As always, keep in mind that you are reading this from the biased viewpoint of the Main Character! Not everything is the absolute truth!
So reading svelric's comment got me in a pretty good mood so you guys are getting this one ahead of schedule, that means that the next one will come a tad later (haven't even planned it out properly yet).
No need to feel sad though as it will only be delayed by like 1 day or so (not having an actual schedule is awesome I can be lazy and no one will know hehehehehehe- oops).
Anyways, enjoy the first fight scene of the story.
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Chapter 7:
The chirping sound of birds and sunshine falling through the paper window woke me.
After falling asleep in the bath last night for nearly half an hour, me and the girls quickly went to bed without another incident.
I had been too tired to care or feel embarrassed about anything else at that point but remembering it now brought a whirlpool of emotions to the table.
Sadly, this moment of contemplation and tender awakening was rudely interrupted by an all too familiar feeling.
One I had tried to suppress for as long as possible.
Yes, it was finally time to revisit the hellish thing they called toilet in this world.
I had tried to resist it, but my bowels were full and so was my bladder.
In fear of possibly damaging my body if I kept up this attitude any further, I resigned myself to my fate and sprinted down the hallways, dreading what was to come.
Just like anticipated, it was horrible.
While erasing the last 5 minutes of my life with a firm mind I once again returned to my room and found both Hua Hong and Hua Ping still sleeping in their beds.
Just looking at their slender figures and content faces gave rise to a rather peculiar feeling in my chest.
It wasn’t lust or excitement as you might suspect dear reader but a mix of happiness and peace.
If they could sleep in every day like this without anything bad happening, then that was truly a life worth living.
In a way I was trying to create such a life not only for me but also them.
Just because they were my maids, that didn’t mean I wanted them to work themselves to death or take care of me forever.
As mentioned before but I saw them as more than just maids at this point.
They had a place in my heart, what exactly that meant even I was not sure of but time would tell.
Leaving them a note was not an option as I still had no idea how to write or even read, so without waking them I silently packed a few things and let them to sleep.
It was nearly 2 weeks of time now that I had been residing in the body of ‘Li Jun’.
During this entire time, both girls had been by my side from the first to the last minute and only ever left to do my bidding.
In 12 days they had not taken even a few hours for themselves.
Apparently the idea of a ‘weekend’ or even working hours as well as free time didn’t really exist for them.
My only guess was that the working class, so 99% of the population, could not take days off that easily here.
A man in power had many responsibilities but also just as many options to take some time for himself.
Only those with low status had to grovel and serve each day with a hunched back.
Cultivators too were an exalted existence in the eyes of the common people.
Only powerful clans like the one I luckily ended up in had the money and resources to properly educate and help young cultivators.
Just because you had talent didn’t mean you could just start cultivating.
At least it should have been like that.
Everyone thought that it was the norm and rarely was there someone from low birth that had not ingrained this common sense deep into their bones.
It is like telling people that gravity doesn’t exist even though everyone could feel and see its effects.
Others would call you crazy, simple as that.
And even if those people tried it, they would constantly have this nagging feeling in the back of their heads while trying to sense Qi.
This doubt was constantly undermining their determination and asking them ‘How could everyone be wrong?’ or ‘Do I just not have any talents for cultivation?’.
Those were not their own thoughts but those of others, heard and absorbed since a small age.
It was something they couldn’t help but think as they tried to defy the common sense, only to ultimately fail.
Not because they had no talent to cultivate mind you, but because they would simply give up too fast to see results.
Trying the same thing over and over while expecting a different result was the definition of insanity.
Because they had these doubts deep down while trying to feel this strange energy which they knew very little about, those commoners quickly gave up.
I was told that even those with talent needed nearly half a month to consciously absorb Qi into their body.
Now imagine doing something for 2 weeks at best and nearly 3 months at worst while everyone you know and love tells you that it will never work.
Kind of a bummer to your self-confidence, wouldn’t you say so too?
And because every cultivator already struggles enough while competing with different youngsters of other clans, who in their right mind would convince commoners that it was only a matter of time and will?
This was one of the first things I learned from Hua Ping, but this knowledge was a kind of secret that could never be told to outsiders.
The girls only knew about it because they had to, as maids to a powerful clan like the Flamedragon clan their education demanded it from them.
I could somewhat sympathize with this suppression of the masses and general public as murderers or crazy people gaining knowledge to something like high cultivation was a very dangerous thing indeed.
Not only that but the cultivation resources of this world were already coveted enough, adding over 200% more people to the struggle would make things only worse.
Why exactly the number of people who were cultivators in this world approached 30% of the population no one knew but I decided to simply keep this rough estimate in mind.
