There was one thing these guys were mistaken on. They called me a coward because I didn’t immediately threaten them for ruining our breakfast.

But I wasn’t a coward. I didn’t avoid fights because I was scared I would lose, I avoided them because I knew what it took to win…

Apart from their leader none of them could match me in strength. However, even a four-star cultivator could kill me with a knife against my throat.

This was a tricky situation and I needed to step carefully. If it was just my own life at risk, I would’ve turned to violence in a heartbeat. Thugs who threatened little girls deserved none of my compassion.

However, the lead bandit had Xiao Cui’s life in his hands right now. Luckily, his despicable lust worked in my favour—he wouldn't harm her just yet.

I inhaled, letting the air fill my lungs. As soon as they were full, I exhaled sharply and in the same moment grabbed at the bandit’s wrist.

He was caught off guard, not expecting such a decisive strike. With a jerk of my arm I snapped his wrist and the dagger fell from his hand.

Catching it with my free hand, I whirled on the spot and stabbed towards where I thought his neck would be. Unfortunately, he had dropped to his knees while clutching his broken wrist.

My strike went over his head. His eyes snapped open when he realised the danger he was in and he kicked out, catching me in the shin.

I felt a little burst of pain, but my body was far tougher than his. Now that he was disarmed, the threat he posed was minimal.

Grabbing his head with one hand I smacked my knee into his face. Blood splattered across the room as his nose exploded and I stabbed the dagger into his heart. He dropped to the ground, dead.

I stared at the blood rapidly leaking from his body. His eyes had glazed over. My stomach churned. I forced down the bile that leaked into my throat.

He deserved to die, but that didn’t make killing him easier.

The pain wasn’t harsh enough to completely stop my momentum. The other thugs stared at their dead comrade with shock in their eyes. Their leader froze and let go of Xiao Cui momentarily.

However, I didn’t have time to wallow in my feelings. The bandits were shocked now, but they were already recovering, reaching for weapons.

In that instant, I struck. I felt the stone tiles break beneath me as I kicked off the ground and shot past the table.

Grabbing Xiao Cui under the shoulders, I lifted her from the chair and then rushed towards the bar. Then, I dumped her behind the counter as softly as I could manage.

“Stay here and cover your ears. This won’t take long,” I said, turning back to face my opponents. There were now three remaining, but only the six-star leader was a real threat.

The shock had twisted into fury on their ugly faces and the two weaklings charged towards me. One held a dagger like his dead friend while the other wielded a chipped Jian.

I had no weapons of my own but against this trash my body was more than enough. My face was a mask of cold indifference as I surged forwards.

My body felt a little stiff. Zhao Dan hadn’t been very motivated to cultivate or exercise in the year leading up to his suicide, so the constant exertion was taking a toll. Even so, I felt amazing.

The dagger wielder was first to reach me. He was barely a three-star body temperer and his movements were clumsy, like a child using a blade for the first time.

I sidestepped his thrust with ease and then grabbed hold of his wrist. With my other hand I smashed against his elbow. There was a satisfying crunch as his arm bent backwards and broke.

Following that, I ripped the dagger from his hands and grabbed him by the neck. His friend arrived at that moment.

The bandit roared at me and raised his jian high above his head before swinging it at me. For a four-star his movements were surprisingly fast and I didn’t have time to dodge.

Tossing away the dagger I raised the limp bandit in my hands to block. The other man had no time to halt his attack and instead of striking me, he sliced off his friend’s head.

The bandit screamed in anguish. His eyes were burning with rage and hatred towards me, but I didn’t care. These men would get no sympathy from me.

Blood dripped from his blade onto the tiles. I spotted a blur of movement in the corner of my eye and ducked just as a meaty fist whirled through the air. The boss had joined the fight.

This was where things got difficult. Zhao Dan only had a few basic martial techniques in his memory. A lowly outer disciple who’d been reduced to little more than a servant wasn’t given the privilege of seeing the more powerful techniques of the Cloudy Falls Sect.

However, that wouldn’t be a problem. I’d always been a doctor, but being in warzones for most of my life had forced me to practise more than one martial art. Combining my own knowledge with the body of a cultivator might bring both forms to a new level.

The boss wasn’t one to waste time. Instead of waiting around yelling like his incompetent subordinates, he was already throwing another punch at my face.

And he was wearing vicious spiked gauntlets made of leather and iron. There were dark red spots on the metal spikes—dry blood from old foes.

I stepped backward and shifted my head to the side to escape his punch, but he quickly fired off another. I raised my left knee and smacked his forearm to parry the blow, but the moment he saw me on one leg he grinned.

