After parting ways, Aozora hurried back to the Uchiha Compound alone.
From now on, he would no longer take D-rank missions and could only accept C-rank ones.
Facing this change, Aozora felt both happy and regretful.
D-rank missions were easy for him — simple tasks that allowed quick accumulation of money and gongde — but they offered no real growth.
C-rank missions, however, were more dangerous and difficult, offering valuable combat experience.
Perhaps because he truly had grown weary of tedious D-rank tasks, Aozora felt more excited than not.
He wholeheartedly agreed with Shibi Aburame's warning.
Though C-rank missions were officially categorized by the village as low-risk, the Ninja World was a real and ever-changing place.
Who could guarantee that what started today as a C-rank wouldn't escalate to a B-, A-, or even S-rank tomorrow?
Even if the mission stayed the same, once outside the village walls, encountering an S-rank rogue ninja was entirely possible.
Though the odds may be just one in ten thousand, if such a scenario does happen, being unprepared would mean certain death.
Therefore, Aozora decided to heed Shibi Aburame's advice and prepare thoroughly.
After returning home to retrieve some money, Aozora quickly made his way to Uchiha Fukayama's Ninja Tool Shop.
The receptionist recognized Aozora and led him directly upstairs.
Soon after, Uchiha Fukayama walked in, handing Aozora a long narrow box.
Opening it, Aozora saw a cold, gleaming throwing knife resting silently on red silk.
This blade looked unlike any ordinary throwing knife. The blade was long and slender, with a handle so narrow it nearly vanished—its shape resembled a fish leaping from a lake. The polished surface reflected Aozora's sharp features clearly. A glint of cold light danced along its edge, giving off a continuous sense of razor-sharp chill.
"A fine blade!" Just by appearance alone, Aozora already knew it was top quality.
Uchiha Fukayama poured himself some tea, sipped it slowly, and smiled modestly.
Picking up the knife, Aozora gently ran it across the tip of his right index finger.
There was no resistance at all, yet instantly a shallow cut appeared on his fingertip.
He channeled a thin thread of chakra into the blade. Immediately, its edge grew sharper, and a thin layer of refined blue chakra formed over it.
Satisfied, Aozora continued inspecting the knife.
Fukayama asked, "What do you think?"
"Excellent! Even perfect. It meets all my expectations exactly. Thanks so much, Uncle Uchiha Fukayama!"
Upon hearing this, Fukayama burst out laughing heartily. Then he said, "Good. Although this throwing knife doesn't include other metals due to your request, I fully utilized the properties of Wind-Chanting Stone. Simply channel neutral chakra through it, and it activates a Wind Blade. You can call this a Divine Weapon."
"It's yours now. Have you thought of a name for it?"
"A name?" Aozora paused thoughtfully.
"That's right," Fukayama urged. "This throwing knife is forged entirely from chakra-conductive metal. It rivals any divine weapon. It would be a shame not to give it a powerful, memorable name."
Aozora slowly ran his hand along the blade and replied, "Then let its name be 'Zhanxian'—[Slayer of Immortals]."
"[Slayer of Immortals]?"
Fukayama exclaimed in surprise. He took a sip of tea to calm himself before continuing, "That sounds rather arrogant and overbearing, don't you think?"
In the Ninja World, there is and only one immortal: the Sage of Six Paths.
Aozora replied, "Youth needs some recklessness! If they don't act now, they'll miss their chance."
Aozora truly wanted to perform Zhanxian (Slayer of Immortals)—not just on the Sage of Six Paths, but even on his mother. Their entire family's mess had nearly shattered the ninja world multiple times.
He placed great expectations on the "Zhanxian" throwing knife, hoping it would one day become a dagger capable of killing gods like those described in the Investiture of the Gods.
Upon hearing that, Fukayama gave up trying to talk him out of it.
After briefly chatting, the money and goods changed hands, and Aozora turned around and headed home.
After dinner, Aozora made his final preparations.
After updating his gear, Aozora decided to upgrade his skills.