The sad truth was that here, without advanced technology, commoners were needed.
Who in their right mind would want to grow rice or raise animals if everyone would be able to be a mighty cultivator?
The answer was not a single one.
I detested slavery because it was unneeded even here.
However, I did not want everyone to be a cultivator.
The dangers such a change would bring with it were just too great.
It was like giving each and every person on the planet a gun back on earth, can you imagine that?
With great power comes great responsibility (totally not stolen quote) and those words rang true especially here.
The second unspoken rule of this world that I learned of was that although low in birth and beneath cultivators, normal people could not be harmed as one wished.
This was something I could get behind.
I for one just saw them as people but I was pretty sure that other cultivators, those that viewed commoners similarly to ants, simply didn’t want to dirty their hands with something like mindlessly killing, as it was beneath them.
If you haven’t guessed it by now but many cultivators were arrogant assholes that the world would be better without, another reason why more of them would be bad for everyone involved.
Now back to the topic I was trying to get to.
The third unspoken rule of this world was that competition between cultivators was the norm and even killing was not prohibited in most cases, only frowned upon.
For example, if I was to kill someone in the Clan Gathering that was still over half a year away, then the consequences would be disqualification as well as some sort of punishment.
Pretty light considering I would have ended the life of a young teenager with a bright future ahead of him or her.
Now I have no intention of killing anyone, but just because I viewed the world like this, that didn’t mean others would hesitate in turn.
This was something I was most afraid of and the reason I had my mind set on training.
The morning quickly disappeared as I ran, punched, kicked and meditated.
Only when it was noon did I see Hua Hong and Hua Ping appear in the courtyard with slightly red faces.
It was evident that they had ran here as fast as possible after waking up and finding me missing.
“Young Master, please don’t just leave us behind like that next time. We are your maids and sworn to serve you. Abandoning us like that is just cruel!”
Hua Hong said with a slightly angry expression.
I was sure she tried to hide it but her mask had started to slip these days thanks to my efforts so it was easy to guess her mood.
“Don’t be like that, looking at both of you mumbling my name in your sleep while occasionally moaning, I just didn’t have it in me to wake you up” I said while showing her a dirty grin.
This naturally infuriated Hua Hong even more and her expression turned a shade darker while Hua Ping let out a low giggle and grinned back my way.
I could tell that she had a much easier time interacting with me when I spoke like this than her sister Hua Hong.
“Nevertheless, I hope that the Young Master will wake us next time, should you wake up earlier than us.”
Hua Hong’s words and her expression that seemed to say ‘or else’ didn’t really match together but I just decided to roll with it.
Maybe teasing her so that she would flip out in anger and rage was the way to go with her.
I put down the iron weight I had been using to train my arm muscles and fixated my gaze on her body while thinking about possible ways to make her boil with anger.
The girl in question naturally misinterpreted my staring and after 10 seconds her anger was replaced by something else as she looked away.
“Maybe ravaging her body would make her open up a bit more.”
I murmured, deep in thought but still loud enough so that both girls heard my words.
Their expressions were naturally priceless.
“Oops. Well, seems I will have to take a different approach-“
“Young Master!”
And just like that we had a rather lovely conversation about morals during which Hua Hong’s eyes could have probably melted stone.
Am I being too sadistic with the teasing or was this really the right way to go?
Those kind of thoughts swam through my head while Hua Hong’s words and anger were completely ignored.
I only occasionally nodded or said “I know”.
“You aren’t even listening to me, are you Young Master?”
“Nope, not at all.”
The arctic frost that appeared in her eyes as well as the twitching of her mouth told me that I had said the wrong thing.
Alright, I think that was enough for now.
With only a few steps I approached Hua Hong and placed a hand on her head while gently caressing her soft and dark hair.
“If you keep looking like that you will only grow wrinkles so cheer up, I was only messing with you.”
The surprise about this sudden action was evident in her eyes but she let me pet her head without a word and stayed silent.
Even though I couldn’t properly see her face as it was hidden by her bangs, her overall atmosphere and body language told me that this little trick had worked.
Hua Ping silently watched the entire thing with the same grin as before from the sidelines.
My mind already went back to training and I turned around so I wasn’t able to see the look in her eyes after my hand left her head.
I had an inkling that what I was doing right now was cruel but it was only for the best, at least that is what I told myself every time I overstepped the boundary between the two of us.
The next week proceeded just like that.
I stood up, trained until night and went to bed.
It was boring, tedious and exhausting but I persevered for an entire week.
My Qi flame had nearly doubled after all my efforts.