He opened a fist and slapped it down onto my left shoulder. With my foot raised I stumbled hard and almost fell to the floor.

Luckily I was able to catch my balance but that gave him a chance to strike. A spiked fist smashed into my temple and my vision went black.

I felt something hard slam into my spine and realised I’d been flung through a table. Staggering to my feet I saw stars dancing in my eyes.

Before I had a moment to recover the underling was in front of me, swinging his jian. Even with my balance thrown off his clumsy slash wasn’t difficult to avoid.

Ducking low, I went under his blade and then exploded upwards, punching him right in the chin. The combined force of jumping and punching flung his body into the ceiling.

His head crunched into a wooden beam and his neck snapped sideways at an awkward angle. When his body smashed into the tiles it stayed there. I felt a stinging pain from my shoulder and realised he’d sliced into my flesh as I’d struck.

As I was rolling my shoulder, checking the damage, the boss stood up. He’d recovered fast and threw himself at me. His arms blurred as he threw out dozens of forceful punches.

I did my best to block, parry, and dodge them but I was slowly losing ground. I’d only recently broken through to the sixth star while this man’s cultivation was higher. He had a stable foundation and it showed in the ease of his movements.

Not only that, but the sharp spikes on his gloves punctured my skin with every blow I didn’t block. My clothes were dripping with blood and I knew if this continued I would surely lose. For Xiao Cui’s sake I couldn’t let that happen.

But how was I supposed to take down a man whose life revolved around violence, one armed with a brutal weapon who held the upper hand against me? I racked my brain for answers as I continued to block his strikes.

With every punch more holes appeared in my arms. It wasn’t completely one-sided. I was also damaging the bandit with each counter punch I threw, but it wasn’t enough.

Suddenly I stumbled and lost my footing. It wasn’t my fault but I’d lost so much blood that my muscles were beginning to fail.

The bandit leader grinned and spat out a bloody tooth. Then he rocked his arm back and sent a devastating punch right at my face. As the metal spikes raced towards my eyes I hurried to think of a solution.

I’m such an idiot… How on earth didn’t I think of this sooner? This was a basic mantra that was true on Earth and in this new world.

Too much medicine is poison. My physical strength didn’t match up to this guy, but I had a much more potent weapon in my hands.

My hand shot out and I grabbed hold of his wrist, stopping his punch right before it hit my face. He frowned, but then let out a nasty chuckle.

“There’s no use resisting. I can see that you’ve lost your strength. Look, your arm is shaking,” he jeered, pushing against me.

Even as he began to break through my hold my hand worked to slip underneath his sleeve. It was difficult as he was wearing many layers of leather armour, but eventually I felt something soft on the tip of my finger.

Finally! A defiant grin crossed my face and the bandit paused briefly when he saw my expression. At that moment I pulled on the blood essence in my body.

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The red sparks raced up my arm and blasted into the bandit’s wrist. His cheeks flushed red and I saw the cuts and bruises on his body healing. His face crumpled and I saw him struggle to figure out what was happening.

Using that moment I shot to my feet and blasted as much blood essence into his body as possible before jumping backwards. He suddenly yelled and pulled back his sleeve.

Looking at his wrist I saw that it was starting to swell, with misshapen lumps forming under his skin. The growth stopped after a few seconds but from his clenched jaw I knew it was painful.

“What the hell did you do to me, you bastard?” he roared, before charging at me again. It seemed that the only language this man knew was violence.

That was fine. I wasn’t fluent, but I could hold a conversation. The situation was grim before, but with this new discovery I had a powerful weapon to use against him.

There was still plenty of blood essence gathered in my body. I’d barely had time to inject it into the bandit before he broke the connection.

He threw a wild punch at my gut. Instead of blocking or dodging I allowed him to land the blow. I tensed my abs and stepped back slightly to weaken the impact and the moment it landed I grabbed hold of his arm with both hands.

The blood essence had been gathering in my chest and it was going wild without an outlet. As soon as I willed it to enter the bandit’s body it exploded outwards and shot through my arm.

My arm burned as so much of my energy passed through it, but I could handle a little pain if it meant securing my victory. As the essence raced into the bandit, I watched the mesmerising red sparks.

When I’d healed Xiao Cui, her own blood essence had already begun the process and the addition of mine only served to accelerate it. This time, I was adding my essence to a perfectly healthy body.

There was one affliction more deadly than any other back on Earth, a severe disease that had claimed millions of lives and was almost impossible to cure without severe backlash—cancer.

Put simply, cancer was the result of healthy cells mutating and multiplying to form tumours that could damage people’s organs and eventually kill them. I guessed the effect of my healing technique on a healthy person would be similar from the result of using it on his wrist.

