Chapter 10: Left Behind

In those three months, a lot of things had changed. Her knowledge, skill, strength—everything had changed. Her Byakugan could now see up to 50 meters away with telescopic vision, could see through 9 meters of thickness with x-ray vision, its 'soul sight' effect had evolved to be much, MUCH better and could now be used with either of the Byakugan's other abilities, and she had gotten used to the near-360º field of vision around herself that the Byakugan's 'orb-sight' gave.

One thing to note about the orb-sight was that the 'center' of the orb was her forehead, meaning its range extended outward from this point. For instance, a 1-meter range of orb-sight encompassed a 1-meter radius with the forehead at its heart. Now, the orb-sight had increased to 5 meters, but she barely used it to go past her height, with a radius of half her height, because the information overload from the sand on the ground was way too much.

You might ask, why not filter it out? Well, that's impossible. Just as you can't filter out what you are directly looking at, she couldn't filter things with her orb-sight. It was like 'omniscience' of everything within the orb, as long as it wasn't blocked behind a wall.

She didn't yet know the exact uses of the spiritual sea, but seeing as it seemed to represent a person's emotions, it should be connected to the mind's strength. So she hypothesized that the stronger her spiritual sea, the more of her orb-sight she could handle.

In these three months, the God Tree also matured, getting one step closer to bearing the God Fruit. At least, she thought it had.

You see, after she planted the God Tree under the apple tree beside it, she completely forgot about it. She only remembered half a month later. One night, when Wong Su went to harvest the apples to sell them, he noticed that all the apples on the tree had dried up, leaving only their husks, like they had been sucked dry.

"What do you think happened here?" Wong An asked her husband, her voice filled with a mixture of curiosity and concern.

He scratched his head, staring at the tree. "Probably some bird or a kind of parasite," Wong Su speculated, his tone suggesting he wasn't entirely convinced by his explanation.

Wong An nodded thoughtfully before turning her gaze to Wong Yazhu between them, who had been quietly observing the tree. "What do you think it is, honey?"

Wong Yazhu tilted her head, considering the question. "Maybe it's dying?" Just like her father, she wasn't entirely convinced by her own explanation.

Wong An hummed softly. "This apple tree is more than a hundred years old, older than me," she mused aloud. "It should be dying now, but that doesn't explain the dried-up fruit."

They agreed to consult Old Jack, and Wong An went to call him while Wong Su went to the neighbor's house to get an axe so he could start cutting it down if Old Jack said to. Wong Yazhu, however, stayed behind in the house.

Alone, she decided to check on the God Tree using her Byakugan x-ray vision. What she discovered startled her. The roots of the God Tree and the apple tree had intertwined so thoroughly that they seemed to have become one entity. The apple tree's roots had even enveloped the God Tree like it was protecting it, making it appear as if the apple tree's roots were merely growing above the ground.

Despite these aggressive changes, the God Tree didn't look any different than before. Yet, Wong Yazhu sensed it was actively doing something, so she left it undisturbed.

When Old Jack arrived, he conducted a thorough inspection of the tree. After a period of silent observation, he finally said, "It's a sickness. Give it a few months, and it might die or heal." He knocked on the tree's dried bark.

From then on, she always checked the tree whenever she remembered. The apple tree lost all its fruits after birds preyed on the dried husks. The apple tree, however, didn't seem to die out. Rather, it seemed to flourish.

The 9-meter tree grew to 11 meters by the end of the month, and its width increased from 6 meters to 8 meters. Its leaves became greener, and its roots grew larger, with some even growing out of the ground like snakes stretching outwards. It was like the God Tree was optimizing the apple tree, giving it more leaves for more photosynthesis and bigger, widespread roots for more water, nutrients, and chemicals.

It seemed they had formed a symbiotic relationship.

The Wong family didn't care much about the tree's growth, but by the end of the second month, it had grown to 15 meters tall and 11 meters wide. The tree had grown so wide that the crown now almost expanded over the house like a second roof, with a few lower branches resting heavily on the roof.

This confused the villagers, but not wanting it to continue its growth and disrupt the Wong family and nearby neighbors, they cut it down with the help of most of the men in the village, including, surprisingly, Tang Hao. Wong Yazhu had recalled the God Tree before they cut down the tree, so no one saw it.

The strangest thing happened seven days later, two days after she caused her mother to burn her legs. When Wong Yazhu walked to the backyard to hang her wet towel to dry, she noticed something strange.