I would have had even more Qi normally but I burned nearly 5 times the amount I was now the proud owner of and absorbed it into my muscles.
My body had grown even bigger and no matter how much I tried, quite a few of my muscles now refused to absorb any more Qi.
Because I had no idea what to do and neither possessed a quick guide for this completely new path I had forged for myself, my only option was to fill every muscle in my body to the brim and see what would happen afterwards.
Currently, every upper body muscle and the majority of my lower body had been filled.
I was maybe a few days of training away from my goal and my frame had nearly doubled once again compared to before.
Now the changes to my body could no longer be hidden by a wide robe anymore as I towered over nearly everyone in the mansion, including the guards.
Quite a few people had started to whisper behind my wide back as I ignored their stares.
Logically speaking it was only natural that they had grown curious as to why and how the previously frail looking 16-year-old Young Master was now a towering giant.
Even with medicines and eating meat every day like a maniac, this kind of change in such a short time just didn’t make sense.
Despite my larger body, my consumption of food had not changed much as my muscles stemmed from the Qi in the atmosphere and not proteins that I had ingested.
Even I could not make much sense of why this was really happening.
It seemed completely illogical considering what I knew about the human body and I would have given a lot to find out and quantify this mysterious thing that they call Qi here but that wasn’t an option, sadly.
With heads turning wherever I went, quite a few people started to approach and ask me questions but I evaded them each and every time.
It was just like this that someone asked me for a sparring session on the 23rd day of my arrival in this world.
I had tried to find the whereabouts of Zhan Feng in the past couple of days, the rumored ‘crazy’ blacksmith, but that had turned into quite the hurdle.
Whatever experiments he was doing in the name of science, I had seen more than one burned down building while wearing my disguise by now.
This naturally meant that he moved around a lot so tracking him down while avoiding trouble left and right was quite the hassle.
The person in question that challenged me was called Li Shun and he was supposedly at the 5th layer of Foundation Gathering, just like I had been not too long ago.
Only problem was that he had probably mastered a martial skill or two since he had been training for a few years by now.
Compared to my own training that was all about learning to punch and kick properly, it was laughable.
I wasn’t a hot headed guy to begin with and didn’t want to fight anyone this early on so I naturally tried to weasel my way out of this public challenge.
“Must we really settle our differences with a fight senior brother? How about we talk about this first? As you know my body is still recuperating and I am somewhat weak and not at my peak at the moment.”
Just looking at my bulging frame that was nearly ripping through my clothes at each tiny movement I was doing, one could tell that my words didn’t really hold true but maybe looking at my humble smile somewhat deterred the boy.
I could probably attribute that to my new frightening height that was nearly double his too but that could have only been me.
Now that I think about it, why exactly was he even challenging me anyways?
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I mean for me it was already strange enough but others should be more than a bit intimidated by my rapid transformation so why then…
Something wasn’t right here.
“Wait a second, I have changed my mind. Let’s go and exchange some pointers senior brother.”
This abrupt statement as well as change of heart from my mouth stunned everyone in the vicinity and Li Shun’s expression which had previously been a bit arrogant and domineering after my excuses immediately broke apart.
“P-pardon me junior brother but what did you say? I think my ears aren’t working properly today.”
The boy before me asked with a nervous laugh as small drops of sweat appeared on his forehead while his gaze fearfully traveled over my gigantic body.
Thought so, someone set this guy up to test me.
Good thing I still remembered all those previous Xianxia scenario’s so well from the stories.
Not only that but he supposedly was at the same level as me so the danger to my person and body was pretty low, call it cowardice but I wanted to see what the training and cultivation I had been doing these past few days did, without getting injured in the process naturally.
Turning around and walking towards one of the empty platforms not far away I threw a look back and replied with a hidden grin.
“You heard me senior brother. I accept your challenge to exchange some pointers. Let me see how much you have improved.”
Did I imagine that or did his knees just buckle a little from my words?
My eyes are probably playing tricks on me.
Time to see what my personal cultivation technique and previous knowledge is truly worth in this world…
…..
Watching the Young Master step on stage, each and every one of his steps silent despite his now changed form and formidable height, I couldn’t help but gulp.
I dare say I knew this new Young Master pretty well at this point and was not surprised when he declined the challenge, what did stun me and my sister was the change of heart.
The moment he spoke of ‘exchanging pointers’ his entire aura changed and a chill went down my spine.
It was unclear to me what it was but before he was burlier and taller than any other youth his age yet still had a peaceful nature and gentle air to him so I never felt intimidated or scared from this change.
