"Yes."
A young man about 1.7 meters tall stepped into the chakra testing machine. He gripped the Chakra Metal conductor with one hand and began channeling chakra into it. A few seconds later, the number on the display stabilized at 2.6.
"2.6 cards? All right, next." The middle-aged man continued calling names, and everyone took their turn being tested.
"3.1 cards. Not bad. You can go."
"1.3 cards? Barely meets the requirements for a ninja."
The man in the middle scribbled in his notebook, while a camera above his head transmitted the scene to the three Elite Chunin responsible for judging.
They were the Hunter Guild's talent evaluators at the Yang City branch. The three of them assessed the test-takers' overall abilities to determine their talent levels.
"Oh? Yang Long's son and that little girl from the Xia Family are taking the talent assessment this time? Looks like we'll see some top-tier talent today," said a black-clad old man in his sixties. His two companions nodded, clearly agreeing with him.
The talent assessment had three stages.
The first tested how proficient the ninjas were with their ninjutsu. In other words, the higher the numbers they could achieve with the same amount of chakra, the more powerful their ninjutsu and the better their mastery.
The second measured their Chakra Level, though it was only a reference and wasn't particularly significant. After all, a ninja's strength wasn't determined solely by how much chakra they had.
The third was actual combat. Impressive scores in the first two stages didn't matter if their combat abilities were poor. This stage had the greatest impact on the final assessment.
At that moment, the three old men were focused on Xia Xueqing and Yang Liu. It had been over a year since the Yang City branch had welcomed a new member with top-tier talent. They hoped the two of them would give them a pleasant surprise.
The tests proceeded in an orderly fashion, and soon everyone had finished.
Aside from Su Bai, Xia Xueqing, and Yang Liu, most people had around two or three cards of chakra. There were no particularly exceptional ninjas among them.
Yang Liu's results were undoubtedly the most impressive. His ninjutsu was only slightly weaker than Xia Xueqing's, but his Chakra Level was three times hers!
19.68 cards!
The moment the number appeared, everyone present except Su Bai and Xia Xueqing, who knew the reason and remained calm, was stunned!
"No way! That guy's about our age, and he has a terrifying 20 cards of chakra?"
"And he's an Ice Release Kekkei Genkai ninja, too. That talent is incredible!"
"Yeah. Apart from that Byakugan girl, I doubt anyone in our group could last a single move against him!"
"There'll be quite a show during the combat exercise. Those two will probably choose each other as their opponents. I can't wait!"
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. And Su Bai's not bad either. His ninjutsu isn't very powerful, but he has nearly ten cards of chakra. He's a genius, too!"
The group followed the middle-aged man to a sparring arena, still marveling at the results.
The arena was nearly 500 meters long and wide. Standing below it, the middle-aged man asked in a low voice, "Other than Xia Xueqing and Yang Liu, who else among you is a Kekkei Genkai ninja?"
"You must answer honestly. Otherwise, it will affect your final assessment."
Everyone glanced at each other. Apart from Su Bai and a cold-faced girl in black, who both stepped forward, no one moved.
"I'm a Kekkei Genkai ninja," the girl in black said.
"So am I," Su Bai added.
The middle-aged man nodded and looked at the girl in black first.
"What's your Kekkei Genkai?"
"Transparent Release." The girl stated her Kekkei Genkai without a hint of emotion. Everyone was surprised; they all knew about this Kekkei Genkai!
Transparent Release wasn't common on Blue Star. On the contrary, it was extremely rare.
Transparent Release allowed its user to erase their presence and turn their body invisible. Once they became invisible, they were difficult to detect unless their opponent was an exceptionally skilled sensory ninja or a ninja with a special Dojutsu. They were natural-born assassins!
Su Bai remembered that Gekko Hayate in the original story had this rare Kekkei Genkai, so he couldn't help taking a couple of extra looks at the girl.
The girl in black had a cold expression and a handsome face. She seemed very composed, and she also looked at him, curious about his Kekkei Genkai.
