Bleach: Getting Stronger Starting from Teaching at the Spiritual Arts Academy.

The wooden sword collided with the bear's arm, producing a dull thud.

The bear's arm bones snapped instantly with tremendous force, and its paws drooped limply.

"Awooo—" The wild bear let out a painful howl.

Kensei Rokusha pressed his advantage, retracting his wrist and instantly thrusting his wooden sword, striking the bear in the shoulder.

The wooden knife pierced through, leaving a bloody hole in the bear's shoulder.

The wild bear, its ferocity aroused, opened its blood-red maw and lunged at Kensei Muguruma's neck without regard for anything else.

Kensei Rokusha kicked the bear in the chest, drew his sword to create distance, and then swiftly swung a horizontal slash at the bear's neck.

click-

The bear's neck vertebrae shattered instantly.

The bear was hit in a vital spot, fell to the ground and twitched a few times before falling silent.

"Hehe, easy peasy!" Kensei Rokusha wiped the blood off his wooden sword onto the bear's fur.

However, Lisa's little Akita continued to bark incessantly.

"Watch out!" Lisa shouted, pointing behind Kensei.

Quanxi was slightly taken aback, suddenly feeling as if he were covered by a huge shadow.

July's eyes narrowed as a giant bear, over three meters tall, appeared in the jungle behind Quanxi.

Wild Bear

[Spiritual Pressure: lv25]

This enormous bear appears to be a companion of the wild bear on the ground; it was instantly enraged upon seeing the wild bear fall to the ground.

"Roar!!!" The giant bear opened its blood-red maw and pounced on Liu Chequanxi.

Quanxi's expression changed drastically. When he heard the commotion behind him, it was too late to escape. He could only swing his sword at the giant bear behind him.

However, his strike was hastily executed and lacked power, and was directly knocked away by the giant bear.

The giant bear's attack continued unabated, still aiming to bite at Kensei's neck.

Just when he thought he was doomed, Kana Mochi and Mako Hirako suddenly appeared beside him.

The two men, one on the left and one on the right, thrust out their wooden swords almost simultaneously.

The giant bear's two eyes were pierced and punctured by the wooden sword.

Kana Mochi and Mako Hirako had spotted the giant bear long ago, so they made preparations in advance and arrived just in time before the bear could pounce on Kensei Muguruma.

The giant bear became truly blind, and the anger that had been ignited earlier was instantly extinguished. Fear gripped it, and it violently shook its head to throw away the wooden knife poking its eyes, then fled back the way it had come without a care.

Bears are known as "blind bears" because they have relatively weak eyesight, but their sense of smell and hearing are very sensitive. Even if they are blind, it does not prevent them from finding their way back to their den by following their scent.

Just then, a streak of light suddenly rose from the forest.

Shikatori Ryu: Flowing Light!

puff-

The fleeing bear suddenly split in two as it ran, its massive body crashing into a tree and causing the tree to collapse with a deafening roar.

The group paused for a moment, then looked in the direction of Shikagiri Nanatsuki.

They found him still standing a few meters away, his Zanpakuto in his hand spotless and unstained by blood.

Chapter 24 The Unexpected

"Master, how did you do that? You cut that giant bear in half from so far away!" Kensei Rokusha was full of doubt. His master was clearly standing several meters away, and his Zanpakuto wasn't that long, yet he was able to cut the fleeing giant bear in half.

“The teacher’s knife is unstained with blood.” Hirako Shinji felt that he had noticed the key point.

"Could it be..." Kana Azashiro's eyes lit up as she thought of the technique she was practicing. "Did the teacher use 'Spiritual Pressure Blade' to cut the giant bear in half?"

"Kana guessed right, but this is a more complex technique than spiritual pressure blade. At the moment of the slash, I extended the spiritual pressure attached to the blade, which is equivalent to creating a longer blade. This move is called 'Flowing Light'." July nodded slightly. Kana Azajo was usually a bit unreliable, but her comprehension of swordsmanship was indeed quite high.

"Can 'Spirit Pressure Blade' really do this? It can even extend outwards?" Kana Mochishiro's eyes widened in disbelief.

She had practiced the Spirit Pressure Blade technique and knew how difficult it was. Just creating a layer of Spirit Pressure Blade on the blade was already a difficult thing to do, and her teacher could even extend the Spirit Pressure Blade.

“Once the ‘spiritual pressure blade’ is detached from the blade, it is difficult to maintain. Therefore, it needs to be slashed at an extremely fast speed to hit the enemy before the ‘spiritual pressure blade’ disappears. It also requires precise control of distance, otherwise it is easy to hit obstacles or miss.”

July cautioned, "Alright, these are things I'll teach you later. Don't aim too high; focus on learning 'Instant Strike' first."

“Yes! I will learn ‘Instant Strike’ as soon as possible!” Cilantro Mochi nodded vigorously.

