LV4, Phoenix Lineage

The first class of the afternoon was still Chakra refinement.

Those who already knew it just lay on their desks and slept, and the teacher didn't bother with them.

Maybe the Ninja Academy was a new thing, or maybe it was because there was no benchmark figure like Confucius, but the teachers here had far less sense of responsibility for teaching and nurturing than those in his past life.

Hyuga Ningyuan wasn't asleep, though. He couldn't sleep either, because the Phoenix Genealogy Chart had already reached 90%—just a little more and he could level up!

By the tenth minute of the second class, he heard a "ding."

The progress bar was full!

[Ding, the Phoenix Genealogy Chart has been upgraded to LV4]

[You have unlocked the Phoenix Genealogy. Please choose one from the genealogy as your main development direction!]

"Here it comes!"

Hyuga Ningyuan had seen this when he upgraded Eye Care Exercises, and he figured the Phoenix Genealogy Chart might have similar mechanics. He hadn't expected it to actually be true.

"Let me see how many branches there are!" Hyuga Ningyuan tapped the Phoenix Genealogy Chart, and a list of birds with illustrations unfolded below.

White Swan: Speed, Strength, Recovery

Blackbird: Speed, Stealth, Perception

Azure Luan: Speed, Melody, Wields Southern Bright Departing Fire

Bifang: Speed, Emotion, Wields Liuding Divine Fire

Great Wind: Speed, Wind

Kunpeng: Speed, Strength, Water

Vermilion Bird: Speed, Flame

Phoenix: Strength, Recovery, Life

Peacock: Strength, Five Elements Elemental Control

Nine Phoenixes: Will, Life and Death

Thunder Sound Authority: Melody, Thunder

Ice Crystal Phoenix: Mystic Ice, Life

Hyuga Ningyuan stared at these images, his mouth twitching. This is supposed to be a Phoenix Genealogy?

Peacock, Nine Phoenixes, Phoenix, Vermilion Bird, Bifang, Great Wind, Azure Luan—I can tolerate those being called phoenixes, since there are many types.

But this White Swan is clearly a strategic bomber made of fabric!

And the Blackbird—isn't that the Eagle Country's reconnaissance plane?

Besides, Kunpeng shouldn't belong to the phoenix category!

And Thunder Sound Authority—that image looks like it was ripped from the Genshin Impact game, doesn't it? Good one, system. So you—

[The Phoenix Genealogy provided by the system consists of powerful birds from the host's own conceptual awareness,] the system replied.

Hyuga Ningyuan was speechless. So this is actually my fault?

But to be fair, Ningyuan couldn't really argue.

After all, he didn't know if Kunpeng or Bifang were strong—he'd never seen them—but the White Swan and Blackbird were genuinely powerful!

And they were beautiful too!

It was a bit of a shame that domestic fighter jets weren't named after birds, or they'd probably have appeared in the Phoenix Genealogy Chart as well.

"Can I only pick one?" Hyuga Ningyuan asked. "Can't I choose all of them?"

With Eye Care Exercises, he could select everything.

[The Phoenix Genealogy involves meridian circulation, and there is a risk of conflict between different genealogies,] the system responded.

Hyuga Ningyuan paused, then burst into joy.

Meridians!

That meant the LV4 Phoenix Genealogy Chart already involved a Cultivation Method, right!?

Thinking about it, the LV3 Phoenix Genealogy Chart had already pushed muscles, bones, and even Chakra to their limits—there was almost no room for improvement. Going further could only head toward meridians.

Hyuga Ningyuan seemed to understand the pattern of these skill upgrades.

For pure knowledge, like Mathematics or Physics, the upgrade process was about knowledge infusion, while also boosting some talent in the current subject—like improving calculation ability, spatial imagination, data analysis, and so on.

For skill upgrades, it was about deepening the skill's depth, breadth, and proficiency.

For example, with painting, it would elevate him from apprentice level to mastery, then to grandmaster, and the content would expand from stick figures to a full range of art.

The Phoenix Genealogy Chart was a Cultivation Method, so naturally it evolved toward cultivation. And this evolution direction shouldn't be random—it should have some connection to his own plans.

His original intention was to find meridians later and create a Cultivation Method, so the Phoenix Genealogy Chart presented content related to meridians and Cultivation Methods.

What if he hadn't planned ahead?

Then the system would offer all development directions for him to choose from—like with Eye Care Exercises.

Back in the system, Ningyuan currently had twelve lineages to choose from, but the lineage itself wasn't that important—it was just a Cultivation Method's imagery, not something that would actually turn him into a phoenix after training.

What mattered were the attributes these lineages represented.

Speed, Strength, Recovery, Stealth, Perception, Melody, Southern Bright Departing Fire, Emotion, Liuding Divine Fire, Wind, Water, Fire, Five Elements, Will, Thunder, Mystic Ice.

"First, speed is important!" Ningyuan circled speed. In the world of martial arts, speed alone makes the unstoppable.

Besides, if you can't win, speed lets you run.

Looking back at history's great figures or groups, every single one had a solid escape plan—like Liu Bang, Liu Bei, the Chariot God of Gaoliang River, and Lord Han.

Those who couldn't escape ended up as shameful tales—like the Two Emperors Hui and Qin, or the Gate-Calling Emperor.

But speed wasn't the most important thing, because this was the Naruto World, home to a technique called the Flying Thunder God Technique.

No matter how fast you are, you can't beat instant teleportation.

So speed only ranked in the second tier.

Strength was also second-tier. In a world where you can train, more Chakra means more power, and even the Monster Strength Fist relies on Chakra. Physical strength alone was negligible, not that important.

Recovery, Life, Perception, Wind, Water, Fire, Thunder, Emotion—none of them mattered either. Recovery and Life had Medical Ninjutsu in the ninja world, Perception had the Byakugan, Wind, Water, Fire, Thunder had the five elemental ninjutsu, and Emotion had genjutsu.

Anything you could obtain in the ninja world was best left unchosen.

The Peacock's Five Elements was interesting, because those elements were Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth—not Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, Lightning. Choosing Peacock meant awakening Wood Release and Gold Style!

But Wood Release was only strong because its user was Senju Hashirama. Across the entire ninja world, even all of anime, mythology, and novels, barely anyone could use wood-based abilities well.

And there was the biggest problem: Hashirama was already dead.

That meant no matter how advanced you made Wood Release, you'd always be second to Hashirama.

Because you couldn't surpass a dead man. Even if you dug up Hashirama with Impure World Reincarnation and beat him up, people would just say the reincarnated body couldn't use its full power.

Stripping away the unnecessary, only Stealth, Melody, Southern Bright Departing Fire, Liuding Divine Fire, Will, and Mystic Ice remained.

"Stealth is already solved with my Glazed Robe, but it still has value. Melody can pair with dance. Southern Bright Departing Fire seems like a special Chakra similar to Black Lightning or Violet Lightning—that's valuable too. Liuding Divine Fire overlaps with Southern Bright Departing Fire. Will? I have the Arcane Brush Palace. Mystic Ice isn't bad, but dropping Life leaves the Ice Crystal Phoenix with just Mystic Ice—poor value for the cost!"

Removing the low-value Ice Crystal Phoenix and the redundant Bifang, the only options left were Blackbird and Azure Luan.

Blackbird: Focuses on Speed, Stealth, Perception.

Azure Luan: Focuses on Speed, Melody, and wields Southern Bright Departing Fire.

Blackbird only had two useful attributes—Speed and Stealth. Azure Luan had three that were all useful.

So, I choose Azure Luan.