Chapter 81 – Archers
"Archers! Fire at will on those you can hit!" One of the captains shouts.
A few of the soldiers who have climbed out of the tunnel stood out and with a flick of their arms, the cylindrical object that they held in their arms extended, forming a bow's riser. The archers in the army are considered special units and special assets, as the army does not actually train archers. What they train these elites into is Master of Arms.
Unlike the rangers of the city defence force, where they are provided with a cultivation technique that is widely believed to be useless, the archers of the army are provided with a general and versatile cultivation technique. This cultivation technique will turn them into a jack of all trades, but master of none.
Each and every one of these elites will be drilled in archery, scouting, assassination, duelling techniques and more to find out what they prefer and excel at, and then they will be sorted out into their respective units based upon what they excel at or prefer. Each and every one of these elites must also be proficient in hand to hand combat before they can be used in real situations as they are more costly and harder to train compared to ordinary soldiers.
The archers are already well prepared and they have a quiver full of arrows strapped to their legs. The army had purposely prepared wooden arrows for this operation. The archers would usually mould their qi into arrows instead of using physical arrows since qi arrows are lighter, would fly faster and are harder to block as it is difficult to see them. However, right now they are all unable to use qi so they have no choice but to use physical arrows.
Within a second, each of the archers had already locked on to their targets. As part of the army, they have been together for a long time and already know how to tell which targets their comrades have picked and will unconsciously pick different targets, therefore almost all of the escaping villagers and us were locked on.
*Twanggg!*
The archers fired their arrows and I could not help but look backwards. Some of the archers had missed, but most of them had hit their targets. I could see two arrows flying towards us but I just dodged it by waving my hand and sending out a wave of qi, sending the arrows off in another direction.
This is just another reason why archers are looked down upon. Of course, if it was qi arrows, I would need to unleash a stronger wave of qi to send it away but still, archers are usually harmless to cultivators unless there is a barrage of arrows raining upon down on us.
"Stop looking back. Look forward and run!" Mo Di shouts at me.
"Yes!" I shout as I look forward and run.
Soon, more soldiers have climbed out of the tunnel and one of them shouts "Chase after them! Don't forget the general's orders!"
"Let me shoot another arrow. I can still use some qi." One of the captains says as he takes aim. Unlike the other archers who are firing an arc, this archer aim is almost horizontal to the ground.
*Swoosh*
The sound of the arrow that he fires cuts through the air and the captain knees down in pain.
I hear the air being cut and have a bad feeling so I turn back and I see a qi arrow flying at me like a needle.
Mo Di feels the danger too and looks back to see what is happening, but once he sees the flying arrow, he shouts "Move!" and jumps towards me.
*Swick*
The qi arrow stabs into Mo Di who jumped in front of me and dissipates, leaving Mo Di injured.
"Why did you jump in front of the arrow? I could have blocked it with my Zap Punch!" I shout at Mo Di as I hurriedly grabbed him and swung him over my shoulder like a bag of rice and continued running forward.
"You don't understand. Once you have formed your core, your Qi transforms. It becomes stronger and much more powerful. It is why the apex of all weapon techniques is to abandon the physical weapon."
"A qi arrow might be the lowest and easiest qi arm to form, but it is still a qi arm. You might have been able to shatter it with a punch if you are not poisoned, but right now, you are no different from a normal qi flow cultivator and you should not even attempt to shatter it!" Mo Di says while he looks back at the archer who shot the arrow.
Right now, that archer seems to have lost the use of his arms temporally after firing that arrow and the rest of the soldiers have already left him behind while chasing after us.
"Once we get into the forest we will be safe." Mo Di says calmly but it is clear from his voice that he is in pain.
"How is your injury?" I ask with concern.
"I'm fine. The arrow hit my left shoulder and I won't be able to use my left arm until it's healed. Once we enter the forest and find a safe spot, I can bandage it myself to stop the bleeding." Mo Di says calmly.
...
Chasing Shang Shi and Mo Di are a group of well-trained soldiers and although that they all know they will be unable to catch up to them, they still have to chase them into the forest and hunt them down.
