[Current Luck Value: 1.7%]
[Worlds Opened: 4]
His luck value was maxed out once more, and a new world had opened.
This latest surge of luck didn't come from being a candidate for Kazekage.
To be precise, Qingshui was only a prospective Kazekage candidate; he still had one final step involving the Daimyo to complete.
This fortune came from another position, one the Third Kazekage had just given him:
Head of the Sand Village Jonin squad.
He had already received such high votes in the inaugural trust vote that he could even become a Kazekage candidate, let alone the head of the Jonin squad.
The position of Jonin squad head held significant status, though the extent of its power was somewhat ambiguous. It depended on the capabilities of the person holding the position and how much authority the Kazekage was willing to grant.
Generally, as the leader of the Jonin, Qingshui would be responsible for presiding over any future Jonin-level meetings. During wartime, he would have the authority to command and deploy Jonin, along with other duties.
However, Qingshui wasn't particularly concerned about these aspects.
That's because those duties were already covered by his role as a Kazekage candidate.
Currently, Qingshui's attention was focused on the newly opened world.
The first three worlds opened so far were the DC Universe, the Demon Slayer World, and the Marvel Universe. Each Avatar had already established a significant presence in their respective world, bringing Qingshui a large amount of luck and greatly aiding his development of skills and knowledge.
Which one would the new world be?
Despite having gone through this three times already, Qingshui still felt a sense of curiosity.
After the Kazekage candidate nomination meeting concluded, Qingshui patiently engaged in the necessary social interactions with the Jonin before rushing home. He sat cross-legged on his bed.
He remembered the previous times new worlds opened; each time he split off a wisp of his spirit, he would feel extremely fatigued, even fainting, requiring a long period of recovery.
The familiar black vortex appeared from thin air, leading to an unknown time and space.
As a wisp of his consciousness entered it, Qingshui couldn't help but feel a sharp pain in his head, as if a part had been knocked off, and he let out a muffled groan.
However, perhaps because Qingshui's mental fortitude was much stronger now than before, he merely furrowed his brow slightly and endured it.
...
...
An unknown world.
China, Kyoto University, one of the TOP2 universities, inside a doctoral dormitory.
The snoring stopped abruptly.
Qingshui felt his somewhat tipsy head, rubbed his temples, and sat up from the bed. He pressed the light switch beside him and silently sorted through his memories.
In this world, his name was Zhuo Qingshui.
The "Zhuo" in his name meant "to wash," as in "washing a pure lotus without staining it." It was a rare surname, with fewer than ten thousand people nationwide. His name came from the ancient scholar Zhen Dexiu's poem:
In the dead of night, the spiritual root washes clear, the turbid qi in the dantian must be expelled.
Hmm, Zhen Dexiu's name was indeed quite showy (meaning impressive), but it wasn't made up; there was indeed such a person in history. He was a famous minister from the Song Dynasty, a grand-disciple of Zhu Xi, and held the official position of Minister of Revenue. He was a great Confucian scholar of his time.
As for Qingshui, this Avatar of his was 26 years old. He had just graduated with a doctorate from Kyoto University, holding dual doctorates in High-Energy Physics and Quantum Physics, as well as Artificial Intelligence. He currently served as a lecturer at the university and worked at a postdoctoral research station.
He was a highly qualified talent, through and through.
He had gotten dead drunk because earlier that day, a celebration had been held for the successful completion of an academic project led by his supervisor.
According to his doctoral supervisor, after this project was completed, his third-level professorship would likely soon become a second-level professorship, and his qualification as a Yangtze Scholar was practically guaranteed.
He was a budding talent evolving into a major figure.
As for which world this was, Qingshui had some guesses now but wasn't entirely certain.
Because after the celebration, his doctoral supervisor, named Meng Xuan, gave him two small books and told him to study them thoroughly before coming back to him.
One was called General Knowledge of Mohism, and the other was called Divine Mechanisms of the Mohist Sect.
Instead of immediately extracting Chakra as he usually did in a new world, Qingshui first got out of bed, splashed some water on his face, and then spread the two books open on the desk beneath his bed and began to read.
Kyoto University's dormitories were double rooms. His former roommate had gone to work at a postdoctoral research station at an Ivy League university in the United States last month, following a major Chinese-American figure in the field.
So, until the new batch of doctoral students moved in, Qingshui had the room all to himself.
And by then, he would have already moved into the single room prepared for him in the teachers' dormitory at Wanliu Apartment.
