Classmate, Please Complete Your Homework Independently (Thanks to Da Qin Shen Gun for the Reward)

"Have you ever seen your teacher Ao's fighting style?"

"My Kido was taught by him, isn't that a redundant question?" Hongjiang rolled his eyes, tapped his index finger repeatedly, and said smugly, "Understated luxury, peerless coolness—truly worthy of being Ao~!"

Hongjiang and Shihoin Yoruichi had already left the hot spring; no matter how good it was, soaking for too long made one dizzy. As for Urahara, he had called out to him just now, but the man seemed lost in thought and didn't respond.

Ever since a moment ago, Shihoin Yoruichi had been prying for information about Ao. At first, Hongjiang worried that she had discovered something, which had made him quite nervous. But looking at it now, Shihoin Yoruichi was simply captivated by his majestic presence! Thinking of this, Hongjiang started giggling to himself.

This was already the third time. Shihoin Yoruichi had tolerated it the first two times, but now? There was nothing to say; she went straight for an iron fist. Some people just needed a good beating!

"Are you better now? Can you speak properly?"

"I can, please go ahead..."

Looking at Hongjiang, who had a giant lump on his head yet wore a serious expression, the corner of Shihoin Yoruichi's mouth twitched unnaturally, and she nearly burst out laughing. She secretly pinched her leg with her right hand to suppress the urge; the atmosphere had been so hard to make serious, she couldn't ruin it again.

"What do you think is the biggest drawback of Hakuda?" After Shihoin Yoruichi finished speaking, fearing Hongjiang wouldn't grasp her intent, she added, "Or rather, what does Hakuda lack that prevents it from becoming a primary combat method at the captain level?"

"Power!" Hongjiang blurted out without a second thought. He wasn't worried that Shihoin Yoruichi wouldn't understand; she understood Hakuda far more deeply than he did.

A Soul Reaper's battle is a comparison of spiritual pressure. So-called spiritual pressure is the high-density energy formed when a Soul Reaper compresses the spiritual power within their body after they can no longer increase its purity.

However, perhaps due to physical limitations, Soul Reapers cannot maintain spiritual pressure outside their bodies for very long, or at least cannot do so without certain means, such as a Zanpakuto.

The Shikai of a Zanpakuto can further amplify released spiritual pressure, and through Bankai, captain-level fighters can increase their spiritual pressure dozens of times over. From this perspective, a Zanpakuto could even be considered the true body of a Soul Reaper.

Therefore, the stronger the Soul Reaper, the more they rely on their Zanpakuto in battle, with other methods serving as supplements. As for pure Hakuda, it is almost entirely abandoned, let alone used as a primary means of combat. The reason is simple: the power of Hakuda is just too small, both offensively and defensively.

"Then what if we used other means to make up for the power that Hakuda lacks?"

"Like Kido?" Hongjiang said, squinting at Shihoin Yoruichi. It seemed the wheels of history had not veered off their original track; Shihoin Yoruichi was still embarking on this path.

The means to maintain and elevate spiritual pressure outside the body are not limited to Zanpakuto; Kido, one of the four major combat arts, can also achieve this. Because of this, the Chief and Vice-Chief of the Kido Corps can reach a combat level equal to captains without relying on a Zanpakuto, relying solely on Kido.

Kido has great power; high-level Kido can even rival the Bankai of most Zanpakuto. But it has its drawbacks: one is the casting speed, and the other is the excessively high requirement for talent.

The higher the level of Kido, the longer the incantation. Including Hongjiang, there are fewer than ten people in the entire Seireitei who can cast Kido above level 90 without incantations.

Furthermore, reciting the incantation does not mean you can successfully cast the corresponding Kido; this stuff truly requires talent to learn. Before Hongjiang, only two people could reach captain-level strength through Kido alone. This path is far more difficult than comprehending Bankai.

"Exactly!" Shihoin Yoruichi slapped her thigh, excited. Hongjiang might be a jerk, but he was the one who understood her best!