One of the captains however suddenly orders "Use the lures on ourselves now! They are running into the forests!"
Another captain in front of him stops and angrily shouts "Are you crazy? Use the lures on ourselves? If you want to become dog food, you can go fill their stomachs yourself! I am not ordering my men to die with you!"
The captain then shouted back "Shut up! Do you still remember the General's orders? We have to kill him no matter the cost! If we use the lures on ourselves right now, the wild beasts that are on the outskirts of the forests will surround and trap them for us! Besides we have weapons and we can defend ourselves against the low-level beasts that are roaming the periphery of the forest!"
The captain then looked at the rest of the soldiers and shouted "Use the lures now! Unless you want to disobey orders and get punished when we return to camp!"
The soldiers who have stopped running looked at the other captain who has an ugly face, waiting for his orders since they too are reluctant to do such suicidal actions.
"Do it. Archers, coat your arrows with the lures as well and fire it in front of them so that the beasts will come faster." the other captain reluctantly says as he realised that it is actually a good plan.
"Go! Run and apply the lures at the same time!" the other captain shouts and they quickly start chasing after Shang Shi and Mo Di, while applying the lures on themselves.
In front, Mo Di is puzzled and mutters "What the heck are they doing? Why are they rubbing some liquid all over their armour and arrows? It can't be poison because they're not that stupid to poison themselves?"
A few minutes later, as we approach the forest, the soldiers started haphazardly firing arrows at us again, creating some kind of obstacle course for me to dodge and run around.
Chapters 82 – Soldiers, Wolves and Beasts
Once I near the forest, however, I start feeling uneasy. I've never felt this way in my entire life. All of my hairs seem to be standing straight and it feels like goosebumps have suddenly popped out all over my body.
"Stop running! Don't make any sudden movements!" Mo Di suddenly whispers into my ear and I freeze immediately, not because of what he said but because feeling his breath on the back of my ear was weird.
"What's wrong?" I asked Mo Di as I let down off my back.
"Those crazy bastards rubbed something all over their body that attracts wild beasts. I can already sense several wild beats converging on our location and escaping into the forests is no longer a suitable plan as long as they are chasing us." Mo Di says as he tears off a part of his shirt and uses it to wrap up his shoulder.
I look at Mo Di in shock as I realise that he is preparing to fight with the soldiers and say "No! Fighting the soldiers is not a good idea!"
"We have no choice. If we continue heading into the forest, the soldiers will continue to relentless chase after us. Soon, they will lure enough beasts to completely surround all of us and we will die together with them. "
"Therefore we must defeat the soldiers here! If they are too much for us to handle, then we have to wait for the wild beasts to approach us, before running away. The wild beasts will only focus on the soldiers and not us since they have covered themselves with that liquid." Mo Di explains his plan to me but I still do not agree with this plan.
"No! Right now, I can only use a fraction of my qi! Not to mention that you are unable to use any qi and we are greatly outnumbered right now!" I say loudly in protest but it was clear that Mo Di was not listening to me since he had already drawn his daggers and started running towards the soldiers.
"We have no choice!" Mo Di shouted at me.
"Shit!" I exclaim as I run after him.
...
Once Mo Di gets close to the soldiers, he displays his skill with the daggers and starts slicing skilfully. If the soldiers were still in formation, Mo Di would be able to even hurt them since sabres have a longer reach and the soldiers would be in sync with each other. However, when they chased us and left the archers behind, their formation had already fallen in shambles and they were separated by each other.
Watching Mo Di slash his way through their comrades at the front like a whirlwind, the first thing the soldiers at the back though was to run faster, so that they could provide backup instead of slowing down to reform the formation.
The captains who were at the back were yelling "Get into formation and surround them!" but it all fell onto deaf ears. This was because I had already joined the fight.
it was easy to deafen everyone in the area by using Zap Punch and Thundering Fist in tandem. Zap Punch would create a high pitched sound while Thundering Fist would create a loud thunder every time they are executed.
