After his discussion with Ginrei Kuchiki, Sora returned to the dōjō.
Ginrei had decided to lobby the Central 46 to partially lift the ban on Reigai.
With the Kuchiki clan's influence, this wouldn't be difficult to achieve.
However, it would take time. Until the ban was amended, Sōjun would have to remain in the 4th Division's care to recover.
"I'm back."
"The Professor is back!"
Nelliel cheered.
In the dōjō's courtyard, Sora saw Kana Azashiro, Rii Hoshino, Nelliel, and Batsu'unsai Katori.
The four of them were preparing ingredients.
"Isn't Kana on duty? Why are you here so early today?"
Sora was a bit confused. He had notified his disciples before returning from Hueco Mundo.
With Isshin Shiba and the others graduating successfully, he planned to cook a large celebratory meal.
Except for Rii, who happened to be on leave, the others were all on duty and could only return after their shifts ended that evening.
"Hehe, I heard the Professor was coming back from Hueco Mundo today, so I specially took the day off!"
Kana Azashiro showed off the washed and chopped ingredients. "We've got almost everything ready!"
When she heard her professor was hosting a celebration feast, she had dragged the vacationing Rii along to prepare the food.
"Still so greedy after all these years!"
Sora smiled helplessly. When it came to food, Kana was always the most enthusiastic. She had even taken a day off just to prepare more ingredients.
"Hehe~ It's not often we get a big feast, so of course I'm looking forward to it!" Kana laughed.
She would occasionally come back to the dōjō for a free meal, but those were usually simple, everyday dishes. That's why she was so excited for today's grand meal.
"It really has been a while since I've shown my skills. Today, I'll let you all try some new dishes!"
Sora glanced at the ingredients they had prepared, considering what new things he could make.
"What is Captain Kuchiki's attitude toward lifting the Reigai technology ban?"
Batsu'unsai asked while folding vegetable leaves.
Although she couldn't fight now, she had no problem doing simple tasks.
"Ginrei Kuchiki has decided to lobby the Central 46 to lift parts of the ban on Reigai technology," Sora said.
"The Kuchiki clan members really are a bunch of old traditionalists!" Batsu'unsai laughed. "If the ban is amended, I won't have to hide my strength after I replace my spiritual core with a Reigai's."
"With the Kuchiki clan's influence, this should move forward smoothly," Sora nodded.
In the evening, Sora's disciples arrived one after another.
"Yoruichi actually learned Bankai!"
Kensei Muguruma's tone was a bit sour.
He had thought the gap between him and Yoruichi wasn't that large, but it turned out she had already mastered Bankai!
He, on the other hand, was still in the stage of accumulating spiritual pressure and hadn't even started training to materialize his Zanpakutō. The road to learning Bankai was still long.
"Hehe, don't you know who I am!" Yoruichi laughed heartily. "I am 'Shunshin' Yoruichi!"
Yoruichi had remembered the title Sora had mentioned last time.
She liked it a lot and decided to call herself Shunshin Yoruichi from now on.
"Since you've learned Bankai, you can take a captain's position now, right?"
Shinji Hirako's face was full of envy. Like Kensei, he still had a long way to go in his Bankai training.
His spiritual pressure had been growing quickly recently, and he estimated he would soon reach the level of a lieutenant.
At this thought, he couldn't help but look at Sōsuke Aizen beside him.
"Is there something on my face?"
Aizen said innocently.
"You bastard, you just dropped into the 5th Division out of nowhere!"
Shinji's past few years had been relatively uneventful.
The 5th Division's lieutenant was old and wouldn't be serving for many more years.
So, he thought that if he just followed the proper steps, once the lieutenant retired, he, with his lieutenant-level strength, would naturally take over the position.
But Sōsuke Aizen had beaten him to it!
"Who's to blame but you for always 'slacking off'!" Kensei used a word he had heard from their professor. "Lieutenant Yanohara didn't think you were up to the task, hahahaha!"
Kensei's promotion speed was much faster than Shinji's.
He was now the 3rd Seat of the 9th Division, just one step away from lieutenant!
"Can you become a captain in other divisions just by learning Bankai?"
Uemon Tsubakiri asked curiously.
He was in the 11th Division, where the rules were different from other squads.
In the 11th Division, rank was determined by strength. If you could fight the current captain one-on-one in front of more than two hundred squad members and win, you could directly inherit the captain's position.
"Not exactly. Being a captain isn't just about strength," Yoruichi said, taking a sip of soup with a satisfied expression. "Besides the 11th Division's rule, there are two ways to become a captain in the other divisions."
Yoruichi continued:
"One is to pass a proficiency test supervised by three or more captains."
