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

Even the knot on the waistband was tied with two bells.

When Cilantro Mole City walked into the courtyard, the four bells tied to her cuffs and waistband jingled.

"Teacher, the bells hanging on this dress are so noisy!" Kana Mochi raised her hand and shook the bells hanging from her sleeve.

"This is the dojo uniform from Shikariki Dojo," July explained with a smile. "After learning 'Instant Strike,' you've gained basic control over your spiritual pressure."

"However, 'Instant Strike' is only the most basic sword technique of the Shikatori school; other sword techniques require a higher level of spiritual pressure control to learn."

"Next, you will need to continue practicing your control over spiritual pressure."

"The bell on this dojo uniform was prepared for this purpose."

"You need to do this: whatever you're doing, don't let the bell ring."

"Don't make the bell ring?" Cilantro Mochi was a little confused. "It won't listen to me, how can I make it stop making a sound?"

“This is a specially made bell. Try injecting your spiritual pressure into it,” July said with a smile. “Be careful not to inject too much.”

Upon hearing this, Kana Mochi carefully channeled her spiritual pressure into the bell.

"I think I can control the pivot ball inside the bell?" Kana Azashiro discovered that after injecting spiritual pressure, she could control the swing direction of the pivot ball inside the bell.

"That's it. As long as you control the swing direction of the inner pivot and prevent it from colliding with the inner wall of the bell, you can avoid the bell from making a sound." July nodded and said, "So when you practice the sailfish tremor, you need to control the four bells on your body at the same time to prevent them from making a sound."

"This is too difficult! You have to control four at the same time!" Kana Mochi's face fell. She had just tried it by flicking her sleeve and found that controlling the pivot ball to prevent it from colliding with the inner wall of the bell while it was moving was an extremely difficult task.

Kana Mochishiro was now too preoccupied to pay attention to anything else. She was trying to work her way up to the four bells, her whole body tense, and she moved forward stiffly. She then discovered that the four bells on her body were unusually sensitive. As soon as she made the slightest movement, the pivots inside would start to swing.

This immediately threw her into a panic. She managed to control one or two of them, but then the other bells started ringing.

An hour passed, and she still hadn't been able to move from the backyard to the sword room to get the sailfish-shaped wooden sword.

"It's so hard!" Cilantro from Mole City cried out in despair.

“You don’t have to control all four bells at first. You can start by controlling one.” July smiled kindly, recalling how difficult it was for him to practice this back then. He patted Cilantro on the shoulder and encouraged her, “The key is to stay calm and don’t be impatient. I believe you can do it.”

In the end, Kana Mochi gave up on controlling all four bells at once and decided to follow her teacher's advice to start controlling one bell at a time.

In July, she stopped paying attention to Cilantro and let her practice on her own. She then turned around and corrected Kensei Muguruma's way of generating power, as he always preferred to use his arm strength instead of his whole body.

With the addition of the "patient guidance" attribute, Kensei Muguruma's talent level also increased to S+.

In today's instruction, July truly experienced the changes brought about by the enhancement of her talent.

Kensei Muguruma quickly mastered the correct way to exert force, and his wooden sword instantly pierced through the head of the human-shaped target!

The training mission for Kensei Muguruma has also been hinted at.

Disciple Liuche Quanxi learned the sword technique "Instant Strike".

[Guided Kensei Rokusha to complete a sword technique training (completed)]

July glanced at the pop-up notification and focused her attention on the "completed" cultivation task.

[Disciple Rokuche Kensei has completed a sword technique training session; reward settled.]

[Reward: 5000 Universal Experience Points]

[Reward Obtained: Sword Skill - Crimson Tide (Beginner Level)]

In July, she glanced at the panel and saw that a new beginner-level skill, "Red Tide," had been added to the sword skills section.

Focusing on the "red tide" immediately revealed more information.

【Crimson Tide: Crimson waves divide into three, scorching and imposing, the blade imbued with flames, burning away calamity】

Like "Breaking Waves," "Red Tide" is not a pure sword technique, but a sword technique that incorporates elements of the Demonic Path.

In July, 4000 points of general experience were invested into spiritual pressure, raising it to level 63.

The remaining 1000 general experience points were invested in Instant Step, which was upgraded to level 29.

"Kenshi, have you noticed anything different these past few days?" July asked.

