When he sought revenge on Wugensheng, the young Lu Jin had already reached the level Lu Lin is at now. But even for old Lu, who was quite talented, it took seventy to eighty years to reach the third stage.
In fact, Qingshui's current level should be the mid-stage of the first level.
The first stage of Reverse Life Triple trains the skin, flesh, and meridians; the second stage trains the blood, bones, and internal organs. The third stage involves the entire body transforming into an energy form.
The initial skin training for the first stage isn't difficult as long as one's life cultivation meets the requirements. Qingshui has also mostly cleared his meridians and is now refining his muscles.
At this point, the self-healing effect of Reverse Life Triple through Qi transformation isn't yet obvious. It only allows for Qi to be circulated on the body surface to enhance physical defense and strength.
In the second stage, in addition to further strengthening defense and power, it also allows one to ignore minor injuries that aren't critical. Once one reaches the peak of the second stage and can reconstruct the three Dantians, there will be no critical points left.
At the same time, the body in this process gradually approaches the state of a human infant in its embryonic stage, reversing congenital traits and progressively enhancing its ability to adapt to and absorb Natural Energy.
In his small villa, Qingshui stood naked in his room, examining his current state in front of a mirror.
His eyes glowed faintly blue, and his skin emitted a subtle milky-white luminescence, occasionally accompanied by wisps of white smoke-like Qi.
"Not bad. This self-healing ability isn't very useful for the main body, but in the Reverse Life state, the boost to power and defense depends on my own energy intensity. It can also increase the speed at which internal energy is mobilized and refined. This Reverse Life Triple has truly given me some unexpected surprises."
Qingshui clenched his fists, then deactivated the first stage of Reverse Life and scrutinized himself in the mirror.
His skin seemed to have lightened a bit, but it wasn't developing into the pale complexion of the Otsutsuki Clan; rather, it was a very healthy, fair skin tone.
Could cultivating Reverse Life Triple also improve one's appearance?
No wonder Lu Jin, despite his age, still looked like a handsome old man.
It seems the average attractiveness of the Sanyi Sect must be quite high.
"Based on the current life cultivation of this body, once it reaches the second stage, its reserves should be depleted, and I'll have to grind slowly. However, my main body has deeper reserves and should be able to go further. Plus, with the Perfect Demonization body, there's no need to worry about failing to reconstruct the three Dantians and internal organs during breakthroughs. I shouldn't encounter any bottlenecks before reaching the peak of the second stage, or even the third."
After a moment of silent thought, Qingshui put his clothes back on, returned to the lab, and began contemplating another research result from this period.
Compared to Reverse Life Triple, which tends to be more like a "cultivation technique," Reversal of Eight Directions leans more towards a spell. However, similar to the Wang Family's Divine Coating technique, it requires one's Qi to be cultivated to a certain nature before it can influence the human magnetic field.
But compared to Divine Coating, which has spatial properties, Reversal of Eight Directions has less stringent requirements in this regard. Two months were more than enough to get started.
The reason it took so long was that Qingshui had spent this time building a Force Field Deflector to realize his concept.
"What were the experimental results?"
In the lab, Qingshui looked at a massive spherical furnace in front of him and asked Liao Fan, who was beside him.
Liao Fan's talent seemed to be the highest among the young Mohist Sect disciples who participated in the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony. Not only was he skilled in cultivation, but he also possessed strong practical abilities in scientific research, excelling in mechanical and electronic equipment. Even without Qingshui, he would likely become a leading figure in academia in the future.
As for now, under Qingshui's influence, he had already attained the rank of senior professor at the age of thirty-one and was selected as a rising young talent.
For this Force Field Deflector project, he served as Qingshui's primary assistant, and Ma Xianhong also worked on it.
"It's a bit worse than estimated. Using electricity to affect magnetism, and then using magnetism to control force, is theoretically similar to the principle of a tokamak. However, it can effectively influence the force field outside the device. By using an Arc Reactor as the core and a cryo-cooling device to achieve superconducting magnetic influence, we've created a force field generator."
Liao Fan explained to Qingshui.
"A force field generator?"
Qingshui looked at the furnace in front of him, as if he understood something.
Liao Fan clarified:
"Yes, just a generator, not yet a deflector. The difficulty in controlling the energy is simply too great. It's hard to control it with the extreme precision we Anomalous Humans achieve when manipulating Qi according to our will. But we are, after all, operating it indirectly. The magnitude is manageable; we just need to control the energy output efficiency. But the direction is very difficult, not to mention overcoming the pressure from all directions that an object experiences during high-speed movement."
