The Hyuga Gentle Fist

"Cultivation idiot?" Lin Chuan felt a string of sweat trickle down his face. "What the hell is this?"

Qin Lang ignored Lin Chuan's disgruntled expression and went on, "I know you're hopelessly untalented at cultivation. You still haven't reached the first level of the Qi Refining Stage. But don't worry—I've already reached the third level, and Bu Lianshi has reached the second. Based on past experience, as long as one of the three of us reaches the third level, passing the assessment should be easy!"

The Lin Clan Lin Chuan currently lived in was an entirely different place from the Lin Clan he'd been born into. His status here was no better than that of an orphan the clan had taken in. That was why the other children dared to attack him without restraint.

He skimmed through his old memories and specifically searched for information about the Lin Clan Assessment. It was an assessment for orphans like them. If he failed to pass before turning ten, he would be expelled from the Lin Clan. Now nine years old, Lin Chuan was essentially down to his last chance.

The assessment was held every six months, with three people to a group. Bu Lianshi and Qin Lang were the other members of his group.

Feeling the chakra surging through his body, Lin Chuan said, "Don't worry. We'll pass!"

"Good! We were worried you'd be under too much pressure, so we came to cheer you up. Bu Lianshi and I have both advanced by one level, so we should have no trouble passing," Qin Lang said happily.

Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi had visited a few times before, but back then Lin Chuan had kept his head between his knees, never looking up or saying a word. They could only offer a few words of comfort before leaving. This time, both of them had made a breakthrough and had come especially to tell Lin Chuan. They hadn't expected much from him, so they were already quite satisfied that he was willing to see them and talk.

Bu Lianshi was no longer afraid of Lin Chuan's strange eyes. She stepped into the room. "Don't worry. Our assessment is just to hunt some Spirit Beasts. We'll definitely pass this time!"

Bu Lianshi spoke softly, looking at Lin Chuan with a hint of shyness.

"Mm, I understand!" Lin Chuan smiled.

The two of them had cared about the old Lin Chuan, but back then, he had been unwilling to trust anyone again. That was how things had ended up like this.

After chatting for a while, the two got up to leave. Lin Chuan began examining this world anew. From his old memories, it was a cultivation world—in other words, a world of immortals. According to its principles, everyone had a Spirit Root, and Spirit Roots came in five attributes: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. There were also some extremely rare mutated attributes, such as wind and lightning.

Just like chakra, a person needed the corresponding attribute to use a spell. For instance, someone needed a fire-attribute Spirit Root to use fire spells. Most people had only one attribute in their Spirit Root. Those with two were rare, but also stronger.

"After eating the Fruit of the God Tree, my chakra gained the seven basic attributes of wind, water, lightning, fire, earth, yin, and yang. I just don't know whether the Fruit of the God Tree has affected the Spirit Root in this world," Lin Chuan thought.

"Never mind. I'll find time to test my Spirit Root later. What matters most now is cultivating chakra and learning some ninjutsu. Otherwise, having three great Dojutsu and not being able to use them would be tragic!"

Once he'd made up his mind, Lin Chuan got up and left the house, heading for the dining hall set up by the Lin Clan. Qin Lang and the others had brought him his meals before, but he didn't need them to anymore.

Outside stood rows of equally crude houses, where orphans like Lin Chuan lived. Most had already gotten up and were practicing their punches and kicks in front of their doors. When they saw Lin Chuan emerge, they stared in surprise. His distinctive white hair and white eyes drew even more attention.

"That useless good-for-nothing who can't cultivate actually came out?"

"His eyes and hair are so bizarre!"

"Is he fretting over the assessment in half a month?"

The chatter reached Lin Chuan's ears, but he ignored it. He couldn't be bothered to stoop to the level of these little kids.

The Lin Clan's meals weren't especially tasty, but they filled his stomach. After eating, Lin Chuan went straight to the mountain behind the houses to train.

First, he needed to work on his physical fitness. This body was in terrible shape. If he hadn't absorbed chakra from those four children with his Tenseigan earlier to recover, he would probably still be in that half-dead state.

"Then let's start with running!"

As he jogged, Lin Chuan thought about the problems this world posed. First was chakra. The people here didn't cultivate chakra, but Lin Chuan could still use his Tenseigan to absorb it from them. That meant what he was absorbing was their physical and spiritual energy.

"As long as someone is alive, they have physical and spiritual energy, whether or not they cultivate chakra. In other words, I can use the Tenseigan to forcibly draw out chakra energy, whether they even know it exists or not!"

Lin Chuan worked up a sweat, constantly switching between different exercises while his mind kept turning.

"Then there's the problem of ninjutsu! When Kaguya Otsutsuki ate the Fruit of the God Tree, ninjutsu hadn't even been conceived. It was the Sage of Six Paths who later spread ninjutsu far and wide. But when you trace it to the source, everything about ninjutsu still began with that Fruit of the God Tree."

"Although I don't know a single ninjutsu yet, it shouldn't be hard to develop them myself. At the very least, I know the direction to take and what those techniques do. I even know the Hand Seals for the ninjutsu frequently used in Naruto."

A morning of training left Lin Chuan utterly exhausted, but he still refused to waste a single moment he could spend cultivating. He needed to grow stronger as quickly as possible—at least enough to protect himself and keep others from bullying him.

After lunch, Lin Chuan returned to his room and began working out ninjutsu. The first thing that came to mind was the Gentle Fist of the Hyuga Clan!

With the Byakugan's aid, the Gentle Fist was the most suitable technique for Lin Chuan to train in at this stage. As a form of Taijutsu, it didn't consume much chakra, and its power was nothing to scoff at. At the Qi Refining Stage, when battles were still fought mostly at close range, the Gentle Fist was a devastating weapon beyond cultivators' wildest imagination.

What was more, Lin Chuan had already discovered that the meridians used by cultivators during their training were the same as the chakra pathways. That meant he could use the Byakugan and the Gentle Fist to strike his chakra into an enemy's body, damaging the channels through which spiritual energy flowed—the meridian system—as well as their internal organs. The result would be just as terrifying as in Naruto.

After countless failures and rounds of deduction, Lin Chuan finally worked out the complete Hyuga Gentle Fist technique two days later. It wasn't because he was especially clever. He knew the principles and the direction he needed to take, and he was now, in a certain sense, the Progenitor of Chakra. It was hardly surprising that he could recreate the technique in its entirety.