A Show of Force Before Training

"All right, understood. Leave the rest to me."

Ling Feng took the list and nodded slightly.

The instructor leading the group had his doubts, but this was an order issued personally by the Third Hokage. He did not dare question it further and turned to leave.

Ling Feng then stood on the Command Platform, looking down at the neatly assembled group.

Little did he know that the moment the instructor left, the crowd below began murmuring among themselves.

"Why did they replace him with someone about our age?"

"It's weird. From the look of it, he's here to be our teacher."

"Our teacher? What a joke. He's barely older than us. What could he possibly teach us?"

Ling Feng was about to speak when he noticed everyone below pointing at him and talking. His expression darkened.

Quite a few of them were his age, but there were also plenty with little talent who were already in their teens, or even their twenties, and still muddling along as genin.

Even if they had barely reached chunin level, they kept facing powerful opponents and failing to advance, leaving them stuck as genin forever.

But ultimately, their own strength was still lacking, so all they could do was blame their bad luck.

Ling Feng despised people like that more than anyone.

Naturally, having those same people point at him and make comments put him in a foul mood.

"Hey! Listen up! From now on, I'm your new instructor! Every one of you, quiet down!"

Ling Feng raised his voice and shouted.

But hardly anyone paid him any attention.

Kakashi and the others were among the crowd as well. They tried speaking up to stop the people around them, but few listened.

Seeing Ling Feng's expression grow uglier, Kakashi and the others hurriedly warned them, "Keep making noise, and you're going to regret it!"

"Regret it, my ass! What's he going to do to us?"

"Exactly! I bet he's just a genin too. What gives him the right to teach us?"

"Yeah! If they don't want us to pass, forget it. Let's leave! Sending a kid to teach us is a complete waste of time!"

Nobody knew who had shouted that, but people actually responded.

Quite a few stepped out of the ranks, ready to leave.

Seeing this, Kakashi and the others sighed helplessly, thinking those people were about to be in serious trouble.

Ling Feng might have been young, but he had quite a temper. If he actually started fighting, he would show no mercy.

Those who had never seen Ling Feng in action did not think so, however. All they knew was that he was young, so he had to be a rookie.

One after another, those dissatisfied with Ling Feng walked out. Even as well over half of the ninety people left the ranks, he remained unmoved.

But everyone who knew Ling Feng understood that this was the calm before the storm.

At last, those who had walked out and those willing to stay formed two clearly separate groups.

"Hey! You brat on the platform! I don't know where you came from, but you'd better get down from there right now!"

"That's right! We want a real teacher!"

"Or take that bunch of brats over there and get lost! Don't get in the way of our taking the Chunin Ninja Exams!"

Hearing their protests, Kakashi and the others were amused.

They had seen Ling Feng display his formidable strength with their own eyes.

Without exaggeration, was there anyone at this Ninja Academy stronger than Ling Feng?

Not a chance!

After a long silence, Ling Feng finally moved.

He slowly stepped down from the Command Platform and walked toward the ignorant protesters.

"I already told you, didn't I? From now on, I'm the instructor in charge of this group. You seem very unhappy with me."

Ling Feng spoke coldly.

The noisy crowd fell silent for a moment, clearly intimidated by his presence.

But a second later, they started shouting and protesting again.

"Very well. Then I'll show you what it means to be a teacher with the strength to guide you!"

With that, Ling Feng drew in a deep breath.

Then his hands flashed through a series of hand seals.

"Wind Release: Great Tornado!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A massive tornado descended from the sky and surged up from the ground.

In an instant, it swept everyone into the air, spinning them wildly along its path. Heart-rending screams rang out, chilling everyone who heard them.

Watching from a short distance away, Kakashi and the others shuddered at their narrow escape. Thank goodness those reckless fools had left the ranks, or they would have dragged everyone else into it too.

At the same time, they realized that the range of Ling Feng's Great Tornado had increased again. It was at least twice as large as the one they had seen before.

There were more than fifty people in that group, yet a single Great Tornado had swept every last one into the sky. Just how powerful was it?

But it was not over yet.

After all, how could he feel better without venting all his anger?

So Ling Feng continued unleashing his techniques.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Tornado!"

"Water Release: Great Water Shockwave!"

Rumble!

An earth dragon more than ten meters long shot into the sky. Then a huge volume of water mixed into it, turning it straight into a mud dragon.

With Ling Feng's current strength, using combination ninjutsu was as easy as eating or drinking. He was highly proficient at it, too, all thanks to his diligent daily training.

On the battlefield, this combination of ninjutsu would normally serve as a deadly weapon for wiping out an entire enemy group. But it was just as effective at teaching these ignorant genin a lesson.

Ding! Gained 160 points!

The genin's fear had handed Ling Feng a free batch of points.

Ling Feng immediately felt that the chakra he had spent was well worth it.

Because the earth and water had mixed together, they became a mire after falling from the sky. The genin who dropped down were trapped in it, unable to move.

For a time, cries and pleas for mercy rang out, with none of their earlier arrogance or discontent remaining.

But Ling Feng still did not think it was enough. He raised his right hand slightly and said in a low voice, "Chidori: Thunderclap!"

Crackle!

A massive electric current burst forth instantly. Amid a series of booming explosions, the genin flew into the air one after another like firecrackers tossed into mud, then slammed back down, charred black as coal.

A short distance away, the onlookers who had stayed quietly with Kakashi and caused no trouble sucked in sharp breaths, utterly stunned.

They were all seven or eight years old. How could the gap between them be so terrifying?

Just then, the instructor who had only just returned to his office saw the scene through his window and froze in shock. After a long while, all he managed to say was, "Holy shit!"

Ding! Gained 200 points!

Only after hearing the system notification did Ling Feng stop, satisfied.

Ling Feng then returned to the platform. This time, nobody made a sound. Everyone looked at him with admiration and fear.

"I'll say it one more time. From now on, I'm your new instructor, and I'll be in charge of your intensive training. Does anyone still have a problem with that?"