Xia Family.
In Xia Xueqing's room, two girls were lying on the bed, bored and chatting.
"I'm so annoyed! How could you not call me for something so interesting? You're the worst!" Chang Rui was wearing a miniskirt today, her fair, straight legs swinging back and forth, inviting all sorts of fantasies.
Xia Xueqing, with a ponytail hanging from the back of her head, tried to comfort her friend amidst the complaints.
"Alright, alright, don't be mad, Sister Rui. It's not like we left you out on purpose... it was Teacher Chu who suddenly suggested going to the Wasteland Zone, okay?"
"Even so, you couldn't tell me? I don't care, call Su Bai right now. The three of us are going to the Wasteland Zone today to fight a Long-Eared Rabbit!" Chang Rui was full of drive, a sense of crisis rising in her heart.
Her best friend and another friend she found decent were secretly getting stronger... She couldn't stand for this; she had to go to the Wasteland Zone to slaughter Magic Beast and grow!
She had assumed her best friend would agree the moment she asked, but to her surprise, Xia Xueqing's eyes dimmed, and she stared out the window, murmuring distractedly.
"Su Bai... I'm afraid he won't agree."
"Hm? Why?"
"He... said yesterday he wanted to go to the Wasteland Zone alone. He's probably already set off by now, right?"
"What? Alone? Is he tired of living? He's only a Genin!"
Chang Rui's eyes widened in disbelief.
Xia Xueqing nodded to confirm, asking her friend with a heavy heart, "Sister Rui, do you think Su Bai hates me?"
"Eh? Aren't you two on good terms? Why ask that all of a sudden?" Chang Rui asked, surprised.
Xia Xueqing immediately explained the reasons for her unease over the past few days.
"Ever since we returned from the Hunter Guild... I've asked Su Bai to go out three times, but he refused every time."
"It was only yesterday that he told me he was going to the Wasteland Zone today, and he was going alone. He even rejected my offer to accompany him, so..."
As she spoke, Xia Xueqing's beautiful eyes dimmed, and Chang Rui didn't know how to comfort her.
If things were truly as she described... then Su Bai was likely intentionally avoiding Xia Xueqing.
Thinking of this, Chang Rui angrily prepared to call Su Bai to demand an explanation, but Xia Xueqing stopped her.
"Sister Rui, don't call him. He's probably already in the Wasteland Zone. If there's even the slightest noise there, he might run into danger..."
Trouble
In the Wasteland Zone, about twenty kilometers from Yang City Base City, Su Bai lay motionless behind a giant rock, his scarlet Sharingan fixed on a Long-Eared Rabbit grazing on the grass ahead.
He glanced to the left every now and then, as if confirming something.
"Almost there. That Iron-Horned Sheep will be out of my sight soon."
"Rabbit, oh rabbit, you'd better eat your fill while you can. You won't have the chance later."
Su Bai whispered to himself. Two kilometers away in his line of sight, a massive Iron-Horned Sheep was slowly walking away.
Although he wasn't a sensory Ninja, his insight had increased after his Sharingan evolved to Two-Tomoe, allowing him to see the chakra within all objects within two kilometers.
The Sharingan could see through the human body and observe the flow of chakra, so as long as an object was within Su Bai's field of vision, he could clearly distinguish what it was.
Two kilometers was the maximum distance his dynamic vision could reach, so within that range, his Sharingan was no less effective at reconnaissance than the Byakugan!
This was even more impressive than an average sensory Ninja, who might be deceived by a cunning Magic Beast masking its own chakra fluctuations, leading to an ambush.
But not Su Bai. Whether it was a Magic Beast or a Ninja, as long as there was chakra in their body, they couldn't hide from his Sharingan!
"Hiss, hiss, hiss!"
The Long-Eared Rabbit seemed to be full; it crouched on the ground and fell asleep, unaware of Su Bai hiding behind the rock two hundred meters away.
About ten minutes later, when Su Bai was certain there were no other Ninjas or Magic Beast within two kilometers, he quickly formed hand seals, a smile appearing on his face as he looked at the sleeping Long-Eared Rabbit.
"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!"
Whoosh!
Su Bai dove into the ground. The sleeping Long-Eared Rabbit seemed to sense something and opened its eyes, looking a bit strange.
