The Earth Trembled with Change

Chu Yuan leaned against the wall, his brows furrowed.

He was starting to feel a little dissatisfied with Su Bai. Back at Yangcheng No. 1 High School, he had given him his number and told him to call whenever he ran into trouble learning the jutsu... but not a single call had come!

He'd thought Su Bai seemed like a good kid. Besides, he was now Yangcheng No. 1 High School's only hope of turning things around, so Chu Yuan had been more than happy to look after his junior.

But now...

"Did he get complacent with his current results? Lose his drive to improve?" Chu Yuan wondered, pulling out his phone.

"Brr... brr..."

In the open lot at the abandoned Slaughterhouse, Su Bai was practicing his jutsu when his phone suddenly rang.

"Hm? Brother Chu?"

Su Bai called Chu Yuan "Brother Chu" because Chu Yuan had asked him to. He was only a few years older than Su Bai, and they were both students of Wang Hai's, so he'd decided to skip the hassle of formalities.

Su Bai quickly stopped training and answered. "Hello, Brother Chu?"

"What have you been up to, kid? Why haven't you called me once all these days? Haven't you been practicing the jutsu the principal gave you?" Chu Yuan's displeased voice came through the phone.

Su Bai was taken aback. "Why would you think that, Brother Chu? I've been practicing!"

"You have? Then why haven't you asked me for help?"

"Uh, I've already mastered it..."

"What!"

Outside the Base City, Chu Yuan's eyes widened!

Su Bai had already mastered the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique?

How many days had it taken him?

How long had it taken Chu Yuan to master his first D-rank jutsu? Two months? Three?

Had he ever heard of anyone with "terrifying" talent like Su Bai's?

The Earth Trembled with Change

"You're not lying to me? You really mastered it?"

"Of course. Why would I lie about something like that, Brother Chu?"

"Good, good! Hahaha!"

After confirming it several times, Chu Yuan burst out laughing and hung up.

His laughter drew an annoyed look from his companion. "Chu Yuan, we're in the wasteland. What the hell are you doing?"

The burly man spoke with displeasure.

Everyone knew that staying hidden was paramount in a Magic Beast zone. They couldn't attract the beasts' attention, or they might get dragged into a fight they couldn't escape—and that would draw even more beasts. By then, there'd be no getting away!

Unless they were sure they could finish a fight quickly or had confirmed there were no other beasts nearby, ninja squads would rather give up a "target" than risk a battle.

As the squad's "sensor ninja," Chu Yuan had plenty of experience. He shouldn't have made such a rookie mistake.

Chu Yuan suppressed his "excitement" and smiled apologetically at the burly man. "Sorry, Brother Li. I just couldn't keep my feelings in check."

"Oh? What could've gotten you so worked up?" Brother Li asked, glancing at him in surprise. Chu Yuan wasn't usually like this.

"Well, you see..."

Chu Yuan explained with a grin. A moment later, Brother Li's eyes widened just as Chu Yuan's had...

"Seriously? Your junior's incredible!"

"Of course. Have you seen who his senior is?"

"Ha! You're something else!"

After putting his phone away, Su Bai couldn't help but laugh. "Looks like Brother Chu was 'amazed' by my talent."

Thinking of his "talent," he looked at the panel in his mind.

Host: Su Bai

Substitution Technique: LV1 (126/200)+

Clone Technique: LV1 (125/200)+

Transformation Technique: LV1 (136/200)+

Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique: LV1 (173/200)

Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan (Kamui Mangekyou) — Not activated

Chakra Level: 1.12 (ka)+

Earth Attribute: LV0 (73/100)+

Water Attribute: LV0 (1/100)+

Wind Attribute: LV0 (1/100)+

Fire Attribute: LV0 (1/100)+

Lightning Attribute: LV0 (1/100)+

Yin Attribute: LV0 (0/100) — Not activated

Yang Attribute: LV0 (0/100) — Not activated

Available Attribute Points: 9 (increases by 1 at midnight each day)

Current Mission: Master three D-rank jutsu (Mission reward: 10 available attribute points)

Overall Rating: Genin

Over the past five days, including the points he'd earned for completing his previous mission, he'd gained a total of 10 available attribute points. He'd used one on the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique to get it to the entry level, and hadn't touched the remaining nine.

One attribute point had added 100 "experience" to the technique, taking him from barely grasping the basics to being able to use it.

Not only that, he'd found that once a jutsu reached the entry level, practicing it added experience faster than it had before.

But that made sense.

It was like learning to drive. Getting started was hard, but once you could at least get the car moving, you'd learn faster than you had at the very beginning.

