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

"So this was all your doing?!" Ichigo Kurosaki couldn't help but jump up. "If I were to come to Soul Society, I wouldn't have needed to do this!"

"Only by facing a life-or-death crisis can you awaken the power hidden deep within you." July picked up a broken mask and placed it in front of Kurosaki Ichigo.

The mask should have shattered quickly, but July used her spiritual pressure to maintain its shape.

"This is... a Hollow mask?" Ichigo Kurosaki was slightly taken aback, sensing the Hollow's spiritual pressure from the mask.

“This is your Void Power,” July said slowly.

"I have Hollow powers? How is that possible!" Kurosaki Ichigo had no recollection of this mask.

"Then let me tell you a story from the past, a story about Isshin Shiba and Masaki Kurosaki..."

In July, I briefly explained to Ichigo Kurosaki how Isshin Shiba and Masaki Kurosaki met.

"My dad used to be the Grim Reaper?"

"And he's Captain Death?"

After hearing the story of how his parents met, Ichigo Kurosaki was greatly surprised.

He once asked his father if he was a Quincy, and received a negative answer.

His father had never displayed any powerful spiritual abilities in front of him, and he thought his father was just an ordinary human. He never imagined that his father was actually a Grim Reaper.

"So you're actually my junior apprentice!" Rukia was also surprised. She joined the sect late and had never even met Shiba Isshin.

"So, Shikatori-senpai is my grandmaster? So, as long as I awaken the Hollow power within me, my father's spiritual pressure can be restored?" Kurosaki Ichiro sorted out his thoughts and understood the cause of his recent ordeal.

"Isshin used the power of the Shinigami to help your mother suppress the Hollow. When your mother was pregnant with you, the Hollow also entered your body, and Isshin's power of the Shinigami suppressed the Hollow within you." July explained, "You can now withstand this power. As long as the Hollow power within you breaks free from the power of the Shinigami that is suppressing it, the power of the Shinigami will return to Isshin."

In July, there was actually a scene planned for Kurosaki Ichigo to storm the execution ground, but since Kurosaki Ichigo had already awakened Hollowfication, there was no need to continue the story.

Ichigo Kurosaki now possesses the characteristics of a human, a Quincy, a Shinigami, and a Hollow. These powers influence each other, and it is predicted that his spiritual pressure will experience an explosive increase in July.

"Is that so... If it's for Dad's sake, I can accept being beaten a few times."

Ichigo Kurosaki scratched his head. He could also see that his father, who was without spiritual pressure, was aging very quickly. When his father and mother stood together, they looked like two different generations. If his father could regain his spiritual pressure, he could slow down the aging process.

Chapter 453 Substitute Death God

After relaxing, Ichigo Kurosaki finally realized that his friend who had come to Soul Society with him wasn't at the dojo: "Oh right, where's Ryugen? He came to Soul Society with me..."

“He has been sent back to the mortal world. You will need to stay here and cultivate for a while longer.”

"The Hollow within you has been awakened, but taming its power won't be easy. It will emerge and affect you when you're vulnerable."

July took out a box containing meatballs and handed it to Kurosaki Ichigo: "Eat these meatballs first."

These meatballs were made by Kiryu Hikifune using 'temporary souls' at July's request. Kurosaki Ichigo's spiritual pressure will surge after eating them.

"Does this have anything to do with taming Hollows?" Ichigo Kurosaki didn't quite understand what meatballs had to do with Hollows, but he was indeed a little hungry, so he picked up a meatball and started eating.

"Huh? What's wrong with my spiritual pressure?"

After eating the meatballs, Ichigo Kurosaki's spiritual pressure rapidly increased.

"Consider this compensation for the beatings you took. Those meatballs made from your temporary soul will greatly increase your spiritual pressure," July said.

Before meeting Rukia, Ichigo Kurosaki's spiritual pressure had already reached the level of an elite Quincy. After awakening his Shinigami powers, his spiritual pressure increased significantly, and it was now comparable to that of a Captain-level Shinigami.

After the Hollow power within him awakened, his spiritual pressure increased dramatically once again, surpassing that of many newly appointed captains.

Now, after consuming the meatballs made from his temporary soul, his spiritual pressure is approaching that of the first captain, Retsu Unohana!

"Next, you should digest the surge in spiritual pressure." July took out a white humanoid doll from her spatial pocket. "Generally speaking, even if one's spiritual pressure reaches the level required to train Bankai, it would still take several years or even more than a decade of training to learn Bankai. This doll is a 'Transcendent Body,' which can help you master Bankai in the shortest amount of time."

"Can I learn Bankai too?" Ichigo Kurosaki scratched the back of his head. "Won't the Shinigami come after me?"

Ichigo Kurosaki knew that Bankai was a power that only the strongest Shinigami could master, and he was worried that learning Bankai would provoke the displeasure of the other Shinigami.

"This is a 'Substitute Shinigami' certificate. With this, you're practically a Shinigami." July tossed Ichigo a stamp with a skull on it.

"Am I a legitimate Shinigami now?" Ichigo Kurosaki toyed with the seal in his hand.

July reached out and grabbed Ichigo Kurosaki's shoulder, leading him into the forest behind the mountain before he could react.

"Grandmaster's Shunpo is so fast, it's practically teleportation!" Kurosaki Ichigo was shocked. Before he could react, he was taken to another place.

When Rukia was in the present world, she actually told him that her teacher was a very powerful Grim Reaper.

