Great Kūkaku Training Hall

Duan Mu's injuries healed very quickly. Kūkaku used many precious herbs to treat him, and coupled with Duan Mu's not-weak ability in 'Kido' compared to the Fourth Division, he was completely recovered in just three days.

He wasn't idle during these three days of recovery. Although he couldn't train, he could calm his mind and thoroughly master the knowledge he had newly acquired.

After reaching the 'intermediate' level in intermediate Kido, Duan Mu's bottleneck in 'Spirit Particle Control' broke through again when he advanced White Thunder to the intermediate level. Through association, his White Thunder proficiency also surged by nearly a hundred. If he were to fight Daimaru again, the latter would definitely not be able to block his White Thunder head-on anymore.

Shiba Kūkaku hadn't appeared these past few days. According to Iwao, she had been busy with something underground.

During this time, Uzuki also came to visit Duan Mu and took the opportunity to scold the lively Iwao. As for the scolded Iwao... Duan Mu always felt that the guy seemed quite happy.

It had been four years since Duan Mu came to Rukongai, and this was the first time he had rested for such a long period consecutively without taking on any commissions. This made Duan Mu feel like something was missing.

Just as Duan Mu was preparing to say goodbye and leave, Shiba Kūkaku, who had been mysteriously busy with something, appeared.

In the living room, Kūkaku, holding her pipe, looked at Duan Mu and asked, "How are your injuries?"

"All healed!" Duan Mu waved his arms to prove he was almost completely recovered.

Kūkaku tapped her pipe on the ashtray to extinguish it and stood up. "Perfect timing, I'm also ready. You and Iwao, come with me!"

"Huh?"

Duan Mu was stunned and turned to look at Iwao beside him, only to find Iwao looking as confused as he was.

"What are you two dawdling for? Do you want me to drag you both down?" Kūkaku turned back and snapped when she noticed they weren't following.

Iwao's expression changed, and he quickly hurried to catch up with Kūkaku.

I came to say goodbye...

Duan Mu's eye twitched. He swallowed the words he was about to say. After all, this elder sister's temper was truly fiery. He didn't want to be pinned to the ground like Daimaru.

Kūkaku led the two down the stairs. The stairs seemed endless; the three walked for nearly five minutes without seeing the bottom.

"Big Sister, just how deep did you dig?" Iwao, who had been holding back for a long time, finally couldn't help but ask.

"About a thousand meters."

"A thousand meters??"

Duan Mu clicked his tongue. This building capability was truly as incomprehensible as ever. To dig so deep in just three days.

After walking for a few more minutes, a glimmer of light finally appeared at the end of the stairs.

"We're here."

Kūkaku turned around and pointed behind her with a smug expression. "This is my newly built 'Great Kūkaku Training Hall'!"

The name is as simple and direct as ever, bursting with narcissism!

Duan Mu silently grumbled in his heart, then looked at the incredibly vast space behind Kūkaku.

The Great Kūkaku Training Hall was extremely spacious. The entire scope of this space couldn't be seen from the entrance. Moreover, something was laid out on the ceiling, making the entire space incredibly bright. If Duan Mu hadn't known this was a thousand meters underground, he might have thought this was an open field on the surface.

It looked somewhat similar to the playground built by Urahara Kisuke, but compared to the 'Urahara Playground' in Duan Mu's memory, this place was much more orderly. In the center, there were various arenas, and around each arena were carved glowing runes, constantly emitting spiritual pressure fluctuations.

Looking at this space, Iwao seemed to recall something, and his face instantly turned pale. He trembled and said, "Big Sister, you don't mean..."

"It won't be like last time."

Kūkaku chuckled sinisterly. "Until you satisfy me, don't even think about leaving, whether you cry or wail." After saying that, she turned to look at the confused Duan Mu beside her. "You're no exception."

"Huh?"

Duan Mu and Iwao were stunned simultaneously. However, unlike Iwao's fear, Duan Mu's eyes lit up with ecstasy after understanding Kūkaku's words.

These past few days, Duan Mu had been thinking about where to go to learn intermediate Kido.

He had also considered asking Shiba Kūkaku to teach him, as Shiba Kūkaku was recognized as a 'Kido master' even by the Soul Reapers of Seireitei. But he didn't know how to ask.

Although asking Shiba Kūkaku to teach him Kido based on this incident might not be refused, doing so would clearly have the intention of returning a favor, turning this event from 'mutual help between friends' into a 'transaction,' and might even lead to losing Kūkaku's friendship.

Compared to learning Kido, Kūkaku's friendship was clearly more important to Duan Mu.

Now that Kūkaku had brought it up herself, how could Duan Mu not be ecstatic!

"Big Sister, I can actually train myself..." Iwao said softly.

"You can?"

Kūkaku sneered. "A guy whose Spiritual Pressure strength is only equivalent to a High-ranking Officer, and whose actual combat power is only slightly stronger than a low-ranking officer, has already made you completely defenseless. Where do you get the courage to say you can?"

Iwao opened his mouth, unable to retort.

"Go to the last arena in the southwest corner. That arena is a sealing platform I made with spirit stones, reinforced with spirit patterns for stability and sealing. It's specifically prepared for practicing Shiba secret techniques. When you can successfully turn that arena to sand, you can move on to the next arena."

"There are a total of ten arenas in the southwest corner, with gradually increasing difficulty. When you pass all ten arenas, you can leave. Otherwise, you'll live here forever!"

"Big Sister, this is too much..."