With Cloud trending steps, I could easily approach the soldiers and escape whenever two or more soldiers tried to surround me. Mo Di, however, was not so lucky. His skilful performance with his daggers drew the attention of many soldiers and most of the attacks he landed were not critical or vital hits.
They merely disarmed or disabled his enemies. The sight of their comrades rolling around on the roll in pain made the soldiers angry, unlike the soldiers who I attacked which were sent flying several metres away.
Furthermore, none of the soldiers I hit shed blood upon impact. The soldiers I attacked either died instantly from internal injuries or would vomit out blood only after they landed away from me. Every once in a while, I could hear the system's beeps, telling me that I killed someone but I had no time to pay attention and eventually the system stopped beeping altogether.
After what felt like a really long time, the captains and archers finally caught up with us. I could see their mouth moving and they were probably screaming, but the eardrums of everyone in the vicinity had already shattered.
I kept an eye on them because I could see that Mo Di was already struggling with the numerous enemies he had to deal with as I slowly made my way to his side. It also seemed like his injured shoulder was causing him problems and while he was not getting any serious injuries, I could see his clothes getting cut every once in a while.
I noticed in the corner of my eye that the captains had successfully split up the soldiers into three groups. One group ran in my direction while another group run towards Mo Di and the last group stays at the back, with eyes that looked straight past us. It seems like the beasts were finally in plain sight so I glanced to my back and saw a huge amount of three fanged wolves.
Three fanged wolves are the most common wolves in this world. The most noticeable difference between normal wolves and the three fanged wolves is that the fur of these wolves and green. The three fanged wolves also have three large canines, three claws on each of their four feet and three locks of hair sticking out of their heads for some odd reason.
These wolves can also become stronger and the stronger they are, the more yellowish their fur would become. It is rumoured that a yellow three fanged wolf is able to command lightning and defeat a core formation cultivator. Thankfully, the wolves here are all green or there is no way we would be able to escape.
I look at Mo Di as I kick the fists of several soldiers who are near me, destroying their fists and punch the ground to shake the earth once I get near to Mo Di to cause some of the soldiers to lose their balance. This move, however, causes some of the soldier's attack to change trajectory and their attack lands on Mo Di as a result.
Mo Di, who is now aware that it is time to leave, quickly glances around until he finds me and then starts throwing his daggers, slides under the legs of a soldier in between us as I grab a soldier and throws him towards the group of soldiers.
Mo Di and I are now standing back to back and is surrounded. In front of me, are the soldiers that have been knocked down by the soldier I threw, and the group of soldiers and captains that ran after me are in front of Mo Di.
I send a bit of the qi I have left into Mo Di so that his eardrums are repaired and heal my own eardrums as well. The soldiers surrounding us are slowly getting into a proper circular formation and are in no hurry to kill us since they believe that there is almost no hope that we will escape. The only threat right now is the three fanged wolves but there is a group of soldiers engaging them.
Chapter 83 – A Last Wish
"Thanks, I guess I will not die a deaf man..." Mo Di says.
I turn in shock and look at Mo Di and say "What are you talking about!?"
"Look in front, not at me. I won't be able to escape with you this time Judge Shi." Mo Di says nonchalantly as if he was talking about someone else.
"No! We will escape together!" I yell as I start drawing to my fist, charging up to execute onerous blow to create a hole in their formation.
"It was fun knowing you. Your brand is justice is really cool. It's fair yet not fair at the same time. Perhaps that's how justice is, and it is only for those who do not try to take down giants on their own."
"I've watched all my comrades and friends die one by one in the ranger corps and now I feel like it's my turn. You should be aware that wolves are sensitive to the smell of blood. No matter how I run, I won't be able to escape the wolves. I'm not sure if you'll ever ret-" Mo Di continues talking as if he is saying his last will but I interrupt him before he finishes.
"Shut up! I didn't heal your hearing so you could tell me your last wish! We will get out of this and escape together! If the soldiers block us, we will kill them! If the wolves block us, we will kill them! If God blocks us, we will kill him!" I yell and as soon as I finish saying my part, I rush towards the soldiers in front of me and unleash my onerous blow on the nearest soldier.
