Sora checked on Shizuku Saitō's spiritual body again today.
Her condition was stable, which put him at ease. Next, he just needed to create Batsu'unsai's Reigai, and then he could replace her spiritual core and heal her injury.
However, Batsu'unsai Katori's strength was much higher than Shizuku's, so her Reigai would require a longer creation period.
Now that he had a viable plan, Sora wanted to do his best to restore Batsu'unsai to a state where she could use her original power.
"Miss Shizuku, the Saitō family is a clan with a long history. I imagine you must have some books describing ancient times. I'm interested in that sort of thing. Would it be possible for me to borrow them?"
Sora had recently read many historical materials in the Shiba and Shihōin family libraries.
He had learned some secret information about the ancient era.
To maintain the world, the Soul King had set up three arts in the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the World of the Living.
These three arts were actually connected to three seals in Hell.
However, after searching the Shiba and Shihōin family libraries, Sora had found no description of the three seals in Hell.
Sora remembered Saitō Furōfushi saying that besides her grandmother, the Saitō family had other ancestors whose Zanpakutō abilities were related to Hell.
Therefore, the Saitō library had some records about Hell.
Sora wanted to see if there was any information worth noting.
"Our family does have books on that subject. Are you interested in these things?" Shizuku immediately offered to take him to the library. "Of course, you can look at them. I'll take you there."
A moment later, Shizuku led Sora to the library.
There were many books inside. Shizuku introduced the types of books to him: "These shelves hold books on Kidō training insights."
"The shelves over there are for swordsmanship, Zanpakutō, Hakuda, and Shunpo training insights. Aside from Kaidō, it's quite comprehensive."
"You can take a look if you're interested, Katori-kun."
This was the advantage of a long-standing family. The training notes recorded by their ancestors made it easier for them to nurture outstanding descendants with skills at the seated officer level and above.
Sora was quite curious about the Zanpakutō training notes and stopped to flip through them.
He found that the Saitō ancestors would record their Zanpakutō abilities and the process of developing them for the reference of future generations.
"As expected of a family with a long history. If a descendant has a Zanpakutō with a similar ability, they can refer to these materials to speed up its development," Sora praised.
"The Saitō family is not a large one, so Zanpakutō with similar abilities are quite rare. The training notes for swordsmanship, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kidō are more important," Shizuku said with a smile. "However, my Zanpakutō is a relatively common wind-type, so I can find some references."
"Although wind-type Zanpakutō are common, their abilities can be used in many different ways. It's a very good ability," Sora said casually.
He flipped through the books on the swordsmanship shelf but quickly lost interest. The Saitō family's swordsmanship was rather mediocre, and these notes were relatively basic for him.
The Kidō insights, however, were worth a look.
There were some non-numbered Kidō recorded here, developed by the Saitō ancestors.
However, self-created Kidō were not necessarily stronger than the numbered ones; they might just have some practical value in specific situations.
"The books about the ancient era are on the innermost shelf. Not many people read those. I won't disturb you for now. I'll go get some tea and snacks."
"Thank you!"
"No need to thank me. You saved my life, Katori-kun. This is nothing..."
After pointing out the location, Shizuku left the library.
Sora didn't immediately go to the ancient era books. Instead, he continued reading the Kidō insights.
"A Kidō that can transform spiritual particles into ice... quite useful... summer is coming, I can make iced drinks then."
"A Kidō to attract humans... the art structure is similar to the one that repels them..."
"A Kidō art that makes a spiritual body glow so that humans without spiritual aptitude can see it... that's kind of interesting..."
"A Kidō art to summon a Hell Butterfly from Hell?"
Sora discovered a Kidō related to Hell on the shelf, which instantly piqued his interest.
Hell Butterflies could guide souls between the World of the Living and the Soul Society.
They also had the function of transmitting information. The squads used them, in addition to Hell Butterfly communicators, as a means of communication.
According to Sora's understanding, Hell Butterflies were originally a native species of Hell, technically making them creatures of Hell.
After the Shinigami discovered their ability to guide souls and serve as communication bridges, they domesticated them, establishing a population in the Soul Society.
"A Hell Butterfly summoned from Hell... is it an untamed one...?" Sora continued to read the information recorded in the notes.
"An untamed Hell Butterfly can find the soul of a 'Sinner' that has evaded the Gates of Hell and guide it to Hell."
Untamed Hell Butterflies had the ability to find the souls of 'Sinners', an ability that domesticated ones lacked.
Sora stroked his chin, thinking about what this ability could be used for.
"If I want to enter Hell in the future, it would save me the trouble of looking for a 'Gate of Hell'..." Sora thought to himself.
Finding a 'Gate of Hell' was not easy.
Their opening locations were not fixed; a 'Sinner's' soul had to appear in the World of the Living for one to open there.
But with the untamed Hell Butterfly summoned by this Kidō art, he could bypass that trouble.
"Hell Butterflies are naturally able to travel between different worlds... what a magical species."
Sora memorized this Kidō art for future use.
The self-created Kidō on this shelf were mostly of the "life hack" variety. Sora found them interesting and memorized them one by one.
After reading for a while, Shizuku returned with some tea and snacks. She didn't disturb the engrossed Sora, placing the refreshments down before leaving.
After finishing the Kidō insights, Sora glanced at the Hakuda and Shunpo notes.
However, he had already seen more complete and extensive notes on these subjects at the Shihōin residence. After flipping through for a bit and finding nothing noteworthy, he lost interest.
Sora came to the shelf containing books on ancient history, legends, and related explorations.
