Chapter 5

In the evening, after finishing dinner, Juan returned to his room and began his first Chakra refinement session.

After becoming a disciple of Tsuchigumo, Juan instructed Jino and the others to return to the royal palace. He came to the Fire Temple to train, not to enjoy luxury, so he didn't need servants to attend to him.

Tsuchigumo silently nodded at Juan's behavior. Although he knew that someone like Juan, starting Chakra refinement at his age, might only achieve the strength of a Genin for the rest of his life, he still hoped that his disciple would put in some effort.

Of course, as a prince of distinguished status, Juan's treatment was different from that of ordinary disciples. At the very least, he had his own room instead of having to sleep in the communal dormitory like other monks.

"Huh, it's quite simple!"

Juan's first attempt at extracting Celestial Chakra didn't prove as difficult as Tsuchigumo had suggested. It might take one or two weeks to get the hang of it, but he smoothly harmonized the three energies of body, mind, and nature in the correct proportions, successfully transforming them into Celestial Chakra.

However, he thought it made sense. What were the difficulties in extracting Chakra? How did the speed of Chakra cultivation relate to other factors? All of these were explained in detail by Tsuchigumo today.

The main difficulties in normal Chakra extraction were threefold: physical, mental, and control abilities.

Celestial Chakra had a little extra natural energy, but because the amount needed was so minimal, it could be ignored. The stronger the body and mind, the easier it was to sense and extract energy. The stronger the control, the smoother the fusion of the three energies into Chakra.

For a normal seven- or eight-year-old child, these might be quite challenging.

But for Juan, it was very simple.

Firstly, regarding the body, the most important thing in martial arts training was the body itself. Practices like standing meditation, breathing techniques, and various martial techniques were all aimed at strengthening the internal organs and physical body.

Even without Chakra and ninjutsu-enhanced bodies, Juan's pure physical strength was probably much stronger than that of an average Genin. He might even be comparable to some Chunin.

As for the mind, achieving the level of master in martial arts and frequently engaging in life-and-death sparring, how could his mental strength and willpower be weak? Plus, with the mental accumulation from his two lifetimes, he was even stronger.

It's quite evident that his memory in this lifetime is extremely powerful. He can achieve a photographic memory level if he concentrates his attention.

Lastly, his control ability is his forte. As a martial arts expert, he can basically control every muscle in his body, which is the minimum requirement.

So, when Juan started extracting Celestial Chakra according to Tsuchigumo's teachings, it became so smooth.

Moreover, with Juan's physical fitness, his Chakra extraction speed would far exceed that of an average person because the speed of Chakra extraction is mainly related to the body.

The stronger a person's vitality, the stronger their bodily energy, enabling them to extract Chakra faster, as exemplified by Naruto of the Uzumaki clan.

Of course, having more Chakra in the body doesn't necessarily mean greater strength. Overall strength, including ninjutsu, taijutsu, experience, and skills, determines a ninja's prowess.

When Naruto was still a Genin, the amount of Chakra in his body far exceeded that of Kakashi, a Jonin, but Kakashi could easily defeat Naruto with just one hand.

However, having more Chakra is definitely a good thing because it means that, under equal strength, the one with more Chakra will win in the end. Additionally, many powerful ninjutsu require a large amount of Chakra to unleash.

---

The next day, back in the training room:

"Chuan, extracting Celestial Chakra itself is a bit more difficult than extracting regular Chakra, so you need to be patient. After trying last night, if there's anything you didn't understand, you can ask, and I'll answer for you. Our goal for the next two weeks is to extract Chakra first. Only with Chakra can we proceed with further learning."

Tsuchigumo knew that when starting to extract Chakra, there would definitely be many problems. He was afraid that his disciple, the prince, would be discouraged, so he comforted him as soon as they sat down.

"Master, I've already extracted Chakra!" Juan smiled faintly.

Regarding his own strength and talent, he felt there was no need to hide anything from Tsuchigumo. He believed he should show more. Only if Tsuchigumo felt that his disciple wasn't here just to fool around but actually had the potential to become strong, would he teach him all the ninjutsu.

"What? You've already extracted Chakra? That's impossible! Juan, about extracting Chakra, I think you don't need to feel pressured. It's normal to take several months to extract Chakra..." Tsuchigumo was shocked.

When Juan said he had already extracted Chakra, Tsuchigumo didn't believe it at all. His first reaction was that this prince disciple of his was too concerned about saving face.

This was quite normal; having served as a bodyguard for nobles, Tsuchigumo was well aware of how much nobility cared about their reputation.

Juan didn't bother to explain. Instead, he concentrated the Celestial Chakra in his hand, letting it emit a faint golden light. At present, he didn't know any hand seals or ninjutsu, so this was the only way to prove that he had successfully extracted the Celestial Chakra.

Seeing the iconic golden light of the Celestial Chakra in Juan's hand, Tsuchigumo was momentarily speechless, as if silenced by a sealing jutsu, his eyes wide and his mouth agape, all sound ceased.

He was very sure that there hadn't been a trace of Chakra in Juan's body yesterday. He was also certain that what Juan now held in his hand was indeed the unique Celestial Chakra of the Fire Temple.

So, Juan, this prince who was already twenty years old, had indeed successfully extracted the Celestial Chakra overnight.

At the same time, Tsuchigumo felt a tinge of regret. With such excellent ninja talent, if Juan had become a ninja as a child, he might have become a decent Jonin in the future.

In fact, he didn't know that Juan didn't take just one night; it only took him a dozen seconds to successfully extract the Celestial Chakra, slower than the normal Chakra.

"Juan, very good, you're very talented, Master is very pleased. Since you've been able to successfully extract Chakra, let's learn the most basic hand seals for ninjutsu today.

Basically, most ninjutsu are released through hand seals, and we have a total of twelve seals, each with unique gestures, some of which are more difficult than others.

Now, follow me and learn them one by one. Remember, they must be precise, otherwise the ninjutsu won't be successfully released.

The first one: "Rat!"

"Rat!"

Juan glanced at Tsuchigumo's hand gesture and immediately replicated it perfectly.

With a master's control over muscles and his photographic memory, these hand seal gestures were effortless for him.

As Tsuchigumo carefully observed Juan's hand gesture, he initially thought there might be some mistakes to correct, but he found that there were none.

"Very good, the Rat seal is relatively simple. Next, we'll learn the Ox seal."