Yūhi Kurenai's Home, Mirror Water

The Glazed Robe gained 8 experience points per minute and would level up in 125 minutes.

But ninety minutes later, school was over.

Hyuga Ningyuan and Yūhi Kurenai did not dance at school. Instead, they left the school directly after classes ended.

The Yūhi Clan was merely a vassal of the Sarutobi Clan, so naturally, it did not live in the core area. Its residence was roughly in Konoha's third ring, right next to the Sarutobi Clan's territory.

However, that was only politically distant from the center. Commercially speaking, the Yūhi Clan actually lived near Konoha's commercial CBD.

Once Konoha's economy developed in the future, property prices here would definitely soar.

"My house is a little small. Please don't mind it," Yūhi Kurenai said softly.

"Not at all. My house is about the same size!" Hyuga Ningyuan shook his head. The Yūhi family's home was a detached house, and it truly was smaller than the Hyuga Clan's.

But the Hyuga Clan did not belong to Hyuga Ningyuan. His own home was also a detached house, so what right did he have to laugh at Yūhi Kurenai?

A detached house was a standalone residence, usually with two floors and four or five rooms on each floor. The downstairs was for the parents, while the upstairs was for the children.

There were small yards in both the front and back. The front yard was generally a little garden, while the back yard was used for drying clothes.

Vegetables could be planted in the little garden, but people here did not have that tradition. What a waste.

Yūhi Kurenai walked ahead and opened the door. Just as Hyuga Ningyuan was about to enter, he suddenly felt a cold gaze.

"Hm?" Hyuga Ningyuan turned his head, but he saw only an empty street.

Was that an illusion? The corner of Hyuga Ningyuan's mouth lifted. The instant he lowered his head and stepped through the door, he activated his Byakugan.

His Arcane Brush Palace had already risen to Level 4 at eleven in the morning, greatly increasing his mental power. How could it possibly have been an illusion?

"So it was you!" Hyuga Ningyuan saw the person looking at him with resentment. It was none other than Sarutobi Asuma.

He was Yūhi Kurenai's neighbor and had been dismissed from school at the same time as Hyuga Ningyuan, so it was not strange for him to see the two return home together.

Hyuga Ningyuan had thought that after being rebuffed by a single remark, the matter would be over.

The Sarutobi Clan's second young master could not possibly lack women!

Yet he had set his sights on Yūhi Kurenai?

That was more like it. As the protagonist, how could he possibly lack a plot involving romantic rivalry and envy?

He did not take it to heart. After shutting off his Byakugan and following Yūhi Kurenai into the room, he heard a gentle female voice say, "You must be Kurenai's classmate. Have a seat first. I'll pour you some tea!"

The speaker was a woman with long black hair, a gentle expression, and a pale complexion. She was presumably Yūhi Kurenai's mother.

But she seemed to be in poor health.

"Alright, big sister!" Hyuga Ningyuan readily went along with it.

"..." Upon hearing him call her big sister, the woman covered her mouth and smiled. Though she made no sound, she immediately developed quite a favorable impression of Hyuga Ningyuan.

Hyuga Ningyuan sat down cross-legged. Yūhi Kurenai had wanted to sit beside him as well, but the woman pulled her into the kitchen.

A moment later, a cup of black tea was placed before Hyuga Ningyuan, and then the woman returned to the kitchen.

The entire room instantly fell silent, leaving only the black tea before him, still giving off steam.

Hyuga Ningyuan blinked. So this was a test of my self-control?

He took a light sip of the black tea, then closed his eyes.

The Phoenix Genealogy Chart would level up the day after tomorrow. There was no rushing that.

The Glazed Robe, however, could level up in thirty minutes, because it only needed 1,000 experience points to rise from Level 4 to LV5.

Even though this skill was supposed to be quite powerful.

Hyuga Ningyuan could only assume it was because the Hyuga Clan's Chakra was too special.

If it were an ordinary civilian family, or even the Uzumaki, Uchiha, or Senju, it would be impossible for them to level up the Glazed Robe so easily.

