Is That Really So Hard?

Under the bright sunlight, several marble-built classroom buildings stood beside the deserted sports field, separated from it by a railing. The school term had yet to begin, so the campus was naturally empty, with only a few teachers' figures flickering past the windows.

Naruto stood frozen outside the school. He looked up at the name of the campus—Notting Junior Spirit Master Academy.

System?

You call this a Ninja Academy?

Naruto screamed inwardly, on the verge of a breakdown. But how could a system that didn't have a brain to begin with care? The Major Event Witness in the corner of his vision kept guiding him toward this "Ninja Academy."

After calming down and thinking it over, it seemed not all that surprising that this Silly System would mistake Naruto for Naruto, Douluo for Hokage, and Nuoding Elementary Academy for a Ninja Academy.

In fact, this should count as good news. The [Major Event Witness] feature, which had been useless until now, had suddenly become useful?

One bug was a bug, but could a pile of bugs work?

Still, this clashed with Naruto's original plan. As Bibi Dong's Jinchuriki, whenever he had a question, couldn't he just ask her? Take this meditation method, for instance. He was already using premium stuff from Spirit Hall, so why waste time at an elementary academy?

What's more, this was Notting Academy, where Tang San, the world's protagonist, was studying. Who knew when he might suddenly decide someone deserved to die?

Naruto went from breaking down to hesitating, then from hesitating to acceptance.

The system's reward was right there for the taking. How could he pass it up?

Should I avoid him and bide my time?

As he was thinking, Naruto failed to notice that someone had already spotted him. "Little boy? What are you doing here? It's not time to register yet."

Naruto came to his senses and turned to see a kindly-looking Spirit Master with a big belly. From his clothes, he seemed to be a teacher at the school. Naruto quickly explained, "Oh... I was just curious, so I came to look at the school I'll be attending."

"Is that so? But don't be fooled by the fact that this is just an elementary school. Decades ago, our school produced a powerful Soul Emperor!"

This teacher was a strange one. When he saw Naruto was a prospective student, his face lit up, and he began praising Notting Academy from every angle. Anyone who didn't know better might have thought he owned the place. Naruto nodded along until, after quite a while, he finally managed to escape.

The sun sank in the west.

After that, the system's electronic voice never sounded again. Naruto gave up on taking a shortcut and returned home to sit cross-legged and cultivate.

The meditation method Bibi Dong had given him was something she had pulled directly from her memories. The graceful handwriting on the pages recorded her cultivation insights from all those years.

With such a detailed guide from a master, Naruto still managed to find the knack for meditation, even though Bibi Dong continued to play dead and ignore his questions. He cleared his mind and felt the Soul Power flowing through the air.

At that very moment, inside the Sealing Space, Bibi Dong, who had only meant to take a casual glance, suddenly widened her eyes, then sat bolt upright.

This kid?

Under the moonlight, countless pale-blue points of light appeared in the air!

Jiang Naruto, sitting cross-legged in cultivation, was like a whirlpool, tirelessly sucking in Soul Power from all around him. There was so much of it that a faint Soul Power storm arose in the tiny bedroom!

Could a level-six Innate Soul Power really be this fast?

Early morning,

"Tsk!"

Naruto emerged from his meditative state, sitting cross-legged on the bed. He panted heavily, baring his teeth in pain. His clothes were soaked through with sweat, and he looked as if he'd just been hauled out of the water.

His meridians were already filled with Soul Power, and they throbbed faintly in protest. His body had reached its limit. If he kept going, he'd be tearing down his own foundation.

"That really hurts! No wonder nobody on Douluo Continent says they'll seclude themselves for decades to cultivate, refusing to come out until they become a Titled Douluo."

Naruto, learning something new, grumbled. Bibi Dong's disdainful voice sounded in his ear again. "Who could cultivate all day long? That's just asking to die. Not many people can keep up the habit of meditating and cultivating every night, and that's only the foundation for becoming strong."

Naruto gave Bibi Dong a strange look.

He was sure that if he brought up yesterday's failed negotiation now, Bibi Dong would immediately clam up and play dead again, just like before.

To avoid making Haji-Dong really bristle and hiss, Naruto set the thought aside and went along with her, nodding.