Qingshui rubbed his chin and looked at Liao Fan's expression, knowing he had more suggestions he hadn't yet voiced.
"You have a solution?"
"Not me, but Ma Xianhong. His idea is to build several more force field generators and form a three-dimensional matrix structure. For example, arranging four force field generators in a cone shape would allow us to adjust the force field by regulating the size of each individual generator."
Qingshui nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.
This method might be a bit crude, but it was indeed a crude yet effective solution to the problem.
"Theoretically, it's feasible, but we need to consider the mutual cancellation effect between force fields. Designing the optimal placement structure and control algorithm will probably be a challenging mathematical problem.
"Furthermore, these force field generators would need to be equipped with a supercomputer assisted by Artificial Intelligence for real-time coordination and regulation. And four definitely won't be enough. While they can pinpoint three-dimensional space, if one of them accidentally breaks down, a fifth and sixth would need to immediately compensate, and the calculations and algorithms would have to change instantly."
Qingshui thought it over and pointed out several potential issues.
Liao Fan continued, "We've considered all of that, but I think it's at least solvable with current technological capabilities. The main issue is a lack of manpower, a lack of talent. Even within the country, it's not enough; some specific mathematical specialties haven't fully developed here yet."
Qingshui waved his hand.
"I'll handle that. In the next few days, I'll transfer some relevant talent over and get the framework set up."
He now had the ability to mobilize most of the country's high-tech talent, and when needed, he could even call on academicians to work for him.
Whether it was talent or equipment, the entire country would back him, meeting all his needs.
As for foreign talent, if he were to spread the word, many would likely be eager to come because of him.
Of course, there would certainly be many with ulterior motives, but there were also corresponding screening and countermeasures in place. As long as they handled it cautiously, there wouldn't be any major mishaps.
...
...
Naruto World.
Time, in the blink of an eye, had reached the end of the 42nd year of Sand Hidden.
The war between Sand Hidden and Konoha had ended, but that didn't mean the Third Great Ninja War was truly over.
Sand Hidden had captured two Tailed Beast Jinchuriki from Stone Hidden and inflicted thousands of casualties on their ninja force, breaking their back in a single battle. The once mighty ninja village was now barely propped up by Onoki and Kitsuchi, plummeting to the very bottom among the Five Great Ninja Villages.
It was even worse than in the original timeline when the Fourth Kazekage was killed, and they were forced to choose Gaara as Kazekage.
At least back then, they still had their Tailed Beast, and above them, the over seventy-year-old Chiyo and Ebizo, though old, could still fight, serving as anchors to stabilize their foundation.
But Onoki was on the verge of panic now.
With unrest unsettling Stone Village from top to bottom, Onoki turned his gaze to their neighbors.
He certainly wouldn't dare provoke Sand Hidden again, but wasn't there still the Land of Waterfalls?
They had the Seven-Tails, after all!
Hanzo had been fighting tooth and nail with Cloud Hidden Village in the Land of Waterfalls, alongside Rain Hidden. Initially, Waterfall Hidden tried to put on a show to scare them away, but their bluff was called, and they didn't dare utter a peep. Not only did they lose the Seven-Tails, but the Hero's Water, their village's ultimate trump card, was also exposed.
This substance granted power by sacrificing life. It wasn't something one necessarily had to use, but no major ninja village would turn it down. At the very least, in a desperate situation, it offered a chance for a final struggle.
No one wanted to die, but after professional ninja training and the tempering of war, at least most ninja dared to face death head-on.
If they believed that death had meaning, that is.
So, Rain Hidden and Cloud Hidden Village were now vying not only for the Seven-Tails but also for the ancient thousand-year-old tree that produced the Hero's Water.
Even though this substance was only produced in small quantities every hundred years, and their reserves weren't large, it was still an excellent hidden ace for any ninja village.
The only pity was that when Stone Hidden entered the fray, it was already a little too late.
Senju Hashirama wanted to mediate the last remaining conflict in the Ninja World. When Hanzo saw Konoha was about to get involved, he pulled Sand Hidden, Rain Hidden's big brother, into the mix as well.
Without Sand Hidden's backing, Rain Hidden, in its current state, would find it difficult to speak confidently to Konoha.
