Now, a moral dilemma was in my hands. While it was evident that I wouldnt be able to save the entire village if disaster struck, I believed I could at least rescue so of the villagers, particularly the children.
However, while I wouldn't label myself heartless, there was a limit to the risks I was willing to take for strangers. My lips felt dry, and my body remained frozen in place as every instinct scread against moving even a single step toward such imminent danger.
But then, a sudden chill enveloped the air, diverting my attention from thoughts of my next move. A large crystal ford above the Monstrous boar, causing it to roar in response, its steamy aura swirling around its massive form.
As the crystal shimred in the moonlight, I managed to get a clearer look at itit was no crystal; it was a giant icicle. Despite my weakness compared to the beast, the icicle descended and pierced the creature straight through its spine, exiting from its abdon.
What the fuck had I stumbled into?
With the villagers now safe, there was no longer a reason for to wrestle with moral dilemmas. Whatever food shortages they might have faced would now be resolved by the colossal beast that had been killed in their backyard.
With the innocents secure, I turned on my heels and sprinted in the opposite direction. The trees blurred past as I pushed my body to its limits, propelled by the agility of Rushing Bull Steps.
Though I knew I would likely have to deal with pain for days to co from abusing Rushing Bull Steps, I felt I had no other choice. The battle would undoubtedly draw the attention of any nearby cultivators, and the situation could quickly escalate into a bloodbatha scenario I wanted no part of.
Cultivators were greedy, and I knew there was a high probability of encountering death battles, even if I were fortunate enough to avoid many cultivators noticing sothing I highly doubted.
As I continued to flee, I gradually began to tear off my sect uniform. There was no telling how many enemy cultivators or spies lurked around the Blazing Sun Sect, ready to exploit the chaos. They might seize the opportunity to target Blazing Sun Sect disciples amid the turmoil.
Trees blurred around , and I tried to run as fast as possible when a sharp, swishing sound sliced through the air. Instinctively, I ducked, narrowly evading a tal sword that whizzed over my head.
My heart almost jumped out of my chest as I looked up and saw my reflection in the steel blade.
This was a situation I had thought about countless tis. But reality was often quite different from what the mind conjured up. There was little ti for thinking, so I relied solely on my instincts.
I retaliated with a swift kick, but the attacker did a backflip over it and dodged swiftly in mid-air. But I rotated my hips, built montum, and sent another kick toward his face. There was no chance for him to dodge this ti.
But as my kick connected, he barely blocked it with the side of his sword. With deft grace, he landed on a nearby tree branch.
His wavy dark hair was pushed to the side by the wind, revealing his intense, dilated brown eyes.
His sword glead in the sunlight as he tightened his grip on it, its edge seemingly razor-sharp. The weapon emitted no Qi, indicating it wasn't an artifactotherwise, I would have been in serious trouble.
No words were exchanged between us; none were needed. He had made an attempt on my life, and unlike the bandits I encountered earlier, this guy was a genuine threat.
There was an invisible connection between us, and for that brief mont I wasn't sure if it was just my delusions, but it felt like I could understand this man's intentions.
Was this the so-called learning to know another person through fighting?
Either way, it was clear that neither of us would erge from this encounter unscathed.
Clad in simple attire, he bore the semblance of a rogue cultivator unaffiliated with any sect, or perhaps he, like , concealed his sect association.
With a crouch, the sinister feeling around him intensified. The branch below his feet trembled and shattered into pieces as he shot toward like a bullet.
I leaped backward as his sword sliced downward, effortlessly cleaving through the branch I had stood on like a razor, leaving behind a clean, precise cut.
His swing left him montarily exposed. I seized the opportunity and kicked off another tree, charging at him and using the Piercing Fang Fist technique. As the air around my fist twisted and whooshed toward his face, his eyes widened, a grimace contorting his features as he barely raised his sword to block the attack.
A resounding thud echoed through the air as he was thrown backward, accompanied by the clanging of tal. A sudden, piercing pain shot up my arm, and warmth trickled down my elbow.
