Chapter 4: The Measure of Miracles
In which power is redefined, monsters are measured, and two hearts awaken to the truth that destiny may be rewritten after all…
Lingxi's lips curled into a gentle smile—one of those charming, sunshine-in-a-bottle smiles that made Xiao Che's chest flutter like a dozen baby owls flapping about in excitement. He smiled back, a touch sheepishly, but didn't say what sat heavily on his heart. Now wasn't the time.
Yes, he loved her. But not the way he used to think. Now, it wasn't the shy, adolescent admiration for the cousin he grew up with. Now, it was something real. Something freeing. Because he wasn't her cousin at all. Not by blood. Not even close.
Of course, he hadn't told her that yet.
Still, the moment was warm. Soothing, like slipping into a hot bath after a cold night. But Xiao Che had something else to share first—something heavier than the tangle of feelings between them.
He took her hands gently in his own, his expression suddenly solemn.
"Lingxi," he began, "Master—Naruto—is the one who saved my life."
Lingxi tilted her head, curious.
"Saved your life?"
"Yes. Xiao Yulong poisoned me," he said, voice steady but cold. "I nearly died. If Master hadn't helped me… I wouldn't be standing here."
Lingxi's eyes widened, shock painting her delicate features. Her hands tightened in his.
"Poisoned you? But… why?!"
She looked like a storm about to break. Lightning flared behind her gaze. She wasn't just surprised. She was furious. That someone had dared to hurt Xiao Che—her Che—cut deeper than any blade.
"He did it because I was going to marry Qingyue," Xiao Che said plainly, not trying to hide anything now. "You don't remember because Master erased everyone's memory of it. I didn't want that marriage anymore."
Lingxi's lips parted slightly, a soft gasp escaping. Not because he wasn't marrying Qingyue—well, maybe partly that—but because he trusted her enough to tell her this. The depth of it, the pain of it… and yet, the calm with which he bore it.
She swallowed hard, her throat tight. He had suffered. Quietly. Alone.
"You were going to die and they didn't even notice…" Her voice trembled now. "They always insulted you, hit you—but this… this is…"
"Too much," he said, nodding.
And for once, they didn't need to say anything else. The silence between them was loud with understanding.
A few feet away, Naruto stood with his arms crossed, eyes watching quietly, like a golden statue with a pulse. Except, inside his head, things were less... statuesque.
"Thirty-five to me!" Kurama yelled cheerfully, sending a swirling energy-ball tennis serve flying inside Naruto's mental court.
"You're cheating again. That tail is not regulation length," Naruto muttered, returning the serve with a cosmic backhand, all while keeping a soft smile on his real-world face.
He didn't mind waiting. These two deserved this moment.
Then Lingxi turned to him, bowing her head respectfully.
"Senior… I'm honoured by your offer, but I must speak to my father first. I'll need his permission."
Naruto nodded, still cool as a cucumber (or at least pretending not to be mildly distracted by a game of mental tennis).
"No problem," he said with an easy grin. "You can bring him along. This clan hasn't done right by him either. Their treatment of Xiao Che says everything."
He wasn't harsh, but his words were firm. Gentle, yes—but with the weight of truth behind them.
"Don't expect justice from these people," Naruto continued. "They'll turn you into the villain just for calling them out. They're not a family—they're a pack of cowards wrapped in robes."
Lingxi said nothing, but her eyes shimmered with the kind of understanding that only comes when someone speaks the very thing you've never been brave enough to say aloud.
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The sun had barely begun to stretch its golden limbs over the rooftops of Floating Cloud City when Lingxi, eyes ablaze, stood her ground like a little warrior of justice with her hands balled into trembling fists.
"Then what do we do?" she demanded, her voice tight with the urgency only a young girl filled with righteousness could muster. Her lips trembled with fury and helplessness. "We can't just let him go after what he's done!"
There was silence—brief, but charged. The kind of silence that usually precedes either an earthquake… or a miracle.
Xiao Che stepped forward.
