Teaching

"Imagine I was born from one of the Soul King's organs."

The absurd idea made him chuckle.

"Indeed," Lisa interjected, her eyes never leaving her novel. "Quincy with monster-level Reiatsu are a rare breed in the world today."

In Lisa's view, if Cangya succeeded in revealing his Quincy powers, he would become the Gotei 13's primary target for scrutiny.

The Gotei 13 would never allow him to act freely and eliminate Hollows, because that would upset the balance between the Three Worlds.

As a spy, she couldn't go against Izumi's decision and prevent Cangya from joining her family, either.

Her words went in one ear and out the other. He then placed a hand on Izumi's shoulder, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. "Sister, tell me. Do we fight Hollows with our bare hands?"

He was referring to Blut, an ability demonstrated by most members of the Sternritter during the Thousand-Year Blood War.

The skill allowed Quincy to significantly enhance their defense or attack power. The only drawback was that they couldn't use both at the same time.

As a fighter, he could certainly make use of Blut.

Izumi blinked in surprise.

As a pure-blooded Quincy, she could naturally use both Blut Vene and Blut Arterie.

"We may have spiritual power, but our bodies are still human. It's impossible to fight Hollows barehanded using Quincy skills alone. We rely on these."

She quickly took a silver Quincy Cross pendant from around her neck and held it up before her.

A brilliant blue light enveloped her hand, drawing in the surrounding Reishi like a magnet.

The next moment, an ornate Spirit Bow appeared.

"Hah!"

She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and drew the bowstring all the way back.

A blue arrow formed from spiritual power appeared on the ethereal bow.

"These arrows can kill Hollows—monsters filled with vengeance that indiscriminately devour other souls."

Cangya applauded as though he were enjoying her performance. "Amazing, Sister. You're so cool~"

Touched by his praise, Izumi nodded proudly.

Feeling Lisa's intense gaze, she coughed and made the Spirit Bow disappear. "Sorry."

His innocent admiration had brought out a completely new side of Izumi, and only Lisa knew it.

"Cangya, the bow is a Quincy's most important skill in battle. I'll teach you that first... then we'll study some basic theory."

"Okay, Sister," he replied.

He had never had any siblings, so calling Izumi that was a completely new experience for him. He didn't mind being pampered like this. "So where do I start?"

Izumi crossed her arms. "The bow I used was formed by combining the surrounding Reishi with my Reiatsu."

Lisa covered her face with her hand in resignation at her employer's foolishness. "Lady Izumi, he doesn't understand the terms you're using."

"Oh..." Izumi frowned. "How should I explain them without overwhelming him?"

Lisa set her book aside and left the room.

A short while later, she returned with a whiteboard and a pen.

She drew two identical human figures, labeling them "human (physical body)" and "soul (spirit)" respectively.

"You're terrible at drawing."

Lisa ignored his jab at her basic drawing skills.

"Listen carefully. Humans, like you and Lady Izumi, are physical entities. They live in the World of the Living and, like everything else here, are made of physical matter."

"Physical bodies can interact with each other, but unless they develop spiritual awareness like you recently did, they can't see or touch souls. Are you following me?"

"Yes, maid teacher."

"Then what are souls? Simply put, we call them spiritual bodies made of Reishi. Those warriors you saw were souls."

"Next is Reishi, or spiritual particles. They're the smallest units that make up souls and all spiritual matter, similar to atoms in your world. In Spirit Worlds like the Gotei 13 and Hueco Mundo, the concentration of Reishi is higher than in the World of the Living."

Because he had been born a Hollow, he had only a superficial understanding of the concept of the Spirit World.

These formal lessons gave him a deeper understanding of the concept. "Mm-hmm, mm-hmm."

Lisa looked back at his attentive expression and pointed to the drawing labeled "soul."

"Moving on, Reiatsu is the amount of spiritual energy a being possesses. Think of it as your spiritual muscle. The stronger your Reiatsu, the more power you possess as a spiritual being."

"Finally, Reiatsu is the pressure exerted by your Reiatsu. It's like your spiritual signature. The stronger your Reiatsu, the more powerful and intimidating you appear to other spiritual beings."

"Oh. Sister said my Reiatsu level is very high. Does that mean I'm automatically an elite warrior as far as other souls are concerned?"

Lisa shook her head. "Reiatsu only reflects the Reiatsu you can consciously use. Don't worry about that. Lady Izumi will first teach you how to use your Reiatsu."

Cangya took a deep breath. "Okay. So humans are made of matter, souls are made of Reishi, Reiatsu is spiritual power, and Reiatsu is the pressure exerted by spiritual power. Have I got that right?"

Izumi smiled at how quickly he learned. "We'll begin the lessons on Reiatsu and gathering Reishi inside a force field. Lisa, are you coming?"

Normally, Reiatsu training could be done anywhere, but Cangya's powerful Reiatsu complicated matters.

His enormous spiritual energy would undoubtedly attract a large horde of Hollows, so they needed to use a force field to hide his Reiatsu.

"Forgive me, Lady Izumi. I need to prepare lunch."

"We'll order food. Lisa, stop making excuses."

"You've got me cornered, haven't you?" Lisa sighed. "After you, madam."

Their interaction made it clear that Izumi trusted Lisa deeply, unaware that her true identity was that of a former Soul Reaper lieutenant.

Unlike her husband, she had no fondness for Soul Reapers.

Lisa was playing with Izumi's feelings, just as he was playing with theirs.

Izumi brought Cangya to a secluded Quincy training ground in Karakura Town: an ordinary-looking warehouse that was empty inside.

Izumi used a special Quincy skill to set up a force field, then began instructing Cangya on how to control his Reiatsu.

This time, Cangya didn't tease Izumi. After pretending to struggle for a while, he showed results.

However, he carefully kept his Reiatsu far below its peak, not wanting to frighten them with his Senior Captain-level Reiatsu.

Both women briefly looked surprised—a truly rare sight—and then Izumi began teaching him the key part of how Quincy used their abilities.

Gathering Reishi.

Cangya had already become familiar with manipulating Reishi during his month-long training with Tier Harribel.

However, Quincy abilities required extremely precise control over vast amounts of Reishi—a skill he had yet to master.

"It shouldn't be that hard, right?"

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

As he entered a state of deep concentration, the sound of his own heartbeat drowned out everything else. It was this very state that had allowed him to perceive many things about Hollows in Hueco Mundo.

He called this state "training mode."