Chapter 88 - 3-13 Immortality Starts With A Gun [Xianxia]

Chapter 3 ~ The Gun (3)

Liu Xing submerged himself in the river. As a cultivator with a superhuman body, he could hold his breath for an extended period. Despite his desire to stay underwater, he eventually surfaced.

Breaking through the water, he was greeted by the moon illuminating the dark world, casting a shimmering glow upon the river as though it were filled with jewels and diamonds.

After several more dives into the cold, dark riverbed proved unhelpful, Liu Xing emerged and sat against a giant boulder, closing his eyes to calm his racing heart.

Initially dismissing the events as a dream, he couldn't deny the reality upon retrieving the gun once again.

The gun—a gift from Nui, from another world, to him in this xianxia realm. What had happened to him? Liu Xing was certain the vision shown by Nui's fragment was a memory. Nui, Joni, and Mamat were likely not presently fighting or dissecting monsters. Yet, this realization did little to ease Liu Xing's troubled mind.

Encountering his friends after transmigrating here was beyond his wildest dreams. Their extraordinary circumstances made it all seem unreal, yet Liu Xing knew it was real.

He tried to recall everything—about Nui, Mamat, Joni, and the message the fragment had conveyed about darkness seeping into every corner of the world.

Was this darkness symbolic, or something tangible like a person or entity?

Why would darkness in this world amplify darkness in another?

As Liu Xing pondered under the passing moon and rising sun, amidst birds chirping and fish swimming, after more than ten hours, he finally made a decision.

Ultimately, Nui's fragments pointed to one thing: he needed Liu Xing to confront the darkness in this world. Nui implied Mamat, Joni, and even himself required help.

Did Liu Xing want to help his friends? They were his friends, despite being in separate worlds. He wanted to help them. But it would certainly be perilous. Whatever this darkness was, it posed danger. But he owed Mamat, Joni, and Nui. They had been his pillars in Indonesia—keeping him company in his apartment, supporting him through tough times, even reigniting his dream to become an animator and securing him an internship in Japan.

Though life had taken unexpected turns with Nui vanishing, Mamat passing away, Joni struggling with depression, and he himself died in a plane crash, he cherished their friendship. He would help them, even if they never reunited.

He remembered Joni and Mamat's talks about being isekai'd.

Joni had jokingly said, "If I'm isekai'd, I'll grind day and night to become the world's most powerful being! Then, I'll build a harem—cat girls, angels, busty receptionists, guild girls, sexy succubi, you name it! Mamat, promise me you'll build a harem too!"

Mamat, not interested in a harem, had laughed it off, though everyone knew he had a crush on a girl from another class.

"And you?" Joni had turned to him.

"I'm not sure, but I at least want to become a legend."

"Nice! Me too, me too."

Recalling this conversation filled Liu Xing with a profound sense of purpose, as though he had gained a newfound clarity after years of blindness.

"Right. I want to become a legend. What better legend than a powerful cultivator who defeats the world's darkness?"

Liu Xing stood up, faced the moon in the sky, and began walking. He already decided what he would do.

Chapter 4 ~ The Gun (4)

On a bright day, with the sun shining and the air refreshing, Liu Xing stood in a small clearing holding a handgun. Liu Xing didn't know how to use a gun, so he mimicked how the police handled theirs. He held the gun with both hands and spread his feet apart.

On the side of the gun, there were six green stripes. Liu Xing suspected this indicated his total ammo.

Liu Xing needed to understand the full capability of this gun, so the aim of this training was to know every single ability this gun had. The first thing he needed to check was whether his conjecture about the six green stripes really meant he had six rounds.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Xing aimed at a tree several meters away from hin and pulled the trigger. Instantly, a small sound, like a mouse click, was heard. His eyes tracked an almost transparent bullet flying fast and hitting the center of the tree, creating a small hole that fully pierced the tree and came out from the back.

Seeing this, Liu Xing inhaled deeply. That was better than what he had expected. While not fully silent, the gunshot was really quiet. Cultivators, who are superhuman, have very good hearing, and a loud gunshot would be instantly known to them. The same applied to beasts that could cultivate.

The power of the bullet was also impressive. While he didn't know if a normal bullet could go through a thick tree, this bullet could scratch even a cultivator.

Liu Xing then checked the side of his gun. As expected, one green stripe was now gray while the rest remained green.

Liu Xing tried to shoot the same tree five more times. Every shot made a stripe turn gray, and as expected, when all the stripes turned gray, he couldn't shoot anymore.

"Now the first problem, how to reload this gun?"

Since the bullets were not normal bullets, he didn't need to find a blacksmith or weapon creator to make them.

"The bullets are probably made from Qi."

While still holding his position, Liu Xing sent his qi through his hands and into the gun. Instantly, Liu Xing felt his qi rushing out, as if being sucked by the gun. Afterward, the green stripes on the side of the gun turned green again.

Liu Xing smiled. This was convenient. Since the gun used his qi, it meant he could shoot as many bullets as possible as long as he had enough qi. He also didn't need to trouble himself with reloading. This gun was really convenient.

Liu Xing tried to shoot several times, trying to familiarize himself with the gun. He shot six bullets at a rock, reloaded, and then shot again. As a cultivator, his hand-eye coordination was great. Aiming didn't feel hard at all.

Trying to test his accuracy, Liu Xing looked for a new target. Several hundred meters away, there was a tree with green fruits hanging from the branches. Every fruit was as big as a marble, and Liu Xing suspected these fruits were not ripe.

Aiming at one of the fruits, Liu Xing inhaled and pulled the trigger. The smooth sound was heard, and the fruit he aimed at exploded.

Smiling, Liu Xing tried to shoot as many fruits as possible. When he finished, all the little fruits were destroyed.

Liu Xing's aim was perfect. His hand was steady, his eyes sharp, and it felt like the gun knew what he was trying to aim at.

"Now, let's try another target." Since he could shoot stationary targets reliably, he needed to try shooting moving targets.

Liu Xing looked up and saw a brown bird, likely an eagle, with yellow tips on its wings circling the sky. Trying to test his skill, he aimed for the bird. Unlike before, Liu Xing needed to predict the trajectory of the flying bird.

His gun followed the bird, and when he thought the time was perfect, he pulled the trigger. Instantly, the eagle fell.

Seeing this, Liu Xing couldn't hold his laughter.

For the first time in two years, he felt powerful. Sure, he could punch really hard and electrocute people with his Lightning Palm, but he hadn't felt like this before. 

The bird landed beside a shallow river, and to celebrate his first kill with his new gun, Liu Xing plucked the eagle's feathers and started roasting it. As he ate, Liu Xing tried to count how many bullets he had shot.

If his memory was correct, the last bullet he shot was number forty-nine. And since his qi remained half full, it meant Liu Xing could shoot at the very least one hundred bullets.

While that was already impressive, Liu Xing felt like he had barely scratched the gun's capability. He needed to test this gun against a real threat. Luckily, he knew where to find his next target. The mountain at the back of the sect was teeming with beasts, some of them spirit beasts.

Finishing his meal, Liu Xing ordered the gun to disappear, returning to his consciousness.

As he walked back to the sect, seeing the towering seven purple pagodas on the seven mountains, Liu Xing started to plan.

The Purple Moon Sect was big, one of the top sects in the Dark Forest continent. It had vast territory and many vassal kingdoms. Before, his goal was just to become a Core Splitting cultivator, but after knowing about the darkness in this world, he aimed to become an inner disciple.

As an inner disciple, Liu Xing could have a bigger reach, and then he could conduct his investigation about the darkness in this world.

There were two ways to become an inner disciple. One was to reach the Core Splitting realm before twenty. Liu Xing knew he was already nineteen and only at the fifth stage of Lock Opening realm, so this method was really hard. The second way was to win the Outer Disciple Tournament held once a year. While the winner was not guaranteed to become an inner disciple, since many elders attended this event, there was a chance for a disciple to impress an elder and get an invitation to become their disciple. This method was also hard since every elder had different criteria. But while it was also hard, every year, at least one disciple became an inner disciple after this event.

As Liu Xing arrived in his private cave, he gathered supplies into a small backpack. Since he had already finished his missions this month, he could go away for a month before he needed to come back and finish another mission.

He checked how many Restoration Pills he had. Only three. It should be enough, especially with some Blood Pills and Body Cleansing Pills for poison.

Soon, he finished packing and went out. On his way, he passed a training ground. This training ground was vast, enough for hundreds of disciples to train their techniques or martial arts. Liu Xing saw a disciple younger than him slashing a log hundreds of times a second. Another disciple who was bald and had bulging muscles was running while carrying a boulder the size of a car on his shoulder.

Liu Xing remembered his first day transmigrating. He was here, lying and beaten after accidentally offending a senior.

After passing the training ground, he passed a group of twenty people that looked like outsiders. Some were wearing red, yellow, or gold robes with ornate designs that looked like they were only worn by royalty, while others wore gray or brown clothes that looked like they belonged on a farm. Another person looked like a scholar, with a white and flowing robe. Liu Xing saw they were guided by two disciples who puffed their chests and talked like emperors in a royal palace.

