Final Assessment (Third Update: Please Follow and Vote)

"Maybe my Zanpakuto is a little unusual. Even though it failed this time, thank you anyway, Sōsuke."

Lu Li got up to wash up. He felt that during this attempt to "communicate" with his Zanpakuto, he had vaguely grasped some information. It had not been entirely fruitless.

After rinsing off, Lu Li walked out of the bathroom and looked at Aizen, who had put on his school uniform and was preparing to attend class. "Sōsuke, can you help me try again? I really think hypnosis can work."

Aizen paused at his words. "You're not going to class?"

"No. The Captain-Commander won't be coming either, and there's only so much to learn in class. Learning Shikai is the urgent priority."

Lu Li explained that True Spirit Arts Academy did not take attendance, nor would perfect attendance earn anyone a passing grade. Everything came down to final exam results.

"This method is dangerous. You felt that too, didn't you, Lu-kun? Even so, do you still want to continue?"

Aizen looked at Lu Li with a grave expression.

Lu Li met Aizen's gaze and nodded. "Sōsuke, passing this assessment is important to me. More important than you think."

"All right, then. I'll train with you in the dorm."

Aizen set down the bag containing his calligraphy supplies and said helplessly, "But let's make this clear first. If the Reiatsu around you goes out of control, I'm getting a teacher."

Lu Li grinned. "Thanks, Sōsuke. I owe you one."

Aizen smiled as well. "You owe me quite a few already."

"Still no good?"

Aizen glanced at the sky outside. Dawn was almost here, and today was the day of the final exams.

For the past two days, he had been using Kyōka Suigetsu in the dorm to hypnotize Lu Li, guiding him into the depths of his soul again and again. Yet every time, Lu Li said he had been "kicked" out.

Based on Aizen's understanding of Zanpakuto awakening, he realized that rather than being kicked out, Lu Li had actively withdrawn himself.

His original opinion remained unchanged. Lu Li himself was resisting that power.

Aizen considered himself somewhat versed in psychology. Based on Lu Li's descriptions of what he had seen, he believed that cage represented Lu Li's closed-off heart, while the imprisoned Demon God represented the restrictions he placed upon himself—a confinement of his own power.

"Lu-kun, if you can't resolve the knot in your heart yourself, then no matter how strong your Reiatsu training becomes, I'm afraid you'll never be able to achieve Shikai."

Aizen sighed. He had not expected this outcome. He had thought that with Kyōka Suigetsu helping him, someone with Lu Li's talent should have achieved Shikai easily.

There was a trace of regret in the way he looked at Lu Li. He had thought he had finally encountered another genius like himself, someone without any weaknesses. Yet Lu Li could not awaken his Zanpakuto. In a sense, Lu Li's upper limit as a Shinigami had already been sealed.

After a moment of silence, Lu Li waved a hand. "It's fine. Sōsuke has already helped me a great deal. I think I may have begun to understand what's going on with my Zanpakuto."

Aizen looked pleasantly surprised. "Oh? Did you manage to communicate with it? There's still some time. Want to try once more?"

However, Lu Li shook his head. "No. While there's still time, I'm going to rest and get myself into shape. I still don't know who my special Examiner will be today."

"That's true. Get some rest, then. You can probably sleep for another three hours. I'll go to the Cafeteria and bring you some food."

Aizen did not feel that Lu Li had given up. He was now very curious whether Lu Li could overcome this assessment.

"Sōsuke, thank you."

Lu Li did not stand on ceremony. He lay down and immediately fell asleep. He had a brutal battle ahead of him today, so he had to bring his mind to its peak.

Three hours later, Lu Li woke up on time. The table was already piled with food Aizen had brought back, but Aizen himself was nowhere to be seen. He had probably gone to the examination hall first.

After quickly washing up, Lu Li wolfed down his food to ensure his body had the energy it needed.

Once he finished eating, he checked the time and jogged all the way to the examination hall.

The dorm teacher had notified him yesterday that although he was challenging the early graduation assessment, he still had to take the standard examinations. Only after completing assessments for every required course would he face the "final trial."

Just as he had expected, aside from the final trial, there was one more thing he had to accomplish to graduate early: Shikai.

Even if he passed the Examiner's trial, he still could not graduate unless he learned his Zanpakuto's true name and used Shikai.

Lu Li looked at the black-sheathed, white-hilted Asauchi hanging at his waist. Getting you really isn't easy.

Items obtained in mission worlds could not be taken out of those worlds unless they were mission rewards.

And if he wanted to obtain this Asauchi, he had to learn his Zanpakuto's true name and complete Shikai. Put simply, he had to bind this Asauchi to himself before he could take it away.

As he entered the examination hall, Lu Li checked his current status.

Explorer No. 404040404, your base attributes are as follows:

Constitution: 18 points (+1)

Strength: 17 points (+1)

Agility: 18 points (+1)

Spirit: 24 points (+2)

Charisma: 6 points

Luck: 1 point

Over the past month, he had spent considerable time and energy on his Zanpakuto, so his physical attributes had not improved much. His Spirit attribute, however, had risen by another two points. He should now count as a fairly competent Sixteenth Grade Reiatsu user.

"Is this what you'd expect from a genius challenging early graduation? Showing up this late—you really are relaxed."

The moment Lu Li entered the examination hall, he heard a teasing voice. It was Yoruichi.

Lu Li stretched his limbs. "It's not a timed written exam. Showing up a little late doesn't matter."