*BOOM!*
A loud explosion is created that sends everyone flying away, including me. However, Mo Di who is behind me skilfully catches me and we run straight, away from the soldiers and the wolves.
The direction that we are heading is leading us further away from the forest but it is fine since we can take a detour and head into the forest from another entrance. It will also be safer since all of the wild beasts in the vicinity are being lured towards the soldiers.
Since I did not have much qi left, this onerous blow was not as destructive as the previous two onerous blows I executed. All this attack did was blow up the soldier I landed the hit on, into bits and pieces and send everyone else, including me, flying into the distance.
The soldiers took a while to recover since they were in shock. Shocked that I still had so much qi to use such a big attack and that we actually escaped their formation but they quickly started chasing us again. This time, however, they stayed in formation.
Unfortunately, the loud explosion from onerous blow also shocked some of the wolves and a small group separated from the herd and started chasing us. it seemed like they were attracted by the smell of Mo Di's blood and their eyes were blood red, looking a little scary.
Soon, I realised that I was running ahead of Mo Di and that he was lagging behind, running slower and slower, as if out of breath.
Mo Di realized that I was looking at him and said "I've lost too much blood...Keep running, I will catch up..."
I look into the distance and I see that several wolves that were running after us had strayed and started attacking some of the soldiers. The soldiers however just moved out of the formation and would attack a wolf in a group of 5.
"Let me carry you!" I said as I moved to Mo Di and tried to lift him up.
"No! Don't you understand yet?! Only one of us can escape right now, and it is you!" Mo Di says with a smile on his face...
"No! I alrea" I said in protest again but before I could finish, Mo Di gave me a slap.
*PAK*
"I understand that this is hard for you, but you have to face up to reality. As a member of the Shang Family, you should be the clearest about the world we live in. Now go. I don't want you to watch me die." Mo Di says cheerfully.
"I..." I want to say something, but I just cannot say anything right now...I am afraid the next sound I make would be the sound of a cry. I turned around and started running.
My vision is getting blurry, but it must be because I am exhausted, not because I am crying.
How can I be crying, when you are making such a happy smile?
One thing I don't understand is that you are about to die, yet why are you smiling so happily?
Is saving me such a happy thing? If it is, I will escape with all my might. I will not let your sacrifice be in vain...
To be honest, I know that it would be hard for us both to escape once we were surrounded, but I wanted to fight out a chance to live with you.
I know that the soldiers and wolves would have eventually caught up with us if I carried you, but I would have rather ran with you on my back for as long as I could, and then fought the wolves with you when they caught up.
All I could remember until the sunset was that I just kept running...and running....
I heard the system beep me after a while, but I just ignored it and kept on running
...
In the capital, the sun has set and everyone has stopped working except for a few people.
One of these people who is working fanatically right now is the Grand Astrologer.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T FIND IT?! GO FIND IT RIGHT NOW!" he screams crazily at his subordinates.
"We have already searched many times tonight my lord! We really cannot find the emperor's star anymore!" one of the men dressed in official robes say.
*PAK*
The grand Astrologer slaps him hard and shouts "WHAT NONSENSE ARE YOU SAYING?! THERE IS NO WAY THE STAR CAN JUST DROP OUT OF THE SKY! GO SEARCH FOR IT AGAIN!"
"Yes my lord!" the rest of the men quickly answers in fear of being slapped and scolded.
Once all of the grand astronomer's subordinates have left his office, the grand astronomer slumps into his chair and stares blankly at the ceiling....
"How am I going to tell the emperor that the emperor's star just disappeared overnight?" he mutters to himself.
"Should I tell him that the emperor's star was knocked out of the sky by another star and put the blame on the star that shined brighter than the emperor's star many years ago?" the grand astrologer thinks of various reasons to tell the emperor in desperation...
Chapter 84 - Cleaning Up
The sun has just risen in Lu Wang city and the sun has painted the entire city orange. Unlike what the colour orange represents, Lu Wang city resembles a deserted city and the smell of blood lingers in the air.
The streets in the city are littered with blood stains that were shed during the many fights throughout the city. There are also trails of blood which was created by the soldiers when they dragged the bodies of the villagers they slew around.
