In the laboratory.
Sora was adjusting the life-support tanks.
The row of tanks in front of him was filled with nutrient fluid.
The Reigai for Batsu'unsai were in development inside these tanks.
After confirming that Shizuku Saitō's condition was stable, he had begun the creation process for Batsu'unsai's Reigai.
Sora recorded the day's data.
"The development speed is a bit faster than Shizuku's Reigai... Is it because of the difference in spiritual particle aptitude?"
Sora discovered that the spiritual body growth agent, which could accelerate the maturation of a Reigai, had different effects on different individuals.
The development speed of Batsu'unsai's Reigai was faster than that of Shizuku's.
"The time required might be shorter than expected. I estimate that in a year, the Spiritual Pressure can be developed to a seated officer's level, and within five years, it should reach the level of a Lieutenant."
If it were Shizuku's Reigai, its Spiritual Pressure would definitely not grow to a Lieutenant level within five years; after all, she herself had not even reached that level yet.
As for how long it would take to develop Batsu'unsai's Reigai to a captain-level Spiritual Pressure, he wasn't sure.
It was still unknown whether this method could even produce a Reigai with captain-level Spiritual Pressure.
After recording the data, Sora planned to go to another room to check on the Hollow Reigai that Aizen Sōsuke was creating.
He walked through a long, narrow corridor and arrived at a laboratory with a much higher ceiling than the other areas.
This laboratory was built inside a mountain.
The reason it was built so high was that it needed to accommodate a massive Gillian-class Menos Grande.
This enormous Gillian was not a natural product.
It was a Hollow Reigai!
This was the result of Aizen Sōsuke's recent creation efforts.
"Sōsuke, aren't you supposed to be participating in the 'Shinken Taiketsu' today? Why are you back so early?" Sora saw Aizen checking the Gillian's condition.
"The competition in the group stage wasn't very intense, so it ended early," Aizen said while recording data.
This was the first time they had created a Gillian-class Reigai. He was taking great care of it, afraid that something might go wrong, so he had rushed back to the laboratory immediately after his matches.
"You all advanced, right?" Sora asked with a smile.
He had been busy adjusting Batsu'unsai's Reigai for the past two days and didn't have time to watch the competition.
He was now the Vice-Director, so he no longer needed to act as a referee like the other teachers.
"Sōya didn't advance..." Aizen explained. "He was in the same group as Lisa and Sajin, so the competition was quite tough."
"All three of them were in the same group? Then the competition was indeed quite tough..." Sora frowned. "But shouldn't the top three in group points get the right to challenge the winners of other groups?"
He had set this rule himself to allow for some margin of error.
The group assignments for the students were randomized by other teachers.
"There was another rather strong student in Group One, Tetsuzaemon Iba," Aizen said. "Even Lisa and Sōya couldn't beat him."
"Tetsuzaemon Iba..." Sora thought for a moment. "He should be the son of the 3rd Division's Lieutenant Iba."
"In that case, Sōya must have lost to Lisa and didn't get a spot in the challenge round..." Sora said helplessly. "That kid doesn't train properly. He can't even beat Lisa anymore!"
Lisa Yadōmaru came from the Rukongai, while Sōya Azashiro had a better foundation, so Sōya used to be slightly stronger than her.
"It's good that he didn't advance this time. It'll teach him a lesson!" Sora continued, "How is this Gillian's condition?"
"The Spiritual Pressure fluctuations have stopped increasing and have entered a relatively stable state. There shouldn't be any major problems." A hint of pleasure showed on Aizen's face as he said this.
This was a major breakthrough for their Reigai experiments; they had never created a Menos-level Hollow Reigai before.
"To stimulate the Hollow Reigai's instinct to devour, letting them grow by consuming each other... what a brilliant idea," Sora remarked.
During the time Sora was in the Dangai, Aizen discovered that the Hollow Reigai he was creating seemed to have reached a limit and could no longer grow.
So he thought about how Hollows in Hueco Mundo grow into Menos.
Aside from those born as Menos, other Hollows grow by devouring their own kind.