"Divine Mechanisms of the Mohist Sect, Mohist Sect's mechanical arts, Yi Ren, Qi cultivation… So it is."
Qingshui put down the books, his eyes flickering.
This was the world of Hitori no Shita, and the current timeline was...
Qingshui picked up his phone from the headboard.
Above the cunning, smiling eyes of the Piggy Hero on his lock screen, the current time was displayed:
August 22, 2014, 1:37 AM.
It seemed it was still quite early.
And it wasn't too early, not back to the last century.
This book, General Knowledge of Mohism, introduces the unique lineage of the Mohist Sect, to which the empowered individuals and his doctoral advisor, Meng Xuan, belong.
Long ago, the ancient Chinese people in this world proposed the idea that everything in the world contains Qi. By the Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi even believed that all matter was composed of Qi.
Everything in the world has its own Qi. Qi that can reproduce on its own versus Qi that must be refined by external forces is considered the distinction between living and non-living things. Living beings inherit not only physical matter like flesh and blood from their predecessors, but also this abstract energy that allows them to grow, think, and possess a soul, rather than being mere walking corpses.
Initially, people who were naturally better at controlling this Qi manifested it through various extraordinary abilities. As time progressed and research into Qi deepened, various breathing and physical conditioning methods were developed to help people control and cultivate the Qi within their bodies.
The General Knowledge of Mohism in Qingshui's hands contained an initial Qi Cultivation Method created by Mozi, Mo Di.
Besides this Qi cultivation technique, there was also an introduction to the Mohist Sect.
In ancient times, after Mozi's death, the Mohist Sect split into three factions: the Chu Mohists were mostly knights-errant, the Qi Mohists were primarily scholars, and the Qin Mohists were more pragmatic.
The Chu and Qi Mohists gradually diverged. The former became wandering knights-errant who indulged in martial prowess, while the latter's scholarship was absorbed by Confucianism and Taoism, eventually disappearing during the Qin and Han dynasties.
Only the pragmatic Qin Mohist faction survived as the core legacy of the Mohist Sect.
Although it didn't become a philosophy of governance like Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism, it actually, like the School of Military, became an indispensable part of various dynasties in a different way. In this process, it also integrated and absorbed the ideas of schools like Confucianism and Taoism.
Whether in folk culture or at court, even though it never became mainstream, the shadow of the Mohist Sect was always present.
Building siege weapons, constructing water conservancy projects, and urban bridges were all specialties of Mohist disciples. A series of ancient technological inventions, such as the armillary sphere and the water-powered astronomical clock, also show the undeniable influence of the Mohist Sect.
For over two thousand years, the Mohist Sect endured numerous wars, leaving behind sparks of its legacy to rebuild multiple times. From Mozi to Qin Guali, and then to Meng Sheng, Tian Xiangzi, and Fu, it has been passed down to the modern era, where it emphasizes technological development. The Mohist Sect has a closer relationship with the official government than with ancient dynasties.
The contemporary leader of the Mohist Sect, its grand master, is Academician Ou, who has served as the chief designer for multiple manned space missions and lunar exploration projects.
(Ahem, there is a real person prototype, but the person themselves is definitely different, of course. We wouldn't dare to portray esteemed academicians.)
This academician is also Qingshui's grandmaster; his doctoral advisor, Meng Xuan, is the academician's disciple.
After a few minutes of reading this section about the Mohist Sect, Qingshui turned his attention to the last few pages of the booklet.
It contained the Mohist Qi cultivation technique, originally created by Mozi and later revised by successive generations of Mohist grand masters.
However, it was only the first part, meant for beginners. It primarily taught how to condense, mobilize, and nourish the Qi within the body through breathing exercises, mental regulation, and concentration. There should be methods for further cultivation and strengthening later.
"It's somewhat similar to the method of Chakra refinement, both can be seen as a combination of one's physical and spiritual energy. However, Chakra focuses more on excavating and strengthening physical energy, emphasizing the nature transformation of energy, while Qi cultivation is a different approach. It uses the body's own system to absorb nutrients from external substances, then refines these nutrients into Qi. Spiritual energy plays a guiding role in this process, circulating through the body's meridians in a cyclical pattern, mimicking the laws of nature, and integrating the spiritual will within it.
This makes it more difficult, with a higher initial learning curve. Although the upper limit might be restricted by the fragile human body, the range of application will definitely be wider than Ninjutsu, which is limited by Chakra attributes. It can also nourish the body and prolong life."
Qingshui meticulously read through these thousands of characters and their associated annotations, beginning to make mental calculations.
