Nawaki

The Lingbo Micro-Step was a top-tier movement technique from the great Jin Yong's martial arts novels. It followed the positions of the Bagua Trigrams in a specific sequence from the I Ching, tracing a complete circle from the first step to the last.

This movement technique was extraordinarily intricate, allowing its practitioner to evade attacks from numerous enemies. Moreover, every step of the Lingbo Micro-Step was closely linked to internal force; it was far more than simply walking. Anyone without a foundation in internal cultivation who forced themselves to perform it risked severing their own meridians.

Regular practice of the Lingbo Micro-Step also gradually increased the practitioner's power.

In other words, once Qingyun mastered the Lingbo Micro-Step, he would be able to handle close-range attacks from multiple enemies with ease.

Qingyun walked through the starting positions of the I Ching's eight trigrams while recalling the effects of the Lingbo Micro-Step.

At first, his unfamiliarity with the technique caused him to repeatedly strain muscles throughout his body.

After practicing for a while, Qingyun stopped to heal his strained muscles and consider the key to cultivating the Lingbo Micro-Step.

After some thought, Qingyun marked the footwork positions on the ground, then carefully circulated his internal force as he slowly followed the sequence.

Gradually, Qingyun moved faster and faster, leaving trails of afterimages within that tiny space.

The more Qingyun practiced the Lingbo Micro-Step, the more delighted he became. It truly deserved its place among the finest movement techniques in Jin Yong's martial arts novels. Even after moving at top speed for several hours, he showed no sign of fatigue.

Qingyun grew increasingly excited as he moved. He drew the Azure Edge Sword and swung it while performing the Lingbo Micro-Step. Flashes of sword light flickered around him, and with the enhancement of his internal force, sword energy swept outward, slicing his surroundings into a wreck.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Suddenly, an attack came from behind Qingyun. His eyes narrowed, and his feet slid aside. A ball of water tore through his afterimage before blasting a deep crater into the ground.

After evading the attack, Qingyun took several quick steps and appeared behind his attacker in an instant. Resting the Azure Edge Sword against the newcomer's neck, he asked impassively, "Who are you?"

The newcomer was startled to see Qingyun not only evade his attack in time but also appear behind him so quickly. Feeling the chill against his neck, he stammered, "I-I'm Nawaki. S-sorry!"

Qingyun froze at that. Nawaki? Wasn't he Tsunade's younger brother? What was he doing here?

If Qingyun remembered correctly, Nawaki was two years ahead of him. He should still have been attending the Ninja Academy and would not graduate until next year!

Qingyun moved the Azure Edge Sword away from Nawaki's neck and sheathed it, then stepped in front of him. Looking curiously at the boy, who stood two heads taller than him and had broken out in a cold sweat, he asked, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in class right now?"

Once the sword at his neck was gone, Nawaki let out a long breath. When Qingyun had rested the Azure Edge Sword against his neck, he had truly thought he was done for. Fortunately, he had identified himself in time. Otherwise, dying in such a miserable way would have left him unable to rest in peace.

Seeing Nawaki ignore him, lost in his own world, Qingyun frowned and repeated his question.

Snapped out of his thoughts by Qingyun, Nawaki scratched the back of his head and gave a goofy grin much like Minato Namikaze's. "My sister was always telling me how incredibly talented you were, and how mature you were, too. Back then, I wasn't convinced.

"Later, Kushina kept talking about you at home, too. I wanted to spar with you, but I never had the chance. Yesterday, Grandmother started mentioning you as well, which made me even more curious. So today, after finding out where you were from Kushina, I came here to spar with you."

Qingyun gave the reckless-looking Nawaki an impassive glance and thought, No wonder he was blown up by Explosive Tags in the original story. With a personality like that, he'd be hard-pressed to survive on a battlefield. Unless he had plot armor like Naruto, there was no way he could keep escaping death like an unkillable cockroach.

"Don't be so reckless next time. If you want to spar with someone, ask them first. With a sneak attack like that, if you hadn't identified yourself in time, you'd already be lying on the ground as a cold corpse."

Qingyun spoke to Nawaki in an indifferent tone.