My blood essence clumped together in his arm. Instead of a whirling spiral like in Xiao Cui’s leg, it formed a kind of spiral helix up his arm. Some sparks even shot into his chest and neck.

The spiral started to spin, slowly at first but quickly gaining momentum. Once it was whizzing I saw clumps of energy being fired outwards. At first I could only see because of my ability to sense the blood essence, but then I saw his arm swelling.

His robes and leather armour burst as his face twisted in pain and he started to scream. “What the hell? You’re a monster, what did you do to me– aargh!”

I wasn’t sure if my technique would be enough to kill him, even as I saw his whole arm and shoulder become a disgusting, misshapen lump. I rushed forwards and grabbed his neck in a chokehold.

He struggled, clawing at my hands but wasn’t able to move his disfigured arms much. About ten seconds later his head slumped. I felt a hot surge as my blood essence returned to me, the quantity greater than before.

Even using it like this caused it to multiply? In the hands of an evil man, this kind of ability would be terrifying. The world was lucky that someone like me had been gifted it.

Then again, it hadn’t been easy to obtain. I doubted any other cultivator would be willing to pay the same price.

Letting the bandit’s body drop to the ground, I took a few seconds to stabilise my energy and slightly increased cultivation. Then I walked back to the bar to check on little Cui.

She was crouched down with her hands pressed firmly against her ears. She didn’t notice me at first, but when my shadow passed over her she yelled and fell on her backside.

I chuckled while lifting her to her feet. “It’s done,” I said with a smile. “They can’t hurt you anymore, or anyone else for that matter.”

Xiao Cui was a little young to be immersed in death, but this world was different to Earth. I needed to get used to that. Her expression remained neutral, but I saw her kick the bandit leader's corpse a few times.

Well, as long as she was okay I didn’t mind. I searched through their pockets, looking for any valuables or coins. I felt a little gross robbing the dead, but I was broke and they deserved it…

However, it seemed these bandits had also fallen on hard times as all I got was a few silver and copper coins. I just gave them to the owner so he could pay for the repairs as it didn’t make a change to my finances.

I’d discovered another use for my new technique. A terrifying one.

It wasn’t something I would use often—at least I hoped not—but it was comforting to know I had something deadly to use as a trump card in these kinds of situations.

Already the ramifications of being able to cause cancer made me consider other possible ways to use my technique, but that was a scary line of thought. My purpose was healing, not harm.

As we left I threw a final glance at the four bandits. They were the first people I’d killed in this world. That damn soldier lied to me when he said it would get easier every time…

Instead of wallowing in self loathing I decided to just enjoy the crisp morning air and the beautiful sunshine.

****

I stared down the dirt path at the village. Xiao Cui had told me a little about her home on the way but it was even more run-down than I expected.

Houses made from rotting wood, cracked stone bricks, and with dishevelled straw roofs were all over the place. Only a few seemed to have been repaired recently. They were the larger houses, so I guessed that the wealthiest farmers and the village head occupied them.

As we walked through the village, the reactions were mixed. Many people who were going about their daily business stopped to smile and wave at Xiao Cui, with a couple of nosy aunties even starting to gossip about the latest goings on in the village.

I learned that Feng Mai, a farmer’s wife, had slept with the village blacksmith the other day and Feng Bao had caught them in his bed. The two had fought ferociously until the village head broke it up and now everyone was gossiping about the affair.

Xiao Cui smiled and nodded along but after we left the nosy aunties behind she frowned. “This place is exactly the same as I left it,” she sighed.

I could see she was having trouble being back. Looking at the events surrounding our meeting, I guessed she had probably run away from home. Many rebellious kids did the same, although most ran home once they realised how cruel and unforgiving the world was.

In this harsh world of cultivation, danger lurked around every corner. Spirit beasts, bandits, and even young masters were a few of the major threats.

You could make an innocent mistake and end up paying with your life if you offended the wrong person… In Xiao Cui’s case, she’d adventured into the forest and almost died to a spirit beast.

We soon arrived at a house with a well-kept roof but faded stone bricks and splintered wood beams. Her parents clearly put a lot of effort into maintaining it but lacked the wealth of those other families with beautiful houses.

She knocked on the door and we waited with bated breath. A few seconds later it swung open and a plump woman wearing an apron smiled at us. That warm smile grew even larger and she rushed forwards when she saw Xiao Cui.

Her mother lifted her into a tight hug and the young girl protested at first but soon returned her mother’s embrace. I smiled at the scene.