However, the movement from Su Bai underground was too subtle, and because he was intentionally launching a sneak attack, the Long-Eared Rabbit couldn't react in time and was dragged into the earth in an instant!
"Hiss, hiss, hiss!"
With only its head left above ground, the Long-Eared Rabbit roared anxiously, unable to fathom why it had been ambushed while sleeping so soundly.
With the Long-Eared Rabbit temporarily restrained, Su Bai burst out from the ground, his scarlet Sharingan locking onto the struggling creature!
"Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique!"
Hum.
The Long-Eared Rabbit went still. Su Bai accelerated, rushing in front of it, and a pale blue longsword in his hand slashed across the rabbit's neck. Blood sprayed everywhere like a fountain.
Half a minute later, the Long-Eared Rabbit died from blood loss without ever breaking free from the illusion, passing away quite peacefully.
"First one down!" Su Bai didn't bother dissecting the carcass; he simply took out a Storage Scroll and sealed the Long-Eared Rabbit's body inside.
This was a large-capacity Storage Scroll he had purchased before coming here. It contained 100 cubic meters of space, more than enough to hold a Long-Eared Rabbit five meters long and two meters high.
After packing everything up, Su Bai wiped the blood off his sword and left without a change in his complexion or breathing.
Once he was gone, the area returned to its quiet and peaceful state. Only a pool of blood with a peculiar scent and a small patch of eaten grass remained on the ground, proving that a Long-Eared Rabbit had once existed here...
Su Bai walked alone through the dilapidated streets, surrounded by collapsed buildings. He casually found a small, five-story building from before the apocalypse and leaped to the roof in a few bounds, his scarlet Sharingan scanning the surroundings.
"It should be safe around here; I haven't encountered any other Ninja or high-level Magic Beast along the way."
Su Bai took out a large bag of pre-prepared roasted meat, weighing about fifteen pounds, and sat on the ground, devouring it vigorously.
He had set out early this morning, and now, nearing noon, his stomach was already growling after the battle with the Long-Eared Rabbit. In less than 20 minutes, the roasted meat in his hands was completely gone.
Rubbing his stomach, which had just reached a state of satiety, Su Bai sighed.
"As my body gets stronger, I'm eating more and more. I really don't know how much I'll need to eat to be full in the future."
His Yang Attribute was only at level three, yet his body was already this monstrous; he had no idea what he would become later on.
"I'll take a quick break and then continue hunting Long-Eared Rabbit. I need to finish the mission within two days!"
Su Bai closed his eyes to doze off. Alone in the Wasteland Zone, he had to remain in peak condition at all times to deal with emergencies.
Fortunately, after his Yang Attribute leveled up, his overall strength had improved significantly. He didn't feel tired even after ten or eight battles like the previous one.
Earth Release ninjutsu for a sudden strike, followed by Genjutsu for control, and then using his newly bought C-Rank Chakra Conductive Equipment to slit the Magic Beast's throat... This was the easiest way he could resolve a battle at the moment.
The reason he could hunt the Long-Eared Rabbit so easily wasn't because the Long-Eared Rabbit was weak, but because his Sharingan played a key role!
Detecting and ambushing in advance, combined with the monstrous power of his Genjutsu, each factor put him far ahead of other Ninja of the same level.
Su Bai thought to himself, I'm afraid even a Ninja specializing in Ice Release like Yang Liu wouldn't find it easy to hunt a Long-Eared Rabbit alone, right?
Aside from facing it head-on and beating the Long-Eared Rabbit to death, it seemed Yang Liu had no other way, did he?
About half an hour later, Su Bai snapped his eyes open.
"Someone's coming?"
The movement below the building made him alert. Two Ninja seemed to have taken a liking to this high-rise as well. They jumped up in a few bounds, and as soon as the three met, they became simultaneously vigilant, gripping their respective weapons.
Su Bai looked at the two men calmly. From their Chakra aura, he could tell they were both Genin. The man wearing jungle camouflage had a higher Chakra Level than his own, at about 40 units.
The other, a thin man, had a Chakra Level similar to his, around 20 units.
"A Genin? What are you doing here?" the camouflage-clad man asked.
Su Bai's youthful appearance and the relatively low amount of Chakra in his body caused the man to lower his guard, giving him the confidence to question him.
Su Bai inadvertently moved the long sword in his hand behind his back, watching them calmly.
