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"Six... Sixth Class Spiritual Power!"
In the recruitment grounds of the Shin'ō Academy, the testing instructor shot up from his seat, eyes wide, his voice trembling involuntarily.
The entire school grounds erupted into a commotion. Everyone's eyes were glued to the chestnut-haired boy standing in the center of the field, who looked quite young.
To put this in perspective, among the previous applicants, the highest result had only been Thirteenth Class Spiritual Power. Most hovered around Eighteenth, Nineteenth, or even Twentieth Class.
Suddenly, a genius with Sixth Class Spiritual Power appeared. It was no wonder everyone was dumbfounded.
Some students from noble families, who had a deeper understanding of Spiritual Power rankings, couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
"Sixth Class! Doesn't that mean this kid already has the Reiatsu of a high-ranking seated officer just by enrolling?!"
"The highest record for the Shin'ō Academy entrance test was only Sixth Class before this, right? Tsk tsk tsk, another genius seen only once in a century!"
Discussions buzzed endlessly.
However, Luca, the chestnut-haired boy at the center of attention, felt rather helpless.
Dammit, I secretly vented so much spiritual energy earlier. How did I still test at Sixth Class? Seems I overestimated the power levels of these low-level Soul Reapers!
Yes, the "once-in-a-century genius" everyone was marveling at was Luca, who had fought his way from District 71 of East Rukongai to take the entrance exam.
After confirming he was in the Soul Society, Luca immediately decided on the path of enrolling in the Shin'ō Academy to become a Soul Reaper.
His purpose in coming to this world was to learn. Whether it was the Soul Reaper techniques taught for free at the Academy or the chance to infiltrate the 12th Division's Department of Research and Development later to steal some deeper Spirit Particle technology, becoming a Soul Reaper was a solid path.
Moreover, during his journey here, Luca had tested himself and discovered something.
The Hex energy in his body was fundamentally indistinguishable from Spirit Particles (Reishi) in this world.
Having spent over a year running back and forth to the Dimension War and absorbing Hex energy, even in his soul form, he was filled with energy.
The only difference in this Reishi-composed Soul Society was that the ambient Spirit Particles didn't try to flood into his body uncontrollably like Hex energy did due to his unique connection.
Since his main goal was learning, Luca naturally didn't want to attract too much attention.
The so-called Spiritual Power test essentially measured the density of Spirit Particles within a soul.
Having worn the [Spirit Pressure Restraining Eyepatch] for so long, Luca had some experience with releasing energy to suppress his pressure.
So before the test, he actively vented a large amount of spiritual energy, hoping to control the result and keep a low profile.
Unfortunately, Luca didn't have a specific reference target.
The result? Still a "Sixth Class Spiritual Power."
Fine. Sixth Class is high, but at least it's within the realm of normalcy. It shouldn't... attract too much attention, right?
Though this testing device is interesting. The design is a bit weird...
Thinking this, Luca reached out to poke the strange device that looked like a blood pressure monitor but with tiny tentacles.
While his mind wandered, the recruitment instructor could no longer sit still.
Looking at the noisy environment, the teacher ignored Luca's odd behavior, grabbed his wrist, and barked an order to a few senior students nearby.
"You lot, take over the testing."
With that, he used Shunpo (Flash Step) to drag Luca straight into the Academy.
Inside the Shin'ō Academy, in front of the Dean's Office.
It was lucky Luca knew the teacher dragging him via Shunpo meant no harm; otherwise, he wouldn't have let himself be "flashed" all the way here without resisting.
Though, this Shunpo is interesting. Gotta learn that!
While Luca was secretly observing the teacher's movements, the man pushed open the door and shouted impatiently.
"Headmaster! A student with Sixth Class Spiritual Power has appeared in this batch..."
Mid-sentence, the teacher froze. He quickly let go of Luca's hand and bowed respectfully to the people in the room.
"Captain Aizen! Lieutenant Ichimaru!"
Hearing those names, a chill ran down Luca's spine.
Looking closely, besides the white-haired old man sitting in the main seat, the other two were indeed Sōsuke Aizen, now Captain of the 5th Division, and his Lieutenant, Gin Ichimaru.
Although seeing the distinctively styled Renji Abarai at the exam grounds earlier had given Luca a rough idea of the timeline...
He never expected to run into the final boss of the Soul Society arc straight away!
Screw this! Don't do this to me! I just came here to study!
Cursing his luck internally, Luca quickly suppressed his shock. To avoid standing out, he put on the confused look of a naive student and bowed slightly to the two men alongside the teacher.
He had no choice. Although the "Sixth Class Spiritual Power" result was due to him suppressing his strength...
Even at full power, he didn't think he could take Aizen.
Forget Aizen—Gin Ichimaru standing next to him could probably wipe the floor with Luca right now.
Luca sensed that even in terms of raw energy levels, he was slightly inferior to Gin.
Not to mention, as an "Item User" without his items, his combat ability was nowhere near these guys who fought purely on their own strength.
Right now, playing the obedient, clueless student was the only correct move.
"This is..."
Facing the sudden intrusion, Aizen's smile remained gentle as he asked casually.
The teacher who brought Luca explained without holding back.
"This is the newly recruited student, Luca. His test result was Sixth Class Spiritual Power. I thought it necessary to bring him to the Headmaster immediately."
Hearing this, Aizen looked Luca up and down with interest. A thoughtful look flashed in his eyes before he spoke softly, as if encouraging him.
"Sixth Class Spiritual Power? That is indeed an impressive talent. Work hard."
"After graduation, consider joining our 5th Division."