Nine Yang Divine Skill

After Mito Uzumaki left, Qingyun replenished some of his depleted internal force, then hurried toward the Ninja Academy. On the way, he met Iruka Umino, Minato Namikaze, and Kushina.

"Big brother, are you all right? Where's the person who abducted Kushina?"

The sight of Qingyun covered in blood startled Minato Namikaze, and he hurriedly asked.

Qingyun paused at his words and glanced at Kushina. Seeing her lower her head in embarrassment, he shook his head helplessly. "Teacher Iruka, Kushina's family was just playing a prank on us. Everything's fine now."

Iruka gave Qingyun a long look. He could not claim to know much about Kushina's identity, but Lord Hokage seemed to attach great importance to her.

When news of Kushina's disappearance reached Hiruzen Sarutobi earlier that day, his expression had changed drastically. Konoha had gone into full lockdown, and ANBU could be seen throughout the village.

That alone showed how much Kushina mattered to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Now that Kushina had returned safely, Iruka was in no position to say anything more. He took the three of them back to the Ninja Academy.

After returning to the Ninja Academy, Qingyun ignored his classmates' stares and calmly sat down in his seat.

Today was the end-of-term examination, with theory in the morning and practical combat in the afternoon.

Although they had lost some time, Iruka did not abandon his original plan.

After handing out the exam papers, Iruka sat at the teacher's desk, occasionally glancing at Qingyun, whose pen flew across the page.

Everything about today was strange. Kushina's abduction and Qingyun's return covered in blood both hinted at something unusual. But Qingyun did not want to talk, so Iruka could hardly press him. Given Kushina's identity, he did not dare investigate too deeply either, lest he stumble upon secrets he had no business knowing and bring serious trouble upon himself.

Unaware of Iruka's wandering thoughts, Qingyun looked over the paper and began answering the questions rapidly.

Qingyun had long since memorized all this theory, so he raced through the paper. He finished in less than ten minutes and smiled at the sight of Kushina scratching her head in frustration.

Kushina usually spent her time memorizing knowledge of Sealing Jutsu and was not particularly familiar with the Ninja Academy's theory lessons. As a result, her theory scores were always at the bottom whenever they had a test.

Seeing Kushina look at him pleadingly, Qingyun smiled and shifted his paper a little closer to her.

Kushina's face lit up, and her eyes fixed on Qingyun's paper.

"Ahem."

Noticing Qingyun and Kushina's little maneuver, Iruka gave a helpless cough.

Could you two at least be less blatant about cheating? Where does that leave me, your homeroom teacher?

Iruka's cough startled Kushina. Like a frightened rabbit, she ducked her head and stole furtive glances at him.

Her reaction amused Qingyun. After a moment's thought, he decided he ought to let Iruka save some face.

He pulled his paper back, stood up, and walked over to Iruka. "Teacher Iruka, I'm finished. May I go outside?"

Iruka took Qingyun's paper and nodded, then began checking his answers.

Although he had seen this many times before, Iruka was still amazed. Qingyun was not the most diligent student, yet he came first every time. Iruka could not help envying such talent.

After leaving the classroom, Qingyun found a patch of grass and lay down, staring blankly at the white clouds overhead.

Today, he had encountered a truly powerful Ninja for the first time, and Mito Uzumaki had not even been serious. If she had taken the fight seriously, he probably could not have withstood a single move from her.

Excitement began to stir within Qingyun. He had been in this world for quite some time, but he did not know whether it was because of his Uchiha bloodline or simply his own nature.

He was growing more eager to fight. Facing powerful opponents did not frighten him; instead, it set his blood boiling.

At that moment, he even felt an urge to graduate early and join the battlefield to fight the empire's ninja.

Forcing those thoughts down, Qingyun murmured to himself, "There's no rush. I'm still young, and I have plenty of room to grow. The battlefield might be a place to improve my strength rapidly, but it's also incredibly dangerous. I have to be prepared."