In terms of destructive power, Chakra is clearly superior; destroying the surface of the earth or shattering stars is possible.
However, that mostly relies on the Otsutsuki Clan's bloodline.
For regular ninjas relying on Chakra, reaching the level of a Kage-level peak, like the Third Kazekage of various villages, is already the limit.
Puppetry, Swordplay, and integrated Kekkei Genkai Ninjutsu are all abilities that regular ninjas can possess, and he has already cultivated them to a very high level.
If that were all, his own limits would be similar.
It was only by gaining the Airflow Manipulation ability from his Avatars in various worlds, and the combination of the super regeneration, vast Chakra reserves, and Blood Demon Art Flying Thunder God brought by Perfect Demonization, that he was able to push half a step beyond this limit.
If you really calculate it, having super spatial displacement abilities + large-scale high-power Ninjutsu + master swordsmanship + Puppetry, the combination is roughly a Tobirama Senju with enhanced self-healing abilities + half a Chiyo.
Qingshui hoped that the Qi cultivation system of the empowered individuals would bring him more surprises.
Two systems, somewhat similar but developing in completely different directions, colliding with each other would surely complement one another and ignite more brilliant sparks.
Inhale—exhale—inhale—exhale…
Qi cultivation breathing isn't like cultivating spiritual energy from heaven and earth as described in Xianxia novels. Instead, it's about regulating the mind through breathing, finding inner peace, and condensing one's spirit. A more specific aspect is that some people can use breathing to better exchange gases with the outside world, and through the respiratory system in a specific way, better circulate and utilize the energy within their bodies.
After all, the energy required for human activity needs oxygen delivered to the body through breathing for cellular use.
Soon, a warm current generated in Qingshui's dantian, slowly circulating with his consciousness in rhythm with his breathing.
As the cyclical circulation progressed, the spirit's influence on energy became greater, and this warm current was quickly controlled by Qingshui as if it were an extension of his own arm.
Perhaps it was due to his foundation in Chakra cultivation, but Qingshui's progress in getting started was very fast, and he could easily control the Qi within his body from the very beginning.
In fact, he even had some ideas about integrating the Qi cultivation technique with Chakra refinement and applying them together.
However, Qingshui didn't rush to do so, as he still lacked sufficient understanding of this newly encountered system.
He chose to let his Avatar in the Demon Slayer World handle this.
After all, the Avatar in the Demon Slayer World possesses a Perfect Demonization body, so he wouldn't be afraid even if something went wrong.
Moreover, the average combat power in that world is lower; even after Muzan's death, even the strongest swordsmen couldn't pose a threat to him. It's merely a low-martial, low-tech world set in the early 20th century.
Even if Chakra became unusable, relying solely on his Perfect Demonization body and Breathing Style, nothing in that era, before even World War I broke out, could threaten him.
A few minutes later.
The Avatar in the Demon Slayer World sat on the sofa, slowly opening his eyes.
Chakra is difficult to coexist with Qi.
The composition of the two energies is quite similar; if they exist simultaneously, they can easily devour and assimilate each other.
However, this is not a drawback.
The ability to assimilate means they can transform into each other. As long as he gains enough understanding of Qi and his control reaches a high standard, similar to his Chakra control, he should be able to achieve it.
And…
A faint, glowing light, brilliant blue, gathered in Qingshui's palm.
From Chakra transforming into Qi, then transforming back into Chakra—within this Chakra, that trace of will not his own seemed to have weakened slightly.
No, rather than weakened, it was more like refined.
Though very subtle, it was effective.
Yi-ren cultivation emphasizes the dual cultivation of both life and nature. In this regard, ninjas in the Naruto World only cultivate life and not nature; their cultivation of nature relies entirely on their cultivation of life.
Perhaps it was precisely because he cultivated nature while cultivating life that he was able to refine that trace of will within his Chakra that was unsuitable for him.
For Qingshui, this alone made the expenditure of fortune to open this world worthwhile.
His main body, unlike the Avatar in the Marvel Universe which has a Mind Stone to suppress and wear away things, could only have the Avatar try to research and see if it could figure out any methods.
Therefore, the importance of this Qi Cultivation Method to Qingshui was immense.
The brilliant blue light slowly faded.
"What's wrong?"
Kocho Shinobu walked over slowly, holding a three-year-old child.
"Nothing."
Qingshui shook his head.
He shifted his gaze back to the Hitori no Shita world.
Qingshui's eyes slowly opened, and he let out a long, turbid breath.
The amount of Qi in his body at this moment had reached a considerable level.
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