From the 3-meter-wide tree stump, faint yellow light began to coalesce above it. Wong Yazhu called her parents, and they came to watch as the faint yellow light formed an extremely distinct ring more than 4 meters in diameter, giving off a radiance that cast shadows on their faces.

The tree was a Plant Spirit Beast.

This news quickly spread around the village, and everyone came to see it, including Tang San. This was everyone's first time seeing a spirit ring. Not every old tree becomes a spirit beast, and who would have thought that the one in the Wong family's backyard was a spirit beast?

After a few hours, the ring dissipated into the air. Old Jack quickly traveled to Nuoding City to report this, and four Spirit Grandmasters returned with Old Jack to inspect the village, searching for any spirit beast. None were discovered, and they returned to Nuoding City a day later.

Wong Yazhu theorized that the influence of the God Tree turned the apple tree into a Plant Spirit Beast. It was a stretch, but it only started going through its growth spurt after she planted the God Tree under it. However, the apple tree was already 100 years old, so maybe it suddenly decided to become a Spirit Beast.

In these two months, the God Tree had grown 10 cm taller, now standing at 25 cm, with its stem about 8 cm wide. Its roots had grown a bit longer, and the flower bud on top had grown slightly. It didn't show any signs of opening anytime soon, but it looked like it was progressing.

To let it continue its growth, Wong Yazhu found a chance to plant the God Tree under one of the largest trees in the forest behind the hill she and Tang San climbed every morning.

'Soon, we should be heading to Nuoding Academy.' Wong Yazhu was excited. After three whole months, she could finally leave this village. 'FINALLY!' She wanted to scream, but she couldn't wake her parents.

Like any other day in the past two months, she was going to Tang San's house before sunrise so they could climb the hill together, where they would train for an hour.

Her mother had once been reluctant to let her go out early in the morning, especially to the hill, but she was convinced when Wong Su pointed out that Yazhu would need to learn some form of independence when she left for the Academy, so it was better to start now.

After putting on the clothes she always wore for morning training — a simple knee-length tunic, heavy pants, and boots — she rushed out of the house, her feet barely making a sound.

Wong Yazhu stepped out of the house, the fresh morning breeze hitting her face. The morning sun was already high up because she had woken up late due to the previous night's extended cultivation session. She had dedicated herself to practicing the Tang San Cultivation Method after using the Rinne Sharingan Preparation Technique, sensing that her physique was on the verge of a significant breakthrough.

Indeed, after two hours of intense focus and effort, Wong Yazhu felt a profound shift within her. Her body had strengthened to the level of an average non-cultivating child in their early teens, a remarkable feat for a six-year-old. She wanted to test her new capabilities, but exhaustion had taken over, putting her to sleep.

'Normally, my mental alarm would wake me up no matter how late I slept, but I guess my body needed to rest after the breakthrough,' she thought as she quietly closed the door. She now stood 107 cm tall, and her black hair had lengthened to reach her lower back, so she had to tie it up in a back-length ponytail with a silver string, something her mother had taught her a few days ago.

As she closed the door quietly behind her, Wong Yazhu started running with her arms spread out like an airplane, the way Prime Wong Yazhu always ran. Most people had already started going about their jobs, with an old lady feeding the pigs.

"Good morning, Gramma Wu!" Wong Yazhu greeted as she ran past, ignoring the woman's scream for her to stop running to avoid falling.

She was still slow compared to her past life, but she was now much faster than before. Not enough to outrun someone in their late teens, but with the Celestial Breathing Method and Tang San Cultivation Method, it shouldn't be a problem running longer than them.

'Tang San should have returned from the hill and finished eating breakfast with his father,' Wong Yazhu thought, jumping over a dog that started barking at her. 'He should be practicing blacksmithing or working on another hidden weapon by now.'

One day, when Wong Yazhu decided to train her Byakugan X-ray while watching Tang San practice his blacksmithing, she noticed that Tang San was now wearing a sleeve dart hidden weapon. The mechanism in the sleeve dart was something Wong Yazhu couldn't comprehend, but she did memorize it. She should be able to draw out the blueprint and give it to a blacksmith in Nuoding City to make for her, but she wouldn't do that. That would be exposing Tang San's hidden weapon, thereby taking away some of Tang San's advantage.

She couldn't let her human shield get weakened due to her own stupidity.

