The first gate: Gate of Life

"Opening the Eight Gates damages your body. Watch closely. I'll only demonstrate this once today."

Bai Mengyao gave him fair warning.

With her current strength, opening the Eight Gates three times a day would be no problem.

But then she would have no stamina left for her daily training.

As Might Guy's inheritor, she had always been disciplined.

If she went a day without her daily training, she felt as though ants were crawling all over her.

"No problem. I'll study you inside and out."

"I won't miss a single change in your body."

Luo Yu thumped his chest in assurance.

Although something about his words felt off, Bai Mengyao still nodded.

"Good. First, let me explain how the Eight Gates work."

She paused, then said solemnly, "The human body has eight vital gates that restrict its chakra."

"These gates act as a safety mechanism, constantly protecting the body from damage caused by its own chakra."

"Under normal circumstances, removing these safeguards won't cause much actual harm, and it allows your physical capabilities to reach their true limits."

"But the more gates you open, the greater the risk and the more severely your body suffers."

"And discovering exactly how much your body can withstand requires extensive training."

"So even if you really do learn the Eight Gates, remember to use them with caution."

Luo Yu understood immediately.

Wasn't this just like overclocking a CPU?

Pushing the body's capabilities to their limits inevitably came with risks.

"First is the first gate, the Gate of Opening."

"The Gate of Opening represents the restrictions within the brain."

"Removing its restrictions consumes stamina beyond your normal capacity. Without specialized training, you simply can't handle it, but your strength and speed will increase significantly."

As she finished speaking, Bai Mengyao controlled the flow of chakra within her body, releasing the restrictions in her brain.

Her pretty face tensed, faint veins beginning to show.

"Eight Gates, first gate, Gate of Opening!"

Luo Yu's Sharingan captured not only Bai Mengyao's strained expression, but also the flow of chakra within her brain.

It couldn't see her chakra pathways as clearly as the Byakugan could.

But the Sharingan's ability to perceive chakra was still not to be underestimated.

[Through meticulous observation, the Sharingan has recorded the execution of the Eight Gates!]

[Congratulations, host! You have learned Lv. 0 Eight Gates!]

When the system notification arrived, Luo Yu didn't distract himself by checking it. Instead, he continued intently observing Bai Mengyao's shapely curves.

Of course, his main focus was the chakra flowing within her body!

"Third gate, Gate of Life! Open!"

Bai Mengyao gritted her teeth and roared.

Instantly, a tremendous surge of green energy erupted around her.

Then she became a blur, appearing behind the dummy.

[Congratulations, host! You have learned Lv. 0 Shadow Leaf Dance!]

Next, Bai Mengyao kicked the dummy high into the air and leaped up after it.

Moving at supersonic speeds almost impossible to follow with the naked eye, she unleashed an endless barrage of attacks on the dummy.

Her incredible speed even allowed her to remain aloft, attacking the dummy from every angle.

In the process, she tightly bound the dummy with bandages she had produced from somewhere.

At the same time, she tugged on the bandages, pulling the dummy toward her.

The next instant, using her momentum in midair, Bai Mengyao threw a serious punch from above, striking the approaching dummy with all her strength.

Then she and the dummy slammed heavily into the ground.

The tremendous impact shattered a large stretch of the sturdy floor, shaking the entire area around the sparring arena.

Luo Yu gazed at the honeycomb of cracks across the floor with a pained expression.

[Congratulations, host! You have learned Lv. 0 Lotus Technique!]

[Shadow Leaf Dance has been incorporated into the Lotus Technique as its prerequisite taijutsu!]

It made sense for Shadow Leaf Dance to be part of the Lotus Technique.

But what the hell was the Lotus Technique? Hadn't Bai Mengyao just used Reverse Lotus?

Puzzled, Luo Yu opened the new ninjutsu's panel.

Taijutsu: Eight Gates Lv. 0

Effect: Removes the body's restrictions on chakra, briefly drawing upon its latent potential to obtain power at its absolute limit. Current proficiency allows the first gate to be opened.

[Upgrade requirement: Rock Lee's inheritance 0/1]

Upgrading the Eight Gates required ten fragments of Rock Lee's inheritance, while Luo Yu currently had only four.

He could only turn his attention to the other new ninjutsu.

Taijutsu: Lotus Technique Lv. 0

Effect: Opens the first of the Eight Gates, the Gate of Opening, and uses Shadow Leaf Dance as the opening move to execute the special taijutsu, Front Lotus.

Note: Opening the third gate, the Gate of Life, allows the user to execute this taijutsu's next form-Reverse Lotus.

[Upgrade requirement: Book of Ninja 0/1 or Rock Lee's inheritance fragment 0/1]

After reading the description, Luo Yu finally understood that Front Lotus and Reverse Lotus had been bundled together.

No wonder he had learned a taijutsu called the Lotus Technique despite observing Reverse Lotus.

Perhaps opening higher gates would even let him use its more powerful subsequent forms, True Reverse Lotus and Ultimate Reverse Lotus.

With that thought, Luo Yu immediately spent one fragment of Rock Lee's inheritance.

[Lotus Technique level +1!]

The system notification sounded, and scattered pieces of taijutsu knowledge flooded Luo Yu's mind.

He instantly felt that he knew Front Lotus's techniques inside and out.

Not only that, but Shadow Leaf Dance-the supporting taijutsu that let him flash behind an enemy-also became part of Luo Yu's memories.

"Um... Luo Yu, I'm sorry. I wrecked your arena again."

Bai Mengyao looked guilty.

Luo Yu smiled calmly. "It's fine. Thanks to you, Mengyao, I've already grasped the essence of the Eight Gates and Front Lotus."

As he finished speaking, he imitated Bai Mengyao's earlier movements and released the restrictions in his brain.

Additional chakra flowed through his body, and boundless strength surged within him as veins faintly rose beneath his skin.

"Eight Gates! First gate, Gate of Opening!"

Bai Mengyao was astonished by the tremendous power erupting around Luo Yu.

"You really did learn it!"

Ordinary taijutsu was one thing, but he had even learned her trump card, the Eight Gates, after seeing it just once.

It made no sense!

"With Mengyao's guidance, Luo Yu has made up for his shortcomings in taijutsu. He no longer has any obvious weaknesses."

Curator Jiang smiled, his eyes narrowing.

He had already prepared himself for Luo Yu's outstanding performance.

Bai Siyao folded her arms and nodded in satisfaction. "Just what you'd expect from me. I've got an exceptional eye."

"I was absolutely right to pick him as my brother-in-law. My sister's the one dragging me down with all her hemming and hawing!"

Only Luo Qingyu, standing off to the side, remained as calm as still water.

Her attention was focused more on the interaction between Luo Yu and Bai Mengyao.

Of course, she had no ulterior motives. She simply didn't want her younger brother to be deceived by other women.

"Mengyao, could you lend me your bandages?"

Luo Yu smiled.

Bai Mengyao handed him a strip of bandages from her Storage Scroll and asked curiously, "What do you need bandages for?"

"Did you learn the Lotus Technique just now too?"

Taking the bandages, Luo Yu smiled and nodded.

But when he saw the Training Dummy lying smashed to pieces on the floor, he fell silent.

Seeing this, Bai Mengyao quickly gave an embarrassed smile. "I went overboard again."

"If you don't mind, Yu, please use me instead."

She boldly made the suggestion to make up for her mistake.