"I'm resting here."
He had bought this sword specifically for his trip to the Wasteland Zone for three million Federal Coin. Su Bai was worried these two might be tempted by the wealth.
"Resting, all by yourself?" The camouflage-clad man looked around suspiciously, finding no one else.
"No, my Chakra consumption is a bit high, so I'm resting here. My teammates are all up ahead." Su Bai shook his head, pointing in a direction.
Before the camouflage-clad man could speak, the thin man stared at the long sword in Su Bai's hand, a flash of hidden greed appearing in his eyes.
"Trouble." Su Bai's gaze sharpened, and his heart immediately became alert to the extreme.
Chapter 69: Conflict Arises
Although the thin man's gaze was hidden, how could it escape Su Bai's eyes?
Even though he wasn't using his Sharingan at the moment, his basic vision had been subtly enhanced by it.
"Brother Hao, that sword is C-Rank Chakra Conductive Equipment, and it's brand new. I reckon it could sell for over two million," the thin man whispered into the ear of the camouflage-clad man. The man nodded slightly upon hearing this, a strange smile appearing on his face.
"Kid, there's a limit to lying, isn't there? In the Wasteland Zone, where would teammates easily separate?"
"I think you'd better stop pretending. Leave the sword in your hand, and we'll spare your life. How about that?" The camouflage-clad man approached Su Bai as he spoke, gripping his long blade tightly, intending to land a fatal blow!
His Chakra was only 40 units, his talent was very ordinary, and he didn't even have decent teammates, so the camouflage-clad man often went a week in the Wasteland Zone without any gains.
At this moment, Su Bai seemed like a gift from heaven. Killing a Genin weaker than himself would yield more than a Long-Eared Rabbit... This was much simpler than hunting Magic Beast.
Furthermore, he had no intention of letting Su Bai go.
For someone so young to possess such high Chakra talent, he was definitely extraordinary. It was better to kill him to avoid future trouble.
"Kid, I'll take both your long sword and your life. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for appearing here alone."
The camouflage-clad man sneered inwardly, but his face remained sincere as he looked at Su Bai, as if he would let him go as soon as he put down his weapon.
Su Bai watched the man approaching silently, knowing that reasoning with the other party was useless. This was the Wasteland Zone; if someone was killed here, the Federal government wouldn't care. He could only blame his own lack of skill.
Thinking of this, Su Bai bent down to place the long sword on the ground while saying, "Fine, I'll give it to you. I hope you keep your word and spare me."
"Heh, people who know how to read the situation are always likable. Don't you worry." A smile appeared on the camouflage-clad man's face. At this moment, Su Bai had given up resistance in his eyes, making it even easier to finish him off.
Su Bai's movements were entirely natural; he placed his longsword on the ground and slowly rose to his feet. The moment the man in camouflage relaxed, Su Bai suddenly leaped high off the edge of the rooftop behind him, his Sharingan activating in an instant as his hands blurred into seals!
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
"Damn it, you dare play dirty?"
Su Bai leaped backward off the roof, cupping his hand to his mouth like a funnel, spitting out a rapid succession of half-meter-wide fireballs that locked onto the man in camouflage and the skinny man!
Deceived by Su Bai's earlier performance, the two men had no time to form seals and were forced to retreat repeatedly by his Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!
"Monkey, find an opening to use a genjutsu and control him!"
"Understood, Brother Hao!"
As the two dodged the Ninja technique, the man in camouflage immediately charged at Su Bai, while the skinny man formed seals, waiting for a chance to cast his own jutsu; he was a genjutsu Ninja.
Su Bai was not surprised that the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique was dodged; it was merely a distraction to force them back, for his true killing blow was yet to come!
The man in camouflage and the skinny man gave chase immediately, leaping off the building after him!
Mid-air, Su Bai's hands moved in a blur of seals, his next technique already prepared; he unleashed it the instant his feet touched the ground!
"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!"
Whoosh!
Su Bai suddenly vanished into the earth, and the man in camouflage immediately shouted a warning to his companion!
"Monkey, this is the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique, watch your footing!"
"Understood!"
Monkey acknowledged, keeping his hands in a seal as he waited for the perfect moment to trap Su Bai in a genjutsu!
The man in camouflage braced himself, paying close attention to his surroundings and the ground beneath him, his heart filled with shock!