Bleach: Getting Stronger Starting from Teaching at the Spiritual Arts Academy.

On the teachers' bench, Minister Asido commented on the battle that had just taken place.

"Hirako Shinji's swordsmanship foundation is indeed very solid. He doesn't lose his footing even when using such a rapid attack. It's been a long time since I've seen a student like this... It's really rare. Why didn't I have a student like this when I was teaching?"

Minister Asido sighed, "When I get back from Hueco Mundo, I absolutely have to get him into the Eleventh Division. Someone with such fighting talent is perfect for the Eleventh Division!"

"With Shikari-sensei's guidance, I think he doesn't necessarily have to go to the Eleventh Division," Captain Nakano laughed. "The Second Division is also a good place for combat-oriented talents like him."

Nakano, the club president, has a background in the Second Division. In addition to serving as the club president, he also serves as the club instructor in the Second Division.

"Hirako Shinji is only a first-time student, and he still has several years before graduation. You guys are already scrambling for him," Department Head Yamada chuckled.

“After all, talented people are hard to find,” Asido laughed.

Tsunayoshi Tokina's face was gloomy. This class assignment was arranged by the vice principal, who was also one of Tsunayoshi's men. His arrangement was to pave the way for Tsunayoshi Tokina so that he could smoothly take the position of captain of the swordsmanship club. As a result, this class assignment actually missed three geniuses!

"What an idiot, can't even handle something this simple..."

The next match is between Kuchiki Sōjun and Kōtsubaki Jōemon.

Kotsubaki Jin'emon performed very well in this assessment. Although he encountered a strong opponent like Ise Rikka in the first round and was eliminated by her, he fought his way up from the loser's bracket through his own efforts.

Kotsubaki Jin'emon cherished this opportunity. The students who made it to the top eight in the assessment received an extra reward—they could go to the advanced training class for a month in advance.

Kotsubaki Jin'emon really wants to attend a swordsmanship training course.

Unfortunately, he is now about to face an opponent far stronger than Ise Rikka.

After the battle began, Kotsubaki Jin'emon was quickly defeated by Kuchiki Sojun.

There is an insurmountable gap between the two. Whether it is spiritual pressure, swordsmanship, or movement, there is a huge difference, and there is no chance of him winning.

"You've already done your best. Come find me after school." July patted Tsubaki Jin'emon on the shoulder to comfort him.

Although Kotsubaki Jin'emon's talent is only B+, his hard work and love for swordsmanship made Nanagi willing to give him a chance.

Moreover, July remembered that when the disciple first possessed S-rank talent, he received a reward entry.

He guessed that disciples who acquire talents of other levels for the first time should also receive a reward.

Chapter 40 The Bottom of the Pack

The next pair of students to compete are Kana Izashiro and Gosuke Kasumi.

Kasumi Gosuke had lost his initial arrogance and frivolity, and had become much more gloomy.

For him, being sent to the loser's bracket in the first round was extremely humiliating.

Kasumi Gosuke took a deep breath. He couldn't afford to lose again. He felt that if he played seriously, he could at least make it into the top four.

We still need to understand the situation of our opponents first. After several rounds of elimination, none of the winners are weak. If we don't take them seriously, we might still be upset.

Since he had been in the loser's bracket match in the swordplay room next door and hadn't seen Kana Azashiro perform, he could only ask his henchman for information.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a pang of pain again. Even his henchman had made it into the winners' bracket!

"Hirazo, you must have seen Kana Azajo fight, right? How strong is she?" Kasumi Gosuke asked.

"Lord Gosuke, this woman is very powerful. Her spiritual pressure is very strong. She knocked out Amanto Tomoya with just one move," Kasajo Heizo said cautiously.

"Is the spiritual pressure very strong..." Kasumi Gosuke nodded, then thought of Hirako Shinji, who had sent him to the loser's bracket. That guy was also a monster with very strong spiritual pressure.

The two stepped onto the arena, bowed, and drew their swords.

"I've heard your spiritual pressure is very strong, but I won't give you a chance to compete in spiritual pressure," Kasumi Gosuke said coldly. "I will defeat you with my swordsmanship."

Since his opponent's spiritual pressure is very strong, he will not make the mistake of competing with his opponent in spiritual pressure again!

Kasumi Gosuke was very confident in his swordsmanship, after all, even his high-ranking tutor praised him for learning the sword moves and stances perfectly!

He didn't think his previous loss to Hirako Shinji was due to his swordsmanship level. He felt it was simply because he wasn't taking it seriously, allowing his opponent to gain a point, and then he suffered from a lack of information, allowing his opponent to defeat him by suppressing his spiritual pressure.

"Ah, can we begin?" Cilantro Tsukishiro tilted her head.

Kasumi Gosuke's face darkened. He felt slighted and realized he had to teach this woman a lesson so she would know his power.

He picked up his wooden sword, stepped forward, and quickly unleashed a three-hit combo.

Horizontal slash, sweeping slash, robe slash!

This is a combo attack consisting of three basic sword techniques!

Only someone with an extremely strong foundation can execute this triple combo so quickly.

Even many low-ranking members of the Shinigami Corps cannot perform such a swift and precise slash.

Moreover, his goal was not just to score points. He unleashed his final, powerful strike, the Kesa-zan, which, if it landed, would have shattered Kana Azashiro's shoulder bone, rendering her unable to fight.

However, Cilantro from Mole City proved far more troublesome than he had anticipated.

Such basic sword moves, which are often used in combos, are frequently employed by July when she sparred with her disciples.

Moreover, his sword is faster, fiercer, and more cunning!