"I guess we'll be dragging bodies to the larger estates for the rest of the week..." One of the soldiers grumbles softly to his friend.
"You're not a new recruit anymore. You should be aware that leaving dead bodies around will create plagues so we have to burn them all." the soldier's friend replies to him.
As they pass the church, the doors are suddenly opened and General Ling strolls out happily.
"General!" the two soldiers greet the general and give a salute to the general.
General Ling takes a glance at them and just waves his hand at them, signalling that they should continue whatever they were doing and that he received their salute.
The general takes a few steps forward and turns to look at the soldiers who are carrying out his prisoner out.
Once the rays of the sunshine on the prisoner, his face that was covered by his messy hair could be made out and he is Shang Jian Rui, the governor of the Dong Guan province. His clothes are almost completely dyed red from his blood and he is unconscious right now.
All of his tendons have been cut and he has been tortured by General Ling for the entire night. Of course, these injuries can be healed easily and are not life-threatening. All the tortures that General Ling subjected Governor Shang to were just tortures that would cause pain.
Of course, the medicine that would be able to heal these injuries are medicinal pills for cultivators and would be out of reach for the common people, but the Shang family would be able to afford them if they were willing to buy them.
As for why General Ling did not cripple Governor Shang's cultivation, it is because Governor Shang can already be considered a crippled since his mind sea was shattered long ago.
The two soldiers who were dragging a few dead bodies towards their designated spot recognised Governor Shang and got a shock. However, they quickly remembered that they were nobodies and quickly walked away.
The soldiers who were bringing Governor Shang out were just dragging him around and were following General Ling wherever he went.
"When is the Xin family going to take action?" General Ling looked up at the sky with a wry smile. He continued strolling around the empty city happily while his men were dragging Governor Shang around as if they were parading his broken state around in the public.
General Ling would occasionally stop and visit the stalls that were still intact and examined the wares on sale. Soon he spotted one of his Majors and he waved for the major to come closer.
The Major noticed him and quickly ran over and gave a salute.
"Tell me what the Xin family is doing." General Ling ordered.
"Sir, the Xin family just stayed in their estate and did not make any trouble. Sir, would you like a damage report?" The Major quickly reported all that he knew.
"No need. We will have a debriefing later in the day." General Ling said and waved him off.
"Colonel Yap, Why haven't the Xin family come out to protest against what we did?" General Ling asks Yap Chen Bei who is walking beside him.
"General, there are only a few reasons why they did not come out in protest, especially considering their close ties with Governor Shang but the most possible reason is that they could somehow inform Elder Ning Ming of what is happening here and is waiting for him to return." Yap Chen Bei says after pondering of a few seconds. Yap Chen Bei can clearly feel that
General Ling is starting to like him more and is starting to trust and rely on him.
General Ling's happy face however quickly turned sour at Elder Ning Ming's name. "I hope Elder Ning doesn't do something that would force us into combat with him..."
Yap Chen Bei recognizes General Ling's mood and quickly reassures General Ling, "General, you should not worry. When Elder Ning left the city, he brought along a young boy with him. If my calculations are correct, he should be returning right now and the young boy should still be at his side. As such, he should return with his sword drawn and start killing before he is sure that no harm will fall upon the boy."
"That makes sense. Anyway, give the order to have the minimum number of sentries on the city walls. There is no need to guard an empty city and it will allow Elder Ning to enter the city without bloodshed." General Ling gives some orders and creates the best plan to deal with Elder Ning when he eventually returns.
...
Soon, the sun sets but the city is still bright. The city is bright tonight not because of patrols or street lights, but because several of the bigger estates has been filled to the brim with corpses and set on fire by the soldiers. Burning the corpses is the best way to prevent them from being used for nefarious purposes and to make sure that they will not spread diseases.
In the estate that the General is using as his living quarters, General Ling is having a debriefing session in the courtyard while sipping on wine and having a sumptuous dinner. The reason why the debriefing is in the courtyard is because he has hoisted Governor Shang over a few poles here.