Now however looking at his bare chest, chiseled muscles and firm expression, it felt akin to looking at an unsheathed sword.
The Young Master still wore the same smile and a similar expression but just the look in Hua Ping’s eyes told me that I wasn’t imagining this earthshaking change.
In a matter of minutes, a crowd formed around the stage that the Young Master and Li Shun now stood on.
Both young men had their chest bare in this exchange but if one compared the two, calling Li Shun’s build ‘lacking’ was putting things nicely.
I couldn’t help but think that this was more like a child facing against a terrifying Divine Beast instead of just a simple exchange of pointers.
“Shall we begin?”
The Young Master asked after taking a quick look around at the gathered faces.
Many young boys and girls of the clan made up the crowd but here and there an adult and even elder could be spotted.
Just from that it was clear that quite a few people were curious about how the fantastical change of the Young Master’s body had influenced his fighting strength and cultivation.
Before the Body Enlightenment stage, only with bouts or strength assessments would it be possible to see at which stage a cultivator was.
The Body Enlightenment stage was the clear divide where Qi would slowly perforate through the body and the more amount that was unconsciously leaked, the more powerful a cultivator was.
It was because of this reason that it was so hard to tell what stage someone was at or when they would break through in the Foundation Gathering or Qi Condensation stages. Only the person themselves would have a vague idea as they could clearly feel the amount of Qi that they had in their body.
My breath wasn’t able to escape my lungs as I anxiously watched the Young Master take a fighting stance and the paler looking Li Shun obviously did the same.
Both young men remained motionless for a moment and one would have been able to hear a pin drop in the crowd surrounding them.
Slowly, without making any fast movements, the Young Master opened his right hand and told Li Shun to start with a ‘come hither’ taunt.
This blatant mockery of his opponent let a few chuckles resound in the crowd and a bright red sheen quickly replaced the paleness of Li Shun’s face.
It was clear that anger had freed him from the obvious pressure that he was feeling from the Young Master’s gigantic body.
Accompanied by a low shout, a blurry figure dashed forward and shot towards the Young Master similarly to the stone that felled Goliath.
This explosive speed naturally surprised many people that were watching the battle and an elder of the clan couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.
“6th layer of Foundation Gathering! Li Shun has broken through to the next level!”
These two sentences alone sent a wave of excitement through everyone present and they opened their eyes wide as to not miss even a single moment of the following exchange.
My heart tightened as I watched Li Shun’s fist approach the Young Master like a falling meteor.
I naturally knew what the 6th layer of Foundation Gathering meant.
From the 1st to the 5th, each layer represented a 50 jin increase in strength but from the 6th onwards, it would be 100 jin or more.
That meant that Li Shun currently had a strength of at least 350 jin (1 jin is 0.5 kg/ 1 jin is close to 1 pound).
And this was only a rough estimate as technique, speed and the use of Qi could multiply this number in a punch easily.
To put it into simpler terms, one layer was a world of difference.
Not only would one’s strength increase but every other attribute too, including mental fitness and perception.
Some high level cultivators could master a martial art in days but a low level cultivator would in turn take years.
This was the gigantic gap that cultivation could help you fill.
The punch that descended upon the Young Master carried a faint trace of the ‘Blazing Fists’ that were all too common in the Li clan.
It was only a small success of the martial art but even that was more than what most youths’ Li Shun’s age would be able to master.
Just from that it was clear that he was a talent that would only rise in the clan and remembering the basic movements that the Young Master had been training each day, it sent a chill down my spine.
How would he be able to counter a fist that already touched on the principle of a martial art?
This question that appeared in my mind was quickly answered.
It wasn’t countered at all.
I didn’t know if it was because the Young Master could not dodge in time or because Li Shun was just that much stronger but the punch landed on the Young Master’s chest with a resounding thud that reverberated through the hall and I couldn’t help but flinch in pain.
Li Shun who, now that his punch successfully landed, wore a delighted expression on his face.
He continued the attack with a kick that once again struck against the motionless chest of the Young Master.
4 or 5 attacks landed on the Young Master’s body this way and I was about to rush forward to stop this nonsensical duel when my sister, Hua Ping held my arm to keep me from rushing on-stage.
“Let me go!”
I hissed, anger audible in my voice but only when I heard her next words did I calm down.
“Look closely at the Young Master.”
After mouthing this short but simple sentence she immediately let go of my arm and puzzled I once again focused my eyes on the fighting stage.
Despite the distress I felt in my heart as attack after attack hit the Young Master’s body like angry hornets, I calmed my heart and watched the fight unfold.
It took me nearly 5 breaths of time to notice.
