Freshman Assessment

He waited and waited, but neither of them returned. With no other choice, he left on his own and headed for the freshman dormitory area.

When he reached the dormitories, the privileges of the nobility were once again on full display.

Nobles had priority in choosing their rooms, and someone like Xuanxin, who carried a letter of recommendation from one of the Five Great Noble Clans, was entitled to a private suite.

Although it was somewhat smaller than an ordinary four-person room, it offered complete peace and privacy.

In fact, even when ordinary noble children had this privilege, they often chose to give it up and live in shared rooms instead. After all, the academy was one of the best places to make connections and build their own factions.

But none of that applied to Xuanxin. His reason for coming to the academy was simple: to hone his swordsmanship and become a Soul Reaper. As for the tedious business of noble socializing, he had always avoided it whenever he could.

Besides, Xuanxin had never requested a private room himself.

As for who had pulled strings behind the scenes, he didn't even need to think about it. Shihoin Seigen had no time to concern himself with such trivial matters.

Why Yoruichi had done it, however, was another question, and Xuanxin couldn't be bothered to think about it.

Xuanxin pushed open the door and put his two brand-new standard-issue Asauchi and his Divine Gift Armament in their places. After a quick wash, he lay down on the soft bed and slowly closed his eyes, looking forward to his first proper lesson the next day.

And in the unseen mental layer, an invisible hand slowly turned the first page beneath the heavy book cover.

Chapter 5: Freshman Assessment

When the first rays of sunlight fell the next morning, Xuanxin opened his eyes right on time, before the academy's wake-up bell had even rung.

After two years of a regular schedule and hard training, Xuanxin's body had developed a precise internal clock. He rolled briskly out of bed, washed up, and had a quick plum rice ball before beginning his daily physical training, which he never missed.

After getting himself ready, Xuanxin pushed open the door and headed for the first-year Class One classroom.

As Class One of Shin'ō Academy, its students should all have been exceptionally gifted, at least in theory. But that was only in theory.

Aside from the few commoners from Rukongai who had been selected for their genuine talent and ability, the class was filled mostly with noble children who had been admitted on the strength of their families' recommendation letters.

Xuanxin had thought he was early enough, but when he opened the classroom door, he found that more than half his classmates were already there.

Without anyone telling them to, the class had naturally split into two groups. On one side were the commoners, huddled together with uneasy expressions; on the other, noble children gathered in twos and threes, chatting and laughing with arrogant looks on their faces.

Although everyone wore the same white uniform, a closer look revealed differences in the fabric.

Students like Xuanxin, who came from noble backgrounds, mostly wore clothes custom-made by their families from fine materials, with subtle family patterns in inconspicuous places. The commoners' uniforms were made of coarse cloth issued by the academy.

As the students gradually took their seats, the freshmen inevitably began asking about one another and introducing themselves.

When Xuanxin calmly gave his name as "Fujiwara Genshin," the previously noisy classroom fell briefly silent. Then, hushed whispers began to circulate among the noble children.

"Fujiwara... I haven't heard of any great noble family with that name, but those clothes..."

A tall, thin noble boy nearby studied Xuanxin for a long while. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh and whispered excitedly to the person beside him:

"Hey, hey, hey~ Isn't he the one the young lady of the Shihoin Clan snatched back two years ago? Doesn't that make him a little..."

The noble was about to continue, but just as the words were leaving his mouth, someone covered it and whispered in his ear:

"Shut up! Have you never been beaten up by that one from the Shihoin Clan?"

At the sound of Yoruichi's name, the tall, thin noble recoiled as if burned and hastily swallowed the rest of his words.

In an instant, the mood changed. The noble children who had looked so arrogant moments ago all put on ingratiating smiles and gave Xuanxin the seat with the best view in the entire classroom.

Xuanxin raised an eyebrow but made no particular effort to decline. He simply nodded in acknowledgment and took his seat with composure.

He knew full well that these people were jealous and disdainful of a boy from Rukongai who had risen to the top in a single leap. But with the Shihoin family's intimidating presence behind him, they didn't dare show even the slightest trace of contempt openly.

At that moment, sunlight fell just right on Xuanxin's blue-and-white uniform, revealing the subtle pattern of the Shihoin main family's crest.

When the noble students saw the pattern on his clothes, they all drew sharp breaths. The looks they gave Xuanxin instantly gained a measure of awe and apprehension.