'And I need to kill Xiao Wu.' That was her main mission now. She had gotten close to Tang San, but that little girl was supposed to be the main female lead. There was a string of fate connecting her to Tang San, so Yazhu had to sever it before it got in her way.

'I won't even let her lay an eye on my little human shield, Tang San. I will take a knife and slit her throat once I—' Wong Yazhu noticed her dark thoughts shining on her face, so she quickly controlled herself.

Wong Yazhu reached Tang San's front door, knocking before taking a step back, preparing to greet Tang San. To her surprise, the door swung open almost immediately, revealing Tang Hao. His eyes looked like someone who hadn't slept for quite some time, looking even more disheveled than usual, shocking Wong Yazhu into taking a step back.

Typically, at this hour, Tang Hao would still be in his room, occasionally coming out to oversee Tang San's forging, offering pointers but little else. Since the outburst three months prior, their interactions had been limited to Tang Hao's occasional telling her to keep it down, often from the confines of his room. Wong Yazhu had maintained a respectful distance, sometimes bringing him beer as a gesture to foster goodwill and to get closer to Tang San.

Tang Hao looked down at Wong Yazhu, mumbling something indecipherable. As he was about to close the door, Wong Yazhu hastily inquired, "Where is Gege San?"

Tang Hao paused, staring at her for a moment before responding, "He has left for Nuoding Academy." The weight of his words hung in the air, the only sound that followed was the door slamming shut.

A frown briefly appeared on Wong Yazhu's face, but it was swiftly replaced by a grin. 'Old man Jack must have taken him to Nuoding Academy!' She turned and ran back home, thinking, 'My parents are probably planning to take me there tomorrow or something, but I can't let Tang San be in Nuoding Academy a day without me. Who knows what will happen with him and Xiao Wu?'

Bursting through the door with a grin still plastered on her face, Wong Yazhu noticed her parents sitting on the couch in the living room, seemingly awaiting her return. "Daddy, Mommy!" she called out, rushing to them without bothering to remove her boots.

"Old man Jack took Tang San to Nuoding Academy! I want to go today to meet with Tang San!" She spoke excitedly, but her parents remained silent, a heavy atmosphere settling around them. It was then Wong Yazhu noticed her mother had been crying. "What's wrong, Mommy?" she asked, her head tilting in confusion.

Wong An suddenly burst into tears, collapsing to her knees and embracing her daughter. Between sobs, she managed to convey, "I can't take you to Nuoding Academy."

Wong Yazhu's expression froze as her mother's words struggled to find coherence through her tears. Wong Su, sitting heavily in his chair, took over the explanation with a heavy voice, "Every year, Holy Spirit Village has a quota of one to send a working student to Nuoding Academy. Old Jack had already decided it would be Tang San."

He continued, "We can't send a student to Nuoding Academy without the quota because we are a village, and you don't have an exceptional Martial Soul."

"W-we wanted to tell you," Wong An, managing to regain some composure, added, "but seeing you so excited every day about going to Nuoding Academy made us unable to."

"Next year," Wong Su mumbled, his fist clenched tightly as he looked down, avoiding the gaze of his daughter. "Old Jack has agreed to use the quota on you."

Wong Yazhu stared straight ahead as her mother's cries began to fade, her sobs becoming quieter, retreating into the backdrop of Wong Yazhu's escalating despair.

The world around Wong Yazhu seemed to dim, the sounds of the house fading away until the only thing left was the echoing beat of her own heart. Thoughts raced through her mind, a torrent of fears and frustrations. She envisioned the year ahead when Tang San would be alongside Xiao Wu, potentially forging bonds and connections she had planned to sever before they could fully form.

Three months of relentless effort forming a strong bond with Tang San all seemingly for naught. Her 'meat shield,' her safety harness in this world, was slipping away, leaving her behind in a village that suddenly felt smaller, more confining than it ever had.

The thought of remaining just another mortal among many, while Tang San and his friends ascended to godhood, was unbearable. She knew all too well how these stories unfolded: the protagonist and their circle would rise to unparalleled heights, leaving all others in their shadow. Those outside the protagonist's immediate circle, if they rose at all, were often cast as obstacles, villains fated to fall by the heroes' hands.

It happened in many novels, mangas, and even in her favorite anime, Naruto. Team Seven reached a god-like status by the end of the war, with even their weakest member, Sakura, possessing the power to decimate all the other teams alone.

'Am I fucked?'