"The three evaluators should value her, right?" The middle-aged man was a little surprised. Even the guild had only a handful of people with this Kekkei Genkai. He thought it would be a major advantage!
Sure enough, the three old men in the evaluation room immediately grew interested when they heard the girl in black.
"Oh. A rare Transparent Release Kekkei Genkai? We can give her a top-tier talent assessment."
"Impressive. As long as a genius with this Kekkei Genkai doesn't die young, they're certain to become a mainstay of the guild!"
"Agreed. We can give her a top-tier talent assessment!"
Although they hadn't yet seen her in a combat exercise, the three old men had already made up their minds.
Then they turned their attention to Su Bai on the screen, hoping his Kekkei Genkai would surprise them as well.
"Su Bai, what's your Kekkei Genkai?" the middle-aged man asked gently. Su Bai's talent had caught his attention.
Su Bai looked away and calmly said something that made the middle-aged man and Yang Liu, who had been watching him closely, turn pale.
"My Kekkei Genkai is the Sharingan."
As he spoke, his eyes instantly turned scarlet. Two Tomoe in each black pupil emanated a mysterious aura, leaving the middle-aged man shocked!
"What? It's the Cursed Eye? This..."
Of course he knew the Sharingan's infamous reputation. Anyone who had heard of its terrifying side effects couldn't help but shudder!
The middle-aged man and Yang Liu weren't the only ones. Even the three old men in the evaluation room changed their expressions!
"This kid Su Bai awakened the Sharingan as his Kekkei Genkai?"
"Ah, I thought he might earn this old man's top-tier assessment, but who would've thought he had such a useless Kekkei Genkai? What a pity."
"Indeed. Su Bai's future is already decided. He'll only follow in the footsteps of those ninjas who went mad. What a shame!"
The three old men all shook their heads and sighed. Their hopes for Su Bai plummeted!
"It's the Sharingan? You..." The girl in black was shocked!
As a Transparent Release ninja, she paid more attention to the Sharingan than most people, because the Sharingan and Byakugan were the natural counters to her Kekkei Genkai.
Their astonishing perceptiveness and ability to see the paths chakra took through the body naturally countered her!
Still, there were hardly any ninjas with the Sharingan. Even when one appeared, they either went mad or died. The girl in black was surprised for a moment, then stopped paying attention to Su Bai.
"The Sharingan... You two can go back." The middle-aged man fell silent for a moment, then announced the next test—actual combat!
"Now, find an opponent freely. The combat test begins!"
As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, Yang Liu immediately approached Su Bai.
"Su Bai, come on. Let me see how strong you are after awakening your Kekkei Genkai!" Yang Liu stared at Su Bai, his eyes shining. He was eager to fight him!
Su Bai grinned and walked onto the arena with him.
Everyone immediately turned their attention to Su Bai and Yang Liu, eager to see the two Kekkei Genkai ninjas clash!
"Who do you think will win?"
"Probably Yang Liu. He has twice as much chakra as Su Bai, and his ninjutsu is four times as powerful. He also has the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai. I think he's got a much better chance!"
"I think so, too. I don't know what the judge meant by Cursed Eye, but I'm still betting on Yang Liu!"
"I happen to know. The Sharingan and Byakugan are both Dojutsu Kekkei Genkai. They have incredible insight into genjutsu and ninjutsu. I heard they can even copy ninjutsu, though I don't know if Su Bai has mastered that ability."
"Whoa! Copy ninjutsu? That's insane! I'm so jealous!"
"Jealous? Heh. You probably don't know why the Sharingan is called the Cursed Eye, do you? Everyone who has it either goes mad or dies. There are no exceptions. And you're jealous?"
"What? That's terrifying! So Su Bai's doomed?"
"Pretty much."
Everyone whispered among themselves, their eyes fixed on the two people in the arena.
They both loosened up, and Yang Liu spoke first.
"Are you ready?"
"I'm ready. Let's start."
