Kidō Class

Three months! For three whole months, Ye Yang had shown his students what hellish training was like! By the second day, all but a handful of them were aching in their backs and waists, with hardly a single one in good shape. But Ye Yang didn't let them rest. Instead, he trained them even more rigorously.

Most of them were young masters and young ladies from noble families who were used to being pampered, but Ye Yang paid that no mind. He increased their running from fifteen laps to twenty, and the number of sword swings they had to do afterward went up as well.

After they finished practicing those basics, Ye Yang devised a regimen for each of them according to their individual traits. In short, Ye Yang had one rule: no one was allowed to be left standing after training. Not even Gin Ichimaru!

During this period, Ye Yang also gave them weights to wear and ordered them never to take them off except when bathing or in an emergency. They weren't used to the weights at first, and the experience was miserable. But when Ye Yang had them all remove the weights during one class, they stopped complaining. They could clearly feel a significant improvement in both speed and strength, and it was no small improvement. As their strength grew, they naturally became even more convinced of Ye Yang's abilities.

To Ye Yang's relief, not a single person in the class quit. Even the girls gritted their teeth and stuck it out, which took him completely by surprise. He had expected at least half of them to give up, but along with his surprise came relief. After all, seeing that the students he had taught were all so outstanding, how could Ye Yang not be happy as their teacher?

After three months, not only had their stamina improved dramatically, but their Zanjutsu and Hakuda had also made tremendous strides. Their progress in Hakuda was especially rapid with Ye Yang's guidance. Although Ye Yang couldn't teach them those martial arts, how many people in all of Seireien could match his mastery of Hakuda? After three months of instruction, their Hakuda was no longer the wild flailing it had been before; it had begun to take shape.

Their Spiritual Pressure had also largely stabilized over those three months, and most of them could now use it proficiently. Finally, today, Ye Yang was ready to teach them Kidō.

Of the four major skills, Kidō was the one Ye Yang was least proficient in. Fortunately, Urahara was a genius in that area. With his help and Ye Yang's excellent control over his Spiritual Pressure, Ye Yang could now use Incantation Abandonment for Kidō numbered sixty-three and below, since Raikōhō was his current limit. With the incantation, he should be able to use those below number ninety.

Ye Yang called all the students to the Kidō classroom and said, "Now that I've called everyone here, you can probably guess what I have in mind. That's right, you won't need to train your stamina today. What I'm going to teach you is Kidō!"

Excitement appeared on their faces, and Ye Yang continued, "Kidō is a high-level spell art that only Shinigami can use. It's divided into two types: Hadō and Bakudō. Hadō refers to offensive Kidō; the higher its number, the harder it is to use and the more powerful it is. Bakudō is Kidō used for defense, capture, and restraint. Likewise, the higher its number, the greater its power."

Ye Yang paused, then continued, "Since this is your first time learning Kidō, we'll just learn some low-level ones today. As for the advanced ones, that will depend on your performance later."

"First up is Hadō. Watch closely." Ye Yang pointed a finger at a target and recited, "Hadō #1—Shō!" A faint yellow shock wave shot toward the target, and with a bang, a hole burst open in its center.

"Did you see that clearly?" Ye Yang looked at them. "Give it a try yourselves."

Everyone began trying it out. "Hadō #1—Shō!"

"Hadō #1—Shō!"

But something strange happened: almost every student successfully cast the Kidō. Normally, it was extremely easy to fail on the first attempt. Anyone who succeeded on their first try was bound to have exceptional talent for Kidō.

Their accuracy was also remarkably high, as though they had practiced before. Seeing this, Ye Yang smiled. "Did you notice? Every one of you was able to cast Kidō successfully. That's the result of your three months of work. Do you know why I sent you back exhausted every day? During your daily training, you weren't just using your physical strength; you were consuming your Spiritual Pressure too. When both your strength and your Spiritual Pressure are completely depleted, that's when cultivating Spiritual Pressure is fastest. Using up every last bit of Spiritual Pressure and then cultivating it back is the fastest way to increase it!"

"Another thing is that you've learned how to ration your physical strength, and controlling Spiritual Pressure works on the same principle. As long as your Spiritual Pressure and your control over it are good enough, Kidō is really just a matter of using an incantation to guide it and using Spiritual Pressure to change the arrangement of Reishi. Once you've mastered those two things, Kidō naturally won't be a problem," Ye Yang explained.

Except for that ** Kisuke Urahara, Ye Yang grumbled inwardly...

At that moment, a silver-haired boy stepped forward and said, "Teacher, we can all do it now. Could you teach us some other Kidō? You did say that at the beginning."