"What's different?" Kensei Muguruma scratched the back of his head and said hesitantly, "I feel like I'm in really good shape these past few days, and I'm full of energy for everything I do."

The "patient guidance" entry was incredibly effective. Although Kensei Muguruma's training in "Instant Strike" was already nearing its end, July had originally estimated that it might take him another two or three days to master it. Unexpectedly, he was able to master it this morning.

"We will continue to consolidate the 'Instant Strike' technique, shorten the charging time, and strive to shorten the charging time to a level that can be used in actual combat as soon as possible," July said.

"is teacher!"

Then in July, Hirako Shinji also began training in "Instant Strike".

He then gave some guidance to his newly accepted disciple, Kotsubaki Jin'emon, instructing him to begin training with the sailfish wooden sword.

In July, his guidance of Kotetsu Isane went beyond swordsmanship. As her mentor, he also needed to teach her the fundamentals in various other areas.

Furthermore, Kotetsu Isane is very interested in the Dao, so in July she also has to teach her medical knowledge.

Therefore, the student who needs the most time to be taught now is the youngest, Kotetsu Isane.

However, Isane is indeed very talented in the backsword technique, and she picks it up very quickly, progressing much faster than in swordsmanship.

Three more cultivation tasks were added to the panel in July.

[Current training task has been added: Guide Kana Azaki through advanced spiritual pressure control training (in progress)]

[A new training task has been added: Guide Hirako Shinji through a sword technique training (in progress)]

[Current training task added: Guiding Kotsubaki Jin'emon through basic swordsmanship training (in progress)]

After the new training mission appeared, with the blessing of the "patient guidance" attribute, Kana Momoshiro's talent became S+, and Jin'emon Kotsubaki's talent was upgraded to A-.

After arranging the disciples' training schedule, July also began his own training. With two consecutive days off, he needed to practice his swordsmanship.

He now has a powerful skill book that is very helpful for practicing swordsmanship.

[Sword Heart Clarity: You have grasped the true meaning of the sword, and can always find the best way to strike. During combat, your swordsmanship level increases by 5. When learning sword techniques, you can easily master the basics.]

The swordsmanship of the Shikatori school is not limited to what is displayed on his panel. Those are just the sword techniques he has already mastered. There are also some sword techniques that he is not yet familiar with that are not displayed on the panel.

Chapter 47 New Sword Techniques

In the backyard of the dojo, some wooden stakes were erected, arranged in an array.

To reduce wear and tear on the wooden stakes, July even used an unsharpened wooden sword to practice. As long as she didn't use the Spirit Pressure Blade Technique, she wouldn't need to replace the stakes frequently.

The sword technique he is now practicing, like "Shunpo Iai," is a sword technique that is strongly related to the level of Shunpo.

Previously, progress was somewhat slow due to insufficient Shunpo skill level.

Now that he has the "Sword Heart Clarity" entry, he wants to try to learn this sword technique.

In July, he stood before the array of wooden stakes, concentrating his mind and calming his breath.

The next instant, July's figure vanished from the spot.

Three afterimages flashed past the array of wooden stakes, then disappeared almost simultaneously.

By this time, July was already standing on the other side of the wooden stake array.

The wooden stakes where the afterimage had appeared all had a fresh cut.

Shikatori Style: Four Directions Instant Strike!

This sword technique utilizes the speed of the Instant Step to attack from different locations. If the Instant Step speed and the speed of the sword swing are fast enough, it can create afterimages, giving the illusion of simultaneous attacks.

In July, I went up and inspected the wooden stakes. Three of them had cuts.

"My sword-swinging speed is sufficient, but my Instant Step is still somewhat lacking..." July thought to herself.

He used to practice "Four Directions Instant Strike," but his sword swing speed wasn't fast enough to hit three wooden stakes.

However, his swordsmanship has improved recently, and he also has the effect of the "Sword Heart Clarity" attribute. The three afterimages he just created all successfully hit the wooden stake.

However, to be considered a beginner in "Four Directions Instant Strike," one needs to create four afterimages.

The difficulty of "Four Directions Instant Strike" lies in leaving an afterimage, which requires stopping instantly while moving at high speed, stabilizing your body, and swinging your sword.

The instant step is divided into three stages: standing, stepping, and instant step. To leave an afterimage, one must frequently switch between these three stages.

My previous skill level in Instant Step was not high enough, and I was unable to get started with "Four Directions Instant Strike".

