Chapter 10:
In addition to the three-body technique taught by the head teacher in the morning, the rest of the courses in the ninja school were cultural studies.
During the cultural class, Asakawa Naoki found himself distracted, listening to the lecture while simultaneously practicing the basic Qi Refining Jue. He eventually made it to the end of school.
"Naoki, see you tomorrow!"
Not far from the entrance of the ninja school, Kushina waved.
"Well, see you tomorrow."
Asakawa Naoki waved back, and after leaving the school, he quickly headed to a cheap, large beef restaurant.
"Boss, give me three servings of beef rice."
"Okay! One hundred and twenty ryo."
In his previous life, Asakawa Naoki had heard an old saying from the Celestial Empire: the poor excel in literature, while the rich excel in martial arts. To succeed in martial arts, one must have a wealthy family.
Martial arts not only require the nourishment of the body, but also medicinal herbs for healing, weapons, armor, and horses—all expensive.
Now, he was discovering that cultivating immortals might be just as resource-intensive as martial arts.
At just seven years old, in order to refine enough essence into mana, his daily food consumption was three or four times greater than that of his peers.
Once he broke through to the realm of refining qi into spirit, he wouldn't need such excessive amounts of food to refine essence.
However, by then, he would need to consider refining magic weapons, which require even more money.
Fortunately, for now, his appetite was only slightly larger, and his savings were sufficient. When he broke through, his strength should be enough to earn money for magic weapon materials.
While resources were still ample, the key was to increase his strength as much as possible.
Though he had only practiced for two days, his cultivation had just entered the early stage of refining essence into qi, and his magic couldn't even ignite the fire of essence. Nevertheless, Asakawa Naoki felt his strength had already changed drastically.
With enhanced physical strength and the added benefit of mana, he was confident that he could defeat two versions of himself from before he had practiced.
If he faced off against Yamagami Taro and the others again, he could even fight four opponents on his own without needing Kushina's help.
This was the confidence that came with increased strength!
After returning home and locking the door, Asakawa Naoki quickly retreated to his room and pulled out the white scroll after closing the windows.
This time, he didn't pull out his notes first but sat cross-legged on the bed, holding the scroll in his hands, recalling the key points of the three-body technique explained by his class teacher, Masaki Yuto.
Perhaps a benefit of crossing over, Asakawa Naoki realized his memory had improved considerably.
Though he couldn't directly practice without chakra, he had completely memorized the practice methods and key points of the three-body technique when he was taking notes.
Once he recalled the three-body technique, he opened the white scroll in his hand.
Behind the basic Qi Refining Jue and Samadhi True Fire, a new spell appeared on the scroll.
"Sure enough!"
Asakawa Naoki immediately understood. As long as he held the scroll, it would transform the ninjutsu he thought about into a spell with a similar effect.
The first time, he had just finished reading the chakra refining technique left by his parents, and when he opened the fairy scroll again, the basic Qi refining technique appeared.
The second time, after reading the Fire Style: Great Fireball technique, Samadhi True Fire appeared.
Just now, he didn't read the notes for the Three Body Technique again but recalled his memory from class. When he opened the scroll again, a new spell had appeared.
"Immortal Vanguard!"
This technique was similar to the Senju Clan's Wood Clone or Naruto's shadow clone, but this one had a unique twist.
"To summon the Immortal Vanguard, one must first use magic to condense the beans according to the spell's requirements and store them in the dantian."
"During battle, scatter the beans, and they will transform into soldiers."
"The strength of the soldiers is directly tied to the mana infused into the beans. If not controlled, the soldiers will possess some intelligence to fight the enemy. Once their magic power is exhausted, they will naturally disappear."
"Depending on cultivation strength, the number of soldiers is limited."
"Ten soldiers for the realm of refining essence into qi."
"One hundred soldiers for the realm of refining qi into spirit."
"One thousand soldiers for the realm of refining spirit into emptiness."
"..."
After reading the description of the Immortal Vanguard technique, Naoki's eyes flashed with excitement.
"Truly worthy of being an immortal technique; this will definitely not disappoint."
At first glance, it seemed no different from the usual clone techniques, but the Immortal Vanguard had a key advantage: **senzu beans could be stored!**
This feature alone made it far superior to other clone techniques.
Most ninja battles are quick, unlike the long battles of legendary ninjas like Hashirama and Madara. In most cases, there is enough time to prepare before battle.
Physical clones consume chakra, which dilutes the ninja's power. But the Immortal Vanguard consumes no mana when summoned, giving only benefits and no drawbacks.
"However, the ultimate effectiveness still depends on the power of the Immortal Vanguard."
With that thought, Asakawa Naoki began to focus on mastering the technique.
To be honest, he suspected his learning speed might be abnormal. Whether it was the basic Qi Refining Jue or the Samadhi True Fire, he'd picked them up quickly. The Immortal Vanguard was no exception.
Unfortunately, without other immortal cultivators to compare himself to, he couldn't be sure if his speed was truly exceptional.
If he used ninjas as a reference, his learning speed seemed quite fast. After all, he could match Namikaze Minato, who'd mastered the Three Body Technique in class.
Minato had successfully performed the Three Body Technique the first time, and Asakawa Naoki had successfully performed the Immortal Vanguard the first time.
"It seems like I might be a genius for immortal arts."
"However, is my Immortal Vanguard a bit too weak?"
Looking at the tiny golden bean in his palm, Asakawa Naoki had some doubts. According to the Immortal Vanguard's description, real immortal beans are made of pure mana and don't have a physical form.
Beans from the dantian should be the size of broad beans, yet the one he'd created was barely the size of a mung bean.
However, Asakawa Naoki reasoned that since he followed the method precisely, the only reason could be that his mana was still too limited.
If cultivating immortals in this stage were divided into levels, he was just barely stepping into the first threshold of refining essence into qi.
"But this is the result of my full concentration. At least I can still form a humanoid figure."
"Go!"
Asakawa Naoki scattered the golden bean onto the ground.
A burst of golden light filled the room, and a golden-armored soldier materialized, kneeling on one knee before Asakawa Naoki, speaking in a cold, mechanical voice.
"I will obey the order of the immortal!"
*******
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