Ability Assessment (2)

"Now, Yexing-san, please place your hand on the Reiatsu Crystal and channel your Reishi into it until you feel you can't channel any more."

Fon Shaoling pushed the crystal toward Hu. Hu placed his hand on it and thought:

How do I channel Reishi into it? Do I just push hard?

Hu then began pushing hard enough to make the crystal ball creak.

"That's not how you do it, Yexing-san. You don't need to use that much force. Just channel the Reishi through your hand into the Reiatsu Crystal, as naturally as breathing."

Hu adjusted again and felt a current slowly flowing into the Reiatsu Crystal. The crystal gradually began to glow blue, but the more Reishi Hu channeled into it, the deeper and colder the blue became. By the time Hu finished, the entire crystal was emitting a deep blue, ghostly light.

Hu let go of the Reiatsu Crystal. "I'm done channeling it."

The analyst took the crystal, connected it to the appropriate instruments, and began reporting the results: "Reishi intensity per unit: qualified. Normal-state Reiatsu intensity: qualified. Base body strength basically meets the requirements."

"Then congratulations, Yexing-san. You've passed the first test."

"The first test was that easy?"

"It isn't actually that easy. It just means you're very talented, Yexing-san. Ordinary souls usually need decades of training to meet the Fon Clan's testing standards. But souls who improve through training generally have a hard time getting the Fon Clan's recommendation. You can think of this as a stepping stone."

"If the test is this simple, aren't there a few too many people here?" Hu looked at the team of researchers and picked up the Reiatsu Crystal.

Fon Shaoling began to explain. "Of course, if we were only determining whether you qualified, we wouldn't need so many people. The main thing is that we need to analyze the nature of your Reishi next, Yexing-san, to decide on the corresponding training and tests."

The analysts used the connections to divide the Reishi stored in Hu's crystal. Some went into a doll, some into a copper plate engraved with the character "鬼," or "demon," beneath which were three more copper characters: "破," "binding," and "healing," for destruction, binding, and healing. The last portion went into a small crystal.

The doll infused with Reiatsu began performing various exercises, moving at high speed one moment and punching and kicking targets around it the next. Meanwhile, the instrument beneath it continuously printed out documents bearing the corresponding data.

The copper plate bearing the character "demon" also gradually turned red. The characters for destruction and binding below it both lit up, while numerous cracks suddenly appeared in the character for healing.

As for the last small crystal, after an analyst used his own Reishi to draw out the Reishi inside, it immediately transformed into several blade-like slashes of energy, injuring several analysts.

This gave Hu quite a scare. "How did they suddenly get hurt? Is testing Reishi that dangerous?"

Fon Shaoling was also puzzled. Even though they're researchers, they all came from the Onmitsukidō. How did they get hurt just testing the nature of some Reishi?

Fon Shaoling walked over. "What happened?"

The member responsible for guiding the Reishi, who was also the most seriously injured, examined the wound running from his left shoulder to the right side of his waist as he spoke. "After the subject's Reishi was guided out of the crystal, its nature manifested to a certain extent, producing several effects resembling slashes. Our preliminary conclusion is that his Zanpakuto's ability is very likely a direct-attack type, and its offensive capabilities may be quite exceptional."

Fon Shaoling looked at the wounds on the analysts.

There are no signs of elemental damage such as burns or frostbite. The flesh turned outward around the wounds and the way the clothes split do look very much like blade wounds. Are they pure slashes?

"All right, go get some rest." The injured analysts bandaged themselves up temporarily, combined their analysis reports and handed them to someone else, then withdrew. At the same time, the other analyses were also completed. Those analysts handed their reports to Fon Shaoling and left as well.

Fon Shaoling began looking through the reports, and Hu walked over.

"What happened just now?"

"It seems the nature of your Reishi is quite aggressive, Yexing-san. That device was supposed to disperse some of the stored Reishi so its nature could be observed safely. But the analysts were a little rash and observed it directly, causing this mishap when a large amount of Reishi changed in nature."

"I see..."

Hu thought, So people don't always follow experimental procedures strictly in Soul Society either...

However, Fon Shaoling thought:

That was a lie. There was nothing wrong with the analysts' procedure, and the Reishi dispersal process was carried out in full. Activating a standard unit of Reishi, which was not expected to cause much harm, nevertheless caused more damage than anticipated. This person's Reishi is quite pure and highly aggressive.

"Yexing-san, I'll now announce the analysis results, your training assignments for the next three days, and the contents of the final test." Fon Shaoling straightened the documents in her hands and began her explanation.

"The Reishi Doll simulation showed that your Reishi has a fairly high affinity for Shunpo and Hakuda, Yexing-san, but there are certain shortcomings. Your Shunpo speed can reach an excellent level, but the distance covered with each use is far below average.

"Your Reishi utilization is high when using Hakuda, and it becomes active when attacking. However, there is a non-inertial sluggishness in the transitions between many movements. The basic Hakuda movements may not suit the way your Reishi moves and will need to be adapted.

"In the Kidō test, you showed a fairly high affinity for Hadō, followed by Bakudō, while for healing Kidō, you showed a devastating degree of incompatibility. The test to verify our speculation about your Zanpakuto's ability also revealed the reason for this incompatibility. The nature of your Reishi manifested as slashes, so we speculate that your Zanpakuto's ability is a direct-attack type."

"You can tell that much from just that portion of Reishi? You can test all those affinities from it?"

"This set of equipment was specially ordered by the Fon Clan from the Department of Research and Development. Its original purpose was to help the Fon Clan better cultivate its talent. The reason Lady Soi Fon put this equipment to use in the assessment was to prepare appropriate tests for each candidate.

"In light of the above, the corresponding assessment for candidate Yexing Hu is as follows:

"The assessment is divided into four parts: Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō. You must pass all four to receive a Fon Clan recommendation."

"Assessment one: sword.

"Over the next three days, Ye Xing Hu will be taught the method of Zanjutsu meditation and temporarily issued an Asauchi. Learning basic Zanjutsu and obtaining the Zanpakuto's True Name within three days will constitute a pass.

"Assessment two: fist.

"Yexing Hu will undergo Hakuda training over the next ten days, then face the instructor at the Fon Clan Dojo after those ten days. Remaining undefeated for ten rounds will constitute a pass."

"Assessment three: movement.

"Yexing Hu will undergo Shunpo training over the next five days. Increasing the distance covered in a single Shunpo to 300 meters will constitute a pass."

"Assessment four: Kidō.

"Yexing Hu will practice Kidō within Sequence Ten over the next 30 days. The requirements are as follows:

"Hadō: be able to use all Hadō below Sequence Ten without an incantation."

"Bakudō: be able to use all Bakudō below Sequence Ten normally with an incantation."

"Healing Kidō: gain proficiency in the Emergency Bandaging Technique taught by the Fon Clan, and use healing Kidō without harming the recipient.

"The Kidō assessment will be held without warning after the one-month study period ends.

"That concludes your assessment, Yexing-san. Please do your best." After solemnly explaining the assessment, Fon Shaoling offered Hu a word of encouragement.

By now, Hu was starting to break into a slight sweat.

Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō? Is the Fon Clan picking on me because I'm not a local? I'm not a die-hard Bleach fan, but I did watch the whole anime. How are these four tests supposed to pick out promising talent? Wouldn't I be ready to become a Soul Reaper as soon as I pass them?