Chapter 37 – 37 ⥤ Akira No Longer Wants to Be a Shinigami

At the specialized Kidō training grounds.

“Hadō #31, Shakkahō, is one of our most commonly used Hadō spells.” Tessai spread his rod-like fingers, and a red flame slowly burned in his palm, radiating waves of heat outward, “Not only is its power impressive, but by controlling the frequency of Reiatsu output, it can serve different purposes. For example, illumination.”

The curtains in the training ground fell, the lights went out, and darkness instantly descended. A bright yet gentle light immediately illuminated the entire training ground.

It revealed the awestruck faces of the academy students.

“Of course, this requires precise control and understanding of Kidō itself.” He extinguished the Shakkahō in his palm with such force that it created a sonic boom, making everyone flinch.

Though everything he said was correct, his intimidating appearance wasn’t exactly helping his case. Akira wasn’t alone in thinking this — the other students shared similar thoughts.

Even the notoriously fierce 11th Division rarely had members who could match this Kidō instructor from the Shin’ō Academy in physical presence.

Moreover, rumors suggested that Tessai would soon be promoted to Grand Kidō Chief — a position equal to that of a Gotei 13 Captain.

When students first heard this news, nearly all of them were in disbelief. As they gradually accepted it, they began to worry about the future of the Kidō Corps.

As Seireitei’s ranged combat specialists, would they become just another brute squad like the 11th Division?

“To understand Kidō, you must first know its essence: from incantations to hand signs, from Reiatsu release methods to Reishi flow patterns. Even for incantations alone, the same Hadō can have different variations. While mastering one is usually sufficient, achieving precise control like mine requires understanding multiple incantations and hand signs.”

If nothing else, Tessai’s skill at teaching Kidō was unmatched.

Even Akira, notorious for dozing off during theory classes, was listening with great interest — though there were other reasons he stayed awake.

Tessai’s instruction flowed seamlessly from main concepts to detailed understanding, methodically analyzing every fundamental aspect of Kidō.

During the break, he allowed students to test Shakkahō’s power in the air while he supervised for safety.

“So, Sōsuke, what’s this quick way to get stronger you mentioned before?” Akira asked eagerly, “Wasn’t it related to Kidō? Can you explain it briefly?”

Aizen nodded slightly and replied calmly, “Remember when you used the ritual method to communicate with your Asauchi, infusing it with soul essence to transform it into your personal Zanpakutō?”

Akira nodded. Though he still didn’t understand his Zanpakutō’s ability or know its true name, he continued attempting to communicate with it through the ritual method and enter his inner world during his free time.

The result was the same as last time — when he entered the Sakahone Shrine and was about to touch the divine statue, the Zanpakutō space would suddenly shatter.

As Aizen explained, Akira’s Reiatsu level wasn’t sufficient to support the next stage of Shikai release.

Despite being talented compared to his peers, mastering the true name would take considerable time and effort. Beyond the daily Check-ins, it would require training so intense it could lead to burnout.

Furthermore, his Spiritual Body had undergone massive changes.

“A Shinigami’s body is composed entirely of Reishi.” Aizen explained, “Countless Reishi particles are arranged in an intricate structure to build a perfect Spiritual Body without flaws, ultimately governed by the soul to form an entity known as a ‘Shinigami’… Don’t look at me like that — it’s straight from the textbook.”

“Ah…” Akira suddenly realized that compared to Aizen, he was practically illiterate.

Unfortunately, theory classes weren’t nearly as engaging as rituals, and he couldn’t muster any enthusiasm. Fortunately, he had an all-capable friend.

If he ran into any impossible problems in the future, he could just call upon the invincible Aizen to sort things out.

“What I’m trying to say is, when you completed the ritual communication, your Spiritual Body’s essence had already changed.” Aizen continued, “Simply put, you’re evolving.”

Akira furrowed his brows.

Seeing his friend attempt to think for himself, Aizen felt gratified — if this guy didn’t use his brain soon, it would rust.

“Since we can’t achieve rapid advancement in Reiatsu levels quickly.” He shared his thoughts, “Why not tap into the potential hidden within the Spiritual Body? Kidō and Spiritual Bodies share certain similarities, and their compatibility is very high. We can try to imprint Kidō into the Spiritual Body, then release it through Hakuda techniques — or in simpler terms… further strengthen the Spiritual Body!”

“Of course, this method carries risks. So, it’s best if we wait until you’ve completely mastered a particular Kidō before we attempt the experiment… Akira, do you understand?” Seeing his friend’s dazed state, Aizen frowned.

“Huh? Yeah, I understand, I understand.” Akira grinned, “Isn’t this exactly what I concluded before? As a qualified mage, you should first max out your health and endurance stats, then choose skills like Skull Splitter, Block, Critical Strike, Charge, Decapitate, and Armor Break. And finally, just learn the Light spell.”

Hearing this, Aizen was stunned. Apparently, his friend had somehow guessed correctly this time.

“I just don’t understand one thing.” Akira said, puzzled.

“What is it?”

“You just said my Spiritual Body’s essence has changed.” His expression grew more serious, “Does that mean I’m no longer of the Shinigami species? And at equal Reiatsu levels, excluding all external factors, purely in terms of combat ability, even you might not be able to beat me.”

Aizen frowned deeply, unable to follow this guy’s train of thought for a moment.

“Based on this reasoning.” Akira struck his fist against his palm, excitedly reaching a conclusion, “One way to become stronger is — Sōsuke, I’m done being a Shinigami!”

⤫⤬⤫

T/N: Some important terms to understand.

Hadō #31, Shakkahō — Red Fire Cannon

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep