"What?"
"I have no Reiryoku?"
Renji was so shocked upon hearing he was assigned to the class without Reiryoku that his eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets.
"Are you kidding me?"
Renji slammed the table, which was almost as tall as himself, and roared at the testing teacher, "I could condense a Reishi Orb before I came here!"
"How could I have no Reiryoku?"
"This..."
Hearing this, the testing teacher laughed awkwardly a few times, his mind racing.
Indeed, according to his detection, this red-haired youth did possess Reiryoku.
Moreover, his Reiryoku wasn't low, and it reached the 12th-Class.
This level of Reiryoku could directly place him in the Elite Class.
However, since someone above said to assign this little guy to the class without Reiryoku, this teacher knew that either this little guy had offended a big shot, or a big shot had taken a liking to him and wanted to temper him.
But that was for later.
Right now, what he should do was explain to this little guy why he, who had Reiryoku, was being assigned to the class without Reiryoku, to avoid damaging Baltigo Academy's reputation.
"Sorry, young man, this is a mistake by our academy's testing teachers. Your information was mixed up with a child without Reiryoku, assigning you to the class without Reiryoku."
"Now, we have returned that child's information, sending him to take the assessment for the class without Reiryoku."
"As for you..."
Here, the teacher shook his head, "Because your information has already been sent to the assessor for the class without Reiryoku, and we have no authority to interfere with matters of the class without Reiryoku..."
"So, Abarai Renji, you now have two choices."
"First, go take the assessment for the class without Reiryoku. After passing, you'll enter Baltigo Academy. I will contact the academy's higher-ups to transfer you out of the class without Reiryoku."
"And, to make up for our mistake, we will place you in the Elite Class."
"Second, you refuse to take the assessment for the class without Reiryoku, or fail it. If you come back next year, I will directly place you in next year's Elite Class. How about that?"
"Elite Class?"
Hearing the teacher say this, the people lining up behind Renji, who were preparing to watch him make a fool of himself, instantly turned their envious and jealous gazes towards Renji.
The Elite Class… this was the 'genius class' of Baltigo Academy. Those who could enter this class were undoubtedly geniuses.
The educational resources the genius class received were several times that of the Enhanced Class and dozens of times that of the Ordinary Class.
Every student who entered the Elite Class would receive an invitation from the Revolutionary Army after graduation and had a high chance of becoming a [Cadre].
Even Renji felt he had hit the jackpot.
After all, he didn't know his Reiryoku already met the standard for the Elite Class, so he truly believed the Baltigo Academy's teachers were making concessions to compensate for their error.
Now, placed before Renji were simply two paths: pass the assessment for the class without Reiryoku and enter Baltigo Academy this year.
Or, fail the assessment for the class without Reiryoku, come back next year, and directly join the Elite Class.
The image of the girl with the reverse Y-shaped hairstyle flashed in his mind. Renji took a deep breath.
'Given the Reishi Control that girl had shown, if she joined Baltigo Academy this year, she would surely be in the Elite Class too!'
Thinking this, Renji no longer hesitated: "Teacher, I want to take the assessment for the class without Reiryoku!"
"Very good, you've got excellent look in your eyes."
Seeing Renji's expression, the teacher couldn't help but nod slightly.
'It seemed this guy had some excellence to be noticed by a big shot in the Revolutionary Army.'
"Then go quickly now."
"I hope you can pass the assessment for the class without Reiryoku!"
'He's here?'
On the playground, Kyoya stood with his arms crossed, but a part of his attention was on Renji.
Although absorbing the training results from the achievement rewards had made Kyoya, during his soul's recovery period, consider becoming a teacher to mentor a few students and adjust his mindset, setting the time for this year was also somewhat related to Rukia and Renji.
Regarding Rukia, before she completed her basic training, Kyoya didn't need to pay much attention.
After all, Rukia's physique wasn't strong.
Even after she learned Bankai later, it took her ten years to fully master the Captain-level 3rd-Class Reiryoku she suddenly gained in the Soul King Palace, meeting the conditions to succeed as the 13th Division's Captain.
Kyoya could teach her Kido and swordsmanship in her fifth or sixth year.
As for Renji, as a 'wild dog', his talent in Hakuda wasn't inferior to Ikkaku's.
He joined the 11th Division only a few years after graduating from the Shin'o Academy and later fully completed his Bankai Training after losing to the protagonist, Ichigo.
From this perspective, although Renji's upper limit wasn't high, his lower limit wasn't low.
If he specialized in physical combat from now on, Renji's achievements, even without a Zanpakuto, wouldn't be much worse than Ikkaku's.
"This is the assessment for the class without Reiryoku?"
Arriving at the playground, Renji saw the people running on the track.
"Just running? That's too simple, isn't it?"
Unfamiliar with the assessment for the class without Reiryoku, Renji specifically waited for these people to run two laps before approaching the teacher in a white haori at the front of the playground.
"Hello, Sensei. I'm here to take the entrance assessment for the class without Reiryoku."
"May I ask what I should do?"
"Join them."
Kyoya lifted his chin, indicating for Renji to look at the children running on the playground: "Without using Reiatsu, only using your body's strength, run with all your might."
Renji asked in surprise, "The assessment for the class without Reiryoku is just running?"
"That's right, just running."
"Then how many laps do I need to run to pass the assessment?"
Renji frowned and asked Kyoya again.
As an orphan, although the orphanage established by the Revolutionary Army hadn't let Renji suffer much, the sensitivity of an orphan made him ask Kyoya about the passing conditions.