A flash of anticipation crossed Su Bai's scarlet eyes as he assumed a Taijutsu stance.
Yang Liu did the same, planning to take his time and play with Su Bai using Taijutsu first.
"All right, here I come!"
Yang Liu shouted and charged at Su Bai!
Bang!
Their fists and legs collided. Su Bai felt his lower leg go numb. Yang Liu's punch was powerful—much stronger than his own!
He wasn't surprised. He knew the increase in his Chakra Level had improved his physical abilities.
Bang, bang, bang!
The two fought fiercely with Taijutsu, trading blows in a lively exchange.
Although Yang Liu was physically stronger than Su Bai, he didn't have the Sharingan, so he was at a disadvantage when it came to controlling the pace of the fight. Su Bai would land several hits before Yang Liu managed to hit him once.
Bang!
Su Bai seized an opening after Yang Liu's attack, then kicked him in the chest and sent him flying more than ten meters.
Yang Liu quickly regained his footing, his expression grave as he looked at Su Bai.
"Cough. Your observation is sharp. Is this the Sharingan's strength?"
"Looks like none of the openings after my attacks can escape those eyes of his."
As a descendant of a Kekkei Genkai clan, Yang Liu had a high status, and the Sharingan was no secret to him. At that moment, he felt that he might not be able to beat Su Bai in a Taijutsu fight.
Thinking this, he brought his hands together in a Hand Seals position and shouted.
"Su Bai, I heard the Sharingan can copy ninjutsu. But I wonder if it can copy my Ice Release. Go ahead and try—I'd love to see it!"
"Gladly!" Su Bai also formed Hand Seals. The two Tomoe in his scarlet eyes gleamed faintly as he saw the flow of chakra through Yang Liu's body.
Yang Liu didn't waste any more time. He began forming Hand Seals rapidly, and Su Bai mirrored each movement. The two moved almost in perfect sync, like reflections in a mirror!
"I think I can copy it!" Su Bai felt his powerful mental energy suppressing the chakra surging through his body as he perfectly copied the flow of chakra for Yang Liu's ninjutsu. He encountered no resistance!
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" Two seconds later, Yang Liu and Su Bai finished forming their Hand Seals almost simultaneously!
"Ice Release: Ice Pillar Technique!"
"Ice Release: Ice Pillar Technique!"
Boom!
Two enormous pillars of ice appeared at the same time and collided, canceling each other out. A large section of the vast arena was destroyed in an instant. The power of the attack shocked everyone!
"No way! The Sharingan can even copy a Kekkei Genkai?"
"That's terrifying! They're both so strong!"
"Yeah. Compared to Su Bai and Yang Liu, we're ridiculously weak!"
While everyone else was stunned, Yang Liu was even more shocked, looking as if he'd seen a ghost!
"Impossible! That's a Kekkei Genkai technique. You really copied it?"
"I'm surprised, too." Su Bai stood five or six meters away from him, facing him. He was a little puzzled.
"I clearly copied the ninjutsu and used it, but the System Panel still hasn't shown any information about it. Does that mean I can only use Kekkei Genkai ninjutsu while copying it, without actually mastering it?"
"Also, copying Ice Release ninjutsu uses far less chakra than copying Fire Release Ninjutsu and Lightning Release Ninjutsu. I could copy it twenty times and still handle it!"
Yesterday, when Su Bai had copied Chu Yuan's Lightning Release and Li Lei's Fire Release in the Wasteland Zone, the moment he first used each ninjutsu, new techniques had appeared on the panel, meaning he had mastered them. That had happened with all four techniques, without exception.
But now, after copying Yang Liu's Ice Release, nothing had changed on the panel. Su Bai thought it was probably because he wasn't an Ice Release ninja.
"Ice Release... a combination of Water Release and Wind Release. I wonder whether my Water Attribute and Wind Attribute will eventually let me awaken an Ice Release Kekkei Genkai."
Su Bai looked at the panel, filled with anticipation. He felt the system wouldn't let him down.
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