Self-Introduction

However, Uchiha Yu was not particularly worried about this. As his spirit improved, he discovered that his observation of his surroundings was actually no worse than that of a single-tomoe Sharingan. Moreover, this observation was perfectly synchronized with his body; the finer his observation, the more precise his control over his physical form became.

It could be said that Daoist cultivation was an all-encompassing improvement, rather than one that highlighted only a single aspect.

Furthermore, as his cultivation progressed, the spiritual energy within him would increase significantly. This world did not rely solely on chakra; spiritual energy permeated the air at every moment, though ordinary people were simply unable to perceive it. Rather than calling it spiritual energy, Yu preferred a more scientific explanation: dark energy. It was just that talking about science in the Shinobi World felt a bit ridiculous.

Compared to chakra, which was a power that squeezed every ounce of potential from the body, spiritual energy might be slightly weaker in terms of raw offensive output, but it multiplied one's lifespan exponentially. Besides, this "weakness" was only relative.

As long as his understanding of Daoist arts improved, it remained to be seen who would be beating whom! However, compared to the "fast-track" methods of chakra, for an ordinary person to cultivate, Refining Essence into Qi alone would take over a decade, not to mention the three higher realms: Refining Qi into Spirit, Refining Spirit to Void, and Refining Void to Dao.

A single realm could span the history of the entire Shinobi World, but fortunately, he had a cheat! Every time he improved his cultivation technique, it drove his overall progress forward—a two-way boost.

Right now, the little girl beside him was constantly providing him with Gratitude Points. Just by sitting here for ten minutes, Yu's Gratitude Points had jumped by over fifty. He only needed twenty more days to reach the one thousand points required to upgrade his technique. She truly was a treasure of a girl.

Moreover, this was just from one person. Although Gratitude Points were harder to obtain than Malice Points, they had fewer uses! Uchiha Yu could afford to wait, provided he spent the Gratitude Points solely on upgrading his technique.

An upgrade in the technique's grade required three rounds of Gratitude Point enhancements to reach the next tier. The grades of a technique were Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow. That unscrupulous cultivation game from before had been designed to bottleneck players; after each realm, the technique would revert to its original lowest grade. This meant that now, after Uchiha Yu had upgraded the Azure Underworld Art to the Heaven grade and reached the Refining Qi into Spirit realm, he would have to re-level the newly upgraded Azure Underworld Art from the Yellow grade all over again. Once maxed out, his cultivation would reach the next realm, and the technique grade would reset once more. One had to admit, those unscrupulous merchants were truly skilled at harvesting leeks.

In reality, Yu calculated that he needed 12,000 Gratitude Points to go from Refining Essence into Qi to Refining Qi into Spirit. Given the nature of this damn system, the cost for each subsequent realm would be multiplied by ten, meaning 120,000 Gratitude Points would be needed to advance from Refining Qi into Spirit to Refining Spirit to Void. So, his "cheat" wasn't actually that overpowered.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent the last two years, starting from age four, just to get from the Mortal Realm to Refining Essence into Qi. He silently opened his panel.

Uchiha Yu

Realm: Refining Essence into Qi

Technique: Azure Underworld Art Black Grade +2

Arts: Five Elements Escape Technique

Fire Proficient Lightning Proficient Wind Ordinary Water Novice Earth Novice

Artifact Control Technique Proficient Basic Fist and Body Movement Proficient

Artifact Refining Technique Novice Alchemy Technique Novice Planting Technique Ordinary Formation Technique Ordinary

Gratitude Points: 250

Malice Points: 5000

Wish Power Points Collection Range: Konoha Please complete the exploration as soon as possible.

Yu felt a wave of melancholy as he looked at the technique section; the road ahead was long and arduous! However, when his eyes landed on the Malice Points, a hint of a smile appeared.

"Konoha really is a great place! I got four thousand Malice Points just from going to school, and I didn't expect to harvest another thousand on the way from home." This was exactly why Yu liked to wander around the village when he had nothing to do.

But when he saw that upgrading Fire Style proficiency to "Perfect" required one hundred thousand points, his face darkened instantly. Just how many annoying things would he have to do to raise a single escape technique to the transcendent level?

"Yu-kun, did something unhappy happen?" Izumi, sitting beside him, watched his eyes flicker between bright and dim, and couldn't help but ask with concern.

"No, Izumi, I was just thinking about something." Seeing the worry on her cute little face, Yu smiled gently.

