Nothing could have prepared me for the agonising pain that I felt. What the hell was going on?
Was this the backlash for spending too much blood essence or a side effect of brute forcing a technique meant for those at the Qi Gathering realm? Actually, the pain of my body ripping itself apart was just the beginning.
When patients are healing from severe wounds, they often report extreme agony from the affected area even after they’ve been treated. The healing process itself can be more painful than the original injury!
What followed my body being torn to pieces was a full reconstruction. From my toes to my scalp, iron-like bones reforged from dust, tendons like bow strings snapped into place, and densely packed muscles twisted together.
As this happened I was barely able to maintain consciousness. My mind went blank and I couldn’t form a single thought.
Slowly I felt the pain receding. Focusing inwards, I saw that as the transformation ended, the red sparks of my blood essence exploded out from my core and raced around my body. Wherever they went was rejuvenated and I felt a sensation of extreme relief.
My ordeal was over. Now that I was more coherent, I was able to figure out what had happened. I had broken through to six-star Body Tempering.
Letting out a chuckle, I turned my gaze towards the heavens. This world was truly unfair. Zhao Dan had struggled for 2 years without making a single iota of progress in his cultivation, yet I managed to break through in a single day after my transmigration!
However, something was strange about this breakthrough. Looking through my memories, none of his previous breakthroughs had been so severe.
They had been similar, as the Body Tempering Realm involved the destruction and reformation of one’s body, but nowhere near as intense. There were two possible answers.
The first was that my strange blood essence had played a part in the agonising breakthrough. Zhao Dan had never been able to sense his own blood essence with such precision and it had never behaved in the way mine did.
It wasn’t a bad thing that my breakthrough was more intense than before. The greater level of agony had paved the way for a sturdier foundation. I knew that I would be tougher than cultivators at the same star as me.
But there was also the possibility that none of that was true. This led to the second possibility—my use of my blood essence to heal Xiao Cui and the wolf.
After each use of the technique, the quantity of my blood essence had skyrocketed. There were no free meals in this world; any powerful technique should have an equally potent drawback.
Perhaps my rapid advancement came with a price—every breakthrough made using this method would be many times more brutal than the last. The only way to discover which answer was right was to test each theory.
Whatever the oath had granted me, I knew that I was only scratching the surface. Giving up my spirit roots was a phenomenal sacrifice. Even as stingy as the heavens seemed to be, given how few cultivators there were compared to mortals, it couldn’t have given me a single measly technique in exchange.
Coincidentally, I had already decided to become a doctor once more. At first I had been wondering how I would acquire healing arts or techniques in this battle-obsessed world.
The idea of creating my own from the ground up based on my knowledge and experience crossed my mind a couple times. However, that would be a monumental task.
From what I had managed to find out, creating a new technique from scratch was typically something that only Core Formation ancestors could accomplish. Reaching such a level was more of a dream than a real ambition for the previous Zhao Dan.
I doubted I would reach such heights. My temperament didn’t suit this brutal world. However, now that I’d discovered my own unique method of advancing, there was a sliver of a chance that I might make it there one day.
For now, I would need to take some time to stabilise my new cultivation as well as plan my next steps. The journey back to Xiao Cui’s home was a perfect opportunity to do so.
Even though I wasn’t sure exactly what my future held, I knew I would face it with my head held high. I’d made my oath and I would do my best to stick to it while figuring out the powers it had granted me.
Turning towards the young girl, I saw that her face was pale and she stared at me with horror. At first I was confused and looked around the clearing, thinking she’d seen another spirit beast.
However, we were alone in this part of the forest. Then it hit me. She’d just been witness to my body tearing apart from the inside and then rebuilding itself.
For cultivators, such a sight was still gory, but a part of their daily lives. To a mortal, such a scene must’ve left a sickening impact.
“Don’t worry, little Cui. While that may have looked vicious, it was a good thing for me. I’ve reached a new level in my cultivation,” I assured her. Unfortunately my words had little effect.
Knowing there was no instant fix for the minor trauma, I simply lifted her onto my back and started to run through the forest. “Where do you live?” I asked.
She yelped as I swept her off her feet and struggled for a moment, but then her eyes seemed to glaze over and she went still. I wasn’t happy that a girl I’d saved viewed me with such fear, but perhaps I would need to get used to it.
Mortals and cultivators existed in different worlds. What seemed as natural as breathing to us was a world-shaking experience to them. Eventually she seemed to register my question.
“Oh, um… I live with my parents in Nine Paddy Village. It’s near Three River City,” she mumbled. “I can show you the way when we get close to the city,” she quickly added.
