Chapter 4 – Dixia City
POV – Daniel:
I’d been to New York once; I’d even crossed the border and visited the Canadian city of Toronto on one particularly long trip. We never stayed long; the trips were mostly made on Ann’s insistence. Back then I’d not been particularly enthused, only finding joy and excitement in her company, after all what could a big city have that Stowe didn’t?
“She would love this place…” It was ironic. I never enjoyed exploring new places back on Earth, preferring to stay in my little town, believing that I knew about everything there was to know about all places on Earth.
Feelings and emotions were funny things. Yet I couldn’t deny the feeling in my chest when I approached the City of Dixia. It was a wanderlust that I’d only ever seen in Ann. I’d never think I would associate the same feelings with me.
But somehow that was wrong. This feeling was familiar to me, the passive effects of [Memorisation] said as much, it was just that I’d never felt it while exploring any real place on Earth. No, it was something I’d felt when playing games. Open world games, that allowed the character to go anywhere, I’d always take that as a challenge to explore everything. Just recently, the Dream I’d had when using [Replay Recall] on the first night I’d slept in this world was one where I’d had the intense desire to explore the blocky Minecraft world, with multiple unknown additions that would make the journey more interesting.
The walls of Dixia, built so tall and stretched to somewhere I could not currently see, were by no means of normal make. Faint markings and engravings could clearly be seen up close. They were innumerable. The amount of work that went into creating them was mind boggling. Even as a simple artistic effect they were masterpieces, but I knew better. The walls was covered in the Runic script of Arrays. So packed with Energy that even me with my Level 3 [Supernatural Energy Sense] so sense them clearly, like a beacon of light in the night.
…
[Supernatural Energy Sense] has gained a Level!
[Supernatural Energy Sense] has gained a Level!
[Supernatural Energy Sense] has gained a Level!
[Supernatural Energy Sense] has gained a Level!
[Supernatural Energy Sense] has gained a Level!
…
I hadn’t realized that at some point I had closed my eyes and simply stopped in place, halting the line to one of the many, many human-sized entrances to the city.
Naturally, as is human nature I was gently reminded of this fact with a shove to the back in the form of countless bodies pressing against me. “Move it, kid! Stop fakin’ sleepin’ in the middle of the road, ya hear!”
Sending a (probably cute) glare behind me, I used my newfound agility and dexterity from a nicely levelled [Body Control] and half-performed one of the movements of [Liu Shui Bo Shu Art]. While I couldn’t use any Ki to perform any of the cool things the Art affords, the stances and movements were still pretty good when using them to slip between opponents with minimal movements and efficient stamina usage.
[Body Control] has gained a Level!
[Liu Shui Bo Shu Art] has gained a Level!
The fact that my first opponent outside of training was simply a crowded street was slightly disappointing, but reassuring in that Li Xuanlong might not have a stupid protagonist aura that attracts trouble in populated places like this.
“So, so! Old man, tell me where we’re going first! Are we buying some mystical treasures?! Or could visiting some mysterious old friend of yours that will lead us to a mysterious old place!” It had been about 30 minutes of standing in line to get into Dixia. 29 of those minutes had been spent listening to Li Xuanlong rambling on like the useless motormouth that he was.
Tsk! At least he could have been a cute girl, then I could have tolerated his bullshit. My eardrums hurt dammit!
“Why don’t you keep quiet little brat! Am I not mysterious and old enough for you?! Come explore the treasures at the back of my hand! *Thwack* “ Even the usually jovial and calm Elder Xing had lost his patience with Li Xuanlong. But pain or even injuries caused by Prana-enhanced slaps didn’t seem to deter Li Xuanlong for long.
“Senior Brother, please calm down and wait for a little while! See, we’re almost there!” As much as I hated to call him that, it was a fact that he was my Senior when it came to learning the [Liu Shui Bo Shu Art], even if he himself had yet to activate his Prana. Plus, I’d given it a lot of thought in the past few days. Calling him Senior Brother would save me a lot of trouble in scenarios where we might meet some Young Masters.