Hanzo had painstakingly accumulated his family's wealth for so many years. Dealing with just Cloud Hidden Village was manageable, but if another major ninja village joined in, he definitely wouldn't be able to handle it. And if that major ninja village happened to be Konoha, which still possessed hegemonic strength, then he'd surely be finished.
With Konoha and Sand Hidden mediating, the war in the Land of Waterfalls quickly concluded six months after the end of the war between Konoha and Sand Hidden. The Third Great Ninja War, which had lasted a year and a half, finally ceased.
After discussions among several factions, the Land of Waterfalls was divided into three. Fifty percent of the territory, closer to Rain Hidden, belonged to Rain Hidden, and the Seven-Tails also went to Rain Hidden, though they had to pay a large sum to Waterfall Hidden Village for it.
Waterfall Hidden Village, from then on, joined Cloud Hidden Village with the remaining fifty percent of their territory, including the ancient thousand-year-old tree that produced the Hero's Water.
So, this money would ultimately flow to Cloud Hidden Village. However, before that, Waterfall Hidden Village had to allocate a portion of the money and Hero's Water as mediation fees for Sand Hidden and Konoha.
For Waterfall Hidden, it was hard to say whether this was a loss or a gain. It seemed like they had given away everything, but they had also joined a major ninja village like Cloud Hidden Village, gaining better protection. Aside from the former high-ranking officials of Waterfall Hidden no longer being able to throw their weight around in Cloud Hidden Village as they once did, it seemed no one else had any complaints.
Meanwhile, Stone Hidden, led by Onoki, was frantic but utterly helpless.
They had entered the Land of Waterfalls too late and lacked the strength to seize any benefits.
Stone Hidden and Konoha, these allies, were both defeated parties, but Stone Hidden was in a much worse state than Konoha.
Konoha, at least, had a deep enough foundation. Although many had died, it was a severe blow, and they had lost the Third Hokage, the Land of Rivers as a buffer zone, and a full fifth of their territory. However, they had the rising star Minato Namikaze, the sudden emergence of Might Duy, and a large number of experienced older ninjas to stabilize the situation. They also had Orochimaru, who, in their most critical hour, turned the tide by using Impure World Reincarnation to summon Senju Hashirama and Tobirama Senju; otherwise, Konoha's fate would have been much worse.
Compared to Konoha, Stone Hidden was far more unlucky. Many had died, and they had lost two Tailed Beasts. If they didn't find a solution soon, it wouldn't be long before they couldn't even maintain their status as a major ninja village.
Cloud Hidden Village itself didn't belong to the Sand Hidden alliance, nor to the Konoha and Stone Hidden alliance. However, because their war with Rain Hidden had tied up a significant portion of Sand Hidden's forces, Sand Hidden viewed them as leaning more towards Konoha.
But Sand Hidden also knew that Cloud Hidden Village was leveraging its geography, strength, and other factors to act as a neutral party that profited from both sides.
If Sand Hidden had the upper hand, Cloud Hidden Village would lean a bit towards Konoha. If Konoha had the upper hand, Cloud Hidden Village would absolutely attack Konoha without hesitation.
Therefore, regardless of whether it was Konoha or Sand Hidden, if one side couldn't completely overwhelm the other, they would have to court Cloud Hidden Village and promise them benefits.
Even if Konoha and Sand Hidden knew what Cloud Hidden Village was up to, and despite how disgusted they were, they could only grin and bear it.
Just like this Great Ninja War, did Cloud Hidden Village defeat Rain Hidden?
No, they didn't.
But they still profited immensely, essentially sacrificing some casualties in exchange for the Hero's Water and half of the Land of Waterfalls, and they also swallowed up the war-torn Waterfall Hidden Village.
This gain even made Mitokado Homura and Minato Namikaze, Konoha's representatives for mediation, envious.
As for who benefited the most, it was naturally the victors of this war: Sand Hidden and Rain Hidden.
The former expanded its territory, occupying the Land of Rivers and seizing large tracts of the wealthiest Land of Fire. They even exchanged a portion of it for a mountain range and part of the Caspian Sea on the border of the Land of Rain.
As for Rain Hidden, they gained the most in this Great Ninja War.
Aside from the half of the Land of Waterfalls they carved out, several small countries like the Land of Grass and the Land of Gold were completely annexed. Adding the remaining territory of the original Land of Fire after their exchange with Sand Hidden, the current land area of the Land of Rain was considerable, not much smaller than the Land of Water, one of the original Five Great Nations.
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