Beyond the dilapidated courtyard, a simple earthen path snaked its way like a serpent toward a small, dense forest that loomed ahead, dark and inviting.
Lu Shang then glided to the rear of the yard and, for the sake of inviolable caution, resolved to unleash his techniques upon the wild sanctity of the forest itself.
His courtyard was situated a considerable distance from the shadowy edge of the woods. To traverse this yawning gap, Lu Shang determined he would first employ his clan's treasured movement technique.
The moment Lu Shang executed seven weaving, phantom-like steps—forward, backward, left, then right—like a drunken, ethereal master in accordance with the Shadow Footstep technique, he felt a sudden, explosive surge of raw power gather in his lower limbs like coiled lightning.
Then, fixing his intense gaze upon a distant tree branch to his right, he stamped his foot upon the unyielding earth with a concussive, resounding force and, in a single, breathtaking bound, rematerialized upon that very branch with a velocity fifty percent greater than his normal, mortal peak.
In the very next instant, with his subsequent, silent step, he vaulted to the branch of another tree on the opposing side, a ghost in the sunlight.
And in this spectacular manner, he streaked through the air, a blur of motion leaping from one tree's limb to another's on both sides of the dusty dirt path, each whisper-quiet footfall propelling him towards the distant forest at a truly astonishing, inhuman speed.
As a direct consequence, a number of wild beasts that had taken quiet refuge in the vicinity scattered in a blind, mindless panic, their simple hearts seized by an inexplicable, primal terror.
This was the Instant Footstep technique, a martial art for which Lu Shang's clan was renowned throughout the lands. Owing to Lu Shang's minor mastery of this profound art, he could achieve a velocity fifty percent greater than his standard, earth-bound pace, yet it possessed a critical, glaring flaw: one could neither halt nor execute another action while the technique was active and flowing.
To do so would cause the sacred technique to dissipate instantly, leaving one abruptly and utterly defenseless before a waiting foe. Furthermore, its very execution levied a significant and draining toll upon one's precious energy reserves.
Lu Shang knew, with a certainty born of memory, that once his mastery of this technique ascended to the next, higher realm, these dangerous deficiencies would be rectified and overcome.
And so, upon the final, one-hundredth step of the flowing movement technique, Lu Shang came to a halt before a massive, ancient banyan tree that stood like a silent guardian deep within the jungle's verdant embrace.
Lu Shang then tossed a handful of stones he had gathered from the path into the air, repeating the fluid motion as he deftly caught them again and again in his grasp.
After performing this simple display of dexterity several times, Lu Shang clenched his fist with a sudden, crushing force; in that instant, the solid stones disintegrated into a fine, gray powder within his palm, accompanied by a faint, stinging sensation upon his skin.
He feels a profound, almost humbling sense of wonder at the sheer physical might his new body possessed.
This caliber of raw, corporeal power had already transcended the fragile limits of ordinary mortals.
And from the deep well of his inherited memories, he recalled that he could now effortlessly bear burdens weighing between one hundred and two hundred kilograms.
Lu Shang was thus keenly, terrifyingly aware that he now possessed the might to shatter a man's jaw with a single, contemptuous strike, or to sunder a human skull like a ripe, bursting watermelon with a solitary, dismissive slap.
Then, Lu Shang's gaze, now sharp and predatory, fell upon the immense, unmoving banyan tree that stood silently before him.
"Hmph, let us see then," he mused, a dangerous smile playing on his lips.
Within the grand palace of his mind, Lu Shang summoned the vivid recollection of the 'Eagle Piercing Claw' technique, a deadly art the previous owner of this body had learned through sweat and blood.
Simultaneously, Lu Shang raised his right arm, his fingers contorting with an audible crackle into the sharp, predatory, and lethal shape of an eagle's descending talons.
As the intent of the technique surged within him, he felt a powerful current of his spiritual energy converge upon his right arm like a raging river, then coalesce with a searing heat around his claw-like fingers; with each passing second, as the intensity of the gathered energy mounted, a palpable, shimmering heat began to radiate from his very digits.
In that very moment, Lu Shang struck out at the century-old banyan tree with merciless, testing intent, his hand lashing forward like a divine, vengeful eagle descending upon its helpless prey.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three nearly invisible arcs of concentrated, black-tinged energy, shaped like ethereal claws, tore through the still air toward the ancient, silent tree. When the devastating assault made contact with the thick, unforgiving trunk, a sudden, deafening explosion sundered the sacred silence of the forest.
