Boom!
Wu Liang coughed as his whole body slammed into the hard ground below. Blood sputtered out of his mouth as he coughed. His bag had fallen a few ways from him while he fell, so he lay there for hours, too weak to move.
'Just who was that man...?' Wu Liang's mind was spinning, he had lost his sense of balance. He tried to move, but that just caused a wave of pain to knock him back down.
"Gah..." As Wu Liang slowly blinked to unconsciousness, he could see figures clad in black over him. "Damn it... " Did he hit his head so hard that he saw hallucinations?
"Hoho... It seems we have a rich one! Let's loot him." Said a gruff voice.
"What do you think happened to him?" Said another voice, thick and sloppy.
'Hah... Bandits?' Wu Liang finally closed his eyes as he drifted into darkness. Minutes later he woke only to see the old man from the mountain.
Not only that, he was propped onto a tree. Now with a better look, he could see that the old man was dressed in exquisite green robes and he had muscle. In addition, he was also extremely powerful.
'Looks like I woke up just in time...' Wu Liang inwardly said, the faintest trace of a crooked smile on his face.
"O-Old man! We found him first!" One of the bandits complained. The old man sighed, stroking his luscious beard.
"Ah yes... How I remember the life of a farmer..." The old man said. "Just back down and I'll give you all fresh food and shelter."
"R-really? Fresh food?" One of the bandits said. There appeared to be nine in total.
"It's too good to be true." The leader said, readying his crooked jian¹.
The old man didn't move and continued to smile.
The leader immediately rushed in, taking a swing. It was a slow and random swing, with the full force of his weight behind it. If Wu Liang had to estimate, this man would be Fourth Level Mortal Martial.
The old cultivator calmly sidestepped, causing the man to stumble. Then, he stomped his foot on the ground, causing a spike made of earth to stab through the man's stomach.
The man started coughing before realizing he was dead and slumping on the spike.
"And I offered you free food and shelter," The old man said, smiling.
Wu Liang and the other bandits were shocked. 'He can comprehend elements? But that means he must be Nirvana Gathering or higher! And Nirvana Gathering is the limit of the First World!'
The rest of the men charged, mortified but not turning back as it would not improve their situation.
The old man twisted his foot, causing a slab of the earth to shoot out of the ground and slam into one of their heads. Then he flicked his hand, causing boulders to rise and strike the rest.
'He has so much skill... Manipulating earth like that? I must learn!' Wu Liang thought, trying to move.
An overwhelming pressure forced Wu Liang to sit back down. He snuck a glance at the old man, who had a resolute stare directed at him.
'Looks like he doesn't want me to get up...' Wu Liang thought, sighing.
Seeing this, the bandits took it as a chance to launch toward the old man, swords raised.
However, the old man slammed his palm into one of their stomachs without even looking, sending him rocketing backward into their friend.
The old man then lifted his leg before slamming it back into the earth at an angle; resulting in two earth people resembling the two bandits launching from the earth.
As the bandits started fighting their doppelgangers, the old man made his way to Wu Liang.
"Eat this. Don't chew, put it under your tongue." The old man said, handing Wu Liang a golden-colored pill.
Wu Liang felt composed enough to thank the pill and pop it into his mouth.
The bitter flavor assaulted his tongue, then followed by a tangy, fruity flavor. Wu Liang then closed his eyes to cultivate and assimilate the Qi.
Wu Liang directed the Qi toward his meridians, using the Qi to clean and refine them of Impurities. This mixed with his sweat, causing the black liquid to seep from his pores, and also making him smell horrible.
His inner wounds started to heal and he could feel stronger with every second.
He started to move the Qi towards his Dantian, which was like a cloud of Qi, not dense whatsoever.
This was what he would be doing for the next few hours. However, the old man, who had killed the remaining bandits, was sitting on a boulder and eating noodles.
As he ate noodles, he watched Wu Liang cultivate. The slightest trace of a smile appeared on his face and he drank the broth and licked his lips.
Out of his storage ring, he pulled a bottle of wine. Opening the bottle, the air was filled with the smell of plums.
Pouring a cup for himself, the old man drank the wine, before slamming the cup back down.
"Good wine! Very good wine!" He said as he couldn't help but say that every time he drank Plum Blossom Wine.
Meanwhile, Wu Liang finally finished cultivating and could now get up.
The old man directed his attention to him. "Hm, Sixth Level True Martial. Not bad."
Wu Liang frowned. Could his cultivation base be seen through so easily? "Senior! Please teach me!" Wu Liang immediately said, wasting no time. He then winced when he realized his mistake; it was not proper for someone to ask another cultivator about their techniques.
The old man examined him. "No." He said.
"W-Wait. May I at least know Senior's name?" Wu Liang said, bowing.
"Hu Hai." Hu Hai said. The finality of his voice was not pleasing to Wu Liang's ears.
"Please, teach me!" Wu Liang said, desperation creeping into his voice.
"If you want a lesson, I'll give you one. Go wash and go away. I can't deal with your attitude." Hu Hai flicked his hand, obviously a sign of dismissal.
Wu Liang gritted his teeth. "Bastard! Do you know who I am?"
"I don't seem to care. Now go. This is your last warning. I only saved you because I don't like the death of kids. But I will kill you."
Wu Liang gritted his teeth even harder. He needed this! He needed to kill Yulong! It wasn't as if he could catch powerful old men left and right!
'Wait. Or can I...?'
...
¹A double-edged sword.