"Get moving!!"

Following Shiba Kūkaku's scolding, Iwao sheepishly ran towards the southwest corner of the training ground.

"As for you..."

Meeting Kūkaku's gaze, Duan Mu suddenly felt the nervousness of being called upon to read aloud in elementary school during his past life. Shiba Kūkaku, as the head of the Shiba Clan, one of the five great noble families, although rarely showing it, was undoubtedly not lacking in the dignity of a great noble family head.

"I saw your fight. Whether it's Hakuda, Kido, or even Shunpo, you've mastered them well." Kūkaku paused, then her tone suddenly turned serious. "I don't know where you learned them, nor am I interested in knowing, but if anyone asks in the future, you must say..."

"These techniques were all taught to you by me, Shiba Kūkaku!"

Duan Mu was taken aback, then nodded, "Thank you, Sister Kūkaku."

The reason Zanpakuto, Kido, Hakuda, and Shunpo are called 'the four major techniques of a Soul Reaper' is precisely because they are skills that only Soul Reapers can master.

While Zanjutsu, Shunpo, and Hakuda were manageable, Kido encompassed complex knowledge such as 'incantation texts,' 'spirit particle manipulation,' and 'attribute transformation,' making it impossible to self-teach without guidance.

Acquiring this knowledge through the system was convenient, but it offered no explanation for its origins. This was why Duan Mu frequently visited the Shiba residence, creating the illusion that he had learned these skills from them.

Shiba Kūkaku had clearly seen through this long ago. Furthermore, judging by Kūkaku's recent words, she might even be aware that the Punishment Force was monitoring him, yet she had maintained an attitude of neither denial nor confirmation.

"There's no need to thank me."

Kūkaku waved her hand dismissively, "Actually, I've never really liked you."

Duan Mu chuckled wryly. He could tell from her consistently stagnant favorability score that this was true, but he could only pretend not to notice and keep visiting her shamelessly...

"Iwao is an idiot, and you..."

Kūkaku paused, then sighed, "You're too mysterious. I had people investigate you in secret. The way you appeared in Rukongai, and the way you got stronger, are both very mysterious. I even meticulously studied every single day of your four years in Rukongai, but I couldn't find any trace of you learning 'Zanpakuto, Kido, Hakuda, and Shunpo' from anyone."

"The few times you've interacted with Soul Reapers, you were merely observing from the sidelines, with no direct involvement, giving the impression that you were born with these abilities."

"And..."

Shiba Kūkaku snorted, as if recalling something, "I've never had a good impression of people who are 'gentle to others' or 'nice guys.'"

"Moreover, although you've disguised yourself well, the gloominess you've cultivated over the years, and your indifference towards people, events, and even life, aren't something that can be changed in a short period. While you have changed a lot over the years, it's possible you've just become better at pretending."

"Therefore, it's completely reasonable for me to consider you a dangerous individual."

Shiba Kūkaku was straightforward, openly listing the reasons she disliked Duan Mu. Her words left Duan Mu, who had been wanting to defend himself, utterly speechless, and he could only chuckle wryly, "Well... I'm actually a good person at heart."

Kūkaku smiled noncommittally and continued, "Your performance in this battle might have seemed dangerous to others, but after watching it, I actually felt relieved. If you had chosen to hide in that situation, I would have truly considered having Iwao sever ties with you."

"There are many strange individuals in Soul Society, even among the Captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, there are many you can't imagine. Having one more like you doesn't matter; as long as you don't oppose Seireitei and don't become a Soul Reaper, at most you'll just be monitored. So there's no need to live so cautiously."

"Of course, it's also good to continue hiding what needs to be hidden; it can have a surprising effect when necessary."

"I understand, Sister Kūkaku!!" Duan Mu replied loudly, as if making a promise.

"What are you shouting for, trying to get yourself killed!"

Duan Mu immediately shut his mouth. As for what kind of person he truly was, Duan Mu himself wasn't sure.

There are people in this world, it is said, who only change when they are dead.

Therefore, since arriving here, Duan Mu had been trying to change, but he didn't know if he had succeeded.

However, there was one thing Duan Mu was very clear about.

That was...

He really liked his current life.

"Tell me," Kūkaku said, producing a chair from somewhere and crossing her legs while puffing on a pipe, "What Kido do you know?"

Upon hearing this, Duan Mu immediately listed all the Kido he knew.

After listening, Shiba Kūkaku was stunned, "If I didn't know you had never set foot in the Soul Reaper Academy, I might have thought you were a student there."

All the Kido Duan Mu mentioned were, without exception, taught at the Soul Reaper Academy.

Although the Soul Reaper Academy was a training ground for newcomers before they officially joined, it didn't mean that graduates became all-rounders. In fact, it was quite the opposite; upon graduation from the Academy, the real training, which could also be called an internship, began.

During the internship, each Division would conduct long, long secondary training for these newcomers. However, unlike the initial training at the Academy, secondary training involved countless practical combat experiences.

Therefore, most advanced techniques were taught by officers within the various Divisions, rather than the Academy.

The Kido Duan Mu knew were very clearly those of an 'Academy student,' and specifically an 'Academy student' from Rukongai with no background.

With that, she seemed to recall something, and her gaze towards Duan Mu became somewhat peculiar, "I think I'm starting to understand why you started that 'Soul Reaper Cram School.'"

"Hehehe~~"

Duan Mu chuckled and seized the opportunity to flatter her, "As expected, nothing gets past you, Sister Kūkaku."