Although he had anticipated some difficulty, it wasn't until he truly began cultivating that Chen Che discovered the process of opening his meridians was far slower than expected. Even with the abundant Spiritual Qi on the back mountain, his daily cultivation was severely affected.
To make matters worse, the minuscule meridians were simply too small. Unless he opened a significant number of them, it was like adding a single grain of sand to a beach—the effect was completely unnoticeable, let alone making him invincible among those of the Same Tier.
But Chen Che didn't give up immediately. For the next few days, he continued to arrive at the back mountain on time, cultivating while searching for a solution.
Unfortunately, after reading through the entire book and searching for related information online, he realized he was trapped in a vicious cycle:
First: If he possessed a Celestial Spirit Root, it wouldn't affect his daily cultivation. Unfortunately, he didn't have one.
Second: He needed a place with even more abundant Spiritual Qi. But within Changshan County, the place with the densest Spiritual Qi was Jinyun Valley, and he couldn't get in.
Third: Develop Divine Sense!
Although a Cultivator possesses the five senses, they are ultimately inaccurate.
Once one possessed Divine Sense, they could use it to look inward and visually perceive the distribution of their meridians. It would be like going from a blind man threading a needle to threading one with eyes wide open.
However, this was something taught in senior year. If he were to directly ask Li Xiaoshuang for guidance, the man would surely guess he was studying the contents of the Forbidden Book and would refuse him without a second thought.
'If I try to figure this out on my own, who knows how much time I'll waste.'
In the valley, Chen Che sighed in frustration.
The entire senior year curriculum was focused on condensing Divine Sense. He had little confidence that he could condense his Divine Sense in a short time relying solely on textbooks.
It was just like in his previous life: the instructions for making an atomic bomb were all online, but only when someone actually tried to build one would they realize how difficult it truly was.
'No wonder Old Li lent me the book so readily. Anyone who understood the pros and cons would have to make a choice.'
'If there's no solution, I'll have no choice but to give up.'
Muttering to himself, Chen Che packed his things, caught a few fish from the river, and prepared to leave the valley.
He had no choice. The circumstances wouldn't allow it. If he continued this cultivation, a second-rate Daoist School was all that awaited him. He had to make a choice, and soon.
TAP TAP TAP!
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached.
To Chen Che's disbelief, two figures suddenly stepped into the valley.
A man and a woman.
The man was burly and broad-shouldered, with a long saber at his waist and a fierce expression.
The woman wore green robes, looked to be in her early twenties, and had a pretty face. She carried a longsword on her back.
When they suddenly saw Chen Che, both of them froze for a moment, seemingly surprised to find someone else here.
Chen Che cursed inwardly. This valley was not only remote and pathless, so how could two Cultivators suddenly appear? Judging by their direction, they clearly hadn't stumbled in by accident.
Moreover, just by sensing the fluctuations of their True Essence, he could tell their cultivation Realms were about the same as his own.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, the man spoke slowly:
"Who are you?"
"I'm just a villager from down the mountain."
"What are you doing here?"
"Came into the mountains to dig for some herbs and catch a few fish."
As he spoke, Chen Che lifted the large silver carp he had just caught from the river to prove his words.
The man frowned slightly and was about to speak when the Female Cultivator beside him smiled kindly and said, "In that case, you should hurry down the mountain. It's getting late. If you run into jackals or tigers, you might have a chance to escape. But if you encounter a Demon Beast, I'm afraid not even your bones will be left."
After speaking, the Female Cultivator even stepped aside, as if clearing the path for him to leave. The man said nothing more, his eyes half-closed in tacit agreement.
Seeing this, Chen Che quickly said, "Thank you for the warning, Fairy. I'll be on my way!"
With that, he picked up his fish and hurried forward.
Under the watchful eyes of the man and woman, Chen Che walked briskly forward, passing between them.
VMM!
The instant they brushed past each other, Chen Che suddenly took a step back. His hands moved as if painting a Taiji symbol, swiftly closing in front of him to catch a fist coming from his side. At the same time, his body shuddered, and the immense force sent him skidding back several meters, his feet dragging across the ground.
"Didn't you tell me to leave? Why the sudden attack?"
Chen Che looked up, saw the saber-wielding man holding his fist out in a punching stance, and couldn't help but sneer.
'I hate this kind of social climate,' he thought.
He knew that local Cultivators were often arrogant, viewing mortals as little more than ants.