I nodded and increased my speed, kicking at the ground until the passing trees became a blur. I’d wanted to explore the forest a little more on my way to Three River City, but getting Xiao Cui home safe was my priority.
****
While we walked through the forest, I noticed Xiao Cui glancing in my direction every now and then, but she didn’t muster up the courage to speak her thoughts. That suited me just fine.
I had a lot to think about. I knew I wanted to continue being a doctor—or whatever equivalent this world had—but this was the first time I’d healed someone without relying on years of study and modern technology.
The sheer thrill of fixing an injury with nothing but the power contained within my body was unmatched. Even completing a twelve-hour surgery had never felt so… vivid.
Perhaps that was because the achievement was accompanied by the surge in my cultivation; that addicting growth that all cultivators in this world chased endlessly. Suddenly the trees seemed to vanish as glittering evening sunbeams danced through the empty air. I gazed out across the endless lush plains and rolling hills that lay around the Cloudy Falls Sect. The breathtaking view cleared away all worries and let me walk in unbothered peace for a little while.
****
Frowning, I looked at the beautiful sunset. The map given to me by the Elder at the gates severely understated the distance between the Cloudy Falls Sect and Three River City.
Even with my increased speed after the breakthrough, we’d only covered half the distance to the city since leaving the forest behind. Travelling at night was too dangerous—spirit beasts grew more restless in the dark.
I would’ve preferred to set up camp and wait until morning to continue our journey, but Zhao Dan hadn’t owned a tent. Xiao Cui was lying on the side of the road, half asleep.
Shaking her awake gently, I asked, “Do you know if there are any inns along the road to your village? We can’t travel in the dark.”
It took her a second to fully wake up. Her eyes went wide when she saw me and she jumped back a little. I sighed. This mental trauma of hers was going to be a problem.
“You know, I really won’t hurt you. Do you think I would’ve bothered healing your leg if I had bad intentions?” I asked, shaking my head.
Xiao Cui looked into my eyes for a few seconds, then seemed to come to a realisation. Getting onto her knees, she bowed until her head touched the dirt path.
“Thank you for saving my life, honoured cultivator,” she declared. “I… your body… it was so scary,” she started to stutter.
This was good progress. There was no need for such an over the top thanks, but I knew the customs of this world were ingrained in her mind.
“It was no problem,” I replied with a wave of my hand. “And truly, I am fine. This process is normal for us cultivators.”
She didn’t need to know my little lie. While some pain was necessary for a breakthrough in the Body Tempering Realm, what I had experienced was far from normal.
“So, about the inn…” I said, looking at her with expectation.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Yes! There is one, but I’m not sure we will make it there before nightfall,” she sighed, looking back at the forest with fear.
“We don’t have another option,” I replied, holding out my hand for her. Taking it, I lifted her to her feet and then onto my back once more.
****
Xiao Cui told me the inn was only a little further, but she’d fallen asleep since then. Even with my cultivation I was beginning to grow tired. Running at full speed for a whole day had taken its toll.
At that moment I reached the top of the small hill we were climbing. Looking across the valley I smiled. The inn was a little further along from the base of the hill.
Darkness had taken hold of the world, but there was a half moon tonight and the sky was clear. Pale light illuminated the valley. For a moment I stood still, admiring the natural beauty of this place.
However, I didn’t dawdle for too long. There was still the danger of running into more dangerous spirit beasts now that night had fallen. We soon reached the inn.
I’d half expected to be ambushed by spirit beasts along the way, but an eerie silence was all that followed us on our journey. With a final glance I turned from the path. The inn was two floors tall and made of sturdy wood.
Two lanterns hung from the front wall, lighting up the surrounding area in an orange glow. I could see a stable nearby with a few horses sleeping soundly.
Everything seemed in order, so I was happy to spend the night. Even if it was a little dodgy we wouldn’t have another choice.
I didn’t bother to wake Xiao Cui, simply stepping into the reception and greeting the owner with a nod. “Evening, owner. How much for a night’s stay and a hot meal?”
The wrinkled old man held up three fingers without looking up from his book. “Three coppers each for the night, including dinner. My granddaughter will bring it to your rooms,” he said without hesitation. “Four each if you want breakfast,” he added, turning the page.
Some guests might have taken offence at his casual manner, but I liked people who got straight to business. Reaching into my coin purse, I realised I had a problem.
Stepping up to the counter, I placed a gold coin on the desk and coughed once to get the old man’s attention. “Would you have change for a gold coin, by any chance?” I asked.
