Death's Hidden Mobile

Another student added, "Aizen is the captain of the Fifth Division."

Hinamori Momo couldn't help but exclaim, "Lord Aizen is not only so handsome, but also cultured, skilled in calligraphy, and the captain of the Fifth Division. He's truly an outstanding man."

Hearing this, Xia Yan frowned slightly. In the original work, Hinamori Momo was a die-hard fan of Aizen. She was a member of Aizen's calligraphy class at the Shinigami Academy. Later, because of her admiration for Aizen, she joined the Fifth Division and eventually became the vice-captain of the Fifth Division. Even after Aizen's betrayal was announced, she still chose to believe in him. After being stabbed by Aizen and recovering, she continued to blindly believe in him and even turned against her childhood friend with swords on several occasions.

Thinking about Hinamori Momo's reckless actions later on, Natsuhiko felt helpless.

As Aizen finished speaking, the opening ceremony came to an end, and the students filed out of the auditorium.

Since classes don't officially start until tomorrow, those living in Seollingting left the school and went straight home, while boarding students remained on campus.

Natsuhiko, Renji Abarai, and Izuru Kira did not immediately return to the dormitory, but waited for Rukia outside. However, seeing Rukia chatting and laughing with the other girls in Class 3, Renji Abarai smiled and said, "It seems Rukia has made some friends. Let's go."

Xia Yan nodded, knowing that Renji Abarai didn't want to confine Rukia to their small circle.

Xia Yan and the other two left immediately and returned to their dormitory.

The formal lessons began the next day.

At the Shinigami Academy, first-year students mainly study history, knowledge of Hollows, soul burial, and how to kill Hollows, among other cultural subjects.

Apart from that, there are only two training methods: Kendo and Hakta.

Kendo and Hakuda have relatively low requirements for spiritual pressure and can train spiritual pressure, increasing practical combat ability, making them more suitable for freshmen.

In higher grades, students can learn Shunpo and basic Kido. The prerequisite for learning these skills is fourth-level spiritual pressure. If a student cannot reach fourth-level spiritual pressure before sixth grade, they will have to drop out of school.

In addition, there are special training programs for the Hidden Mobile Force and the Fourth Division Medical Team. The former has extremely high requirements for Shunpo and Hakuda, while the latter has relatively high requirements for the use of Kido's Return Path.

In addition, the 12th Division's Technical Development Bureau and the Kido Clan will also select suitable members from the Shinigami Academy.

Xia Yan hasn't decided on his future path yet. Right now, his main priority is to increase his strength as much as possible to deal with Aizen's conspiracy sixty years later.

Natsuhiko, Abarai Renji, and Kira Izuru arrived at the classroom. After Natsuhiko sat down, he took out his textbook. Soon it was time for class, and the teacher arrived.

The teacher appeared to be around fifty years old, dressed in a black shihachi (a type of Japanese martial arts uniform). He came to the podium, wrote his name, and began his lecture.

The first lesson was history. This course mainly talked about the birth of Death, the composition of the world, and the evolution of Death in the long history.

Through the teacher's explanation and the contents recorded in the book, Xia Yan learned that the Soul Society had already appeared a hundred years ago, which was also the time when humans were born. Human death was accompanied by the birth of souls, and souls would transform into two kinds of beings: Shinigami and Hollows.

Millions of years ago, Death and Void have been adversaries, fighting each other with varying degrees of victory and defeat.

In this process, the Grim Reaper grows stronger through inherited spiritual power, while the Hollows also evolve and become stronger.

After several evolutions, the Soul Society finally formed a unified system about two thousand years ago.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni established the Thirteen Divisions and founded the Shinigami Academy, cultivating a large number of talents and curbing the development of Hollows.

Besides history as a subject, there is also theoretical knowledge.

Hollows are the souls of the dead who, because of their attachment to the world or their deep ties with humanity, are filled with resentment and have endured the torment of time, eventually degenerate into Hollows.

Hyo has a hollow in his chest, which represents his inner emptiness, and he is covered by a thick mask.

