in two queues.
Among them were commoners from Rukongai as well as nobility members from Seireitei, just like Shigure.
Their attire bore distinctive emblems, making them easily recognizable at a glance.
As for Shigure's Segawa family, their clothing was adorned with a small river pattern extending from the left sleeve to the waist.
Shigure joined the queue on the right, and before he could even settle in, a girl arrived behind him.
She was Sato Homura, the second daughter of the lower noble Sato family.
Shigure wasn't particularly close with her, but the two families frequently interacted, so they had crossed paths several times before.
Sato Homura was surprised to see Shigure and hurried over with small, quick steps.
"Hey, Segawa, were you also forced to take the entrance exam?" she asked with wide, round eyes.
Shigure chuckled lightly, "No, I came voluntarily."
"Eh?" Sato Homura was clearly surprised, then continued with a troubled expression: "Sigh, my spiritual power could never reach the testing standards, but my family insisted I come... But since you came voluntarily, it means you want to become a Soul Reaper, right? Good luck!"
Shigure nodded with a smile, "I'll do my best."
The two chatted about various things as the line gradually moved forward.
Before coming, Shigure had already learned that the Shinō Academy exam consisted of two parts.
A spiritual power test and a written exam.
However, there was a saying that circulated throughout Soul Society—"The Academy's written exam is merely a test for the mediocre."
Because in the face of absolute, powerful spiritual talent, the written exam was just an unnecessary procedure that could be skipped entirely.
As for the method of testing spiritual power, there were many variations that had changed over the millennia.
Today's testing instrument was called "Spirit Bamboo."
At the front was a small pool with ten short bamboo pieces floating on its surface.
Test-takers needed to channel their spiritual power into the pool. The floating bamboo pieces would stand upright when they sensed spiritual power.
The examiner would then determine the level of spiritual pressure based on how many bamboo pieces stood up.
The more bamboo pieces that stood upright, the stronger the test-taker's spiritual power.
Three upright bamboos was the passing line, representing Level 7 spiritual pressure, and so on.
"Shimizu Ryunosuke."
The examiner called out a name, and the young man at the front of the line stepped forward to channel his spiritual power into the pool.
Four bamboo pieces rose from the water's surface.
The examiner nodded, "Level 6 spiritual pressure. Pass. Please proceed through door number one on the left to prepare for the written exam."
The young man bowed respectfully, clearly delighted, and left with his wooden pass token.
Many commoners from Rukongai looked on enviously, as this meant the young man would no longer have to live outside and his living standards would greatly improve.
After a while, it was finally Shigure's turn.
The examiner glanced up slightly and announced, "Segawa Shigure, please channel your spiritual power."
Shigure didn't hesitate, extending a single palm forward and carefully releasing his spiritual pressure, channeling his power.
From observing the others' performances, Shigure could roughly estimate the limit of this Spirit Bamboo test.
Shigure only needed to use one-tenth of his spiritual pressure to easily exceed this limit.
He carefully channeled his power, and the short bamboo pieces began to stand up one by one.
Four, five, six, seven...
The crowd waiting in line behind him immediately widened their eyes. Previously, others had stopped at six pieces at most.
But Shigure's bamboo pieces showed no sign of stopping, with the eighth piece slowly rising.
The examiner's eyes lit up, and looking at Shigure again, he immediately realized that Shigure seemed to be deliberately controlling the force of his spiritual pressure.
"Candidate Segawa, please don't hold back. Feel free to channel your spiritual power fully!"
He already suspected that this candidate's level might be extraordinary.
Shigure had originally intended to reserve some of his strength, but hearing these words, he looked up.
Then he directly increased his spiritual power release.
"BOOM!!!"
With a sudden explosive sound, the ninth and tenth bamboo pieces quickly stood upright in succession.
Then, all ten Spirit Bamboos began to vibrate simultaneously, emitting a melodious whistling sound.
Seeing this, Shigure promptly withdrew his power.
The examiner's eyes widened instantly, and the other candidates waiting in line were also shocked, frozen in place.
"All ten bamboos standing! Level 1 spiritual pressure! This is captain-level spiritual pressure!!"
The examiner shouted excitedly.
When the Department of Research and Development created these Spirit Bamboos, the limit was set at the spiritual pressure of an ordinary captain.
Now, not only were all ten bamboos standing, but they were also vibrating, indicating that his spiritual pressure even exceeded that of an ordinary captain!
Sato Homura, behind Shigure, was so frightened that she covered her mouth.
What was going on?
The person before her was completely different from the Segawa Shigure she had known before!
Seeing that the examiner was stunned, Shigure asked, "May I ask what my test result is?"
The examiner came to his senses and said excitedly, "Student Segawa, Level 1 spiritual pressure! You don't need to take the written exam; you can directly enter the Shinō Academy!!"
As he spoke, he handed over a black wooden token with both hands. This was not a spiritual test pass certificate, but an enrollment certificate.
His demeanor showed utmost respect, because he knew that the young man before him would become a captain-level existence!
Shigure accepted it, and the examiner continued, "You just need to take this wooden token and go to the academy registration office through the door on the right."
"Understood. Thank you for your guidance." Shigure bowed politely in gratitude.
After all, he had lived in the Segawa family for three years and understood some noble etiquette.
Shigure turned, looked back at Sato Homura, and smiled, "Good luck."
Then, he turned and walked toward the third exit on the left.
That would lead directly to the academy's registration office.
Although his back was turned to them, Shigure could feel countless gazes focused on his figure.
Discussions spread from behind him.
"Not even enrolled yet, and already so powerful, how frightening!"
"A member of the Segawa family... who would have thought such a genius would emerge from a lower noble house?"
"All ten bamboos standing upright, even the children of the Four Great Noble Houses couldn't achieve that!"
"Is this guy some kind of monster..."
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