Even if beaten severely, a mortal was expected to shout, 'Thank you for the reward!'
If he hadn't been on his guard, that punch would have likely incapacitated him. Had a mortal been in his place, they would have probably been killed on the spot.
"To think I misjudged him. The kid's a Cultivator too. But why didn't I sense any True Essence fluctuations?"
"Perhaps he has some treasure that conceals his aura. But the treasures sold in the Market are not cheap," the Female Cultivator said slowly, sizing up Chen Che. "Still, looking at him, he probably just picked it up somewhere."
"Then we've really hit the jackpot this time!"
The man laughed heartily. He glanced over and saw that although Chen Che had blocked his punch, his whole body was shaking uncontrollably. A hint of mockery appeared in the man's eyes. "Looks like the kid is scared stiff!"
With that, he strode forward without even drawing the saber at his waist.
"Don't worry, I'll make your death a satisfying o—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Chen Che, who had been trembling from head to toe, shot forward. In a near-instant, he was in front of the man. His body coiled like a spring, launching him into the air as he drove his knee viciously toward the man's nose.
CRACK!
With a crisp snap, the man's nose broke.
This was a textbook killing technique!
Using immense force to shatter an opponent's nasal bone. If the force was great enough, the bone fragments could even be driven into the brain, resulting in an instant kill!
In Martial Arts Class, Wei He had emphasized the human body's weak points: the throat, cervical spine, heart, glabella, and temples. The hardest parts of the body, meanwhile, were the joints: fists, elbows, knees…
However, his opponent was also a Cultivator, and his resistance was not weak. The blow only sent him reeling backward several steps, head snapping back.
But Chen Che had no intention of holding back. In a flash, he appeared directly above his opponent.
The man let out a furious roar and angrily drew his saber, but Chen Che was already stomping down.
His kick was as swift and nimble as a gazelle's leap, arriving after the man had moved but striking first. He stomped directly on his opponent's throat, pinning the man to the ground.
BOOM!
Like a giant boulder crashing to the earth.
The man was stomped into the ground, which caved in beneath him. His neck was bent at an unnatural angle, his windpipe crushed. Blood gurgled from his mouth; he was clearly not going to survive.
One knee, one kick!
A complete kill!
"Pah! Who told you trembling means you're scared? It's an adrenaline response… Your downfall was your own ignorance!"
Chen Che spat.
School fights were one thing, but this was killing, after all. His body was bound to have some reaction.
Glancing at the Female Cultivator from the corner of his eye, he formed a seal for his Sword Formulas. Five Sword Pills flew out from his body and began to circle him with a whistling sound. "What do you think? Are you faster at drawing your sword, or are my Sword Pills faster?"
Everything had happened so suddenly. The Female Cultivator had just gripped the hilt of her sword when she heard his words. Her expression froze, her face turned pale, and she hurriedly cried out:
"Little Brother—no, Senior, spare me!..."
"Why did you attack me?"
Chen Che turned to look at her.
The Female Cultivator froze for a second, then burst into tears, her face like a pear blossom in the rain. She pointed at the fallen man. "I don't know! It was all him! My name is Qing E. I was just an ordinary Female Cultivator from Cyan Bamboo Mountain. I ran into this brute while heading back to my family's home, and he forced me to become his Daoist companion."
"Along the way, he humiliated me time and time again. He brought me to this mountain to... to do unspeakable things to me..."
As she spoke, she fell to her knees and began to kowtow repeatedly.
"Thank you, Senior, for slaying this villain and saving me from a sea of suffering."
"Really?"
"It's the absolute truth, without a single lie." Qing E remained kneeling, her face pressed to the ground as she sobbed. "I only gripped my sword just now out of instinct! Please forgive me and spare my life, Senior!"
"You don't have to be so scared. I'm not some indiscriminate killer. Just answer one question for me, and you can leave," Chen Che said, shaking his head helplessly.
Hearing Chen Che's kind tone, Qing E finally let out a sigh of relief and cautiously raised her head. "Please ask, Senior!"
"If you had a piece of candy and a knife in front of you, which would you choose?"
Qing E paused, thought for only a moment, and said, "The candy!"
PFFT!
Before the word was even out of her mouth, a Sword Pill pierced through her skull.
She collapsed to the ground, as dead as could be. Her eyes were wide with disbelief, completely unaware of what she had done wrong.
...