Lu Chen took a deep breath. Then another. Then a third, because the first two didn't help.
Five days.
The Outer Sect Ascension Meet was in six. The duel with Zhang Long was during the meet. If he didn't break through, he would face a Body Forging opponent with Tempering-level strength.
Even if the system didn't draw down the blade at his throat there is no way he could survive Zhang Long.
He had been a bit happy-go-lucky. Thinking he is the main character of his story.
He clenched his jaw.
"Fine."
<...Host is not going to whine? Complain? Blame the universe?>
"No."
<...Host is accepting responsibility?>
"Apparently."
<...This daddy is... proud>
"Understood."
" System Status."
The screen flickered to life with a display on his retina.
──────────────────────────────
[UNPARALLELED SYSTEM— STATUS]
──────────────────────────────
Name:Lu Chen
Age:16 / 80
Title: Sect Trash | Professional Doormat | Tough Gum | Head Smacker
World Realm: Mortal Dominion
Condition: Normal
=== CULTIVATION REALM ===
Realm: Body Tempering
Stage: Tier 7 / 9
Progress to next stage: 0 / 640 EXP
Cultivation Technique: Basic Body Tempering Technique
=== SKILLS ===
·Basic Sword (Lvl. 1): You know which end is pointy.
·Iron Hide (Lvl. 1)
·Mirage Steps (MAX)
·Falling Immortal Kick (MAX): Self-created skill. Use it wisely.
=== INVENTORY ===
Slots: Unlimited
Items:
·Ripped Robes (1 set)
·Green Robe (1 set)
·Jade Slips (several)
·Silver Coins ×1 | Gold Coins ×1
·Storage Pouch
·Junks
·Pills (various)
Praise Points Pool: 0
Unused Cultivation EXP Pool:61
Insult Points Pool:0
SYSTEM MOOD: Still Deeply Unimpressed
──────────────────────────────
Lu Chen stared at the display. "System. Mortal Dominion? Does that mean there are other Dominions?"
"What cultivation realm do I need to reach?"
"The Qi Seeding realm?"
"That explains the lack of spirit stones."
"Go ahead."
Lu Chen: "_"
The System, now satisfied with the expression on his face, continued.
Body Tempering 1-9: Tempering the body with blood qi—from one's own body or from beasts—to prepare the vessel for forging.
Body Forging 1-9: Achieved after first forging. This includes forging meridians, bones, organs, and flesh.
Body Condensation: Baptizing the forged body with spiritual qi.
Qi Seeding: Giving your qi attributes and carving them into your dantian.
Lu Chen stared at the display for a long moment, processing everything.
"Wait... a minute." His eye twitched. "I had a spare robe in my inventory? The whole time? Why didn't you tell me? I had to sleep in my baby suit and wear salads for almost a day!"
"You—" He opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Nothing came out.
"I hate you."
Lu Chen took a deep breath. Then another.
Then he just gave up and changed the topic entirely, because arguing with the System was like arguing with a brick wall that talked back and was always right.
"I see..." He forced himself back on track. "I understand and accept the Falling Immortal Kick and the rest. But why the hell has my sword skill not improved?"
"I see..." He drew his sword. "I better start practicing."
It didn't take long before Lu Chen found a clearing. Moonlight filtered through the canopy, as it painted the ground with silver streaks. The kind of place where, a wise master would coincidentally appear and impart ancient wisdom.
Unfortunately for Lu Chen and fortunately for the the wise master that didn't happen.
He raised his sword. And began.
Memories flickered through his mind. Wuxia films he'd watched in another life, glimpses of outer disciples practicing in the sect courtyard, fragments of forms he'd seen but never studied. He grabbed them, piecing it together with whatever his body could figure out on its own.
Slice. Too slow.
Thrust. Wrong angle.
Chop. Off balance.
He ignored it and kept swinging.
After what felt like an eternity of clumsy attempts, something changed.
His breathing found a rhythm.
The sword began to feel less like dead weight and more than a tool. An extension of his body.
Dawn broke.
And Lu Chen still kept swinging.
He stopped. Stared at the notification. A smile formed on his face.
"Fifteen percent. In one night."
He sheathed his sword and looked toward the Bloodwind Forest's edge.
The rising sun painted the path ahead in shades of gold. The scenery was beautiful. Inviting even.
But the most beautiful things are often the most dangerous.
"Alright," he said, rolling his shoulders.
"Let's see what this forest has. Time to test this sword for real."
At the forest's edge, Lu Chen paused.
A chill ran down his spine that had nothing to do with the wind
He looked back toward the distant sect, hidden beyond mountains and trees.
Someone was thinking about him. Someone with bad intentions.
He shrugged and kept walking.
"Whoever it is should just wait for me to crush the—"
*SWOOSH.*
Attack from nowhere. Aimed at throat.
Lu Chen's sword was halfway out of its sheath when the python struck.