See, what would happen if Li Xuanlong continued to call me his Junior Brother, but I ‘disrespected’ him by not calling him ‘appropriately’? A young master would laugh and make comments about how even his junior brother did not respect him and inevitably started a fight. As for why a young master would do it, well he was probably looking for an excuse to do it, I will never actually understand the motivations of those unholy hell-spawns. So, what I was doing wasn’t preventing a fight, no, I was simply trying to keep myself out of his inevitable fights with young masters.
Of course, that wasn’t something I was sure about. Li Xuanlong was actually not that prideful, in fact, it felt like every time he spoke about his ‘grand ambitions’ it was simply him psyching himself up. Regardless, I would be holding my breath, I’d prepare as best as I could and hope that Elder Xing would solve the trouble.
Entry Fee
Adult (15 & above): 10 Daiyu
Child (14 & below): 1 Daiyu
“Tsk, tsk! Look at this brat! Just letting you in is costing me so much money! Why can’t you be more like Little Dan, look how much money he’s saving me! My newest student is so good, but the old one is getting more and more like trash.” What kind of logic is that?! It’s not my talents and behaviour you like?! Even Li Xuanlong is speechless, just how much do you love money?!
----------------------------------------
“Say, Teacher why didn’t we just not say anything and pay 1 Daiyu for Senior brother? He could pass for a 14-year-old right? Even if it is a bit of a stretch.”
“Hmm? Well Little Dan, we could have. But I do not wish to test the Formations lining the gates. Who knows if it scans for the age of the people entering.” Woah, Formations can do all sorts of things huh?
Once inside the city, the bustling streets were a sight to see, with people of ages walking about. Many of them were Mortals, yet the amazing fact was that a good number of them were cultivators as well.
…
[Supernatural Energy Sense] has gained a Level!
[Supernatural Energy Sense] has gained a Level!
[Supernatural Energy Sense] has gained a Level!
…
There were groups of cultivators, where the colour schemes of their clothing were quite similar to each other. I had initially thought that the cultivators from Mudan and Lanhua sect all wore the same colours, however after seeing many groups with different colours it became apparent that there might be subdivisions within the sects themselves that warrant a different colour clothing scheme.
Naturally, there were also many individual cultivators, and groups of two or three that were clearly only here to look for opportunities. These types were easy to spot since they simply did not look as affluent as the sect cultivators. Elder Xing had explained that these were Rogue cultivators.
In Xianxia novels, Rogue cultivators were somewhat of a rarity from what I could remember. It came as a surprise that there were many more Rogue Cultivators than one belonging to a sect. Apparently, they were almost always affiliated with some or the other Mercenary Organizations or Guilds formed by Merchants or other Rogue Cultivators.
The main streets of the city boasted many elaborately built, ancient-styled buildings that lined them, while the smaller streets had increasingly less beautiful buildings as we went deeper.
“Eh! Old man, why are we walking into these small alleyways anyway? Shouldn’t we be going to the bigger shops if we want to buy something? Also, when are we going to the Sect Selection Test?!”
“Hmph! Just shut up and follow me! I’ll buy you and your Junior Brother some good stuff! I’ll even get a discount!”
Taking a certain set of stone steps that lead downwards, Elder Xing led us to an extremely isolated shop that had no visible signs or other advertising, the only evidence of it being open being the chaotic smells and aromas that spread out from within.
“Hey, Old Jin! It’s your best friend Chun! I’ve come to collect my favours this time, you better not charge me anything!”
From behind the counter in the shop, an almost bald head shot up and homed in on Elder Xing. Face red, the shop owner took a deep breath and bellowed out. “YOU OLD COOT! YOU are the one who owes me favours! Why the hell would I give you anything for free?! Pay your debt or else let’s see how you protect yourself with that fancy Martial Art of yours against my new poisons!”