The first examination was Hakuda, where an Examiner would test them directly and assign scores.

Soon, it was Lu Li's turn. The teacher responsible for the Hakuda assessment gave Lu Li a complicated look, then awarded him full marks without even testing him.

Lu Li was not surprised. During an earlier Hakuda class, this teacher had sparred with him in Hakuda techniques, and the other man... had lost.

Next came the swordsmanship examination, and as expected, he received full marks again.

Full marks in Hadō.

Full marks in Bakudō.

Full marks in Healing Kidō.

Full marks in Shunpo.

Sixteenth Grade Reiwei.

Since many of his classmates were waiting to watch him make a fool of himself, they generously let him take his exams first. Even so, by the time he finished every course, it was already afternoon.

Following the directions of the teacher from the final examination, he headed toward the final examination room on the top floor of the teaching building.

Few people ever came to the top floor of the Spirit Arts Academy. Most teachers' offices were located on this level. Besides the offices, there were also several empty rooms kept locked, which no one could normally enter.

Yet Lu Li had now arrived before one such room. A huge plaque hung above its door. It looked ancient, likely an antique, and bore two large characters written in heavy strokes: "Genryū."

After Lu Li knocked, the sliding doors withdrew to either side, allowing him to see the room's interior—and the woman seated cross-legged before a tea table.

Captain of the Fourth Division, Retsu Unohana.

Sōsuke, this really is the best possible draw.

The corners of Lu Li's mouth rose unconsciously. He could feel the bloodlust within him beginning to boil.

From the mission's perspective, he had indeed drawn the worst possible lot. But from his personal perspective, calling this the best possible draw was not wrong either.

Sure enough, his one point of Luck had to be considered quite high.

Lu Li removed his wooden sandals and stepped into the tatami-covered Japanese room. Behind him, the doors closed and locked.

At the same time, he sensed a peculiar force field within the room. It was probably Kirio Hikifune's handiwork from the 12th Division.

Anyone entering this room would have their Reiatsu restricted. Unless they used an explosive burst of Reiatsu to directly destroy its preset mechanism, the Reiatsu level they could display inside would remain fixed at Sixteenth Grade.

It seemed the Captain-Commander had spoken, and those below had acted swiftly. They clearly attached great importance to this assessment and had given him relative "fairness."

At least he did not have to worry about a Captain getting carried away in battle, forgetting to restrain her Reiatsu, and crushing him outright.

At Unohana's silent indication, Lu Li slowly walked to the tea table and sat down, his expression calm.

"This is the examination hall I chose. It is also one of the Captain-Commander's tea rooms."

Unohana spoke in a gentle voice. Her slender hands moved expertly over the table as she arranged the tea utensils.

Lu Li glanced around the room. Many people knew that the Captain-Commander enjoyed tea. He loved tea gatherings and was said to summon members of the First Division for one every month.

But this was probably not where the Captain-Commander held his tea gatherings. Though the Japanese room was quite large, roughly two hundred square meters, the vast space contained only a single tea table at its center.

A massive painting hung on the wall beside them. It depicted a fierce tiger and an evil ghost. Its brushwork was bold and vigorous, majestic and grand, yet also carried a sharp, chilling killing intent.

Once, he had heard of dragons battling tigers. Today, he saw a tiger and ghost locked in mutual slaughter.

Lu Li sat on the tiger's side and watched Unohana handle the tea utensils without speaking. For a time, the room was utterly quiet.

Unohana seemed quite accomplished in the tea ceremony as well. Every movement she made possessed an artistic grace.

Using a silk cloth, she wiped the tea caddy and tea scoop one by one, then warmed the bowls, rinsed the whisk, and wiped the tea bowls...

It was as if she had not come today to fight Lu Li as an Examiner, but to make friends over tea.

Within the spacious Japanese room, fragrant tea slowly simmered over a brazier. Mist drifted faintly from the spout, spreading between the two people seated across from one another.

Within this small space, there was no scent of bloody killing intent. The air was filled only with the calming fragrance of tea.

Unohana turned a freshly brewed cup of tea and slowly pushed it toward Lu Li. Neither party spoke. The scene was as quiet as an old silent film, yet it carried an indescribable sense of Zen.

Lu Li took the cup, blew on it twice, then drank it in one gulp and set the cup back on the table.

The sound of the cup touching the rosewood table seemed to break the silence, yet it also seemed to make the silence even deeper.

Unohana did not drink the tea before her. Instead, she set a fresh pot of water to boil. Her narrowed eyes slowly opened, and she met Lu Li's gaze across the tea table.

It was like two ancient swordmasters meeting on a narrow road. Their invisible auras had already begun to clash.

Author's Note:

It's finally getting recommended. As a new author, I especially need everyone's support through follows, monthly votes, recommendation votes, chapter comments, and all kinds of data to climb the new release rankings and gain exposure.

To show my sincerity, Elephant will update three times daily during the free period, totaling seven to eight thousand characters. I hope you brothers will give plenty of support.

I'm also setting up a bonus chapter event limited to the free period:

1. One extra chapter for every additional 200 monthly votes, including those already received.

2. Three extra chapters for a leader-tier donation.

There are word-count requirements for recommendations during the new release period, and seven to eight thousand characters a day is already the limit. All chapters owed above will be repaid after release, with a guaranteed ten updates that day. Elephant will also do his best to clear all owed chapters on the same day, followed by continued mass updates!