Liu Xing suddenly realized that this was the new batch of outer disciples being guided to their new homes. The housing in this place was divided into three areas: the first was private houses for only the talented and well-connected outer disciples, the second was dorms for normal disciples, and the third was cave areas for disciples deemed worthless and having a slim chance of advancing further than the Core Splitting realm.

Seeing this new batch of disciples, Liu Xing tried to find the most unique or attractive person. Since his meeting with Nui until now, a question had been burning in his head.

Why was he transmigrated to this world?

While he couldn't answer why he, from billions of humans on earth, transmigrated here, at the very least he knew why he was here instead of Mamat, Joni, or Nui.

Joni really liked anime, manga, and light novels, especially the isekai genre. When he talked, he wouldn't stop. That's why only Mamat could tolerate him. That guy was too nice to shut Joni up. This made the duo often talk about anything anime or isekai.

If they got isekai'd, they would be better in the sword and sorcery world with class and system. And Nui, while he was not really a fan of any form of entertainment, sometimes talked with Joni and Mamat about anime and isekai.

Only William read xianxia stories. He tried to recommend this genre to Joni, and while Joni was impressed with some of the stories, he still mainly consumed Japanese-originated stories. Which was a shame. Really. Chinese web novels were better than Japanese web novels.

Anyway, since he read so much xianxia, perhaps he was transmigrated here because he was more familiar with xianxia tropes, and perhaps he could recognize the tropes that would happen and make use of them.

"Let's see, if I'm the main protagonist of a xianxia story, what would I look like?" Usually, the main protagonist of xianxia is handsome or unique in some way.

Liu Xing scanned the group, and while some were good looking, none of them appeared to be main character material. Though he did find a girl who seemed leagues above everyone else, with pearly and shining skin and electric blue eyes. Some people couldn't take their eyes off her, and some female disciples gazed at her like she was a goddess descended from the heavens.

Seeing this, Liu Xing continued walking. While that girl looked really impressive, instead of the main character, she seemed like someone who would be in the main character's harem.

As he walked, he wondered if there was really a protagonist in this world or if he had read too much xianxia and was trying to apply his biases to this world. Whatever it was, Liu Xing tried to open his eyes to many possibilities.

Chapter 5 ~ The Gun (5)

Around Liu Xing, tall and wide trees stood like ancient giants. Their lush leaves prevented sunlight from reaching the ground, making the forest dark and cold. Liu Xing felt like a snail walking among the feet of giants. This dark forest was nameless and located not far from the Purple Moon Sect. It was preserved to ensure that wild herbs and beasts with useful properties could live and be harvested.

In this forest, Liu Xing would explore his gun's capabilities more in depth.

Liu Xing found an opening between the tree roots, creating a small and shallow cave. He put his pack there and then started to look around.

First, he needed to test his gun on large animals, like tigers or giant snakes. Then, he would move on to spirit beasts. Ideally, he would find a spirit beast at the same stage as him—a cultivator at the Lock Opening fifth stage to really test the gun.

"The earlier steps are the easiest," he thought.

On his way here, Liu Xing had seen some claw marks here and there. He suspected there might be something like a bear around and hoped that it was just a normal animal.

Cycling his qi around his body, Liu Xing felt his strength increasing. He then jumped as high as possible and landed on a branch several meters from the ground. The branch was wide, and all around him, other branches were also wide. This meant he could move from branch to branch without issue.

Liu Xing jumped from branch to branch. Every time he jumped, the wind hit his face, making his black hair flutter. 

"This is cool!" he exclaimed. "How in the world didn't I try this in the last two years? I feel like a ninja!"

After a few minutes of doing flips and jumping with style, Liu Xing heard growling and hissing.

Suddenly alert, he moved from branch to branch, this time trying to be quiet, and soon spotted a clearing in front of him.

In the middle of the clearing, a giant snake, several meters long, was coiling around a giant brown bear. The bear was big, more than three meters tall, but the snake covered most of the bear's body. Only the bear's head was clearly visible, with bloodshot eyes and fangs sunk into the snake's belly, trying desperately to stay alive. The snake, on the other hand, looked smug. Its slitted yellow eyes were full of pride, as if it knew it would win this fight.

Liu Xing summoned his gun and tried to calm himself. Although the snake and bear were big, he didn't sense any qi from them, which meant they were normal animals. This situation was what he wanted—two targets to shoot!

Liu Xing held his gun, aimed, and tried to sense the surroundings. While he really wanted to kill these two animals, he didn't forget his main objective. He had a feeling that something extraordinary would happen with this gun. He was sure. His gut feeling told him so.

Liu Xing aimed at the snake's head, finger on the trigger. He held for several seconds when something indeed happened.

His gun started to turn invisible, like a chameleon trying to hide. Once the black gun succeeded in reflecting the light around it, the invisibility spread to his hand, arm, shoulder, and then his whole body.

Liu Xing was now invisible!

He tried to calm his racing heart. "Okay, now, how do I undo this?"

Liu Xing relaxed his posture and willed himself to become visible again. Gradually, starting from the gun, he became visible again like a canvas being painted. Once he was fully visible, he willed himself to become invisible again and succeeded.

Below, the bear's head finally burst. Blood and brain fluid colored the green snake's body red. The snake stopped coiling and opened its maw, swallowing the remaining bear in one gulp. Now, with a big bulge in its body, the snake started to slither away.

Knowing the snake would be gone soon, Liu Xing aimed again.

"Should I kill it?" Liu Xing muttered.

He knew now that he could turn transparent, even before pulling the trigger. But he wondered why. This snake was not the first animal he had aimed at. Was it because Liu Xing felt danger toward this snake? After all, he didn't feel danger from the eagle he shot and ate.

Seeing the snake slither toward a bush, Liu Xing decided not to complicate things and chose to kill it. Who knows, maybe another ability would reveal itself after he killed a dangerous animal.

Liu Xing aimed at the snake's head, and with a smooth motion, pulled the trigger. The almost transparent bullet flew through the air and landed squarely between the snake's eyes. Instantly, the snake went limp, dead.

Liu Xing checked his gun and his body. He was still invisible. He suspected his presence had also become thinner. But there were no other changes after he killed the animal.

Disappointed, Liu Xing aimed at a higher branch and prepared to shoot another animal when two bear cubs emerged from a bush and ran toward the dead snake. They clawed and bit at it, growling like madmen, trying to kill a dead snake.

Seeing this, Liu Xing realized that these two cubs must be the offspring of the dead bear. Had these two bears hidden while their mother fought? Whatever the case, Liu Xing had avenged these little bears.

Jumping to a higher branch, Liu Xing then started to hunt. While he was confident he could become invisible again, he needed to understand the conditions and limitations of this ability.

With a smile on his face and anticipation in his heart, Liu Xing started to hunt for another prey.

Chapter 6 ~ The Gun (6)

In the shallow cave below, a tiger with orange and black stripes slept. Liu Xing hid in a bush, gun aimed at the tiger's head.

Now, he blended into his surroundings like a chameleon. Normal animals wouldn't see or sense his presence, let alone a sleeping tiger. He pulled the trigger, and a bullet flew toward the target. When it landed, it created a small hole in the creature's forehead. Blood gushed, but the animal slept soundly until eternity.

Inhaling deeply, Liu Xing finished his latest experiment, and now he knew the full capability of his invisibility.

This ability was useful but had a few drawbacks.

First, this ability was slow. He needed several breaths to go from visible to completely invisible.

Second, this ability only activated when he aimed at a creature he deemed dangerous. Liu Xing was pretty sure he could kill that tiger easily. He was a cultivator at Lock Opening fifth stage. Yet, as a human from Earth, Liu Xing had an instinctual fear of dangerous animals like tigers, snakes, or bears. He saw a wild goat not long ago, but when he aimed at the goat and willed himself to go invisible, he fully recognized that the goat was not dangerous and can't go invisible.

The third drawback was that he could only be invisible while holding the gun. If he let go of the gun or called it back to his consciousness, the invisibility would undo abruptly.

Thankfully, his invisibility would not be undone even when he moved, making all the drawbacks not too severe.

Charging the gun with his qi, Liu Xing started to move again. Since his experiment with normal animals is done, now it's time to try to find spirit beasts.

Jumping to a branch and climbing higher, Liu Xing realized that soon the day would turn to night, and more dangerous beasts would roam the forest.

Not deterred, Liu Xing sensed the qi around him. The qi in the air felt like a mist. When it touched his skin, it felt cold and wet, but Liu Xing knew his skin was not in contact with water. It was just the feeling of it.

Liu Xing tried to follow the dense qi around him, guiding him deeper into the forest. Spirit beasts liked to live in rich qi environments, and since Liu Xing wanted to find a spirit beast, he followed the thread of dense qi.