Mirage Step.
His body flickered left. The python's massive head slammed through empty air where his chest had been a heartbeat before. It twisted mid-strike, its coils already spreading to wrap around him.
But Lu Chen was already moving.
The python's body whipped toward his legs. At that moment he experienced an epiphany, something clicked in his mind. It was a different way to use the skill. Not just horizontal movement, but vertical.
He quickly channelled his energy to a different pathway.
He made a Mirage Step boosted leap, flipping backward in a tight arc. Time seemed to slow down. His body rotated, the python's coils snapping shut beneath him, and in that suspended moment, he drew his sword completely. A clean, graceful motion that felt practiced despite never having done it before.
The sword sang as it left the sheath. It was as though the sword was feeling his moves.
He landed in a crouch ten feet away, sword finally free, heart hammering, the python's empty coils still writhing where he'd been.
[New Skill Fragment Discovered: Mirage Step — Aerial Integration » Mirage Leap.]
[Host has begun exploring vertical applications of existing technique.]
[Continue experimentation to develop full skill.]
Lu Chen rose slowly with his sword angled low and a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Damn I'm good"
The python reared back, three eyes narrowing. It hadn't expected trash prey that could move like that.
"Oh, Shut up."
The python struck again. It was faster this time, a blur of scales and teeth. Lu Chen didn't wait to see where it would land.
Mirage Steps.
He Mirage Stepped sideways, then again, then a third time, leaving a trail of afterimages that the python's jaws snapped through uselessly.
But the snake was learning. On the fourth strike, it didn't go for the afterimage. It went for where he would land.
Lu Chen reappeared and found the python's tail already swinging toward his ribs like a battering ram.
He brought his sword up.
Mountain Stand
And took the hit on the flat of the blade.
The force sent him skidding back, his feet digging in the dirt. His arms shaking from the impact. But he held.
The python coiled, it's pride wounded more than anything, and came again.
This time, Lu Chen was ready.
It lunged.
Mirage Steps.
He Mirage Stepped not away, but toward, ducking under the massive head and coming up inside its guard. Flowing River. His blade traced a shallow line along its throat.
*SHUWAA.*
Green blood welled. The python shrieked.
It twisted, trying to wrap him like a dumpling, but he was already gone.
Mirage Steps.
Backward, then another to the side, then forward again, a blur of motion that the python couldn't keep track of.
Every time it struck, he wasn't there.
Every time it recovered, he was somewhere else, his sword leaving another shallow cut.
Flowing River. A gash along the flank.
Thunder Strike. A chop to the tail.
Flowing River again. Another throat cut, deeper this time.
The python was bleeding from a dozen wounds now, its movements were slowing down and its strikes were getting wild.
Sensing its approaching death.
It made one last desperate lunge.
Lu Chen waited. Mountain Stand. His sword low, with his eyes locked on the python's center eye.
At the last possible second.
Mirage Leap.
He Mirage leaped straight up.
He rose above the python's head, flipped in midair, and came down like a meteor.
Thunder Strike.
With both hands and his full body weight. The sword went through scales, through muscles, through everything.
The blade sank to the hilt in the base of the python's skull.
The python's body went into violent spasms, coiling and thrashing about, but Lu Chen still held on, twisted the blade, and pulled it out.
The python crashed to the forest floor. Dead before it hit.
Lu Chen landed lightly on the corpse, breathing hard.
His sword dripping with green blood.
[Defeated: Three-Eyed Rock Python (Body Tempering 8)]
[EXP Gained: +45]
[Breakthrough Progress: 61 → 106]
[Basic Sword Lvl. 1 — Progress: 15% → 19%]
[New Skill — Mirage Leap]
He wiped his blade on the python's scales and looked at the corpse.
"That was... actually kind of clean."
"I'll give you a moment."
System: <...>
Lu Chen: "..."
System: <...>
Lu Chen: "..."
Lu Chen snorted and knelt beside the python. The blade had gone through the neck cleanly so the meat would be good. He set to work, skinning and sectioning the snake with practiced efficiency. It wasn't his first time prepping a meat, and it wouldn't be his last.
He sat against a tree, chewing on a strip, watching the forest wake around him. Somewhere distant, a bird called. Another answered. Normal sounds. Safe sounds.
For now.
After eating, he pulled out his water gourd and drank deep. The python had been a good start, but it was just a start. The forest stretched on, and somewhere ahead, more beasts waited. More fights. More chances to get stronger.
He rested for an hour, letting his body recover, then rose and kept walking.
---
By noon, he noticed the change.
The trees looked wrong. Crooked.
The bird calls had stopped. The insects had gone silent.
Something was very, very wrong.
A premonition of danger slammed into senses like a physical blow.
His hand instantly went to his sword hilt while his feet tried to move backward, to retrace his steps, to get out of whatever this place was.
But.
The path back was gone.
[TO BE CONTINUED...]