A Two-Pronged Approach

Shuofang Si froze for a moment, then checked several times to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

"Damn, what kind of hodgepodge is this?"

They were all anime and webnovel worlds. Not a single movie from the original work was there.

He had already suspected something was off about this Main God Space, but the return list alone showed that its alterations were even more outrageous than he'd imagined.

While NZT-48 was still in effect, he had noticed techniques from The Sage Who Transcended Samsara in the Main God's exchange list. Now he was seeing all these anime and webnovel worlds lined up together.

Looking at it that way, Naruto's Chunin Ninja Exams actually counted as an easy start. No wonder it was the first scenario world after the rookie team's wipeout.

Shuofang Si began considering which world he should visit.

If all he wanted was to cultivate, returning to Naruto was naturally the best choice. He wouldn't have to spend an extra side plot, and he could simply find somewhere outside a ninja village to cultivate in seclusion.

Although he had made plenty of enemies in Konoha, the Naruto World was vast. He could even exchange for gold or something similar in the Main God Space and use it to hire ninja to protect him.

As long as he didn't deliberately approach places where ninja congregated, no one would pay any attention to an ordinary person like him.

Besides, the Naruto World had one enormous advantage he hadn't had time to exploit before: bloodline limits and ninjutsu were both highly valuable.

Once he had cultivated the Aperture Opening Chapter and gained some strength, he could get involved in the plot again and trigger side plots.

That's settled. Back to Naruto. I'll cultivate the Aperture Opening Chapter of the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art first.

With a foundation at the Aperture Opening Stage, he could consider triggering plot events to farm rewards. Until he had enough strength, he would play it safe rather than get reckless.

He had survived last time entirely because the Konoha villagers' Tyrant's Will had backed him up, but he was unlikely to get that lucky twice.

He had only managed to stir up such a huge commotion because Konoha had been in chaos. With that Second Hokage fellow around now, the village had probably been stabilized.

Those unruly villagers changed sides faster than flipping a page. Next time they met, there was no telling who would side with whom.

His cultivation plan was settled, but there was still one thing to consider: time.

Cultivating in the Naruto World wasn't something he could finish in a day or two. With the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art, Hundred-Day Foundation Building alone would take a hundred days.

Moreover, his early cultivation would require nutrition. Shuofang Si suddenly remembered a detail he had read in the original work: the Main God's ingredient exchange.

He opened the ingredients section and scrolled down. His eyes immediately lit up.

That solves it.

The Main God's ingredient list had everything imaginable, from ordinary hundred-year-old ginseng to the flesh and blood of spirit beasts found only in fantasy worlds.

He only needed to choose cost-effective ingredients suited to replenishing his qi and blood during Hundred-Day Foundation Building. They weren't expensive; a few dozen points could buy a whole pile, far cheaper than exchanging directly for pills.

With nutrition taken care of, another issue surfaced in his mind: martial techniques.

Cultivating internal arts without practicing martial techniques was like amassing strength without knowing how to put it into a blow.

He didn't want to reach the Aperture Opening Stage only to find he couldn't even throw a wild punch.

Wait. Shuofang Si suddenly narrowed his eyes.

He vaguely remembered the original author, zhttty, mentioning that practicing the Nine Yin Manual and the Nine Yang Manual together could apparently merge them into something incredible.

The technique, supposedly called the "Nine Yin Nine Yang Great Compassion Ode of Heaven and Earth," sounded like a name made up on the spot. But since it was part of the original author's setting, it ought to be pretty powerful.

Still, his main practice now was the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art. Adding simultaneous yin and yang cultivation would only divide his attention. He couldn't bite off more than he could chew, so he set that aside for now.

He could recommend it to Zheng Zha later, though, saving him from experimenting with random combinations again and becoming a disgrace among his peers. That would make life easier for him as Zheng Zha's teammate, too.

What he needed now was a technique he could practice alongside the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art during Hundred-Day Foundation Building.