After the darkness fully arrived, Liu Xing arrived at a part of the forest where the trees stood far apart. Each tree felt like an introvert, not wanting to touch or have contact with other trees. This environment allowed the grass below to grow tall, almost to his waist.

Feeling the qi around him, Liu Xing realized that this place was full of qi. Above, he saw the moon hanging in the sky, shining like a lone blind eye, illuminating this part of the forest. Despite the limited light, Liu Xing felt that he could see almost everything around him.

"There must be a spirit beast here," he thought.

Hopefully not a strong one, but Liu Xing felt ready.

Jumping to a high branch, Liu Xing tried to sense the qi around him. In his past missions, Liu Xing had slain several spirit beasts.

In those missions, Liu Xing had memorized how the spirit beast qi felt. Their qi was different from that of human cultivators, they felt more raw and powerful.

Closing his eyes, Liu Xing sensed such an aura moving quickly toward his direction. He wasn't surprised. Some spirit beasts were as dumb as rocks, but others were smart and could sense other qi. There was no doubt in his mind that his qi had already attracted a spirit beast.

Liu Xing opened his eyes and focused on the base of a tree a hundred meters away. A mantis-like creature stood there, with yellow eyes as big as palms, sickle-like arms, and a body coated in red, as if bathed in blood. Its antennae swung wildly, and its body twitched like a spring before launching.

Liu Xing summoned his gun and took his stance. He felt danger crawling up his spine, cold sweat pouring down his back. He realized this beast was as strong as him.

While the cultivation of spirit beasts and humans differed, Liu Xing sensed that this giant red mantis was at the Lock Opening fourth stage, a realm lower than him, yet its strength was comparable to his.

The wind blew gently, the grass swaying like a dancer hearing music Liu Xing couldn't hear nor comprehend. He focused his eyes on his foe, feeling like he stood on a tightrope, ready to fall at any moment.

When the mantis creature jumped, it shot forward like a cannonball. Liu Xing pulled the trigger, and the bullet struck the beast's head. Its head snapped back as if hit by a strong punch, but there was no hole. He couldn't one-shot the creature.

The mantis landed in front of him, swinging its sickles, aiming to split his body in half. Liu Xing focused his qi in his feet and jumped backward. In mid-air, he fired again and again. A "ping ping" sound echoed as the bullets hit the creature's body, but they didn't penetrate its tough exoskeleton.

Liu Xing jumped back several times, zigzagging through the grass. The mantis followed, swinging its arms.

Liu Xing activated the invisibility feature of his gun while continuing to zigzag.

After several more moments, the invisibility began to spread.

Realizing Liu Xing was vanishing, the spirit beast intensified its efforts to catch him, slashing repeatedly.

In the dead of night, under the lone moon, a deadly dance unfolded. The mantis moved with crazy speed, its reach long, every swing can end his life.

Liu Xing focused his whole body while keeping an eye on his surroundings to evade its attacks. He ran here and there, sometimes trying to hide behind a tree, hoping it would obstruct his foe for a second, but all of the trees fell, their sound reverberating in the cold night.

Liu Xing leaped to a branch. As he stepped on it, the spirit beast jumped to follow him, slashing its arms and cutting the branch. Liu Xing fell with the branch, and the mantis used another tree as a stepping stone to jump toward him with its arms closing like scissors.

Liu Xing saw the glint in the spirit beast's eye and understood that it thought it had won. In mid-air, Liu Xing couldn't evade.

He gritted his teeth and fired one more time. The bullet struck its forehead, making its head snap back, but its arms still tried to slash him.

Liu Xing released his right hand from the gun, making only his left hand holding the gun, and summoned electricity to his palm. Up close, he knew his Lightning Palm strike would be more effective than a bullet. But when Liu Xing channeled his technique, no electricity came to his hands. Instead, he felt like a bullet in his gun was suddenly made from electricity.

Adrenaline pumped through every fiber, making the world slow down. He didn't understand what just happened, but he knew what he needed to do.

To his left and right, the scythes glinted under moonlight, reflecting an imperfect image of himself. With superhuman speed, Liu Xing aimed his gun at the mantis's face and pulled the trigger with only his left hand.

There was no recoil, just a whisper of a gunshot. A lightning bullet shot from his gun toward the mantis.

Chapter 7 ~ The Gun (7)

For a moment, Liu Xing saw surprise in its eyes. When the lightning bullet hit, an arc of electricity danced around it, zapping it, making it freeze as if its nerves were fried.

It crashed into Liu Xing like a giant hammer. He felt his brain tremble, the world blurring for a second, but he soon recovered. When they landed on the grass, they rolled several times before Liu Xing found an opening and jumped away, landing several meters from the mantis, fully invisible.

His eyes focused on the mantis still in shock, arcs of electricity dancing around it, its feet, body, and sickles twitching, but it was still alive.

Liu Xing jumped to a high branch and assumed his position, his mind reeling from what had just happened.

"Holy shit, I almost died," he muttered.

While this wasn't the first time he had nearly died, it was one of the most terrifying. If that lightning bullet had hit one second later, its sickles would have connected before it stopped due to the shock.

Despite the near-death experience, his heart thumped aggressively, and a smile formed on his face. He had discovered another ability of his gun: Lightning Bullet! Though not stronger than a normal bullet, it had the ability to stun enemies like his Lightning Palm technique.

The bullet was probably his Lightning Palm converted by his gun.

A whole new world opened before his eyes. If this gun could convert a technique to a bullet, Liu Xing could change his fighting style entirely. He wondered how other techniques would function if converted to bullets. Could he shoot healing bullets? Curse bullets? The possibilities seemed endless!

The mantis below started to rise, and Liu Xing berated himself. He shouldn't have been distracted and used the moment it was frozen to land a killing blow. Still, Liu Xing took a deep breath and calmed himself. The situation is better now. He was fully invisible and had a bullet that could stun his opponent.

The creature moved its head left and right, looking confused. It seemed unable to see or sense Liu Xing's presence.

Liu Xing took aim, finger on the trigger, searching for the perfect moment to shoot.

This spirit beast's body was tough; his bullets wouldn't penetrate. But Liu Xing was sure there had to be a weakness.

"Should I aim for the eyes?" he wondered. The mantis had large eyes.

For a moment, Liu Xing thought its eyes might be just as tough, but finding no other weakness, he pointed his gun at its right eye.

The mantis stood still, its antennae twitching madly, its feet ready to spring at any moment. It didn't know where Liu Xing right now, but it knew he would attack.

Liu Xing adjusted his aim, and then pulled the trigger.

The almost transparent bullet struck like a lightning bolt, dead in the center of the yellow eye. The eye exploded, spraying blood onto the grass, and it screeched with antennae twitching wildly.

Seeing an opportunity, Liu Xing pulled the trigger again and shot the other eye. Another screech echoed as the mantis suddenly turned its body toward Liu Xing's direction. Its legs twitched, and Liu Xing realized his position was compromised.

The mantis leaped straight at him, its yellow eyes now destroyed, blood and yellow fluid oozing from the wounds. Liu Xing steadied his heart and pulled the trigger again. The bullet flew straight to its remaining right eye, piercing the brain, and the head exploded.

Liu Xing crouched as the mantis passed above him, its body twitching like nerves waiting for signals that would never come. The mantis crashed to the ground beside a tall tree, its blood spilling near tree roots.

Liu Xing inhaled deeply, then a large smile bloomed on his face, and he jumped around like a little kid. He had won! Although he had almost died, his last execution was flawless. His invisibility worked like a charm.

Liu Xing wondered if he had unlocked all the gun's abilities when he felt qi from his gun. The sensation was similar to when he reloaded, but this time his qi wasn't being absorbed by the gun.

Liu Xing checked his gun, seeing the gray stripes on the side of the gun began to light up slowly, like a phone battery being charged. The first stripe glowed white, then the second, then the third, and finally the fourth.

Liu Xing raised his eyebrow. "Is it automatically recharging?"

He had a conjecture, so he jumped from his branch to the side of the mantis carcass.

He crouched beside it and tried to feel the beast's core. Not all spiritual beasts had beast cores, but strong ones did, and this mantis was certainly strong. However, no matter how hard Liu Xing tried, he couldn't sense the beast core.

Curious, he tried to pry open the remaining head of the mantis. But even after his hands were bloody, Liu Xing didn't find any beast core.

Glancing at the gun, Liu Xing realized it had absorbed the beast core and converted it into bullets. It was a useful ability but also a waste. Sure, the bullets would be powerful, but while Liu Xing couldn't absorb the core directly—since he practiced the Lightning Scripture Cultivation Manual—he could still sell the core and buy cultivation pills or items to cultivate faster.

Jumping from the side carcass onto a high branch, Liu Xing sat cross-legged and thought for a bit.

The gun was strong and powerful, but this ability seemed lacking, and there was a possibility he was missing something.

"Let's see. The gun killed the spirit beast and converted its beast core into four bullets. Is it because that mantis was at the Lock Opening fourth stage?"

Liu Xing pinched his chin, then his eyes widened. 

