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The sky was dim, and dark clouds hung heavy.
The massive Kido Field seemed on the verge of collapsing under the oppressive dark clouds, and the old building creaked constantly.
In the dim Hakuda Kido Field, Aozaki Reiji stood alone on the wooden floor, bare-chested, revealing perfectly sculpted muscles, his eyes tightly shut.
The lamplight cast a blurry shadow of him on the room's walls.
Air currents erupted from his feet, rising and blowing his long hair, swirling around his body.
If anyone had been there, they would have been greatly surprised.
Because these air currents swirling around Aozaki Reiji showed no trace of being driven by spiritual pressure!
The next instant,
As Aozaki Reiji took a light step, the strong wind and his figure vanished simultaneously, appearing in an instant before a Kido-enhanced puppet.
Aozaki Reiji opened his eyes, raised both fists, and then swung them out fiercely—
Sokotsu!
The heavily struck puppet shattered completely into pieces, like fragile ceramic.
He let out a soft breath, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.
"Indeed, I need to give myself some sense of urgency to force myself to grow even harder…"
Aozaki Reiji picked up the fragments from the ground, examining them carefully, and couldn't help but say with emotion.
Over the past few months, his cultivation progress had indeed slowed down considerably, with spiritual pressure growth almost stagnating.
Although his various abilities were still slowly improving as he continuously increased his training intensity, the speed of improvement was no longer satisfactory.
However, after a battle with a Captain-class rebel, Aozaki Reiji's cultivation efficiency significantly improved, perhaps due to psychological reasons.
"It's a pity those rebels weren't good enough; they couldn't truly get me into the zone."
Aozaki Reiji smiled, wiping sweat from his body with a towel.
In truth, those rebels weren't weak, but they were weaker than Yoruichi and stronger than himself, so he couldn't fight them freely.
Without Yoruichi, he wouldn't have dared to participate in the battle, and without him, Yoruichi could have easily cut down the rebels.
"I really miss sparring with Yoruichi…" Aozaki Reiji's eyes showed a hint of nostalgia.
But Yoruichi had little time now, at most visiting him once a week.
When they used to train together, Yoruichi would suppress her spiritual pressure and spar with him in various specialized ways.
During that time, he would get injured almost every day, but he was intoxicated by the exhilarating sparring and the constant self-pushing in combat.
That was also the period when his strength improved the fastest.
Unfortunately, that was all in the past.
The battle between the rebels and the Gotei 13 was intensifying, and although she wasn't personally participating in combat, the heavy Squad duties were already overwhelming her.
Thinking this, Aozaki Reiji slowly put on his clothes.
He was not in a hurry.
The graduation exam was about to begin, and if nothing unexpected happened, he would enter the Second Division within a month.
Although his strength was far from monsters like Yamamoto and Retsu Unohana, Aozaki Reiji believed that with his talent, he would definitely stand tall in the Shinigami world.
And before that, he had to improve his strength.
He needed to convert this talent, which even Yamamoto and Retsu Unohana acknowledged, into tangible strength.
A determined light flashed in Aozaki Reiji's eyes as he walked out of the Kido Field and pushed open the door.
Rain was falling, and outside in the courtyard, Squad members of the patrol unit were on duty, conducting routine reconnaissance of the surroundings.
Meanwhile, in the spacious Kido Field opposite, Matsumoto Rangiku and Ichimaru Gin were both intently training.
The former held her Zanpakuto, her expression serious, meticulously practicing Kendo; the sharp blade cut through the air, emitting bursts of sharp whistling sounds.
The latter sat cross-legged on the ground, an asauchi resting on his lap, calmly performing Blade Meditation.
"Those two are quite diligent."
Aozaki Reiji looked at the scene with satisfaction, smiling at Retsu Unohana as she approached.
Retsu Unohana said gently:
"They are all good children. District 62 of Rukongai is truly a blessed place, producing three geniuses like you all at once, especially Matsumoto Rangiku… she is improving very quickly."
With Yamada Seinosuke, that fanatic, as her Vice-Captain, she was currently the most relaxed among all the Captains.
Aozaki Reiji recalled that sharp-tongued fellow and couldn't help but laugh.
When he usually went to the Fourth Division, he was tormented quite a bit by Yamada Seinosuke's nasty mouth.
"Boom!"
At this moment, a crack several centimeters long suddenly burst open in a pillar on one side of the Kido Field.
Spiritual pressure mixed with air Shock, and the Shinigami outside the courtyard all looked over.
"What happened?"
"Who is erupting spiritual pressure?"
"This spiritual pressure seems to belong to that silver-haired brat."
"…"
The Shinigami outside the courtyard changed their expressions slightly but did not pay much attention, continuing their patrol duties.
Aozaki Reiji observed Ichimaru Gin, who was erupting spiritual pressure, with interest.
Matsumoto Rangiku instinctively reached out beside him, retracting her Zanpakuto, about to speak.
Aozaki Reiji, however, pressed her shoulder and shook his head.
Matsumoto Rangiku froze, then heard a murmur nearby.
"Shinsō!"
The moment the low murmur came out, the asauchi in Ichimaru Gin's hand transformed into a seemingly ordinary wakizashi with a short blade and an S-shaped tsuba.
"You learned Shikai?" Aozaki Reiji asked.
Ichimaru Gin opened his eyes and slowly nodded: "That's right, its name is Shinsō."
"Want to try its power?" Reiji's eyes lit up.
"Now? I can't control it well yet…" Ichimaru waved his hand, declining.
"It's fine, just let me see it!" Aozaki Reiji had already placed his hand on Senbonzakura, grinning as he said, "With Captain Retsu Unohana here, you don't have to worry about hurting me."
Ichimaru couldn't refuse that eager look and could only agree, "Alright then, be careful, Reiji. Shinsō can extend its blade instantly."
He pointed the tip of the blade at Aozaki Reiji, and as if not feeling secure enough, he deliberately waited a few seconds before loudly chanting the release command: "Shoot to kill, Shinsō!"
Whoosh!!
The short blade rapidly extended!
The visible blade shot out like a divine spear.
The speed was fast, but in Reiji's eyes, it wasn't fast enough; this was a difference in spiritual pressure.
His expression unchanged, he chuckled softly, drew Senbonzakura, and with a gentle swing, blocked Shinsō's thrust.
The blades of the two swords collided, sparking, and then Shinsō's blade plunged into the ceiling.
Ichimaru Gin breathed a sigh of relief at this sight, glad that no accident had occurred.
If Reiji had accidentally tilted his head, he would have had nowhere to explain himself.
But then, feeling the spiritual pressure behind him, he couldn't help but sigh again.
Matsumoto Rangiku drew her Zanpakuto and shouted, "Ichimaru!"
Everyone could tell she was truly angry.
"I told you I couldn't control it…" Ichimaru Gin said helplessly, as Shinsō's blade retracted back into a short sword.
Reiji, who was still happy about getting a new Shikai, snapped back to reality and quickly stepped in to mediate.
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