Ideals

"How is it, is that enough?"

"Hmm, it still feels a bit lacking, add some more."

Ayako Hyuuga landed two more palm strikes, using Gentle Fist to inject chakra into Mo Jingxian's body.

"How about now, is it good?"

Mo Jingxian's features contorted, and after a long while, they gradually returned to normal.

To be honest, the feeling was something only those who experienced it would know.

He carefully sensed the flow of chakra within his body. When it passed through the acupoints where the wedge was inserted, the chakra suddenly became submissive.

Yes, submissive. His own chakra froze in place, neither advancing nor retreating.

But the two elements lurking within the chakra were unaffected and passed through smoothly.

Interesting. A flash of inspiration struck Mo Jingxian, and he actively controlled the elements to merge with the foreign chakra.

Gradually.

The chakra Ayako had injected into his body melted like ice cream.

Not only that, but he could also control it, slowly pushing it out of his body.

"How did you do that?" Ayako had activated her Byakugan and witnessed the entire process.

The Hyuuga clan's ultimate technique was Gentle Fist, and historically, no ninja had ever been able to break free from its control.

In the early days of the Ninja World, the Hyuuga's reputation as the foremost clan was built punch by punch.

Mo Jingxian didn't answer Ayako immediately, still immersed in the feeling he had just experienced.

He calculated silently in his mind.

Chakra couldn't control the free-floating energy in the air, so most ninjutsu was straightforward.

Elements, however, could leverage ten times their own amount of ambient energy, resulting in more flexible and varied attacks.

But elemental cultivation was very slow, and the total amount was less than one percent of chakra.

Because of this, elements couldn't control chakra's movement.

But he had just done it. Why?

Recalling the changes of the past few days, it could only be the new abilities granted by his eyes.

There was no other explanation.

Mo Jingxian snapped back to attention and looked at Ayako, "What did you just say?"

"Nothing."

"Oh." Mo Jingxian led Ayako to a corner of the training ground, "Come on, quickly, let's make the most of our time."

Ayako instinctively took a step back, "What do you mean quickly? What are you talking about?"

Huh?

He realized Ayako seemed to have misunderstood something.

He didn't know why people in the Ninja World matured so early; a twelve-year-old kid knew quite a lot.

"Bang." He flicked her forehead, "What are you thinking? Of course, I mean for you to use Gentle Fist on me again."

Ayako's face turned red, and she lowered her head, clutching the hem of her clothes and rubbing it vigorously, "Oh."

He tried it again.

This time, Mo Jingxian activated his Star Cross Eye, and the process was twice as fast as before.

Now he had concrete data: the eyes' ability wasn't just for secondary release of ninjutsu, but could modify the logic of chakra manifestation at a deeper level.

It was remarkably similar to the elemental system.

One bypassed the underlying logic and possessed higher authority from the start.

The other modified the underlying logic, making chakra reflect properties more aligned with one's will.

This was getting interesting.

In the past, he had used elements as an activator for chakra.

Now, the cause and effect were reversed.

Chakra had become a power bank for the elements.

He could completely change chakra's logic to progress towards elemental attributes.

Then, he could use elements to erode chakra. As long as he had enough time, he would gain sufficient elemental power.

Water Element Mastery had been stuck at the peak of intermediate level for a long time, with no sign of breakthrough.

So, this was the bottleneck. Energy also had levels; without sufficient quantity, advancement was impossible.

Mo Jingxian's future cultivation path suddenly became clear.

Change chakra logic—erode with elements—increase elemental quantity—advance.

The path to leveling up had never been so clear.

Perfect, he gave himself a thumbs-up in his mind.

"Are you ready?"

Seeing his expression change from moment to moment, Ayako Hyuuga felt a little worried.

"I'm more than ready." Mo Jingxian suddenly picked up Ayako and spun her around. "Ayako, you're truly my lucky star."

He was caught up in the joy, and the girl's face was almost as red as a red cloth.

Suddenly!

An annoying accusation shattered the excited mood.

"Let her go!"

A Hyuuga youth, who looked about seventeen or eighteen, walked towards them, followed by a man and a woman.

The man's name was Hyuuga Aoshi, from the main family.

He was followed by guards from a branch family.

The woman was about the same age as Ayako.

And the other man, who looked two or three years older than them, was the one who jumped out to scold the two.

The three wore Hyuuga clan attire, but the man and woman following them had their foreheads covered with protective gear.

As the group approached, the branch family guards shouted at Mo Jingxian, "How dare you! Take your dirty hands off her at once!"

This person's eyes were filled with an unconcealable contempt, not directed at anyone in particular, but rather at anyone outside the Hyuuga clan.

Mo Jingxian ignored him and looked at the youth from the main family. "Keep your dog on a leash. If it barks at me again, I won't mind shattering its teeth."

Ayako Hyuuga did not hide. She stood beside him, expressing her stance through her actions.

The youth frowned slightly, displeased with Ayako's behavior.

"'Cilian' is not anyone's dog, please mind your words." He said, his eyes fixed on Ayako.

"Ayako." The female guard, who had been silent all along, also spoke up to persuade her. "As the young master's fiancée, your every word and action represents him. Please do not do anything that would bring shame upon him."

Fiancée?

Mo Jingxian turned to look at Ayako, wondering why she hadn't mentioned it.

