"That's insane!!!"
"No way… to think there was a hidden god among our batch!"
"He's only injected part of his reiatsu, and it's already Eighth-tier Rei'i!"
"If Bai Chen went all out… wouldn't he straight-up break records?!"
In that instant—
As twelve indicator segments on the testing device flashed with blinding light,
the once-noisy examination hall fell into a deathly silence.
Whether it was the examiners or the hundreds—no, thousands—of candidates present,
every single face wore the same stunned, disbelieving expression.
There was no doubt about it—
Everyone present had been deeply shaken by the true strength Bai Chen had just revealed.
Yet—
Compared to the shock and awe of the crowd,
the man at the center of it all—
Bai Chen himself—
remained utterly calm.
His handsome face showed not the slightest ripple of emotion.
Ever since checking in at the Shiba residence and awakening the god-tier talent Monstrous Strength,
Bai Chen's control over reiatsu had reached an almost absurd level—
so fine that he could regulate it down to every single cell in his body.
Which meant—
Exactly how much reiatsu the instrument detected
depended entirely on Bai Chen's will.
He could raise it.
He could suppress it.
At will.
And the most important part was—
That Eighth-tier Rei'i which had stunned the entire hall…
was actually less than one-tenth of his true power.
That wasn't an exaggeration.
Bai Chen had done it deliberately.
After all, there was an old saying—
The taller the tree, the stronger the wind.
Being too flashy, too high-profile, only invited jealousy, targeting, and unnecessary trouble.
And Eighth-tier Rei'i—
represented the potential and standard of a high-ranking seated officer.
Before today, such cases weren't unheard of.
For example—
Ichimaru Gin.
Shiba Kaien.
Both had already displayed extraordinary talent during their academy days, drawing widespread attention, and after graduation had risen rapidly—directly becoming Third Seats.
That was exactly why—
Bai Chen had intentionally kept his output at Eighth-tier Rei'i.
It shocked the room—
without pushing things too far.
However—
Just as Bai Chen was about to stop and withdraw his reiatsu—
the examiner stopped him on the spot.
"Wait."
"Bai Chen—please don't hold back. Continue releasing your reiatsu at full capacity."
The examiner wanted to see it.
Wanted to know—
Just how high Bai Chen's ceiling truly was.
Could he… surpass the legends?
"..."
After a brief silence,
Bai Chen lifted his eyes and swept the surroundings with a sidelong glance.
He saw it—
The anticipation written clearly on every face.
And at the same time, his thoughts turned to Shiba Kaien.
Bai Chen knew Kaien well enough.
After personally witnessing the consequences of Bai Chen's full reiatsu release a few days ago—
as the Vice-Captain of the Thirteenth Division,
having discovered a once-in-a-generation monster in Rukongai,
Kaien would definitely have reported Bai Chen's existence to Ukitake Jūshirō—
and would certainly be trying his best to secure him for the division.
Which meant—
His strength being exposed was only a matter of time.
Even if Bai Chen tried to hide it here,
Kaien's side would inevitably leak the truth sooner or later.
So—
After barely a moment of thought,
Bai Chen steadied his mind and increased his output.
The next second—
BOOOOM—!!!
A thunderous roar echoed out.
The air around the testing device visibly distorted, as if it could no longer withstand the pressure of Bai Chen's reiatsu.
And then—
That jaw-dropping scene happened again.
Flash—!
Flash—!
Flash—!
…
In an instant—
three more segments lit up in succession.
Fifth-tier Rei'i.
Vice-Captain level.
Go any higher—
and you crossed into captain territory.
"T-This… that's impossible!"
"He reached Fifth-tier Rei'i that easily?!"
"Did Bai Chen cheat?!"
In the crowd—
Staring at the fifteen illuminated segments—
Abarai Renji's face had gone completely stiff.
The shock was so great that he didn't even have the presence of mind to feel embarrassed anymore.
His worldview shattered.
His reason collapsed.
He could only stand there, doubting his own existence.
"This is absurd… and it's still not his limit!"
Kira Izuru's pupils trembled violently as he spoke in disbelief.
Fifth-tier Rei'i—
Vice-Captain-level reiatsu.
Once news like this spread,
it would be enough to shake the entire Soul Society.
And that was the most terrifying part.
Because—
Kira could clearly see it.
Even after releasing such an enormous amount of reiatsu—
Bai Chen didn't look strained at all.
His expression hadn't changed in the slightest.
Which meant—
Even now…
He still wasn't going all out.
"Does Bai Chen really… have captain-level reiatsu?!"
Beside them,
Kuchiki Rukia stood frozen.
She had believed from the beginning that Bai Chen was special—
that he might be a dark horse.
But she never imagined—
that his true strength would be this overwhelming.
It completely overturned her understanding.
And yet—
Amid the shock and disbelief,
Rukia also found herself sincerely hoping—
that Bai Chen would go even further.
That he would break history.
And then—
Under the gaze of everyone in the hall—
Bai Chen continued injecting reiatsu into the device.
Finally—
Flash—!
In a brief instant,
another segment lit up.
Fourth-tier Rei'i.
"Can it go even higher…?"
Everyone held their breath.
All eyes locked onto the final unlit segment beside it.
Seconds passed.
Then—
BOOOOM—!!!
A deafening boom rang out.
The moment everyone both longed for—
and feared to see—
finally happened.
Another segment lit up.
"Eighteen segments illuminated!"
"That's Third-tier Rei'i!"
"Captain-level spiritual pressure and talent!!!"
The examiner was practically trembling with excitement as he announced the result.
Because—
Even looking back over the past several decades—
The man once hailed as a once-in-a-century genius,
now the Third Division Captain, Ichimaru Gin—
had not achieved a result like this when he took the test.
Which made one thing painfully clear—
With talent surpassing even Gin's,
Bai Chen's future ceiling was guaranteed to be captain-level—
or perhaps something even higher.
"Bai Chen… that's amazing!!!"
From behind,
Hinamori Momo covered her mouth in delight.
Even now, it all still felt unreal to her.
After all—
Bai Chen was the first person she'd met after entering the examination hall—
the only one she'd spoken with and gotten to know.
And yet—
He turned out to be a super-genius.
A future captain-class powerhouse—
destined to rise.