Death's Hidden Mobile

Chapter Fourteen: Skipping Grades

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, Xia Yan has spent eleven months at the True Central Spiritual Arts Academy.

From the spring season in March to the end of January of the following year, a semester comes to a perfect end.

The weather had warmed up by the end of January, but it was still a bit chilly outside.

Xia Yan stayed in his dormitory, resting his chin on his hand and looking out the window, looking somewhat melancholy.

A school year test was held recently, and Xia Yan ranked first in the entire grade in academic subjects, and also received excellent grades in both Kendo and Pakta.

In the subsequent spiritual pressure test, Xia Yan was directly tested and found to have a fifth-level spiritual pressure. This was the result of Xia Yan's year of training. With the replenishment of spiritual food, the day and night training, and his superb talent, Xia Yan naturally advanced to the fifth level of spiritual pressure.

This is far beyond the requirements for fourth grade, so this morning the teacher called me to the office to ask if I would like to enter fourth grade.

The fourth year will teach beginner Kido and Shunpo, and the requirement for beginner Kido and Shunpo is fourth-level spiritual pressure.

In addition, fourth-year students will be awarded Zanpakuto and sent to Rukongai for practical training, where they will engage in Hollow-killing activities.

Renji Abarai meets the requirements for spiritual pressure, but his academic performance is too weak to qualify for skipping a grade.

Xia Yan could skip a grade, but he didn't want to be separated from Renji Abarai, Rukia, Izuru Kira, and Momo Hinamori, so he hesitated.

Just as Xia Yan was feeling troubled, Renji Abarai returned to the dormitory. Seeing Xia Yan, he came over and asked, "Xia Yan, what's wrong? Did someone bully you? I'll go and get revenge for you."

Xia Yan quickly said, "Renji-nii, no one is bullying me."

Renji Abarai laughed and said, "That's right. Your kendo and hand-to-hand combat scores are both excellent. After using your spiritual power, even I am no match for you. How could anyone bully you?"

But then Renji Abarai sat down next to Natsuhiko and asked, "Then why are you unhappy? What happened?"

Xia Yan hesitated for a moment before saying, "Actually, the teacher came to see me this morning and told me something."

Renji Abarai asked curiously, "What is it?"

Xia Yan whispered, "The teacher asked me if I wanted to skip a grade."

"Skip a grade?"

Upon hearing this, Renji Abarai raised an eyebrow and said, "This is a good thing, what are you hesitating for?"

Xia Yan said with some distress, "But I don't want to be separated from you."

Renji Abarai looked at Natsuhiko and said, "Since you can go directly to the fourth year, don't stay here. Even if you train with us, it won't help you much; it'll just be a waste of time."

Xia Yan scratched his head and said, "But..."

There are no "buts".

Renji Abarai interrupted him directly, saying, "You're just going to fourth grade, it's not like you can't see us. You'll still be living in this dormitory. After school, we'll wait for you to go to the cafeteria together, so don't worry, just agree to the teacher's request."

Hearing this, Xia Yan nodded and said, "Alright then, I'll promise you, teacher."

Renji Abarai immediately smiled and said, "That's right, go on."

Xia Yan left the room, found the teacher, and chose to study in the fourth grade. The teacher completed the formalities for him.

Upon learning that Natsuhiko was going to enter the fourth year of study, Rukia, Hinamori, Momo, Kira, and Izuru all expressed their congratulations and envy. Being able to enter the fourth year basically confirmed that he could become an apprentice Shinigami.

The fourth year is completely different from the previous two years. The minimum requirement is fourth-level spiritual pressure. At this level of spiritual pressure, one can master Shunpo and the basic Kido, and one's combat power can be multiplied. Dealing with third-year students, one against ten is not a problem.

If one obtains a borrowed Zanpakuto, even without the ability to Shikai, one can still deal with Hollows and perform Soul Burial.

This fulfills the most basic requirement to become a Grim Reaper: possessing a certain level of combat power.

However, if their grades aren't good enough, they can only become ordinary Shinigami after joining a squad.

Therefore, the fourth grade is the most important grade, and the academic courses also include knowledge of killing voids and soul burial, making the coursework more demanding.

After deciding to skip a grade, the holiday will arrive. Spring break will last forty-five days, from January 15th to the start of school in March.

Xia Yan planned to make good use of this vacation and find a job. For the past nine months, Xia Yan had received pocket money from Renji Abarai every month, which he used to buy some daily necessities.

Rukia also worked during summer vacation and gave a lot of the money she earned to Natsuhiko.

Xia Yan felt guilty for relying on the two of them all this time, so he decided to go out and find a job.

Xia Yan arrived at the shopping street and looked for part-time jobs at each shop, but few were willing to hire a short and young boy like Xia Yan.

After searching several shops without finding a chance, Xia Yan sat down by the roadside in frustration.

Just then, a voice rang in Xia Yan's ear, "I remember you, what are you doing here?"

Xia Yan raised his head and looked into the distance. There stood a little girl who was not very tall, with her signature pink hair that was very eye-catching.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Xia Yan quickly stood up and said, "Vice Captain Yachiru."

Appearing before Xia Yan was Kusajishi Yachiru, dressed in a Shinigami uniform and holding a piece of candy in her hand.

Kusajika Yachiru walked over and asked, "What happened? You look unhappy."

Xia Yan scratched his head and said, "I want to find a job, but I'm too young, and no one is willing to hire me."

Kusajika Yachiru nodded and said, "I see."

Xia Yan looked at the other person and asked curiously, "What is Vice Captain Yachiru doing here?"

When Kusajiro Yachiru heard this, he chuckled, raised his right hand, and said, "I've come here to buy candy."