After undergoing more intensive sparring, Kana Mochishiro found it much easier to deal with Gosuke Kasumi's attacks.

She quickly stepped back half a step to dodge the horizontal slash, then turned to the side to avoid the upward slash, before raising her wooden sword and softly shouting, "Open weakness!"

In an instant, Kana Mochishiro found the opening in Kasumidaji Gosuke's sword technique switch and swiftly thrust out her sword before his kesa slash could land.

The large, white sleeves fluttered in the air, the arm extending faster than the sleeves swaying, revealing most of the fair arm through the sleeves.

Meanwhile, the wooden sword in Kana Momoshiro's hand had already struck Gosuke Kasumi's abdomen.

Kasumi Gosuke's face contorted instantly, his wooden sword fell to the floor, and the intense pain in his abdomen caused his entire body to arch into a "<" shape as he slowly collapsed to the ground.

Cilantro's hard work has not let her down.

She had practiced thrusting for a long time in order to practice "instant strike". Even though she was not using the "instant strike" stance at this moment, she found the right way to exert force for thrusting at an extremely fast speed.

"Kasumi Gosuke, can you still fight?" July asked.

Kasumi Gosuke had no time to pay attention to July's questions. The heavy stab he had just received had shattered his internal organs, and he couldn't stand up at all.

After three unsuccessful inquiries, July announced that Cilantro Mole City had won.

"Citrus from Mole City wins!"

How can it be!

Many of the students watching the battle exchanged bewildered glances. They couldn't understand how a single, seemingly ordinary thrust could render Kasumi Gosuke unable to fight.

"Is this a sword technique?" Duanmu Zongjie's eyes narrowed.

“No, not quite.” Minister Asido shook his head, thought for a moment, and continued, “But the speed, accuracy, and power of the strikes require specialized training. This Kana Mochi’s swordsmanship is actually superior to Master Shikato’s other two disciples.”

"Not only is Kana Mochishiro's spiritual pressure strong, but her swordsmanship is also excellent. Moreover, this kind of attack style is quite suitable for the Second Division..." Captain Nakano clicked his tongue in amazement. "The Second Division should pursue a one-hit kill like this."

"Captain Nakano, you're eyeing the students again. They're skilled in swordsmanship and have excellent spiritual pressure. Obviously, the Eleventh Division would be a better fit," Captain Asido chuckled.

"This year is truly full of talent. I hope that one or two geniuses will emerge from among these students." Department Head Yamada looked at the group of students, as if he was thinking about which student would have the talent to return to the Dao.

Tsuna stared expressionlessly at Kasumi Gosuke, who was lying on the ground, without even going forward to check on his injuries.

It wasn't until July, when Kasumi Ohji was carried away and handed over to Teacher Kobayashi for treatment, that he withdrew his gaze.

He had already given up hope on this good-for-nothing, but fortunately there was still Kuchiki Sojun in Class 1. With Kuchiki Sojun's supermodel-level strength, he could easily take first place in the competition.

If his class is ranked first in the assessment for the past two years, then things will be much easier to handle afterwards.

Subsequently, the other players' matches also came to an end.

The final eight teams have been selected.

They are Hirako Mako, Azumashiro Kana, Kuchiki Aoi, Kasashiro Heizo, Iba Jiro, Madarame Ichiro, Yuuki Yukinosuke, and Omaeda Kinosuke.

Kensei woke up on the stretcher, rubbed his temples to relieve the dizziness that was still lingering in his head.

"Are you awake?"

"I lost again... Ouch, that hurts... That guy was too strong... Should I go to the loser's bracket...?"

"The losers' bracket matches are over, now it's the semifinals!"

"what!"

Quanxi was shocked, and his head felt even dizzier, as if his mind was buzzing.

The loser's bracket matches are over, which means he doesn't even have a chance to compete in the loser's bracket!

He woke up one morning to find himself at the bottom of the class?

Chapter 41 The Huge Gap

The quarterfinals and subsequent rounds did not allow the students to draw lots themselves.

At this stage of the competition, Minister Asido had already ascertained the strength of the students.

He eliminated some element of luck to make the later matches more exciting, and personally selected the opponents for the students.

This meant that Shinji Hirako, Kana Azashiro, Aoi Kuchiki, and Kinosuke Omaeda would not meet in the semifinals.

As Minister Asido predicted, all four of them easily defeated their opponents.

The semifinal matches are Shinji Hirako vs. Aoi Kuchiki, and Kana Azashiro vs. Noriyuki Omaeda.

"It's over." Hirako Shinji's face fell. "You want me to deal with Kuchiki Sōjun?"

Hirako Shinji had watched Kuchiki Sojun's match and realized that this person was no match for him.

The gap in strength is simply too large.

Hirako Shinji even felt that Kuchiki Sōjun had not shown his true strength in these rounds of competition.

In his matches, he would let his opponent attack for a few rounds first, and only when the opponent had no other options would he strike and kill them instantly.

It was as if they were appreciating the opponent's swordsmanship.

"You're pretty lucky. I ran into this monster in the first round! Ouch—" Kensei Rokusha rubbed his forehead, the bump from Kuchiki Sōjun's knock hadn't gone away yet.

"My opponent is very strong too. That guy is too violent. He's smashed the floor several times," Kana Mochi sighed, as if she had no recollection of smashing the floor herself.

"There are only four people left in this round. Those who have made it this far are no weaklings." July came over to encourage them. "I'm very pleased that you've come this far. Don't feel too much pressure, just do your best!"

"I'll do my best. If I win one more match, I'll be able to learn a new sword technique!" Kana Mochi waved her little fist, cheering herself on with great enthusiasm.