"Is that so?"

Seeing that Naruto hadn't brought it up, Bibi Dong quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"How was the effect of my cultivation?"

Naruto turned to ask.

"Average... about what you'd expect from an ordinary level-six Innate Soul Power..."

Bibi Dong's reply came a few beats slower than usual. Jiang Naruto, his head still foggy, didn't notice at all. He only looked surprised. "Huh? I felt like I was about to burst last night. Is level-six Innate Soul Power really that intense? How fast must someone with Innate Full Soul Power be?"

"So now you know how far you are from a true genius, right?" Bibi Dong leaned against the Soul Power sofa and lifted her chin.

Naruto furrowed his brow and pondered.

His talent really wasn't anything special, but so what?

"Where there's a will, there's a way! How would I know unless I try?"

Naruto wore a confident expression. The path the system had laid out was narrow, but it had at least let him glimpse the hope of becoming strong. Besides, "I still have you, don't I?"

Seeing how Naruto had already assumed she would agree, Bibi Dong huffed in annoyance.

"I never agreed to help you!"

Several days later,

Smack! Smack!

Several Chains of Heaven flashed through the air, roaring as they broke the sound barrier and slammed into three humanoid wooden dummies in front of him.

The iron armor covering the dummies boomed, sparks flying everywhere. But if you looked closely, the showy attack had only left slight dents in the armor plates.

Too weak!

Jiang Naruto clicked his tongue and yanked his Martial Soul back with his right hand!

The Chains of Heaven, still dancing through the air, seemed to come alive. Like a spirit snake, they traced an elegant arc and coiled around the wooden dummy several times.

The muscles in Jiang Naruto's arm bulged. The dummy, made of hard wood, clad in iron armor, and weighing dozens of kilograms, rose into the air and shot toward him!

Jiang Naruto pushed off with both feet and shot forward too!

Shing!

The two passed each other. The dummy crashed to the ground with a "thud." Looking closely, there was a deep slash across its neck.

Jiang Naruto, now on the other side, slowly stood and put away the dagger in his hand.

Turning to look at what he'd accomplished, Jiang Naruto planted his hands on his hips and nodded in satisfaction. Even Bibi Dong, for once, didn't put him down again. She only offered a few comments, clearly interested.

"Now you're finally starting to look the part. Unlike a few days ago. Could you even call that Soul Fighting? It was more like dancing. I really don't know where you learned all those strange moves."

How dare you slander the tai chi I learned at Pole Dance University as dancing?

I'm so mad I'm shaking!

Will traditional martial arts ever have its day?

After grumbling, Naruto returned to the matter at hand and lowered his head to look at the wooden dummy in the middle of the courtyard.

A few days wasn't enough to raise his Soul Power Level, of course. But Bibi Dong's occasional pointers, squeezed between her taunts, had already benefited Naruto immensely.

How to strengthen his body with Soul Power, how to use his whip-like Martial Soul, and how to fight—

Those alone had brought about a world-shaking change in Naruto's strength. All right, looking back, his understanding of Soul Fighting just a few days ago really had been a bit like dancing...

There was another piece of good news, too, and it was also an important reason for Naruto's rapid progress.

In the corner of his vision, a tag had appeared in the previously empty tag bar—No Regrets Youth (no normal person would wear an orphan tag)

[No Regrets Youth—That blood-red dragon head soaring through the air that day was my burning youth. 1. Youth knows no limits: increases physical potential by 100%, training effects by 100%, and stamina by 100%. 2. Youth must never stop: shouting "youth" greatly reduces muscle damage. 3. Youth is meant to be shouted out: while wearing this tag, you will uncontrollably shout the word "youth"...]

Naruto had stumbled upon it by chance after keeping up his training these past few days. It really was a case of planting flowers with care and having them wither, then casually planting willows and having them grow into shade.

Naruto knew the reason for his rapid progress. To Bibi Dong, though, what she saw was an entirely different picture.

Quick to catch on, training like a madman, and a body that could rival a Beast Martial Soul Spirit Master's.

Could he really be a genius?

Bibi Dong couldn't help thinking so, then shook her head again. This kid was... just barely passable. Compared to her back then, he still fell quite a bit short.