"This gun converts beast cores into qi! Can I absorb these four bullets?"

Liu Xing's heart thumped wildly, anticipation filling him. If this was true, he would have another way to cultivate. Not only could he absorb qi from the air, but he could also hunt spiritual beasts.

If Liu Xing was right, many cultivators used beast cores to cultivate. Their growth was fast, but they struggled to advance to another realm because qi from beast cores was impure. They needed either techniques to purify the qi or pills to cleanse it. Even then, their bottlenecks were harder to overcome.

But this gun was different. Liu Xing had no doubt the bullet contained pure qi, compatible with him!

"Alright, let's test it."

Liu Xing shut his eyes and began to cultivate. But instead of absorbing qi from the air around him, he focused on the black gun in his lap. In his perception, he saw four glowing qi inside the gun. Liu Xing touched this light with his perception, and like lightning finding a lightning rod, it jumped into him.

Suddenly, the qi spread throughout his body, making him stronger, sturdier.

Liu Xing calmed his excitement and tried to absorb the qi into his consciousness. He focused all of the qi into a lock in his ball of lightning.

In this world, cultivators needed to open the locks sealing their cultivation. That's why the first realm was called the Lock Opening realm.

Liu Xing jammed the qi into the lock, and the qi happily obliged. This sixth lock was nearly empty, but after the qi settled, it was at ten percent capacity.

Liu Xing opened his eyes, exhaled deeply, and enjoyed the wind caressing his face.

"This is amazing," he whispered.

If his calculations were correct, he only needed nine spirit beasts to fully open the sixth lock and advance to the Lock Opening sixth realm. Usually, people with average talent needed one or two years to open a lock. This included Liu Xing, but now he was different. He could advance faster. What he needed to do was hunt more spirit beasts!

"Let's go hunt!" shouted Liu Xing.

He then jumped, his body, mind, and spirit eager to fight another spirit beast and get closer to the next realm!

Chapter 8 ~ The Gun (8)

Several days later.

Liu Xing jumped from branch to branch frantically. He spent a day and a night chasing that damned fox. He wouldn't let it escape!

Jumping from branch to branch like a ninja, Liu Xing locked his eyes on the orange fox. He summoned his gun, but aiming while moving was difficult, and the fox, bouncing around like a rubber ball, was hard to hit.

"Stop moving, you bastard!"

Liu Xing pulled the trigger. His bullet flew straight, but the fox, either sensing the bullet or by coincidence, leaped off the branch and dove into a bush.

"Damn it!"

Liu Xing sped up his qi cycling and tried to move faster. He jumped so hard that the branch exploded beneath his feet and flew through the air, scanning the surroundings like an eagle.

There! That damned fox was running on the ground like a dolphin swimming in the sea. It moved smoothly around bushes, brambles, and roots, its feet barely touching the ground.

This fox was a spirit beast. It wasn't strong, only at the Lock Opening second stage. By all means, Liu Xing could reduce this creature to a bloody pool with a flick of his finger, but this damned fox was really fast and too cunning.

Liu Xing's hatred for the fox began several days ago when it pissed on his face while he slept. The shame when he realized what had happened and the fox's mocking expression when it saw him awake ignited a fire in his heart. Whatever happened, he would kill this fox!

Liu Xing shot another bullet. The bullet flew straight, hitting the fox's back. For a moment, Liu Xing thought he had succeeded, but when the fox shimmered like an illusion undone, Liu Xing realized he was fooled again.

Liu Xing scanned his surroundings and saw the fox behind a tall, slim tree. The fox smiled and yapped like a prankster who had successfully thrown an egg at an innocent pedestrian.

Liu Xing aimed at the fox, but before he could pull the trigger, the fox leaped as fast as lightning, becoming an orange blur.

Liu Xing took a step to follow, but then he realized his foot had touched something warm and sludgy.

Looking down, Liu Xing saw he had stepped in fox shit, indicated by the annoying laughter.

"Bastard!" Liu Xing shouted, his emotions flaring up.

He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Forget it. This fox is too fast. I can't catch it."

He had already wasted a day chasing this fox. Sooner or later, he would catch it, but how many days would be wasted for little gain?

Liu Xing noticed the fox's laughter had stopped. No doubt it was already running away. His pride whispered to continue the chase, but Liu Xing reined in his emotions and calmed down.

While he wanted to gut the fox, another reason for catching it was to finally kill another spirit beast. After killing the mantis, he had managed to kill a large sea star, a creature hard to kill. He needed to flip it and shoot it in the mouth. But after that sea star, he hadn't found any other spirit beasts except for that damned fox. 

"It's not surprising. This place isn't far from the sect. There are fewer spirit beasts here."

That's why he chose this place to experiment. He wanted to find spirit beasts to test his gun but didn't want to encounter an overwhelmingly strong one.

The conditions were different now. He had finished his experiment and wanted to hunt, but this place lacked spirit beasts. Liu Xing was sure he could find another spirit beast if he was patient and searched thoroughly, but how many days would it take?

"Should I go back to the sect and find a more suitable place? This nameless forest was not an optimal place to hunt spirit beasts."

He nodded, deciding leaving this forest was the right decision.

He started walking, ignoring the soft texture on his right sole and the weird laughter reverberating in the forest.

Damned fox!

***

Liu Xing walked along the forest path. The trees here were tall but narrow, like poles. It had been half a day since he decided to return, and if he calculated correctly, with his walking speed, he would reach the sect in a few days. If he ran at full speed, he could arrive today, but he decided to take his time for one last experiment.

Jumping over a fallen log, Liu Xing summoned his gun in his left hand. He realized he didn't need to hold it with both hands.

Liu Xing wasn't an expert with guns; he just copied what he saw on TV, in films, and on the internet. He assumed people held guns with both hands to handle the recoil, and since this gun had almost no recoil, there was no reason to use both hands.

Liu Xing ducked under a few branches and started cycling his qi in a specific pattern. After activating the Lightning Palm, his right palm should have been coated in electricity, but instead, a bullet inside the gun now felt like it was created from electricity.

Liu Xing aimed at a tree and shot it. Electricity danced around the tree, but no hole was created.

He dismissed the gun and cycled his qi again. Now, in his right hand, a blue lightning encased his hand, with a few strands of electricity dancing around it.

Liu Xing focused on a tree in front of him. Then, he ran as fast as he could and slammed his palm into the tree. Instantly, the tree shattered, electricity dancing around it, and Liu Xing stepped aside to avoid the falling tree.

He resumed walking, thinking that while stunning bullets were useful, sometimes the original Lightning Palm Technique would be better.

"Problem is, I can't use this technique while holding the gun," he muttered.

The technique was absorbed by the gun.

After getting the gun, Liu Xing decided to change his fighting style. Before, he used the Lightning Palm Technique and its variations for close combat, but with this gun, he needed to become a ranged combatant. However, he still needed a close combat technique for safety. Some enemies could reach him before he could pull the trigger. But he couldn't use the technique while holding the gun.

"What do I do?" He regarded the black gun in his hand.

If he dismissed the gun, he could activate the technique, but it would be slow. Liu Xing thought it would be better if he could use the technique while holding the gun.

Liu Xing decided to fill the bullet with electricity again. He aimed at nothing, not intending to shoot.

He walked while thinking. He tested how fast he could summon and dismiss the gun, and while fast, it wasn't fast enough. Liu Xing then tried to deceive the gun. He thought, if holding the gun absorbed the technique, what if he threw it for a moment?

He imagined throwing the gun into the air, attacking the enemy, and catching it again. It's a cool set of movement, and since he could dismiss and resummon the gun, he wouldn't lose it.

But when he tried these sets of motion, even throwing the gun to the air, the technique was still absorbed by the flying gun.

"Damn, I thought it would work."

He walked on. Above, the sun was high, making the air warm. When he saw a little river ahead, snaking like glittering blue snakes, Liu Xing got an idea.

Standing beside the river, Liu Xing aimed the gun at the water. He cycled his qi and activated the Lightning Palm. As usual, the gun absorbed his technique, creating a lightning bullet that could stun enemies.

Now, Liu Xing closed his eyes and tried to feel the bullet's presence. In his mind's eye, he felt the bullet glittering and crackling like thunder. Liu Xing then tried to pull the electricity back. His idea was: since he could absorb the energy from the gun, perhaps he could reclaim his technique.

At first, it felt impossible, but when he pulled, the electricity reacted easily. It moved from the gun to his left hand, then quickly settled in his right palm. Liu Xing checked his right hand, and indeed, lightning crackled in his palm.

"I didn't think this would work."

Liu Xing tried to coat his hand in electricity. As soon as he thought of it, lightning encased his hand, making it glow blue. Seeing this, Liu Xing blinked several times. The true Lightning Palm Technique was to create focused electricity in the palm. This coating technique was a variation that usually required coaxing the lightning, adding more qi, and focusing his mind to achieve. But this electricity was so easy to control it felt like it had a mind of its own.

"There's no way, right?"