The man crashed through a nearby tree but rose to his feet almost imdiately, showing no visible signs of damage. From what I could discern, he possessed strength comparable to minea seven-star body-tempering youngster, likely accustod to killing foes swiftly with decapitating blows. Prolonged battles didn't seem to be his forte.
Glancing down, I observed a deep gash spanning from wrist to elbow on my right arm, blood gushing forth in alarming quantities. Panic surged through .
How had I been cut?
A chill went through my heart. I hadn't even seen the blade strike !
Could it be so sort of Sword Technique?
Struggling to quell my racing thoughts, I took deep, shaking breathsa futile attempt to calm myself in the face of bleeding out. Despite the grueso wound, I felt no pain.
Was the blade poisoned? So creatures used numbing agents to mask their venomous bites. I prayed that it was rely adrenaline dulling my senses.
Observing the man as he crouched, it beca apparent that neither of us possessed extensive experience in prolonged combat. However, unlike him, I lacked any experience in taking a life. Yet, that was what I needed to do.
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Clarity settled over , my heart rate steadied, and my senses sharpened to an acute edge. I could almost feel the rhythm of his heartbeat, the rhythm of his breaths. Poison, blood loss, and pain could waitthe imdiate threat demanded my full attention.
Why worry about sothing that could kill later when there was sothing that could kill right now?
Yeah, all I had to do was move. Just keep moving!
As the man lowered into a crouch, his hand pressing into the ground, it beca evident that he was preparing to employ a movent technique. His posture was unusual for a swordsman, suggesting he lacked a suitable technique for his discipline. Likely opting for the only choice available to him.
This revealed quite a lot. The chances of this guy being a young master were slim to none, aning no one was backing him up. Otherwise, he would have gotten himself a better technique.
His fingers dug into the grassy dirt, muscles in his thighs bulging, veins pulsing along his palms.
Amidst the flurry of techniques racing through my mind, the many dozens of them I had morized while reading in the sect's library one stood outThe Burst Tiger Step.
With a flash, he surged forward, akin to a wild beast in pursuit of its prey. While his speed was remarkable, true mastery of the Burst Tiger Step demanded a quadrupedal stance, a limitation that hindered its full potential.
Unlike the Rushing Bull Steps I had chosen, the Burst Tiger Step distributed pressure evenly across four limbs, allowing for agile movents even in rough terrain. However, like many techniques, it possessed vulnerabilities. Its feline-like assault left the user vulnerable mid-air, unable to evade a counterattacka weakness I had accounted for in my selection.
Bending my legs, I initiated the Rushing Bull Steps, the world blurring around as tunnel vision set in. With the target fixed before , his mid-air vulnerability presented an opportunity. The forest landscape shifted, and for a fleeting mont, I debated targeting his head. Yet, even airborne, he could evade such an assault with a simple tilt.
The chest was the obvious target
There was no ti to think. The next thing I knew, my fist sank wrist-deep in blood. I could feel the bone and soft fleshy things touching my hand.
By the ti I realized what happened, my opponent was staring at wide-eyed. He coughed a mouthful of blood, so of it splattered on my face, and it slled like copper.
Small chunks of flesh slid down my face, and I used my injured hand to wipe it off. What was left was small chunks of flesh in my hand.
Did he cough out a part of his lungs?
I pulled my fist back, blood squirted and chunks of flesh and pieces of lungs ca with it. The guy's gaze t mine as a tear rolled down his eyes as his body plumted to the ground. I picked off the pieces of flesh from my fist and tried to wipe the sticky blood away, but it left a red smudge.
I had to put up with this and the flesh bits under my nails, as there was no water nearby to wash it off.
Staring at his body and caving in the chest, sothing rose up my throat. "Ugh!" I leaned against a tree and threw up.
But in that mont of weakness, sothing shifted in the grass and soone ca out.
Shit! Why did I waver here!?!