There was something different about him now. Not his clothes, which were still a touch too worn, or his face, which remained boyishly soft—but his eyes. They gleamed with quiet resolve, and a calmness far beyond his years. The boy who had once limped behind others now stood like a sprouting oak, rooted deep and stretching higher every moment.
"Lingxi," he said gently, like a promise wrapped in velvet, "I'll deal with him. Personally."
Her eyes widened, flickering with surprise—and perhaps a trace of disbelief.
"Master has…" he paused, and something warm flickered in his chest. "He's cured my problem. I can cultivate now."
If someone had dropped a meteor from the heavens, it couldn't have stunned Lingxi more than those words.
Her mouth opened, a small 'oh' forming, but no sound came out. Then, slowly, her entire face lit up like sunrise after an endless night. "Che-ge…" she whispered, and before he could even blink, she had flung her arms around him in a tight, grateful hug. The hug of someone who had almost given up on hope, only to find it springing back like a phoenix from the ashes.
"Senior," she said quickly, turning toward the blond man standing nearby, "Thank you—truly—for this gift."
Naruto Uzumaki, who had been lounging with the air of someone both immensely powerful and mischievously lazy, gave her a crooked grin and waved it off like a man declining second helpings of ramen.
"Nothing special," he said with a wink. "You don't have to worry about injustice. I'll see to it myself."
Then his tone shifted—lightness falling away like a dropped cloak.
"I'll train Xiao Che to take care of that worm in a month."
The words echoed through the courtyard like thunder wrapped in silk. A month? Even for a genius, that was ridiculous. Preposterous. Outrageous.
But somehow, in that moment, nobody laughed. Nobody doubted.
Certainly not Xiao Che, who stood frozen. His jaw had gone slightly slack, and his thoughts were spiraling like leaves in a storm.
A month? To defeat someone in the Nascent Profound Realm?
His fingers twitched. If he could reach that level so quickly… then what about a year? Ten years? Was there even a ceiling to the sky his master would show him?
A whole new world was opening up before him. Vast, terrifying, and beautiful.
It's worth pausing here for a quick and slightly dusty explanation on what this all means—because, you see, cultivation is not the same as eating your greens and growing taller.
No, no. It's far more complicated. And rather more dramatic.
The journey of a cultivator begins with the Nine Mortal Realms. They are, in order: Elementary Profound Realm, Nascent, True, Spirit, Earth, Sky, Emperor, Tyrant, and Sovereign. (Don't worry if you can't remember them all. Neither can most people until they've been smacked into one.)
Each realm had ten levels—like climbing a very tall staircase, except each step was made of pain, energy, discipline, and the occasional miracle. Reaching the tenth level of a realm didn't make you king of the world… but it did mean you were now allowed to try climbing the next staircase.
Once someone crossed the tenth level, they entered the terrifying and elusive phase known as Half-Step. It's like standing on the edge of a pool you're not sure you can swim in—but everyone else is already doing laps.
Those lucky—or powerful—enough to reach beyond the Mortal Realms entered the Seven Divine Realms, where the stakes were higher, the energies denser, and the titles far more dramatic. (People there even stop aging. Which is lovely. Unless your wardrobe doesn't match anymore.)
But here's the catch: the first step—yes, just the first—takes most people months, sometimes years.
Take the Elementary Profound Realm, for example. Fourteen-year-olds were just beginning to coax their life energy into a trickle of profound strength. A mediocre practitioner would need six months just to start. A talented one, three.
But Xiao Che?
He hadn't just started.
He was about to leap.
And his teacher was none other than the enigma of Floating Cloud City—Naruto Uzumaki. Blond, grinning, full of cosmic jokes and frightening promises, he was about to do what nobody thought possible.
"Right then!" Naruto clapped his hands, shaking Xiao Che out of his wide-eyed daze. "Enough staring into the void. Che, we start at dawn tomorrow. Until then—eat, rest, and maybe think about what you're going to name your first profound attack. Something cool like 'Heaven-Piercing Rooster Kick'."
Lingxi giggled, and Xiao Che flushed pink to his ears.
It was a light-hearted end to a heavy day—but one that shimmered with hope.