They also silently congratulated themselves on not offending him. If Xuanxin whispered a few words in Yoruichi's ear in bed, they would certainly pay dearly. If they escaped without spending a few days in the academy infirmary, it would only be because Yoruichi had been in a good mood.

As for the ordinary students from Rukongai, seeing how wary the noble children were of Xuanxin made them even less willing to approach him. They silently found seats in the back and waited quietly for class to begin.

Before long, the first lesson began.

It was somewhat different from what Xuanxin had expected. The freshmen's first lesson was a crash course in "basic Soul Society knowledge" for the commoners from Rukongai.

From the organization of the Gotei 13 and the Five Great Noble Clans to the power structure of the Central 46 Chambers and the basic classifications of Hollows, it was all elementary material.

And the Shihoin Clan's tutors had already gone over this material with him again and again, who knew how many times.

Yet Xuanxin still sat upright, showing no sign of weariness, and meticulously recorded the key points on paper with his brush.

He wasn't trying to curry favor with anyone. He was simply showing the basic respect a student owed a teacher.

The teacher at the lectern keenly noticed this detail.

Seeing how straight Xuanxin sat, then comparing him with the other noble children's laziness, the teacher couldn't help but develop a favorable impression of him.

However, when the teachers' gazes fell to the two Asauchi hanging side by side at Xuanxin's waist, they involuntarily frowned.

This... didn't anyone tell this child? Jinzen requires absolute focus of the soul. Bite off more than you can chew, and you won't digest it.

The teacher sighed inwardly and resolved to find an opportunity to call the boy to the office after the basic course ended, so he could explain the drawbacks of communicating with two Asauchi at once.

The dull lesson soon passed, and that afternoon, everyone would face a simple assessment of their potential.

That afternoon, the sun had grown somewhat fierce over Shin'ō Academy's dedicated training ground.

The Class One freshmen had changed into training clothes that allowed them to move freely and lined up neatly in the center of the grounds.

The teachers responsible for the practical assessment held clipboards and solemnly announced the afternoon's preliminary tests: the four basic Soul Reaper disciplines of swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, movement, and demon arts.

This assessment was for all freshmen. Family background didn't matter; only talent did. It also gave the commoner students, who had always been kept down by the nobles, a chance to silently steel themselves.

Kidō was tested first. The test was simple: no incantation was needed, only a straightforward measurement of Reiatsu intensity, along with a test of the students' Reiatsu attributes.

A noble-looking student whispered, "Hey, doesn't everyone say Reiatsu has no attribute, and you can make it do whatever you want?"

At this, the students around him nodded. Just then, a teacher walked over and said:

"Reiatsu is indeed pure power, but by changing its wavelength, you can achieve the effect you want. Everyone has a certain inclination in this regard, and the inclination measured now may very well be the attribute of your future Zanpakuto."

Understanding dawned on everyone's faces, and the testing officially began.

Xuanxin stood before the target and held two fingers together. A crimson beam pierced the wooden target in an instant.

As expected, Xuanxin earned an "A" rating thanks to his outstanding attributes. But what surprised the examiners most was the Reiatsu attribute represented by that crimson light.

All the teachers had assumed that a modest gentleman as warm and refined as Xuanxin would have a water or wind attribute, or at worst a lightning attribute. They had never imagined that his attribute would be the volatile element of fire.

Although judging a person's temperament from their Reiatsu attribute sounded somewhat unreliable, there ought to have been at least some theoretical basis for it.

The most vivid examples were Shunsui Kyōraku, captain of the Eighth Division, and Jūshirō Ukitake, captain of the Thirteenth Division. One was free and carefree like the wind, while the other was gentle and quiet like water.

It was precisely because of their example that Xuanxin's result came as such a surprise.

The test after Kidō was Zanjutsu.

This one was simple too: the students only had to use a wooden sword to knock away spiritual energy balls fired at them from every direction.

Naturally, the test was effortless for Xuanxin. Acting on instinct, he easily shattered each incoming spiritual energy ball.

Even the ball the teacher decided on a whim to throw at him secretly after the test had ended was perfectly shattered by Xuanxin.

In the end, the teacher gave him the highest Zanjutsu rating since the academy's founding: "S+."

The last two tests were Shunpo and Hakuda. With guidance from Yoruichi, the future "Flash Goddess," his Shunpo had naturally been honed early on, earning him an "A-."