"Quite clever."
Kyoya sneered, "Kid, you need to know that the gap between ordinary people without Reiryoku and those with Reiryoku is enormous."
"To bridge the gap caused by Reiryoku, what you need isn't just effort."
"But 'risking everything, including your life'…"
"I will decide whether you pass the assessment based on your performance during the run."
"So, your question is wrong from the start."
"It's not about how many laps you need to run to pass the assessment."
"It's about when I think you've passed, you've truly passed."
"Perhaps you run three laps, and I think you're decent, letting you pass."
"Or maybe you run thirty laps, but I find you lack potential, and it wouldn't be strange for me to tell you to get lost directly."
"So, kid, are you going to start?"
"If you want to give up, leave through that door over there."
"Don't worry, that exit is very hidden, so no one will know you gave up on the assessment for the class without Reiryoku."
'This guy is actually the one who decides if everyone passes the assessment?'
Seeing Kyoya like this, Renji also felt that Kyoya seemed too casual in treating the examinees.
Of course, what made Renji even more dissatisfied was that whether he passed the assessment depended on this man's whim.
"What? Still not going?"
Seeing Renji still standing there, Kyoya looked down at him and said, "You only have one chance."
"If you don't join in now, I'll take it as you giving up the assessment."
"No, I'll participate!"
At this, Renji gritted his teeth, stopped talking to Kyoya, and simply ran towards the track.
One lap, two laps...
At first, while running, Renji still had the mind to pay attention to those who had given up on the assessment.
Later, not hearing the teacher from before say he had passed, Renji's pride kicked in.
'Are you kidding me?'
'I had Reiryoku, was specially allowed into the Elite Class by the teacher… how could I possibly fail the assessment for the class without Reiryoku?'
"Huff, huff..."
Later, Renji no longer knew if he was trying to spite that teacher or really wanted to enter the Elite Class.
He only felt his legs getting heavier and heavier.
His body seemed to have lost its own control.
The pain spreading from his entire body made his nerves feel like they were spasming.
In this state, time seemed to lose all meaning for him.
There was only one thought in his mind!
'I had to pass Baltigo Academy's assessment, enter Baltigo Academy, and then...'
"Not bad, a good seedling."
Kyoya's figure instantly appeared beside Renji. The moment he was about to collapse, Kyoya pulled him out of the track and placed him on one of the white cloths spread on the ground at the center of the playground.
Among the twenty white cloths, including Renji, seven people were already lying on them.
These, who had exhausted themselves to unconsciousness, were considered students who had passed Kyoya's assessment.
As for the others...
Looking at the people still running desperately on the playground, Kyoya could already guess how many would ultimately remain.
Every year, the number who passed the assessment for the class without Reiryoku did not exceed fifteen.
Even though Kyoya placed Renji in the class without Reiryoku this year, it wouldn't break this record.
Sure enough, as Kyoya expected.
In the end, only five more youths ran themselves into unconsciousness. Their perseverance and will earned Kyoya's recognition, and they were carried onto the white cloths.
"Thirteen people, not too few."
Looking at these thirteen youths he had arranged, a smile touched Kyoya's heart.
Although he didn't know how many of these thirteen would ultimately achieve something, it didn't stop him from appreciating the will they had shown now.
It was precisely because of people like them that everyone in the Revolutionary Army wouldn't view ordinary people in Rukongai without Reishi as ants, like Seireitei did.
The physical combats passed down by Kyoya, as long as one had tenacious will and gave their all in effort, could yield achievements.
It wasn't impossible to reach even stronger levels in the future.
After all, many in the Revolutionary Army knew that Kyoya, even without using Reiatsu, could easily defeat all the Army Commanders at once relying solely on his physical strength.
And the current six Army Commanders of the Revolutionary Army were comparable to the Captains of the Gotei 13.
"Congratulations. Among the many who took the assessment, you have gained my recognition."
"From now on, you are all members of Baltigo Academy's class without Reiryoku."
Using Kaido to treat the injuries on these children, Kyoya smiled and spoke to them after they woke up.
"Passed?"
"Hahaha, we passed!"
"Dad, I passed! I'm a student of Baltigo Academy now!"
"Waaaah..."
For a moment, the expressions of the thirteen children were like a spectrum of human emotions, everything was there.
Even Renji grinned widely upon hearing Kyoya say he had passed the assessment.
Kyoya didn't interrupt them as they vented their emotions, only speaking again after they had calmed down.
"Very good, it seems everyone cherishes this opportunity."
"However, here, I must also tell you some very unfortunate news."
Kyoya clapped his hands, drawing the attention of the thirteen children, "I suppose today's assessment gave you quite an experience."
"And what I want to tell you is that for ordinary people to ascend into the 'supernatural' level, the effort and blood required will be no less than what you experienced in today's assessment."
"Or, for me, today's assessment was the easiest difficulty level of your future training."
"Congratulations, you have set one foot in hell."
"How can that be?"
The group of youths was scared pale by Kyoya's words.
'Are you kidding me?'
'In today's assessment, we had already run with all our might, not even knowing when we collapsed.'
'And this teacher said this level of difficulty was actually the easiest in future training?'
'Then what would the difficult parts be like?'
'Would we really die?'
However, although everyone was badly frightened, they also believed what the teacher said was true.
For ordinary people to match Shinigami with Reiatsu, how could it be possible without risking their lives and striving desperately?
Before Baltigo Academy was established, there had never been a case of an ordinary person defeating a Shinigami!