"Never thought I'd see the day…"
"Wood Release is only the beginning."
"The Zanpakutō's final ceiling… at the very least, it'll reach beyond the Sage of Six Paths—power great enough to end the world…"
Staring at the two colossal statues—
one on the left, one on the right—
Bai Chen couldn't help but marvel at just how extraordinary his Wood-Element Zanpakutō truly was.
But just as he planned to linger in his inner world a little longer, hoping to gain more insight—
a wave of exhaustion surged up from nowhere.
His form began to blur at the edges.
"Is it because this is my first time entering the inner world… and I still haven't adapted?"
Bai Chen lifted his head, looked once more at the two statues, and sighed with a trace of regret.
"Looks like… the timing still isn't right."
"The proper moment will probably come when I fully release my Zanpakutō…"
"Only then will I truly resonate with this inner world—mind to mind, soul to soul."
With that thought,
Bai Chen relaxed.
He had entered through Jinzen, forcing his way into this place.
And that method—
was draining.
A short-term overload was only natural.
If he wanted to avoid this happening again,
then from this point onward, the path was simple—
like everyone said:
day by day, night by night,
he would accompany his Asauchi and continuously pour reiatsu into it.
With time and accumulation,
his Zanpakutō would awaken for real.
Once he understood that,
Bai Chen stopped clinging to the moment.
He closed his eyes slowly, and his vision dissolved into pure darkness.
———
Not long after,
his consciousness withdrew from the inner world.
Soon, the once-empty classroom began to fill as other students returned.
When the allotted time ended,
Hinamori Momo, Kira Izuru, Abarai Renji, and the rest had all chosen their Asauchi.
At the front of the room,
the homeroom teacher swept his gaze across the class.
Seeing everyone lovingly handling the Asauchi they'd selected, he nodded in satisfaction, then announced loudly:
"Everyone."
"Now that you've received your Asauchi…"
"It's time for class to officially begin."
"And today's content is the training of the Soul Reaper's four major combat techniques."
His words ignited the students' enthusiasm again.
Even Bai Chen felt anticipation flicker in his eyes.
Because while a Zanpakutō was essential—
the most important thing, the core that determined a Soul Reaper's ultimate ceiling—
a Soul Reaper also possessed other fighting methods.
Namely—
Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō.
The four arts.
Zan—Zanjutsu, swordsmanship.
By extension,
the other three were hand-to-hand combat, movement, and spells.
According to academy rules,
over the six-year program,
only those who reached a passing standard in all four arts earned the right to graduate.
In other words—
besides awakening one's Zanpakutō,
the academy's primary training over those six years was mastering these Four Arts.
They were the foundation that every Soul Reaper relied on to survive.
However—
the instant the homeroom teacher finished speaking—
Bai Chen's expression shifted slightly.
A spark of delight flared across his face.
Because without warning—
the system notification sounded again.
Ding!
"New check-in task released!"
"No time limit. Please check in at the training grounds within Shinō Academy."
"Upon successful check-in, you will receive a special reward:
Four Arts: Mastery (Proficient & Skilled)."
Bai Chen hadn't expected it.
The next check-in location was still inside Shinō Academy—
the very training grounds they were about to go to.
And the reward…
was Four Arts mastery.
It was practically tailor-made for him.
"Tsk, tsk…"
"So I can just check in to acquire the Soul Reaper's four combat disciplines."
"I've got to admit… the system keeps getting more ridiculous."
Bai Chen cheered internally.
Even if this reward had nothing to do with the God-tier Hashirama template—
being handed Soul Reaper combat skillsets outright was still huge.
At the very least,
once he had Four Arts mastery, he could save an enormous amount of time—
and pour all his focus into adapting to his Zanpakutō, refining resonance, and deepening insight.
There was no arrangement more comfortable than that.
———
Soon after,
under the homeroom teacher's lead,
the class arrived at the training grounds on the academy's eastern side.
The area was massive.
Looking across it, Bai Chen estimated there were over thirty training fields—enough for multiple classes to train at once.
The moment Bai Chen stepped onto the grounds with the crowd—
the system prompt chimed in his mind in perfect sync.
Ding!
"Host has entered the check-in zone. Proceed with check-in?"
Bai Chen glanced ahead at the instructor coordinating with the homeroom teacher—
then answered without hesitation:
"Check in immediately!"
In the next instant—
Ding!
"Check-in commencing."
"Duration: five seconds. Exiting midway will be considered a failure."
The countdown ended quickly.
Bai Chen's lips curved upward—satisfied—as the reward arrived.
Ding!
"Congratulations, Host. Check-in successful!"
"Check-in Reward: Four Arts: Mastery (Proficient & Skilled)."
The moment the notification ended—
Bai Chen felt his mind surge.
A flood of memories poured into him:
insights, experience, and refined understanding of the Four Arts—
along with the smooth, instinctive familiarity of true proficiency.
In a heartbeat,
the theoretical gaps in his Soul Reaper knowledge were patched over completely.
"Perfect."
"No need to sit through long-winded explanations or endless drills…"
Bai Chen smiled, his expression bright and confident.
With mastery-level control—
paired with the oceanic reiatsu roaring within him—
his Four Arts capability had essentially been maxed out in one step.
Almost no training required.
Just… straight to full level.
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