Boom—!
Lu Li's body was sent flying backward, violently smashing through several carts loaded with training equipment before he managed to contort mid-air and land heavily on his feet, skidding to a halt.
He glanced down at the wooden shinai in his hand, his mind rapidly dissecting the profound mechanics behind the Captain-Commander's last strike.
"That is enough for today, brat. You should have a thorough understanding of your own inadequacies by now," Yamamoto announced.
Pulling his oversized haori back over his shoulders, the old man looked at Lu Li's battered, bruised body.
"If you truly wish to graduate early, you are still lacking."
Lu Li rolled his aching shoulders, feeling the deep, throbbing soreness in his muscles.
"This student merely wishes to join the Gotei 13 as soon as possible. I firmly believe that true, unsimulated combat is the only way to accelerate growth."
Hearing this, Yamamoto paused mid-stride toward the dojo exit. He turned around.
"So that is your reasoning. But you must realize that if you spend a few more years refining your foundation within the Academy, you will secure a much higher rank upon graduation."
The surrounding students gasped, shocked by the Captain-Commander's bluntness. He was practically spelling it out for the boy.
With Lu Li's monstrous talent, his mastery over Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hoho, and Kido was already the absolute pinnacle of the Academy. If he just laid low for a few years to cultivate his Spiritual Pressure, he could graduate directly into a high-level Seated Officer position, or potentially even Lieutenant!
But if Lu Li insisted on skipping grades and graduating this semester, his relatively low Class 16 Reiatsu would anchor him as a standard, rank-and-file grunt. He might receive a bit of special attention from his Captain due to his talent, but he would start at the absolute bottom of the ladder.
Lu Li met the Captain-Commander's gaze without flinching.
"Fledglings must eventually leave the nest. Only by throwing themselves into the open sky can they learn to fly higher."
A faint, deeply amused smile tugged at the corners of Yamamoto's mouth beneath his thick white beard.
"Very well. I shall grant you a single opportunity. If you can satisfy the 'examiner' I assign, I will permit your early graduation."
With that final declaration, the Captain-Commander left the dojo. It was clear that this had been his final substitute lesson.
As the classroom erupted into frantic whispers, Lu Li walked over to a quiet corner and began casting Kaido on himself, his hands glowing with pale green Reishi.
This had been his third Zanjutsu spar against the Captain-Commander. The title of the "Strongest Soul Reaper" was not an exaggeration. Across all four combat disciplines, the old man had absolutely zero weaknesses; his mastery in every single field was absolute.
Counting his Hakuda bouts, he had sparred with Yamamoto seven times in total. His win record stood at zero. Defeating a two-thousand-year-old monster whose fundamental, physical base stats existed in a completely different dimension was unimaginably difficult.
However, because the Captain-Commander's primary objective was to instruct, he deliberately showcased a vast array of high-level, lethal combat techniques during their exchanges. Lu Li had absorbed them all like a sponge.
Opening his system interface, Lu Li checked his proficiency tab. All of his core combat skills had seen massive spikes, each leveling up three times.
[Grandmaster Blade Mastery]
Level: 23/40 (+3)
Proficiency Effect: The Explorer has achieved profound mastery in the path of the blade, worthy of the title of Grandmaster. When attacking with a bladed primary weapon, deal an additional 46% base damage.
[Grandmaster Unarmed Combat]
Level: 21/40 (+3)
Proficiency Effect: The Explorer has achieved profound mastery in hand-to-hand combat, worthy of the title of Grandmaster. When attacking unarmed, deal an additional 42% base damage.
[Grandmaster Kinetic Deflection]
Level: 24/40 (+5)
Proficiency Effect: The Explorer possesses an acute, supernatural sensitivity to the flow of kinetic energy. When subjected to overwhelming blunt-force trauma or extreme pressure, the Explorer can actively disperse and redirect the kinetic shockwave through their body, significantly reducing internal damage.
Ironically, Lu Li's biggest leap in proficiency wasn't in his offensive skills, but in [Kinetic Deflection].