He then practiced his sword skills for an afternoon and found that the effect of the "Sword Heart Clarity" skill was quite obvious. After an afternoon of training, he finally crossed that threshold and was able to occasionally create four afterimages.

I've mastered the "Four Directions Instant Strike" technique!

...

Tsunayoshiro's residence.

Tsuna sat upright in a spacious and brightly lit room, opposite a man wearing a yellow haori.

The man had a long, thin face, a broad forehead, a slightly pointed nose, and graying beard and hair.

"Shi Tan, the results of this assessment are out, and your class's swordsmanship performance is far from ideal," the man said sternly.

"Oh dear, isn't this because you overlooked a few gifted students when you were assigning classes?"

Tsunayoshi's expression on the beach was completely different from the man's. There was a hint of contempt between his brows, or rather, a lack of proper respect. Even though the man in front of him was his elder, he showed no respect for him whatsoever.

The man in front of him was the vice dean in charge of class assignments at the time—Tsunayoshi Tadashi.

Tsunayoshi Tadashi's face darkened, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes, feeling that this junior's attitude was simply too rude.

Unfortunately, he was not from the main family. Even though Tsunayoshi Tokina was only the last in line of the main family, her status within the family was still above his. He could only follow the family's arrangements and support Tsunayoshi Tokina to rise to the top.

"This was indeed my mistake, but I heard that you haven't taught a single class since the start of the semester. You've either been absent or have the students study on their own. Isn't that going a bit too far?"

Tsunayoshi Tadashi said with a sense of disappointment, "Before the start of the semester, I took the opportunity of purchasing supplies to specially replace the new students' supplies with a batch of refurbished wooden swords, which slowed down their learning progress, all so that Class 1 could win with a big advantage in the fall assessment."

"But you don't take it seriously at all. The students in Class One already had a good foundation before entering the Spirit Arts Academy."

"But their training within the family is generally balanced. Their advantages in other areas are of no use to you in the competition for the head of the swordsmanship department."

"You need to give them further swordsmanship instruction!"

A hint of impatience flashed in Tsunayoshi Tokinada's eyes. Tsunayoshi Tadashi spoke so nicely, as if everything he did was for him, but in reality, the money saved by replacing the wooden sword went into his own pocket.

Moreover, he himself had no interest in the position of head of the fencing club.

Because of what he did in Rukongai last time, he was imprisoned in his clan for a long time.

The condition on which those old guys released him was that he promise to behave himself in the future and obey the family's arrangements.

“There are so many people, how can I teach them all? I will visit the students’ homes and ask them to pay more attention to swordsmanship.” Tsunayoshi Tokina said, getting up and leaving the room.

...

A month later.

The Ling Shu Academy's Zen Meditation Room.

The incense burner in the corner of the quiet room emitted swirling smoke, spreading a calming and soothing fragrance.

In July, I paced back and forth in the classroom to check if any students were daydreaming during their Zen meditation practice.

"You're too impatient. The more anxious you are, the harder it will be to enter the state of Blade Zen meditation. Calm your mind." July tapped a student on the forehead with a wooden sword.

"Yes, Shikatori-sensei!" The student wiped the sweat from his brow and tried Blade Zen again.

After a period of Blade Zen practice, most of the new students have been able to enter a Blade Zen meditation state.

However, as more and more students are able to practice Blade Zen meditation, the remaining students who are still unable to do so are becoming increasingly anxious.

In this state, it becomes even more difficult to perform blade meditation.

“Take a deep breath, adjust your emotions, clear your mind, and then meditate,” July said gently. “I think you’ve already touched the threshold of Blade Zen meditation, so there’s no need to be too anxious.”

Hearing July's words, the student relaxed considerably, took a deep breath, and slowly got into the zone.

A moment later, July sensed an unusual fluctuation of spiritual pressure.

The student successfully entered a state of blade meditation.

July smiled faintly, did not disturb him, and continued her inspection.

The first time one enters the Blade Zen meditation state, it usually lasts for a relatively long time. Recently, the Spirit Arts Academy has extended the closing time of the cafeteria, so that students who finish their Blade Zen training late can still eat in the cafeteria.

In the evening, after the last resident monk finished his blade meditation.

The teaching feedback rewards for Blade Zen practice have also been settled.

[Rewards will be settled upon completion of the course]