This week's mission grinding paid off well. Even though only four days had passed, his earnings were already more than what he'd gained in the past two weeks combined.
Team Three completed 30 D-rank missions in total, earning a total reward of 156,000 ryō. After deducting shares for the village and instructors, each member of Team Three received 26,000 ryō.
Besides monetary rewards, since Aozora personally completed 12 missions—including many environmental tasks like cleaning riverbeds—he earned a generous 11 droplets of Gongde.
It was downright sad—just for cleaning the river alone, he got eight droplets of Gongde, while all other missions yielded only three combined. This clearly showed how much worse people had gotten compared to the past.
Looking at the golden droplets filling almost half of the Wordless Heavenly Page, Aozora rubbed his hands together excitedly, feeling like a newly rich man who just struck gold.
Since he was heading out on missions, the ability to change his appearance was definitely handy.
Aozura immediately visualized [Jia Xing].
The golden droplets jostled fiercely for position. Two droplets quickly merged into [Jia Xing], sacrificing themselves in the process, transforming the once purely golden ancient character into a gilded one.
Aozora accepted the inheritance with practiced ease. Moments later, he opened his eyes.
The upgraded gilded version of [Jia Xing] didn't have much new info—it mostly involved techniques for altering arteries using chakra, reshaping bones, and changing skin. In short, the gilded [Jia Xing] allowed transformation from the inside out, completely altering one's physical appearance.
However, since it was still just a "false" form, this mystical technique had flaws.
First, the transformed state couldn't be maintained for too long. Prolonged use would cause the altered look to solidify, making it hard to revert back—generally no longer than two hours.
Secondly, [Jia Xing] remained ultimately fake; neither genes nor spirit changed, so sensor-type ninjas could detect differences through variations in chakra.
Even so, Aozora was already quite satisfied. After all, sensor ninjas were extremely rare, and those who could distinguish truth solely by chakra were even fewer.
After practicing twice, Aozora used [Jia Xing] to mimic both Jackie Chan and Leslie Cheung. When he checked himself in the mirror, he concluded he was still the most handsome.
Returning to his own good-looking face, Aozora admired himself briefly before continuing to spend his Gongde.
The second skill he upgraded was [Yu Qi].
Previously, he had used a single droplet of Gongde to improve it, and currently, [Yu Qi] existed as a pure golden ancient character.
According to Aozora's past experience, just two or three droplets should be enough to upgrade [Yu Qi] to Gilded Ancient Characters. However, this time turned out to be unexpectedly different—it took a full seven droplets before [Yu Qi] was finally completed as Gilded Ancient Characters.
Aozora instantly realized that [Yu Qi] had received new knowledge transmissions and accepted them immediately.
After a long time, Aozora finally awoke from integrating the transmissions.
"Ahh!"
Letting out a sigh, Aozora muttered, "Though the methods of cultivating jing (vital essence), qi (life energy), and spirit are all solid, none of them can boost my power fast enough… Guess I can't rely on [Zhanxian] this time."
The newly completed [Yu Qi] knowledge focused on nurturing artifacts, offering three different methods: cultivation through jing (essence), qi (energy), and spirit. Refining with essence blood was the fastest method but damaged the body. Refining through true energy was the gentlest yet took the longest time. Refining using spirit was the most peculiar, potentially allowing the artifact to develop its own consciousness.
No matter which method was chosen, results would not come quickly.
Glancing at the remaining two golden droplets, Aozora immediately focused on [Yan Dao] (Nightmare Prayer).
Currently, except for [Embodiment Beyond the Self], [Yin Yang Eye], [Yan Dao], and [Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work], all of his other mystical techniques had been fully restored—each upgraded into a golden version.
Among the remaining three techniques, [Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work] wouldn't be useful unless his physical body was strong enough. [Embodiment Beyond the Self] sounded impressive, but couldn't be completed with only three gongde points.
[Yan Dao], a powerful genjutsu, could significantly enhance his strength.
Two droplets of gongde infused it, and [Yan Dao] began glowing with a golden light.
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