Liu Xing's heart thumped. He thought he had unraveled all this gun's abilities, but it had another function!

Liu Xing added more qi. The technique greedily absorbed it, making his hand shine brighter with arcs of electricity.

He then imagined a lightning sword forming in his hand. The reason he chose this technique was to emulate a certain dark-haired emo's technique, but unlike him, Liu Xing only succeeded in coating his hand with electricity. He couldn't manipulate it freely, but maybe now he could.

After successfully imagining a blue lightning sword, a real sword sprung from his hand like a sprouting seed. Seeing this, Liu Xing's mind went blank for a moment before he giggled uncontrollably.

Liu Xing added more qi, making the sword longer, then shorter. The lightning sword obeyed his commands like a servant obeyed his emperor.

He then formed the ball of electricity in his palm again and assumed a stance. His right hand pointed to the ground, body low like a runner at the starting line. He added more qi, willing the technique to sound like a thousand chirping birds. Liu Xing willed the lightning to glow intensely, focusing his power. Then, with a focused face, he ran as fast as he could. Electricity trailed behind him.

He shouted "Chidori!" and raised his hand to strike a tree. His hand pierced the tree, which shattered. But Liu Xing didn't stop. He ran straight, piercing and felling trees while laughing madly.

After several moments, standing in a clearing surrounded by fallen trees, Liu Xing calmed his mind and exhaled.

"It's amazing!"

Who knew he could realize one of his childhood dreams.

Dismissing the technique, Liu Xing regarded his gun. This gun was powerful. He wondered how Nui got it. Did he create it? Discover it? Whatever the truth, this gun was out of this world. Liu Xing suspected it didn't work with qi but another form of energy converted from qi. When it was converted back, the result was pure, compatible qi that Liu Xing could meld easily.

Caressing his gun, Liu Xing smiled softly. Even in another world, he owed his friend again.

He would repay their help and kindness by becoming strong, becoming a legend, and doing something about the darkness in this world.

Chapter 9 ~ Yan Yu (1)

Seeing the giant purple gate in front of him, Liu Xing smiled.

In the last two years, the sect was a miserable place. At first, Liu Xing was bullied relentlessly. He was robbed, ridiculed, and almost lost his dignity. But a year ago, after the worst bully became an inner disciple and the rest went missing on a failed mission, the place became bearable. After that, Liu Xing saw the sect as a place to quietly cultivate.

Now, with newfound power, Liu Xing felt like the Purple Moon Sect was his home, his main base for whatever would happen in the future.

Greeting the two guarding disciples who regarded his greeting lazily, Liu Xing stood at the crossroads. The straight path led to the Outer Hall, the left went to the dorms and housing area, and to the right was the library and training ground.

Looking down, Liu Xing realized his clothes were dirty. Mud clung to his inner pants, and blood, grime, and dirt speckled his purple robe. He needed to change his clothes, but it could wait.

Since he discovered his gun's ability to convert techniques into bullets, he's been eager to expand his repertoire. He aims to master two new techniques, and now is the perfect time. He can wash and change after acquiring them.

Liu Xing walked to a large pagoda. The pagoda stood tall and wide, almost as high as a skyscraper from Earth. This library wasn't the only one in the sect; there was also a library in the inner sect and a hidden library for the most important people in the sect. However, this was the only one he had access to.

After a while, Liu Xing arrived in front of the building. The giant double gate was open. Inside, disciples young and old mingled.

The young ones still had prospects and came here to find new techniques that suited them, while the older disciples, who had no chance of advancing to inner disciples, worked as librarians, cleaners, clerks, and in other jobs. They were paid in points, which they could exchange for daily necessities or pursue their crafts. Some old people use the points to acquire different types of alcohol, some gather funds to study their interests, such as writing a bestiary or creating talismans,etc.

In the past, Liu Xing had decided that after reaching the Core Splitting realm, he would go to a backwater city and spend his old life there, but working in the sect was also an option.

Liu Xing stepped inside and started looking around. He had around two hundred sect points. It should be enough to get two techniques. Since his affinity was lightning, he decided to lean into it and learn lightning-based techniques.

As he walked, he passed hundreds of shelves filled with books and scrolls. Some contained fist techniques, like Mountain Shattering Fist, Dragon Fist, and Demon Tiger Fist. He passed some interesting shelves about poison techniques, ranging from the intriguing Moss Blood Technique to the downright terrifying Skull Melting Poison Technique. Liu Xing passed some generic cultivation scriptures, one of which he knew by heart: The Lightning Scripture. This scripture absorbed qi and converted it to lightning qi.

Liu Xing soon arrived at his destination. In this corner, there were dozens of shelves brimming with lightning techniques.

Smiling, Liu Xing began to browse for two suitable techniques. He sought a movement technique and a highly destructive attack technique. He believed these were the most essential for him: a movement technique to escape if he encountered a too-strong enemy, and a destructive technique to defeat an enemy with a single shot.

Liu Xing found many interesting movement techniques and successfully narrowed his choice to three. Finding a chair and a table, he sat and spread two books and one scroll on top of the table.

The leftmost one was called Lightning Steps Technique, the scroll in the center described the Rolling Cloud Flashing Lightning Technique, and the last one detailed the Lightning Cloak Technique.

Opening the book about Lightning Steps, he read the introductory chapter. In summary, this technique coated the user's feet with lightning qi, creating explosive bursts of speed and flashing like lightning. He tries to open the next chapter, but the characters move like a busy ant colony. He wasn't surprised; all the techniques in this library were encrypted so no one could read them without paying sect points.

This Lightning Steps technique was amazing. He had seen it in action last year, in the Outer Disciple Tournament. Liu Xing didn't know who used it, but he had successfully thrown their opponent from the arena. Every step he took made him move so fast, and each step created a loud thunder sound. The crater left behind indicated that this technique relied on strong steps, like kicking the ground to launch oneself like a cannonball.

"Interesting technique. With this, I can run away if someone stronger attacks me up close. The drawback is it's loud and creates a huge mark. I can't use it with invisibility."

What he needed was a silent and flexible movement technique.

Moving to the second technique, Liu Xing read the introductory chapter of the Rolling Cloud Flashing Lightning Technique. In summary, this technique created a literal cloud at the user's feet, allowing them to attack opponents with lightning. The higher the user's mastery, the faster the cloud and the stronger the lightning. At its highest mastery, this technique enabled the user to fly.

"Amazing, and such a cool technique too. It's a shame it combines water and lightning techniques."

Since he practiced the Lightning Scripture, while he could still learn and use techniques from different affinities, their effectiveness would decrease. Techniques from different elements would be inefficient and hard to master.

Liu Xing moved to the last technique, the most promising one.

The Lightning Cloak Technique encased the user in a lightning cloak. The introductory chapter stated that the user would coat their entire body with lightning, enhancing their body. While this technique made the user stronger, its main function was to increase speed.

"The drawback is this technique needs a large amount of qi to maintain. It's not as fast as Lightning Steps, nor does it enable flight. Its main selling point is overall speed enhancement."

Liu Xing was sure this technique was created as a supplementary technique for martial arts, perhaps for sword or saber techniques.

"Hmm, which one do I choose?" Liu Xing pinched his chin. His eyes went from Lightning Steps to Rolling Cloud Flashing Lightning, and then to Lightning Cloak. All had pros and cons, but the most balanced one was the Lightning Cloak technique.

Liu Xing closed his eyes and thought for several moments, then nodded and reached for the third technique, the Lightning Cloak.

"Hopefully, this technique is more impressive than it seems."

Returning the two techniques he didn't choose to their respective shelves, Liu Xing began to browse again. Now, he needed to choose his destructive technique. He wanted the most powerful and impressive lightning technique he could find.

The search took longer than expected. Dozens of techniques fulfilled his one criterion: strong effects. Techniques that created explosions or wide-area attacks were his goal. After all, this technique would be his ace in the sleeve. The choice was hard, but he successfully narrowed it down to three.

On the table now lay three books containing three awesome techniques. The first, and the coolest, was called Dragon Breath Lightning Attack. This attack created a dragon head from lightning in the user's hand. When the user willed it, the dragon head shot a lightning beam so dense it looked like dragon's breath or, more aptly, a laser as big as a pillar.

Liu Xing almost chose the Dragon Breath Lightning Attack on impulse. He imagined creating a massive dragon in the sky to destroy everything below it. But Liu Xing calmed his racing heart and found another interesting technique.

The second technique was called Golden Lightning. This attack was quite simple. The user gathered electricity in their palm and shot it. While simple, this technique was unique. In the introduction chapter, the creator mentioned that this technique was inspired by heavenly tribulation lightning. Hence, its golden color and destructive ability.

Glancing at the book on the far right, Liu Xing read the title: Exploding Fist Technique. This was not exactly a lightning technique. The introduction explained that this technique could be used with any type of qi: fire, lightning, wind, or even water. The creator noted that this technique worked best with fire but also matched well with lightning qi.