At first, Ichigo Kurosaki thought Rukia's teacher was a powerful figure like a captain-level Shinigami.

However, even as a captain-level Shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki could see through the opponent's Shunpo trajectory.

He couldn't react at all to his master's Instant Step!

He even felt that his master's Instant Step speed had surpassed that of the Great Void's Echoing Turn.

The Echoing Strike utilizes the Black Cavity space to achieve instantaneous teleportation, but there is actually an extremely short interval between entering and exiting the Black Cavity space. The speed of the Grandmaster's Instant Step is even shorter than this interval between entering and exiting the Black Cavity space.

Kurosaki Ichigo gasped in astonishment at this thought.

My master's strength is probably much greater than those death captains I've seen before!

"Complete your Bankai training here," July said, releasing Ichigo Kurosaki's shoulder. "No one will disturb you during this time."

"Then what should I do?" Kurosaki Ichigo asked.

“By inserting your Zanpakuto into the white puppet, you can materialize the Zanpakuto. The materialized Zanpakuto can last for three days. As long as you can make the materialized Zanpakuto submit within three days, you can complete the training for Bankai.” July put down the white puppet. “Begin. Follow your instincts and complete the Zanpakuto trial.”

"Understood!" Ichigo Kurosaki drew his Zanpakuto and planted it in the white doll.

Zhan Yue and the white doll slowly disappeared together.

"Uncle Zhan Yue!"

Ichigo Kurosaki turned around and saw a black-haired man wearing a black trench coat and sunglasses standing behind him.

"As expected, his Zanpakuto is actually a disguise of Quincy power. That so-called Bankai is actually the release of Quincy power. Just like the Quincy power of Dreamer-Greymy can materialize imagined things, and my Quincy power has the ability to control shadows, Kurosaki Ichigo's 'Bankai' is a way of using his Quincy power." July thought to herself.

The image of "Uncle Zangetsu" looks very familiar; he looks exactly like Yhwach.

This is because "Uncle Zangetsu" is actually Ichigo Kurosaki's Quincy power. After Ichigo Kurosaki's Shinigami power was awakened, it directly merged with the Hollow power sealed within his body.

"Ichigo...do you want to challenge me?" Uncle Zangetsu said expressionlessly.

"Of course, I want to master Bankai!" Kurosaki Ichigo rubbed his hands together, eager to get started.

"Then let's do it." Uncle Zhan Yue slapped the ground with one hand, and countless blades fell down.

Moments later, the ground in the forest was covered with blades.

"Of these swords, only one is the real Zangetsu. You need to find that sword to defeat me," Uncle Zangetsu explained the challenge rules.

"Find the real Zangetsu before I kill you, Ichigo!"

Uncle Zangetsu casually pulled out a sword stuck in the ground and slashed at Ichigo Kurosaki.

Ichigo Kurosaki also drew a sword and retaliated.

His sword struck Uncle Zangetsu, but did not harm him; however, Uncle Zangetsu's sword did leave a wound on his body.

"A fake knife!"

Kurosaki Ichigo immediately tried to switch to another sword, but Uncle Zangetsu pressed his advantage and didn't give him a chance to switch. He had no choice but to use the fake sword to parry Uncle Zangetsu's attacks.

However, the fake knife was of poor quality and broke in two after blocking a few blows.

"Can I use Quincy's abilities?" Kurosaki Ichigo asked loudly.

“Of course, the power of the Quincy is also your power,” Uncle Zangetsu replied calmly.

Kurosaki Ichigo immediately adjusted his strategy, conjuring a spirit bow and firing several spirit arrows to block Zangetsu's movements. He then took the opportunity to switch to a different sword.

After pulling the sword from the ground, he immediately slashed at Uncle Zangetsu. Unfortunately, the new sword he had used was still a fake Zangetsu. The sword passed through Uncle Zangetsu's body without causing any damage.

Just then, Ichigo Kurosaki sensed an attack coming from behind and quickly used Shunpo to create distance.

call out--

After Ichigo Kurosaki adjusted his position, he found that two old men named Zangetsu were standing where he had been standing.

Not only that, but soon more Uncle Zhan Yue appeared around them.

He doesn't just have to deal with one Zan Yue Uncle, but a whole group of Zan Yue Uncles!

Ichigo Kurosaki was immediately under pressure.

clang--

The closest man, Zangetsu, dodged swiftly, instantly slicing the sword in Ichigo Kurosaki's hand in two.

Immediately afterwards, more Zangetsu-kun attacked Kurosaki Ichigo.

He didn't have time to change his sword, so he simply raised his spirit bow and drew the bowstring at lightning speed.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen spirit arrows were fired.

shhhhh--

Some of the spirit arrows pierced through the bodies of the Zangetsu uncles, but just like when they attacked with fake swords, they failed to cause any damage.

However, these spirit arrows can hit the blade in Uncle Zangetsu's hand.

ding ding ding-

The spiritual arrow that landed on the blade shattered Uncle Zangetsu's sword.

Chapter 454 Heaven Lock Zhan Yue

When Kurosaki Ichigo saw that his spirit arrows could shatter the blades, a sudden inspiration struck him.

He immediately leaped into the air.

With a swift pull of the bowstring, countless spirit arrows swept towards the blade stuck in the ground.

He planned to destroy all those fake blades!

The real Zangetsu wouldn't be easily pierced by a spirit arrow!

His idea was soon proven true.

The rain of arrows falling from the sky pierced the blades stuck in the ground, and the number of intact blades was rapidly decreasing.