“Thank the heavens you came back in one piece,” cried her mother, patting her body all over and kissing her forehead. “Your father and I were worried sick, Cui er. Don’t you dare run away like that again,” she added, pulling the girl inside and moving to close the door.

Suddenly she realised they weren’t alone, spotting me standing to the side awkwardly. Her face turned into a frown and she narrowed her eyes at me.

“Who are you? Why are you loitering outside our house?” she asked, jabbing at me with the wooden spoon in her hand.

Xiao Cui tugged at her mother’s arm. “Mother, don’t embarrass me! He saved my life from a spirit beast,” she moaned.

“What!?” the woman exclaimed, eyes widening as she turned to her daughter. “What the hell were you doing to get caught up in such a situation?” Turning to me she bowed and said, “Sir, thank you for saving my daughter and bringing her home. I apologise for accusing you earlier.”

I waved my hand and lifted her up. “There’s no need for formalities. Saving your daughter was the right thing to do. I’m sure anyone in my situation would’ve done the same,” I replied with a smile.

The woman seemed conflicted at my response, but quickly smiled again. “Come inside. I won’t let my daughter’s saviour go without a hot meal,” she said, pulling Xiao Cui into the house and waving for me to follow.

With nothing else to do at the moment, I decided to enter. At the very least I wanted to make sure little Cui was settled before I left.

****

The sun was setting in the distance and a purple hue settled over the village. I was wandering through the dirty streets and inspecting the situation.

What I saw was far from ideal. Zhao Dan’s room in the sect had been pretty cramped. Even that was like a palace compared to some of the houses here. The situation for mortals in the Celestial Jade Empire was awful.

Searching through my memories I realised that it was the same everywhere. All the villages and towns Zhao Dan had visited were similar.

Cultivators would protect mortals from major threats like spirit beast surges or natural disasters, but beyond that they were basically treated like livestock. I was pretty sure the only reason the cultivators even bothered to do that little was so they could gather more talented disciples when they appeared.

After all, cultivators seemed to give birth to way less children so mortals were the best source of new talent. It was twisted, but this system had been in place for thousands of years and it wouldn’t change just because I didn’t like it.

The village was quite peaceful otherwise. I saw children playing in the streets with happy smiles. They were a little skinny but not sickly. Men and women talked and laughed with each other, only starting to head inside now that the day was ending.

I heard a cough and turned to see the door of a nearby house hanging open. Curious, I wandered inside the house.

“Excuse me, is everything okay?” I asked as I entered. Walking into someone’s home unannounced was bad manners.

When I received no response I frowned. Another round of coughing came from a bed in the back. Walking towards the bed I saw a withered old woman lying under layers of blankets.

She was so wrinkled and thin I could’ve mistaken her for a corpse. Her eyes were milky and I don’t think she even realised there was another person in the room.

“Excuse me, granny,” I said, “Are you sick? Where is your family? Is no one taking care of you?” I asked, bending down and placing a hand on her forehead.

Hot. She was suffering from a fever. “Who’s there?” she cried. “I’m just a penniless old woman with nothing valuable to steal.”

Sighing, I realised her life must be really crap for this to be her first reaction. “Granny, I’m a doctor,” I said. “If you like I can take a look at your body and try to heal you.”

“Shoo,” she said. “I don’t need no charlatans bothering me now. I’m already as good as dead. Even if you healed this fever some other damn problem would kill me. I’m too old,” she complained, weakly waving a hand to send me away.

“I’m no charlatan,” I replied. “I’m a friend of little Cui—Xiao Cui. Do you know her? I helped her too. You can trust me,” I reassured the granny, reaching out to grab her wrist.

Her pulse was weak. She pulled her hand back and started coughing again. There was a jug of water and a cup on the bedside table, so I poured her a glass and tipped some into her mouth.

“Thank you, young man,” she spluttered. “So you helped Xiao Cui. Good. I can tell you have a kind heart, but it’s useless. I’m already at death’s door. Don’t waste your efforts on my old bones. Scram.”

With a deep sigh I stood up and walked out of the house, sparing one last glance at the sick old granny. She was sort of right. Even if I cured her fever she might die soon after due to other issues. Old age was harsh.

However, it still didn’t sit right with me just leaving her like that. Ultimately though, I had to respect her wishes. If I went around forcibly curing people I would be no better than a bandit.

Well, maybe a little better, but it was still poor conduct. Having the consent of your patient was a key step in any treatment process.

Lost in thought as I continued my journey through the village, my silent contemplation was broken by hurried steps and Xiao Cui’s shouts.

“Cultivator Zhao! Please, you have to help me,” she cried, tears flowing from her eyes.