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

He could sense that the sword was no longer a simple blade; after connecting with his soul, it had become his Zanpakuto.

But this way, he would have two Zanpakuto.

Soul Society isn't without Shinigami who wield dual swords, but their dual swords aren't like Nanatsu's, which consist of two asaki (shallow blades) forming a front and a back.

"You've successfully entered the consciousness space?" Ba Yunzhai knew that Qiyue had been unable to enter the consciousness space, and now that he knew he could, he couldn't help but feel happy for him.

"You actually wield two swords? You could learn some dual-sword techniques." Baiyunzhai also noticed that Qiyue had two Zanpakuto, assuming that Qiyue's original sword had transformed into two after entering the consciousness space.

“Yes, it seems I need to learn dual-wielding.” July didn’t mention the other Asauchi sword, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to explain its origin.

Actually, the Asauchi knife from before July was also a knife of unknown origin.

That asahi sword was picked up at the place where he woke up after transmigrating.

Chapter 19 Hirako Shinji's Opportunity

In preparation for the upcoming autumn examinations, Shikatori Nanatsuki began adding sparring sessions to his students' swordsmanship classes.

Although the students in the class had studied basic swordsmanship for a month, most of them still just slashed randomly when it came to actually fighting.

Only a few students with strong comprehension will actively incorporate what they have learned into their battles.

With limited time, I would select a few students to practice with during each class in July. With more than 30 students, I could complete a round in a few days.

After each practice session, July would point out the areas where the students needed to pay the most attention.

“You can’t just think about how to avoid it. If the opponent’s sword is faster than your reaction speed, you can’t possibly avoid all the swords. Usually, parrying and attacking are more effective than dodging.” July swung her knife to parry the wooden sword swung by the student. “For example, if I block your knife like this, you can’t continue to exert force, and the attack will naturally be neutralized.”

"Yes, teacher! I understand!"

After the July instruction ended, he let the students draw lots to practice with each other, and he corrected their problems from the side.

After receiving guidance from July, Kana Mochi and Kensei Mutsuruma became so dominant that other students were no match for them. July would usually have the two of them spar on their own.

After training with the sailfish, Kensei Muguruma once again fought back and forth with Kana Mochi.

Kana Mochijo is technically superior to Kensei Muguruma, but Kensei Muguruma's spiritual pressure is slightly stronger, which makes up for the lack of technical skill.

Hirako Shinji originally thought that today would be the same as usual, with him randomly picking an opponent to spar with. Unexpectedly, Shikatoki Nanatsuki suddenly said, "Today, Azumashiro Kana will spar with Kotsubaki Jin'emon, and Rokusha Kensei will spar with Hirako Shinji."

"So it did attract the teacher's attention. It seems my previous feeling wasn't just a misperception..." Hirako Shinji thought to himself.

However, although he dislikes trouble, he will not choose to run away when things are pushed to him.

Shinji Hirako stood in front of Kensei Rokkaku and drew his wooden sword.

"The teacher seems to think highly of you. It looks like you'll be a good opponent." Kensei Muguruma grinned, imagining himself betting most of his spiritual pressure on a single blow, just like Kana had done to him before, in order to create a one-hit kill effect.

"Hey, we don't seem to have any grudges, so why do I feel such strong malice?" Hirako Shinji said flippantly, but in reality, he became wary.

"There's no malice in it, don't worry, I'll finish this battle soon!" Kensei Muguruma gathered most of his spiritual pressure into his wooden sword, shouted, stepped forward, and slashed out with his sword.

Hirako Shinji's eyes narrowed as he sensed danger. Instead of directly taking the blow, he immediately rolled away to dodge Kensei Rokusha's attack.

Bang!

Kensei Muguruma's wooden sword slammed into the floor, smashing a large hole in the wooden floorboards.

"You bastard, are you trying to kill me?" Hirako Shinji's eyelids twitched when he saw the large hole in the floor.

While speaking, Shinji Hirako did not forget to retaliate. After rolling over, he directly swung his sword and struck Kensei Muguruma in the back.

"Damn it! My wooden sword got stuck!" Kensei Rokugurashi was furious. His wooden sword had smashed through the floor and gotten stuck, preventing him from pulling it out in time to defend against the attack from behind. As a result, he was hit directly by Shinji Hirako.

Hirako Mako scored one point first.

In Soul Society, the rules for swordsmanship are simple: you score one point by hitting your opponent's body, and the first person to score two points wins.

If it's a real sword fight, then whoever falls down first loses.

Competitions between students of the Spirit Arts Academy do not use real swords; they are usually conducted with wooden swords.

