Life at the Shinō Spiritual Arts Academy was, in many ways, not so different from the university life in Asano Kiyoshi's previous world. The curriculum was fixed: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were theory classes, mainly covering the general history of the Soul Society, the procedures of soul burials, and the usage of various auxiliary items—such as Soul Sleeves and Gikongan. There were also basic concepts introduced, including the realms of Hell, Hueco Mundo, and the Dangai.
Kiyoshi took these theoretical lessons very seriously, soaking up the knowledge with focus and discipline. After all, in the world of Soul Reapers, technology could often overturn the tide of battle in highly unpredictable ways—just look at Kisuke Urahara's "Benihime," a literal game-changer in the Thousand-Year Blood War.
Moreover, the graduation exams at Shinō Academy included written tests. Anyone lacking theoretical knowledge wouldn't be allowed to graduate. Of course, for certain students with overwhelming combat strength, it didn't really matter—some people were born just to fight (shoutout to the current Eleventh Division Captain).
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the academy held live combat training under the category known as "Slay, Brawl, Demon Arts, and Step."
Slay referred to Zanjutsu—blade combat, especially techniques for fighting large Hollows. Since Soul Reapers mainly fought such enemies, this was a core subject. Although the emphasis was on close-quarter combat with Hollows, there were lessons on dueling other Soul Reapers too, albeit much fewer in number. Perhaps due to Kiyoshi's young age, this part was de-emphasized in his class.
Brawl meant Hakuda—hand-to-hand combat. This course trained the students in physical fighting techniques, focused mainly on person-to-person combat. Hollows had overwhelming advantages in size and physiology, so throwing down barehanded with one was basically asking the Technology Bureau to write a paper titled "How to Reassemble Shattered Body Parts."
Demon Arts referred to Kido—the Soul Reapers' exclusive art of spiritual energy manipulation. This class had the most course hours and carried the heaviest weight in final exams.
As Professor Ukitake said:
"Kido is a Soul Reaper's second life. Once one loses their Zanpakuto, the majority of their remaining power lies in their mastery of Kido. At equal levels, skill in Kido often determines the outcome of a battle."
It was also the hardest subject, involving three categories—Binding, Healing, and Destructive Arts—along with long incantations and numerous advanced techniques like dual incantation, reverse incantation counters, post-chant manipulation, and so on.
To Kiyoshi's astonishment, his scroll seemed to automatically analyze and assist him in using Kido. To explain it simply: if casting a Kido spell were like solving a math problem, then the scroll was like a supercomputer. Kiyoshi only needed to form the basic inequality; the scroll handled all the calculations. This assistance solved two of the biggest issues in casting:
Spiritual energy instability in battle, which often led to reduced Kido power or outright failure.
Most Soul Reapers couldn't manipulate reiryoku with perfect precision, leading to waste. But with the scroll's help, Kiyoshi could cast spells of equal power with less spiritual energy!
Upon discovering this ability, Kiyoshi grinned so wide his mouth nearly tore open.
Step referred to Shunpo—the high-speed movement unique to Soul Reapers. There were also advanced techniques like Utsusemi and Senka, though these weren't accessible to first-year rookies like Kiyoshi yet.
The principle behind Shunpo was simple: by concentrating a large amount of spirit particles into the legs and briefly reinforcing their structure, one could achieve explosive speed. It was a technique of bodily limit-breaking. But due to the immense strain on the legs, its use was limited—overuse could lead to muscle failure.
Furthermore, Shunpo did not allow bypassing obstacles; it required a foothold—either a solid surface or a temporary one formed by reishi.
During instruction, Captain Ukitake also introduced the students to the Hollow equivalent—Sonído.
According to him, Sonído was developed through the Hollow's innate Hierro (steel skin), allowing them to withstand the spatial friction during transit. It shared speed with Shunpo but surpassed it in flexibility.
He gave this comparison: if a Soul Reaper and a Hollow were both trapped in an airtight box, the Hollow could use Sonído to escape. The Reaper, relying on Shunpo, would just crash into the box walls.
Some students asked if this meant Sonído was superior.
Ukitake chuckled and explained:
"Sonído relies on the Hollow's Hierro to endure the bodily strain of dimensional movement. It's harder to master, more taxing, and less accessible. So really, neither technique is inherently better—it depends on the user."
Kiyoshi's scroll had cheat-level support for Shunpo as well. Since it could perfectly calculate and optimize every reishi particle, it drastically reduced the strain on his body and made his steps smoother and more consistent—essentially giving him a built-in speed-hack.
However, when it came to Zanjutsu and Hakuda, the scroll hadn't yet shown any assisting functions. But Kiyoshi wasn't discouraged. After all, the scroll had only just unlocked the Gate of the Damned scene. Who knew what abilities future scenes might contain?
His mindset was strong. Power hadn't made him arrogant. He was like a circle—the greater his circumference, the more of the unknown he touched. And the more he encountered the unknown, the deeper his sense of awe.
Everything was heading in a good direction.