They would not even be capable of creating this technique. Their Chakra had no ability to directly attack people. Once unleashed, it was merely a mass of energy, unlike the Hyuga Clan, whose strikes could produce a Void Palm comparable to an A-rank ninjutsu.

In addition, the Arcane Brush Palace needed 5,000 experience points to advance from Level 4 to LV5. It had already accumulated 4,000 over the day, and it would need another two hours to level up.

Hyuga Ningyuan invested 760 points of General Experience, so the Arcane Brush Palace would also level up in thirty minutes.

He could have invested General Experience to level it up immediately, but he had nothing better to do. Leaving it just short of completion gave him at least a little anticipation.

He took another sip of tea.

The Phoenix Genealogy Chart concerned the accumulation of Qi and the improvement of physical fitness. It was already his foundational technique, and in the future, it would only be upgraded and fused, never replaced.

The Arcane Brush Palace involved mental power, willpower, and Genjutsu resistance. It was his foundational technique in the spiritual aspect, and it too would only be fused and upgraded, never replaced.

The Glazed Robe involved flight and defense. It could also be used to attack, but that was not the Glazed Robe's specialty.

As for using the Glazed Robe to wield mental power in battle, that was an application of the Arcane Brush Palace. But mental power was something best saved whenever possible.

The path to longevity was about energy only entering and never leaving. If possible, he did not even want to use a single thread of Qi; he wanted to save it all.

So the only thing I'm lacking now is combat skills! Though the Second Shinobi World War had ended, the Third Shinobi World War still lay ahead.

Although Minato had turned the tide in that war, many people had still died. Not only had a member of the Hyuga Main Family fallen on the battlefield, but so had Nohara Rin.

Furthermore, it was said that Uchiha Fugaku had awakened his eyes during that war as well.

With the Byakugan, the Glazed Robe, and the White Swan cultivation technique that specializes in speed, my safety can still be guaranteed. But combat skills may go unused, yet I cannot be without them!

Eight Trigrams Palms?

That technique seems rather simple. Even twelve-year-old Neji could learn it. I should be able to master it after just one look.

But this palm technique has a low ceiling.

I could learn elemental ninjutsu, such as Wind Release and Lightning Release. Both offer speed and piercing power.

Maybe I should learn Swordsmanship too! Who did not dream of becoming a swordsman? This life gave him a chance to make that dream come true!

And Marksmanship. Sniping people sounds pretty fun too.

And Shuriken Throwing. I have the system, so let's see if I can upgrade it into Little Ning Flying Dagger!

"Hm?" Hyuga Ningyuan's spirit stirred, and he immediately knew that Yūhi Shinku had arrived.

So I even have a talent for Chakra Perception! He had not activated his Byakugan, yet he could sense Yūhi Shinku's arrival. This should have been the Arcane Brush Palace's doing, but Hyuga Ningyuan felt that perceptive talent came from naturally strong mental power.

My mental power may not have been strong at birth, but I've trained it afterward. That still counts as talent!

He did not turn around. Instead, he kept his eyes closed and calmed his mind.

A moment later.

[ Ding, Arcane Brush Palace has risen to LV5. Trait obtained: Mirror Water ]

[ Ding, Glazed Robe has risen to LV5. Trait obtained: Seamless Robe ]

Mirror: Your heart is like a bright mirror, perceiving all things. Your observation and mental acuity increase by 20%.

Water: Though wind and rain darken the skies, your heart remains still as water. Your willpower and mental stability increase by 20%, and your Genjutsu resistance increases by 20%.

Mirror Water: You can remain calm and composed in any state.

With the birth of the Mirror Water trait, Hyuga Ningyuan, who had seemed calm on the surface but felt somewhat pressed inside, truly calmed down at this moment.

His entire body gave off an air of ease and composure.

Without indifference, one cannot make one's aspirations clear; without tranquility, one cannot reach far.

At that moment, Hyuga Ningyuan truly lived up to his name!

Yūhi Shinku, who had been silently observing outside, was startled. Was such a calm and composed child truly only five years old?