The carriage moved at a steady pace. Inside the carriage, Little Xin sat cross-legged. She circulated her qi over and over again. Wanted to breakthrough, but Rick held her back. It was better to have a stronger foundation.
So she had been cultivating since this morning, while Rick commandeered the carriage.
He was currently in a good mood. He had a slight smile on his face and was humming a song. He would have also started meditation but they were traveling, his only time in Cultivation was at night. He had recently been captivated with the strength given to him by cultivating, he wanted that pleasurable feeling of breaking through.
When lunch came, he cooked food and they ate. They continued their journey after half an hour of rest, with Little Xin cultivating inside the carriage.
Night again came, after eating, Rick and Xinxin resumed Cultivation.
Rick circulated his Qi. And every time a cycle was completed, he would increase the speed of his qi. His meridians were still fragile, so his speed was much slower than Xinxin's, he could only steadily raise the speed and catch up with her. Every increase in speed meant additional pain, so he did not dare rush.
Rick continued his meditation until it was finally 2 hours before dawn. He stopped cultivating and went to wake up Xinxin.
Thanks to the system, his mental energy won't be exhausted, Cultivation improves the body so he was refreshed. But Xinxin's mental energy won't be able to last long, she also needed to rest, that was why she slept early. Only after you breakthrough through Foundation Establishment Realm will this weakness be eliminated and you could go into secluded meditation for less than a month. You won't also need to eat or drink for that time because your qi can nourish your body.
As usual, they started their morning routine. After it ended, Rick made food and they ate, including the horses, of course. The sun barely touched their face when they resumed their journey.
Everything was scheduled, with no time wasted.
The night came without trouble. Rick again resumed Cultivation, the speed of his qi was also getting faster and faster, it will just be a matter of time before he catches up with Xinxin's speed. But of course, with her diligent cultivation, catching up would actually take days.
...
3 days passed and Rick was sure they were halfway through their destination. No trouble came their way, and they traveled without trouble.
The sun shone brightly and Rick, who was driving the carriage noticed a flash, he unhesitatingly pulled the reins and the 4 horses stopped immediately.
There was an extremely thin string across the road, and if the horses touched it, they could stumble or a trap would be activated.
He immediately scanned his surroundings and before he could see anything, he heard laughter behind the tree where the strings were attached.
Six men walked out from different directions, they gathered in unfront of the carriage. They wore black robes and they all carried swords in their hands. Thankfully, the carriage was covered so they could not see what was inside.
Xinxin also woke up from meditation but she stayed quiet. She knew that her big brother could handle the matter.
"Hahaha, it is really rare for someone to survive our trip!" A well-built man faced Rick and laughed. Rick could feel a strong aura coming from them, they are all cultivators! In normal circumstances, he would not have a chance to even fight back. But now, he had the system, he had guns.
"The sun was up so of course, he would notice! But enough of that! Hand over everything you've got and we'll let you go!" another man shouted.
"What a good outfit! It really has a good design! Hey! Tell me where you bought those clothes, Imma go and rob it!" said another man with a scar on his face.
"Haha, to think that a first-level Qi Condensation kid actually dared to travel the Bandit's Jungle, you sure have guts!" the middle-aged man with a goatee also harrumphed in a displeased tone.
All along, Rick's expression did not change. He was calm and there was an unnoticeable smile on his lips. 'I haven't had the chance to let out my frustration yet!'
The murderous intent that he earned during his lifetime experience, combined with Shi Rong's suddenly rushed out of his body. He could feel his blood boiling and all of the frustration from the past few days rushed out in an instant. He really wanted to vent it out for days now.
Rick suddenly started to chuckle like a villain. He could not contain it anymore and his other battle-hardened self came out.
"Careful!" They seem to have sensed it and they all took a jump backward. They now looked at Rick cautiously. They all had the same thoughts, 'How can a young man have such an intense killing intent?!' They were shocked.
As soldiers, they also experienced many battles, but their killing intent was like a baby compared to what was surging. They knew that someone with a murderous intent like that was dangerous.
"What's so funny?!" the goatee man angrily spat.
"Ol' Third, calm down, this kid is not simple." the well-built man interrupted him.
"Humph! Even if he's not simple, he's still only at first level! I could kill hundreds of them alone!" The goatee man rebuked. He was a short-tempered man. But even with a short temper, he shouldn't have been easily pissed off. He must have had a bad day, Rick thought.
"Kid! I am in a rather good mood today! Why don't you just give us all your belongings and we could let you go!" the middle-aged man was still cautious. He's a good leader, Rick thought. He was reminded of his boss when he was still a mercenary, this man was just like him.
"Hehe, actually, why I would recommend that you fuck off! Or-" Rick smiled while still releasing his killing intent but he was interrupted by the goatee man and he got irritated even more.
"Or what?! To actually dare threaten us, It seems that you have gu- Aaah!"
Bang! Thud!
The goatee man did not even complete his babble when a hole appeared on his left leg. There was a second of silence before he screamed on top of his lungs.
"I hate being interrupted when talking!" Rick blew the smoke from his Glock 17. There was still a slight smile on his mouth, but his eyes turned chilly.
"A spatial ring! You actually have a spatial ring! Who the hell are you?!" The well-built man blurted in shock, the other men beside him were also in shock that they forgot to move. They did not seem to notice the goatee man who just collapsed and screaming.
Spatial ring? Rick and Shi Rong did not know what that was. But the word seemed to impact the goatee man that he also stopped screaming. He just clutched his leg and bore with the pain.
"Who I am is not important. You'd better fuck off before I change my mind!" Rick spat. If it wasn't because he noticed that the systemic way that the group handles themselves, indicating that they were also soldiers, Rick would have no qualms shooting.
"Forgive us, young master, we did not know that you are from an influential family!" the well-built man hurriedly bowed and apologized. Sweat was oozing from his back.
"Ho? So you robbed me because I was ordinary?" Rick was again irritated.
"We dare not, young master! We were just stationed to guard here and prevent bandits from crossing this road. We have been here for months and the job was getting frustrating." the well-built man hurriedly explained.
"So you instead began to rob people? Tell me, do you want to die?" Rick's voice turned chilly. But he also understood their frustration. Being stationed away from home, and for months at that was really hard.
"No, young master-" The well-built man wanted to explain but was cut off.
"Then why have you not fucked off yet?" Rick cut him off.
"Thank you, young master! Let's go!" the well-built man immediately carried the goatee man who was sweating bullets from the pain and rushed inside the forest. Before they left, they even cut off the string that was blocking the way.
After they left, Rick heaved a sigh. He was also feeling apprehensive earlier. If all of them really attacked, he was not confident in taking them all down without being injured.
They were all above the fourth level of Qi Condensation, and the well-built man was even at the sixth. He knew that he got lucky.
"Big brother, are you alright?!" Xinxin's voice sounded from inside the carriage. She kept quiet and did not even move, fearing that Rick would be at a disadvantage if they knew she was there.
"Haha, I'm alright. Go back to meditating, we'll continue." Rick chuckled and shook the reins. The horses moved and the journey resumed.