One of the boys was rather short and skinny, shorter than Su Bai. The other was about as tall and burly as Lin Hu!
Chang Rui had a fiery temper. How could she put up with that kind of mockery? She immediately fired back, "Wen Yuanyuan, what's that supposed to mean? Am I not allowed to compete?"
"Hehe, of course you are. But I'd hate to make you cry when I beat you." Wen Yuanyuan put on a worried expression. Chang Rui was so furious she nearly attacked her, but Xia Xueqing hurriedly held her back.
Wen Yuanyuan glanced at Xia Xueqing, then smiled and said, "Xueqing, teaming up with Miss Chang isn't exactly a smart choice. She even cried after a Copper-Headed Wolf scared her in the Wasteland Zone last time."
"Bullshit! When did I ever cry? That beast just scratched me, and it hurt!" Chang Rui cursed in a rage.
Xia Xueqing spoke coolly. "Wen Yuanyuan, you're not welcome here. Leave."
She knew Wen Yuanyuan, too.
Wen Yuanyuan was Chang Rui's archenemy at school. Her family was just as influential, and her talent was no less impressive. The two of them were always at each other's throats.
"Hehe, we can't leave." Wen Yuanyuan smiled and looked at the forms on the table.
"6.5 cards... You've improved, Xueqing. I remember you hadn't even reached 6 cards last month."
"Hmph!" Xia Xueqing gave a soft snort and ignored her. Wen Yuanyuan clicked her tongue, then continued reading.
Wen Yuanyuan knew her rival's abilities better than anyone, so she looked straight at Su Bai's form.
When she saw his Chakra Level, she froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"1 card?"
"Haha, Chang Rui, couldn't you find any teammates?"
"Bastard! Who I team up with is none of your business. Shut up!" Chang Rui snatched the form and yelled angrily.
Wen Yuanyuan looked at Su Bai with a bright smile. "You're Su Bai, right? You're quite something, haha."
She'd noticed him as soon as she arrived, but hadn't paid him any attention.
Su Bai looked unfamiliar, and he wasn't a student at their Noble School.
Most of Yang City's strongest students attended the Noble School, after all. Their families were well-off, which meant they had access to more cultivation resources than ordinary people.
And Su Bai hadn't let her down—he really was weak. That put Wen Yuanyuan at ease.
She might have mocked Chang Rui aloud, but she didn't dare underestimate her.
Chang Rui was as strong as she was, and she had Xia Xueqing as a teammate. That was why Wen Yuanyuan had come under the pretense of provoking Chang Rui: to scout the competition.
Even students from wealthy families like Chang Rui, Xia Xueqing, and Wen Yuanyuan wanted to place in this major tournament organized by Yang City's government.
There was only one reason: the honor would follow them for the rest of their lives, its record preserved forever by the city government. That would bring them far more prestige than relying on their families for cultivation resources!
Chang Rui and Xia Xueqing, whom Wen Yuanyuan considered her biggest rivals for the championship, had teamed up with a "weakling" like Su Bai... That made him seem much more "likable" to her, and she gave him a smile.
"Thanks. I've always been quite something." Su Bai smiled faintly, as if he hadn't caught Wen Yuanyuan's sarcasm.
He'd lived two lifetimes. What sort of situation hadn't he seen? Wen Yuanyuan's childish taunts couldn't stir the slightest emotion in him.
"How boring." Her punch had hit nothing but air. Wen Yuanyuan turned away from Su Bai and spoke sweetly to Lan Hong. "Grandpa Lan, please register us."
"Oh, sure. Give me your information." Lan Hong took out three new forms.
Wen Yuanyuan's two teammates, who'd been silent until now, stepped forward. The taller boy spoke first. "Yan Zheng, Yang City Noble School. I specialize in Fire Release: Great Fireball. Chakra Level: 5.2 cards."
Yan Zheng's stats were ordinary, and Chang Rui didn't pay them much attention. She already knew what he could do.
But when Wen Yuanyuan's other teammate gave his stats, everyone was astonished!
