Captain-Commander's Iron Fist Lesson

Lu Li looked at the old man before him, his white beard bound with a purple tie, feeling both excited and somewhat surprised.

He was excited because he had met one of the world's foremost superpowers. He was surprised because the Captain-Commander seemed... a little short.

Perhaps he had not noticed when reading the manga back then, and the author's art style made the characters seem more slender. He had always thought the Captain-Commander was rather tall and imposing, but now that he saw him in person, he seemed to be under 1.7 meters.

So people really did shrink with age.

At that moment, every student in the dojo was fired up. After all, standing before them was a powerhouse equivalent to the history of the Soul Society, the pinnacle among Shinigami, the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, and the headmaster of the True Spirit Arts Academy.

No one had expected such an ordinary first-year Hakuda class to be taught by the Captain-Commander himself.

Never mind inside the dojo—the entrance was packed with people, and behind every window were at least ten pairs of eyes, all eager to witness the bearing of the Soul Society's strongest Shinigami.

Just as everyone excitedly prepared to listen to the Captain-Commander's teachings and perform well in this Hakuda class, he raised a hand and pointed directly in one direction.

"Boy, I hear your Hakuda grades are quite good. That brat Sunagawa can no longer teach you anything, so how about this old man practices with you?"

Eyes.

Gazes came from every direction, and those countless gazes carried all kinds of meanings.

Some were shocked, some envious, and some sympathetic, but even more were delighted by his misfortune.

As the True Spirit Arts Academy's hottest topic over the past two months, Lu Li's name was now known by everyone.

He had beaten the Shihouin Clan with his fists and cut down Fujimoto Hashira with his sword. This guy's talent seemed like a bottomless pit—there was nothing he could not do, to the point that countless instructors had declared themselves unable to teach him any further.

Well, now they would finally get to see Lu Li suffer.

With the Captain-Commander personally stepping in, would he not beat you into a pig's head?

The people standing beside Lu Li all backed away, including Aizen, who hid his delight, and Yoruichi, who openly relished his misfortune.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Lu Li showed no fear. He grinned. "Nothing could be better than receiving the Captain-Commander's guidance."

He stepped forward, tightened the sash around his waist, then removed the upper half of his uniform and let it hang at his side.

The True Spirit Arts Academy uniform was too loose. Whenever he fought, he always felt it was not crisp or free enough. And the opponent before him was the pinnacle among Shinigami—he had to go all out.

For the first time in a long while, Lu Li felt the blood within him boil, urging him to climb the great mountain before him.

"Wow... Lu-kun's body is amazing..."

"Looking closely, Lu-kun really is so manly. Strong and handsome."

"Those abs, those back muscles... I really want to touch them..."

Many students stared at Lu Li after he removed his top. He was the very image of looking lean in clothes and muscular without them.

From the front, his muscle lines resembled a sculpture from ancient Greece, as though they were the work of a god. The students standing behind Lu Li were even more astonished.

His back muscles were exceptionally developed. Amid their perfect symmetry, they seemed to form some sort of pattern—a beauty born of Violence.

Lu Li could not hear those noisy voices. At that moment, his eyes held only the old man before him.

"Mm. You have trained well."

The Captain-Commander looked at Lu Li's physique and offered his approval. Then his broad haori flew upward, and when it fell away, it revealed his powerful upper body.

Only after the Captain-Commander removed his top did the young students realize that this was no kind, short old man.

Every inch of that powerful upper body was packed with steel-like muscle. The scars left behind by time declared just how many desperate battles the old man had experienced, exuding a savage aura.

As his haori drifted to the ground, the Captain-Commander took a step forward. In that instant, Lu Li felt his body go stiff.

In Lu Li's eyes, the Captain-Commander's figure seemed to grow infinitely taller. He clearly had not released the slightest bit of Reiatsu, yet his invisible presence nearly crushed Lu Li.

The thing before him was not a mountain he needed to climb. It was clearly a world-ending tsunami bearing down on him!

"Boy, focus..."

The old man's tiger-like eyes fixed on Lu Li. "Then grit your teeth."

After that brief stiffness, Lu Li felt his heart beat.

Thump—thump—thump-thump-thump-thump-thumpthumpthump...

Like war drums pounding, his fighting spirit surged along with it.

The exhilaration of facing a powerful opponent overwhelmed that damned suffocating sensation. Where Lu Li himself could not see, a hint of deep purple appeared within his black eyes.

Boom—

It was a punch like the splitting of heaven and earth. The floor beneath Lu Li's feet shattered as it absorbed the force, while his body was sent flying backward and slammed into the wall behind him.

"Oh? Quick reactions."

The Captain-Commander stood where Lu Li had just been, slowly withdrawing his aged fist.

Lu Li leaned against the cracked wall and lowered the arms protecting his face. There was a clear dent in his right arm, marked by a crimson fistprint.

The pain did not frighten him. Instead, it made the fighting blood in his body burn even hotter. As he stepped forward, he loosened his limbs, his neck cracking explosively as he turned it, his eyes filled with excited battle intent.

There was no need to ask. The Captain-Commander had restrained his Reiatsu. Otherwise, one punch would have reduced him to paste.

In other words, the Captain-Commander had used only roughly the power of Sixteenth Grade Reiwei, yet even though Lu Li had successfully defended himself, he had nearly snapped Lu Li's right arm.

His right arm had not broken, but its function was severely impaired. As Lu Li walked forward, light gathered in his left hand and he pressed it against the dent in his right arm. A few seconds later, the dent filled back out, though the red fistprint remained.

"Healing Kidō? Such slow recovery speed would be utterly useless in actual combat."

The Captain-Commander did not continue his attack, merely commenting on it.

He had not said Healing Kidō was useless in battle, because he knew Retsu Unohana could skillfully use Healing Kidō in combat. It was simply that Lu Li had not trained enough yet.

Lu Li grinned. "I merely wanted one chance to challenge you at my peak condition."

He lowered his body slightly. In the next instant, he vanished from the ordinary students' sight.

Bang—

The sound of fist and foot colliding rang out. Lu Li's figure solidified again in midair, his right leg meeting the Captain-Commander's wrist. The forceful wind stirred the old man's beard, yet his body did not move even half an inch.

In that brief instant, the Captain-Commander had not even looked toward Lu Li above and to his side. He merely turned his wrist, caught Lu Li by the ankle, and then smashed him into the ground like he was swinging a battle axe.

The watching students did not dare make a sound. They were shocked that Lu Li, the strongest Hakuda practitioner among the students, was so utterly helpless before the Captain-Commander. They were also shocked by how mercilessly the Captain-Commander attacked.

With such a heavy blow, had Lu Li not been smashed to death?

Yet in the next instant, amid the flying splinters and dust, an arm shot out like a snake, bringing even a trace of surprise to the Captain-Commander's eyes.