Self-Introduction

Hane was not too worried about that. As his spiritual strength improved, he discovered that his observation of his surroundings was no worse than the One-Tomoe Sharingan. Moreover, this observation was synchronized with his body—the finer his observations, the more precise his control over his body became.

It could be said that Daoist cultivation techniques provided all-around improvement rather than emphasizing any single aspect.

And as his cultivation technique improved, the spiritual energy within him would increase greatly. Chakra was not the only power in this world. Spiritual energy filled the air of this world at every moment; ordinary people simply could not perceive it. Rather than calling it spiritual energy, Hane preferred a more scientific explanation: dark energy. Of course, talking about science in the Naruto World was a little ridiculous.

Compared with chakra, a power that drained the body in every aspect, spiritual energy might be somewhat weaker offensively, but it multiplied one's lifespan. Besides, that weakness was only relative.

As long as his understanding of Dao Arts improved, it was still unclear who would crush whom! But compared to chakra's rapid advancement, for an ordinary person to cultivate, Refining Essence into Qi alone would take more than a decade, let alone the three greater realms beyond it: Refining Qi into Spirit, Refining Spirit into Void, and Refining Void into Dao.

If things went poorly, a single realm could span an entire era of Ninja World history. But he had a cheat! Every time he improved a cultivation technique, it also advanced his cultivation progress. It was a two-way improvement.

And now, the little girl beside him was constantly increasing his Gratitude Points. Just sitting here for a little over ten minutes, Hane's Gratitude Points had risen by more than fifty. He only needed twenty more days to gather the thousand Gratitude Points needed to improve his cultivation technique. She truly was a treasure of a girl.

And that was Gratitude Points from just one person. Although Gratitude Points were harder to obtain than Malice Points, they had fewer uses! If he used them solely to improve his cultivation techniques, Uchiha Hane could afford to wait.

A cultivation technique needed three Gratitude Point upgrades to advance to the next grade. The grades of a cultivation technique were Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Back then, that unscrupulous cultivation game had reset techniques to the lowest grade after every realm in order to lock players' levels. In other words, after Uchiha Hane advanced the Azure Nether Art to Heaven Grade, he had reached Refining Qi into Spirit.

Hane would then have to raise the Azure Nether Art of his newly advanced Refining Qi into Spirit realm from Yellow Rank all over again. Once it was fully upgraded, his cultivation would reach the next realm, and the cultivation technique grade would reset again. Those unscrupulous merchants really knew how to fleece people.

By the actual calculations, Hane needed twelve thousand Gratitude Points to go from Refining Essence into Qi to Refining Qi into Spirit. And given that damned system's nature, the next realm would multiply the cost of each cultivation technique upgrade by ten. He would need one hundred and two thousand Gratitude Points to go from Refining Qi into Spirit to Refining Spirit into Void. So his cheat was not all that overpowered.

Otherwise, after two years, starting from the age of four, he would not have only gone from the Mortal Realm to Refining Essence into Qi. He silently opened his status panel.

Uchiha Hane

Realm: "Refining Essence into Qi"

Cultivation Technique: "Azure Nether Art" Profound Rank +2

Dao Arts: "Five Elements Ninjutsu"

Fire: "Mastery" Lightning: "Mastery" Wind: "Ordinary" Water: "Beginner" Earth: "Beginner"

"Artifact Manipulation Art" Mastery "Basic Fist, Body, and Movement Technique" Mastery

"Artifact Refinement" Beginner "Alchemy" Beginner "Planting Art" Ordinary "Formation Art" Ordinary

Gratitude Points: 250

Malice Points: 5000

Wish Power collection range: "Konoha." Player, please complete the pioneering task as soon as possible.

Looking at the cultivation technique section, Hane immediately felt a little melancholy. The road ahead was long! But when he saw the Malice Points, a faint smile appeared in his eyes.

"Konoha really is a wonderful place! I got four thousand Malice Points just by coming out to attend school. I didn't expect to gain another thousand Malice Points on the way from home to school." That was also why Hane liked wandering around the village whenever he had nothing to do.

But when he saw that raising Fire Release mastery to perfection required one hundred thousand points, Hane's face instantly darkened. How many irritating things would he have to do to raise a ninjutsu to the extraordinary level?