I hurriedly pulled my fists back up, the taste of vomit still in my mouth, and the feeling of wanting to throw up went away. Though I blocked the first attack, a cracking noise rang out as I flew back and smashed into a tree. A painful tingle went through my arms.
I looked down, hoping they hadn't been broken.
Thankfully, they were okay, except for the black swelling in the middle of my forearms where the hit had landed. Though the attack hadn't broken my arms, there were probably so cracks along the bones.
I looked at my new opponent, and unlike my last one, this was a female. She had long dark hair in a ponytail, cold dark eyes, and a lanky body with a long face.
"Leave this body to , and you can go," she stated coldly.
I narrowed my eyes on her.
How should I deal with this? She obviously couldnt be trusted and it would be foolish to turn my back on her.
I was wounded, yet she refrained from attacking.
Why was she hesitating?
She had been observing the skirmish between and the man, so she likely slled an opportunity to kill . However, despite the repulsion I had felt witnessing the man's grueso death, I remained vigilant.
Fear coursed through my veins. There was little chance I would win this with these injuries. But I straightened my stance, and a facade of false bravado enveloped like never before.
"Why extend such an offer?" I smirked. "Aren't you confident in taking down? Believe in yourself a bit more, young lady. Self-confidence is key."
Whether this bravado stemd from the original Liu Feng or myself was unclear. Perhaps it was a weird fusion of both. Regardless, an irrational and angry opponent was easier to deal with than a calm and rational one. Even if these insults failed to provoke her, each second of rest I gained after exerting myself was an advantage. Moreover, engaging in verbal sparring soothed my nerves.
"You talk mighty well for soone who was just throwing up for killing soone. What kind of man does that?" She muttered, assuming a pugilistic stance, her silver brass knuckles dripping with red liquida telltale sign of previous murderers because that wasn't my blood.
Her choice of weapon suggested she was a fistfighter. However, I remained vigilant for any potential tricks. Though it would be mighty inconvenient for her to go through all this trouble just to give the wrong first impression.
"What can I say? Deep down, I'm a tender-hearted man who recoils at the sight of blood," I sighed, shaking my head in mock regret.
Her eye twitched, her grip on the brass knuckles tightening.
Did she think that not being a murderous maniac was sothing to be ashad of? Well, maybe it was in this world. It was a stark reminder of the harsh realities of this world, where strength often dictated one's fate.
This situation reminded of an old saying: It is better to be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in a war.
Here I stood, akin to the hapless gardener thrust into the midst of battle. If I hoped to survive, I needed to shed the guise of passivity and embrace the mantle of a warrior now! Not next year, or next month, or even tomorrow I had to do it now!
My arms bore the scars of the previous skirmish, the gash inflicted by the man's blade reminding of my vulnerability. anwhile, my legs felt numb from the untrained use of Rushing Bull Steps without the accompanying defensive technique I had intended to master.
"Talk about a shitty day," I muttered under my breath, casting a glance at the man's lifeless form, his chest caved in.
Normally, the sight of his wide, lifeless eyes would have repulsed , yet now, I felt an eerie calmness. My stomach no longer churned. The only concern occupying my mind was the enemy before , intent on killing .
There were no thoughts of the uncertain future or the enigmatic jade-like beauty who likely lurked nearby. My sole preoccupation was with ending this girl before she ended .
How odd. The notion of taking soone's life didn't evoke the slightest hesitation within . Perhaps the awareness of the inevitable necessity of such actions in this world dulled the shock they should have elicited.
"You know, when a woman attempts to slay a handso young cultivator, she often finds herself joining his harem in the end," I jest.
She gritted her teeth. "Well, you're far from handso."
Oh, the xianxia girl had so cobacks? Never thought I would et soone like her in this world. Under different circumstances, perhaps we could have been friends. Regrettably, her unwavering intent to end my life left no choice but to reciprocate in kind.
"You're breaking my heart, lady," I retorted, my tone dripping with sarcasm.
Her response was imdiate. With silent grace, she surged forward, her movents fluid and deadly. Her eyes burned with a palpable intensity, sending shivers down my spine.
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