“Ho-ho-ho! Calm down, Calm down! I’ll pay, of course I’ll pay! My cute students have been learning my Martial Art but haven’t unlocked their Prana yet. I need some Feiyu Herbs so that they can progress faster. Just give me a small discount, I need to save money in case I need to buy something for the Sect Selection Test. If all goes well, I can take you out for drinks later and you can drain the rest of my savings!”
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“Hmph! Aren't they going to be cultivators if they get accepted? Why will they need your stinky old Art? Better to try and use your savings to try and get some information on the tests. Besides, Feiyu Herb doesn’t always work, you know this, you might end up reducing their chance of unlocking their Prana if it fails.” Though he said this, Jin did not truly look like he meant it. After all, his friend Xing Chun had never taught his Martial Art to anyone. As one of the few people who knew the true nature of his Art, he was already imagining what it would be like if a cultivator would use it, with their vastly stronger bodies. He was looking at me and Li Xuanlong like a particularly interesting pair of pill or potion ingredients had walked into his shop.
It was only after thoroughly examining us, that he left for the back of his shop, leaving me and my Senior brother shifting nervously.
“Teacher…this guy looks like bad news. Can’t we find some other poor shop? Me and Senior Brother can put on an act of getting injured and try and get a discount! I swear to you even if I’m not a good actor, I’ll become one if you give me some time to practice!”
“Ha-ha, it’s fine, he’s just trying to scare you! Besides, Old Jin is an old comrade of mine. Most of the stuff he grows may not be useful to or worth the attention of a cultivator but for us Martial Artists he’s the best person to go to.”
When Old Jin came back he still didn’t have anything with him, instead, he spoke. “Follow me, I set up a room in the back. They can absorb the Feiyu there.”
After leading us into a large room whose centre had a couple of burning leaves, Old Jin left us there without saying a word, going back to watch his shop.
“All right, you two, sit down to mediate and try to remember everything you have learnt about [Liu Shui Bo Shu Art]. Try to embody the state you reach when you completely lose yourself in the spars we’ve had. Then in around 15 minutes, I want the two of you to leave meditation and begin a spar. Don’t think about anything else other than the Art and how you would use it! I know that Little Dan has already somehow sensed his Prana, so I am optimistic about you, but you shouldn’t get discouraged if it doesn’t work today. This is just this old man’s selfish desire to have his students become True Martial Artists before becoming Cultivators. Besides, the youngest person I know of unlocking their Prana was 21 years old, failing in this should not upset you. After you become cultivators you might find this old man’s tricks useless! Ha-ha-ha!”
Despite saying this I couldn’t help but feel like this was extremely important to Elder Xing. Teacher had said that he never taught anyone his Art before. Back then when he told me to become powerful, he talked about how the Heavens are cruel…I know that he wanted to cultivate himself, but probably because of his spiritual roots he couldn’t do so. If either I or Li Xuanlong are able to unlock our Prana today, then the [Liu Shui Bo Shu Art] will have a place in the cultivation world!
And did indeed have to be today. If one of us couldn’t do it today then it would never happen in the future, when all of our time would be taken up by cultivating.
Perhaps sensing that this was something he couldn’t fool around with, even Li Xuanlong quietly sat down and began meditating with me.
----------------------------------------
After levelling [Memorisation] as much as I did, it was becoming easier to remember the memorized content. Of course, because of the nature of Skills, I never truly forgot how to perform the [Liu Shui Bo Shu Art] at my level. However, using [Memorisation] on top of that made recalling everything much easier. If I didn’t have a fight after this I might have even used [Replay Recall].
As the minutes passed by, I became increasingly aware that the smoke from the Feiyu Herb was doing something to my Prana. But with my low level [Supernatural Energy Sense] I couldn’t quite tell what other than it being in a more agitated state.
…
[Liu Shui Bo Shu Art] has gained a Level!
[Liu Shui Bo Shu Art] has gained a Level!
…
I focused on the spars I had with Li Xuanlong. While it pained me to admit it, as I was now it was impossible for me to defeat him while using [Liu Shui Bo Shu Art] alone. His body was simply older, more trained, and more powerful than mine, while also having more reach and stamina. My only advantage was agility and superior control over my body. If it was simply a matter of skill then the question would become complicated.