Therefore, he tried to stimulate the Hollow Reigai's devouring instinct, letting them consume each other.
The Hollow Reigai in the lab that had stopped growing could already be considered strong individuals. By having them devour one another, they quickly created a Gillian-class Menos Grande.
"The evolution of Menos in Hueco Mundo is also through devouring their own kind. Following this method, it should be possible to create an Adjuchas-class Menos," Aizen said.
"Then continue the process. Once we get an Adjuchas-class, we'll use it for Shinigamification experiments," Sora nodded.
"Shinigamification experiments..." Aizen's hand paused. "I experimented on a few Hollow Reigai a while ago, but still got no results..."
"I don't think it's a matter of how much Spiritual Pressure they have. Even using an Adjuchas-class might not change the outcome," Aizen sighed. "If it's just a matter of infusing Shinigami Spiritual Pressure, this path is a dead end."
Aizen had already tried Shinigamification on Hollow Reigai and failed every time. He believed that relying on Shinigami Spiritual Pressure alone was not enough to make it happen.
"The Shinigamification of a Hollow is not that easy. This time, we're going to add this." Sora took out a long, thin piece of bone.
The bone was about one or two centimeters long. With his extensive experience in anatomy, Aizen quickly identified it as a small leg bone from some creature.
He also sensed a strange Spiritual Pressure fluctuation from it.
It was neither Shinigami nor Hollow.
"Could this be..." Aizen's eyes changed slightly as he recalled some of the secrets he had read about in the Shiba family library.
"You guessed right. This is a bone of the Soul King," Sora nodded. "The power contained within is the power of the Soul King!"
Sora had found this piece of the Soul King's bone in the Forest of Menos and had divided it into three parts. This was one of them.
Aizen's breathing quickened. After reading those secrets, he had also developed the idea of getting a Soul King fragment to study.
He never expected his professor to have already obtained one!
"Professor, you must let me study it!" Aizen's thirst for knowledge was completely ignited by this piece of bone.
"I brought it out for you to study," Sora said with a smile.
Aizen received it as if it were a priceless treasure. He had a premonition that both the Shinigamification of Hollows and the Hollowfication of Shinigami had to start with the Soul King fragments.
...
It was already late when Sora returned to the dojo.
As he approached his room, he saw someone slumped over by the door, asleep.
Sora crouched down and turned the person over.
"Huh... Professor, you're back...?" Lisa Yadōmaru rubbed her sleepy eyes.
"Lisa?" Sora was a bit curious as to why she was sleeping here. "Why aren't you sleeping in your room?"
"Ah!" Lisa remembered her purpose and immediately woke up. "Professor! Please tutor me in 'Blade Meditation training'!"
"It's so late..." Sora said with a smile. "How about we practice tomorrow? I'll make time to tutor you then."
"There are many opponents in the top eight who have mastered Shikai... I want to learn Shikai before the matches begin!" Lisa grabbed Sora's hand and started shaking it. "I don't want to lose in the top eight. Please help me, Professor~"
Lisa knew her professor was very busy recently and might not have much time to tutor her tomorrow. That's why she wanted to beg him for help when he returned at night.
"Alright, alright, come in with me." Seeing Lisa act cute, Sora's heart softened, and he agreed.
With his spiritual body's endurance, he didn't actually need to sleep unless he was seriously injured. Sleeping every day was just to maintain an old habit, which gave him a sense of being alive.
He was also happy that his disciple was so eager to improve, so he didn't mind skipping a night's rest.
After entering the room, Lisa looked around curiously. She had rarely been in her professor's room and was intrigued by the furnishings.
Katori Sora's room was very clean, but the vase by the desk held some withered flowers.
"These flowers have wilted..."
"I put them there a few months ago..." Sora scratched his face. He had been too busy recently to pay attention to such things.
"Then I'll help you change the flowers from now on!" Lisa's eyes lit up. She could use this as an excuse when she came for tutoring tomorrow.
"Mm... sit down." Sora took out an incense burner, lit it, and had Lisa sit in front of him.