"Yu-kun, if there's anything bothering you, you can tell me. We're friends, aren't we?" Izumi still looked uneasy.

Looking at her earnest expression, Yu shook his head helplessly. This girl was truly sensitive to emotions. He had indeed been a bit frustrated just now, but could he really explain the whole "cheat" situation?

Yu rolled his eyes and looked at Izumi tenderly. "Izumi, could you help me persuade Itachi to smile more later? He's so silent every day, he's like a little mute."

"Pfft, Yu-kun, you shouldn't talk about your younger brother like that. But don't worry, I'll definitely help. My mother says that if people smile more, they'll have good luck." Watching the little girl smile until her eyes crinkled, Yu couldn't resist reaching out to stroke her soft hair.

"It seems Izumi must be a girl favored by good luck. After all, you look so cute when you smile."

Izumi's face flushed red, and she lowered her head slightly, but she didn't pull away from his touch. "Yu, you aren't much older than us, so why do you always feel like an adult? You're so gentle."

Watching Izumi act like a well-behaved little kitten, Yu felt a sense of comfort. Whenever he saw Izumi trying to act like a mature big sister, he couldn't help but want to stroke her soft hair.

Only those who have been caught in the rain will go to great lengths to care for the emotions of others. Such people are rare in any world.

Just as they were interacting, Yu harvested another wave of Malice Points. He didn't need to guess who they were from. Looking at the jealous glares occasionally cast in their direction, Yu had to sigh once more: he had truly found a treasure of a girl.

It was at this moment that the classroom door was gently pushed open. A teacher wearing a Konoha flak jacket with a somewhat disheveled appearance walked in, casting a glance at the still-restless students.

"Ahem! Hello everyone, I am your future teacher, Nokai Ikkaku."

Hearing the teacher speak, the whispering in the classroom died down instantly. Yu reluctantly withdrew his hand from Izumi's soft hair; the girl was simply too well-behaved, making it hard for him to stop.

Shifting his gaze, Yu quietly sized up the new teacher.

Nokai Ikkaku didn't waste any time. He picked up a piece of chalk and quickly scribbled his name on the blackboard.

"Now, let's have everyone come up to the podium for a brief self-introduction. Your name, your hobbies, what you dislike, and what you want to do in the future!"

After speaking, Nokai Ikkaku stepped aside and let the students come up one by one.

"Yamanaka Sonoko, I like mountain flowers, I dislike bugs, and I want to be a happy gardener in the future."

"Harue Jinin, I like... I dislike... I want to..."

"Kawaebi Kinri, I like... I dislike... I want to..."

The students finished their introductions one by one. As expected of children, their thoughts were very simple. Some wanted to be Hokage, some wanted to earn lots of money, and some wanted to make lots and lots of delicious food. They covered almost all of humanity's most basic desires, as well as many impractical, whimsical fantasies.

Slowly approaching the area where Izumi and Yu were sitting, Izumi walked up to the podium, feeling somewhat embarrassed under the gazes of her many classmates.

"Hello everyone, my name is Uchiha Izumi. I like a peaceful life, I hate war, and in the future, I want to be a happy wife."

After finishing, Izumi trotted back to her desk with a flushed face, casting a shy glance at Yu, who was just preparing to stand up.

Yu nodded at Izumi with a smile, then walked to the podium with calm composure. He cast a faint, indifferent glance at the students in the classroom, who looked at him with varying expressions of admiration, coldness, or jealousy.

"Hello everyone, my name is Uchiha Yu. I like a life without constraints, I hate prejudices forced upon me, and in the future..."

As he said this, Yu unintentionally glanced at Nokai Ikkaku. Malice +100 in my mind. If I'm not mistaken, it must be this guy!

After all, the stronger a person was, the more intense their malice became.

"In the future, I want to see how high the sky is and how thick the earth is. I want to see the end of time, experience the myriad colors of the endless starry sky, and protect the things I cherish most."

When Yu's voice faded, the entire classroom fell into an absolute silence, while Nokai Ikkaku, standing to the side, had his expression tighten slightly, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.

Yu paid no mind to what the others were thinking. He gave a slight bow and stepped down from the podium. He wasn't speaking empty words; once he surpassed the many realms, shed his mortal coil, and achieved the supreme path of the Immortal, everything he had just said would be nothing more than a matter of course.

Yet, on this path, he did not want to lose everything he currently held dear.

One must cultivate to become an Immortal, but one must also protect their home; the two were not in conflict.