Governor Shang is awake right now, but his entire body has become numb and he cannot feel anything. General Ling has informed him that Elder Ning from the Quan Zhen sect is coming and mocked him about how the sect that abandoned him in the past is coming to save him again. Calling him pathetic and useless over and over again in front of all the officers in his corps, while having fine wine and dining on meat happily.
Just like General Ling and Colonel Yap predicted, Elder Ning soon arrived as he made his entrance with several powerful sword strokes.
The first sword stroke demolished the main hall of the estate.
The second sword stroke smashed the house that was adjacent to the courtyard and was the house that General Ling was using.
The third sword stroke cut deep into the ground and destroyed the tables that all the food was placed on.
The fourth sword strike opens a hole in the walls of the estate, and the fifth sword strike shattered all of the weapons that the soldiers had carried with them.
Walking through the hole in the wall that they created, once they walked far enough for the light to shine on their face, the young boy shouted "Uncle Shang!" with a shocked face as he ran towards Governor Shang and helped him get off the poles that he was hoisted upon.
Nothing much could be said about the powerful entrance Elder Ning had made. These five sword strokes had already planted a deep seed of fear in the hearts of everyone. This is one of the most powerful people in the immortal sects!
General Ling knew that his cultivation was lacking compared to the general who fought in the frontier and that he was only a general due to his friendship with the emperor, but watching this display of power made him envious!
He knew that he was not that far away from Elder Ning's realm, yet each increase in cultivation at his stage was extremely difficult and meant that there would be a huge power gap in between these realms!
Once the young boy had carried Governor Shang back and returned back to his side, Elder Ning just let out a thunderous "Humph" and left.
Elder Ning didn't have to say anything else or do anything else to remind everyone present that they should not touch his family.
This is power!
This is also the way of the world.
The powerful are beyond the law and one person can demolish an entire army if he is strong enough. General Ling is also reminded today, why the Empire uses so many resources to make sure that each and every soldier is a cultivator and has only used their cultivation realms to determine their military rank.
Chapter 85 - Forest
I have been running for the past few hours.
Sometimes I trip and fall, but I quickly get up and start running again.
I don't look back because there is nothing I want to see behind me.
I don't look back because I know I will stop running once I look back.
I know that once I look back, I might run towards my pursuers in anger or just give up on escaping, so I make sure I do not look back.
At first, I could hear some screams or shouts, and even the footsteps of the soldiers, but I seem to have lost them finally.
...
*Pak*
I fall down due to exhaustion and I hit what feels like soft mud. I look up and I am surrounded by huge trees.
I never paid attention to the scenery as I was running because my vision was blurry, so I just closed my eyes and kept on running, but it seems that I have run into the forest at some point. The forest is different from what I thought it would look like. There are trees, but the trees are widely spaced apart and are huge.
The sun has set already and it is dark, and the trees seem to extend into the dark and endless skies. The trees should be spaced far apart due to the huge size of some of the spirit beasts since there are several small trees on the floor. The small trees look as if they were knocked down forcefully and crushed with a stomp.
I don't hear the soldiers anymore so they should have given up on chasing me, or maybe they are waiting until it is bright again before combing the forest.
Either way, I am safe for now...
The only sounds I hear right now are some chirping from insects and the occasion croaking from frogs. Whatever hindered my qi in the day has mostly passed out of my system. It should have been a poison that was spread through the air and it did not affect me as fast as it would affect the others since my qi pathways are exceptionally wide and strong...
Theoretically, I should have absorbed more of the poison than everyone else since I have 20 qi whirlpools and they are constantly absorbing qi from the air, but I can feel that my body is almost filled up with Qi.
This should have caused my qi whirlpools to absorb lesser qi and lesser poison from the air since my body seems to be keeping itself around ninety per cent full. Even when I try to meditate and force my qi whirlpools to absorb faster, I cannot seem to go past this bottleneck for some odd reason.
Right now, my qi whirlpools seem to be spinning faster and absorbing qi easier for some odd reason. It feels like the qi in the forest is purer since outside of the forest, my body seems to absorb qi slower.
