Time passed quickly—another year had gone by in the blink of an eye.
Uchiha Kirin suppressed all the power within his body. Not a single trace of chakra leaked out. He walked the shinobi world on foot like an ordinary man, tireless and unhurried.
If not for the instinctive Breathing Art of the Sage Path, constantly absorbing and releasing immense energy—causing even his smallest movements to carry a powerful pressure—he likely would've been mugged by clueless bandits more than once by now...
However, to the likes of White Zetsu, Black Zetsu, and even the Ōtsutsuki clan watching the shinobi world from the moon through the Giant Tenseigan, Uchiha Kirin seemed to have no presence whatsoever.
This was the skillful use of the Rule of Void.
Although he hadn't mastered any divine techniques yet, he had followed the system's recommendation. Now that he had fully grasped the Rule of Void, he could conceptually erase his presence to a designated target. Even if he punched someone in the face, they'd just think they tripped and fell for no reason.
Of course, this technique only worked on those significantly weaker than himself. It wouldn't fully hide him from someone on the level of the Toad Sages.
Still, the year-long journey had brought him no small benefit.
Now, Uchiha Kirin could maintain the third level of the 〖Battle Saint Scripture〗 indefinitely, without any chakra leakage. If he kept up this pace, he would eventually master the tenth level.
When his strength is amplified by a factor of over a thousand…
Even stacking that on top of the Eight Gates or similar power-ups wouldn't seem far-fetched!
...
In the desert between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind, Uchiha Kirin came to a halt. He looked down at the ground beneath his feet.
It seemed he had reached the place Black-Cat Boss had once mentioned.
A secondary dragon vein lay hidden deep underground. Because of the harsh environment and the chakra-metal-rich bedrock at the bottom, this place was considered worthless—visited only occasionally by summoning beast clans who came to mine minerals.
A pair of golden vertical pupils shone with tremendous 〖Ocular Power〗, piercing straight into the earth. Sure enough, the power he was seeking was buried here.
Upon closer inspection, he discovered that three distinct rule-based forces coexisted deep underground.
Uchiha Kirin descended into the earth, tearing through solid rock, tunneling through mineral veins, and emerging into a relatively open tunnel.
There, he encountered a clan of pangolins diligently mining and transporting ore.
Their chief, though only at jōnin level, was capable thanks to the pangolins' natural racial talents. They helped other summoning beasts mine and survive in exchange for protection.
But they also harbored ambitions—to occupy the area, absorb the natural energies within, and elevate their clan to rival major beast clans or even sacred lands.
Unfortunately, all the paths leading deeper into the dragon vein were blocked by the powerful forces accumulated over countless years.
With the chief's strength alone, it was impossible to penetrate the sealed areas.
So, they had no choice but to mine slowly, barely absorbing the ambient natural energy that leaked out to sustain their cultivation.
In conversation, Uchiha Kirin learned that the three sealed paths within the dragon vein were respectively filled with extreme heat, chaotic gravitational fields, and mysterious metal that could harm without form.
He made a preliminary judgment: the three rules present here were fire, earth, and metal. Though, according to the five elemental affinities of the shinobi world, the metal force could also be considered wind.
Without hesitation, Uchiha Kirin ventured into all three sealed chambers within the dragon vein. While absorbing their potent energies to strengthen both body and spirit…
He also subdued and fully integrated all three rules into himself.
Of these, he had previously possessed the Rule of Fire. But now, with the Rule of Earth and the Rule of Metal infused into his body…
His strength and defense were greatly enhanced.
More importantly, his Rinnegan technique—based on attractive and repulsive forces—had grown stronger as well. This was the influence of the Rule of Earth.
After absorbing the Rule of Metal, his bones—previously tempered by the 〖Sword-Nurturing Art〗 and his body refined through the 〖Iron-Melting Hands〗 technique—underwent further evolution.
He even sensed a faint aura of immortality and indestructibility emerging from within.
Uchiha Kirin was overjoyed. With the Rule of Metal, he no longer needed to rely on rare Golden Arhat Blood to further cultivate 〖Iron-Melting Hands〗.
He could now craft similar medicinal compounds himself, and use the Rule of Metal to refine them into effective—if slightly weaker—alternatives!
As for the Rule of Fire, it was no longer that important to him.
He had obtained it during his very first simulation. Later, he'd acquired another version in the thermal spring of the Shark Sage, which only served to slightly enhance his physique and inspire ideas for fusing divine techniques.
Beyond that, it had little use.
Clearly, for a given rule type, one instance was enough!
Just as Uchiha Kirin was about to seal the Rule of Fire away for future trade, his Sharingan activated on its own.
One of the tomoe within his eye lit up with the 〖Kamui〗 pattern.
It was the prototype world calling out to him.
Though this redundant Rule of Fire had little use to him, to a forming world—it was precious nourishment.
He opened the 〖Kamui〗 space, and the Rule of Fire surged into the spatial vortex, fusing directly into the world core—already containing the Giant Tenseigan, relic shards, and fragments of divine tools.
The spatial density of the inner world increased once again.
Even Uchiha Kirin was a bit surprised.
It seemed that excess rule-based energy could also be fed into this world prototype…
...
After organizing the newly acquired powers, Uchiha Kirin had a brief exchange with the pangolins and was about to leave.
But then he learned something interesting—this summoning beast clan was filled with skilled craftsmen.
Not only were they excellent at mining and smelting ore, but they also specialized in crafting rough weapon for other summoning beasts.
And since the 〖Sword-Nurturing Art〗 didn't require intricate craftsmanship…
When the pangolins insisted on repaying his kindness, Uchiha Kirin agreed readily.
He transformed into his dragon form and coiled himself along the vast underground mining tunnels.
Then he passed on the key principles of the 〖Sword-Nurturing Art〗 to the pangolin clan.
With the appropriate barriers in place, the technique could now be applied to himself.
And with the help of this entire pangolin clan, he no longer needed to lift a finger. He could just lie down and feel a continuous stream of chakra-metal being smelted directly into his body.
This location, already known as the largest chakra-metal mine in the shinobi world, provided all the materials he could ever need.
Thus, the pangolins set aside their other tasks and dedicated themselves to smelting metal into Uchiha Kirin's body.
As payment, Uchiha Kirin made no attempt to hide anything. He maintained the rhythm of his breathing technique throughout.
If the pangolins spent enough time beside him, some of them might even gain insights, improve their own Sage Techniques, and ascend to a higher level…
However, since Uchiha Kirin's dragon form was both enormous and unnaturally strong, his consumption of chakra metal was like a storm devouring everything.
In no time at all, the pangolin clan's entire stockpile of ore had been completely depleted.