Katori Sora returned relatively early today. The disciples studying at the Spiritual Arts Academy were still in other classes, so Sora decided to check on the training progress of his other students.
Yoruichi Shihōin and Rii Hoshino had already started their positions in the 2nd and 4th Divisions, respectively. This left only Sōya Azashiro, Sōsuke Aizen, Isane Kotetsu, and the not-quite-a-disciple Kiyone Kotetsu in the courtyard.
Isane Kotetsu and Sōya Azashiro were still in the foundational stages of their training.
They had both completed their basic practice in swordsmanship and Kidō.
Isane's main focus was on Healing Kidō, so her overall progress was a bit slower.
After understanding their progress, Sora began to teach them Shunpo.
"Shunpo is one of the fundamental abilities every Shinigami must master. It is a footwork technique that allows you to move at speeds nearly invisible to the naked eye."
"By condensing spiritual pressure in your legs and feet, you can gain immense explosive power, instantly boosting your speed."
"Learning to create footholds in the air using reishi is also a prerequisite for mastering Shunpo. This will allow you to move and stop in mid-air."
"Professor, is Shunpo easy to learn? It seems Sōsuke learned it in a single day," Sōya Azashiro asked with curiosity.
"When Sōsuke was learning Shunpo, he used a rather special method," Sora explained.
"A special training method?" Sōya was very interested. "Can this method help me learn Shunpo quickly? I want to use this method to train too!"
"Of course, you can." Sora was pleased with his disciple's ambition. "Isane, do you want to train Shunpo this way? It can indeed shorten the learning time."
"I want to learn Shunpo quickly," Isane Kotetsu nodded.
"Then let's begin." Sora grabbed Isane and Sōya, one in each hand.
Whoosh—
The next moment, the three of them appeared high in the sky.
"Now, I will teach you how to learn Shunpo in the shortest possible time," Sora revealed a kind smile.
For some reason, Isane Kotetsu and Sōya Azashiro found their professor's smile a bit terrifying. Looking down, the Katori Dojo was already too small to see clearly.
"It couldn't be..." Sōya had a very bad feeling.
"Are you... going to drop us?" Isane asked with a trembling voice.
"You guessed it? How clever!" Sora let go of his hands.
"Ahhhhh!!!" x2
Pulled by gravity, the two of them plummeted rapidly.
Sora used Shunpo to follow them, maintaining a distance of about ten meters.
"Professor, help!!!"
As the speed of his descent increased, Sōya Azashiro regretted his decision. He was completely panicking now.
Isane Kotetsu, on the other hand, was a bit bolder. Her reason quickly suppressed her inner panic, and she began trying to save herself.
"Unleash your instincts! Creating a foothold with reishi is a very basic ability," Sora shouted loudly.
Isane kicked her small legs, stepping on the air several times. Most of her attempts had no effect, but one of them got a reaction.
It felt as if her little toe had stepped on something, causing her falling figure to pause for an instant.
Crack—
Isane felt an immense pain shoot through her toe.
She had forgotten she was falling from a great height. She had just focused on creating a foothold with reishi but hadn't used spiritual pressure to protect her foot.
This resulted in her essentially slamming her foot into the reishi foothold. The impact directly fractured her toe!
Isane almost burst into tears. The intense pain in her toe made it impossible for her to concentrate any longer, and she couldn't continue creating footholds.
She looked at the rapidly approaching ground, feeling anxious and panicked.
Just then, her descent speed decreased sharply, and she finally hovered in mid-air.
Turning her head, she saw that her professor had caught her by the ankle.
A sense of security instantly washed over her.
"Isane, you did very well, creating a reishi foothold so quickly. But remember to protect your legs with spiritual pressure." Sora turned to look at Sōya Azashiro, whom he was holding in his other hand. "Sōya, have you calmed down?"
"I just wasn't in the right state of mind! I'll definitely get it next time!" Hearing the professor praise Isane and thinking about his own terrible performance, Sōya's competitive spirit surged.
"We'll continue in a bit, but first, we need to treat Isane's injury," Sora said.
Whoosh—
Sora brought the two back down to the ground.
He had Isane sit on the edge of the veranda to examine her injury.
Isane's outstretched legs were quite long, a hint of her future height already apparent.
Sora marveled inwardly. As expected of the future super-long-legged Isane who would grow to be over 1.8 meters tall, she was already over 1.6 meters now.