"The second is to be recommended by six or more captains and then gain the approval of at least three of the remaining captains."
"The Gotei 13 can't even gather thirteen captains right now. Doesn't that mean you can only become one through the first method?" Lisa asked curiously.
"In squads without a captain, the lieutenant acts as the captain. Those lieutenants also have the right to recommend, so the second method is still valid," Yoruichi explained.
There were many captain vacancies at the moment, so any Shinigami who had mastered Bankai would generally be approved. This led to the common saying that learning Bankai makes you a captain.
"Which method will you use, Yoruichi..."
Kana Azashiro asked with her cheeks puffed out, her words muffled.
"The first one, of course! I don't fear a challenge!"
Yoruichi was quite confident.
"What's in the captain's proficiency test?"
Kensei asked.
Many others were curious about this question and looked toward Yoruichi.
"There are mainly three parts. One is demonstrating your Bankai. Another is fighting a current captain to show your strength. You don't necessarily have to win, just get the approval of the supervising captains. The last part is your service record. You usually need to have held an important position like a high-seated officer or a lieutenant. If you can meet all three of these requirements, there's basically no problem!"
Yoruichi explained.
She had already learned Bankai and had been the lieutenant of the 2nd Division for many years, so her record was perfectly fine.
She just needed to fight a current captain and get the approval of the supervising captains to pass the test.
"You even have to fight a captain? Becoming one really is difficult,"
Sōsuke Aizen said with a smile.
"Sōsuke, I will definitely become the captain of the 5th Division before you do!"
Shinji refused to be beneath Aizen. Although Aizen had taken a step ahead for now, as long as he hadn't learned Bankai, Shinji still had a chance!
"Is that so? In that case, I will do my best as Captain Hirako's lieutenant."
Aizen showed a warm smile, indicating he had no ambition whatsoever.
Seeing this, Sora couldn't help but roll his eyes.
As far as he knew, Sōsuke Aizen had practically completed the materialization training for his Zanpakutō.
Shinji Hirako probably wouldn't stand a chance of becoming Aizen's captain in this lifetime.
"Everyone else has graduated, and I still have to go to school."
Sōya Azashiro was a bit dejected. His friends had all graduated early, and now he was the only one left.
"If you're weak, then train more!" Isshin Shiba patted Sōya's shoulder. "Train hard, we'll be waiting for you on the other side!"
"I'll aim to graduate early too!"
Sōya decided to train hard.
...
Late at night, Sora checked his panel, which showed a new reward notification.
[Disciple Isshin Shiba has graduated early due to outstanding performance in the academy's Shinken Taiketsu. Rewards settled.]
Received 30,000 general experience points
[Random skill proficiency level +1]
...
Sajin Komamura, Lisa Yadōmaru, and Isane Kotetsu had also completed their graduation assessments with excellent ratings, each granting Sora 30,000 general experience points and a +1 to a random skill proficiency level.
Additionally, the reward for Sōsuke Aizen's early graduation was also settled.
Disciple Sōsuke Aizen has graduated early due to outstanding performance in the academy's Shinken Taiketsu. Rewards settled.
Received 30,000 general experience points.
Random skill proficiency level +1.
In total, he received 150,000 general experience points and 5 instances of "Random skill proficiency level +1".
Sora looked at his panel.
[Spiritual Pressure: Lv 94 (500/100,000)]
The experience he gained was enough to raise his spiritual pressure by another level.
With a thought, he invested 100,000 experience into his spiritual pressure.
[Spiritual Pressure: Lv 95 (500/500,000)]
His spiritual pressure level increased from 94 to 95.
The spiritual pressure within Sora's body surged.
Even though he suppressed the fluctuation, the sudden increase inevitably radiated outwards.
In an instant, everyone sleeping in the dōjō was startled awake.
"Sora's... this is Second-Class Spiritual Authority!"
Batsu'unsai Katori's face was filled with astonishment.
She was amazed that his spiritual pressure had reached the level of a Second-Class Spiritual Authority in such a short time.
"Generally, improving captain-class Spiritual Pressure was a relatively slow process; it was normal for there to be no change for ten years."
But Sora's progress seemed endless, showing no signs of slowing down.
"It probably won't be long before he surpasses me at my peak..."
The disciples also felt this suffocating spiritual pressure fluctuation.
"This is the Professor's spiritual pressure..."
Yoruichi Shihōin was surprised. Her own spiritual pressure had reached the captain level, but compared to her professor, she was still far behind.
"And I thought I was catching up to him! Looks like I'm still a long way off!"
Yoruichi sighed.
"I was just about to get a bite to eat when I was woken up at the last second!"