KRAKT! BOOOOOOOOMMMM!
The massive tree's trunk was utterly, catastrophically obliterated, and as the sprawling, leafy canopy of its ancient crown began to plummet with a mournful groan toward the earth, Lu Shang instantly invoked the defensive art known as the 'Water Wall'.
Consequently, a two-inch-thick, two-meter-square barrier of transparent, shimmering water materialized from the void directly before Lu Shang, subsequently shielding him from all ensuing harm and debris.
In that instant, Lu Shang felt his precious spiritual energy being rapidly siphoned away, drawn bit by bit to sustain the miraculous formation of the Water Wall technique.
When he consciously severed the spiritual connection to the barrier, the shimmering wall of water immediately collapsed, dissipating into a harmless, misty nothingness.
Utterly captivated by the devastating, world-altering force of his attack and the warm, powerful, river-like current of spiritual energy now flowing through his entire being, he could not help but feel a profound, dizzying intoxication with his own newfound, god-like power.
And so, Lu Shang relentlessly, joyously unleashed his sacred arts again and again and again, until the very last, faint vestige of his spiritual energy was utterly and completely depleted.............
............…
........
Having expended a considerable passage of time wielding a panoply of world-shaking techniques and sacred methods with his own two hands, Lu Shang was now suffused with a feeling of immense, bone-deep satisfaction.
Even though the previous, unfortunate owner of this vessel had practiced and unleashed such attacks on countless prior occasions, the experience for him was utterly, profoundly different.
To command the very might of spiritual energy with his own will, through his own hands and his own intent, was a sensation of an entirely different, celestial magnitude.
A sudden, startling, and almost frightening query could not help but ignite like a wildfire within his mind!
'If the mere third level of the early Qi Consolidation stage grants one such devastating, mountain-shattering power, then what truly terrifying might is wielded at the peak of the Qi stage, or in the legendary, god-like realms that lie far, far beyond?'
Although nearly all of his spiritual reserves were now depleted and his mind was strained to the very point of exhaustion from the earlier onslaught of foreign memories followed by the repeated, draining casting of techniques, a deeper, more profound feeling prevailed.
Yet, deep within his very core, Lu Shang felt a profound and unsettling sense of lightness; all that was required now was a few hours of quiet meditation to replenish the drained wellspring of his energy once more.
Several hours hence, as the sun began its slow, majestic descent in the afternoon sky.
Upon the bare, cold, earthen floor within his spartan chamber.
Ah.. ah… Ahchoo!… a sharp, irritated hiss followed.
Though the summer's oppressive heat blazed with a fierce intensity beyond the crumbling walls, the very structure of this old, forgotten dwelling, built with a special type of cooling stone embedded in its floor and walls, maintained a refreshingly cool and pleasant interior.
Thus, Lu Shang swiftly rose and unlatched the previously sealed window, allowing the golden, slanted sunlight to spill like liquid honey into the dim room, and he made a firm, unshakeable resolution that whatever else he might procure in the near future, a simple floor mat was an absolute, non-negotiable necessity.
Regardless, Lu Shang had now personally experienced the sacred rudiments of cultivation and tested several of the potent techniques bequeathed to him through the mysterious miracle of his transmigration.
Yet, Lu Shang could not comprehend why a profound and gnawing sense of emptiness still chewed at the edges of his soul. He was certain this hollow, aching void was not a mere consequence of the energy he had just expended while testing his newfound techniques.
Rather, it was a void that had been present since the very moment he first opened his eyes in this strange, new world. At first, Lu Shang had theorized that perhaps he had failed to properly acclimate to this new vessel and foreign environment post-transmigration, and that this was the true source of his disquiet and hollowness.
He had harbored the hopeful thought that if this were indeed the case, these unsettling, ghostly sensations would hopefully fade with the inevitable passage of time.
However, after personally experiencing this world's magnificent system of cultivation and its sacred, life-altering techniques with his own hands, Lu Shang felt he had now sufficiently and deeply integrated with this new body and its unfamiliar surroundings.
