Chapter 8

"Since that's the case, then I won't hold back!"

Unable to land a hit on Juan, Kuukai's mentality was on the verge of collapse. Upon hearing that Tsuchigumo had lifted his restrictions, he immediately filled his body with chakra and launched another attack on Juan using his best taijutsu skills.

"Now it's getting interesting!"

Seeing Kuukai's speed suddenly increase significantly, Juan's lips curled up slightly. Finally, instead of dodging, he transformed his stance from the initial swallow form into a tiger form, meeting Kuukai head-on.

Juan's main style in his previous life was Xingyi, specializing in the Five Elements Fist: Splitting Fist, Drilling Fist, Smashing Fist, Cannon Fist, and Horizontal Fist.

Next was the Twelve Forms of Xingyi: Dragon, Tiger, Monkey, Horse, Turtle, Chicken, Swallow, Hawk, Snake, Bird Platform(?), Eagle, and Bear.

Later, during the years of practicing life-and-death boxing, he encountered many masters and also had some research on other martial arts such as Baguazhang, Tai Chi, Wing Chun, Shaolin, and Praying Mantis.

His dodging technique against Kuukai's attacks just now came from the Swallow form, while his current direct confrontation with Kuukai's taijutsu was using the Tiger Fist.

"He's actually overpowering Kuukai without using chakra!"

At this point, the watching ninja monks, who had initially been gleeful and wanted to see the prince make a fool of himself, were now all dumbfounded.

They could clearly sense that Juan was fighting Kuukai without using any chakra, relying solely on his powerful physical strength and superb combat skills to suppress Kuukai, who had already been enhanced with chakra.

"Tiger's Fury!"

Ducking under a straight punch aimed at his face, Juan's hands formed into claws resembling a tiger's, fiercely pushing towards Kuukai's abdomen.

"It's over."

In fact, after being enhanced with chakra, Kuukai's body speed and strength had already surpassed Juan's.

However, Juan, as a master of the kung fu at the level of master, was far superior in combat skills to Kuukai, who sparred daily with his senior brothers in the temple and had never experienced a real life-and-death battle.

That's why the current result came about.

"Huh!"

However, just as Juan's tiger claws were about to touch Kuukai's abdomen, Kuukai suddenly turned into a cloud of smoke and disappeared from his original position.

"It's a—Substitution jutsu."

Taken aback, looking at a small piece of stone on the ground, Juan suddenly understood.

Although he had been studying ninjutsu for a month, he was still not completely adapted yet, in the midst of battle, he would subconsciously ignore the existence of ninjutsu.

"Fire Style—Fireball Jutsu!"

At that moment, a wave of heat suddenly came from behind, causing Juan's expression to change.

As it turned out, just as Kuukai sensed the danger, he immediately formed hand signs and performed the Substitution jutsu, appearing six meters behind Juan, then gasping for breath, he unleashed a Fire Style ninjutsu.

The Substitution jutsu is one of the basic Transformation jutsu and the most practical among them.

Unlike the Shadow Clone technique, which lacks attack power and can only momentarily confuse the opponent, or the Transformation technique, which is useful for inexperienced ninjas but easily seen through by experienced jounin, the Substitution jutsu is frequently used even among high-ranking ninjas in battle. When used skillfully, it can not only save one's life but also reverse the tide of battle.

However, it also has corresponding drawbacks.

Firstly, it cannot be used to escape too far. If it's in an open area and the opponent uses a wide-range, high-damage ninjutsu, using the Substitution jutsu would be suicidal.

Secondly, there's the issue of substitution items. While nearby objects can be used for substitution, if the surroundings are too barren, one must rely on prepared items.

Thirdly, there's a brief pause after using the Substitution jutsu. If there are no buildings or forests nearby to serve as cover after substitution, it's easy for a skilled opponent to seize the opportunity and kill instantly.

Therefore, the Substitution jutsu can be used in battles among strong opponents, but one must also pay attention to the environment and timing.

Because Juan had only recently started learning ninjutsu, he didn't fully understand the ninja's combat patterns. Otherwise, at the first moment he discovered the opponent using the Substitution jutsu, he should have observed the surroundings and found the opponent's position after substitution.

"Junior Brother, my apologies."

Watching as the fireball was about to hit Juan's back, Kuukai's face revealed a slightly smug smile.

Indeed, the opponent's combat skills were indeed superb, but the reason why ninjas could replace samurais and become the dominant military force in this world was because of ninjutsu.

"It's not over yet."

Juan's lips curled slightly, activating his chakra, the talent of the celestial clan, instantly boosting his physical abilities. With a powerful force from his legs, he executed a move called "White Crane Spreads Its Wings", narrowly dodging the fireball attack at the critical moment.

"What!"

Kuukai, who had been fighting all this time, had already overlooked the fact that Juan hadn't used chakra.

"Tiger Descends from the Mountain!"

Juan's feet landed again, ready to strike.

His glare seemed to transform into a descending tiger, bringing with it an immense momentum, and in the blink of an eye, he was in front of Kuukai.

Seeing the rapidly enlarging fist before him, Kuukai, overwhelmed by Juan's momentum, completely gave up resistance and tightly closed his eyes.

After a moment, instead of the expected pain, a gentle voice sounded in his ear.

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother. Junior Brother has benefited greatly."

As a master of kung fu, Juan's control over his own body was no joke. When he noticed Kuukai completely giving up resistance, he stopped his fist precisely two centimeters away from Kuukai.

Looking at Juan with a smile on his face, Kuukai's expression showed a hint of shame.

"I've embarrassed myself in front of Junior Brother."

"Kuukai, well done, you've made progress compared to before. Keep training. Chuan, come with me."

At this moment, the way Tsuchigumo looked at Juan was like looking at a priceless treasure, and the joy in his heart was palpable, even to the surrounding ninjas.

Could he not be happy?

The combat level Juan just demonstrated, especially after using chakra, basically exceeded that of a genin and reached the level of a chuunin specializing in taijutsu.

As long as he continued to guide him a bit, teaching him how to integrate ninjutsu into combat, he would be excellent even among chuunin.

Once his chakra level improved and reached the point where he could learn secret techniques like the Thousand Hands Killing, meeting the requirements of the Furious Golden Kong, a future elite jounin in the Fire Temple was just around the corner.

An elite jounin might not be much in larger ninja villages, but in the Fire Temple, there was currently only him alive.

Never in his wildest dreams did he think that the disciple he initially took in for status and money would turn out to be so talented. It must be the blessing of the Buddha.

In fact, Tsuchigumo didn't know that what he saw today regarding Juan's combat skills was just the tip of the iceberg.

The techniques of a master of kung fu were not limited to this. Today was just a spar, not a life-and-death battle, and many killer moves Juan didn't use.

"No, I need to stay calm, can't let him get too proud."

Taking a deep breath, Tsuchigumo tried his best to calm his excited heart, then turned and walked towards the training room.

"Yes, Master!"

Juan, upon hearing this, bowed to the ninjas present and quickly followed.