One year later, on a barren mountain in the Fu'gai district.
This was originally a Sakketsu ore vein, but Sora had already excavated most of it.
He deliberately left some ore in the outer layer and then built a laboratory in the hollowed-out interior space.
Inside the lab, Sōsuke Aizen, Rii Hoshino, and Katori Sora were each busy with their own tasks.
On the operating table in front of Sora lay the body of a young man.
This was a Reigai he had created using Mod-Soul technology.
However, this Reigai's consciousness had not yet been awakened; it was equivalent to a person in a vegetative state.
After building the lab, Sora had decided to practice his skills with the technology.
Sōsuke Aizen's growth was rapid. Under Sora's guidance, it had only taken a year for his knowledge of Healing Kidō, medicine, and spiritual bodies to surpass that of an average 4th Division member.
He had reached a level where he could assist Sora.
Sora was currently checking the various data of the Reigai's spiritual body. He had not yet awakened its consciousness. It was just a mindless spiritual body, which made it perfect for experiments without any psychological burden.
Without turning his head, Sora said, "Sōsuke, is the extraction liquid ready?"
Aizen handed over a test tube containing a white liquid. "It is ready and can be used at any time."
Sora nodded lightly, took the test tube, and examined the liquid inside. "The extraction was done very well. Your technique is becoming more and more skilled."
Aizen said humbly, "It is all thanks to the professor's dedicated guidance."
Sora turned his head to look at the busy Rii Hoshino. "Rii, is the catalyst prepared?"
Rii quickly replied, "Almost..."
After a moment, she handed over a blue reagent. "I'm sorry, I was too slow!"
"There's no need to rush," Sora said gently. "You still have your work at the 4th Division. The fact that you can come and help already makes me very pleased."
Sora used a syringe to draw out the blue reagent and injected it into the test tube with the white liquid.
After mixing it evenly, the blue liquid in the test tube vanished, returning to a pure white color.
Sora switched to another syringe and injected the white liquid from the test tube into the Reigai.
The blood vessels in the Reigai's arm bulged to two or three times their normal size, clearly visible even under the skin.
Upon contact with the blood, the white liquid seemed to come alive inside the vessels, causing the entire vein to writhe wildly beneath the skin.
It was as if a small white snake had burrowed under the Reigai's skin and was constantly squirming.
The white snake in the Reigai's arm rapidly expanded and spread. Some white substance seeped out from the blood vessels.
The entire forearm swelled by a size, and the white substance stretched the fingers long, growing sharp claws.
This transformation quickly spread to the entire body. The Reigai's whole form was undergoing a violent change.
The next moment, the transformation suddenly stopped.
The swollen white substance rapidly disintegrated and collapsed. Some of it decomposed into reishi, gradually dissipating into the air, while the rest lost its activity and fell onto the operating table.
A moment later, the operating table was a mess.
"As expected, it's not that simple," Sora said, unsurprised by the Reigai's transformation.
The experiment he was attempting was the Hollowfication of a Reigai.
The white liquid was extracted and separated from the pair of 'Tenzen Heisō' that allowed a Shinigami to use Sonído.
Through research, he had discovered that this item was a tool made from the body of a certain type of Hollow.
This was a rather special Hollow. By feeding it reishi, it could proliferate and divide.
This special ability provided Sora's lab with a lot of raw material.
"I have some ideas for improving the catalyst. We'll try again next time. You two clean up the operating table and record the experiment. I have to go to the academy for class."
After speaking, Sora left the laboratory.
After establishing the lab, Sora could now receive new teaching missions.
By having his disciples conduct experiments with him, he could receive experimental teaching missions.
He glanced at the information on his panel:
[Guided Sōsuke Aizen in the Reigai Hollowfication experiment (Completed).]
[Guided Rii Hoshino in the Reigai Hollowfication experiment (Completed).]
For this experiment, Sora had allowed Aizen and Rii to observe and learn throughout the entire process.
After the experiment was over, two experimental teaching missions were completed.
This type of mission was not unique, but each disciple could only receive a reward once per experiment.