It was entirely because Yamamoto hit like an absolute freight train. During their spars, Lu Li was perpetually forced onto the defensive. If he wanted to avoid being instantly pasted against the wall and maintain the spar for as long as possible, his first priority was simply becoming tougher to kill.
If he couldn't instantly channel and disperse the catastrophic kinetic energy generated by the old man's attacks, Yamamoto's presumably "Zenith-Level" combat proficiencies would have instantly pulverized him from the front.
"Are you truly in such a rush to graduate, Lu Li?" Aizen asked later that day as they walked toward the cafeteria.
"What's wrong, Sosuke? Afraid you'll be lonely without me?" Lu Li chuckled, his hands still glowing with residual Kaido light as he finished closing up his bruises.
"Not particularly," Aizen replied, his expression perfectly placid. "I simply believe spending another year or two here to substantially raise your Reiatsu would be highly beneficial. The daily life of a Gotei 13 soldier is not as glamorous or safe as the students believe. When deployed to the World of the Living, anything can happen. If your luck is poor and you run into a Menos Grande, you will simply die."
Trust me, I'd love to stay here for another two years to farm stats and proficiencies, Lu Li thought bitterly. But the Terminus Space doesn't run a charity.
The final exams were in two days. The Terminus Space had clearly synchronized the mission deadline with the Academy's schedule; his total permitted stay in this world had only four days remaining.
"You know me, Sosuke. I live for the thrill of the fight," Lu Li smiled, clapping Aizen on the shoulder. "If you really can't bear to part with me, why don't you apply for early graduation too?"
"You must be joking. My Zanjutsu and Hakuda are nowhere near your level. On what grounds could I possibly request an early graduation?" Aizen replied smoothly. "Furthermore... based on the Captain-Commander's tone, I suspect the difficulty of this particular graduation exam will be astronomically high. If he assigns a Captain as your examiner, you will never 'pass'."
Aizen had already analyzed the political dynamic. Yamamoto clearly admired Lu Li's talent and absolutely did not want him to graduate early. The Captain-Commander wanted to force Lu Li to recognize that there was always a higher mountain, forcing him to stay at the Academy and temper his "iron" into peerless "steel" before tossing him onto the battlefield.
Under these circumstances, the examiner Yamamoto selected would undoubtedly be an absolute monster. Given Lu Li's terrifying combat proficiency, sending a Lieutenant to suppress him purely with technique was too risky.
Therefore, it was highly probable the examiner would be an actual Captain. Even if they suppressed their Reiatsu to match his, how could Lu Li possibly defeat them?
Ultimately, Aizen concluded that Yamamoto had merely given Lu Li an impossible challenge to permanently crush his notion of early graduation.
"But you've already achieved Shikai, Sosuke! That's incredibly rare for an Academy student. You're a peerless genius in your own right. Graduating early shouldn't be an issue for you," Lu Li pointed out, setting a massive, industrial-sized metal basin of rice onto their table and preparing to replenish his HP.
"You praise me too highly, Lu Li. Since your mind is made up, I can only wish you luck in clearing the Captain-Commander's trial and successfully breaking the Shin'o Academy's speedrun record," Aizen sighed.
In truth, under normal circumstances, graduating early would be effortless for him. The Academy had a long history of prodigies graduating within two or three years.
The Academy administration didn't arbitrarily block geniuses from graduating; as long as a student scored exceptionally well in the four combat arts and possessed a remarkably high Reiatsu, they were approved. For instance, if a student scored perfectly in combat exams and tested at Class 10 Reiatsu, they could graduate immediately and be assigned a Seated Officer position.
Aizen's true Spiritual Pressure was already hovering around Class 5. If he truly wanted to graduate, he would be instantly accepted. The problem was that Lu Li had dragged the spotlight directly onto their cohort. Because of Lu Li's extreme arrogance, anyone else attempting to graduate early this semester would undoubtedly be forced to face the exact same impossible trial... fighting a Captain.
Therefore, whether out of a desire to maintain his low profile for his grand ambitions or simply to avoid fighting a Captain unnecessarily, Aizen absolutely refused to join Lu Li's graduation attempt. He would wait and see his roommate again in the Gotei 13.
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