Xia Yan saw the candy in Kusajishi Yachiru's pocket and knew that her favorite food was konpeito, which she always had with her.

Kusajiro Yachiru thought for a moment, then took out a piece of candy and handed it to Natsuhiko, saying, "Here, take this."

"Thank you."

Xia Yan took the konpeito, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth.

Konpeito is made from glutinous rice flour and sugar syrup. Glutinous rice flour is made by roasting and crushing glutinous rice flour. The glutinous rice flour is mixed with sugar syrup and stirred continuously to form spherical sugar balls with raised bumps, which are konpeito.

Konpeito is somewhat like granulated sugar; when chewed, it breaks into tiny granules that fill the mouth with a sweet flavor.

As Xia Yan ate his candy, Kusajiro Yachiru looked at him and said, "You can go to the candy shop on the corner. They're hiring. I'll take you there."

"is it?"

Xia Yan immediately stood up, and Kusajiro Yachiru led him to the candy shop. Once inside, she introduced Xia Yan to the shop owner.

Although Natsuhiko was quite young, the shopkeeper kept him with the help of Kusajishi Yachiru.

Xia Yan was able to stay here and was very grateful to Kusajishi Yachiru, but before he could thank her, Kusajishi Yachiru had already disappeared.

Xia Yan made up his mind that after receiving his first month's income, he would definitely buy a big bag of konpeito (Japanese candy) for Kusashi Yachiru.

Chapter Fifteen: The Vow

Inside the candy shop, Xia Yan stood on a stool in front of the counter, looking at the pink-haired girl in front of him, and asked, "Vice-Captain Yachiru, what would you like to order this time?"

Xia Yan has been in the candy shop for almost a month. The person who comes to the candy shop the most is Kusajiro Yachiru. He often comes every two or three days and buys a big bag each time.

God knows why she loves sweets so much.

Kusajika Yachiru stood in front of the counter, pointed at the candies on it with her finger, and said, "Give me this, and this one too."

Xia Yan quickly weighed the contents for her, filled a large bag, calculated the price, collected the money, and handed the bag to Kusajiro Yachiru.

Kusajiro Yachiru took the bag, eagerly took out a piece of candy, unwrapped it, and put it in her mouth. A happy smile appeared on her cute face as she walked towards the door, completely satisfied.

But Xia Yan said, "Vice Captain Yachiru, wait a moment."

"Xiao Yan, what's wrong?"

Kusajiro Yachiru turned around, wondering why Natsuhiko had called him back.

Xia Yan didn't mind the nickname she gave him. Instead, he took out a box from under the counter, handed it to Kusajiro Yachiru, and said, "This box of candy is for you as a thank you gift for introducing me to the job."

Xia Yan will finish his part-time job in two days. He has already received his wages for this month and used them to buy this box of candy, which he plans to give to Kusajishi Yachiru.

When Kusajiro Yachiru saw the box, her eyes lit up, but she immediately said, "This box of candy is very expensive, I can't accept it."

Xia Yan scratched his head and said, "If it weren't for Vice Captain Yachiru's help, I wouldn't have found this job."

"Then I'll accept it."

Kusajiro Yachiru stopped refusing, accepted the candy, and skipped away.

Xia Yan felt a little sad after Yachiru left. He had gotten a job through Yachiru's introduction, and after spending a month together, Xia Yan was grateful to Yachiru, but also felt some regret.

She will disappear in the future, and I am powerless to change that.

Kill Kenpachi Zaraki's enemies beforehand to prevent him from unleashing his Zanpakuto?

However, Kenpachi Zaraki faced a very powerful enemy. Even after breaking the seal, he still needed Shikai to defeat V, and even Bankai could not defeat him.

Can I achieve the ability to unleash Kenpachi's Shikai and Bankai again within sixty years after breaking the seal?

Xia Yan felt that with his current training, it would be a pipe dream to even match Kenpachi Zaraki's spiritual pressure when he took off his eyepatch.

Xia Yan could only keep this matter to himself and search for a solution little by little over a long period of time.

Xia Yan worked at the candy shop for two more days before ending his month-long part-time job and returning to school.

With seven days left before the start of the semester, Kira Izuru returned to his dormitory. He had applied for a temporary pass and returned home at the beginning of spring break.

However, Natsuhiko, Rukia, and Renji Abarai were unwilling to return to the Todari Ward and all stayed at the school.

After Kira Izuru arrived at the dormitory, she put down the package she was carrying, took out a paper bag from it, and handed it to Natsuhiko and Renji, saying, "These are some gifts I brought from home. They are local specialties from Jing'an District. Renji Abarai, Natsuhiko, please have a taste."

"What is it?"

Renji Abarai took the bag, opened it, and found several round, cake-like foods inside. He picked one up and asked, somewhat puzzled, "What's this?"

Kira Izuru said with a smile, "This is dorayaki, a famous dish from Jing'an District where my family lives."

Renji Abarai handed the food to Natsuhiko and said, "Natsuhiko, you try it first."

Xia Yan had long been used to Renji Abarai's care for him. Whenever there was food, Renji would give it to Xia Yan and let him eat first.

Of course, habit doesn't mean it's taken for granted. Xia Yan will remember all the good things Renji has done for him and will definitely take revenge on him later—no, repay him.

Xia Yan took the dorayaki, put it to his mouth, and took a bite. First, he tasted the soft and sweet flavor of the bread crust made of honey and flour, followed by the smooth and fragrant filling made of red bean paste and syrup.

It's delicious.

The rich flavor mixed with the sweet aroma was intoxicating, and Xia Yan quickly finished a dorayaki.