Rangiku Matsumoto was shocked. To think that one of her fellow disciples was actually a Hollow!
However, she didn't see a mask on Nelliel's face.
This left her feeling very confused.
Sora was waiting for Nelliel's arrival in the backyard.
"Professor~"
Nelliel pounced, throwing her arms around Professor's neck.
Rangiku Matsumoto blinked in confusion; she hadn't seen her senior sister's movements clearly at all.
"The senior disciples are all so impressive!"
Rangiku thought of the others she had met; they were all at least high-ranking Seated Officers, and many were big shots at the Captain or Lieutenant level.
Sora chuckled softly. "It seems I don't need to make introductions."
"We met at the door," Nelliel nodded repeatedly. "We already know each other!"
"You've gotten stronger again."
"Yes, I hit the limit Professor mentioned."
After fusing with the Hōgyoku, Nelliel had entered another period of rapid growth.
Over the past three years, her Spiritual Pressure had increased continuously, and now it had finally reached the limit of a Hollow!
Sora glanced at the progress of the 'Path of Transcendence' mission.
[Path of Transcendence: Train disciples who reach the limits of Shinigami, Hollow, and Quincy.]
[Current Progress: Shinigami limit achieved (Sōsuke Aizen), Hollow limit achieved (Nelliel)]
With Nelliel reaching the Hollow limit, Sora had completed that objective.
Just as Sora had guessed, with the partial completion of the 'Path of Transcendence', the power representing the human soul—his Fullbring—was also gradually strengthening.
He felt the balance of power within his body shifting.
"Your progress is fast," Sora nodded approvingly. "We'll go to the Forest of Menos later to test how much your strength has improved."
Sora wanted to see Nelliel's progress and also test the effects of the shifted power balance within himself.
However, the Soul Society was not a convenient place for testing; they had to go to the vast, desolate Hueco Mundo.
At their current level, they couldn't unleash their full power even in the Sekkiseki training ground.
Although Sekkiseki could isolate Reishi, the shockwaves from their battle would be enough to shatter the stone itself.
"Okay!" Nelliel responded eagerly.
"Rangiku, your special meal is ready. Go to the kitchen and eat," Sora instructed Rangiku. "Today's meal is several times more potent than before. After eating, practice Suburi immediately for five hours to absorb the energy."
When Rangiku Matsumoto lived in the Rukongai, her Reishi intake was insufficient, and she had suffered heavy injuries, leaving her spirit body severely depleted.
Sora had prepared these medicinal meals to replenish her nutrition and repair her spirit body, preparing her for the future soul foundation completion experiment.
"I will practice hard!" Rangiku couldn't wait and ran to the kitchen immediately.
In the kitchen sat a pot of steaming stewed meat. Rangiku could even sense the residual Spiritual Pressure radiating from it.
"Smells so good!"
The Spiritual Pressure of this spirit beast before death was even stronger than hers.
The meal used meat from beasts with high spiritual power. Combined with dietary supplements and physical training, she could better absorb the Reishi from the food.
After eating, Rangiku felt like her spirit body was about to burst from the energy.
However, under the suppression and neutralization of the medicine formulated by Sora, the Reishi filling her spirit body didn't overflow but was bound within, waiting to be assimilated.
"I have to practice quickly!"
...
Sora and Nelliel arrived at the Forest of Menos.
"Use Resurrección. Let me see your current power."
"Declare, Gamuza!"
Nelliel drew her Zanpakutō and transformed instantly into her half-human, half-antelope Resurrección form, holding a short spear burning with dark pink Reishi flames.
Her appearance hadn't changed much; it was the same as when she first fused with the Hōgyoku.
The Forest of Menos, usually filled with the distant howls of Hollows, instantly fell into a dead silence.
The nearby Menos Grande were terrified into silence by Nelliel's crushing Spiritual Pressure.
"Not bad. Your Spiritual Pressure has indeed reached the limit," Sora remarked. "If you want to become stronger, you have to find a way to develop the Shinigami power within you."
As an Arrancar, Nelliel also possessed Shinigami power.
But that power was still very weak, insufficient to help her break through the Hollow limit.
"You attack first. Use your strongest move."
Sora wanted to test Nelliel's strength while staying in his normal state.
"Here I come!"
Nelliel leaped high, and the Reishi flame short spear in her hand shone brightly.
A Cero condensed on the tip of the spear, imbuing the thrust with explosive power.
Thump—
Nelliel used Sonído to appear directly in front of Sora, thrusting the spear instantly.
Boom—!
Sora burst through the firelight, retreating rapidly.
In the next instant, Nelliel vanished and reappeared behind Sora, smashing down with the spear again.
Clang—
This strike lacked a Cero charge and was casually parried by Sora.
"Hadō #88. Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō." Sora raised his left hand, releasing a massive beam of lightning from his palm.
He released the high-level Kidō almost point-blank. Nelliel didn't have time to use Sonído to dodge.
However, she suddenly opened her mouth.
The massive lightning beam was sucked straight into her abdomen.
"Can your Cero Doble absorb Kidō now?" Sora was surprised.
The Kidō he shot was actually swallowed whole.
Nelliel's special physiology allowed her to briefly store energy in her stomach, absorb enemy attacks, and then release the stored energy combined with her own.
Before fusing with the Hōgyoku, she could only absorb Ceros she was familiar with; she couldn't swallow Kidō.
"Now, as long as it doesn't exceed my capacity, I can absorb and store it!"
Nelliel opened her mouth. Her tongue moved slightly, and a blinding white light surged from her throat.
The reflected 'Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō' blasted back towards Sora.
"Bakudō #81. Dankū."
A translucent barrier appeared in front of Sora, blocking the reflected blast.
Boom—!
The moment the Kidō exploded, Nelliel used Sonído to appear behind Sora. The Reishi flame short spear raised in her hand was already glowing with the ominous light of a Cero.
"Your combat awareness has improved a lot. You're not just attacking head-on anymore."
A trace of satisfaction appeared on Sora's face. When he first accepted Nelliel, she was an honest fighter who only knew how to charge straight in.
After years of training, her combat sense had matured; she now knew how to use feints to mask her true intent.
Seeing that her spear was only centimeters away from Professor, Nelliel shouted: "Watch out!"
In the next moment, she saw a black shadow surge from Professor's body, instantly wrapping him completely.
Without time to think, she unleashed the Cero condensed in her spear.
Boom—!!!
A pink mushroom cloud rose over the Forest of Menos.
Violent shockwaves surged, flipping the rock ceiling of the forest and creating a massive crater in the desert sands above.
"Professor actually took my full-force strike head-on..."
Nelliel flashed to the edge of the blast zone, looking at the core with worry.
She thought Professor would dodge. Instead, he stood his ground and took the hit.
A moment later, the firelight dissipated.
A black shadow stood motionless in the center of the explosion.
Strangely, while Nelliel could sense Professor's Spiritual Pressure during the fight just now, she could sense absolutely nothing coming from that black shadow.