Hollows are also divided into many types. In addition to ordinary Hollows, there are also Hollows of Greater Hollows, which are further divided into Gillian-class, Adjuchas-class, and Vastode-class.

Only Shinigami with Shikai can deal with the Gillian-class, while Adjuchas already possesses strength ranging from vice-captain to captain. As for Vasto Lorde, his strength is even above captain level.

In addition to the introduction of the void, there are also instructions on how to kill the void and how to purify the void.

Although many Hollows represent evil and brutality, simply eliminating them will only disrupt the balance between the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo.

This is also what the Quincy clan did, and it's the reason why the Shinigami destroyed the Quincy clan.

In addition, there is knowledge about the soul, such as the composition of the soul, soul burial, and the transformation of spiritual particles.

Xia Yan studied this knowledge very diligently. He would take notes on what the teacher said, review them carefully, and come up with many extended questions to ask the teacher for help.

Renji Abarai felt that what he was doing was somewhat unnecessary. To become a Shinigami, combat power was the most important thing, so why bother with the content of these cultural lessons?

Therefore, Renji Abarai spent most of his time training and rarely memorized knowledge from books.

Xia Yan knew that this knowledge was very important, and that he might be able to find a way to counter Aizen from it.

Chapter 10: Hinamori Momo

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed. Xia Yan had adapted to the learning life at the True Central Spiritual Arts Academy and was gradually settling down there.

At this moment, Xia Yan was holding a bamboo knife and practicing pendulum swings with the other students from Class Two in the training room.

Over the past month, with the consumption of spiritual food, Xia Yan felt his spiritual pressure increasing significantly, almost reaching the fifth level.

After training for half an hour, Xia Yan's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. At this moment, the swordsmanship instructor, Kenji Tsuruta, said, "Alright, training is over. Everyone, let's have a sparring session. I'll assign you opponents."

"Renji Abarai, you'll be paired with Izuru Kira."

"Kondo Isami, you're paired with Katsura Yugo."

"..."

Kenji Tsuruta assigned opponents to each group, and finally looked at the last boy, Natsuhiko, who was just twelve years old, and said, "Natsuhiko, you will be paired with Momo Hinamori."

Xia Yan is young and short, only 1.45 meters tall, about 10 centimeters shorter than the shortest of the other boys.

Hinamori Momo is relatively short for a girl, only 1.5 meters tall, but she is older, making her a good match for Natsuhiko.

After assigning the groups, Xia Yan came to Hinamori Momo and stared at her.

Hinamori Momo is petite with her jet-black hair pulled back. She has delicate features, fair skin, and a pair of bright, expressive eyes.

Compared to Xia Yan's complete concentration, Hinamori Momo was somewhat indifferent, thinking that Xia Yan was just a child and therefore didn't take him seriously.

Hinamori Momo looked at Natsuhiko and said with a smile, "Natsuhiko, I didn't expect you to be my opponent. Go ahead and attack."

As Hinamori Momo uttered those words, Natsuhiko suddenly stepped out with his right foot, and the instant he landed, his left foot followed. At the same time, the bamboo sword in his hand slammed down from above, turning into a blur as it attacked Hinamori Momo's face.

boom.

In her haste, Hinamori Momo only had time to raise the bamboo sword in her hand and place it in front of her before she was struck hard.

A tremendous force struck, and Hinamori Momo nearly dropped the bamboo sword from her hand.

Just as Hinamori Momo gripped the bamboo sword again, Natsuhiko's bamboo sword had already struck Hinamori Momo's neck.

Hinamori Momo was stunned, her face showing disbelief, but then she became dejected.

Xia Yan sheathed his bamboo sword, bowed to Hinamori Momo, and said, "Excuse me."

Hinamori Momo was somewhat stunned, not expecting Natsuhiko to be so powerful, defeating her in an instant.

It's laughable that I just thought Xia Yan was a child and that I was no match for him.

Hinamori Momo's face flushed slightly as she recalled her performance. Seeing Natsuhiko's matter-of-fact expression, she said somewhat defiantly, "Again."

Hinamori Momo gripped the bamboo sword in her hand once more, her gaze fixed on Natsuhiko, her expression wary.