Unlike training missions, experimental teaching missions didn't require the disciple to completely master the experimental skill. As long as they gained something from it, they would receive a reward.
The rewards for experimental missions were dynamically settled based on the content of the experiment. The larger the investment and the longer the duration, the greater the reward.
After the rewards were settled, Sora had received a total of 30,000 general experience points.
Sora invested all of it into his spiritual pressure, raising its level from 89 to 90.
Third-Class Spiritual Authority!
After a year of effort and growth, Sora's spiritual pressure had finally reached the captain-level.
His panel had undergone a significant change:
[Basic Abilities: Spiritual Pressure lv90, Swordsmanship lv85, Kidō lv70, Hakuda lv60, Shunpo lv60]
Over the past year, his Hakuda level had also improved. He no longer had any obvious weaknesses.
...
Knock, knock—
Not long after Sora arrived at his office, there was a knock on the door.
After becoming the head of the Swordsmanship Department, he had his own private office and no longer had to work in the open with others.
"Come in." Sora poured a cup of tea to wet his throat, preparing for his upcoming class.
The person who entered was Sōsuke Tanuki.
"Department Head, Director Kotetsu is looking for you," Tanuki said.
"Is it urgent? I have a class soon," Sora asked.
"I don't know... the Director didn't say... she just told me to have you go see her as soon as I saw you," Tanuki said, scratching his head. "I can cover your morning class for you."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Sōsuke. I'll cover your afternoon class for you," Sora nodded lightly.
Sora didn't like to make his subordinates work overtime without reason.
"That's great! I have a blind date tonight, so I can go home early to prepare," Tanuki said happily and left the office.
Sora finished his tea and headed to the Director's office.
"Director Kotetsu, you were looking for me?" Sora asked.
"The mission for the graduation exam has been arranged," Ayane Kotetsu said, pushing a document towards him. "I called you over to take a look at this and get the information in advance."
Sōjun Kuchiki, Nozomishin Ōmaeda, and Sora's four disciples had all applied for early graduation.
They needed to pass a graduation exam to do so.
The person responsible for leading them on this mission was Katori Sora.
Sora picked up the document and saw that it was a mission sheet.
When he saw the location of the mission, he was slightly taken aback. "The mission location is Hueco Mundo?"
Ayane Kotetsu nodded and explained, "The early graduation exam is stricter than the standard practical exam. But recently, both the Soul Society and the World of the Living have been relatively peaceful. There really isn't a more suitable mission."
After last year's Quincy extermination war, the remaining Quincies in the World of the Living had gone into hiding. There hadn't been an incident of a Quincy attacking a Shinigami in a long time.
This also allowed the Shinigami stationed in the human world to focus on dealing with Hollows, making it much calmer than before.
"But won't going to Hueco Mundo be a bit too difficult?" Sora frowned slightly. "Even if they've all learned Shikai, they are still students who haven't graduated. They lack a lot of practical combat experience."
Ayane explained, "Don't worry too much. This mission is to transport supplies to support the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force."
"You are only there to deliver supplies, not to participate in the war."
"Hueco Mundo is barren, and the expeditionary force has many Shinigami, so the demand for supplies is not small. Missions like this are relatively common and usually not very dangerous."
Ayane took out another drawing. "This is a map of Hueco Mundo. After you arrive, do not go to those dangerous areas. Complete the mission and come back as soon as possible."
"Thank you for the information, Director. I will prepare well to ensure the exam proceeds smoothly," Sora nodded and took the map.
The map marked the locations of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force, Las Noches, the Forest of Menos, and the Hueco Mundo desert.
There were also several known dangerous areas where powerful Menos Grande resided.
"Do you still remember Ashido?" Ayane asked with a smile. "The Shinigami you'll be liaising with for this supply mission is Ashido."
"Head Professor Ashido... it's been a long time," Sora said, recalling the red-haired man.
He hadn't seen Ashido since he went to Hueco Mundo.
Sora quickly recalled some of his past life's memories—this red-haired man would remain in Hueco Mundo far into the future. When Rukia encountered him in the Forest of Menos, he was still alone.
This was not right. After going to Hueco Mundo, Ashido had served as the captain of the expeditionary force.