The effect of this technique was simple. When activated, a ball of energy would form in front of the knuckle. The smaller the ball, the stronger its effect. Upon contact, the ball would explode. If he were learning it just for the sake of mastering a fist technique, he might not choose this one. However, since its effect would be powerful if converted to a bullet, he decided to consider it.

"Now, which one do I choose?"

The pros of the Dragon Breath Lightning Attack were its destructive power. Since he could hold the technique longer, Liu Xing would essentially have a laser attack that could slice through anything. The cons were the large amount of qi required and the long charging time. Also, converting this technique into a bullet would essentially give him a laser gun. Cool, but not very effective. It would be useful for penetrating defensive barriers or heavily armored opponents, but he would need to stay still for a moment.

Glancing at the second book, Liu Xing thought that Golden Lightning would be perfect as a bullet. He imagined vaporizing his enemies entirely. This would be wasteful if Liu Xing were an alchemist since spirit beast parts are ingredients for creating pills. But Liu Xing was not an alchemist, and his gun took care of the beast core inside spiritual beasts. The drawback was the requirement to witness or experience heavenly tribulation lightning. All cultivators, if they advance enough, would experience heavenly tribulation, but usually only when reaching the Sun Collapsing realm. There was a way to artificially summon lightning tribulation, but it required resources Liu Xing didn't have.

The third technique, Exploding Fist, was the plainest technique. Normally, it had one fatal drawback: creating an exploding energy ball in front of the knuckle would cause backlash to the user. It was like exploding a bomb in front of you and your enemy. But combined with his gun, that drawback was gone since he could shoot the energy ball. The creator mentioned that the smaller the energy ball, the stronger the explosion, and since bullets were small, Liu Xing expected a big explosion. The drawback was this technique was big and loud, unlike the laser and Golden Lightning.

Pinching his chin, Liu Xing weighed the pros and cons. These three techniques were really good. Ideally, he wanted to learn all of them and use them in the right circumstances, but with his sect points, he could only choose one.

"Let's see, Golden Lightning has troublesome requirements to learn. Not impossible, but certainly time-consuming. The Dragon Breath Lightning Attack is strong and cool, but not great for bullets. This leaves the third technique."

Liu Xing hesitated for a moment, then chose the third technique.

Like with the Lightning Cloak Technique, he hoped this technique was more impressive than it seemed.

"Alright, let's buy it."

Chapter 10 ~ Yan Yu (2)

Liu Xing walked to the stern-looking librarian, a man that look like in his fifties with a few strands of white hair and a bushy mustache. When Liu Xing stepped in front of the desk, the librarian took one look at his dirty appearance and sneered.

"What is a beggar doing in my library?"

Liu Xing looked at himself. While he was dirty and somewhat smelly, he was far from a beggar. But he wouldn't argue.

"Greetings, senior. I'm not a beggar. I'm Liu Xing," he said, clasping his fist in his palm. "I'm here to exchange my sect points for these two techniques." Liu Xing placed the Lightning Cloak and Exploding Fist techniques on the table.

The clerk, seeing his chosen techniques, sneered again. "Garbage techniques for a garbage disciple. How fitting."

Liu Xing's expression remained neutral. He was a Lock Opening fifth stage while the clerk, Liu Xing suspected, was an early Core Splitting cultivator. In terms of potential, Liu Xing was not behind this old disciple. Liu Xing could still grow, while the clerk seemed content being a librarian and berating juniors.

His comment about garbage techniques stemmed from the fact that these two techniques were only Base Grade.

Techniques in this world were separated into three grades: Base, Earth, and Heaven. Liu Xing suspected there were grades beyond Heaven, but for now, he was content knowing only these grades.

"You need 215 points to acquire these techniques," the clerk said with a raised chin, as if he was sure Liu Xing couldn't afford it.

Liu Xing took out his token—a slab of wood shaped like a crescent moon—and silently handed it to the clerk. The old disciple checked the amount of points he had, deducted the points, and sneered, seeming to hate Liu Xing because he could afford these techniques.

Liu Xing took the two techniques from the table, thanked the older disciple, and hurriedly left the library. In his experience, people like that old disciple were petty. They couldn't climb higher, so they made everything hard for everyone else.

While walking toward his cave, Liu Xing wondered if that clerk would forever remain a librarian and then pass away quietly.

Trying to commit the clerk to memory so he could avoid him in the future, Liu Xing checked his remaining points on the token. Sending a small amount of qi toward it, the number 3 appeared.

"Years of saving are gone in an evening," he sighed.

Liu Xing had forgotten how many missions he had completed. But since he worked hard every month, he had finished at least fifty or sixty missions. Despite that many missions, he could only afford two techniques.

"Whatever, I'll just rack up more points from here onward."

Liu Xing tried to cheer himself up and read the Lightning Cloak technique as he walked. The technique's cycling method wasn't hard to remember. Half of it was exactly the same as when he activated the Lightning Palm. Liu Xing predicted that if he learned it the normal way, he could probably use it in just a week. That's how similar this technique was to the Lightning Palm Technique.

The Exploding Fist was another matter. He decided to master the Lightning Cloak first before touching the other technique.

Liu Xing walked deeper into the sect. In front of him, a mountain jutted into the sky, its cliffs full of natural and man-made caves. This area of the sect wasn't popular since it was far from the rest of the sect and had thinner qi in the air. But Liu Xing cherished the fresh air, the sound of chirping birds, and the serenity of this place.

Walking on the dirt path, Liu Xing soon arrived at a small clearing with a little cave. This cave had doors, albeit old and covered in moss. Liu Xing touched the door and sent a pulse of qi. Usually, the door would light up with a greenish glow and then open. But today, instead of a greenish light, a reddish light appeared.

"What?"

Liu Xing tried again and again, but the door remained locked. Then, a small yet firm voice came from behind the door.

"Go away."

Liu Xing blinked several times, wondering if his ears had a problem. But soon he realized what had happened. While he was training, someone had taken his cave!

Liu Xing knocked on the door until it rattled. This was unacceptable!

"You're the one who needs to go away! This is my house!"

"Go away," said the voice again, small yet stern. Liu Xing realized the speaker was a girl.

"Look, I think you made a mistake. This cave is occupied. Didn't you see the clothes and the simple futon inside? That's mine!"

Liu Xing knocked desperately. This cave was his and his alone. The floor, walls, bed, and little desk inside had witnessed his life here. Whether groveling after being beaten or feeling depressed and wondering if he would see his friends again, this cave was his sanctuary. The place where Nui gave him the gun, the connection to his past.

Liu Xing tried to calm his heart, trying to make sense of what had happened. The girl inside must be a new disciple; otherwise, she would already have a house for herself.

"Sister, can we talk? This is my cave, and I think you can find a better place. For example, the dorms. Not only are the dorms closer to the library and training ground, but they also have denser qi. If you are talented, you could even win a private house for yourself. This place is not good. Only losers live here."

Liu Xing felt bitter saying "only losers live here." After all, he lived here. But that thought soon vanished. While in the past he lived here to avoid being bullied, now he chose to live here because it was an important place for him.

For several moments, there was silence. Then, her voice sounded.

"Go find another place."

Liu Xing can't accept that. "This place is mine."

"Not anymore. This place is now mine."

Then the door opened.

Inside, Liu Xing saw a girl sitting in a lotus position. She had piercing blue eyes that seemed to glow, silky black hair, and clear skin.

For an instant, Liu Xing saw a glowing blue light beneath his futon, desk, and his chest full of clothes, as if lifted by a thin sheet of ice, then they started hurling toward him. Liu Xing jumped to the side and saw his belongings now on the ground, the chest spilling clothes and one of the legs of his short desk broken.

Turning his head to the girl again, Liu Xing realized she was the new disciple he had seen before he went to train. She was breathtakingly beautiful, but she was rude as hell, a downright jerk, perhaps a bully. Her charming appearance suddenly became meaningless.

Liu Xing's lips formed a thin line, emotion bubbling in his stomach.

"Even with my belongings outside, the cave is still mine. You need to go."

The girl stood up, her electric blue eyes locking onto his. For a moment, Liu Xing felt intimidated, but he held his ground.

"You waste my time," said the girl.

After she said that, dozens of ice crystals materialized in the air. The crystals were as big as a palm and had sharp edges.

Seeing this, Liu Xing understood that this conflict needed to be resolved by violence. He estimated she was at the Lock Opening fifth stage. If she wasn't some kind of genius, then Liu Xing had a high chance of defeating her and getting his cave back.

Chapter 11 ~ Yan Yu (3)

Yan Yu had a huge secret. If people knew, it would shake the world. After all, what happened to her was unimaginable, something even an immortal probably couldn't do.

She had somehow come back to the past.

At the end of her life, when her cultivation was burned, her talismans spent, and she was as weak as an ant with the Heavenly Spear flying like a comet toward her heart, she could only pray beneath the dark clouds and flashing lightning for a second chance.

