All A Misunderstanding
"What?!"
The assessment instructor's eyes widened in shock. When he looked at the testing crystal, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Visible to the naked eye, cracks began spreading across the surface of the testing crystal, seemingly ready to shatter at any moment.
This alarming sight left the assessment instructor completely dumbfounded!
"Uh…?"
Saikyō was also astonished.
Seeing the numerous cracks forming on the crystal's surface, he frowned in confusion.
"This doesn't make sense. I specifically held back my Reiatsu to avoid overwhelming the test, so why is this happening to the crystal?" Saikyō couldn't make sense of the situation.
In his understanding, spiritual power level should be linked to the volume of Reiatsu released, which was why he had deliberately restrained his output. Yet, despite his caution, things had gone awry.
"You—you—you… What did you just do?!"
The assessment instructor's voice trembled, barely above a whisper, as he stared at Saikyō with a mix of fear and disbelief.
The test crystal was about to explode!
Hundreds of people had already undergone the assessment, yet nothing like this had ever occurred before—not even in previous admissions tests.
"Whoa, whoa, easy there! Don't look at me like that. I swear I didn't do anything wrong!" Saikyō said, raising his hands in a helpless gesture, as if to say he didn't deserve the blame.
In fact, he wanted to ask the instructor if their crystal was a fake!
"But…"
Before the examiner could say anything else, the crystal finally gave way.
BOOM!
With an ear-splitting crack, the testing crystal exploded into countless shards, scattering glass in all directions. The small testing room instantly descended into chaos.
To make matters worse, the explosion seemed to have triggered a chain reaction.
All the spiritual power that had been injected into the crystal was suddenly released at once.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The entire testing area shook violently as if experiencing an earthquake. The roof of the small room was lifted with a deafening noise, immediately drawing the attention of those waiting outside.
"What happened?"
"Did something just explode?"
"No way! Isn't this the admissions test for the Shino Academy of Spiritual Arts?"
"Yeah, I can't remember anything like this ever happening in previous years!"
...
The crowd outside burst into discussion.
Everyone looked up towards the roof, and a mix of concern and excitement could be seen on their faces.
Since no one knew exactly what had happened inside, they could only wait with bated breath.
---
Back in the Testing Room.
"Damn it, the crystal has exploded. Now the whole assessment process will have to be interrupted!"
The assessment instructor looked down at the shattered remnants of the crystal, his face pale with despair. He felt faint at the thought of what this meant. Even though there were other staff members at the academy, he would surely be blamed for this accident.
Who could bear such responsibility?
"Uh… Are you okay?" Saikyō asked sympathetically.
He had only planned to pass the test smoothly.
But now, it seemed that wouldn't be possible.
"What do you think?! The test crystal is destroyed, the assessment is suspended, and now we have to clean up this mess!" The assessment instructor looked at Saikyō with a pained expression, as though on the verge of tears.
"Uh… well… I really didn't mean for this to happen. But still, what about my test result?" Saikyō asked, more concerned with his performance than the mess around them.
"Well, we can't make any official assessment until the academy's senior staff gets here." The instructor sighed, clearly dejected. He had already contacted the academy to report the incident.
All they could do now was wait.
And soon enough, everything would be handed over to the higher-ups.
"Fair enough, I guess that's all we can do," Saikyō said with a shrug. Apart from silently lamenting his bad luck, there wasn't much he could do.
---
A Short Time Later.
The senior officials from the Shino Academy of Spiritual Arts arrived on the scene.
"Director Date!"
Inside the chaotic remains of the testing room, the assessment instructor spotted an elderly man with white hair and bowed respectfully.
"Heishi, what happened here? Why did the test crystal explode?" The man, named Director Date, glanced around at the mess before fixing his stern gaze on the instructor.
"Director Date… this kid here, named Saikyō, injected his spiritual power into the crystal, and that's when it happened," the instructor explained briefly, pointing towards Saikyō.
"Huh? Is that so?"
Director Date frowned in disbelief.
With his many years of experience, this situation seemed absurd. How powerful must someone's Reiatsu be to make a test crystal shatter?
Date had to know more.
"Kid, what's your name?" Director Date asked, his voice stern as he looked at Saikyō.
"Saikyō, Shihōin Saikyō."
"Shihōin… Saikyō?" The director's eyebrows rose in surprise. "That's quite a name," he said absentmindedly, nodding before he was about to ask more questions.
"Wait a minute…"
"Did you just say Shihōin?!" Director Date seemed to have realized something and reacted with a start.
"Yes. Shihōin Saikyō. I am Lady Yoruichi's younger brother."
That one simple statement had a powerful effect.
Hearing those words, the assessment instructor and Director Date both went through visible expressions of shock.
"So… you're really Lady Yoruichi's brother? Then this is just… a misunderstanding!" Director Date's first thought was to question whether Saikyō was telling the truth, but he quickly dismissed any doubts. The Shihōin clan, one of the oldest and most esteemed families in Soul Society, was well-known. Pretending to be a Shihōin would be an unforgivable crime, harshly punished by the Central 46.
"Well, this turned around quickly! The director's reaction time is impressive," Saikyō thought, nearly bursting into laughter. He couldn't help but be amazed at how fast Director Date had adjusted his attitude.
"Saikyō, right? Since you're Lady Yoruichi's younger brother, you could have just told us in advance. There was no need to waste time waiting in line for the assessment," Director Date said, his demeanor completely transformed.
Saikyō couldn't help but feel taken aback. He wondered if the old man standing in front of him was really the academy's director.
What happened to fairness and equality?
Didn't they say no shortcuts or backdoors?
Where was the equal treatment now?
The face-changing speed of these officials was too fast!
"Yoruichi is busy with team matters, so I came here alone," Saikyō replied casually, taking out an identification tag from his pocket.
"Here, see for yourself—I wasn't lying."
When Director Date saw the special insignia on the identification tag, his eyes lit up. That symbol could only belong to a member of the Shihōin family, confirming Saikyō's identity without a doubt.
"So, what's the verdict on my assessment?" Saikyō asked, gesturing at the crystal debris scattered across the room.
"Brother Saikyō, you've passed the spiritual power test with full marks!" Director Date replied without hesitation.
"The final result is Tenth-Class Spiritual Power!"