Floating Cloud City had always been a quiet place. But something had changed. A wind had shifted. A master had spoken. A boy had risen.
And somewhere, far away, destiny was stirring.
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Naruto stood at the edge of the crumbling stone path, his golden hair tousled by the mountain breeze, eyes closed as if listening to the rhythm of the earth itself. Around him, the quiet murmur of the forest gave way to a silence so thick it felt almost sacred.
And in that silence, he thought.
This energy... it's almost like Senjutsu, he mused, lifting a hand as a wisp of ambient energy curled around his fingers like a curious ribbon. Drawn from the world, shaped by the soul—yet lacking the breath of nature that only Sage Mode can bestow.
The chakra he was used to—dense, vibrant, alive—had the touch of the divine already. This cultivation energy, on the other hand, was embryonic. Crude. Pure, yes, but unformed, like uncut marble waiting for a sculptor's hand. It was weaker than Senjutsu chakra... until, that is, it evolved into Divine Energy.
That was when things got interesting.
Because in the far reaches of the universe, beings like the Otsutsuki still lurked—immortals among mortals, immune to chakra as one might be to rain on armour. Only physical attacks had any hope of landing… or, as Naruto knew from painful experience, jutsu enhanced by the potent alchemy of nature and balance—Sage Mode.
And in this world, chakra was but a fairytale.
Which meant the Otsutsuki—should they descend—were practically invincible. Practically.
Not entirely.
Here, only those who ascended to the Divine Origin Realm had power dense and ancient enough to lay a finger on them.
And young Xiao Che? Well…
He was in the first level of the first stage.
His would-be killer, Xiao Yulong, was sitting pretty in the third level of the second stage.
In less technical terms: a toddler facing down a dragon.
If this were a storybook, the dragon would burn the pages before the boy even picked up a sword.
Yulong, for all intents and purposes, could lift a small house and crush a man with a flick of his wrist. Che, on the other hand, could barely lift his own spirit after the betrayal he had suffered.
And yet—Che's eyes, dark and brimming with fire—looked up at his master and burned with belief.
Because Naruto—mad, miraculous Naruto—had promised something impossible.
"You'll reach the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm within a month," the man had said with a grin that defied reality.
It wasn't a boast. It wasn't a joke. It was simply a statement of fact.
Che's heart—once burdened with years of humiliation and powerlessness—lurched to life like a phoenix startled from the ashes.
I can do this… I will.
He didn't speak those words aloud. He didn't need to.
But someone else was very much not okay.
Lingxi—her cheeks still flushed with the echo of Naruto's gentle hand patting her head—was staring at him like she'd just seen a mountain stand up and walk away.
"One... one month?" she finally managed, her voice trembling between awe and disbelief.
She wasn't the only one.
Many people dreamed. Fewer acted. Even fewer succeeded. But to claim what Naruto had just claimed... it wasn't genius. It wasn't talent. It was divine.
Lingxi had trained for years—years!—to crawl her way to the eighth level of the Elementary Profound Realm. Her father, revered as one of the strongest men in this entire region, would never dare speak such words aloud. And yet here stood Naruto, with the casual air of someone announcing the weather.
Just who is he? she thought, chest tight with a strange fluttering. What realm must he exist in to make such promises?
She stared at Che now, really stared—and for the first time, the image of him as a boy to be protected began to melt away.
Perhaps… just perhaps… he was someone who could catch up to her.
Perhaps they could walk forward together.
Before she could voice those fragile thoughts, Naruto turned, his presence larger than life, yet as kind as a summer breeze.
"I know it's a lot to take in," he said, eyes twinkling, "but your friend is waiting. And Che—" He gave a wry smirk, "—you'll want to talk to Xiao Lie soon."
Then, without waiting, he stepped past them, reaching out casually to pat both their heads, as if they were little ducklings in need of direction. The moment was oddly comforting, like being reminded the sun would rise, no matter how long the night.
"You two have a lot of work to do," he added, and though he spoke lightly, there was steel beneath his tone. "And you'll have to do it together."