As a captain leading an army, he shouldn't have been alone in the Forest of Menos.
"It seems that meeting him in Hueco Mundo is not a good thing," Sora thought to himself.
To prevent any accidents, he decided to make some preparations before going.
There were many powerful Hollows in Hueco Mundo. If they encountered any of them, their situation would become very dangerous.
...
Katori Sora's laboratory was divided into two parts.
One part was used for experiments, and the other was partitioned off to serve as a training ground.
Thanks to the Sakketsu ore, whatever he did here would remain unknown to the outside world.
Sora took out a white, humanoid doll.
This was the "Tenshintai" he had obtained before.
The "Tenshintai" was a shortcut for rapidly training one's Bankai.
Generally, even if one's spiritual pressure reached the level required for Bankai training, it could still take several years or even more than a decade to master it.
But the "Tenshintai" could shorten the training time to its absolute minimum!
By inserting one's Zanpakutō into the white doll, the Zanpakutō spirit could be materialized.
The materialized spirit could be maintained for three days.
As long as one could defeat the materialized Zanpakutō spirit within those three days, one would master Bankai!
Sora's spiritual pressure had now reached the captain-level, and he was capable of undergoing Bankai training.
Sora drew Kagehime and inserted it into the white doll.
Both Kagehime and the doll slowly vanished.
Sora felt something and looked down. A mass of black had quietly separated from his own shadow.
The black mass expanded rapidly, soon covering the entire training ground and dyeing it black.
The black shadow on the ground seemed to have something flowing within it, writhing irregularly.
Gradually, the shadow extended upwards, coalescing into a young woman with long, straight black hair.
"I've come to the real world~" Kagehime said, lifting her skirt and twirling around, appearing very lively.
"Kagehime, we finally meet in reality," Sora said slowly.
"Yes, it means Master has grown quite strong. But..." Kagehime smiled sweetly, "if you want to use more of my powers, you'll have to defeat me first~"
"Then can I use 'Tentei Shinkotsu'?" Sora asked with a smile.
"Of course not. Master can only use these black blades on the ground," Kagehime said, pulling out a jet-black blade that was stuck in the ground.
Sora looked around. From the shadow-dyed ground, jet-black blades had sprouted.
He casually pulled one out and tested its feel. It was similar to an Asauchi.
"If that's the case, you won't be able to beat me. Don't tell me you also know my swordsmanship," Sora said slowly, pinching the hilt between two fingers.
"I am just a Zanpakutō. What swordsmanship would I know?" Kagehime rolled her eyes. "But... it won't be easy for Master to defeat a shadow..."
Sora swung his sword, and a stream of light suddenly bloomed in the black space.
Kagehime, seemingly defenseless, was sliced in two by the light.
But she was no ordinary spiritual being. Her bisected body revealed no organs inside, only pure blackness.
"Oh my, in such a hurry," The two halves of Kagehime's body came back together, the wound vanishing without a trace. "Ordinary attacks won't work on a shadow~"
"Master needs to find the one blade among this sea of swords that can defeat me."
"So it's not a test of strength, but a game of 'hide-and-seek'," Sora said with a laugh.
"That's right. And Master needs to end this game within three days~"
Kagehime's figure vanished. The next moment, she appeared behind Sora.
Sora quickly raised his hand to block her incoming slash.
But her blade, like her body, was instantly sliced in two by his sword.
In the next instant, the two halves of her blade, after passing his sword, reformed and continued to slash at him.
Pfft—
Sora couldn't dodge in time, and a bloody gash appeared on his shoulder.
"Your sword has that property too? That makes this much more difficult!" Sora became serious.
Kagehime's sword also had the properties of a shadow; it could reform after being cut.
This meant Sora couldn't block her attacks at all; he could only dodge.
Moreover, Kagehime was not afraid of being cut, so trading injuries was not a viable strategy.
Sora untied the upper part of his shihakushō. Spiritual pressure surged within him, and a torrent of Spiritual Pressure erupted from his shoulders and back.
He chose to enter his Shunkō state and use his speed to contend with Kagehime.
---
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