Soon, the room was filled with fragrant smoke, which had a calming and refreshing effect.
"Professor, I'm ready!" Lisa sat cross-legged in front of him, placed her Asauchi on her lap, and began Blade Meditation meditation.
It wasn't her first time receiving this kind of guidance, so she knew the process.
"Then I'm coming in." Sora also sat cross-legged in front of her and placed his hand on her Zanpakutō.
He invested 'Blade Meditation Experience', and in an instant, Sora entered a deep state of meditation.
When he came to his senses again, he found himself in a chaotic space.
This was Lisa Yadōmaru's inner world.
It was not a mature inner world; it was still in an unformed state.
Normally, if the inner world was not stable, a Shinigami wouldn't be able to enter it during self-meditation.
But with her professor's help, Lisa could enter her inner world ahead of time.
After her consciousness arrived, she sensed another presence here.
It was her Zanpakutō!
She tried hard to feel that consciousness, attempting to establish a connection with it.
Communicating with a Zanpakutō here was far more efficient than doing it in the outside world.
Sora saw that some things began to appear in the chaotic space.
"Water?" Sora saw a lot of water appear, gathering into masses.
It wasn't just water; a lot of soil and sand also appeared.
These things gradually solidified, forming a large pit.
The water that had appeared earlier slowly flowed into the pit.
"A lake... this scale is more like a pond..." Sora felt the pit was a bit too small to be called a lake.
After the pond was formed, the changes in the inner world sped up, making Sora feel as if he were watching a time-lapse video.
The inner world was changing rapidly.
Elements like a wooden bridge, a pavilion, and lotus leaves emerged in the pond.
After the pond finished changing, other elements also coalesced, and the ground extended outward.
The pond was like a piece of green stone set in the earth, quiet and deep.
Not long after,
The pond was shrouded in a light mist, like a paradise.
Sunlight filtered through the mist and scattered on the water's surface, creating shimmering golden light.
The pond was surrounded by green trees and weeping willows.
The scenery was so vivid that Sora had the illusion of smelling the fragrance of the soil and grass.
He was currently a conscious entity and couldn't actually smell anything.
"A very beautiful inner world," Sora praised.
This scenery was much better than his own, which was full of sand.
At that moment, a black-tailed dragonfly flew out of the pond and landed on Sora's shoulder.
Sora quickly realized that this was Lisa's Zanpakutō!
The dragonfly was emitting a friendly signal.
Sora's guidance had helped Lisa's inner world to form faster, which had also improved the environment for the dragonfly.
"You still don't want to tell her your name?" Sora received the dragonfly's message.
"I can't tell her that easily," the dragonfly said.
"Why?" Sora asked, curious. "Lisa's comprehension and perseverance are top-notch. I think she will be a very outstanding Shinigami."
"Lisa is indeed excellent," the dragonfly did not deny. "But if I tell her too easily, she might not cherish me in the future."
"You mean, you want to test her?" Sora asked.
"Yes. If she can pass the test, I'll tell her my name."
"Then what do you want to test her on?"
"I don't know... you decide..."
"I decide?" Sora scratched his face.
The dragonfly's words surprised him. It was the first time he had ever seen a Zanpakutō's test be decided by an outsider.
But no one else could enter another person's inner world.
"I trust you," the dragonfly said simply.
"Then... how about having Lisa learn a new sword technique?" Sora asked tentatively.
"It can't be too easy," the dragonfly started making demands. "And it has to be before the competition starts."
"Well..." Sora scratched his head. This was still quite difficult for Lisa. "Alright, let's do that."
Lisa was still meditating with her eyes closed, communicating with the dragonfly. She didn't know that it had already made an agreement with Katori Sora.
As long as she learned a new, difficult sword technique before the competition began, it would tell her its name.
---------------------------
Access more than 400 chapters across more than 7 different novels on Patreon!
For this novel, there are already more than 100 chapters available, and we are only 9 subscribers away from unlocking up to chapter 150!
And many more projects in progress!