A Shinigami Who Doesn't Want to Beat the Captain-Commander Isn't a Good Shinigami

A bloodied figure shot out of the dust like a bolt, first seizing the Captain-Commander's wrist before flipping up into the air at an impossible angle.

Two muscular legs stretched toward the Captain-Commander's neck and chest respectively. Then, gripping the Captain-Commander's wrist, the figure yanked back hard.

Yoruichi, who had been watching the fight, revealed a look of surprise. She had not expected a brute like Lu Li to know a move like this. It was a perfect armbar.

The Captain-Commander remained standing and was not forced down. He merely tilted his head slightly and looked at Lu Li. "Interesting, boy. If my Reiatsu had been comparable to yours, you would already have won."

But before the Captain-Commander could continue with "but," Lu Li had already released the armbar, landed, and resumed his stance.

"Oh? What does this mean?"

The Captain-Commander looked at Lu Li curiously.

Battle intent surged in Lu Li's eyes as he grinned. "That kind of fighting isn't my style. And if you hadn't let go of the hand that was holding my leg, I wouldn't have been able to counterattack."

A brutal tactic like grabbing an opponent and smashing them into the ground had an optimal solution if one was certain it would render the enemy unable to fight: let go at the moment of impact, because the recoil would affect oneself as well.

But the Captain-Commander clearly would not care about recoil, and he could control his strength well enough to ensure the blow would not kill Lu Li. Strictly speaking, there had been no need for him to let go.

From the moment Lu Li had been caught, he had already lost. The Captain-Commander had only let go because he felt the battle was more or less over and wanted to check Lu Li's injuries. In that earlier exchange, Lu Li really had been somewhat "sneaky."

The Captain-Commander burst into hearty laughter. "Boy, I'm starting to appreciate you."

He looked at the blood streaming down Lu Li's head. It had already stained his upper body red, flowing like a brook through the crevices of his muscles. Combined with those battle-hungry eyes, it did not make him seem disheveled at all. Instead, he looked like an asura.

"Still want to trade blows with me head-on?"

The Captain-Commander asked as he assumed the opening stance of a fist style.

Lu Li took a deep breath. His heart pounded, sending blood and strength through every limb. Though he had defended in time just now, his head had still taken a heavy blow.

His entire body was drenched in blood, yet he had never felt so clear-headed. Facing the strongest Shinigami, he truly felt that he was alive. "Of course. Let's begin the second round."

Appreciation shone in the Captain-Commander's eyes. The next instant, both men vanished from where they stood.

The dojo floor rang continuously with the sounds of footsteps, while dull thuds from their clashing fists and kicks echoed through the air.

Their lightning-fast Shunpo and high-speed exchanges left most first-year students unable to see what was happening. They could only see two shadows darting and shifting through the dojo as they listened to the air tremble.

"He actually kept up with the Captain-Commander's movements..."

Yoruichi said in shock. She knew Lu Li's level better than anyone, which was precisely why she was astonished. In her view, whether in Shunpo speed or Hakuda skill, Lu Li had been completely suppressed by the Captain-Commander.

Yet unlike their initial clash, Lu Li could now not only perfectly block the Captain-Commander's attacks, but also find openings to counterattack!

Could he have grown again in that brief span of time?

Aizen also watched the spar with a grave expression. He had assumed the Captain-Commander would crush Lu Li one-sidedly, but aside from being caught off guard at the beginning, Lu Li now seemed to be gradually "adapting."

He called it "adapting" because his eye was sharper than Yoruichi's and his analytical ability stronger. He believed Lu Li's Hakuda had not made a tremendous leap in such a short time. Rather, he had adapted to the Captain-Commander's ferocious offense and made better choices in every moment of combat.

Thus, although Lu Li's Hakuda technique was suppressed by the Captain-Commander's, he was not instantly defeated.

Lu-kun... where exactly is your limit?

Boom—

Amid an explosive crash, a figure flew out and slammed into the wall, leaving it visibly caved in.

Everyone's gaze turned toward it. They saw Lu Li, bare-chested, slide down the wall before collapsing to the ground. This time, he truly could not get back up.

In the end, he could not overcome two thousand years of combat experience and peak Hakuda technique. During their sustained exchange, the Captain-Commander found an opening and shattered him with a single strike.

At that moment, Aizen hurried over and helped Lu Li up, while the Captain-Commander slowly lowered his stance and glanced down at where his heart was.

In that instant just now, the boy had actually touched it. But before his strength could begin to transmit, he had already been sent flying.

The Captain-Commander walked aside, picked up his haori, and draped it over himself again. With his back to Lu Li, he said, "Use your Healing Kidō to recover. I'll come again tomorrow and the day after."

Lu Li, who had been reflecting on his shortcomings in the battle, brightened at once upon hearing that. He was not discouraged by losing this spar, but neither did he think it was only natural for him to fall just because his opponent was an ancient monster who had lived for thousands of years.

He still had a chance to challenge the pinnacle of the Shinigami. Nothing could have been more exciting.

"Sōsuke, how do you think I can defeat the Captain-Commander?"

That evening, Lu Li sat on his bed, deep in thought.

Aizen was somewhat speechless. "Lu-kun, aren't you getting a little carried away? That's the Captain-Commander—the strongest Shinigami in two thousand years."

In his view, the Captain-Commander's Hakuda technique was on an entirely higher level than Lu Li's. Not to mention that during their fight, the Captain-Commander's Shunpo had been far faster than Lu Li's.

Rather, it had already greatly surprised him that Lu Li could last so long against the Captain-Commander in the second round today. Yet this guy was actually thinking of defeating the Captain-Commander.

"Sōsuke, haven't you heard a saying?"

"What saying?"

"A Shinigami who doesn't want to surpass the Captain-Commander isn't a good Shinigami."

Lu Li said it with a straight face.

"I know you want to continue improving in Hakuda, but surpassing the Captain-Commander isn't realistic."

Aizen analyzed, "It's not that I think Lu-kun lacks the talent for combat. It's that there is a fundamental difference between you and the Captain-Commander."

"What difference? Combat experience?"

"That's part of it, but more importantly, even if the Captain-Commander lowered his Reiatsu to train you, his Insight and neural reflex speed are on an entirely different level from yours."

Lu Li was somewhat enlightened after hearing Aizen's words.

Yes, he had not considered that.

Reiatsu could be restrained to a lower level, but the powerful physique, eyesight, reaction speed, and other abilities developed from years of Reiatsu training could not be erased.

Simply put, the Captain-Commander was like an expert with over a hundred points in overall attributes restricting his power while sparring with him, but the benefits granted by those attributes had not vanished.

To the Captain-Commander, his movements probably looked like slow motion. Strictly speaking, this was not truly a "spar between equals."

Even setting aside their difference in technique, the Captain-Commander's advantage was still utterly overwhelming.

"I see..."

Lu Li indicated that he understood, but then he spoke again under Aizen's strange gaze. "But doesn't that make it even more challenging?"