After removing her wooden clogs and tabi socks, her toes were revealed, fair and delicate like freshly peeled quail eggs.
"Three of your toes are injured. It'll be healed quickly, but setting the bone will hurt a little," Sora said softly.
"Mm..." Isane lowered her head, her voice barely audible.
Sora held her fractured toe, a faint light of Healing Kidō glowing in his hand. At the same time, he used his spiritual pressure to realign the bone beneath the skin.
The pain caused Isane to instinctively retract her leg, but since Sora was already holding her foot with his other hand, the treatment was not affected.
"Try moving it," Sora's Healing Kidō level was very high, and this minor injury was healed in no time.
"Mm... it feels fine..." Isane wiggled her toes, felt no discomfort, and put her clogs and tabi back on.
"Then let's continue training."
Whoosh—
Sora once again took Isane and Sōya high into the sky.
Isane, having learned her lesson, first protected her feet with spiritual pressure before controlling reishi to create a foothold.
With experience, her success rate was significantly higher. After three tries, she successfully created a foothold.
But she soon discovered a new problem.
She had been in a state of rapid descent. The foothold she hastily created wasn't enough to let her stand stably.
She stepped on the foothold, her body swayed, and she missed her footing. The foothold only served to change her direction.
However, this did not stump her. She continued creating footholds, and after stepping on three in a row, she was finally able to stand stably in the air.
"Professor, I did it!" Isane cheered.
"I succeeded too!" Sōya Azashiro's aptitude was not low. Once he overcame his fear and panic, he also learned quickly.
"Very good. Being able to stand in the air means you already have the ability to use Shunpo. Continue to practice and ensure you succeed every time," Sora smiled.
...
[Disciple Isane Kotetsu has completed basic Shunpo training. Reward settlement.]
[Disciple Sōya Azashiro has completed basic Shunpo training. Reward settlement.]
Sora received 2,000 general experience points and two low-number Kidō, both of which were Hadō #1: Shō, a spell he had already learned.
The proficiency level of Hadō #1: Shō was raised from Introductory to Skilled.
"If I get a repeat three times, can I raise the proficiency by one level?" Sora concluded in his mind.
After guiding Isane and Sōya, Sora went to check on Sōsuke Aizen's training progress.
Sōsuke Aizen's progress was extremely fast. He could already perform practice swings without making the four bells on his body ring. Kensei Muguruma and Shinji Hirako had also completed this training during their vacation.
[Disciple Sōsuke Aizen has completed advanced spiritual pressure control training. Reward settlement.]
[Reward received: 10,000 General Experience.]
[Reward received: Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi (Beginner level).]
[Disciple Shinji Hirako has completed advanced spiritual pressure control training. Reward settlement.]
[Reward received: 10,000 General Experience.]
[Reward received: Bakudō #81: Dankū (Beginner level).]
[Disciple Kensei Muguruma has completed advanced spiritual pressure control training. Reward settlement.]
[Reward received: 10,000 General Experience.]
[Reward received: Hadō #78: Zangerin (Beginner level).]
Sora was overjoyed. He had obtained Kurohitsugi, Aizen's future favorite Hadō!
This was an extremely powerful Hadō. One of Aizen's most famous moments was using a single "Kurohitsugi" to instantly kill a captain-level powerhouse.
"Dankū" was a Kidō Sora was more familiar with, having seen the vice-captain of the 7th Division use it during the Quincy war. It was a defensive Kidō.
"Zangerin" was also a highly anticipated Kidō. It could be described as the Kidō version of a spiritual pressure blade, capable of launching a powerful Kidō blade.
"Zangerin" had the potential to be combined with other sword techniques, possibly leading to the development of new ones.
This time, he gained 32,000 general experience points. The general experience from Yoruichi Shihōin's and Rii Hoshino's training missions was also still untouched.
Sora now had a total of 52,000 general experience points, enough to raise his spiritual pressure by one level.
He invested 50,000 general experience points into his spiritual pressure, raising its level from 81 to 82.
"Sōsuke, the sword technique I will teach you today is 'Harō.' Your Zanpakutō is a water-stream type, so 'Harō' is very compatible with its abilities," Sora said with a smile.
The wooden sword in Sora's hand tilted downwards to the right.
His spiritual pressure erupted in an instant as he executed a dragging-blade-style slash towards a human-shaped dummy.