The Eight-Nine Mysterious Art emphasized internal cultivation. Its Hundred-Day Foundation Building stage laid the groundwork, offering only limited improvements to combat strength.

If he could also use that time to practice external arts and martial techniques, he could improve his practical fighting ability while cultivating internally, rather than finishing foundation building with a body full of true qi and no idea how to use it.

The Nine Yin Manual was a good choice. He didn't know how talented he was, but one particular section, the Muscle-Tendon and Bone-Forging Chapter, could improve his aptitude. Naturally, the more aptitude he had, the better.

That chapter specifically reshaped the body's underlying constitution and tempered the flesh. It also required a hundred days, almost perfectly matching the time needed for Hundred-Day Foundation Building.

The Eight-Nine Mysterious Art accumulated qi and built his foundation, while the Muscle-Tendon and Bone-Forging Chapter tempered his body and strengthened his tendons. One worked internally, the other externally. Practicing both at once meant accomplishing two things in the same span of time, doubling his efficiency.

The Nine Yin Manual also contained plenty of suitable martial arts, enough for his early cultivation. Once he mastered the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art later on, he would no longer need the ordinary martial arts in the Nine Yin Manual.

The Nine Yin Manual was exceptionally comprehensive. If he practiced diligently, he would naturally have plenty of ways to handle different situations.

Moreover, it had been written by Huang Shang, the great scholar who compiled the Daoist Canon, so its principles were lofty and far-reaching. Studying it carefully could also lay a cornerstone for cultivating an Undying Dao Body dharma body.

"Main God, exchange for a paper copy of the Nine Yin Manual."

[Nine Yin Manual, from a general wuxia setting. Paper copy exchange price: C-rank side plot + 800 reward points. Proceed with exchange?]

C-rank? I'll take it.

Shuofang Si confirmed without hesitation. Light flashed, and an antique-looking booklet landed in his hands.

He first leafed through the Muscle-Tendon and Bone-Forging Chapter. Its contents were extremely concise. Every page was densely packed with formulas and illustrated movements, with precise instructions for every step, from breathing exercises to stretching tendons and bones, from pressing acupoints to circulating qi and blood.

With this, he wouldn't have to simply slog through Hundred-Day Foundation Building.

The Eight-Nine Mysterious Art focused on the internal, while the Muscle-Tendon and Bone-Forging Chapter focused on the external. By practicing both simultaneously, he would not only possess true qi cultivation when foundation building was complete, but also physical abilities far beyond those of an ordinary person-twice the results for half the effort.

Shuofang Si examined the other contents and decided to start with quick-to-master martial arts such as the Nine Yin White Bone Claw and Heart-Destroying Palm, along with the Serpentine Civet Tumbling Movement, to gain some fighting strength.

It even included an external conditioning art like the Golden Bell Shield, which fit the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art's style rather well.

The Flying Cotton Strength within was also remarkably subtle. When he saw the Soul-Transferring Great Method farther on, Shuofang Si was even more delighted. Perhaps, upon reaching the Aperture Opening Stage, he could refine and stimulate the Ancestral Aperture between his brows ahead of time, gaining greater combat strength and a better foundation.

He would decide on the remaining exchanges after making some progress in cultivation.

By then, he might need to spend side plots on resources to assist his cultivation, or keep an item that could save his life at a critical moment. Holding something in reserve was better than spending everything.

Shuofang Si stacked the two technique manuals together, then securely bundled the gold and ingredients he had exchanged for in a cloth wrapping.

Once everything was packed, Shuofang Si told the Main God, "Exchange for ten days in the Naruto World, at the Land of Fire Capital."

Soon, after a flash, Shuofang Si returned to the Main God Space. After a moment of disorientation, he exchanged for more ingredients, then returned to the Naruto World.

After repeating this more than a dozen times, Shuofang Si stopped. By now, his bearing had changed completely. His gaze was sharp as lightning, and he stood tall and straight.

He had reached the Aperture Opening Stage.