When the spear pierced her heart and exploded, she returned to the fateful day when her fiancé broke their engagement, leading to her banishment from the Yan clan. Initially, she mistook it for a dream. There's a saying that when someone faces death, their life flashes before their eyes. However, after living through several days, she realized this was her new reality.

Since that day, Yan Yu spent every waking moment training and cultivating. She tried to become as strong as possible to face the huge calamity that would start the Era of Chaos later.

Yan Yu swore to make that bastard--her former fiancé --pay a thousandfold and vowed to be strong enough to defeat him. That's why she was here, in the Purple Moon Sect.

In her past life, she had barely been accepted as an outer disciple in a small sect called Frozen Palace Sect, a sect that only accepted women with special physiques. While she would miss her sister and master in the sect, her desire for strength trumped her feelings, and she decided that in this life, she would come to the Purple Moon Sect.

The Purple Moon Sect was one of the strongest sects on the Dark Forest continent, and she would certainly become stronger faster here. That's why she aimed to be an inner disciple as soon as possible, then a core disciple, and eventually an elder to unleash the full power of the sect on her enemies.

The path ahead was hard. The Purple Moon Sect was unique. In any other sect, a strong and talented disciple would be poached by an elder and given large resources. But here, every disciple needed to become an outer disciple first, then an inner disciple, and then a core disciple. The elders in this sect could only have a maximum of three disciples at a time, making the process to become an inner and core disciple hard for everyone, even the patriarch's son.

But Yan Yu would not give up. Her talent in this life was great, her potential not wasted, and her knowledge gave her a head start. Now, she needed to seize every opportunity to grow faster than everyone else.

After the outer disciple guide showed her the houses, dorms, and caves for new disciples, Yan Yu didn't hesitate to go to the caves area and live there. While the caves area had thinner qi, the difference was not that significant for her. She wanted a silent place to cultivate without disturbances.

She chose the first cave she came across. While she realized that the cave was occupied with some spare clothes, a desk with papers on it, and unwashed clothes in the corner, she didn't care and started to cultivate.

For a while, she cultivated peacefully, but then a man came and knocked on the door, disturbing her cultivation.

Yan Yu was annoyed. She didn't want to search for another cave and waste her time. She wanted this cave, and this man needed to accept her decision. After all, Yan Yu was talented and destined for greatness. If that bastard hadn't shown up and ruined everything, she would have been guaranteed to become an immortal.

"You wasted my time," Yan Yu said.

Yan Yu didn't know this man, which meant he wasn't some talented or genius cultivator destined to shake the world.

Yan Yu materialized ice shards and attacked. The man jumped backward, and she pursued him outside, to the front of the cave where a clearing awaited.

With every step Yan Yu took, the air around her grew colder, her eyes sharper and bluer, like glowing blue gems under moonlight.

More flying shards materialized around her, and soon, ice shards filled her surroundings like a swarm of wasps ready to strike, causing the temperature around her to drop tremendously.

"Give up, I don't want to waste my precious time on you."

"Give me back my cave!" answered the man.

Yan Yu narrowed her eyes and waved her hand. Like a tsunami, all her ice shards surged towards her enemy.

She was only at the Lock Opening fifth stage, and the Flying Shards was one of her basic attacks, but for a normal disciple, even one from the Purple Moon Sect, this attack was too dangerous.

"It's over."

While she didn't want to spill unnecessary blood, she wouldn't hesitate to kill someone who became her adversary.

"You're too cocky."

The man stood calmly and assumed a stance, his left hand pointing at her in a strange way, as if holding something invisible. As the tsunami of ice shards approached, electricity materialized in his right hand.

The first shard that arrived was smashed smoothly with his lightning-coated right hand, followed by the second and third. He destroyed every shard that came at him and then began to move closer, carving a path through the swarm of ice shards.

Seeing this, Yan Yu realized she had overestimated her power and underestimated her opponent. As expected from a Purple Moon Sect disciple, an attack that could kill a normal cultivator of her stage was being deflected by this disciple. But Yan Yu was not impressed.

The man's right hand moved fast and strong, like a cobra striking its prey. Each time his right hand destroyed a shard, a puff of ice powder bloomed. Yan Yu estimated her ice shards now numbered over three hundred, and she continued to create more until her opponent was spent.

Already, the man had lost his momentum. He held his ground, destroying the ice shards in front of him but unable to move further.

"Let's see if you can hold this."

Yan Yu pointed at him. The shards moved like soldiers directed at the enemy. The man destroyed the shards one by one with his right hand, but let's see if he could deflect shards coming from other directions.

Yan Yu swung her index finger left and right. The ice shards suddenly moved in three different directions: the first swarm moved straight like arrows, the second curved left, and the third curved right.

The man glanced left and right, his expression calm, as if he already knew how to solve his problem. He pointed his left hand at the swarm on his left, then with a twitch of his index finger, one of her shards turned into a puff of ice powder.

Yan Yu narrowed her eyes, trying to see better, but she couldn't discern what he did.

To deal with the swarm that came from the front and right, the man flexed his lightning-coated right hand, and suddenly a lightning blade grew from it.

Chapter 12 ~ Yan Yu (4)

He started swinging the lightning blade, slicing through her ice shards as if they were made of dumplings.

Seeing this, Yan Yu reconsidered her opinion. His control over his lightning technique was flawless. The lightning seemed fluid, able to grow longer and shorter at will. With this blade, he successfully deflected attacks coming from the front and right directions.

Was Yan Yu underestimating this sect disciple, or was this guy actually talented? Whatever the case, Yan Yu now wanted to defeat this guy. She was not only annoyed but also wanted to test her full power.

"What's your name?" Yan Yu asked.

The man, now swinging his blade like a whip, answered, "The man who owns that cave is named Liu Xing!"

Yan Yu felt a vein in her forehead twitch. Was this cave special?

"Whatever," she murmured.

She started cycling her qi in a different rhythm. Now, instead of shards, she materialized ice in the form of arrows. With this shape, her attack would be faster, although the drawback was the ice's fragility.

A swarm of ice arrows flew toward her enemy like a swarm of swallows. Liu Xing swung his lightning blade, destroying some of her arrows, but Yan Yu controlled some arrows manually, making them curve and dodge his attacks.

She materialized and attacked. Liu Xing dodged or destroyed her arrows. The exchange continued for several minutes: Yan Yu materialized and attacked, Liu Xing dodged or destroyed her arrows. The battle remained evenly matched, but Yan Yu remained patient, knowing that sooner or later, he would make a mistake.

Moments later, he made a mistake. He missed one of her arrows, and it moved past his shoulder. Yan Yu controlled that arrow directly, making it turn around and fly toward the back of his head.

When the arrow was only centimeters away from its target and Yan Yu thought the battle was over, an arc of electricity suddenly coated his entire body, and with movements as fast as lightning, he struck the arrow with a lightning blade.

So he still had a trump card? Whatever it was, Yan Yu was confident she would win. Since the electricity coated his entire body and some strands of lightning flew around him, Yan Yu knew this was an enhancement technique. This type of technique burned through qi like fire burning a candle, which meant if she could hold him off, he would soon run out of qi.

Then, before she could think further, Liu Xing suddenly vanished.

For a second, Yan Yu thought the man simply vanished like an illusion coming undone, but the next instant, all her ice arrows exploded, turning into ice powder, starting from the farthest away to the closest to her.

Yan Yu tried to catch what was happening, and with strained eyes, she saw a flash of lightning moving here and there, like real lightning, striking each and every ice arrow she conjured.

Instantly, the clearing around her was full of remains of ice arrows, creating a thin mist that made the temperature drop rapidly. Despite the cold, Yan Yu realized she had bitten off more than she could chew. This man was probably a hidden genius, and the technique he used was likely Earth grade or even Heaven grade.

After several moments, the sound of ice breaking ceased, and Yan Yu strained her eyes to check her surroundings. Liu Xing had vanished like a ghost. He could be anywhere.

"Below you."

Yan Yu instantly looked down, and there was Liu Xing, crouching right below her.

Her eyes widened, and before she could react, his foot flew through the air and hit her square in the jaw.

Instantly, her brain rattled and she was sent into the air. Yan Yu tried to regain her bearings and looked below her. The ground grew farther away with each passing second. Liu Xing was still crouching, lightning coating his entire body, his eyes locked on her.

When he jumped, she noticed a flash of light before a strong kick struck her in the back, sending her plummeting to the ground like a meteor.

From that point onward, Yan Yu felt like a sandbag. Liu Xing relentlessly punched and kicked her, not giving her a chance to land her feet on the ground. When she soared into the sky, Liu Xing appeared behind her and made her fall. When she flew like a cannonball, he caught up to her and sent her flying in the opposite direction.

Yan Yu felt her heartbeat quicken. Fear struck her heart like a hammer striking an iron ingot. Amidst the spinning world, she remembered the same feeling from her fight when that bastard outclassed her in everything before pinning her to the ground and stabbing her heart.

Is she going to die here and now, with some random disciple on this random mountain because of a damn cave? She didn't want to die. She didn't want to die!

