The next morning, Jiang Hai was hanging upside down on the ceiling as dozens of bits of paper were stuck to different parts of his body, showcasing his top-notch chakra control.
But Jiang Hai wasn't done just yet. He proceeded to stretch out his fingers as thin threads made of chakra slithered out from his fingertips, making their way to the pebbles resting on the ground. Jiang Hai's upper half was drenched in beads of sweat and he felt weariness from the immense chakra consumption, but he tightly clenched his teeth as he stubbornly continued with his training.
The chakra threads slowly coiled around the pebbles and firmly bound them. Jiang Hai didn't show an ounce of happiness as he continued to maneuver them with extreme difficulty. At times the pebbles would clash against each other or the threads would occasionally get interlocked. This continued for another ten minutes before the morning session ended.
Jiang Hai then peacefully meditated for the following hour, recovering his chakra reserves.
"Now I have a much better understanding of chakra. Wall climbing and chakra threads have been mastered to a certain degree; next I need to learn water walking and then become proficient in body enhancement. My body is slowly but steadily being conditioned by chakra. If this goes on, within two months of training, my body's endurance level should match the academy students," Jiang Hai thought as he slowly got to his feet.
"But first I need to improve my chakra reserves. I am fortunate to have gotten the mysterious skill Chakra Refining, which lets me refine the chakra of others as my own," Jiang Hai thought as he paced toward the door.
The Chakra Refining skill he had received from the system gave him the ability to turn other people's chakra into his own by refining the target's entire body, but Jiang Hai would only receive 40% of their chakra, as the rest would be lost during the fusing process. Only if he had chakra control on a level that transcended bloodline limitations would he be able to get 100% of their chakra. If it wasn't for the fact that he already had high-tier chakra control, he would probably only get around 5 to 10% each time. Furthermore, the process of absorbing foreign chakra was a very delicate, complex, and lengthy process.
Jiang Hai exited his poor shack and found himself on a muddy road. A mild drizzle fell onto the streets, preventing the roads from drying up. He saw worn-out wooden shacks all around; clearly, the area was for the poor.
Jiang Hai walked quickly along the streets, noticing a beggar lovingly petting a malnourished dog and kids playing in the mud with a patched ball. It was a bleak but relatively peaceful view of such a war-torn, depressed, and rainy country as Ame.
Jiang Hai took a turn and walked into an alleyway. The pleasant view from earlier was instantly shattered. The entire side alley was strewn with the starved, shivering forms of homeless people. They eyed Jiang Hai with dull and hopeless eyes, looking for any valuables on his person. It was only when they saw his worn-out clothes that they disregarded him with a sigh. They realized he was just another homeless kid, not even worth looking at, much less stealing from.
Jiang Hai did not ignore them. He immediately sharpened his senses using chakra and silently scanned them as he continued to walk out of the alleyway. After a few minutes of strolling, Jiang Hai stood in a far corner and patiently watched a butcher trying to sell meat next to a fruit stall.
"Both of them have formed their chakras. It's only reasonable; otherwise, they would have already been looted dry by these hungry rats. Their chakra levels are above mine. Even if they have not practiced any ninjutsu, any sane person who has formed their chakra would have enhanced their bodies regularly, especially in a place like this where strength is a necessity. After decades of enhancement, their bodies and chakra levels are not something I can currently compare to. If I face both of them at once, I definitely can't kill them, but it will be a different case if I can face them alone," Jiang Hai pondered as he coldly glanced at them, killing intent brewing in his heart.
Every person who has gathered chakra has the ability to sense others who possess it. Of course, their abilities could not hold a candle to sensor-type shinobi who could sense miles away and accurately distinguish between different chakra signatures; regular shinobi could only vaguely sense a dozen or so meters around them.
"Hmm, by any chance do they have families? They are middle-aged fellows, after all. Since they know how to form chakra, their family members should also be aware of it. Let's see if there is anything useful in the boy's memories." Jiang Hai began scanning through his newly acquired memories. His eyes suddenly lit up, and he quietly walked away.
Jiang Hai had already decided to kill people for chakra. He didn't feel the least bit of guilt or shame about his thoughts. This was just who he was: a selfish and uncaring person. Having constantly faced mental and physical abuse by his own drug-addicted mother and having grown up in the slums in his previous life, he had already stopped caring about others. He had become self-centered to the core and cold toward the world.
How could a person like him feel any guilt or remorse? To escape from the abuse of his mother, he had even cold-bloodedly killed her using a sledgehammer. He had brutally smashed her skull a total of seventeen times in her sleep, and he was only a thirteen-year-old boy.
The terrifying thing about it was that from the beginning of the brutal beating until the very end, his expression never changed. He was completely indifferent, his breathing fully relaxed without an inkling of nervousness or unrest. If anything, he looked at peace.
But what was even more unbelievable was the fact that it was on this very day that he had lost his virginity.