Since he had been practising the Art for a long time, he was very familiar with it, however, while he made human errors, through Skills I never forgot any of my achievements in the Art in the slightest.
However, I won’t lose this time! All I have to do is last long enough to level up my Art to Level 50! My instincts are telling me that this has to be it!
~{Skills}~
…
[Liu Shui Bo Shu Art] *(Beginner) {Passive} (Lv. 47): The Water Flow Tree Toppling Art is a Martial Art that allows the user to have unnatural control over the body, but more importantly gives control over the Kinetic Forces themselves. Whether it is Redirecting, Amplifying or Dampening, all of them fall under its purview. Like all True Martial Arts, it uses not the Qi of Heaven and Earth but the Ki or Prana of the body. *(The Beginner stages prepare the user to find and access their Ki/Prana, only at higher stages can the true essence of the Art be used.)
…
<>
“BEGIN!” Elder Xing’s voice rang out in the room, and I snapped my eyes open.
Before I could formulate a proper plan, I had already rushed my opponent, halfway there I started activating [Thought Acceleration], almost like I was slowly pushing the pedal to the accelerator of a car, only in this case instead of going faster, for me the world slowed down.
I had never been this aggressive before, always trying to be on the defensive to learn more of the Art and hence level it more, not caring about whether I defeated my opponent. Only now I realized I was going about it the wrong way. All Martial Arts were created with the idea of ultimately winning the fight, even defensive Martial Arts had the same goal.
How could I go beyond the ‘beginner’ stage without even truly engaging my opponent with the goal of victory?
It was funny. I was mocking my first ‘fight’ against an opponent, being a crowded street where I used the Art to move past them. However, I did end up levelling the skill there, more so than some of my exchanges with Li Xuanlong.
The [Liu Shui Bo Shu Art] was incredibly versatile, which is why my previous behaviour still allowed me to last against my opponent for a while. However, in the same line of thinking it rewarded my current mindset much more.
Taken off guard by the sudden change in behaviour, Li Xuanlong was not completely prepared for the feinted palm thrust that transformed into a spinning back kick to the face.
Sticking close, I used my momentum and punched my fist into his side, but he had already prepared and rolled with the force.
“Oof!”
[Liu Shui Bo Shu Art] has gained a Level!
Now prepared, Li Xuanlong tried to use his reach to his advantage but again I simply stayed close.
A rapid exchange of fists were blocked or dodged from either side, more of the latter from me and more of the former for him.
I can’t fall into previous habits!
Pushing [Thought Acceleration] even further, I analyzed his next strike and noticed the slightest shift from his feet. A feint into a kick, you cheeky bastard!
Before he could even begin to pull back his feint I had stepped into strike, intercepting it with my chest, barely taking any damage from the fake strike, instead using all the force from it to steady my own legs throwing him off balance as he prepared to throw his kick.
[Liu Shui Bo Shu Art] has gained a Level!
Stepping on one of his legs and stomping on it as hard as I could, I kicked my other leg out onto the same leg and pushed off. Missing his retaliatory strike by an inch I spun into the air and came down with a right-legged axe kick he could not simply dodge.
Blocking with both his hands tried to push me sideways to make me tumble, but I had already read his move with my slowed-down perception of time.
Despite falling sideways, I didn’t panic, instead thinking ahead of ways to use my landing to make an offensive.
Spinning sideways through the air, I landed on one foot, parallel to the floor with my back almost touching the ground.
Li Xuanlong was already upon me, striking with his fist, hoping to throw me to the ground.
Hastily rising, I intercepted his forearm with my own. His blow was heavy to my 10-year-old self. Luckily, our art had plenty of ways to take strikes and turn them into our own attacks.
Another fist, blocked. My kick to his side dodged. A follow-up spin kick found its way to his raised forearm, using it as leverage, a third kick striking his face for the second time in the fight.
“Ugh!”
Instead of falling, or stumbling back, he powered through it, my strike unable to deal enough damage with my lacking strength.