Ayako met his gaze and shook her head. He understood; it was the same old rotten family drama.

"I am not anyone's fiancée." Ayako Hyuuga's voice was firm.

"I have never agreed to anyone, and no one has the right to choose my life for me."

She finally spoke her mind, standing before the main family member, no longer bowing her head.

Before the youth could say anything, the two guards, as if greatly insulted, charged forward.

"Insubordination! Slap them!"

"Slap!"

Mo Jingxian, who had appeared out of nowhere, blocked Ayako.

Before the guard named Cilian could make a move, a slap landed, followed by a kick that sent him flying.

As for the female guard, she had already been encased in a large block of ice.

The conflict ended in an instant.

Mo Jingxian had dealt with the two guards cleanly and efficiently.

A flicker of solemnity crossed Hyuuga Aoshi's eyes. Mo Jingxian's movements were clear to him.

It was precisely because of this that he had to be cautious.

This kid was incredibly fast, and his bloodline ability activated silently. He was a troublesome opponent.

He raised his arm to stop the guards who were about to charge again, and cast a deep glance at Mo Jingxian.

Hyuuga Aoshi slowly walked to the ice block.

"Ayako, refusing me is useless." He placed his palm on the ice.

"You understand the family rules. This is the elders' decision."

With a burst of Gentle Fist chakra, the ice block cracked.

"It doesn't matter if you like it or not, but you have to get past the clan elders."

With another wave of his hand, shattered ice flew, but it didn't harm the female guard in the slightest.

Hyuuga Aoshi turned around and looked at Ayako seriously. "So... have you thought about the consequences of defying the clan elders' orders?"

The shattered ice slowly melted, leaving small watermarks on the ground.

"What bullshit rules!"

Mo Jingxian scoffed. "Listen, old man, don't try to make lust sound so pure and refined. It'll make people look down on you."

This was the first time Hyuuga Aoshi had been called "uncle," and the image he had worked so hard to maintain began to crumble.

The corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Mo Jingxian's verbal assault continued: "Drop that hypocritical mask of yours; it's sickening to look at."

The two guards already had their hands on their waists, waiting only for a single command from their master to tear this disrespectful brat to pieces.

Hyuuga Aoshi wanted to teach Mo Jingxian a lesson several times, but in the end, he forcibly suppressed the urge.

The clan elder's words still rang in his ears: The Hokage thinks very highly of that child, Ayako; you understand what must be done, don't you?

He took a deep breath, purging all unnecessary emotions from his mind.

It was just a title, after all; it wasn't worth inviting trouble over such a trivial matter.

"We're leaving!"

Having reasoned this out, Hyuuga Aoshi turned and walked away.

The corner of the training ground returned to silence, but neither of them had any interest in continuing their practice.

The sunset on the horizon gilded the edges of the leaves, and the afterglow spread across the streets of Konoha.

A young boy and girl walked over from the direction of the training ground.

"Jingxian." Ayako's voice was very soft.

"Mm, I'm listening." The boy held his hands behind his head, a leaf stem dangling from his mouth.

"Do you know? My parents died protecting the Main Branch." Ayako tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "But the clan told me that it was their honor."

"Do you find that ridiculous?"

"Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous."

"Thank you."

Mo Jingxian tilted his head to look at Ayako. "It was hypocritical to begin with, wasn't it?"

Hyuuga Ayako nodded. "Yes. It's a hypocrisy that even a child can see, yet they guard and protect it like a treasure, and anyone who dares to question it is immediately dealt with according to clan rules."

"Beneficiaries of the status quo, that's all."

A spark lit up in Ayako's eyes. "You put that so well."

For once, Mo Jingxian blushed.

"Tell me more about that beautiful country again. Did they eventually come to an understanding with each other?"

Mo Jingxian looked up at the horizon, his eyes distant for a fleeting moment. "I don't know..."

"I really want to see it with my own eyes!"

The two walked the rest of the way in silence until they reached the front door.

Opening the door, Mo Jingxian turned back to call out to the dazed Ayako. "What are you standing there for? Come in."

"Oh."

They took off their shoes and entered the house.

After settling Ayako on the sofa for a moment, Mo Jingxian went to the kitchen to fix something to eat.

Having exercised all day, both of them were starving.

Ayako didn't mention going back, and Mo Jingxian didn't ask.

In any case, the space here was large enough for both of them.

Twenty minutes later.

Mo Jingxian held a small basin, slurping down noodles so vigorously he nearly buried his face in it.

Ayako held her chopsticks, watching him with a smile on her face.

After a while.

"Jingxian."

"What is it?"

"Does that country you talked about really exist?"

Mo Jingxian set down the basin, not understanding why she was so interested, but he nodded anyway.

A flame of hope suddenly ignited in Hyuuga Ayako's heart.

She said resolutely, "Let's create a country like that, too."

"Who?" Mo Jingxian asked in surprise. "The two of us?"

"Yes."

"It's not that simple... this path will take a long time, perhaps even thousands of years. It requires generations of continuous exploration to even have a glimmer of possibility. Besides, it requires the guarantee of immense strength. Do you think we can do it?"

"Everything has to have a beginning." The girl had never been so serious. "No matter how hard it is, I want to try. Not for anything else, but because I don't want to live in this world where everything is twisted."

"Come with me, Jingxian!"