Yin Release.
A secret art created by the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo. Yin Power, which drew upon the spiritual energy governing imagination, gave form to nothingness.
The Naruto World, in ancient times.
His eldest son, Indra, inherited Yin Release from him—the power of spiritual energy—and passed it down through his direct descendants, the Uchiha Clan, from generation to generation as a bloodline.
Over time, intermarriage with other clans caused Yin Release Chakra to flow into many groups, giving rise to a variety of secret Yin Release techniques.
Unfortunately, no method for systematically improving one's spiritual strength had been passed down. Otherwise, the prestigious clan bearing the Uchiha name wouldn't have kept producing dead-last failures, and there wouldn't have been so many who couldn't awaken their eyes!
Bloodline.
Talent.
These two things determined the limits of most ninja.
For traditional Uchiha, only the loss of a precious love or the pain of their own failure could cause special Chakra to surge through their brains and affect their optic nerves. Their eyes would change, reflecting the power of their hearts and rapidly making them stronger.
In other words, as the power of hatred in their hearts grew, most of them would be swallowed by darkness and fall into evil ways. The deeper the darkness, the stronger their eye power—and the harder they were to deal with. Their thinking would also grow increasingly extreme.
Now... everything had changed! With the Sharingan's terrifying perception and Yanxu Daoji's willing cooperation, Fang Xiu now understood how to safely strengthen his spirit and temper his soul, raising the ceiling of his Yin Release eye power without side effects.
Besides trading resources for Indra's Chakra, there was now another path! Even if it couldn't be mastered overnight or bring the thrill of an instant surge in eye power, Fang Xiu was still delighted.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
After reaping a rich reward, and with no further attempts to court death, he was meditating when a series of announcements reached him.
--Main Mission: Survive for 7 days in the Hong Kong Ghost World and kill the Fusang Ghost King. Complete! All surviving members of the Shazhou Team receive 4,000 reward points and one B-rank side-story reward.
The Main God's announcement descended.
To certain newcomers teetering on the brink of death, that voice sounded like heavenly music, even though it was, in essence, just a near-mechanical, formulaic notification.
At the same time, light filled their vision.
Their consciousness inevitably grew hazy.
No one knew how much time passed before Fang Xiu slowly opened his eyes. No excitement, joy, or relief flowed through them.
Everything had gone as expected.
He had made ample preparations in advance. Even if something unexpected happened along the way, his safe return had still been inevitable! When he heard the announcement, he had been cultivating efficiently alongside his many clones—some studying Sage Mode and trying to absorb natural energy beyond earth nature, others focusing inward and gradually raising their eye power, like snails climbing a cliff.
Now that he was back, Fang Xiu had a firm grasp on the path to strength and had no intention of messing around. He would continue his monotonous, ascetic lifestyle.
A Reincarnator's life was never secure.
Who knew when it would come to an end?
Most importantly, during this trial, he had clearly felt the Main God cutting back on benefits and raising the difficulty. It was starting to get stingy...
In the next world, everyone would probably face the cruelty of it head-on and learn that the Great Light Sphere wasn't just there to hand out benefits and do charity!
And once they met the conditions for a team battle, the difficulty would surely climb another level. That experience... would be unforgettable—but only if they survived long enough to look back on it...
Unlike Fang Xiu, the worried team leader, all the newcomers and half-veterans came to their senses facing a giant ball of light. Its warmth and comfort seemed to soothe their anxious, unsettled minds.
"Phew~ We're finally safe." "Enhancements! I want enhancements! I've had enough of those ghosts tearing me apart... I'm going to get stronger and kill every last one of those things! I'll take down the Main God! Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The previously quiet space immediately erupted into a commotion. The Shazhou Team had gained new members, and the place was livelier than ever.
"Main God, heal everyone completely. Deduct the reward points from me."
As Fang Xiu's words sounded in his mind, pillars of light descended.
Though he had experienced it once before, Tang Tian—the construction worker who had enhanced his Mutant Spider Lineage—still couldn't help letting out a soft moan, savoring the ecstasy of having both his body and soul healed.
--[Request accepted. Shazhou Team Captain Fang Xiu pays 261 reward points...]
The cost was a little higher than expected.
But considering that the ghosts had inflicted damage beyond the physical, Fang Xiu accepted it.
Besides, this traditional service was inexpensive, and he considered it a welcome gift to the official members.
Why waste emotion and effort on a bunch of strangers whose lives and deaths were uncertain in the story world?
Only those who made it to the Main God Plaza and proved their ability and luck deserved an introduction and a chance to begin integrating into the Shazhou Team!
--The veteran hadn't lied to me. No matter how badly you're injured, making it back here means you've got your life back.
--I bet that no matter how severe your injuries are, once you reach the plaza, they won't get worse. You'll even recover enough to stay lucid and pay the reward points needed for healing.
Ye Mei, her short hair neatly cropped, was lost in thought, puzzling over the unremarkable mechanisms of the Main God Space.
"I'm glad to see you all again."
As he descended from the pillar of light, Fang Xiu's gaze swept across the familiar faces—Spider-enhanced Tang Tian, Mutant Werewolf Emir, Angel Bloodline Odubiao, and the Warhammer Inquisitor Module Haida.
These four members... seemed to have luck on their side, didn't they?
With the infusion of such generous resources, it was no exaggeration to say they'd been completely transformed!
After all, a B-rank side-story reward and a generous supply of reward points could make even a pig useful if spent on enhancements! And these half-veterans had already laid the foundation for strength during the previous return.
As for the newcomers...
One, two, three!
Eight promising candidates had been added. Three had survived.
And that was with Fang Xiu eliminating factors that would've made the trials unfair, providing them with funds, and giving them incense money to help them seek refuge at temples, Taoist shrines, and churches.
So Fang Xiu was a little surprised, but one look at their faces put him somewhat at ease—the two promising prospects he'd been keeping an eye on were both there.
One was a white boxer who seemed to have won a championship belt, someone who'd reached the top of his field.
One was a woman dressed like an office worker, unenhanced and in her natural state. Her brain's spiritual activity was about seventy percent higher than the human norm.
There was also an Asian man who looked utterly ordinary, with short, choppy hair and skin darkened by the sun.
A fellow countryman?
Tang Tian was also looking around. When he spotted the man, his heart stirred, and he was the first to break the silence. "Hey, brother, how many rounds have you been through?"
"Three. I'm with the Second Construction Company. Tough life—I do surveying."
The Shazhou Team had gained another construction worker from back home!
There really were a lot of workers from Zhongzhou who came to Shazhou for construction projects. So much so that both times, a fellow countryman had ended up being selected.
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