The First Lesson (1)

The entrance ceremony concluded amidst sparse applause from the audience. It seemed that not many people were interested in listening to what Yamamoto had to say.

There was civil strife outside the Seireitei, and within the Seireitei, the Central 46 held everyone under their thumb. Few students truly held any expectations about joining the Court Guard Squad.

Lin Nan felt something indescribable in his heart. This entrance ceremony, instead, looked like a mockery of Yamamoto, the very founder of the Shino Academy.

"How unexpected. A grand opening ceremony, yet so perfunctory," Kyoraku said, rubbing his nose. "Although I'm not particularly close to Old Man Yama, I still feel a bit of fire in my heart."

Ukitake nodded as well. "I don't know what it's supposed to be like, but surely everyone's attitude could be a bit more positive."

"You're really being tactful, Ukitake. Look at the teachers on the podium; it's obvious they're just giving Old Man Yama the cold shoulder... Hey, Lin Nan, you have a unique way with words. How would you describe this scene?"

"A slap in the face," Lin Nan said, silently turning back to look at his two fellow disciples. "Someone is trying every possible way to slap Old Man Yamamoto in the face. Even though I don't have much affection for him, I'm truly annoyed."

Kyoraku took a step forward and asked, seemingly nonchalant, "So, what do we do?"

Lin Nan slowly stood up. "Get stronger, and then, whether it's those annoying teachers or students, we'll wind up and slap them all silly!"

Kyoraku Shunsui stood up with a grin. "I was worried that since you didn't have much affection for Old Man Yama, you'd just brush it off!"

"But what Tsunayashiro Tokinada said was already infuriating enough. Besides, our status as his disciples is no secret; paper can't wrap up fire, and someone will definitely seize the chance to target us."

Lin Nan's gaze swept across the faces of Kyoraku and Ukitake, and he said earnestly, "Rather than sitting ducks, we should strike first!"

Ukitake stood up as well, nodding solemnly to show his agreement.

"Good! Then it's settled! From today on, we three geniuses are going to turn this place upside down!—Oh, right, Ukitake, you were taken in as a disciple by the old man at such a young age, you must be a genius too, right?" As he spoke, Kyoraku suddenly looked at Ukitake.

Ukitake looked at him, feeling somewhat awkward, not knowing whether to nod or shake his head.

Seeing this, Lin Nan quickly stepped in to defuse the situation. "Of course he is! The Soul Society isn't limited to just one genius like you!"

Ever since the extra attribute of "Reiryoku Affinity" appeared, his perception of spiritual pressure had become much more sensitive. Based on their brief contact, Lin Nan vaguely sensed that Ukitake's current spiritual pressure was actually already above Kyoraku's.

Is it because he has the Right Hand of the Soul King inside his body? Lin Nan speculated to himself.

Hearing Lin Nan's words, Kyoraku Shunsui stood up with a confident air. "I propose we give ourselves a group name so people will remember us!"

Before Lin Nan and the other could react, he continued on his own: "We are all disciples of the Gen Style... to make more people remember us, how about we call ourselves the Sanyuan Society?"

Lin Nan's eye twitched slightly. Sanyuan Society? Why not just call us the Two-Yuan Shop!

"That's not really necessary. We don't need a name; the name of the Gen Style is louder than anything else."

That afternoon, dormitories were assigned. Because of their status as commoners from the Rukon District, Lin Nan and Ukitake ran into some trouble—there were no dorms suited to their background.

Children of minor nobles and wealthy merchants lived in four-person dorms;

Children of high-ranking nobles like Kyoraku lived in high-end double rooms;

And students from the Four Great Noble Houses lived exclusively in luxury single rooms.

Relying on his status as a high-ranking noble and a bit of intimidation, Kyoraku managed to coax and scare his original roommates into finding other accommodations, freeing up a bed.

But that still left one person without a bed.

Lin Nan volunteered to let Ukitake and Kyoraku stay together while he figured something out.

