The core of this test was simply to see how candidates could escape from illusions once they'd been trapped inside them.
But Ye Liang had a serious problem.
He was completely immune to genjutsu—so how was he supposed to break free from it?
White Snake Sage started questioning her entire life plan.
It wasn't that her genjutsu techniques were ineffective—it was just that she was running out of Snake Women...
This test was consuming way too many Snake Women!
"You're taking a test, right? But every time you pass a round, you kill one examiner! Then you move on, and kill again!"
There were plenty of Snake Women in Ryuchi Cave, but they couldn't keep surviving this massacre forever!
White Snake Sage felt heartache. After countless internal calculations, she decided to step forward herself!
Even if Ye Liang was strong, he still wouldn't be her match!
"Honey, don't you want me anymore?"
A deeply affectionate foreign-looking woman reached toward Ye Liang.
Ye Liang startled—he naturally knew this woman was still a transformation of White Snake—but this time, he hesitated to attack.
Because this woman actually looked like Dilibaba—a famous celebrity from his past life!
"How is this possible?! How could these snake women know about my past-life memories!" He was shocked.
His past-life memories were fundamental to Ye Liang, something he absolutely didn't want to reveal to others. Encountering this situation, he could only feel horror—no other thoughts crossed his mind.
"No way! Even if she's Dilibaba, she must die!"
Ye Liang's eyes turned red. After intense inner struggle, he clenched his fists tightly.
[Flying Thunder God - Shinra Tensei!]
This was his signature combo—the deadliest trick up his sleeve!
"How is this possible!"
White Snake Sage was stunned.
She saw Ye Liang suddenly vanish from his spot and immediately realized something was wrong. She quickly surrounded her body with natural chakra, but in the next moment, she was blasted out of the palace by Shinra Tensei!
"She dies! No matter what—it's over for all of them!"
Influenced by poison invasion and rage, Ye Liang nearly lost control of himself.
[Shifting Body Technique - Tailed Beast Bomb!]
This was a follow-up attack. Normally, tailed beast bombs required charging up, but under anger's influence, Ye Liang released it instantly without even aiming properly!
Feeling another heavy impact from behind, White Snake Sage couldn't withstand it anymore.
"What are you all staring at? Come help me!"
At her command, all surrounding Snake Women rushed toward Ye Liang.
Although these women didn't know any ninjutsu, they were all transformed from giant snakes. In an instant, the entire Ryuchi Cave was swarmed with massive white serpents.
"I cannot let anyone discover this! Damn it!" Red-eyed, Ye Liang activated his Chakra Scalpel in desperation!
Although this technique was originally weak, after numerous enhancements, it had become comparable to a real blade!
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The scalpel struck against the snakes' scales, producing crisp metallic sounds, followed by sprays of blood gushing everywhere.
"Freaking amazing! Looks like he's lost it—he must've gone mad from the snake poison! But this kid clearly has only jonin-level strength, how could he use so many S-ranked ninjutsu techniques? That's impossible!" White Snake Sage felt puzzled.
Since she finally got some breathing room, she had already caught her breath. What happened next from Ye Liang only further astonished her.
An S-ranked ninjutsu wasn't solely classified as such because of its immense power. In reality, it was because its learning difficulty far surpassed that of other techniques.
Even a common S-ranked technique required several years, or even over a decade, to complete. Take Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique, for example. He spent several years refining the technique based on what the Second had originally developed.
And keep in mind, Minato himself was already a genius—especially during Shippuden.
But Ye Liang was just plain scary when it came to raw talent!
"It looks like I'll need to neutralize his snake poison first. Otherwise, continuing this fight will wipe us all out here at Ryuchi Cave," the White Snake Sage murmured, already forming a plan in her mind.
A guy with talent like Ye Liang's was bound to win her respect.
Not to mention, he had previously seen through her genjutsu—an ability that made him pass the third trial by default since the White Snake Sage's illusions were considered the strongest within Ryuchi Cave!
The White Snake Sage spat out a mouthful of green liquid and swiftly darted toward Ye Liang.
[Sage Art: White Pulse Technique!] A red intangible giant snake suddenly appeared beside Ye Liang's ear.
Sage Arts were the ultimate techniques of summoned beasts. The ancestral founders of the Three Sacred Lands all mastered these supernatural sage arts that transcended ordinary ninjutsu!
With a thunderous boom!
Ye Liang immediately covered his ears.
White Pulse Technique worked by vibrating the surrounding air via sound waves, causing the opponent's bones to resonate. In the original story, Kabuto Yakushi used this very move to immobilize the female lead!
Ye Liang couldn't move!
The White Snake Sage quickly approached him. With a soft, cartilage-based snake body, she herself was unaffected by this particular sage art.
She grabbed Ye Liang from behind and quickly shoved the green liquid into his mouth.
Ye Liang completely lost consciousness and fell limp.
Meanwhile, Ryuchi Cave had been utterly devastated by Ye Liang. Countless Shinra Tensei attacks and Tailed Beast Balls had scarred the once-vast space, leaving it heavily damaged.
Even the original palace no longer existed.
"Ancestor! This guy destroyed our Dragon Palace! Why are you saving him?!"
"That's right! A monster like this would be better off dead—utterly worthless!"
The surrounding Snake Women angrily spat out.
"Enough! I have my own plans!"
The White Snake Sage silenced the crowd before gently laying Ye Liang's body down on the stone slab where she usually rested.
"I seriously don't know where you picked up these techniques—they're completely insane," she coldly looked at Ye Liang but then softened her tone slightly.
"I heard that Mount Myoboku recently accepted a legendary Child of Fate as their disciple. I'm curious now—who will be stronger, his apprentice or mine? Kid, you're lucky!"
Slowly waking Ye Liang up, the White Snake Sage started teaching him sage arts!
Time passed...
Three full years went by...
...
This year, Konoha Village had already entered a state of war readiness. Though the Third Great Ninja War had just ended, Konoha should've had time to recover. But disaster kept piling upon disaster, overwhelming them one after another.
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned as he stared at the report on his desk.
"Is the Nine-Tails really about to attack the village? Damn it! Who could possibly be controlling it?"
"Tailed beasts don't just attack humans for no reason!"
Hiruzen was furious.
Over the past three years, so much had happened — Ye Liang's sudden disappearance, the outbreak of a great war soon after, and then a man wearing a strange mask attacked the village!
According to Minato Namikaze, who fought him, the masked man possessed terrifying strength and wielded a devastating Fire Release technique. If Minato hadn't improved his skills a bit in recent years, he would've lost right then and there!
Minato had now become The Fourth Hokage. He himself struggled to defeat that opponent, which showed just how fearsome the masked man's power truly was!
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