"I'm here."
"You shouldn't have come."
"But I came anyway."
"What are you doing?" Yuki Seisui looked at the panda sage, who had his back turned to him, puzzled.
The panda sage stood with his hands behind his back, head slightly raised in a dramatic pose of lonely superiority.
"Just... feeling a little melancholy," he said wistfully.
You better be.
Having known the panda sage for a while now, Yuki was well aware of his true nature.
Vain. Loves to act cool.
"Well, since you're here, don't even think of leaving. Follow me and learn the immortal arts of the panda clan!" The panda sage turned around and pointed to the bamboo forest nearby.
"See those bamboo stalks?"
Yuki turned to look. The lush, dense forest was familiar to him, he'd seen it countless times before. He nodded.
"Those were all once people who failed to cultivate the immortal arts. They turned into bamboo."
Yuki frowned. "But... wasn't I your first contract holder?"
Ahem! The panda sage stumbled, almost tripping over himself. Crap, he's caught on!
But he quickly recovered and lied with a straight face, "Many have come before you."
Yuki gave him a look, then sighed and played along. "If it's that dangerous, then maybe I won't learn it."
"Don't be like that!"
The panda sage shook his head frantically. He only had one contract holder, if this kid backed out, how would the panda clan ever make a name for itself again? He had dreams of showing off to the world, impressing everyone!
"As long as you eat more bamboo shoots daily, there's no real danger," he said reassuringly.
Then, thinking for a moment, he added, "The panda clan's immortal arts are incredibly powerful."
Yuki's eyes lit up. "Do they make you immune to illusion techniques?"
"Illusions?" The panda sage blinked, then recalled what Panda Ming had said about that white-haired old ghost. He understood immediately.
"Mere illusions are nothing compared to our panda immortal arts!"
He laughed heartily, placing his hands behind his back again, striking his usual "second only to the heavens" pose.
"How about I teach you our physical techniques?"
Yuki asked, "Can they awaken the Overlord Body?"
"Physical techniques are strong, yes, but they're purely for tempering the body and fighting with brute strength. No Overlord Body."
"Then I'm not learning that." Yuki shook his head. He already had the Eight Inner Gates technique for body training, though he could only open three gates so far, it was more than enough. Besides, his main focus was on swordsmanship and ninjutsu.
He had more than enough on his plate.
The panda sage tried again. "Then how about our ninja body arts?"
"Can that awaken the Overlord Body?"
"Ninja body arts use chakra to stimulate acupoints, temporarily granting immense power and significantly boosting your abilities, but still, no Overlord Body."
"Not learning that either." Yuki shook his head again. Right now, the only thing he was interested in was the Overlord Body.
He already had too much to study, swordsmanship to hone, physical strength to build, ninjutsu to practice, and now immortal arts on top of it all.
He just didn't have the time or energy.
"You don't want this, you don't want that!"
The panda sage instantly shrank down to Yuki's size and delivered a swift bonk to the top of his head.
"Argh!"
Yuki clutched his skull, in that moment, he could practically see his great-grandmother calling him over from the afterlife.
Hands behind his back again, the panda sage said seriously, "If you insist on learning the Overlord Body, then I'll teach it to you."
"The panda clan's immortal arts are the Overlord Body."
"But their power goes far beyond mere illusion immunity."
As he spoke, the panda sage began walking ahead. Yuki followed quietly, listening intently.
"When you activate this ability, your skin hardens. Your chakra begins to boil. You'll feel like you're on a constant high."
"Not only that, your healing factor skyrockets. Ninjutsu power increases. Strength and speed erupt."
He turned his head and shouted, "Hey, someone show Seisui a demonstration of our immortal arts!"
"I got this!"
This time, it wasn't Panda Wu who stepped forward. A massive panda nearly 17–18 meters tall emerged, a large scar slashing across its face.
The panda sage nodded. "Panda Kizu, you do it."
"Go slow, yeah?"
"Got it!"
Panda Kizu grinned, then suddenly pulled out a massive broadsword, over ten meters long, from who knows where.
"Behold, Panda Blade Style: Self-Harm!"
With that, he swung the sword down at his own arm.
At the moment of impact, a white glow flared across his body. The sword struck the glowing light with a metallic clang.
CLANG!
"Next move!" the panda sage said without even looking, waving his hand.
Panda Kizu scratched his head, then as the white glow faded, swung the sword again.
This time, the blade sliced into his arm without resistance, leaving a deep gash that exposed bone.
Yuki winced hard.
That looked painful as hell.
The panda sage smirked at his reaction. "That's the strength of the panda clan!"
"No slimy toads could ever compare!"
Yuki ignored the boast. His eyes were fixed on Panda Kizu as the white glow reappeared.
Then, as if reacting to something, the glow gathered around the wound,
, and the gash began to heal rapidly, visible to the naked eye.
"That's the powerful regeneration ability," the panda sage explained.
"The white light is the visual manifestation of the panda clan's immortal arts."
"It can concentrate to amplify physical strikes, or spread across your body to harden your skin against attacks."
"It can also gradually heal wounds, and if focused in one spot, even rapidly heal serious injuries."
The panda sage raised his head proudly.
"No need to demonstrate the rest."
"If you infuse immortal chakra into your ninjutsu, its power will increase significantly."
"How much depends on your chakra reserves."
"Then let's start already!" Yuki said, unable to hide his excitement.
This was way better than the so-called Sage Mode!
Illusion immunity. Enhanced ninjutsu. Boosted physical attacks. Defense. Regeneration.
What kind of broken immortal technique is this?!
The Overlord Body of the Panda Clan... truly lived up to its name.
"Start now?"
The panda sage glanced at Yuki's current state and shook his head.
"Not yet. You need to calm your mind before training."
Yuki paused. Right, cultivating immortal arts did require a peaceful state of mind.
"Alright, let me settle myself." He sat cross-legged on the ground and began meditating.
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