Kensei Muguruma never expected things to turn out this way. He didn't even dare to look his teacher in the eye anymore. After pulling the wooden sword out of the floor, he quickly signaled Shinji Hirako to continue fighting.

Kensei Rokusha took a deep breath to clear his chaotic thoughts and decided to fight steadily. This time, he did not inject most of his spiritual pressure, but instead controlled the output of his spiritual pressure in a balanced manner, just like when he practiced the Sailfish Stance.

When Kensei Rokusha got serious, Shinji Hirako immediately felt an immense increase in pressure.

Ta-ta-

Kensei Rokusha's sword strikes were powerful and heavy; after receiving a few blows, Shinji Hirako was so shaken that his hands went numb.

thump—

Kensei Rokusha seized the opportunity and delivered a powerful blow, knocking Hirako Shinji's sword away. He then swiftly followed up with a series of slashes, aiming directly at Hirako Shinji's left shoulder.

"Hiss—how can you be so strong? You're going to break my bones!" Hirako Shinji rubbed his sore shoulder, feeling that it must be swollen inside.

"Hehe, I'm not that strong. This is the result of my hard training over many days!" Kensei Rokusha laughed loudly.

Kensei Muguruma was very happy to win back a point. He could sense that Shinji Hirako was a formidable opponent. If it weren't for his teacher's guidance, which enabled him to master the technique of controlling spiritual pressure, it wouldn't have been easy for him to defeat Shinji Hirako.

Hirako Shinji seemed to understand something after hearing Kensei Muguruma's words. He realized that Kensei Muguruma's powerful slashes were probably achieved through some kind of technique.

"continue."

As expected, once Kensei Muguruma got serious, Shinji Hirako was no match for him, and before long, Kensei Muguruma easily scored another point.

Kensei Rokugaku won the sparring match.

"Kense, you should know where you went wrong."

Looking at his teacher's kind smile, Kensei Rokusha felt a chill run down his spine.

"I know! You shouldn't hold back when swinging your sword. I'll practice more!" Kensei Rokusha scratched the back of his head.

"You know that's good. Unless you're fighting to the death for a chance of survival, swinging your knife like that shows you're underestimating your opponent. I hope you won't make that mistake again," July warned.

“Shinko, your combat instincts are quite good. You didn’t choose to block Kensei Muguruma’s attack head-on, and your subsequent response was also very good. You found the right opportunity to counterattack. It’s just that your skills are not as good as Kensei Muguruma’s, and you still lost to him in the end.” July continued to say to Shinko Hirako.

The Spiritual Arts Academy does teach spiritual pressure control techniques, as this is a required course for Shinigami. However, unlike the Shikatori-ryu Dojo, it doesn't focus on swordsmanship-related spiritual pressure control techniques.

The teachers at the Spirit Arts Academy usually teach students spiritual pressure control techniques when they teach third-year students.

Shinji Hirako and the others are just this year's freshmen. According to the academy's curriculum, it's not yet time to teach them spiritual pressure control techniques.

After class, July stopped Hirako Shinji.

"Shinko, you just lost to Kensei, are you feeling resentful?" July asked with a smile.

“No way…” Hirako Shinji blurted out, but then hesitated, “I really can’t beat him.”

July said unhurriedly:

“Your talent is quite good, you could even call it genius. Your progress will soon surpass the teaching pace of the Spirit Arts Academy. If you continue like this, you'll just be wasting your time here. I don't want to see a genius like you waste your talent like this.”

"As you probably know, both Cilantro and Kensei are my students. You should be able to see their progress. I believe I am quite good at teaching students."

"Hirako Shinji, would you be willing to join my Shikagiri School and become my disciple?"

Chapter 20 Training Task

Hirako Shinji never expected that he would be so highly regarded by Shikatori-sensei.

He was quite lazy at school.

Just as Professor Shikato said, the teaching pace of the Spirit Arts Academy could no longer keep up with his progress.

So he just coasted through class, figuring he could learn anything the teachers taught without much effort.

However, as someone born in Rukongai, he understands the importance of power, so he is not very active after class, and the school library is the place he frequents.

Although the school library was far inferior to the Great Spiritual Library of Seireitei, the materials and knowledge it contained were something he, born in Rukongai, could hardly access from other places.

Logically speaking, teachers shouldn't care about a student who behaves well in class but disappears after class.

As a result, Shikatori-sensei's attention to him was beyond his expectations.

Since the start of the semester a month ago, Mr. Shikato has been calling on him from time to time, asking him to do some things, or giving him extra care and guidance after class.

This is clearly a privilege reserved for outstanding students, and he still can't figure out how Mr. Shikato noticed him.

"Hirako Shinji is willing to become your disciple and learn the Shikatori-ryu swordsmanship." Without much hesitation, Hirako Shinji decided to become your disciple.

