Enhancement (1)

The atmosphere grew tense in an instant.

Everyone had witnessed the Guide disappear... and death was always a heavy topic, especially for those who had died once. They knew better than anyone just how precious life was.

As he spoke, Fang Xiu moved beneath the orb. There were twenty unclaimed portals in total. He casually chose one and pressed his hand against it, then pictured the kind of home he wanted.

Konoha Village's Training Ground Forty-Four, the Forest of Death, towering ancient trees, streams, hills, and scattered towers, along with an Eastern-style classical building for rest and residence—

The roof was covered in colorful glazed tiles, while chiwen ornaments adorned the pillars, beams, and gates. The courtyard statues depicted people, tales of gods and Buddhas, birds, beasts, flowers, fish, and insects.

Another thing worth mentioning was that, within the scope of his captain's authority, Fang Xiu had gotten himself a free environmental modification: gravity three times that of Earth.

When he was done, he lifted his hand from the light gate and looked at his teammates. "Also, I know you still have questions, but before we discuss serious matters, it's important to relax your tense nerves. First, create a private space for yourselves."

"Relax, think independently about your situation, and make some simple plans for the future. But it's best not to redeem anything on your own."

"Remember, I'm not going in for bloody farming or squeezing my team dry. I just want us to support one another and make it further."

"Keep your resources and use them to strengthen yourselves."

With that, he stepped into the light.

Before he disappeared, Fang Xiu glanced at Tang Tian out of the corner of his eye. The young man had begged him to save him in the trial pyramid, promising him half the main mission rewards.

In reality, Fang Xiu had only brought him along as a favor. There was no need to take that promise seriously.

Besides, in a Main God Space with teams of reincarnators, having reliable, capable teammates to help you really did take you further than going it alone.

"Seven newcomers. Three died, leaving the four of us. That's already a pretty high survival rate. If the captain hadn't killed the Alien Queen, even fewer of us would've made it."

The burly Emir spoke in a low voice, stating the facts. His unspoken meaning was clear: there was no point dwelling on how Fang Xiu had acted alone at the start of the trial, leaving the newcomers to fend for themselves.

The worlds of reincarnation were cruel places. Expecting the strong to babysit the newcomers was no better than daydreaming! In a way, Fang Xiu had done more than enough. At the very least, he'd taken decisive action, further lowering the difficulty of what had already been a relatively easy beginner's bonus scenario and improving everyone's chances of survival.

Later, he'd even looked after the temporary teammates he'd met along the way.

"If it weren't for big brother... I probably would've died in the trial." Tang Tian still felt shaken. Then he remembered something and asked curiously, "I almost forgot to ask. When the Yautja activated its self-destruct device, you weren't there. How did you know to escape?"

"It was the Guide, that sick woman. She used some kind of ability to send me a message, warning me that I had to leave the underground world within ten minutes, or else... I'd die."

Emir's voice was heavy.

Beside him, the Black man Odubiao, whose life he had saved, nodded in agreement. "It's a shame that lady disappeared. She was a good person."

"Maybe she was just a tool carrying out the Main God's will, like a walking corpse without thoughts of her own."

The Arab woman Haida, whose face was hidden except for her pale blue eyes, spoke coldly. The conversation that had just started died instantly. She placed her hand on the light gate and began constructing her own private space in her mind, just as Fang Xiu had done.

Before long,

the hall soon fell silent again, with only the orb floating eternally.

"Main God, list all my current rewards."

Lying atop a tower, Fang Xiu looked out over the Forest of Death and silently endured the threefold gravity as he connected to the orb with his mind.

A response arrived at once. There was no need to go through the gate to the plaza.

A small convenience.

[Shazhou Team captain Fang Xiu currently holds a total of 1 B-rank and 3 C-rank side-story rewards, and a total of 11,347 reward points.]

He certainly had a lot of points.

It was a shame he didn't have an A-rank side-story reward. He was getting greedy.

Of course, the extra information granted by his captain's authority had already made the truth clear: this had been an almost perfect start, directly related to the fact that the original Shazhou Team had been wiped out and the Main God had deliberately lowered the difficulty.

In addition, as captain, Fang Xiu could quickly query the Main God about what he could redeem. Since he already had the Uchiha bloodline, for instance, the ninjutsu, weapons, gene fluids, and other items best suited to strengthening his combat ability would all appear when he connected to the Main God.

This could prevent him and his teammates from wasting reward points and side-story rewards, which was the most likely outcome.

Second, the captain had the right to learn about the next world a day before the scenario ended and obtain key information. That way, the Shazhou Team members could study its story in depth and prepare targeted enhancements and redemptions, improving their chances of survival as much as possible.

Third, he had confirmed some things and learned a few secrets—

Just like in the original series, this space had seventeen reincarnation teams, each named after an ancient region: Zhongzhou, Nanyan Zhou, Beiyan Zhou, Nanbing Zhou, Beibing Zhou, Dongmei Zhou, Ximei Zhou, East Sea Team, West Sea Team, North Sea Team, Yinzhou Team, Senzhou Team, and Shazhou Team... along with two special teams.

The Devil Team and the Celestial Team! The former followed the original setting: the Main God collected the genes of the strongest members from each team, made copies of them, then formed a team out of perfect clones. They generally had little sense of morality...

The latter, however, was a little different.

At least when Fang Xiu became captain, the Main God hadn't asked whether he wanted to leave Shazhou and join the Celestial Team.

"Gene Lock... Could it have something to do with how it's unlocked? Some people unlock it on their own, but I relied on an outside force."

He gazed at the distant forest, his quiet words echoing before the tower.

The permanent enhancement from the Main God had actually helped Fang Xiu unite spirit and flesh, yin and yang, divinity and consciousness, perfectly fusing his consciousness with his other self.

As a result, he'd naturally unlocked the first stage of the Gene Lock, strengthening his physical power and related resistances.

Some of his questions had been answered.

But there were still things he didn't understand.

Fortunately, Fang Xiu wasn't one to dwell on things. What had happened to him had once again proved one point: as you grew stronger, the truth would naturally come to light. Rather than overthink everything and exhaust yourself endlessly, it was better to find a way to grow stronger and stay alive!

So...

—Main God, list all bloodline enhancements compatible with the Uchiha Clan.

Remove enhancements with limited growth potential!

Remove all enhancements above B-rank!

Remove enhancements that would make me lose my human form!

Rank them from highest to lowest score and send the list to my mind.