So over the past five days, he'd gained 73 experience in the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique. His Earth Attribute had also gained experience as he used Earth Release.

Su Bai didn't yet know what upgrading an attribute would do for him, but he was certain it would be beneficial.

Since he'd been focusing on the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique, his progress with the Three Body Technique and chakra extraction had slowed a little.

"I'll get the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique to level two first. After all, my top priority is passing the Nine Provinces Academy entrance exam three months from now!"

After recovering a little chakra, Su Bai used the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique again!

He formed Hand Seals. About six or seven seconds later, he suddenly sank into the ground... A moment later, he burst back out of the earth more than a hundred meters away!

The whole process had been completely silent, without a hint of chakra flow. That was what made the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique so powerful!

After all, in the original story, it seemed like every ninja except sensor types had fallen for it. Even though it was only a D-rank jutsu, Su Bai was very pleased with it!

"With my current chakra, I can use the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique twenty times if I release it normally. Its range is between 130 and 150 meters."

"If I increase my chakra output to boost the jutsu's power, I can reach 300 meters at most, but I'll only be able to use it twice."

"Besides, my proficiency still isn't high enough. It takes me six or seven seconds to activate the jutsu... That's too slow. I need to improve!"

Five days of practice had given Su Bai a clear idea of the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique's power. Now he could decide how much chakra to use depending on the situation.

Caw! Caw!

Two crows flew overhead. Su Bai looked up and saw that it was already getting dark.

"That's enough training for today. If I get home too late, Mom and Dad will worry."

Su Bai wrapped up his training for the day and headed home.

At dinner, Su Jianhong and Lin Xiu'e beamed at Su Bai, constantly piling food onto his plate. "It made" Su Xiaoxiao pout and declare that she must not be their real daughter!

"Hahaha!"

The whole family burst out laughing at Su Xiaoxiao's antics. Su Bai laughed especially hard as he ruffled her hair. The warm atmosphere filled him with even more "drive"!

After dinner, he returned to his room and decided to turn the nine available attribute points into strength!

After thinking it over for the past five days, he'd decided to put one point into his Earth Attribute and see what changed when it leveled up.

As for the remaining eight... he planned to put all of them into chakra.

After all, chakra was the most important thing for a ninja. Without enough of it, even a whole arsenal of jutsu was useless—as with Kakashi, the "unit of measurement" in the original story, who ran out of steam after only a few jutsu...

Thinking of Kakashi reminded Su Bai of one of the unsolved mysteries from the Naruto series in his previous life.

"I wonder why Kakashi insisted on wasting his already meager chakra carving a few dog heads into the Earth Style Wall... I just don't get it."

"Let's get started. Show me what you can really do!"

Su Bai set aside his "teasing" thoughts about Kakashi and put one available attribute point into his Earth Attribute with a single thought.

Whirr.

A mysterious force filled his body, leaving him feeling so good that he almost cried out.

[You added one available attribute point to Earth Attribute. Earth Attribute has leveled up.]

[Earth Attribute: 173/200]

"Hm? That's it?"

Su Bai carefully examined his body. Apart from the rush of "pleasure," nothing seemed to have changed, and he frowned.

"Wait, doesn't it feel like I can perform the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique faster?"

Su Bai tried forming the Hand Seals, but didn't activate the jutsu. This time, it took him only about five seconds to finish the seals.

"Is this... more than a second faster?"

The benefits of upgrading his Earth Attribute had shown themselves right away, and Su Bai was thrilled!

What did it mean to perform a jutsu faster?

It meant that if two ninjas were evenly matched, one could strike first while the other could only take a beating.

Or, when fleeing for his life, Su Bai could "run" a little faster than the others, giving him a better chance of survival!

"That's good enough. I'm satisfied with the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique for now. I'll put all the remaining points into chakra!"

Su Bai put the remaining eight available attribute points into his chakra. At once, a sensation many times more intense than before surged through his body!

Boom!

Su Bai felt as if his body were an ocean and each of his cells a drop of water within it.

Each drop was growing larger and larger, cheering as it desperately absorbed the mysterious force!

Boom! Boom!

Whirr!

The intense sensation lasted nearly ten minutes before gradually subsiding... Su Bai was drenched in sweat and felt as if he had endless strength coursing through him!

"This... I feel so much stronger than before!"

Su Bai clenched his fist and looked at the chakra entry on the panel in his mind.

[Chakra Level: 9.12 ka]

"My chakra has increased eightfold! This feels amazing!"

"Xueqing probably doesn't have as much chakra as I do now, right?"