Yan Yu flew like a cannonball. In the distance, Liu Xing stood motionless, electricity surrounding his body. His black eyes were fixed on her, his feet poised to kick the ground and deliver a killing blow.

When Liu Xing vanished, Yan Yu instantly gathered ice in front of her, creating a wall of ice that glittered under the sunlight. This wall was created with all her might. Liu Xing couldn't punch through it.

And indeed he didn't need to, because Yan Yu heard his voice beside her.

"Find a new place."

He caught her hands and threw her. Yan Yu flew through the air, feeling the wind against her cheeks and her undone hair fluttering.

Blinking several times, she hadn't expected his last attack to simply throw her away. Reflecting on it, her body felt... surprisingly alright. Considering the relentless nature of his attacks, her bones should have been shattered, yet apart from a stinging pain in her chin, she felt fine.

Yan Yu started to fall. She looked below and saw a blue and tranquil river. She fell into the water, submerged for a moment, and then resurfaced. She then floated in the water like a fallen leaf, a gentle stream carrying her away.

"What's happening?" She thought she would be dead, but instead, she had just been kicked away.

Yan Yu reconsidered what had actually happened. That man, Liu Xing, from start to finish, didn't try to kill her.

His lightning technique was strong enough to pierce her defense. Yet, while he punched and kicked her, he didn't try to kill her or even fatally wound her. He just wanted his cave back.

Yan Yu took a deep breath, trying to organize her jumbled thoughts. After a moment, she walked to the riverbank.

She tried to remember the name Liu Xing from her past life but came up with nothing. Perhaps, when Yan Yu had enough power and influence, Liu Xing had already died, either in the first invasion or the war after it.

Whatever it was, Yan Yu now realized that she couldn't underestimate people just because she hadn't heard their names in her past life.

When Yan Yu found a path, she thought back to her fight with Liu Xing.

"How shameful."

Her oversight made her realize how shortsighted she had been. And most importantly, how weak she was right now. She needed to become stronger, much stronger than in her past life. And perhaps, just perhaps, she needed to build connections so that when the Era of Chaos knocked on the door, she wouldn't be alone again.

Chapter 13 ~ Yan Yu (5)

Seeing the girl soar into the sky and disappear in the distance, Liu Xing exhaled a breath of relief. His heart still thumped wildly, like galloping horses. This was the effect of his excitement and nervousness.

He was excited because he was actually strong. Really strong. That Lightning Cloak technique was just a Base Grade technique meant to make the user move faster, but not so fast that he looked like lightning. The book said the technique could increase the user's maximum speed by five times. However, after his gun absorbed the technique and Liu Xing retrieved it, the Lightning Cloak became faster, stronger, and more efficient.

Moving with that technique was surreal. The world didn't move slower; everything was a blur. But his brain could process the blurriness, making him feel like he was moving in a dark room while knowing everything inside it.

Despite his excitement about his strength, he felt mixed about his decision to let her go.

Liu Xing now lived in a xianxia world. Some said it was a dog-eat-dog world where only the strong and ruthless reigned. He was actually afraid that girl would bear enmity towards him and cause trouble in the future. Yet, Liu Xing couldn't kill people indiscriminately. He only wanted his cave back and hoped the girl would understand and forget about him.

"Still, that girl is really strong," he mused.

Compared to the disciples in last year's tournament, her scale of attack was bigger. Liu Xing was pretty sure that girl didn't unleash her full capability. She probably underestimated him and lost before she got a chance to be serious.

"But still, I'm stronger than her!" he exclaimed.

Glancing at the gun in his left hand, he started to smile. "If you were a woman, I would marry you!"

Liu Xing put the matter of the girl to the back of his mind and walked toward his personal cave.

As he walked, he started to plan his immediate actions. His main priority now was to break through to Lock Opening sixth stage. To do that, he needed to go somewhere with abundant spirit beasts, but to ensure his next expedition went smoothly, he needed to train a bit more.

Moving his broken little desk into the cave, Liu Xing starts making decisions. First, he needed to train more with his new technique. While the effect of Lightning Cloak was already amazing, Liu Xing felt the technique could still be improved. This was his first time using it, and he actually relied on the gun so the technique didn't blow up. He needed to train until he could use the Lightning Cloak without the gun's help. At that stage, Liu Xing was pretty sure the technique would become stronger after being absorbed by the gun.

He also needed to test his Explosion Fist technique, assess its power as a normal technique, and then assess its power with the gun. Ideally, he wanted to master this technique, but considering the backlash, Liu Xing would be happy if he could use it without blowing up his fist.

"Then and only then, I can go hunting spirit beasts."

Liu Xing nodded while putting a chest full of clothes inside. He didn't think it would take much time. Perhaps a month, maybe two months.

After putting all his belongings in the cave, Liu Xing came outside again. His lawn was now a mess, with grass covered in ice. Some had already melted, creating mud in the clearing in front of his cave.

He wanted to start training again, and while a training ground or the nearby forest was a more ideal place, Liu Xing was afraid someone would come and steal his cave again. That's why he took off his shoes and robe, standing only in his pants, feet sunk deep in the mud, and started to train right here and right now.

As he adjusted his state of mind, he instantly smiled and his heart full of anticipation.

Trying new techniques was always exciting!

He cycled his qi according to the instructions of the Lightning Cloak Technique and started feeling tingles in all his body parts. The first time he failed to activate the technique, and so the second time, but he didn't stop and continued to train.

Day or night, he didn't slack. He enjoyed using the technique. Even when he sometimes stumbled and fell, his face sinking into the mud, he would only get up and continue training with a smile.

Liu Xing remembered the last time he enjoyed something was when he trained day and night to prepare for an interview in Japan. At that time, Nui, Mamat, and Joni would check on him, sometimes bringing food, sometimes just to mess around.

While they weren't here, his gun, a gift from Nui, was here, and that was enough. Even if they were separated across universes, they were still friends.

And like that, two months passed by.

***

In the valley below the mountain, there's a river. This river is wide and deep, but the current is lazy, making it the perfect place to wash yourself. On the side of the river, there's a boulder the size of a hut. This boulder isn't supposed to be here, but Liu Xing dug it up from underground and carried it to this spot for his final training session.

Standing almost five hundred meters from the boulder, Liu Xing held his gun with his left hand, aiming at the giant rock that, when he squinted, looked like an elephant. He inhaled deeply and relaxed his mind. It had been two months, and Liu Xing was eager to hunt again.

"Alright, let's do it."

Liu Xing cycled his qi in a unique rhythm and activated the technique. Nothing changed visibly, not even his gun, but Liu Xing knew his Exploding Fist Lightning Variation technique was now settled inside the gun as a bullet.

Focusing his mind, Liu Xing aimed at the boulder in the distance. He relaxed his feet and shoulders, then pulled the trigger with full confidence. He heard a low hushing sound and saw a lightning bullet shoot from his gun. It traveled the five hundred meters instantly and hit the boulder dead center. Instantly, the sound of explosion reverberated and the boulder exploded into smithereens. One or two palm-sized chunks flew around, hitting trees and splashing into the water. The rest became a cloud of dust, spreading slowly like a lazy mist.

"Not bad, and that isn't even its full power."

Liu Xing could control the power of the Exploding Fist technique. When he used the technique manually with the same amount of qi, the explosion was pathetic, like a firecracker, but inside his gun, that firecracker became a full-blown TNT. He didn't dare use the full power, afraid of the destruction it would cause.

Liu Xing felt proud of his progress. Almost two months ago, he was just a normal cultivator, but now he was probably one of the strongest in the outer sect.

Ending his training, Liu Xing started to walk to the sect. Now he was ready to hunt again, and he already knew the perfect place: a forest called Dragon Skull Forest.

As he walked, his stomach suddenly rumbled, making him stop. His destination was the Mission Hall, but since his stomach needed filling, he decided to stop by the Eating Hall.

The walk was uneventful, and soon he found himself in the spacious cafeteria. Since it was morning, the place was full of people. Some ate silently, but others talked, gossiped, and challenged each other loudly.

Liu Xing chose one of the lonely tables in the corner of the room, eating porridge made from spiritual rice that helped disciples cultivate. His eyes focused on his porridge, but his ears tried to digest the information around him.

Not far from where he sat, a group of disciples talked about interesting developments in the sect. Liu Xing seemed to remember some of their faces, which meant they were old disciples like him.

"This year's new disciples are abnormal, I tell you!"

"Yeah, I heard one of them is now at Lock Opening sixth stage, while two months ago he was just a measly third stage. His growth is absurd."

One of them snorted. "Even if they are geniuses, I, Lei Peng, will beat all of them black and blue like an elephant stomping worms!"

"What are you talking about? You're the least impressive among us. Only at Lock Opening fifth stage after years of cultivation."

"Watch your mouth! When I become an inner disciple, I'll make sure you're barred from becoming an inner disciple!"

"Alright, brother Lei Peng, we're sorry," said one of them, rolling their eyes.

They seemed quite close, and Liu Xing chose this group to eavesdrop.