"Valiant warriors, steel chariots, onward without fear, breaking through obstacles. Hadō #1. Shō"
Accompanied by a low chant, Yamahiko raised his right arm, with middle, index, and little fingers curved, and his thumb extended, leaving only his index finger pointing forward.
In the next moment, a flash appeared at the tip of Yamahiko's index finger, followed by a faint blue shockwave flying out from his fingertip, striking the empty ground in front of him.
This fleeting brilliance caught the attention of everyone.
"Could it be? He succeeded on his first try?"
"The teacher just said it would take some time to master Kidō, at least a few days."
"Maybe this kid is from some big clan and has already learned Kidō."
"Impossible. I heard he's a soul from the Rukongai district. He can't even afford to eat properly, how could he have learned Kidō?"
The surrounding students continued to discuss, most of them wearing expressions of frustration and amazement. Even Instructor Hideyoshi, to some extent, seemed astonished.
Most of the training classes at the Spiritual Arts Academy consisted of two class periods combined into one, with a total teaching time of one and a half hours.
In this class, which was focused on Kidō, Instructor Hideyoshi intended to teach the students one of the Kidō techniques, Shō.
In the first half hour, Instructor Hideyoshi first taught the students the incantation and hand gestures required for Shō, and then spent fifteen minutes explaining the method of using Reishi(spiritual particles). Finally, he let them practice on their own and told them not to rush, as it would take at least several days to master.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, Yamahiko successfully executed Shō, which was quite a shock for him.
Instructor Hideyoshi cleared his throat and said, "Yamahiko, can you try it again?"
"Sure."
Yamahiko raised his right arm again, made the hand gesture, and chanted, "Valiant warriors, steel chariots, onward without fear, breaking through obstacles. Hadō #1. Shō"
With the incantation complete, Yamahiko's fingertip emitted another flash, and this time, the shockwave shot forward even faster.
Seeing this, Instructor Hideyoshi finally confirmed that Yamahiko had mastered Shō. This was truly a display of talent.
Instructor Hideyoshi looked at the other students and said, "Yamahiko has already mastered Chō, setting a great example. Everyone should learn from him..."
As he said the word 'learn,' Instructor Hideyoshi's voice grew fainter. How could they learn? Yamahiko had succeeded on his first attempt, a feat determined by natural talent. No matter how much they learned, it would be useless if their aptitude didn't measure up.
Instructor Hideyoshi could only say, "Everyone, continue practicing. If you have any questions, you can ask Yamahiko."
With Instructor Hideyoshi's statement, the others in the classroom began practicing. They chanted incantations and made hand gestures, but they couldn't invoke the Kidō.
Many were at a loss, and they turned to Yamahiko for help. Especially the tall youth who had spoken to Yamahiko earlier, Sanada Ryōji, approached him with a smile and asked, "Yamahiko, why can't I succeed? Do you have any tips?"
Yamahiko looked at Sanada Ryōji and said, "Senpai, please try it once, and I'll take a look."
Sanada Ryōji quickly raised his hand, made the hand gesture, and chanted the incantation. However, after the incantation was completed, there was no response.
Yamahiko asked, "Senpai, there's something wrong with your hand gesture. The middle, ring, and little fingers shouldn't be clenched so tightly. Also, the index finger isn't extended straight; it's actually slightly downward, and the thumb should be slightly raised."
Upon hearing these instructions, Sanada Ryōji immediately adjusted his posture and practiced again. This time, his index finger emitted a faint light, but it quickly faded without producing a shockwave.
"It appeared! It appeared!"
Although only a light emerged, Sanada Ryōji was already quite satisfied, and he continued to practice.
Seeing this scene, others gathered around, all seeking guidance from Yamahiko.
"Yamahiko, my hand gesture seems correct, but why can't I succeed?"
"Senpai, your chanting speed is too fast. Try slowing it down a bit."
"Yamahiko, my chanting and speed are fine. What could be the problem?"
"Senpai, perhaps your method of transmitting spiritual energy isn't correct. During the incantation, you should mobilize the spiritual energy in your body, and at the moment of completing the chant, you should cut off the flow to avoid interference."
Yamahiko patiently answered the questions of his fellow students. With his guidance, most of them managed to produce flashes and weak shockwaves. As long as they continued practicing, mastering Shō wouldn't be difficult.
However, when Instructor Hideyoshi saw this scene, his expression became somewhat resigned. True geniuses didn't make other students feel inferior; they stole the teacher's job.
Nevertheless, deep within Instructor Hideyoshi, there was a glimmer of hope. If Yamahiko possessed exceptional talent in Kidō, perhaps he could pay more attention to him and eventually absorb him into the Kidō Corps to strengthen their ranks.
You see, ever since the departure of the former Grand and Vice Kidō Chief of the Kidō Corps one hundred and ten years ago, the Corps' strength had significantly declined. Even the current Head of the Kidō Corps found it challenging to use forbidden Kidō.
Instructor Hideyoshi made up his mind; he must recruit him into the Kidō Corps.
Yamahiko was unaware of the teacher's thoughts. After helping his classmates master the technique in half an hour, there were only fifteen minutes left in the Kidō class.
Yamahiko stood there, raised his fingers, but hesitated to chant.
What Yamahiko intended to do was to forsake the incantation.
For Shinigami, both Hado and Bakudo required incantations, but as their strength grew and they became more proficient in Hado and Bakudo, they gradually abandoned the incantations.
Sosuke Aizen could forsake the incantation for Hadō #90. Kurohitsugi, although its power was reduced to a third, he saved time.
As for other Shinigami, although they couldn't abandon the incantations for high-level Kidō like Aizen, they could do so for low-level Kidō.
Especially for Hado, most Shinigami could forsake the incantations for Hado #1, Sho, Hado #4, Byakurai, Hado #11, Tsuzuri Raiden, and other Kidō below number #30.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Momo Hinamori, Rangiku, Isane Kotetsu, and Kaein Shiba had all at least achieved this, level.
Yamahiko believed that only by forsaking the incantation could he take his opponents by surprise and smoothly link his techniques.
Yamahiko hoped to abandon the incantation, but he couldn't find a way to do it, standing there deep in thought, not knowing where to start.
In the distance, Instructor Hideyoshi saw Yamahiko standing still and became somewhat puzzled. What was wrong with Yamahiko? Why was he just standing there? Did he fail?
No, he had almost certainly never failed, and more importantly, he hadn't even recited the incantation; he had only made the hand gesture.
A thought formed in Instructor Hideyoshi's mind. Could it be?
Was he trying to forsake the incantation?
Instructor Hideyoshi shook his head. That couldn't be possible. Although Yamahiko had enough Reiryoku, forsaking the incantation required thousands of repetitions. Even he, Instructor Hideyoshi, had to train hundreds of times to achieve it.
Although it was good to have goals, it was simply impossible. Yamahiko was just wasting his time.
However, Instructor Hideyoshi didn't stop him and allowed him to try. If he failed a few times, at least he would realize that some things couldn't be changed with talent alone.
Effort was the only path to success.
Just when Instructor Hideyoshi was looking at Yamahiko with a smile on his face, Yamahiko stood there, and his fingertips lit up with a glow. Then, a shockwave shot out.
???
There was only one thought in Instructor Hideyoshi's mind.
Can I say a swear word?