Inside the volcano.
Seimei paused his training once again.
Just like half an hour ago, he used the "Heart Communication Technique" to connect with his shadow clones outside, who were absorbing natural energy.
This time, though, he didn't have too many of them dispel their "Shadow Clone Technique."
These shadow clones had been gathering natural energy for an hour now. If he recalled ten of them again, the amount of natural energy they'd bring back would definitely be more than he could handle.
Even though, half an hour earlier, the ten shadow clones had given him some experience, boosting his "Natural Energy Control" skill proficiency by a bit and increasing the amount of natural energy he could manage, it still wasn't enough.
After a brief exchange with his shadow clones to check their progress, Seimei decided to recall just six of them.
This way, the natural energy he'd receive would be within his control.
Suddenly, six sets of memories flooded into his mind.
Seimei didn't rush to process the training experience contained in these memories. Instead, he first focused on controlling the natural energy that came back with the shadow clones as they dissipated.
He sent all of it into the special space in his abdomen, then began sorting through the memories in his mind, absorbing and converting the training experience into proficiency for the corresponding skills.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Soon, he finished processing it all.
Opening his status panel, he saw that the proficiency for both "Natural Energy Sensing" and "Natural Energy Control" had increased slightly.
Satisfied, Seimei nodded.
He closed the panel and shifted his focus back to the natural energy stored in the special space in his abdomen.
With a thought, he channeled his chakra, splitting off an equal amount and injecting it into that space.
In no time, he fused over a hundred points of sage chakra.
Just like half an hour ago, he didn't try moving this sage chakra to strengthen other parts of his body. Instead, he used it right there.
With such a small amount of sage chakra, transferring it around would be a waste of effort.
Soon, he'd used up all the sage chakra, and Seimei teleported back to the surface.
Then, he ordered the four hundred shadow clones working on developing Dust Release to simultaneously dispel their "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique."
Poof, poof, poof~
With bursts of chakra smoke, all the shadow clones vanished.
A flood of memories surged into his mind.
Seimei quickly focused, absorbing and processing the training experience within those memories.
He had to admit, adding an extra hundred shadow clones had seriously sped up his progress on Dust Release.
Now, every time he dispelled the "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique" and recalled these clones, he gained new insights, allowing him to experiment from more angles.
If he kept training like this, Seimei estimated it would take just two or three more months to fully master the theory behind fusing the chakra nature transformations of Wind, Fire, and Earth.
After that, he could move on to practical application.
And once he successfully recorded it on his status panel, leveling it up would just be a matter of time.
With these thoughts in mind, Seimei pulled himself back to the present and focused entirely on absorbing and processing the memories in his mind.
About fifteen minutes later, he opened his eyes again.
Standing still, he pondered for a moment, then took out a few enhanced soldier pills, popped them into his mouth, and swallowed, replenishing the energy he'd just used. Then, he performed the "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique" again.
This time, he created four hundred and sixteen shadow clones.
Four hundred of them continued working on Dust Release, while the remaining sixteen filled in for the hundred shadow clones that had been absorbing natural energy.
Clearly, these sixteen new clones started at a higher level than the other eighty-four.
Not only could they absorb natural energy faster, but they could also store more of it.
His next step was to recall the remaining eighty-four shadow clones one by one, absorbing and processing the training experience they'd gathered.
Then, in the next hour, he'd create even higher-level shadow clones and repeat the cycle.
Seimei checked his mental strain, confirming there were no issues, and then used the "Flying Thunder God Technique" to teleport back inside the volcano, starting a new round of training for the "Limit of the Body."
Half an hour later, he paused his "Limit of the Body" training again.
After some communication, he recalled five of the shadow clones absorbing natural energy.
In an instant, over a hundred and fifty points of natural energy, carried by nearly twenty thousand points of chakra, flooded back into his body.
Seimei immediately focused, sending all that natural energy into the special space in his abdomen, then began absorbing and processing the training experience from the five shadow clones' memories.
Moments later, a spark of realization hit him.
Seimei quietly processed it, then checked his status panel. Sure enough, both "Natural Energy Sensing" and "Natural Energy Control" had broken through from level 1 to level 2 (1/500)!
In that moment, he felt his ability to sense and control natural energy had jumped to a new level.
Sensing aside, let's talk control.
Before "Natural Energy Control" reached level 2, he could only handle a little over a hundred points of natural energy—any more, and he risked losing control.
But now…
Seimei checked the natural energy in the special space in his abdomen. He estimated he could now control at least three hundred points of it.
And this was just the beginning.
As his "Natural Energy Control" progressed further at level 2, that number would keep growing.
By the time he maxed out level 2, Seimei figured he'd be able to handle around a thousand points of natural energy.
That was no small amount.
Maybe by then, he could start using the sage chakra he fused to enhance his "Limit of the Body" training.
Only then could he fully tap into the potential of sage chakra, speeding up his body's evolution.
A flurry of thoughts raced through his mind, but Seimei quickly reined them in.
He used the "Heart Communication Technique" again, connecting with the shadow clones outside absorbing natural energy, and had five of them dispel their "Shadow Clone Technique."
Instantly, another twenty thousand points of chakra and a hundred and fifty points of natural energy flooded into his body.
Seimei repeated the process, sending the hundred and fifty points of natural energy into the special space in his abdomen.
Now, the space held three hundred points of natural energy.
He channeled an equal amount of chakra into it, fusing it with the natural energy to create three hundred points of sage chakra.
Sticking to his principle of using it locally, he applied this sage chakra to strengthen the cells around his abdomen.
With that, this round of enhancement was complete.
Seimei focused his mind again, resuming his "Limit of the Body" training, quietly waiting for the next hour to arrive.