Nawaki looked embarrassed, then seemed to remember something. He looked at Qingyun excitedly. "Qingyun, that footwork you used was so pretty!"

Qingyun stared at Nawaki in exasperation. Did he even know how to talk? How could he describe the Lingbo Micro-Step with a word as tacky as "pretty"?

It was graceful, all right?

"It's all right. It doesn't compare to the Body Flicker Technique."

Qingyun kept grumbling inwardly while giving Nawaki a perfunctory answer.

Still, Qingyun had not been wrong. Experts in the Body Flicker Technique could use it to move not only faster but also with greater agility.

When combined with genjutsu, it became even more powerful.

But that did not mean the Lingbo Micro-Step was inferior. Each simply had its own advantages.

Nawaki seemed oblivious to Qingyun's indifference and kept chattering beside him about how strong he was. Qingyun was utterly exasperated. He liked peace and quiet, and this noisy fellow was giving him a headache. He hurriedly interrupted Nawaki's one-sided conversation. "What exactly do you want? If it's a spar, you already lost."

Nawaki covered his mouth with both hands. He had suddenly remembered what Kushina had told him: Qingyun liked quiet.

Qingyun looked helplessly at the goofy Nawaki. A moment ago, he had been chattering nonstop. Now that Qingyun wanted him to explain why he was still here, he was covering his mouth. What was that supposed to mean?

"I'm asking whether you need anything else. If not, I'm going to start training, so please leave."

Left with no choice, Qingyun asked again.

Only then did Nawaki lower his hands from his mouth. "Well, you're really strong. I think you're even stronger than that arrogant jerk in our class.

"At least when he doesn't activate his Sharingan, I can still fight him to a standstill."

Qingyun paused. There was an Uchiha prodigy in Nawaki's class who had already awakened his Sharingan?

Although Qingyun was curious, he did not ask, lest Nawaki launch into another barrage of noise.

Looking at Nawaki's expectant face, Qingyun considered for a moment before asking, "Don't you have to go to school?"

"I can ask for leave!" Hearing Qingyun's tone soften, Nawaki hurriedly replied with excitement written all over his face.

After hearing Nawaki's reply, Qingyun gave it some thought. Tsunade had treated him very well, and since Nawaki was her younger brother, perhaps he could take advantage of the time before Nawaki graduated to teach him properly, so he would not die such a miserable death as he had in the original story.

"All right. Go ask for leave, then come back!"

After saying that indifferently to Nawaki, Qingyun turned and returned to his usual meditation spot. He circulated the Nine Yang Divine Skill to replenish his depleted internal force while practicing the speed of his hand seals.

Seeing how diligently Qingyun trained, Nawaki gave him an admiring look, then darted off toward the Ninja Academy. He needed to request leave quickly so he could train properly with Qingyun.

Unaware of Nawaki's thoughts, Qingyun continued his diligent training.

Suddenly, as Qingyun practiced his hand seal speed, he frowned and thought, What was going on today? Why were so many people coming here?

Qingyun stopped training and stood up, looking at the newcomer.

"Little Qingyun, you really are here! Thank goodness! Hurry, come with me!"

The newcomer spoke with delighted surprise upon spotting Qingyun.

"What's wrong, Yasuko? Has something happened?"

The newcomer was Yasuko, the nurse Qingyun had met on his first visit to the Ninja Hospital.

Yasuko looked at Qingyun anxiously. "A ninja was seriously injured on a mission. Most of the hospital's medical ninja have been sent to the front lines, so all we can do now is see whether you can save him."

Qingyun's gaze sharpened. Although most of the Ninja Hospital's medical ninja had been sent to the front lines, a medical Chunin still remained. If even he could not treat the patient, could Qingyun really manage it?

Ding! Time-limited mission: treat the wounded. Mission completion reward: one Blood Bodhi.

Ignoring the system notification in his head, Qingyun looked at the anxious Yasuko. "Yasuko, I'll go ahead. Follow after me."

With that, he used the Lingbo Micro-Step and raced toward the Ninja Hospital.

Before long, Qingyun arrived at the Ninja Hospital. After asking where the critically injured patient was, he headed toward the ward.