She attributed her defeat to her carelessness. Although her opponent was a genius with fourth-level spiritual pressure, he was short and only looked eleven years old. His arms were thinner than hers. Hinamori Momo believed that as long as she was careful, she could not possibly lose to this little brat.

But just as Hinamori Momo made up her mind, Natsuhiko took another step forward, using a "send-foot" technique, and was right in front of Hinamori Momo in one step.

As the body moves forward, the bamboo knife in the hand chops down from top to bottom. During the chopping motion, both the left and right hands twist inward, channeling the power of both hands into the inside of the bamboo knife and concentrating it at the tip.

boom.

Hinamori Momo reacted extremely quickly this time, blocking in front of her body in time, but then a huge force came, making Hinamori Momo's arm go numb.

"What immense power."

Hinamori Momo gritted her teeth, somewhat shocked. This time, Natsuhiko's strength was even greater than before. She really didn't know how this little guy had such great strength, but fortunately, she was prepared and managed to withstand the attack.

The moment Xia Yan's bamboo sword was blocked, he stepped back in time to create distance.

The importance of retreating is beyond doubt. Natsuhiko in the Xudiao area already knew this. It was not only to avoid possible counterattacks from the enemy, but also to leave room for counterattacks to build up strength, and to adjust the attack method in time by observing the enemy's actions.

Xia Yan took a step back, and Hinamori Momo stepped forward and slashed down with her sword as well.

Xia Yan took another step back, and Hinamori Momo's bamboo sword slashed past Xia Yan's nose by a centimeter. The moment the bamboo sword fell, Xia Yan thrust his sword straight at Hinamori Momo's chest.

Xia Yan's movements were concise and powerful; he defeated Hinamori Momo in just a few simple moves, which was far too easy.

Looking at the bamboo sword in front of her, Hinamori Momo realized that she had been too careless and should not have attacked after her opponent had created distance.

"Again."

Hinamori Momo launched another challenge, but after a few moves, she was once again pinned to the neck by Natsuhiko's bamboo sword.

"Again."

Hinamori Momo challenged Natsuhiko time and time again, but the result was very clear: she would be defeated in no more than ten moves each time.

As she became more familiar with Xia Yan's moves, she was able to defend herself with more and more techniques, but she could only block in front of him. If she tried to counterattack, she would be defeated in just one move.

Hinamori Momo was a little anxious, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, slowly sliding down her fair and pretty face.

With each failure, Hinamori Momo grew increasingly anxious. Seizing an opportunity, she thrust her bamboo sword straight at Natsuhiko's chest.

Xia Yan took a step to the left and easily dodged the attack. In the instant he took the step, he swung the bamboo sword horizontally, aiming for Hinamori Momo's neck.

Faced with Natsuhiko's bamboo sword, Hinamori Momo tried to sheathe her sword and parry, but given her speed, she simply couldn't block the attack in time.

Hinamori Momo was anxious and tried her best to mobilize her power. Suddenly, she unconsciously used her spiritual power.

After the spirit particle bloomed, Hinamori Momo's speed increased several times. She blocked Natsuhiko's horizontal swing with a single slash, and the enormous force knocked the bamboo sword out of Natsuhiko's hand. At the same time, she slashed out with her own sword.

The slash was incredibly fast, reaching Xia Yan's face in the blink of an eye.

Xia Yan could never have predicted that Hinamori Momo would use spirit particles. He had no time to react and instinctively moved his body, but he was still hit on the shoulder.

Click.

Hinamori Momo's bamboo sword struck Natsuhiko's shoulder, shattering his shoulder bone and sending a sharp pain through him.

"what!"

Xia Yan let out a roar, knelt down, clutched his shoulder, and turned pale.

Seeing this, Hinamori Momo was stunned, and only then did she realize what she had done.

In his desire to win, he subconsciously used spiritual energy, which injured Xia Yan.

"Are you... are you alright?"

Hinamori Momo looked anxious, dropped her wooden sword and ran towards Natsuhiko. Before she could even stand properly beside him, she was pushed to the ground by a figure.

"Get out of my way."