Che blinked, surprised at the warmth of Lingxi's hand brushing against his.
She was smiling.
A small smile. But it was the kind that said, I believe in you. I'm here.
Naruto watched them go, satisfied.
Inside his mind, a tiny tennis ball flew back across an astral net, and Kurama grunted, "That was a bit much, don't you think?"
Naruto shrugged, smirking. "They needed a push."
Kurama huffed. "You just like being mysterious."
The ball zipped back.
Match point.
Naruto grinned. "Can you blame me?"
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The group strolled through the dusty stone paths of Floating Cloud City, their feet crunching lightly over pebbles while their minds wandered elsewhere—each one swallowed in thought. Even Naruto, whose usual energy could outshine a lightning storm, was momentarily subdued.
That didn't last long.
"Do you enjoy shocking people so much?" Delta asked dryly, stepping in beside him.
Naruto's grin could've outshone the sun. "Of course, I love it. I live for the moment their jaws hit the floor. Bonus points if someone faints."
Delta rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress the small tug of amusement at her lips. "That was a rhetorical question."
"I didn't notice," Naruto said grandly, flicking an imaginary speck from his sleeve, "I was too lost in the glow of my own awesomeness."
Delta didn't miss a beat. She pinched his side with alarming precision.
"OW! Woman, are you trying to rip my skin off?!"
"Take it like a man, Lord Seventh," she replied sweetly.
Their banter floated in the air like birdsong, light and mischievous. The others behind them merely shook their heads. They'd seen this act before. Often. Too often.
As they entered the wide, sunlit courtyard of Xiao Lie's estate, the familiar scent of sweet rice cakes hung in the air. Sitting cross-legged on a mat was Xia Yuanba, the very picture of contradiction. He looked like a statue carved by a slightly confused immortal—two meters tall, muscles like boulders, and the grin of a six-year-old discovering sugar for the first time.
"Brother-in-law!" Yuanba called out cheerfully as he spotted Xiao Che, waving enthusiastically and nearly toppling over the table of sweets.
The call rang out in the courtyard like a declaration of eternal loyalty... and slight awkwardness. Naruto's brow rose.
"Brother-in-law?" he muttered. "Did I miss a wedding or something?"
"Long story," Delta whispered, smirking. "Short version: that mountain-sized boy is your romantic rival."
Naruto narrowed his eyes playfully. "I don't like my odds. He could yeet me into the next province."
"He wouldn't," she said, patting his arm. "He likes you."
"Everyone likes me."
"Debatable."
Just then, Xiao Lie, the elder patriarch, stepped forward with the cautious dignity of a man who had seen many things—but not this.
He'd felt nothing when they entered. Not a ripple of power. Not a breath of pressure. And then, his eyes locked on Naruto, and suddenly—
The world turned sideways.
It was like staring into a storm while standing at sea level. He felt dwarfed, insignificant, like a candle before a wildfire. His knees wobbled. The courtyard blurred. The air turned thick.
"Whoa there, old man," Naruto said cheerfully as he caught the elder by the arm, steadying him. "Careful, gravity's not any stronger than usual today."
To Xiao Lie, Naruto's grip was gentle, yet it carried the weight of galaxies. It was impossible. Terrifying. And yet… oddly respectful.
"S-senior…" Xiao Lie breathed, struggling to find the words that wouldn't make him sound like a blubbering child. "You honour me with your presence. Is— Is there anything this lowly servant can do for you?"
Naruto's eyes softened. "Relax, gramps. I'm not here to conquer your backyard. Just needed you to understand... where we stand."
Delta crossed her arms, amused by the scene. "You say that like you didn't just nearly give the man a heart attack."
"He's fine," Naruto replied, waving off the concern. "Strong spirit. Good instincts. I like him."
"You say that about everyone," Delta muttered under her breath.
Meanwhile, Xiao Che had slipped beside Yuanba and was now attempting to redirect attention back to the plate of sweets, clearly desperate to return to a life where terrifying cosmic beings weren't casually dropping into his courtyard like surprise guests.