[Liu Shui Bo Shu Art] has gained a Level!
With [Thought Acceleration] I could see the next strike coming. A punch sent straight to my head meant to knock me out and end the fight.
I had plenty of time to come to terms with the fact that I would not be able to dodge, yet my mind was elsewhere. The moment my third kick connected to his face I felt it.
The force that I could always sense flowing through my physical body yet could not control. It erupted into a flurry of movement. Cycling through my body at insane speeds.
I focused and for an instant allowed [Supernatural Energy Sense] to completely overtake my attention.
If I had to describe the sensation of my Prana, it would be that it felt extremely yellow. The weirdness of the sensation, however, did not stop me from thinking of what to do with it.
The [Liu Shui Bo Shu Art] had already taught me what I had to do. I just had to trust that it would work as intended despite it only ever being theory before this.
Instead of grabbing and trying to go against the flow of the newly awakened Prana, I pushed its cycle with my own efforts, steering it in the right direction. Making sure to spread the Prana to my head I created I bridge between them and connected it straight down to my leg.
When Li Xuanlong's fist came to my head I could tell that he had put his entire weight into the strike, mentally I couldn’t stop grinning.
The punch hit me straight in the side of the head and I felt a sensation I never felt before. The force of the strike barely moved my head, instead, I felt the force travel through my head and into my Prana cycle, powering it to move even faster.
Letting my head fall back with the movement of the punch, I focused all the extra force Li Xuanlong granted me as well as the power of my own Prana, I kicked my leg straight up sending it ramming into the Jaw of my opponent with a boom.
Throwing my hands back to touch the floor and flip backwards to my feet, I watched as my most powerful kick sent Li Xuanlong flying backwards, skidding off the floor and lying limp on it.
“HOOOLY FRIKKIN CRAAP! THAT WAS AWESOME!!”
----------------------------------------
~{Skills}~
[Meditation] {Active} (Lv. 29): The ancient art of meditation, used to cultivate focus, and observe the flow of thoughts and emotions without judgement.
[Memorisation] *{Active} *{Passive} (Lv. 35 -> 36): Ability to store and recall information accurately and efficiently. *(Only information stored {Actively} while using the skill can be recalled {Passively} with it)
[Mathematics] {Passive} (Lv. 6 -> 8): Analyze and solve problems using logical reasoning and precise calculations. Aids in understanding structures, patterns, and relationships.
[Replay Recall] {Active} (Lv. 7): Recall instances from your life in vivid detail.
[Firearms Mastery] {Passive} (Lv. 34): Skill in wielding firearms ranging from pistols and shotguns to rifles and heavy weaponry.
[Body Control] {Passive} (Lv. 23 -> 27): Ability to master and manipulate physical movements with precision, grace, and finesse. The Skill encompasses physical feats such as agility, balance, and coordination. Apart from performing athletic and acrobatic manoeuvres, social abilities like controlling reactions and body language are also included. The skill also shows proficiency in piloting new bodies or adapting to changes made to existing ones.
[Thought Acceleration] {Active} (Lv. 14 -> 17): Process information, analyze situations, and make decisions at an accelerated rate. Slows down your perception of time.
[Liu Shui Bo Shu Art] {Passive} (Lv. 1): The Water Flow Tree Toppling Art is a Martial Art that allows the user to have unnatural control over the body, but more importantly gives control over the Kinetic Forces themselves. Whether it is Redirecting, Amplifying or Dampening, all of them fall under its purview. Like all True Martial Arts, it uses not the Qi of Heaven and Earth but the Ki or Prana of the body.
[Wilderness Survival] {Passive} (Lv. 12): Adapt, Endure and Thrive in natural or remote environments.
[Supernatural Energy Sense] {Active} {Passive} (Lv. 15): Sense and become aware of the supernatural or extraordinary energies around you, whether they are magical, psychic, cosmic or other mystical elements, none shall escape your notice. (Sensed Energies: Aether, Mana, Qi, Ki/Prana)
<>