Wind Scar

After successfully forging Tetsusaiga, Ailin received reiatsu feedback, bringing his reiatsu to roughly the same level as Marechiyo Ōmaeda's.

However, after both of them released their Zanpakuto, Ailin's reiatsu was at least nearly half lower than Marechiyo Ōmaeda's.

After all, Marechiyo Ōmaeda had honed his Shikai to its peak, increasing his reiatsu fivefold.

As for Ailin, Tetsusaiga was still only a half-finished product. Its transformation into a fang blade granted him merely a threefold increase in reiatsu.

"There's a chance!"

Feeling that Ailin's reiatsu was far below his own, Marechiyo Ōmaeda was overjoyed.

At its core, a Soul Reaper's battle was still a battle of reiatsu.

Although Marechiyo Ōmaeda's current reiatsu had not yet reached the level where he could weaken or even ignore Zanpakuto abilities,

under the enhancement of his powerful reiatsu, his speed, strength, and defense had all increased tremendously.

He refused to believe that, with reiatsu so much stronger than Ailin's, he could still lose!

"Hah!"

With that thought, Marechiyo Ōmaeda swung the massive spiked club in his hand and charged at Ailin.

Facing the rapidly approaching Marechiyo Ōmaeda, Ailin gripped Tetsusaiga's hilt tightly with both hands, raised it above his head, and slashed down at him.

"Boom!"

To some extent, the enlarged Tetsusaiga was a strength-and-slashing-type Zanpakuto.

However, compared to Drunken Demon Maru's spiked club, it offered far less of a boost to strength.

Tetsusaiga collided with the spiked club, and the immense force drove Ailin's body down.

"Boom!"

The ground beneath Ailin exploded into a crater five meters across. Cracks spidered through the earth, extending more than ten meters outward.

"What tremendous strength!"

At the bottom of the crater, Ailin's eyes widened. Tetsusaiga, braced against the spiked club, creaked and trembled in his hands.

"Hah!"

Blue reiatsu erupted from Ailin's body. The surging spiritual pressure further increased both his speed and strength.

Reiatsu Burst!

This was a reiatsu technique many Soul Reapers knew.

Strictly speaking, for Soul Reapers with low reiatsu, it was a life-or-death technique.

Its principle was to gather one's reiatsu and unleash it in a sudden burst, trading it for a short-term increase in power.

The drawback was that reiatsu would be consumed at an extremely rapid rate. Spiritual power sufficient for an hour of battle might be completely depleted in less than five minutes.

"Clang!"

After Ailin used Reiatsu Burst, his battle with Marechiyo Ōmaeda entered its fiercest stage.

Under the clash of the two, enormous craters appeared one after another across the training ground.

After using Reiatsu Burst to close the gap in reiatsu, Ailin relied on Zanjutsu far superior to Marechiyo Ōmaeda's. With Tetsusaiga measuring less than 1.2 meters, he forcibly matched Marechiyo Ōmaeda's spiked club blow for blow without falling behind.

He even gradually began to suppress Marechiyo Ōmaeda in turn.

Still, though Marechiyo Ōmaeda was temporarily at a disadvantage, his composure remained steady.

In this situation, as long as Marechiyo Ōmaeda could hold out until Ailin's Reiatsu Burst ended, victory would be his.

"Clang clang clang clang clang!"

Ailin moved like lightning, turning into a series of afterimages that surrounded Marechiyo Ōmaeda.

Blade flashes spread like a net, enveloping Marechiyo Ōmaeda.

However, Ailin's attacks were not achieving particularly good results.

Marechiyo Ōmaeda might have been huge and burly, but his movements were smooth. Even within the Second Division, his mastery of Shunpo could rank among the top three.

Well, with Ailin included now, Marechiyo Ōmaeda's ranking would probably have to drop another place.

Still, because Ailin was circling around Marechiyo Ōmaeda, although his Shunpo was faster, his attack speed had not yet reached the point where Marechiyo Ōmaeda could not react.

Moreover, the massive spiked club in Marechiyo Ōmaeda's hands was enormous. By adjusting its angle, he could hide most of his body behind it and use it to defend against Ailin's attacks.

As a result, Ailin's attacks only opened a few wounds on non-vital areas of Marechiyo Ōmaeda's body. They had little effect.

"Whoosh!"

Seeing that his attacks were ineffective, Ailin did not waste any more spiritual power. He flashed away and came to a stop more than twenty meters in front of Marechiyo Ōmaeda.

"So strong!"

"Yeah, whether it's Vice-Captain Ōmaeda or Ailin, they're both incredibly strong!"

Only now did the more than four hundred Soul Reapers of the Second Division surrounding the training ground finally snap out of the intense battle.

The way they looked at Ailin and Marechiyo Ōmaeda seemed to shine.

Being a Soul Reaper had never been a safe profession.

Every year, many Soul Reapers died.

This was also the main reason the Gotei 13 recruited Soul Reapers from the True Zero Spirit Arts Academy every year.

With a powerful comrade at their side, everyone's chances of survival would increase greatly.

Take that previous rescue mission to the Kasumiōji Clan, the most dangerous one. Because of Ailin, at least a dozen severely wounded members of the Second Division had survived.

Now that Ailin had demonstrated such formidable strength, the sense of security was overwhelming.

After this battle, everyone believed that even if Ailin failed to challenge for the position of Second Division Vice-Captain, he would at least be guaranteed a Seat Officer position.

"Urahara, what do you think?"

Shihoin Yoruichi watched the two in front of her and asked Urahara Kisuke.

"What do I think?"

Before Urahara Kisuke could answer, Sui-Feng, standing beside Yoruichi, was displeased that Lord Yoruichi had not asked her. She immediately took over the conversation.

"Lord Yoruichi, that guy called Ailin may have some skill, but he is still clearly inferior to Vice-Captain Ōmaeda, isn't he?"

"Look, he's already using a technique like Reiatsu Burst. Once his spiritual power runs out, he naturally won't be a match for Vice-Captain Ōmaeda."

"On the other hand, if Vice-Captain Ōmaeda uses Reiatsu Burst as well, that guy called Ailin definitely won't be able to withstand it!"

"Oh my, oh my, my opinion is the opposite of yours."

Urahara Kisuke gave Sui-Feng an amused glance. The confused look beneath his tousled bangs unexpectedly held a little more seriousness.

"This battle will be won by that fellow called Ailin!"

"How could that be?"

Sui-Feng did not believe a single word Urahara Kisuke said.

From the situation just now, although Ailin had gained some advantage through Reiatsu Burst, that advantage was not enough to decide the battle.

But in the next instant, Sui-Feng's pupils suddenly contracted—

Around the great blade in the hands of the fellow she had dismissed, swirling gusts of wind seemed to gather. With a swing from Ailin, they transformed into three enormous slashes that flew toward Marechiyo Ōmaeda.

"Wind Scar!"