Cultivation

Qingyun watched as his Sharingan sucked in the Internal Force that had been raging inside him, then released purified Internal Force. He also felt as though his Sharingan had improved slightly, though he did not know whether he was imagining it.

Baffled, he tried to ask the system about it, but it ignored him no matter how long he asked. Helpless, Qingyun could only put the matter aside and concentrate on absorbing the Internal Force.

Time slowly passed. Minato Namikaze guarded Qingyun with an exhausted look, occasionally glancing at the door. When he heard no movement inside, he began to seriously suspect that Qingyun was messing with him and had fallen asleep in the Wooden House.

Just as Minato Namikaze was about to give in and push the door open to check, a sudden gust swept past the Wooden House, and a stream of natural energy invisible to the naked eye poured into Qingyun's Baihui acupoint.

Minato Namikaze could not help pushing open the door. Inside, he saw Qingyun sitting cross-legged, his scarlet Sharingan wide open and excitement written all over his face.

After refining the purified Internal Force, Qingyun's reserves surged. He eagerly followed the Primordial Chaos Technique to begin forcing open his meridians.

He turned his Internal Force into a torrent, repeatedly driving it against the Taiyin Lung Meridian in his right hand.

The instant the meridian opened, a stream of natural energy poured into him. Qingyun's Sharingan activated on its own again, greedily absorbing it.

The sight of Qingyun's scarlet eyes startled Minato Namikaze into stumbling back several steps.

Then he gathered his courage and checked Qingyun's condition. Only after confirming that Qingyun was unhurt did he relax, sit on the floor, and watch his every movement.

Could this be the Uchiha clan's Sharingan? But isn't it supposed to be incredibly difficult for the Uchiha to awaken it? Big brother is only six, and he's already awakened his Sharingan. He's a real genius!

Qingyun knew Minato Namikaze had entered, but he had no attention to spare for him. There was too much natural energy for the Sharingan to absorb on its own.

So Qingyun kept circulating the Primordial Chaos Technique, working with his Sharingan to absorb the Natural Energy.

As the Natural Energy poured in, the originally transparent Internal Force inside Qingyun took on traces of a lustrous, translucent milky Haku. It was beautiful, like the finest mutton-fat jade.

After an unknown stretch of time, Qingyun finished absorbing the Natural Energy that had entered his body. He rose to his feet, deactivated his Sharingan, and approached Minato Namikaze. "Minato, you mustn't tell anyone that I've awakened my Sharingan. Understand?"

"Don't worry, big brother! I understand."

Minato Namikaze gave his assurance with a solemn expression.

Seeing that Minato Namikaze agreed, Qingyun smiled, then went outside the Wooden House and channeled his Internal Force to perform Tai Chi Fist.

At once, a faint taiji-and-eight-trigrams diagram appeared around Qingyun. Fallen leaves on the ground stirred without any wind, rising with his movements and circling his body.

They soon gathered into a sphere. Qingyun flicked both hands, and the ball shot toward a Great Tree.

Bang!

With a dull thud, the Great Tree shuddered, shaking loose a shower of leaves.

Qingyun was puzzled at first, but then he examined himself internally and discovered that his Sharingan had absorbed most of the Natural Energy. The cells throughout his body had absorbed a smaller portion, while only a tiny fraction had merged with his Internal Force.

That was why Qingyun's strength had not increased dramatically despite absorbing Natural Energy.

After checking his physical condition, Qingyun fell into thought.

The cells throughout my body have all absorbed Natural Energy. If this continues, could I awaken a sage body?

Qingyun did not know whether a sage body had any connection to Natural Energy. However, after absorbing Natural Energy and Internal Force, his Sharingan seemed to have become more complete, reducing the burden it placed on his body.

Moreover, his cells had become more active after absorbing natural energy. His physical capabilities were now more than twice what they had been before.

"Big brother, have you extracted Chakra?"

Seeing how much stronger Qingyun had become, Minato Namikaze asked curiously.

Minato Namikaze did not have a Chakra extraction technique. He was only a commoner, and his parents had been ordinary Ninja who had died before they could teach him.

Thus, Minato Namikaze looked at Qingyun with envy, unable to hide the longing in his eyes.

Qingyun stroked his chin as he looked at Minato Namikaze. After some consideration, he decided to teach him the formula for the Primordial Chaos Technique. It would also give him a chance to test an idea.

