Qingyun Appears

It was the hottest time of day, with the sun beating down mercilessly. Yet the black-haired boy ran laps around the training ground as if he were made of iron. He was drenched in sweat, and he even had a sack of gravel strapped to his back.

The black-haired boy's body trembled slightly, and his breathing was uneven. Anyone subjected to such harsh conditions would have a hard time keeping it up.

Yet there was a defiant glint in his eyes. He wasn't about to give up. He kept putting one heavy foot in front of the other, setting off on another lap.

With every breakthrough, he tempered his will.

The boy's name was Zhang Qingyun. Not long ago, he had transmigrated to a place he often dreamed about.

It was Konohagakure, in the world of Naruto.

And after transmigrating, his name was still Qingyun.

He hadn't been reborn into the Uchiha, the Hyuga, or any other prestigious clan of Konoha. He was just an orphan, one without even a surname.

Everyone called him Qingyun, and he had never worried about what his last name might be.

Though he resented his circumstances, the other children, too young to know better, often bullied and insulted him.

"Hey! You little bastard, born to a mother but raised without a father!"

"What are you doing here in the middle of the day?"

"Are you torturing yourself? Hahaha!"

The children his age only cared about playing. Whenever they had some free time, they made Qingyun the butt of their jokes.

Qingyun paid no attention to their jeers. Before transmigrating, he had been almost thirty, so naturally he wasn't about to take these brats' harassment to heart. He might have looked like a little kid, but his soul was pushing thirty.

As Qingyun kept running, a stone suddenly came flying at him.

"Whoosh!"

With the heavy sandbag on his back and his strength spent, Qingyun had no chance to dodge.

"Thud!"

The stone struck Qingyun in the head, splitting his skin. He looked up and saw that the brats who had been bullying him had thrown it. They burst into even louder laughter.

"Wahahaha! This is hilarious! He's bleeding!"

"Haha! Nobody's going to help you, and nobody cares about you! No father, no mother! You torture yourself like this every day. You really are a freak!"

The three or four children were all dressed in Hyuga Clan clothes. They were obviously members of Konoha's prestigious Hyuga Clan. They were used to bullying people, and even after hurting someone, they felt not the slightest remorse.

This time, Qingyun didn't put up with it. He slowly picked up the stone that had hit him and hurled it back at the Hyuga brat who had thrown it.

"Thump!" Though Qingyun was exhausted, he trained every day. The stone shot through the air like a bullet and struck the Hyuga brat in the stomach.

The Hyuga brat immediately doubled over, clutching his stomach in pain.

"Bastard!" When had a child of the Hyuga Clan ever been bullied like this? He pointed at Qingyun and cursed. "Beat that bastard to death!"

The Hyuga brats swarmed around Qingyun.

Qingyun looked around, his eyes icy. The Hyuga brats glanced at one another, but none of them dared to make the first move.

"What are you waiting for? Get him!" The Hyuga brat couldn't hold back any longer. The whole gang charged at Qingyun.

"Hmph! A bunch of brats, already throwing your weight around just because of your clan? What will you be like when you grow up? I'm going to teach you a lesson!" Qingyun didn't hold back. Ever since transmigrating, he had trained day and night, and his physical abilities were already far beyond those of other kids his age.

In less than half a minute, Qingyun had knocked all the Hyuga brats to the ground.

This time, the Hyuga brats were truly scared. Once they got back to their feet, they bolted as if their shoes were on fire.

"You little punks! Run home to your mommies!" Qingyun grinned, not giving the incident another thought.

Qingyun returned home, took off the sandbag, and had a hot shower. Then he lay down in bed and fell fast asleep.

In his drowsy state, Qingyun couldn't tell whether he was awake or dreaming.

Somehow, he found himself in a vast, white space. Then he noticed an old man with a white beard standing in front of him.

"Young man, you've finally arrived." The old man looked like an immortal, though he wasn't the Sage of Six Paths from this world.

"Old man, were you looking for me?" Qingyun was a little bewildered.

"That's right. I've been waiting a long time for you. What a remarkably robust soul!" The white-haired old man looked quite pleased with Qingyun.

"Who are you, exactly? What do you want with me?" Qingyun asked bluntly. He didn't want to listen to an old man ramble on and on.

"Ha! Don't be impatient. You're a transmigrator who ended up in the world of Naruto by a twist of fate. You always feel listless and weak, don't you?" the white-haired old man said, stroking his beard.

"That's right, all of it. But how do you know? Are you the reason I'm so weak?"

Ever since transmigrating, Qingyun had trained himself relentlessly and tempered his will, but his progress had always been slow. His strength in particular would inexplicably disappear, as if he'd been drained dry.

"That's right, kid. You're a lucky one!" The more the old man acted like an immortal, the more incomprehensible Qingyun found him.

"You rotten old geezer! You're up to no good! Tell me, what did you do to me?" Qingyun was so furious that he nearly lunged at the old man to grab his beard.

"Don't be impatient, kid," said the white-haired old man.

Then the old man vanished, only to appear behind Qingyun without warning.

Patting Qingyun on the shoulder, he said, "You've been training like a madman every day. Your body reached its limit long ago. If I hadn't been protecting it for you, you'd have died from overexertion."

"Besides, I only absorbed a tiny bit of your soul power. I came out now to repay you." The white-haired old man explained for a while before Qingyun finally calmed down.

"Repay me? Why didn't you say so earlier? Go on, how are you going to make it up to me?" Qingyun looked at the old man, unable to explain why he was so annoyed with him.

The white-haired old man gave a rueful smile. "You're a very practical fellow. How about I give you a system?"

"A system? What kind? Tell me about it." Qingyun knew that many transmigrators had undergone a transformation in strength thanks to the help of a system. A system was like a cheat that helped you grow faster.

"Let me look for one. Don't rush me. Here, this system is yours." The white-bearded old man took a gourd from his waist and poured out a pill. While Qingyun's mouth was open, he popped it straight inside.

As soon as Qingyun swallowed the pill, he suddenly felt that something about the whole world had changed.

"What was that thing you just gave me?" Qingyun immediately asked.

"This pill is a divine medicine that can help you break through the dimensional barrier. Wake up. Once you're awake, you'll understand."