Spiritual Pressure Clash

Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy was especially lively today, with people coming and going everywhere.

There were students from Rukongai dressed in patch-covered clothes, as well as descendants of nobles clad in fine silks. Many students were accompanied by their parents, who carried luggage in sacks of various sizes. It looked somewhat like the start of a university term in Asano Kiyoshi's previous life.

However, Asano Kiyoshi looked behind him and saw no one there. He still let out a faint sigh. Tch, it is a little lonely after all.

Shaking his head to cast off those unpleasant feelings, Asano Kiyoshi began walking toward his classroom.

Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy was enormous, but there were signposts every few meters. There were also upperclassmen assigned by the academy to guide the new students to their classrooms.

Freshmen like Asano Kiyoshi, wearing a Class A badge, were especially sought after by those eager to help.

Though these students looked young, they were actually quite worldly. They knew what kind of people were worth befriending; even making a favorable impression was worthwhile.

Yet no one came forward to help Asano Kiyoshi find his classroom. The reason was simple: two people stood before him.

One had a gleaming shaved head, with fiery red eyeshadow around his narrow eyes.

The other was tall and slender, with delicate features. His gaze was also fixed tightly on Asano Kiyoshi, and the beautiful eyes reflected the boy's slightly awkward expression.

Asano Kiyoshi looked at the two before him. He felt awkward at first, then cautiously asked:

"Um, do you two need something?"

After hearing Asano Kiyoshi's words, Madarame Ikkaku revealed an intensely battle-hungry grin. His narrow eyes narrowed slightly, flashing with a dangerous light as he said to Asano Kiyoshi:

"Let's fight! You're strong! I want a battle between men! If you can defeat me, I'll acknowledge that your first-place ranking is deserved!"

After saying that, the bald man showed a somewhat deranged grin. That very grin frightened off the students nearby who had been preparing to come over and offer directions.

Listening to Madarame Ikkaku, Asano Kiyoshi felt utterly helpless. He had only just enrolled and had not learned any offensive techniques at all. Besides, his base attributes were right there. If he really fought Madarame Ikkaku now, he would make Madarame Ikkaku kneel on the ground and beg him not to die...

So Asano Kiyoshi said without hesitation:

"Um... I can't beat you. Besides, you can have this first-place title. We're classmates, so it would be better if we got along. No need to fight and kill each other..."

Hearing Asano Kiyoshi's words, Madarame Ikkaku clicked his tongue and said:

"What a boring guy."

With that, Ikkaku turned and left. Yumichika glanced at Asano Kiyoshi, gave him an apologetic smile, then pulled Ikkaku over beside Asano Kiyoshi and said:

"Sorry about that. This guy's a battle maniac and tends to be rude. My apologies. If you don't mind, why don't we walk together?"

Yumichika's personality was clearly much better than Ikkaku's. He immediately lowered his stance and gave both sides a way out. Naturally, Asano Kiyoshi did not care about something like that. He was not a child anymore—where would all those pointless disputes of pride come from? He smiled and accepted Yumichika's suggestion.

Thus, the three walked along together, chatting idly. What Asano Kiyoshi had not expected was that when they reached the cafeteria, Ikkaku suddenly went inside and bought three flatbreads. He handed one to Asano Kiyoshi, then said somewhat indistinctly:

"Here. I was a little impulsive earlier. Consider this my apology to you! If you eat it, we're friends!"

Asano Kiyoshi took the flatbread and looked at Madarame Ikkaku, whose face was slightly red as he stared up at the sky. He smiled, took a huge bite, then said to Ikkaku:

"Thanks, Ikkaku."

Hearing Asano Kiyoshi address him so familiarly, Ikkaku merely took another huge bite of his flatbread and muttered:

"What a friendly guy. Hmph!"

Seeing this, Yumichika and Asano Kiyoshi could not help but laugh. Their laughter made Ikkaku even more irritated. A trace of embarrassed anger seemed to gleam off his shiny head as he swung a fist at them and shouted:

"Bastards, what are you two laughing at?!"

The breeze at Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy was gentle, and the three figures were etched into that warm, sunny morning.

The three entered the classroom together, and Asano Kiyoshi was quite satisfied with the outcome. He did not understand why so many protagonists in the novels he had read in his previous life would act as though someone saying one bad thing about them meant they had to wipe out that person's entire family. Clearly, it could have been settled gently...

Forget it. Who cares?

The moment the three entered the classroom, they drew everyone's attention. However, most of those gazes were far from friendly.

They were just wild commoners from Rukongai, yet they had taken the top three places among the new students! Where did that leave the dignity of students born to distinguished noble families?!

Moreover, these people naturally possessed a sense of superiority toward Rukongai Civilians that came from deep within their souls, so they had no favorable impression of the three.

What was even more unfortunate was that nobles were generally born with greater spiritual power than ordinary people. As a result, the overwhelming majority of Class A consisted of noble children. Of the small number of talented commoners, some chose to attach themselves to nobles and become their companions, while others quietly kept a low profile. Faced with the situation before them, none of them said a word.

When the three entered the classroom, the previously noisy room immediately fell silent. Then, the noble students led by Tsunayashiro Kojiro looked at them with varying expressions—indifference, arrogance, disdain... All manner of attitudes entered Asano Kiyoshi's sight.

Along with those gazes came a suffocating pressure. Tsunayashiro Kojiro was the first to unleash his spiritual pressure, bearing down on the three.

As Tsunayashiro Kojiro's spiritual pressure erupted, the corners of Madarame Ikkaku's mouth curled upward. He looked at the nobles with excitement, a fervent expression appearing on his face. Then, an even more massive spiritual pressure surged back against them!

Faced with this spiritual pressure, the noble children put away their arrogant expressions. They were arrogant, not stupid. If Tsunayashiro, the representative of the noble houses, was humiliated in this show of pressure, it would disgrace every noble among them. Thus, nearly every noble unleashed their own spiritual pressure.

Sweat appeared on Ikkaku's face. Facing so many streams of spiritual pressure alone was extremely difficult. But at that moment, two more powerful spiritual pressures erupted beside him!