For the first time since I entered the inn, the man lifted his head from his book. He slammed it shut and jumped to his feet.
When he saw the glint of gold his eyes widened in shock and he reached out a hand to grab the coin, before pulling it back. He offered me a shallow bow. “Surely you jest, honoured customer,” he said with a cough.
“This is the first time I’ve seen a gold coin in my life! How could I possibly have that much money on me?” he said with hesitation.
This was the problem with cultivators. They were so wrapped up in their bubble of chasing the heavens that they forgot little things like this. Couldn’t Zhao Dan have at least had a few silver coins lying around…
Silver coins were worth 10 coppers, while gold coins were worth 100 silvers. If I had one, this old man would’ve had change for me. I wasn’t that attached to money, but I wasn’t sure how far my small fortune would take me now that I no longer had the support of a sect.
At that moment there was a cry from behind. I felt something slam into the back of my head, but it was far from hard enough to hurt me.
Xiao Cui slipped from my back and I turned to catch her arm just in time. There was a red mark on her forehead that was swelling rapidly. I stifled a laugh, realising she’d headbutted me as she awoke.
“Careful, at this rate you’ll need healing once a day,” I chuckled.
Her face went bright red and she mumbled an apology. Turning back to the owner, I tried to figure out a solution.
Taking back my gold coin, I saw a flash of greed in his eyes but he quickly suppressed it. Anyone who openly carried gold was either a cultivator or mortal lord. An elderly man had no hope of stealing their money without losing his life.
To my surprise, Xiao Cui stepped up to the desk and took out a silver coin, handing it to the old owner without blinking. When he took out two coppers to hand back to her, she waved a hand and said, “Keep it. Just make sure my bed is extra comfy and my dinner is extra tasty.”
I wasn’t sure of the value of mortal money in this world. Sure, I could make a guess based on the prices of the inn, but that didn’t give me an idea about the average income. Nor did it tell me whether it was normal for a village girl to casually toss silver coins around.
Frankly, I didn’t care. Looking at it this way, I had saved Xiao Cui’s life and was escorting her back to her village. In the first place, a little girl wandering this far from home was asking for trouble.
If this was her way of repaying that life debt, then I wouldn’t do something insensitive like try to pay her back. That could be seen as an insult to her kindness.
A young girl around Xiao Cui’s age came from the back when the old man rang a bell. She was plain but pretty with brown hair and brown eyes. With a smile she showed us to our rooms on the top floor.
The old man must’ve said something to his granddaughter because the beds were far bigger than even Zhao Dan’s back in the sect. After showing us the rooms she told us she would be back soon with our dinner.
Xiao Cui leapt onto her bed and giggled as she sunk into the soft bedding. After rolling a few times and hugging the pillow a few times she gave me an embarrassed look. I continued to stand in the doorway.
After an awkward few seconds of silence, she coughed. “Ahem, saviour,” she muttered. Then, her eyes went wide and she yelled, “Ah! I never asked for your name.”
Covering her face in her hands she buried herself under the blankets. I couldn’t help but laugh at her antics. I remembered being that young. Every little misstep felt like the end of the world.
Embarrassment was worse than death for a teenager. “My name is Zhao Dan,” I replied to her unasked question.
“Zhao Dan,” she repeated, chewing on the syllables. “Thank you again for saving my life, Cultivator Zhao. I don’t mean to be rude, but if you could give me some privacy…” she said, glancing towards the bathtub.
I swallowed as I realised I’d just been standing there, staring at her for a few minutes. With a cough I shut the door and retreated to my own room.
Looking in the mirror, I sighed. Gone was the muscular, tanned, and scarred body that used to greet me. It wasn’t all bad. Zhao Dan, for all his flaws, had been handsome even by the standards of cultivators.
A little paler than I liked, but there was a certain charm to it. Had being in this youthful body influenced me? Because my mind hadn’t changed much, I didn’t really process that I was now two decades younger.
Then again, something like age was less of a pressure in this world. Every time one’s cultivation increased, so would their lifespan.
The Supreme Ancestor of the Cloudy Falls Sect was rumoured to have lived over a thousand years. Even as a six-star body tempering cultivator I would live almost 150 years. And that wasn’t all.
Cultivators aged slower, so I could expect to retain my youth and strength for the better part of my lifespan. I wanted to become a doctor again, but much of my knowledge—how to treat diseases, gunshot wounds, and heavy burns—was useless here.
Then again, there was no reason I only had to heal cultivators. Mortals were everywhere. If I was going to walk a path that few others had tread before me, starting from the bottom seemed like a good plan.