"Yang Liu, Yang City No. 4 High School. I specialize in Ice Release: Ice Pillar Technique. Chakra Level: 4.5 cards."
"Ice Release?"
Lan Hong looked up at him in surprise. "An Ice Release Kekkei Genkai? What's your relationship to Yang Long?"
"He's my father, sir." Yang Liu wasn't tall, and his appearance was ordinary, but now all eyes were on him.
Xia Xueqing and Chang Rui exchanged glances, both seeing the surprise in the other's eyes!
An Ice Release user?
Wen Yuanyuan had actually found such a powerful teammate?
Their hearts sank.
Yang Liu's Chakra Level was only 4.5 cards, which seemed unremarkable... but with a Kekkei Genkai, that was a different story!
They both knew about Kekkei Genkai. Xia Xueqing came from a prominent Kekkei Genkai clan and understood their power well.
Simply put, a Kekkei Genkai was a new form of ninjutsu created by combining two different Chakra Nature Transformations.
Ice Release was formed by combining Wind Release and Water Release. It stemmed from Water Release, but its power far surpassed it!
With the same amount of chakra and a jutsu of the same rank, Ice Release was more than twice as powerful as Water Release. That was the terrifying thing about Kekkei Genkai!
Jiuzhou University had even introduced a special policy to attract Kekkei Genkai prodigies: they were allowed one more chance to avoid elimination than ordinary ninjas. It reflected how bright their futures were!
Su Bai was surprised, too. He hadn't expected to run into a Kekkei Genkai prodigy so soon.
Seeing everyone's astonishment, Wen Yuanyuan smiled triumphantly.
"Yang Liu wasn't going to compete at first because the tournament means nothing to him. He's already been guaranteed admission to Nine Provinces Academy."
"But Yang Liu and I are good friends, so he's willing to help me win the championship, haha!"
She then cheerfully announced her own stats. "Wen Yuanyuan, Yang City Noble School. I specialize in Water Release: Water Prison Technique and Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. Chakra Level: 6.3 cards."
"I have both Water and Wind Attributes, but unlike Yang Liu, I don't have Ice Release."
"Xia Xueqing, this is all your fault for insisting we bring Su Bai!"
"Now Wen Yuanyuan gets to laugh at us!"
Outside the Yang City Combat Gym, Chang Rui complained miserably. Ever since she'd learned how strong Wen Yuanyuan's team was, she'd been too "embarrassed" to stay inside.
Xia Xueqing hurried to comfort her. "Sister Rui, don't be mad. Second place is still pretty good!"
"What's so good about that? Do I need a C-rank jutsu scroll? I want the honor of taking first place in the tournament! Do you understand?" Chang Rui angrily grabbed Xia Xueqing by the shoulders and shook her.
"But even if we had Liu Li, whom you suggested, we still couldn't beat Wen Yuanyuan's team," Xia Xueqing explained.
Xia Xueqing thought, Liu Li was stronger than Su Bai, but not by much. His Chakra Level was only three cards, and he wasn't a Kekkei Genkai prodigy either. He had no chance of winning the championship.
"He'd still be better than Su Bai. At least Liu Li could take some of the pressure off us."
"None of those three on Wen Yuanyuan's team could beat me one-on-one. You could easily handle one of them, too, Xueqing. But what about the last one? Are we supposed to count on him?" Chang Rui glanced at Su Bai, who was walking beside Xia Xueqing, her pretty face plainly displeased.
"All right, all right. We've already registered, so we can't change it now. Let's just leave it at that." Xia Xueqing kept reassuring her, then turned to Su Bai. "Remember to be on time tomorrow. Sister Rui and I are heading back."
"Okay. Be careful on your way," Su Bai replied.
"You should worry about yourself, you big freeloader!"
"Hehe, goodbye, Su Bai."
Xia Xueqing led Chang Rui away, though not before Chang Rui gave him a nickname—"big freeloader"!
Su Bai rolled his eyes, put his hands in his pockets, and left, too.