Yuanba, however, was far too delighted. "Brother-in-law! Did you see how tall that man was?! I think he's even taller than me! And that lady with him—so pretty! Do you think she likes sweets?"
Naruto chuckled. "I do like sweets," he said, conjuring a sugary rice ball from seemingly nowhere and tossing it in the air before snapping it up mid-fall. "Not bad. Needs more cinnamon."
Xiao Lie, now recovering slowly with Delta's help, simply stared.
This wasn't a group of wanderers. This wasn't even a band of cultivators. This… was a storm wearing a smile.
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The living room of the Xiao household had never been so full.
There was something disarmingly casual about Naruto as he strolled inside like he'd lived there for years, brushing nonexistent dust off the back of an old chair before plopping himself down with a sigh of satisfaction. The morning sunlight dappled across the old wooden floors, throwing golden rectangles across his cloak, giving him the look of a particularly well-dressed vagabond who had accidentally wandered into someone else's destiny.
Xiao Lie, meanwhile, stood very still—like an aged tree that had just realized it had been moved a few miles without anyone telling it. He stared at Naruto, his expression flickering from confusion to disbelief, then settling somewhere around quiet horror.
"Relax," Naruto said with a warm smile, as though they were all old friends gathered for morning tea. "I'm not here to harm you. I intend to take these children as my students—and you're coming with us."
Xiao Lie blinked. "Come again?"
"This place wants you dead," Naruto added, brushing a bit of lint from his sleeve. "I don't want to explain too much since you already know… and well, they tried to kill Yun Che."
He said it like one might mention a dropped teacup—annoying, regrettable, but fixable.
Xiao Lie's breath hitched, and he took an unconscious step back. "Yun Che?" he whispered, barely believing his ears. "You... you said Yun Che?"
It was a name he had not heard spoken aloud in years—not since the baby boy wrapped in blood-stained cloth had first been laid in his arms. To the world, he was Xiao Che. But Yun Che… that was the name from another life.
Naruto looked up with a slightly sheepish grin. "Oh, right. Sorry. I read his memories. All of them."
The elder's mouth opened, then closed. He made a small, gurgling sound like a kettle boiling for too long. Reading memories? That was no simple divination technique. That was… a divine ability. A feat whispered about in ancient scrolls and drunken old cultivator tales.
And yet the man before him had done it so casually. Like checking someone's grocery list.
Lingxi and Yuanba stood awkwardly nearby, both looking unsure whether they were about to witness a miracle, a family reunion, or an execution. Lingxi was wringing her hands with anxious curiosity. Yuanba, who had already accepted Naruto as some sort of demiimmortal with fantastic hair, stood proudly beside his friend as if guarding him with his presence.
Xiao Lie was quiet for a long while. His gaze drifted to Xiao Che—Yun Che—his grandson, his legacy. That quiet, thoughtful child who had carried sorrow behind his smiles, strength beneath his silence.
Had he truly known so little of him?
He sighed. A long, weary breath that seemed to echo all the aches of his bones and spirit. Once, in his youth, he had been a firebrand—a lion among men, loud and proud and brimming with daring. But age had dulled his edges, and the clan's endless politics had worn his will thin.
But now?
Now they had dared to raise a hand against his child. Against his family.
He straightened slowly, like an old sword being drawn once more from its sheath. His eyes, once dimmed by grief and submission, flickered with the old fire.
"I… have let them walk over us for too long," he said softly. "Because Yun Che was not of our blood… because we relied on their resources. I let it slide. I thought I was protecting him…"
His voice hardened like steel slowly being forged in fire.
"But I see now. I was just… surviving."
He turned to Naruto, his posture finally that of the elder he had once been—a man who had weathered storms, but never truly broken. "You said I must come with you?"
Naruto nodded, his gaze kind but unyielding. "The children will need guidance. And you still have something to live for."
A pause.
"Also," he added cheerfully, "you make excellent tea. I saw the memory where you won the sect's tea-brewing contest. Impressive stuff."
That earned the ghost of a smile from the old man.
"I suppose," Xiao Lie said, "I should put the kettle on then."