Just as the two were being modest with one another, a servant from the Tsunayashiro Clan arrived on behalf of Tokinada to pay a visit, bringing with him the key to a Tsunayashiro dormitory.

Tsunayashiro Tokinada was the only person in the school who insisted on "commuting," so his dorm had been left vacant. He had anticipated that Lin Nan and the others would face this predicament, so he had specifically sent a servant to deliver the key.

"For a member of the Four Great Noble Houses, he's quite meticulous, isn't he? To think he'd consider this," Kyoraku said, looking at the exquisite key to the single room with genuine admiration.

Lin Nan and Ukitake began to push the right to live in the luxury single room back and forth between them.

Kyoraku leaned against his headboard, hands behind his head, watching the two of them bicker incessantly with a relaxed expression. "If you ask me, it's better if Lin Nan takes the single room."

Lin Nan and Ukitake stopped their bickering and looked at Kyoraku with questioning gazes.

Kyoraku analyzed the situation with a serious air. "There are only a few luxury single rooms in the entire school, and they are usually sealed off and unused.

Since this is the only one open for use, it's bound to be the focus of the whole school. If Ukitake moves in, someone will definitely be jealous, thinking it's against the rules, and they might even scheme behind his back. So, to protect our little junior brother, Ukitake shouldn't go."

Lin Nan and Ukitake exchanged a look and said in unison, "Then why don't you go live there?"

Kyoraku shook his head. "I'm a genius who gets along with everyone. Now that I've finally got a roommate, I certainly don't want to live alone."

Lin Nan's face stiffened. "So you're saying this just to intentionally make me attract the jealousy and schemes of the entire school, right?"

Kyoraku wore a mischievous smile, his eyes turning into crescents. "How could that be! But you're definitely a better fighter than Ukitake right now, so if anything happens, you can fight and run.

As for Ukitake's physique, I'm afraid he'll get bullied! As Old Man Yama's second disciple, shouldn't I respect the old and cherish the young?"

"In terms of order, I'm the second disciple, aren't I?" Lin Nan protested.

"You said that yourself earlier, and the old man didn't refute it, did he? Anyway, from now on, I'll recognize you as the senior brother. If anyone looks for trouble, you go first; if any female students want to bully Junior Brother Ukitake, I'll go first!"

After bickering with Kyoraku for a while, Lin Nan chose to accept the Tsunayashiro single room. Firstly, he did need a place to spend the night; secondly, a single room made it much easier for him to enter the Playback Room space.

Since he had a cheat, he had to do things stealthily; he couldn't let anyone see.

That night, Lin Nan tidied up and entered the Playback Room space.

He quietly took stock of his proficiency: Shunpo growth was at 2 points, while all others were at 1 point.

It didn't look very conspicuous on the panel. But in the seven or eight days since enrollment, his body had been slowly evolving. Not only had he grown taller and stronger, but his physical strength had also increased significantly.

After repeatedly studying the logs within the space of the Playback Room, Lin Nan finally confirmed that this had a direct connection to the hot springs of Kirinji!

It seemed that the excessive reishi had stimulated the potential within his body, not only causing his physique to grow rapidly by relying on the reishi, but also leading to a significant accumulation of spiritual pressure within him.

Most importantly, with the rapid replenishment of reishi, his spiritual pressure shell had finally finished repairing itself. Furthermore, with the spiritual pressure shell becoming effective once again, he could now use spiritual pressure concealment once more.

The next day, the first class for the current batch of new students at the Shino Academy began. Before the lesson even started, all the students were incredibly excited, completely devoid of the dull atmosphere from yesterday's entrance ceremony.

Some could not stop rubbing their hands together in silly delight; others were holding forth, loudly discussing rumors they had heard about Zanpakuto;

As for a few of the more refined female students, they gathered together to whisper, their faces flushed with excitement; one girl's ears were even turning red, causing Kyoraku Shunsui to stare at her intently for quite a while.

Because today's first lesson was the distribution of Zanpakuto.