The Next Day
Early in the morning, Qingming arrived at the Ninja Academy ahead of time.
After sitting through Sarutobi Hiruzen's long and largely uninspiring graduation speech, he followed instructions and entered the examination hall.
The ninja graduation exam naturally did not consist solely of the Three Basic Techniques. It also included theoretical subjects such as code decryption and map reading.
Thus, the first portion consisted of written tests.
Compared to the Chūnin Exams, however, the written portion of the graduation exam was extremely simple—mostly basic knowledge that any student who had spent a few years at the academy could answer with ease.
Of course, there were still a few "hidden additions."
For example, questions related to the Will of Fire.
Although Qingming hadn't written an essay in over a decade—across both his past and current lives—producing a flattering, formulaic response posed no difficulty.
Ding—ling—ling—
Before long, the morning passed.
There were no exams scheduled for the afternoon, leaving students free to do as they pleased.
Qingming had no intention of wasting time at school. His Chakra Refining Technique had already reached Level 1 (195/200)—on the verge of advancing. Naturally, he needed to make the most of the opportunity.
After returning home, he immediately began training.
It took him over six hours to complete two full cycles of refinement. At last, the technique broke through to Level 2 (1/500).
Though he had expected it, Qingming still felt a flicker of excitement when he experienced the effects firsthand.
Compared to Level 1, the efficiency of the Level 2 Chakra Refining Technique had doubled once again.
Now, each hour of refinement restored 200 chakra and increased his maximum capacity by 4 points.
This meant a dramatic boost in training efficiency.
That said, achieving a full doubling in practice results was unrealistic.
The reason was simple—his body had limits.
Even with an ample supply of soldier pills, it wouldn't matter if his body couldn't properly absorb them.
After all, he wasn't Uzumaki Naruto, who could consume soldier pills like candy. These were dense, compressed rations—overconsumption would inevitably lead to digestive issues.
In fact, Qingming had already felt his physical limits about a week ago.
At maximum effort, his training efficiency could now reach roughly 1.5 times its previous level.
Still, this didn't make the upgrade meaningless.
At the very least, it saved him a significant amount of time.
If he needed to train additional ninjutsu in the future, he wouldn't have to worry about insufficient time.
---
Day Two
Just like the first day, the Three Basic Techniques were not tested.
Instead, the focus was on Basic Taijutsu and Ninja Tool Throwing.
Since students were tested individually, the process was slow.
It wasn't until the afternoon that Qingming's turn arrived.
"Uchiha Qingming—ten out of ten hits. Perfect score!"
A ripple of surprise spread through the crowd.
Qingming, however, remained expressionless, maintaining his usual calm demeanor.
There was nothing to be proud of.
With his current Level 2 (120/500) proficiency in Ninja Tool Throwing, hitting a ten-meter target was trivial.
He also received full marks in Basic Taijutsu.
In fact, reaching Level 1 (100/200) was generally enough for a perfect score, while even Level 0 (80/100) was sufficient to pass.
This clearly demonstrated how lenient the assessment standards had become this year.
The night passed uneventfully.
---
Day Three
Compared to the previous days, the atmosphere was noticeably more tense.
While earlier exams were important, they weren't decisive.
Today was different.
Failing today meant elimination—no matter how well one had performed before.
At its core, the ninja world valued strength above all.
Without strength, theoretical knowledge was meaningless.
As the saying went: might makes right.
If your fists weren't strong enough, no one would listen to you.
For ninjas, ninjutsu was their fist.
If you couldn't even use ninjutsu, what purpose did you serve?
Of course, this logic applied mainly to ordinary people.
The ninja world had never lacked exceptions.
Take Might Guy, for example—his ninjutsu talent was abysmal, yet his taijutsu prowess stood at the very peak of the world.
A monster like that couldn't be judged by conventional standards.
But such individuals were rare.
Most people weren't exceptional enough for Konoha to bend the rules.
That was why today's exam mattered so much.
It was precisely because of this that the students appeared far more nervous than before.
---
Seated in the classroom, Qingming watched as one student after another was called to the front by Instructor Sugimu Yiteng to demonstrate one of the Three Basic Techniques.
His own heart remained calm.
With all three techniques at Level 2, he had complete confidence.
And besides…
"Aoki Ryūko, are you ready?"
"Yes, sensei."
"Good. Choose one of the Three Basic Techniques and demonstrate it."
This year's format was different.
Instead of being assigned a technique, students could choose which one to perform.
Clearly, this made things easier—and opened the door to loopholes.
For instance, a student who only knew the Transformation Technique could simply demonstrate that and pass, even if they lacked proficiency in the Clone or Substitution Techniques.
Would Sugimu Yiteng fail to notice such an obvious flaw?
Of course not.
The conclusion was clear—this change had come from higher up.
Combined with the relaxed standards from the previous day, it wasn't hard to infer that Konoha was expanding its reserve forces.
As for how many of these new graduates would survive the battlefield… that was another matter entirely.
---
"Uchiha Qingming!"
Qingming stood and walked forward steadily.
"You may begin when ready."
He nodded, raised his hands, and formed hand seals with practiced precision.
A moment later—
Two clones appeared at his sides.
"Three seconds. Not bad."
Sugimu Yiteng nodded in approval, recorded the result, and waved him off.
"You may return."
"Yes, sensei."
Qingming returned to his seat.
"Wow, Qingming is amazing!"
A female classmate's voice rang out.
The classroom quickly grew noisy.
Qingming paid it no mind.
Instead, he quietly reviewed the Heart Reflection Technique in his mind.
---
Compared to ninjutsu, genjutsu was generally harder to master.
And this particular illusion—one that mimicked the hypnotic properties of the Sharingan—was even more complex.
Most genjutsu targeted others.
Mistakes were tolerable.
But the Heart Reflection Technique was different—its primary target was the user themselves.
Its effect on others was merely secondary.
Otherwise, its effectiveness wouldn't be inferior to even some C-rank genjutsu.
Without the proficiency panel, Qingming wouldn't have dared attempt such a technique.
Yet now, he was on the verge of mastering it.
After two days of intensive training, his proficiency had risen from Level 0 (61/100) to Level 0 (92/100).
If nothing unexpected happened, he would break through tonight.
And when that happened…
He would finally find out whether this technique could truly aid in awakening the Sharingan.
___________________________
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