__________
PLEASE SUPPORT ME ON PATREON:
Patreon.com/IndifferentVillain
Early Access and + 80 chapter ahead of webnovel monthly, ur support keeps me motivated...thanks and enjoy reading
Chapter 55 is out on patreon
_______________
"Oh? Why not?" Lu Li asked, slightly surprised. After spending the last two days with Aizen, he had come to rely on the guy as a highly convenient walking encyclopedia of Soul Reaper lore.
"The first period this afternoon is blocked off for electives. I'm taking Calligraphy," Aizen explained, patting the small satchel he had been carrying all day. "You wanted to take Kaido, correct? The classes happen at the exact same time."
"Who's teaching Kaido today?" Lu Li asked his personal encyclopedia.
"Lu Li..." Aizen looked at him with mild exasperation. "I don't know absolutely everything. The elective instructors are constantly rotating based on whichever Captain or Seated Officer has free time. How could I possibly know who is teaching today?"
"Ah, right. No worries, I'll find out when I get there," Lu Li stretched and patted his stomach. "I think I'll skip returning to the dorm during the lunch break. I want to hit the track and keep getting a feel for Shunpo."
Watching Lu Li walk away, Aizen felt a strange sense of irony. He had always considered himself a relentless overachiever, secretly grinding away while everyone else slept. But this new roommate was just as relentless, if not more so.
The only difference was that Aizen hid his effort, while Lu Li shamelessly flaunted it.
...
"We meet again. Are you adapting well to life at the Academy?"
A gentle, melodious voice drifted down from the podium. The speaker was looking directly at Lu Li with a warm, crescent-eyed smile.
Lu Li mentally checked his [Luck: 1] stat on his system interface. Was this considered good luck or bad luck? It had to be good, right? The very moment he decided he wanted to learn Kaido, the absolute zenith of the Healing Arts happened to be the substitute instructor.
"I have you to thank for everything, Captain Unohana. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be starving in Rukongai. The cafeteria food here is fantastic," Lu Li replied, entirely sincere.
Without Unohana's direct intervention, even if he managed to enter the Seireitei, navigating the bureaucratic nightmare of enrolling in the Shin'o Academy would have been a massive headache. Worst of all, he probably would have starved for another two days.
Is the food seriously his main takeaway? And he should be calling me Sensei here, Unohana thought, finding the boy endlessly peculiar.
Over the past two days, she had heard numerous reports regarding Lu Li's explosive performance at the Academy. It fascinated her. In fact, the primary reason she had volunteered to guest-lecture today was just to check in on him. She hadn't expected to actually see him sitting in her class.
She had pegged him purely as a monstrous combat prodigy. Yet here he was, actively choosing to learn Kaido.
Tell me... did you choose the Healing Arts because you genuinely want to be a rearguard medic? Or... are you exactly like me?
At that thought, the corner of Unohana's lips curled into a fleeting, highly dangerous smile, sending an involuntary shiver down Lu Li's spine.
"Unlike Hado and Bakudo, which adhere to a strict numerical hierarchy, Kaido possesses no such system. It is a purely restorative Demon Art that requires absolutely no incantations..."
Standing at the podium, Unohana began to lecture on the fundamental principles of Kaido. Even though many of the older students had heard this introductory speech multiple times, no one dared to interrupt or show impatience.
Most of the students gazed at her with deep reverence and admiration for the beautiful, gentle Captain. A small minority, however, occasionally felt a terrifying, indescribable pressure radiating from her and wouldn't dare step out of line.
Lu Li listened with intense fascination, furiously taking notes in a fresh notebook he had "borrowed" from Aizen.
As Unohana broke down the mechanics, he quickly realized that Kaido was definitively the hardest of the three Demon Arts.
Because it required no incantation to act as a structural mold, casting Kaido demanded an astronomically higher degree of Reiryoku control. To put it simply, Kaido in the Soul Society was the art of repairing a spiritual body. It involved surgically weaving raw Reishi into damaged tissue to reconstruct a soul. It was a hyper-delicate, microscopic procedure that the average meathead Soul Reaper couldn't even begin to comprehend.
According to Aizen, across all six years of the Academy, hundreds of students enrolled in the Kaido elective annually. Yet, by graduation, the number of students who actually achieved a passing grade could be counted on one hand.
It was an art form entirely gated by pure talent. If you didn't have the delicate touch, no amount of hard work would save you.
"I will now demonstrate a basic Kaido application. I need a volunteer."
The moment Unohana spoke, several eager hands shot into the air, clearly belonging to her fanatical admirers.
But Unohana's gaze swept right past them, landing squarely on Lu Li. "Let's give our new transfer student a chance to experience it firsthand. Lu Li, come up here."
Lu Li wasn't opposed to the idea. This was the perfect opportunity to observe Kaido up close. Having it performed on his own body would allow him to intimately feel the exact Reishi fluctuations and... techniques... Instructor Unohana utilized.
Unohana beamed at him. "Hold out your arm."
Lu Li obediently extended his right arm. Unohana gently grasped his wrist. Her hand looked as soft and pale as white jade, but the moment her fingers closed around him, Lu Li felt a grip of absolute, insurmountable physical strength. With a slight tug, she pulled him a half-step closer.
Keeping a firm hold on his wrist with one hand, she used her other to push the loose sleeve of his dojo uniform up, exposing the perfectly sculpted, rugged musculature of his forearm.
"You've conditioned your body quite well..." Unohana praised softly, her tone sickeningly gentle.
Lu Li felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
Unohana extended a single, slender index finger and began to slowly trace a line down his forearm. Lu Li knew exactly what she was about to do, but the agonizingly slow, teasing friction of her nail against his skin was deeply unnerving. Can we just get on with it? It tickles!
Just as he was about to speak, a sharp, slicing pain flared.
Crimson blood instantly welled up, trailing down his arm as the pain rapidly extended. Using only her bare fingernail, Unohana carved a long, deep gash from his wrist all the way to the crook of his elbow.
Lu Li didn't even flinch. He didn't frown, and his breathing remained perfectly even. As a grandmaster martial artist, he had suffered far worse injuries; his pain tolerance was virtually absolute. He remained entirely focused, knowing the actual demonstration was about to begin.
Seeing that the boy didn't react to the pain in the slightest, an imperceptible spark flared in the absolute depths of Unohana's eyes... a spark of deep, ravenous hunger.
Her movements didn't pause. "Pay close attention, everyone."
A soft, pale green light ignited around her palm. Slowly and delicately, she swept her glowing hand over Lu Li's bleeding arm.
It was like watching a magic trick. Wherever her hand passed, the deep laceration seamlessly knitted itself back together, vanishing entirely and leaving behind only a smear of residual blood.
Lu Li's expression turned incredibly serious. Even though this was just a rudimentary demonstration, the Reishi manipulation techniques she employed were unimaginably profound and complex. More importantly, the actual healing effect was nothing short of miraculous.
Even after his arm was completely healed, Lu Li stood frozen, deeply analyzing the lingering sensation of the Reishi weaving through his flesh.
"That will be all, Student Lu. You may return to your seat," Unohana said, finally releasing his wrist.
Snapping out of his trance, Lu Li ignored the bizarre, envious glares from the male students and walked back to his desk, his mind racing.
So this is Kaido...
But how the hell did she actually pull it off?
That was the massive, glaring question burning in Lu Li's mind. Because unlike every other student in this room, Lu Li knew a fundamental truth about himself.
He wasn't a soul made of Reishi. He was a living, breathing human being made of flesh and blood!