July stepped forward and said to Kensei Rokusha, "Kensei, your vigilance is too weak. Don't think that you can relax just because you have defeated the enemy. Deadly dangers often occur when you let your guard down."

"After you get back, Qiyu Suzhen will have to practice for an extra hour!"

"Yes!"

Quanxi dared not refute. He understood that he had indeed been careless just now. If his teacher and companions had not been there, he would probably have been bitten by the giant bear. Given the size of the bear, a bite would have at least resulted in serious injury.

July glanced at the notification that had just popped up:

[Kensei Rokusha's reputation level has increased; his current reputation level is "Friendly".]

Kensei Muguruma's reputation level has also been raised to "Friendly," and the rewards for providing feedback on his daily guidance will be doubled.

In July, she took out a spiritual space pocket and put away the two bear corpses.

"Teacher, are we having bear paws for lunch?" Cilantro remembered that the teacher had said bear paws were a rare delicacy, and she immediately perked up.

"We won't eat bear paws. They're too troublesome to prepare, especially in the wild. Let's have roasted rabbit for lunch instead." July had just seen a rabbit burrow on the road, so there must be rabbits nearby.

"Roasted rabbit? Rabbits are so cute!"

Cilantro was shocked. How could someone eat such a cute rabbit?!

...

The group ventured deep into the forest, cut down some black ironwood, and then found a relatively flat spot for a picnic.

The enticing aroma of meat, mingled with the scents of spices, wafts through the forest.

"It's so fragrant!"

Cilantro sat in front of the campfire, her chin resting on her hands, gazing at the roasting rabbit on the fire. Tears of mourning for the rabbit streamed from the corners of her mouth.

In July, sprinkle some more chili powder on the rabbit, remove it from the rack, and cut it into five pieces.

"It's ready, eat up."

I couldn't wait to take a bite. The rabbit meat was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, roasted to perfection. With one bite, the delicious juice mixed with the flavor of spices burst in my mouth.

"This is so delicious!" Kana thought the teacher was a culinary god in Soul Society, able to make such delicious food even in the wild.

"It's really delicious!" Little Lisa exclaimed in shock. She had burned a sweet potato when she tried to roast it last July, but now she could roast a rabbit so well.

"I wasn't lying to you, was I? People always improve, don't look at me with the same old eyes," July said with a smile.

"The food the teacher made is the best I've ever eaten," Kensei exclaimed.

"Indeed, after eating the teacher's cooking, the food in the Spirit Arts Academy's cafeteria is like pig swill," Mako sighed.

"Delicious! Teacher's cooking skills are amazing!" Cilantro took a sip of the mushroom and meat soup and grinned happily.

In July, his hand holding the soup bowl paused slightly as he saw another notification:

[Coriander's reputation level in Mole City has increased; her current reputation level is "Aspirational"]

Cilantro's reputation level has actually increased!

This gluttonous disciple's reputation is increasing incredibly fast.

"There's plenty more, eat as much as you like." July's smile widened even more.

The group quickly devoured the food, leaving nothing behind; even the bones ended up in the stomach of Akita Inu, Fuku.

After finishing their meal, they extinguished the campfire and set off back.

Black ironwood grows deep in the mountains and forests, and it would take them some time to walk out of the forest.

"What's wrong with the teacher?" Kana Mochi looked at the teacher walking ahead and suddenly stopped.

July gestured for her not to speak and carefully observed the surrounding environment.

After a dozen or so breaths, July spoke up, "There's no sound."

"What's wrong?" Kensei Rokusha looked around.

“Idiot, all the birdsong and insect chirping around us have disappeared.” Hirako Shinji’s expression turned serious.

He had seen this situation described in textbooks—they might have encountered a false alarm.

July's right hand rested on the hilt of the sword, carefully sensing the changes in the surrounding spiritual pressure.

Hollows occasionally appear in Soul Society. Sometimes, the spatial barrier between Hueco Mundo and Soul Society fluctuates, creating gaps. Hollows from Hueco Mundo can then enter Soul Society through these naturally occurring gaps.

However, this usually happens in partitions that are ranked lower.

Shikatori Dojo is located in the outer ward of the sixth district of West Rukongai. The outer ward is considered a relatively ideal area with abundant food, safety, and environment. It has lush vegetation and numerous forests, so there are many hunters in this area.

As a top-ranked district, the outer district is relatively close to Seireitei, making the probability of a gap appearing very low.

July was also the first time I met Xu in the outer district.

However, he was not without experience in dealing with Void creatures; Baiyunzhai had once taken him hunting Void creatures.

July's expression shifted slightly as he sensed an unusual fluctuation in spiritual pressure.

With a flick of his wrist, a blade of light slashed to the right.

Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared on the right side of July, followed by the howl of the Void.

Ow—

The blade flashed past the shadowy figure, leaving a grotesque tentacle on the ground.

The shadowy figure disappeared again.

That Hollow seemed to be very good at hiding its form; even after being hit, it could still conceal itself.

Suddenly, July raised his Zanpakuto and held it in front of him.