I noticed this after I started practising Standing Meditation, and my body seems to somehow become able to only absorb qi that is similar in purity to those refined by Standing Meditation. I once asked my mother about this and she said that this is normal.
"The best internal exercise will require the best internal cultivation technique." is what my mother said.
This is because if you use a stronger internal exercise method with a weak cultivation technique, your progress in cultivation will slow to a crawl."
Internal exercises are unlike cultivation techniques. Once you start cultivating a cultivation technique, it is almost impossible to change until a certain realm.
However, internal exercises can be changed at any time. If you cultivate an internal exercise that is too strong for your cultivation, you can use spirit stones to absorb more qi and use a new internal cultivation to slowly adjust your body. Similarly, if you obtained an internal exercise that is better than your current, you can just use it and refine your qi.
Right now, I am exhausted and am too tired and depressed to do anything. I look at myself covered in mud and feel even more depressed, so I use the majority of my qi and clean myself up by emitting a small shockwave from my body.
The shockwave blasts off all the mud and sweat away from my body, while also heating me up so I feel more comfortable.
Using the rest of my qi, I jump up onto a large branch of a nearby tree and just lie on it.
(System, are you there?)
[Beep!]
[I am always here.]
(...)
[Host, why aren't you talking?]
(I... don't know what to say...I just want to talk to someone...)
[Beep!]
[The system is not a chat bot...but... the Host may talk to the almighty system whenever you like!]
(Thanks, it's nice to know that you'll always be here for me...)
[Beep!]
[The system is a gift from God, granted to the host to help him live...]
(Yes yes, enough...I thought you were an extremely intelligent system but it seems like you only have several pre-programmed sentences...) I cut the system off before he could tell me to praise God as I let out a sigh.
[Beep!]
[Host, the system is not a chatbot and has consciousness and awareness. I am aware of your mood but I am unable to understand your feelings and your desire to feel better by talking to me.]
[Many case studies have shown that many people who are in grief turn to God and feel better as they start worshipping God. Perhaps you would also like to worship God in your grief?]
(...God this, God that! Worship this, Worship that! Everything about you is God! Can God turn back time and prevent all of this from happening!)
(Wait! Did God plan for all this is happen?! Is this part of his plan to make me suffer?!) I start getting angry as I can almost imagine god sniggering in heaven right now as he is watching me.
[Beep!]
[God has better things to do than to meddle with the politics, schemes and drama of mortals. All that happened is due to the will of people.]
[When God gave humans free will, he had already decided to allow humans to decide their own fate. Therefore, what happened to you has nothing to do with God. Instead, you should thank god for...]
(Yes yes yes. I will thank god and worship him...I'm tired now and I'm going to sleep...) I cut the system off since I feel bad for wrongly blaming God about what happened...
I look up at the starry night sky that is partially blocked by the tree and mutter "I hope you have a good life when you reincarnate Mo Di... You will forever live on my heart and...Oh!"
(System!)
(View list of Wishes!) I shout out in my mind as I recall that I had gained new wishes, and most importantly, Mo Di's wish.
Chapter 85 - Forest
I have been running for the past few hours.
Sometimes I trip and fall, but I quickly get up and start running again.
I don't look back because there is nothing I want to see behind me.
I don't look back because I know I will stop running once I look back.
I know that once I look back, I might run towards my pursuers in anger or just give up on escaping, so I make sure I do not look back.
At first, I could hear some screams or shouts, and even the footsteps of the soldiers, but I seem to have lost them finally.
...
*Pak*
I fall down due to exhaustion and I hit what feels like soft mud. I look up and I am surrounded by huge trees.
I never paid attention to the scenery as I was running because my vision was blurry, so I just closed my eyes and kept on running, but it seems that I have run into the forest at some point. The forest is different from what I thought it would look like. There are trees, but the trees are widely spaced apart and are huge.
The sun has set already and it is dark, and the trees seem to extend into the dark and endless skies. The trees should be spaced far apart due to the huge size of some of the spirit beasts since there are several small trees on the floor. The small trees look as if they were knocked down forcefully and crushed with a stomp.