Kana Azashiro rubbed her eyes.
She was sharing a room with Yoruichi.
Both were official Shinigami and usually lived in the squad barracks, so they rarely stayed overnight at the dōjō. Sharing a room saved them the trouble of tidying up.
"You ate so much tonight and you're still not full?" Yoruichi asked, puzzled. She remembered Kana eating the most that evening.
"I ate tonight, but I can also eat in my dreams..."
Kana said matter-of-factly.
"It's a good thing you don't gain weight. Otherwise, eating like that, you'd probably be sitting at the same table as Marenoshin," Yoruichi remarked.
In another room.
Sōsuke Aizen sat cross-legged with Kyōka Suigetsu on his lap.
The traditional way to master Bankai was to communicate with the Zanpakutō, gain its approval, and learn the Bankai's true name from it.
He was currently trying to materialize his Zanpakutō.
Aizen suddenly opened his eyes and looked beside him.
There was nothing there, but his eyes seemed to see something.
"One step closer to Bankai."
The corners of Aizen's mouth turned up slightly.
He had completed the materialization of his Zanpakutō and could now see it in the real world.
Just then, Aizen's heart suddenly tightened.
He quickly looked towards his professor's room. A terrifying fluctuation of spiritual pressure flashed and disappeared.
"It seems... we still have a long way to go to catch up to the Professor, Kyōka Suigetsu."
Aizen chuckled lightly.
Sora was sensing his own changes.
"A huge improvement..."
Sora felt he had broken through a limit, and his spiritual pressure had increased immensely.
The gap between level 94 and 95 was even greater than the gap between level 90 and 94.
When he had fought powerful opponents like Baraggan before, he had won through superior technique and ability counters.
In terms of spiritual pressure, he didn't have much of an advantage.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been pushed back by Baraggan's spiritual pressure at the time.
If it weren't for his ability counter and his superb swordsmanship that could break Baraggan's defense, the outcome of the fight would have been uncertain.
But after breaking through to Second-Class Spiritual Authority, things were different.
If he were to face a powerful enemy like Baraggan again, he would not be pushed back by spiritual pressure.
The experience needed to continue raising his spiritual pressure level was immense, so Sora invested the remaining experience into Shunpo.
His normal Shunpo speed was actually quite average; in battle, he relied on the boost from his 'Shunkō: Raikiri' form.
Now that Yoruichi's Shunpo speed had surpassed his, it was time for an upgrade.
[Shunpo: Lv 75 (600/10,000)]
With a thought, he invested 50,000 experience into Shunpo.
[Shunpo: Lv 80 (600/30,000)]
His Shunpo level increased from 75 to 80.
The 5 random skill proficiency level increases went to 'Raimeisan', 'Tenran', 'Haien', and 'Daichitenyō'.
'Raimeisan', 'Tenran', and 'Haien' were upgraded from Mastered to Grandmaster.
'Daichitenyō' was upgraded twice, going directly from Proficient to Grandmaster.
With this, Sora had upgraded all mid-tier Hadō to the Grandmaster level!
Sora's current panel had changed significantly.
[Base Abilities (Shinigami):
Spiritual Pressure Lv 95
Zanjutsu Lv 90
Kidō Lv 80
Hakuda Lv 70
Shunpo Lv 80
Sword Techniques: Wind-Controlling, Thunder-Burning: Blade Sealing Method (Transcendent level), Ryūkō (Grandmaster level), Shungeki (Grandmaster level)...
Kidō: Kaidō (Grandmaster level), Kurohitsugi (Grandmaster level), Dankū (Grandmaster level)...
Abilities: Divine Chef, Patient Guidance, Born Berserker, Kenshin Tsūmei (Clear Sword Heart), Kaidō Self-Healing.
Disciples: Kana Azashiro, Kensei Muguruma, Shinji Hirako, Isane Kotetsu, Sōya Azashiro, Uemon Tsubakiri, Yoruichi Shihōin, Rii Hoshino, Sōsuke Aizen, Isshin Shiba, Lisa Yadōmaru, Sajin Komamura, Kakyō, Nelliel (14/20).
"Yoruichi is going to become a captain. It's time for me to go to the 12th Division as well."
Sora recalled his conversation with Kirio Hikifune a few days ago. She had said that members of the Royal Guard would be coming down in a few days to escort her to the Soul King Palace.
He had originally planned to finish teaching this class before taking over as captain of the 12th Division, but he couldn't change the Royal Guard's decision. Once Kirio was promoted, he had to take over the 12th Division to avoid any complications.
"I'll go talk to Director Kotetsu tomorrow."
-----------------------------
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