"Minato, remember the formula I'm about to recite. Over the next few days, try to open your Dantian and sense your qi."

Without waiting for Minato Namikaze to answer, he slowly recited the formula.

Minato Namikaze listened carefully. After hearing it three times, he had memorized everything. Then he sat cross-legged, ready to sense his qi and open his Dantian.

Minato Namikaze was extremely bright. He quickly opened his Dantian, then began trying to sense his qi.

This step took Minato Namikaze two days. On the morning of the third day, he successfully sensed his qi, then guided it along the circulation route of the Primordial Chaos Technique and gathered it in his Dantian.

Once Qingyun saw that Minato Namikaze had cultivated Internal Force, he warned him sternly, "Minato, keep your Chakra dispersed through the meridians throughout your body. You mustn't store it in your Dantian. Understand?"

The Chakra these Ninja extracted using their Chakra extraction techniques was scattered throughout their Meridians. They had no Dantian. If outsiders learned of this roundabout method of cultivation, it would bring endless trouble.

At that moment, Qingyun somewhat regretted befriending Minato Namikaze. But Minato Namikaze treated him sincerely, and he could not bear to shut him out. What was done was done; he could hardly kill Minato Namikaze outright!

All he could do now was warn Minato Namikaze sternly.

"I understand, big brother."

Although Minato Namikaze was young, he knew how much trouble this unusual cultivation method would bring Qingyun if word got out.

Still uneasy, Qingyun added, "You can't even tell Lord Hokage. We can only make it public once we're strong enough to protect ourselves."

Qingyun had always maintained a measure of wariness toward the Third Hokage. He did not know what the Third Hokage truly thought. In his previous life, there had been far too many conspiracy theories online claiming that the Third Hokage was cunning and had done countless shady things behind the scenes.

Of course, some people had also said the Third Hokage was a good man. Qingyun had never interacted with him and did not know the Third Hokage's temperament. But as someone in power, the leader of a faction, he would surely seize anything that could increase his strength by whatever means necessary. He might even kill everyone who knew about it to keep the secret from leaking.

This had nothing to do with his personal character.

Minato Namikaze paused in surprise, but seeing Qingyun's solemn expression, he agreed!

With Minato Namikaze's agreement, Qingyun felt slightly reassured. Minato Namikaze was not two-faced. Unless Qingyun crossed his bottom line, such as by killing indiscriminately or causing serious harm to Konoha, Minato Namikaze would never betray him.

After that, the two practiced Tai Chi Fist together during the day and accumulated Internal Force at night. Before long, the first day of school arrived.

Qingyun got up early, prepared two lunchboxes, and headed to the Ninja Academy with Minato Namikaze.

He asked Minato Namikaze once more whether he had dispersed his Internal Force through his meridians. Only after receiving an affirmative answer did Qingyun relax.

After all, Konoha had an entire clan of peeping toms. The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan could see the chakra inside a person's Human Body.

Ninja stored their Chakra in their meridians. If someone discovered that the two of them stored it differently, it could spark curiosity and lead others to uncover their secret.

He and Minato Namikaze were still young and lacked strength. They had no ability to safeguard their secret, so they could only use this method to prevent anyone from discovering it.

After they arrived at the Ninja Academy, Iruka Umino led them to its central square.

Today was the first day of the Ninja Academy's term. Dressed in his Hokage robes, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared on the raised platform in a flash.

The students cheered excitedly, shouting, "Third Hokage! Third Hokage!"

Even Minato Namikaze was no exception. He grabbed Qingyun's hand and waved it over and over.

Qingyun looked helplessly at Minato Namikaze and thought, Whatever else he might be, this Hokage is pretty good at brainwashing people. If he traveled to the modern world, he'd definitely be running a pyramid scheme.

To avoid looking out of place, Qingyun could only pretend to be excited, opening and closing his mouth without actually making a sound.

"Where leaves dance, fire burns unceasingly. The fire's light will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi pressed his hands downward, waited for everyone to quiet down, and launched into his famous brainwashing speech.

Listening made Qingyun drowsy. He stared blankly ahead, swaying as though he might fall asleep at any moment.

Only when the sun was high in the sky did Hiruzen Sarutobi finally stop speaking, still reluctant to finish.

The moment they were dismissed, Qingyun sprang back to life. Grabbing Minato Namikaze, he hurried eagerly to the classroom.