"My idea is this!" Shihoin Yoruichi stood up, paced in circles in front of Hongjiang, and explained, "By using Kido to properly elevate and maintain spiritual pressure around the body, I can increase the power of Hakuda while also compensating for the slow casting speed of Kido and its vulnerability to being interrupted at close range! But that's not quite right... let me think again."

Shunko, a combat technique that fuses Hakuda and Kido, was developed by none other than the Shihoin Yoruichi standing before him. However, at this moment, Shunko was still stuck in the theoretical stage—or rather, the theory hadn't even fully formed yet.

Of course, Hongjiang knew the theory of Shunko, and since becoming a Soul Reaper, his understanding of it had become even more concrete.

Just as Shihoin Yoruichi said, Kido compensates for the lack of power in Hakuda, while the agility of Hakuda reduces the probability of Kido missing, greatly increasing its threat.

Shunko is also excellent on the defensive end; through Kido released from the body, one can neutralize the enemy's Kido-like attacks with equal spiritual pressure, solving the problem that troubles Hakuda specialists the most.

"No, can you stop spinning? I'm getting dizzy! If there's something you can't figure out, why not sit down and talk to me about it?" Hongjiang rubbed his temples and suggested helplessly.

"Right, you're here—I almost forgot!"

Great, one second she demanded he listen carefully, and the next she forgot he existed! Hongjiang scoffed. Heh, women!

Shihoin Yoruichi didn't care what Hongjiang was thinking. She suddenly crouched in front of him, grabbed his shoulders, and said earnestly, "Do you know who the source of this idea of mine is?"

Hongjiang shook his head. He really didn't know this; in his past life, he had never heard of Shihoin Yoruichi seeing something that sparked the idea of developing Shunko.

"It's Teacher Ao! His fighting style gave me the inspiration! Through precise judgment, releasing the appropriate Kido to neutralize attacks with attacks. That's it! What I'm missing is a precise judgment!"

Hearing this, Hongjiang was completely stunned. The person who inspired Shihoin Yoruichi was actually himself? Was he the original catalyst that set the wheels of history rolling forward?!

What Ao displayed was the fighting style Hongjiang was most familiar with, but his original intention was to amplify his greatest advantage—controlling spiritual power—to end battles while conserving as much stamina as possible. That this could inspire Shihoin Yoruichi was something he never expected.

"Do you think Teacher Ao could design a new Kido for me? One that automatically detects the opponent's spiritual pressure intensity and then releases a corresponding amount of spiritual pressure to neutralize it?"

"In your dreams~" Hongjiang, having just regained his senses, replied subconsciously. Seeing Shihoin Yoruichi's expression turn sour instantly, he quickly explained, "I mean, how could such a Kido possibly be developed! It's not that I don't want to help you!"

"Just because you can't do it doesn't mean Teacher Ao can't!"

Who are you looking down on? Aren't Ao and I the same person?! Hongjiang roared internally, but he couldn't tell Shihoin Yoruichi that. So, he tried to persuade her gently, "A Kido with autonomous judgment—doesn't that imply it has self-awareness? Do you think that's something a human can create?"

Shihoin Yoruichi pouted and sat down on the ground with a thud. She knew such a Kido was incredible, so she was only holding onto a "let's see" attitude. As expected, no matter how amazing Ao was, he still hadn't transcended the scope of a Soul Reaper.

"You! Take me to see Teacher Ao!" Shihoin Yoruichi pointed at Hongjiang and said huffily, "I want to take him as my master!"

"Ah!" Hongjiang was shocked. What was this now?

"I want to learn Kido from him so I can fuse Hakuda and Kido together!"

Great, it seemed that not only had he set the wheels of history in motion, but he had also accidentally gotten himself tangled in them. Hongjiang only wanted to say, "Can't you do your homework independently?", but looking at Shihoin Yoruichi, he knew that saying such a thing would likely end their friendship.

Other transmigrators just learn and that's it; why does it feel like I'm playing the role of a mother and father here? This is just too hard for me!!!