Ye Yang looked at Gin. "You have a good memory, Ichimaru. What I'm going to talk about next is Bakudō. For example, Bakudō #1—Sai!"

The moment he finished the incantation, Gin's hands were unnaturally bound behind his back, unable to move. Ye Yang said to the students, "Did you all see that? This is Bakudō number one, a basic Kidō that binds an opponent's hands behind their back to restrict their movement. You can practice on each other in pairs. Don't hold back; Bakudō doesn't hurt people." As he spoke, he released the Bakudō on Gin.

Gin looked at Ye Yang with his ever-present smile. "Teacher, you're so biased. You use me for demonstrations every time."

"Now that you mention it, I suppose I do. Sorry, Ichimaru. Then, as compensation, Hadō #4—Byakurai!" A bolt of white lightning shot straight ahead and smashed a target to pieces.

"Did you see that clearly, Ichimaru?"

"Very clearly, Teacher Ye Yang. Hadō #4—Byakurai!" Another bolt of lightning shot out. Unlike Ye Yang's, his wasn't as thick, and it merely pierced through the target.

Even so, Ye Yang couldn't help marveling, "You really are a genius, Ichimaru."

"Oh, you flatter me, Teacher. Is there anything else?"

Ye Yang smiled. "Ichimaru, bite off more than you can chew and you won't master any of it. Get proficient with these first."

Gin showed no disappointment. "Teacher, you really are stingy."

Ye Yang didn't answer. Instead, he addressed the whole class. "Everyone, practice Kidō freely for two hours, then do your usual training. Running and sword swings—you're not skipping a single one!"

"Ah, Teacher, isn't this Kidō class today? How can you do this?" one of the students asked.

"But this is for your own good too. You can't stop training your stamina for even a moment~" An unknown black substance appeared behind Ye Yang. Together with his chilling smile, it sent a shiver down every student's spine.

"Yes, Teacher!" Was this a joke? If we didn't agree, we'd die a horrible death...

—One month later—

All the students of first-year class one were lined up in the Kidō classroom. The first recited, "O ruler! Mask of flesh and blood, all things in creation, wings that soar, that which bears the name of man! Heat and strife, surging waves of the sea, advance to the south! Hadō #31—Shakkahō!" A red fireball the size of a palm exploded against the target.

"Maruyama, your control is pretty good, but the power is lacking. You need to work harder on your Spiritual Pressure," Ye Yang instructed.

"Yes, Teacher."

"Next!"

"O ruler!... Hadō #31—Shakkahō!" This time, the fireball was much bigger, but it struck the wall behind the target dead on. Fortunately, the wall had a protective layer, or it would have been ruined long ago.

"You need more practice with your control. Next!"

After a month of practice, they had learned the basics of Kidō. Every student in the class could now cast a highly destructive Kidō like Shakkahō. Although they still had many problems, with time and practice, they would surely be able to use it proficiently.

For now, only Gin and Rangiku could cast those Kidō with proper form. As expected of people who would one day become a captain and a lieutenant, they were truly exceptional.

After Rangiku cast a perfect Shakkahō, Ye Yang smiled and said, "Mm, very good. Everyone should learn from Rangiku."

When Gin's turn came, a hint of playfulness appeared on his seemingly unchanging, smiling face. "Hadō #33—Sōkatsui!" A burst of white explosive flame erupted from his hand and hit the bull's-eye, smashing the target to smithereens! But that wasn't the end of it. After destroying the target, the white flame sped toward the wall behind it. When it struck, it didn't explode, but pressed against the wall as though trying to break through. Then the wall's defense system activated and fought against it. With a boom, an explosion rang out like a defiant roar from the Sōkatsui, leaving only a black mark on the wall.

The students were stunned. They had never seen such a powerful Kidō before. Could it be this powerful even after Incantation Abandonment? Looking at the mark on the wall, they knew they weren't dreaming.

It wasn't just them. Even Ye Yang was thoroughly shocked. He had indeed taught Gin Sōkatsui, but he had never taught him Incantation Abandonment. A Kidō cast with Incantation Abandonment was generally three to five times weaker than one cast with an incantation. Even so, Gin's Kidō was this powerful. What if he used the full incantation?

Ye Yang soon calmed down, though. After all, he had already seen a **-level talent like Urahara. Gin's talent for Kidō was good, but it still fell a little short of Urahara's. That guy Kisuke Urahara had already been able to use the number sixty-three Raikōhō in his first year. Thinking of that, Ye Yang put aside his surprise.