First-Year Bully

The path of cultivation is long indeed. After a night of reflection and practice, Shangguan Yue had fully digested the changes brought about by his new chakra extraction technique.

"This chakra nature transformation is still too difficult. It's truly agonizing to understand the theory but be unable to execute it."

"However, this Spirit Release relies more on the strength of one's spiritual energy. Chakra can greatly amplify its power, but the ability level itself remains stagnant."

Shangguan Yue looked at the new status column on his panel. His spiritual energy attribute was at C+, nearing the B-rank of a Jonin, though he was currently still at the Chunin level.

His chakra attribute was at D+, still the quality of a Genin—plenty in quantity but lacking in density. However, Spirit Release was now classified as an A-rank ninjutsu, showing that its current destructive power was quite considerable.

(PS: Ninja Ranks: E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, corresponding to Trainee, Genin, Chunin, Jonin, Kage, Super Kage, Six Paths, and God. Ninjutsu Ranks: D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, where D corresponds to the basic Three Body Technique, and the rest correspond to the original skill levels of the Naruto world.)

The derivative skills of his Spirit Release—Yue-Style Void Step, Explosive Flash, and Draw-Sword Strike—all evolved with his strength. They were currently B-rank ninjutsu, but they possessed the potential for growth.

Early the next morning, Tsunade delivered the promised gift—a scabbard—into Shangguan Yue's hands. From that day on, Shangguan Yue strolled through the streets with the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow hanging at his hip.

His heart was filled with grand ambition. Thus, the students at the Ninja Academy began to suffer. Shangguan Yue's daily routine became picking fights during class and training after school. Soon, half a month passed.

"Quick, quick, quick! Shangguan Yue is coming, run!"

"Ah, the Moon Demon is here? Why is this big devil like a lingering ghost? Let's scram, let's scram!"

As usual, Shangguan Yue began his patrol of the first-year area, humming a little tune that no one else could understand.

"The King has sent me to patrol the mountains~ One-two, yo, one-two-one-two, yo! Bring me someone I haven't beaten yet! One is too few, two isn't enough, the more the merrier~"

Soon, Shangguan Yue's sharp eyes spotted a student he didn't recognize. "Classmate, stay a while~ Please, stay a while~"

With a few steps reminiscent of the Navy's Soru, Shangguan Yue arrived in front of the student.

"This classmate..."

"No need to say more, come on!"

"Uh, you know the rules, right?"

"I know! Go easy on me!"

"What about you guys?"

"We know them too!"

"That's good. It's not like I'm complaining, but you guys in the first year have been playing hide-and-seek with me for so long. Isn't this much simpler? You're wasting my time. Everyone, stand at attention in a line."

The group of extras in front of him shivered in fear, standing tall and puffing out their chests in a line as if being punished.

"Come on, weave the signs."

The group scrambled to stand opposite Shangguan Yue and formed the battle seal. The next second, they saw Shangguan Yue slightly bend his knees and grip the Dragon Sparrow with his right hand.

"Everyone, be careful! This is the Moon Demon's Draw-Sword Strike!"

"Draw-Sword Strike!"

Following Shangguan Yue's low shout, the Dragon Sparrow shimmered with white jade chakra. He suddenly drew his blade, and a crescent-shaped sword aura swept out, the tip of the curved blade grazing the earth.

A massive trench slowly extended as the crescent flew toward the group of extras, leaving them stunned and frozen in place.

"Ahhh!!! Help me!"

"BOOM!"

The crescent slammed into the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. The lackeys sat down on the ground, staring at the trench beside them.

"Shangguan Yue, you only know how to bully us. If you've got the guts, go try the upperclassmen!"

Shangguan Yue looked at the panel notification: "Defeated XXX, gained 1 Luck Point. Congratulations on achieving the title: First-Year Bully: You have defeated all first-years and possess absolute authority in the first year."

"Tch, if it weren't for you guys, I would have gone to the second year to test the waters long ago. Why hide? You can hide from the first day, but you can't hide from the fifteenth."

"Hey, hey, hey, Brother Yue, don't listen to them! We second-years aren't getting involved in this mess."

The students watching from the sidelines, including some second-years, were startled. Everyone was realistic; given Shangguan Yue's strength, aside from the sixth-years, the rest were simply no match for him.

"What? Are you trying to refuse me?"

"I-I-I wouldn't dare."

"That's settled then. Go back and wait for me."

Watching Shangguan Yue's retreating back, the students from the other grades felt their expressions turn bitter.

"It looks like he intends to beat up every grade."

"Yeah, I hope he's slow about it. I'll be graduated before he finishes with the ones ahead of us."

"Don't dream. He's the school bully now; we can only wait for our turn."

"Exactly. With the Senju backing him and the fact that he's issuing legitimate challenges, you can't even complain."

"Sigh, although nobody dies, it's just incredibly annoying to get beaten up for no reason."

"Forget it, let's all just hide when the time comes and make him take his time."

"..."

Shangguan Yue arrived at a corner and conjured a Shadow Clone, while his true self walked toward the school gate. If one looked closely, Shangguan Yue made no sound as he walked; though his feet appeared to touch the ground, there was actually a tiny gap between them.

His entire body was suspended in mid-air, yet he walked exactly like an ordinary person. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the soles of Shangguan Yue's shoes were covered in countless tiny, minuscule grains of iron sand.

Shangguan Yue seemed to be held aloft by an unseen force, his movements ethereal and drifting. Before long, he walked out of the school grounds, turned left and right, and arrived at the gate of a small courtyard.

"Knock, knock, knock. Teacher, open the Gate of Opening, it's me."