The collection here was not as large as that of the Shihōin or Shiba families, but their focus was different.
Their books had more descriptions of the Soul King.
The Saitō family had some records of explorations into Hell.
"So the Hell Butterfly was a species discovered by a Saitō ancestor..."
"Creatures of Hell are not immortal... If they die and are not revived by Hell's spiritual particles, their will is gradually worn away, and their spiritual particles become a permanent part of Hell..."
Sora even found a map of the world of Hell in one of the volumes.
It was a map explored by a certain Saitō ancestor.
It only recorded a small part of Hell, but it was still precious.
It was the first time Sora had ever seen a map of Hell in the Soul Society.
He immediately took out some paper and copied it down.
"This large vortex... could it be the 'Eye of Hell' that Seiko Saitō found?" Sora felt the description on the map was familiar.
The map didn't name the location, just drew a vortex in a river and marked a few words next to it—
Terrifying vortex, do not approach!
Sora thought this vortex might be the 'Eye of Hell' that Seiko had discovered. Perhaps she had seen this map before, which was how she found it.
A moment later, Sora found another map of Hell.
Sora had never been to Hell and had no concept of its environment, so he couldn't understand what was depicted.
However, the bottom left corner of the map showed a conspicuous forest of stone pillars.
He could tell it was a stone forest because many pillars made of stacked stones were drawn.
A line of text was also marked on it—
A place where Hell's spiritual particles gather!
Sora felt that the location described on the map might be an unusual place and copied this map down as well.
Both maps were clipped inside a biography, written by the same Saitō ancestor.
The biography also contained descriptions related to these two maps.
The ancestor did not delve deep into the large vortex in the river recorded in the first map.
Because a Hell creature he threw in disappeared, and unlike Seiko, he didn't have the ability to indirectly control the vision of other creatures, he didn't risk his own life and ended his exploration.
"That large vortex in the river is most likely the 'Eye of Hell' that Seiko found. We've already confirmed that the 'Eye of Hell' is one of the seals..."
As for the stone forest recorded in the second map.
It was a place where Hell's spiritual particles gathered, discovered by the Saitō ancestor.
Large amounts of these particles were often released here, attracting countless creatures from Hell.
Many powerful beings gathered here, making it a dangerous place.
The ancestor didn't want to get entangled with the powerful beings in Hell and did not explore this place deeply either.
"I should explore this stone forest when I have the chance. It might be the location of another seal."
The seals in Hell were related to the Lord of Hell. If he had the ability, he wanted to resolve this matter before the Lord of Hell revived.
However, the Lord of Hell was a being who could contend with the Soul King. Even now, with only his consciousness wandering in Hell, he was still highly dangerous.
Sora's current strength was only at an ordinary captain level. With the crisis not yet imminent, he didn't want to venture into Hell rashly.
What he needed to do now was to properly manage his affairs in the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the World of the Living, and reach a transcendent level.
...
"Sōsuke, which group are you in?" Isshin Shiba stared at the list, searching for his name.
"I'm looking..." Aizen Sōsuke was also looking at the list.
The group stage roster for the 'Shin'ō Academy Shinken Taiketsu' had been released, and the matches were about to begin.
"Found it. I'm in Group Five." Aizen looked at the other names in his group and saw no one noteworthy. "None of you are in the same group as me."
"Great, I'm in Group Three!" Isshin clenched his fist. "This is like savoring a good meal. The best parts should be saved for last. I'll see you all after the quarter-finals!"
Isshin also breathed a sigh of relief, not having to face Sajin or Aizen at the beginning.
Although he believed he had a chance to win against both of them...
He also knew their strength was not to be underestimated. He could easily be defeated, and he didn't want to suffer a loss in the group stage.
He was currently practicing a new special move. It was very powerful and had to be unveiled in the finals.
If he revealed it too early, he might not be able to defeat Aizen with it.
He was going to win the championship in this 'Shinken Taiketsu'!
And achieve the feat of graduating in his first year!
The others were also looking for their group assignments.
"I'm in Group One," Sajin Komamura quickly found his name on the list.
"It's over, it's over, I'm in Group One too!" Lisa Yadōmaru held her head in her hands in despair.
Sajin was already strong, and now he had learned Shikai. There was no way she could beat him!
She had seen his Shikai; its power was immense.
If Sajin got serious, it wasn't impossible for her to be defeated in a single blow!
"I... I'm also in Group One!" Sōya Azashiro stared blankly at the list.
It's over!
He was in the same group as Sajin and Lisa!
He couldn't beat either of them during their usual sparring sessions.
Although he could use his proficient Kidō in the competition, he knew it would be difficult to defeat them even then.
Needless to say, Sōya had no way to deal with Sajin, who had already learned Shikai.
And Lisa was better than him in everything except Kidō. He had no confidence in defeating her either.
"I'm in Group Six..." Isane Kotetsu was happy not to be in the same group as them.
"Group One is the group of death! How scary!" Isshin said with a grin, glad it wasn't him.
"Even if you don't win the group, the top three in points can still challenge the winners of other groups. Don't worry too much, just do your best," Aizen said with a comforting smile.
"Group One really is the group of death... How unfortunate for you all."
The group looked over. A young man with black hair stood beside them.
He wore a pair of sunglasses and had a buzz cut.
Despite his youth, he had a chiseled face, a mustache, and a hint of a punkish attitude.
"Meeting me, Tetsuzaemon Iba, is your greatest misfortune!" Tetsuzaemon Iba grinned.
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