In that moment, the blade vanished, replaced by a splash of water like an ocean wave.
The wave-like spray crashed against the dummy, instantly engulfing it.
After the spray dissipated, the dummy was already broken in two, its surface covered with dense blade marks.
"'Harō' can actually produce a wave-like attack. It's a perfect match for Kyōka Suigetsu. Professor's swordsmanship is truly amassing!" Sōsuke Aizen exclaimed.
Sora imparted the essentials of "Harō" to Aizen and had him begin practicing it.
In the afternoon, Kana Azashiro, Kensei Muguruma, Shinji Hirako, and Jin'emon Tsubaki returned from their classes.
"The autumn assessment will be held soon. I'm going to teach you one more sword technique to prepare for it," Sora said to his disciples.
"Which technique are you going to teach us, Professor?" Kana Azashiro asked expectantly.
"What I am going to teach you is—" Sora placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, "Senmai Oroshi."
Clang—
A flash of sword light erupted, and dense, cross-shaped cuts instantly appeared all over the human-shaped dummy, which then shattered into small pieces.
"Senmai Oroshi" was a relatively difficult sword technique to master, but with the bonus from the "Patient Guidance" Ability, Sora decided to see if he could teach it to them before the autumn assessment.
In the autumn assessment, "Senmai Oroshi" could definitely be used as a finishing move.
When Sora used "Senmai Oroshi" against enemies, it was often as a probing move, somewhat lacking against stronger opponents. But against average enemies, they would be unable to block such frequent attacks.
"'Senmai Oroshi' is a very powerful sword technique. If you can master it, you'll be able to deliver hundreds or even thousands of slashes in an instant," Sora explained.
...
Nighttime—
A sneaky figure appeared in the dojo courtyard.
Sōsuke Aizen carefully observed the direction of his professor's and grandmaster's bedrooms from a corner. Seeing nothing, he jumped onto the courtyard wall and left the dojo.
But what he didn't know was—
The moment he landed on the wall and his shadow intersected with the wall's shadow, something he couldn't perceive flowed from the wall's shadow into his own.
After leaving the Katori Dojo, Sōsuke Aizen ran at full speed towards the Seireitei.
There were four entrances from the Rukongai to the Seireitei, each with a Seireimon gate guarded by a Shinigami.
When Sōsuke Aizen arrived at the western Hakutōmon, he saw a tall Shinigami standing guard in front of it.
But this guard seemed completely unaware of Aizen's arrival, allowing him to pass through the Hakutōmon freely.
After entering the Seireitei, Sōsuke Aizen slowed his pace considerably.
Judging by how skillfully he avoided the patrol squads, it was clear this was not his first time doing this.
A short while later, Sōsuke Aizen arrived at the noble district.
Right under the noses of the district's guards, he walked into the noble district.
Evidently, the guards of the noble district, like the guard at the Hakutōmon, were under the influence of Kyōka Suigetsu.
Sōsuke Aizen chose a noble's mansion, leaped over the wall, and snuck inside.
He was already very experienced and understood the habits of these nobles. The layouts of their mansions followed a predictable pattern.
After some searching, he found his target for the trip—the library tower.
Sōsuke Aizen confirmed multiple times that there were no Kidō barriers before entering the library.
Once inside, he selected some books that interested him and began to read.
After reading in the library for several hours, Sōsuke Aizen returned all the books and materials he had perused to their original places and left.
He carefully avoided the patrolling guards within the mansion, climbed over the wall, and returned to the streets of the noble district.
He then followed his original path back, leaving the Seireitei and returning to the dojo.
He first crouched on the courtyard wall, glancing towards his professor's and grandmaster's bedrooms, before carefully climbing back over and returning to his own room.
A moment later, the shadow on the courtyard wall stirred, and Katori Sora slowly emerged from it.
"So studious... Sōsuke..." Sora sighed in his heart.
He had become intensely curious after noticing Sōsuke Aizen leaving the dojo in the middle of the night and had followed him using his shadow ability.
He never expected that Aizen was sneaking out at night to consult books and materials in the noble district.
Sōsuke Aizen's thirst for knowledge was insatiable. After reading all the books in the Katori Dojo's library, he had set his sights on the collections of the nobles.
Sora had no intention of stopping Aizen from going out to read. With Kyōka Suigetsu, his safety was more or less guaranteed. He could come and go from the heavily guarded noble district as he pleased.
---
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