After dining at Granny Jiang's Izakaya last time, I already knew that Kana Mochijo and Kensei Muguruma were students of Shikatori-sensei, and I understood that their progress was largely due to Shikatori-sensei's guidance.

Shikatoshi-sensei clearly has real skills, which is undoubtedly a huge opportunity for him.

Furthermore, Hirako Shinji greatly admired Shikatori-sensei's character. On that day, when Shikatori-sensei was facing a nobleman and there was a high possibility of conflict with him, he did not hesitate to save the little girl. This kind of behavior is not something that ordinary people can do, which made him very impressed.

"Good! From now on, you will be a disciple of my Shikatri Dojo. After joining my sect, you must respect your teachers and elders and never do anything to betray your master or ancestors. As long as you are loyal to your sect and diligently cultivate, I will pass on the swordsmanship to you so that you can carry forward the Shikatri style in the future!" July said with satisfaction.

[Hirako Shinji requests to become a disciple; will you accept him as a personal disciple?]

July looked at the text that suddenly appeared in front of her, and without hesitation, immediately confirmed it and accepted Hirako Shinji as her disciple.

[Successfully recruited Hirako Shinji as his personal disciple]

[Hirako Shinji's reputation level has increased; current reputation level is Friendly.]

Once you have three S-rank talent disciples, the cultivation task function will be unlocked. You will receive a reward for guiding your disciples through a stage of cultivation.

[Guided Cilantro Mochi to complete basic swordsmanship training (completed)]

[A new training task has been added: Guide Kana Mochi in completing a sword technique training (in progress)]

[Current training task added: Guiding Kensei Rokusha through basic swordsmanship training (in progress)]

July noticed that the training tasks that suddenly popped up were all training content that he had previously arranged for Kana and Kensei.

Moreover, it is a phased training. Cilantro has a good foundation in swordsmanship and has already completed the basic swordsmanship training. She is now practicing sword techniques.

Kensei Mukkale's swordsmanship fundamentals are still lacking. He needs to train what he has learned into muscle memory before he can be considered to have completed the basic training stage. This process requires time to accumulate.

In July, Hirako Shinji was sent back to class, and after school he was to go to the Shikatori Dojo for training.

In July, focus your attention on the item that shows "completed".

[Disciple Mochishiro Kana has completed her basic swordsmanship training; rewards have been distributed.]

[Reward: 1000 Universal Experience Points]

[Reward Obtained: Hado 4 - White Lightning (Beginner Level)]

The function of "White Lightning" is to release a lightning strike from the fingertips to attack the enemy.

This was the first time he had received a reward for his mastery of the Ghost Path in July. He didn't have much knowledge of Ghost Path, so this was undoubtedly good news for him.

Looking at the experience required to increase his spiritual pressure level, he realized that at level 52, he needed 2000 experience points to level up, which wasn't enough for him to level up at the moment.

After thinking for a moment, July invested 1000 general experience points into Shunpo. Now, his highest-level sword technique, "Shunpo Iai," is closely related to Shunpo ability. Improving Shunpo ability will allow him to better unleash the power of this move.

Moreover, if you really encounter danger, improving your Instant Step ability can also improve your ability to survive.

After investing 1000 general experience points into Instant Step, Instant Step level increased from 21 to 23.

...

In the afternoon, Shinji Hirako, along with Kana Azuma and Kensei Mukkari, arrived at the Shikatori Dojo.

“Shinko, your early training will be the same as Kensei's, focusing on basic strengthening exercises.” July took out a sailfish wood sword. “To practice your spiritual vibration with this sailfish wood sword, you need to inject spiritual pressure to reduce its weight. The first thing you need to do is learn how to distribute your spiritual pressure.”

Fortunately, the dojo still had some stock; otherwise, forging a sword made of such a flagfish wood would be quite expensive, and given July and Bayunzhai's current financial situation, they simply couldn't afford such an expense.

"is teacher."

Shinji Hirako tried it and quickly learned how to inject spiritual pressure, but at first, like Kana and Kensei, he didn't know how to distribute his spiritual pressure, which caused him to not be able to persist for long on the first day.

[Current training task added: Guiding Hirako Shinji through basic swordsmanship training (in progress)]

As July had anticipated, new training tasks emerged when he began basic training with Hirako Shinji.

"Teacher! I've severed it!"

Cilantro's excited shouts came from behind.

In July, looking around, the straw mat on the ground had been torn in two by the coriander.

[Your disciple, Kana Mochi, has made initial progress in mastering the 'Spirit Pressure Blade' technique and has received a feedback reward.]

[Gain 3000 swordsmanship experience points]

July's swordsmanship level increased from 53 to 54.