Qingyun emptied his mind and slowly closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep without realizing it.

Only when Minato Namikaze and Kushina came to call him did Qingyun get up, still bleary-eyed.

"Qingyun, thank you!"

Kushina looked at Qingyun with heartfelt gratitude as she thanked him.

Qingyun smiled. "No need to thank me. We're friends, aren't we?"

Kushina nodded firmly and said nothing more. Yet there was something different in the way she looked at Qingyun, something even she did not recognize.

During the practical combat examination that afternoon, Qingyun unsurprisingly took first place with overwhelming strength. Minato Namikaze came second, Kushina third, and Uchiha Yungang fourth.

The rankings seemed set in stone, turning out the same every time.

Once the examinations were over, Qingyun took Minato Namikaze and Kushina to share a meal in the Forest of Death. It was late at night before he and Minato Namikaze escorted Kushina home.

Early the next morning, Qingyun brought himself into peak condition, repeatedly going over the circulation route of the Nine Yang Divine Skill in his mind.

After familiarizing himself with it several times, Qingyun sat cross-legged and began circulating his internal force along the route prescribed by the Nine Yang Divine Skill.

"Let him be strong; the gentle breeze caresses the mountain ridge. Let him be overbearing; the bright moon shines upon the great river. Let him be ruthless and wicked; my true qi remains full..."

As Qingyun mobilized his Internal Force to practice the Nine Yang Divine Skill, its guiding verses surfaced unbidden in his mind.

Gradually, after Qingyun completed twelve full circulation cycles, the Primordial Internal Force within him transformed into red Nine Yang Internal Force. All his Internal Force seemed to have undergone another round of tempering. Although its quantity had decreased, its quality had doubled.

The red Nine Yang Internal Force circulated continuously through Qingyun's body, filling him with a sense of comfort.

Looking inward, Qingyun examined the Twelve Main Meridians within him, half of which had already been opened. His gaze flickered, then hardened with resolve as he drove his Internal Force toward the Hand Taiyin Heart Meridian.

Boom!

An explosion rang out within Qingyun's body. He shuddered violently, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. This meridian was far tougher than he had imagined.

Qingyun frowned in thought for a while, then gathered his internal force into an arrowhead and used it like an electric drill, boring relentlessly into the meridian.

After an unknown amount of time, Qingyun's face was flushed and drenched in sweat. Nearly half his Nine Yang Internal Force had been consumed, yet the Meridians' final barrier remained unbroken.

Just as Qingyun was about to give up, a sharp pop sounded inside his body. Delighted, he increased the flow of internal force and finally broke through the meridian completely.

As the meridian opened, a gale seemed to sweep through the world. Countless streams of Natural Spiritual Energy surged into Qingyun's body. As always, his Sharingan joined the feast, absorbing the Natural Spiritual Energy alongside his cells and Internal Force.

The two tomoe spun rapidly, forming a circle. Gradually, a faint outline of a third tomoe appeared. But just then, the Natural Spiritual Energy ran short, and the phantom third tomoe slowly faded away.

After refining all the Natural Spiritual Energy that had entered his body, Qingyun slowly opened his eyes and touched them. He felt that he could now see more clearly with his Sharingan activated than before.

Qingyun knew that his Sharingan had improved further. He was not far from attaining the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

After checking his Sharingan's condition, Qingyun deactivated it and turned his attention inward. His Internal Force, which had diminished after its conversion into Nine Yang Internal Force, had now returned to its previous quantity—and even exceeded it slightly.

Not only that, but every cell in Qingyun's body seemed to be cheering. Having absorbed a large amount of Natural Spiritual Energy, he felt as though he were floating on air.

"If I keep absorbing it like this, won't I become Tang Sanzang someday? Could someone gain a huge boost in strength just by eating a bite of my flesh?"

A chill ran through Qingyun. He quickly banished the absurd thought, rose to his feet, and began practicing the Lingbo Micro-Step.