Boom!
The lake before Li Tong erupted, sending a massive column of water shooting upward with terrifying force. This was Water Style: Violent Explosion Flow Technique! Li Tong had gotten it yesterday by killing a Kirigakure spy.
Over the past half month, Li Tong had killed a total of sixty-seven spies. By consuming the cards they dropped, he had obtained nineteen different C-Rank ninjutsu and over a hundred D-Rank ninjutsu. More than thirty of the ninjutsu he got were duplicates!
Li Tong had asked the Card Emperor Sprite whether consuming the same card more than once would have any effect.
The answer was yes!
And the effect was terrifying!
With the same ninjutsu card, say Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, consuming a second card doubled the technique's power. Consuming a third doubled it again, and the same went for a fourth!
In other words, if Li Tong consumed four Wind Release: Great Breakthrough cards, the Great Breakthrough he performed would be eight times as powerful as its base strength!
What if he consumed a fifth?
That would make it sixteen times as powerful!
Consuming a sixth would make it thirty-two times as powerful!
The increase was simply astonishing! The Card Emperor Sprite had also mentioned two limitations, though. First, he could consume a maximum of six cards of the same type. Second, the more he consumed, the lower the drop rate became!
For example, Li Tong had already consumed three Hidden Mist Technique cards. The drop rate for a fourth would be extremely low. He might never get another Hidden Mist Technique card in his life.
Of course, nothing was absolute. If Li Tong could go on a killing spree in Kirigakure, targeting ninjas who knew the Hidden Mist Technique, then even with a low drop rate, killing enough of them would eventually get him another card.
In any case, although there was a limit of six cards, Li Tong still thought the rules were absurdly overpowered!
Normally, consuming just three cards should make a C-Rank ninjutsu as powerful as a B-Rank one. And if he consumed six cards, its power would surely match an A-Rank ninjutsu, or even an A-Rank one at full strength!
And that was only for C-Rank ninjutsu. What if he consumed six B-Rank ninjutsu cards?
What about A-Rank cards?
The thought was almost too much to imagine!
Li Tong currently knew more than twenty C-Rank ninjutsu. He had consumed a second card for three of them, doubling their power: Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, Water Style: Water Replacement, and Earth Style: Petrification. There was also one C-Rank ninjutsu card he had consumed a third time!
Fire Style: Flame Bullet!
Of those three cards, one had come from the reward for defeating a stronger opponent. As Li Tong grew stronger, killing elite Chunin still counted as defeating someone above his level, but the reward wasn't as good as before. The other two had come from drops! Both spies had been from Amegakure!
Amegakure was a complicated place. Though most of its ninjas specialized in Wind Release and Water Release, some were skilled in Fire Release, Lightning Release, and Earth Release as well. Take the leader of the Rain Ninja, Hanzo, known as the Salamander and hailed as a demigod. He was famous for his swordsmanship, but his Fire Style: Explosive Flame Formation was renowned too!
The reason for this was that Amegakure was a haven for assassins, a village of criminals. Throughout history, many famous rogue ninjas had eventually chosen to seek refuge there.
Li Tong estimated that he had reached the level of an elite Chunin. If he fought with everything he had, he might even be able to kill a Jonin by using his Kekkei Genkai and healing cards!
To make such progress in half a month was nothing short of crazy!
But Li Tong wasn't satisfied!
First, his chakra reserves were still below those of an ordinary Chunin. There were shortcuts to increasing them, but Spirit Enhancement Cards were too rare. Li Tong hadn't used a second one yet, and the Prestige Shop still hadn't stocked another!
Second, over the past half month, Li Tong hadn't gotten a single B-Rank ninjutsu from a kill. He had only gotten C-Rank ninjutsu or lower, including D-Rank and E-Rank ones.
Generally speaking, ninjas who could use B-Rank ninjutsu were usually Jonin. But some younger elite Chunin might know one, too. And then there were so-called geniuses, who couldn't be judged by ordinary standards. Some could even learn B-Rank ninjutsu while still at the Ninja Academy!
Li Tong was eager to get his hands on B-Rank ninjutsu. With his current chakra reserves, using one might drain him completely. But ninjutsu were an investment: if he learned enough of them and got a few more Spirit Enhancement Cards, he would immediately have the strength of a Jonin!
Li Tong currently knew only two B-Rank ninjutsu: Lightning Style: False Darkness and Shadow Clone Technique! He was far from satisfied. Even if he increased his total chakra reserves, those two techniques alone wouldn't be enough to bring him up to the standard of a Jonin!
Out on the lake, Li Tong darted and weaved, sometimes creating clones, sometimes drawing his sword, sometimes forming Hand Seals!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Rumble!
The lake erupted again and again as Li Tong trained. Lately, he had been practicing for two hours every morning, then going out to eat and hunt spies. He came home late and repeated the routine day after day.
Over the past half month, Li Tong had discovered as many as six foreign spies, including two Rain Assassins, but he hadn't dared to make a move for fear of failing!
If he failed, it wouldn't be Li Tong who died!
The Anbu would step in and capture or kill the target!
Li Tong would never allow that to happen. Those people were treasures to him! He either had to kill them himself or ignore them until he got another chance! Letting the Anbu kill or capture them would be a waste!
"Water Style: Water Clone!"
Out on the lake, Li Tong suddenly split into three. His real body, sword in hand, turned and attacked the clones, cutting them apart one after another! Both clones dissolved into streams of water that flowed back into the lake.
"That's about enough!" Li Tong stopped, breathing heavily.
He had used up 9% of his chakra. His morning training was over.
Sitting cross-legged on the lake, Li Tong closed his eyes and began to recover.
Since there was a high risk of being attacked when he went out, Li Tong always recovered at least 5% of his chakra before heading into town.
The rippling surface of the lake gradually grew still.
Li Tong floated steadily on the lake, his breathing calm and his presence subdued. He could now stay afloat while using very little chakra.
Time passed, and the sun climbed high!
Whoosh—
A subtle surge of chakra suddenly appeared, accompanied by a thick white mist. Fog rose over the lake, and within seconds, it had engulfed the entire body of water.
Li Tong was startled!
This was the Hidden Mist Technique! But he wasn't the one using it!
In a tree in the distance, Chen He watched the mist-covered lake without a change in expression. He knew Li Tong could use the Hidden Mist Technique, and Li Tong often practiced it over the lake.
He assumed Li Tong had cast the technique.
Splash!
A burst of water sounded behind Li Tong in the thick fog. A dark figure shot up from beneath the lake, a gleaming katana in hand, and hurtled toward him like a shadow!
But Li Tong couldn't see. He spun around and drew his sword to defend himself, relying entirely on instinct!
His opponent was too fast. In the thick fog, Li Tong was as good as blind, and he couldn't react any other way.
A moment later!
Stab!
The cold blade pierced straight through Li Tong's heart!
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