"Hane, did something unpleasant happen?" Izumi, sitting beside him, watched his eyes brighten and darken by turns and asked worriedly.

"No, Izumi. I was just thinking about something." Seeing the concern on Izumi's adorable little face, Hane smiled faintly.

"Hane, if something is upsetting you, you can tell me. We're friends, aren't we?" Izumi still asked uneasily.

Seeing Izumi's serious expression, Hane helplessly shook his head. This girl really was sensitive to emotions. He had indeed felt a little depressed just now, but could he say anything about his cheat?

Hane's eyes shifted as he looked gently at Izumi. "Izumi, then later, help me persuade Itachi to smile more. He's silent all day long, like a stuffy gourd."

"Pfft. Hane, who talks about their little brother like that? But don't worry, I'll definitely help. Mother said that people who smile more will have good luck." Looking at the little girl smiling with her eyes narrowed, Hane could not help reaching out to stroke Izumi's soft, smooth hair.

"Then Izumi must be a girl blessed by good luck. After all, you're so cute when you smile."

Izumi's little face reddened, and she lowered her head slightly, but she did not resist Hane's touch. "Hane, you're not much older than me. Why do you always feel like an adult? You're so gentle."

Seeing Izumi as obedient as a well-behaved kitten, Hane felt warm inside. Izumi usually tried to act like a considerate older sister, which only made Hane want to touch the girl's soft hair even more.

Only those who had been caught in the rain would go to such lengths to care for others' feelings. People like that were rare in any world.

As the two interacted, Hane received another wave of Malice Points. Without needing to ask, he knew where they came from. Looking at the jealous gazes occasionally cast in his direction, Hane could not help sighing again that he had found a treasure of a girl.

At that moment, the classroom door was gently pushed open. A teacher wearing Konoha ninja attire, with somewhat rough features, walked in and lightly swept his gaze over the still-restless students.

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

At the teacher's words, the whispers in the classroom instantly fell silent. Hane reluctantly withdrew his little hand from Izumi's soft hair. The girl was simply too obedient, making him unable to put her down for a moment.

Turning his gaze, Hane quietly examined the new teacher.

Nomi Ikkaku did not waste any words. He picked up a piece of chalk and swiftly wrote his name on the blackboard.

"Next, please come up one by one and give a brief self-introduction! Your name, hobbies, things you dislike, and what you want to do in the future!"

After speaking, Nomi Ikkaku stepped away from the podium and had the students come up one after another to introduce themselves.

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

"Harukami Shujin. I like... dislike... In the future..."

"Hexia Jinli. I like... dislike... In the future, I want to..."

The students quickly finished their introductions. As expected of children, their thoughts were simple and pure. Some wanted to become Hokage, some wanted to earn lots of money, and some wanted to make lots and lots of delicious food. They practically covered humanity's most basic desires, along with many impractical, wildly imaginative fantasies.

Gradually, it came to Izumi and Hane. Under the gazes of all the students, Izumi shyly walked up to the podium.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Izumi Uchiha. I like peaceful lives, dislike war, and want to become a happy wife in the future."

After saying that, Izumi ran back to her desk with a slightly red face. Before sitting down, she shyly glanced at Hane, who was preparing to stand.

Hane smiled and nodded at Izumi, then calmly walked up to the podium. He swept a faint glance over the classmates in the room, whose looks ranged from fondness to indifference to jealousy.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Uchiha Hane. I like an unfettered life and dislike prejudice forced upon me. In the future..."

As he said that, Hane inadvertently glanced at Nomi Ikkaku. An additional one hundred Malice Points appeared in his mind. If he was not mistaken, it was this guy.

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

"In the future, I want to see how high the heavens are and how thick the earth is. I want to see the end of time, witness all the colors of the endless starry sky, and protect what I most want to protect."

When Hane's words fell, the entire classroom sank into absolute silence. Nomi Ikkaku's expression tightened slightly, and his eyes flickered uncertainly.

Hane did not care what everyone thought. He gave a slight bow and walked down from the podium. He had not been boasting. When he surpassed countless realms, shed his mortal body, and attained the supreme Grand Dao of an immortal...

By then, everything he had spoken of would be nothing more than ordinary. But on that road, he did not want to lose everything he cherished now.

He would cultivate immortality, and he would protect his home. The two did not conflict.