So why, then, did this lingering, chilling sensation of emptiness stubbornly persist? His initial, jarring discomfort could be attributed to the sheer, violent abruptness of his transmigration, but why did this deep, echoing hollowness remain even hours after his momentous arrival?
Was its origin, in fact, something else entirely, something hidden and profound? Or did it signify a fundamental, desperate need that he had yet to fulfill?
Then, after a long period of deep, soul-searching introspection, he grew chillingly certain that this feeling of emptiness emanated entirely from the deepest, most secret recesses of his being.
To state it more plainly, he felt as though he was overlooking a matter of paramount, cosmic importance, something intrinsically and inextricably linked to his transmigration, without which the entire, miraculous event felt fundamentally, dreadfully incomplete.
Now, Lu Shang was not only consumed by a creeping emptiness, but also assailed by a great and rising tide of anxiety, which plunged him once more into the turbulent depths of contemplation.
'To transmigrate into a world of cultivation is the ultimate fulfillment of my most deeply cherished, lifelong aspiration,
So what, then, could possibly be the most crucial, indispensable element in this cultivation world for a transmigrator such as myself—the one single thing that I absolutely, positively cannot be without?'
'Hmm…'
Just as Lu Shang was about to consult the sacred, secret 'Otaku Bible' within the library of his memories for greater clarity and wisdom, a sudden, earth-shattering realization struck him like a bolt of heavenly, golden lightning searing directly through his mind.
Booommm!
Despite the excruciating, mind-splitting agony that suddenly erupted in his skull from the immense strain of searching his fading memories, he could not help but cry out in the silent confines of his mind, utterly overcome with a euphoric, manic joy at having finally identified the long-sought, desperately needed missing piece of his new existence.
'Yeah Fuck! I have uncovered it! I have absolutely, unequivocally pinpointed the most vital, non-negotiable component for every Otaku who has ever dreamed of transmigration!
Yes, by all the heavens above! It all returns to me now in a flash of divine inspiration. Where is my golden finger?
System! System, where have you concealed yourself? I implore you, grant me but a single response!
For in a world as perilous and unforgiving as this, to be without you is to be consigned to a certain, ignoble doom!'
Yet, after crying out for some time in the silent chambers of his mind, invoking sacred names such as 'System', 'Golden Finger', 'cheat', and 'status,'
Lu Shang perceived neither a sound nor a vision in return for his desperate pleas. A frantic, terrifying spiral of self-doubt began to consume Lu Shang's very sanity, and he began to physically, violently tear at his own hair, all the earlier, glorious ecstasies of being a transmigrator now forgotten, turned to bitter ash in his mouth.
'Hmph,
...….
No, no. I must do something right now!
What to do, what to do?'
Ouch—ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!~~~
Despite the recurring, blinding waves of pain that crashed against the shores of his consciousness, he began to frantically, desperately scour the sacred 'Otaku Bible' of his memories.
A few agonizing, eternity-long moments later.
'Yes! I have found it! At long, long last, I have found the sacred, secret incantation to summon the almighty System!'
'And now… Ahhhhhh!!!! Shit! Shit!
'I must hasten! I must hurry!
There is not enough time; should I delay any further, this cranial, soul-rending agony might very well render me unconscious.
Worse, I might forget everything anew, forcing me to endure this hellish torment to recall it all once more!'
'Let the System-summoning ritual commence without another single moment's delay!'
[~O, SYSTEM, O, STATUS, O, FINGER OF GOLD!!
Don't shatter this heart, a story untold!~
~I'm stranded in fate, my life is a plight,
My logic and feelings are lost in the night.~
~Hey Brother in shadows, can you hear my plea?
Please, please, answer me now with a celestial 'Ding!' for me, yeah!~
~My mind is a ruin, my thoughts are a gale,
Just one little click to set my soul's sail~
~Without you, I'm a mortal adrift in the muck,
In this wretched, cruel world I am totally fucked up!~
~So grant me a sign, a whisper, a clue,
Just show me, O System, that you're coming through.~]
...
Ouch!! Ahhhhhh!!!!
Even as the severe, unbearable, mind-shattering agony threatened to sunder his very consciousness.
Lu Shang continued to chant the desperate, sacred mantra, again and again…🗣️
🗣️...…..😭
🗣️...….....…😭
🗣️…..........….😭
🗣️............…😭
🗣️...............😭
🗣️..................😭
…😭😭😭
—----------------END