After boarding the bus home, Su Bai closed his eyes to rest and sank into thought.
If Wen Yuanyuan's team is the strongest in this year's tournament, then the championship is as good as ours.
Only he knew how strong he was. Although Yang Liu, the Ice Release ninja on Wen Yuanyuan's team, was impressive, there was a huge gap between their Chakra Levels. Yang Liu had only half as much as Su Bai.
Having more chakra didn't necessarily make someone stronger, but powerful ninjas always had plenty of it.
Ninja battles depended on how well you mastered your jutsu, how well you judged the timing of a fight, and whether your jutsu countered your opponent's.
The most common interactions were Water over Fire, Fire over Lightning, Wind over Lightning and Fire, Lightning over Earth and Water, and Earth over Water!
Water Release had slightly less destructive power than other types of ninjutsu, but it had the advantage when it came to changing the terrain. Near the sea or a river, its power increased several times over!
Ice Release was derived from Water Release, so it naturally wasn't afraid of ordinary Lightning or Earth Attribute jutsu. But as it happened, Su Bai's Double Suicide Decapitation Technique was the perfect counter to the Ice Pillar Technique!
The Ice Pillar Technique let an Ice Release ninja use chakra to create a massive pillar of ice and freeze their opponent. If the opponent was weaker, there was no escaping; they could only be at the ninja's mercy.
But the jutsu could only be used aboveground. The Double Suicide Decapitation Technique moved underground.
At the thought, a smile appeared at the corner of Su Bai's mouth. I refuse to believe he can summon a giant pillar of ice underground. We have a great chance of winning this fight!
Chang Rui knew Wind Release Ninjutsu, which countered Yan Zheng's Fire Release on Wen Yuanyuan's team. Xia Xueqing had the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai and a massive Chakra Level, so she'd have no trouble against Wen Yuanyuan.
And Su Bai happened to counter Yang Liu. He couldn't think of a single reason they'd lose!
Still, I can't let my guard down. Even a lion uses all its strength to fight a rabbit. I have one more day to practice my jutsu!
The tournament started at 8 a.m. tomorrow. Su Bai planned to raise his Double Suicide Decapitation Technique and Earth Attribute to Level 2, ensuring there'd be no surprises in tomorrow's competition!
After eating lunch at home, Su Bai hurried to his usual place for practicing ninjutsu—the Slaughterhouse!
"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!"
Su Bai formed Hand Seals and whooshed underground. A moment later, he burst back aboveground 200 meters away.
"The jutsu's range has increased." He looked back at where he'd disappeared and thought for a moment. "Let's see how far it goes!"
Su Bai formed Hand Seals again, this time increasing his chakra output.
"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!"
"Whoosh!"
This time, he stayed underground much longer. Nearly ten seconds passed before he finally burst aboveground.
"Was that 700 meters?" Su Bai was surprised by the rough estimate!
Last night, he'd added eight available Attribute Points to Chakra Level, increasing his chakra reserves eightfold... but before that, the farthest he'd traveled with the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique was only 300 meters. Had it more than doubled all at once?
He'd learned online that, in this world, increasing chakra output made ninjutsu more powerful, but the increase in power wasn't proportional to the extra chakra.
For every ten percent increase in a jutsu's power, chakra consumption rose exponentially. It was terrifying!
Ninjas in this world generally had large chakra reserves, but even they couldn't use the maximum chakra output for every jutsu. They'd run out after just a few uses.
"That took about one-fifth of my chakra. Normally, using the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique to travel 300 meters barely consumes any chakra. I can't even feel it."
"Looks like I'd better avoid using maximum chakra output unless I have to. Otherwise, I'll only be able to use five jutsu before running out of chakra."
After comparing the chakra costs, Su Bai glanced at the panel.
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 (174/200) Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan (Kamui Mangekyou) not activated Chakra Level: 9.12 (cards)+ Earth Attribute: LV1 (174/200)+ 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: 0 (increases by 1 daily at midnight) Current Mission: Master three D-rank jutsu (mission reward: 10 available Attribute Points)
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