Just as all the teachers were looking forward to Xuanxin's Hakuda result, he gave them quite a show.

Xuanxin's Hakuda was literally "fighting for nothing." Not only did it have no real power, but he might even have sprained something. Even so, Xuanxin managed to complete a set of techniques according to the prescribed routine.

In the end, considering the Shihoin family and Xuanxin's earlier performance, the teachers reluctantly gave him a "B" so that his Hakuda wouldn't drag down his results too much.

Although Hakuda had held him back from earning all A's, Xuanxin's results still ranked among the best since the academy's founding.

That evening, the assessment reports for all the freshmen were delivered to the desk of Shin'ō Academy's founder, Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai.

The old man, who could be said to stand above all of Soul Society, raised a withered yet powerful hand and picked up the reports, reading through them page by page. But the further he read, the deeper the wrinkles on Shigekuni Yamamoto's face became.

He snorted coldly. "Utterly mediocre. After these years of peace and comfort, those nobles have grown more and more spoiled. It's been a long time since I encountered a youngster who could impress me."

Just as Yamamoto was about to wave Sasakibe away, the report at the very bottom caught the corner of his eye.

Whether someone had deliberately put it there to keep Shigekuni Yamamoto from seeing it, or whether that was simply the order it happened to be in, was unknown.

Shigekuni Yamamoto picked up the sheet and glanced over it, discovering that, unusually, the teachers had written comments on it.

Zanjutsu: S+ (A genius, a true genius. Both his application of force and his flexibility are impeccable.)

Kidō: A (Abundant Reiatsu, smoothly circulated, but lacking finesse in its circulation. Crude use, relying purely on brute force.)

Shunpo: A- (Entirely in the Shihoin Clan's style. Cannot be assessed normally.)

Hakuda: B (...Hard to describe. Passable.)

Note: At the student's own request, he was granted two Asauchi as an exception.

Shigekuni Yamamoto read Xuanxin's assessment several times, then pressed his finger hard on the word "passable." Finally, he silently set Xuanxin's report aside and slipped a random blank sheet into the stack.

Having done all this, Shigekuni Yamamoto sat at his desk and pondered. "Two Zanpakuto... interesting."

In Soul Society's history, Soul Reapers who wielded paired blades were exceedingly rare, and the only two who had them were both his own students.

Yet this boy recommended by the Shihoin Clan had dared to ask for two Asauchi right from the start. Did he truly possess a soul of such astonishing depth, or was he relying on the Shihoin Clan's influence to seek attention?

A long-absent sharpness flashed in Old Man Yamamoto's eyes, and he said to Sasakibe, who stood beside him:

"Chōjirō, put this Fujiwara Genshin on the highest-priority watch list. I want to see for myself what he can do with those two swords."

The scene returned to Shin'ō Academy.

As classes proceeded smoothly through the first week, Xuanxin was naturally elected class representative of Class One, thanks to his low-key manner and the formidable, if unseen, backing of the Shihoin Clan.

To other students, the position of Class One representative might have been an impressive title, but to Xuanxin it was nothing more than a title of little significance.

Perhaps no one was happier about Xuanxin's official enrollment than Yoruichi.

In the days before school started, Yoruichi had been so excited that she could barely sleep. Her mind had been filled with the thought, At last, Xuanxin and I can openly spend time together in the same place every day.

Reality, however, soon dealt her a blow.

Yoruichi sadly realized that even though she and Xuanxin were attending the same school and had a chance to see each other every day,

she had forgotten that she was already a third-year veteran, while Xuanxin had only just entered his first year.

As a result, the two years' schedules fell perfectly out of step. When Xuanxin was in theory class, she was training in Hakuda; when she had a break, Xuanxin was called away for his daily physical training.

Although they were at the same academy, they could count the chances they had to see each other during the day on one hand!

"What is this? We're at the same school, so how did it turn into a long-distance relationship?"

In the shade of a secluded tree, Yoruichi tugged irritably at her purple hair, gritting her teeth in frustration.

She looked at her packed schedule, then at Xuanxin leading a group of runners on the field in the distance. A sly glint flashed in her golden eyes.

"Looks like... I'll have to use that method."

Yoruichi took a deep breath, recalling the ancient book she had found in her family's treasury: Cat Transformation Technique.