A knock at my door interrupted my thoughts. Opening it, I was greeted by the smiling girl from earlier carrying a steaming bowl of meat, rice, and vegetables.
Thanking her, I sat down to eat. She seemed flustered as she delivered the food, blushing as she passed it over and running away in a hurry.
Perhaps being a handsome youth wouldn’t be so bad after all. Taking a bite of the meat, I moaned in appreciation. This was the first meal I’d had since my transmigration and I sorely needed it.
Tender and juicy, the spiced meat melted in my mouth. Crunchy stir-fried vegetables and rice complemented it perfectly.
The food vanished in less than a minute as I devoured it. Placing the dirty bowl and chopsticks on the table, I considered asking for seconds but decided against it.
After bathing in the simple wooden tub, I changed out of my dirty clothes. Using the leftover water I scrubbed them clean and hung them out to dry.
Lying down on the bed, I realised why Xiao Cui had been so excited. It was luxuriously soft. The moment my head touched the pillow I grew drowsy and soon I fell fast asleep.
****
Sipping tea, I watched Xiao Cui enthusiastically sample the various fruits and pastries prepared for breakfast. I wasn’t hungry, so I just had a single apple before letting her go wild.
A loud crash broke the tranquillity of my tea drinking. Frowning, I turned to the source of the disturbance. A group of four muscular brutes sat across the room.
They were shouting and jeering as they ate, throwing food everywhere and spilling their drinks—which were alcoholic… at breakfast. Given the swords and spears they carried, I guessed they were mercenaries. Or bandits.
Ignoring the fuss, I returned to sipping my tea and considering my future. I wasn’t sure I was ready to go straight to Three River City. Perhaps after dropping Xiao Cui home I would just wander the nearby wilderness and see what I found.
Testing my new technique on spirit beasts seemed like an effective way to quickly figure out its limits. And there was the added benefit of improving my cultivation, though I would need to work out if the rapid progress resulted in instability before rushing into things.
A wooden cup flew across the room and hit my teacup, shattering it. Hot tea spilled across my lap and the shards of porcelain ruined little Cui’s breakfast. I stared at the broken handle between my fingers with a deep frown.
With a sigh I stood up from my chair and brushed the shards from my robe. The tea hadn’t burned me—my skin was too tough—but I couldn’t forgive them for ruining Xiao Cui’s breakfast.
She’d paid for it with her silver coin, after all. I walked over to the table of brutes after picking up the cup they’d thrown.
I placed it down on the table. Not slamming it, but hard enough that they suddenly stopped their jeering and stared at me. “I believe this belongs to you, fellow customers,” I coldly announced.
“Now, I understand that accidents can happen to anyone. The polite thing to do when you make a mistake is apologise and in this case, I think you should buy my companion a fresh breakfast,” I said, keeping my expression neutral.
The owner’s granddaughter hurried over and bowed. “Honoured guest, don’t worry. I will bring her more pastries, free of charge,” she said, rushing to grab a brush and clean up the mess.
I wasn’t happy about letting them off, but getting into a fight right now would be a mistake. For one, we’d end up trashing the inn. I’d feel bad for the old grandpa and his kind granddaughter.
Secondly, I sensed that the leader of the group was a six-star Body Tempering cultivator like me. With his underlings backing him up, I might not emerge victorious if we went all-out.
I sat back down at my table and picked up the fresh cup of tea. Taking a sip, I almost shattered the cup myself when the man let out a booming laugh and yelled, “Hmph! Making demands is the right of the strong. How can you be so arrogant while so weak?”
I really wanted to punch him. However, I believed I had a decent level of self control. Words were just that—words. The man could say what he liked—it didn’t bother me.
Annoying bastards like this were everywhere. All bark and no bite. Xiao Cui grinned as a fresh platter of pastries and fruit was placed in front of her and dug in with gusto.
I heard a few more shouts from the other table, but chose to ignore them. Then I saw the four men get up to leave.
Thankfully we would get to enjoy the rest of our meal in peace. However, as they walked past our table, I felt a hand clasping my shoulder as the leader walked behind Xiao Cui.
He grabbed her chin and lifted it to face him. “Such a pretty girl doesn’t belong with such a coward. From today onwards, you’ll be my companion. Let me show you how a real man does things,” he declared with a booming laugh.
While he did that I clenched my fist. This had gone far enough. I’d been content to let them leave even when they’d insulted me, but the moment they threatened little Cui they’d sealed their fate.
I was about to stand up when I felt a cold blade pressed against my throat.