I don't hear the soldiers anymore so they should have given up on chasing me, or maybe they are waiting until it is bright again before combing the forest.
Either way, I am safe for now...
The only sounds I hear right now are some chirping from insects and the occasion croaking from frogs. Whatever hindered my qi in the day has mostly passed out of my system. It should have been a poison that was spread through the air and it did not affect me as fast as it would affect the others since my qi pathways are exceptionally wide and strong...
Theoretically, I should have absorbed more of the poison than everyone else since I have 20 qi whirlpools and they are constantly absorbing qi from the air, but I can feel that my body is almost filled up with Qi.
This should have caused my qi whirlpools to absorb lesser qi and lesser poison from the air since my body seems to be keeping itself around ninety per cent full. Even when I try to meditate and force my qi whirlpools to absorb faster, I cannot seem to go past this bottleneck for some odd reason.
Right now, my qi whirlpools seem to be spinning faster and absorbing qi easier for some odd reason. It feels like the qi in the forest is purer since outside of the forest, my body seems to absorb qi slower.
I noticed this after I started practising Standing Meditation, and my body seems to somehow become able to only absorb qi that is similar in purity to those refined by Standing Meditation. I once asked my mother about this and she said that this is normal.
"The best internal exercise will require the best internal cultivation technique." is what my mother said.
This is because if you use a stronger internal exercise method with a weak cultivation technique, your progress in cultivation will slow to a crawl."
Internal exercises are unlike cultivation techniques. Once you start cultivating a cultivation technique, it is almost impossible to change until a certain realm.
However, internal exercises can be changed at any time. If you cultivate an internal exercise that is too strong for your cultivation, you can use spirit stones to absorb more qi and use a new internal cultivation to slowly adjust your body. Similarly, if you obtained an internal exercise that is better than your current, you can just use it and refine your qi.
Right now, I am exhausted and am too tired and depressed to do anything. I look at myself covered in mud and feel even more depressed, so I use the majority of my qi and clean myself up by emitting a small shockwave from my body.
The shockwave blasts off all the mud and sweat away from my body, while also heating me up so I feel more comfortable.
Using the rest of my qi, I jump up onto a large branch of a nearby tree and just lie on it.
(System, are you there?)
[Beep!]
[I am always here.]
(...)
[Host, why aren't you talking?]
(I... don't know what to say...I just want to talk to someone...)
[Beep!]
[The system is not a chat bot...but... the Host may talk to the almighty system whenever you like!]
(Thanks, it's nice to know that you'll always be here for me...)
[Beep!]
[The system is a gift from God, granted to the host to help him live...]
(Yes yes, enough...I thought you were an extremely intelligent system but it seems like you only have several pre-programmed sentences...) I cut the system off before he could tell me to praise God as I let out a sigh.
[Beep!]
[Host, the system is not a chatbot and has consciousness and awareness. I am aware of your mood but I am unable to understand your feelings and your desire to feel better by talking to me.]
[Many case studies have shown that many people who are in grief turn to God and feel better as they start worshipping God. Perhaps you would also like to worship God in your grief?]
(...God this, God that! Worship this, Worship that! Everything about you is God! Can God turn back time and prevent all of this from happening!)
(Wait! Did God plan for all this is happen?! Is this part of his plan to make me suffer?!) I start getting angry as I can almost imagine god sniggering in heaven right now as he is watching me.
[Beep!]
[God has better things to do than to meddle with the politics, schemes and drama of mortals. All that happened is due to the will of people.]
[When God gave humans free will, he had already decided to allow humans to decide their own fate. Therefore, what happened to you has nothing to do with God. Instead, you should thank god for...]
(Yes yes yes. I will thank god and worship him...I'm tired now and I'm going to sleep...) I cut the system off since I feel bad for wrongly blaming God about what happened...
I look up at the starry night sky that is partially blocked by the tree and mutter "I hope you have a good life when you reincarnate Mo Di... You will forever live on my heart and...Oh!"
(System!)
(View list of Wishes!) I shout out in my mind as I recall that I had gained new wishes, and most importantly, Mo Di's wish.