The Young Master currently had a defensive stance and blocked a few attacks here and there but most rained down on him like the torrential rain, a never-ending stream of aggression.
Despite this obviously dire situation that would have already left any other cultivator of the 5th layer beaten until he was black and blue, the Young Master showed a completely calm and collected expression behind his guard.
Two eyes, similar to a predators watched Lu Shun as he continued his attacks, patiently waiting.
The strangest thing was that no matter how much he was hit, not a single sound escaped the Young Master’s throat.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed this anomaly, as more time passed, the surrounding crowd noticed this fact too.
After nearly 5 minutes, Li Shun stopped dead in his tracks, a look of exhaustion and fear on his face as he stared wide eyed towards the Young Master who still stood with his guard up, just like he had been since the first attack.
“Are you done?”
A deep voice asked and it took me a bit to realize that it was the Young Master who had spoken.
It was so very different compared to the calm and upbeat intonation that he normally had that I thought for a moment my ears were playing tricks on me.
Was this his real voice?
Before I could pursue this thought further another sentence floated into the surrounding crowd.
“Well I guess it is my turn then.”
Following a shake of his body, his right foot charged forward, waist turned and a fist, accompanied by the howling of wind struck Li Shun directly in the stomach.
“Uff!”
This sound was an immediate exhalation of the air in Li Shun’s lungs and rang through the hall before a body shot off the fighting stage and over the heads of everyone present.
With a bone breaking crash that resounded in the hall, only the Young Master now remained on the stage and it took everyone a while to realize that the curled up body behind them that was gasping for air was Li Shun.
His fist still extended from the punch, a look of surprise was visible on the Young Master’s face for a second before quickly disappearing again.
Silence reigned in the hall as everyone was too stunned to utter a single word.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, one of the elders muttered one sentence with a quivering voice that once again sent a wave of shock through the people that were present.
“My goodness, 8th layer of Foundation Gathering…”
…..
News about the match and its mindboggling results quickly spread throughout the clan, even though I didn’t like that it did.
That Li Shun had advanced by a layer was pushed to the side as not important and everyone talked about only one thing, how my power had leaped up by 3 entire layers.
Some speculated that it was the accumulated Qi from when I was in a coma that manifested only now and also said that was why my body had grown so large and obviously powerful.
Others simply thought I had a lucky encounter and ate some rare pill or plant while the last bunch strongly believed that my body unlocked some sort of godly strength after waking up.
It was simply put a messy situation that I didn’t want to deal with at all.
Questions were dodged, invitations declined and I pretty much locked myself either in my room or the training hall that I used.
To be honest, even I had been stunned when I saw what a full powered punch after going through the basics for over a week could do.
Just the toughness alone from my muscles made every attack of Li Shun feel like a light slap.
It was simply out of this world how much my strength had increased after using this new way of cultivation.
Only problem was that I was starting to hit a roadblock.
With my current progress, I was close to filling each and every muscle to the brim with Qi but what I should do afterwards was a mystery.
Alright, I admit I had some ideas but those would have to be carefully tested, to make sure that I wasn’t doing something stupid or potentially dangerous so I had pushed all of that to a later date.
Right now I spent my days with training the basic foundations of the Blazing Fists and learning how to read, something that was well overdue.
Hua Hong was probably the most patient teacher that I will ever meet and explained everything with a sheer unlimited amount of patience, something I was all too glad she had access to.
I tried my best, I really did but it wasn’t an easy hurdle to pass and it would still take a lot of time and effort on my part to stop being illiterate.
Simple things like ‘apple’ or ‘sword’ were words I could now identify when reading a scroll or text but that was the end of my progress, shameful I know.
A day or two passed like this in peace and quiet.
But this tranquil living sadly wasn’t meant to last for long as a rather annoying event that included everyone in the Li clan was about to commence.
The powerful clans inside Dragon city kept each other at bay, everyone knew that.
They contested for power and wealth but also traded between each other, at least the ones that had friendly relations did.
The Xu clan, otherwise also known as the Icephoenix clan was one such a force that had good ties with the Li clan.
Many marriages between both factions took place every year so it could be said that we were one big family, even though at the end of the day we still only pursued the best for our respective clans.
A group of the Xu clan would be arriving to the mansion this evening and everyone would have to attend the banquet that would therefore be held to celebrate the occasion.
This was so that the elders of each faction could discuss business while the youngsters of the clan would be able to get to know each other, a win-win situation so to speak.
The reason I was unhappy with this?
I was forced to attend.
Not only that but Hua Hong told me that there was a girl from the Xu clan that had especially asked about me and my condition and was more than a little angry when I had not informed her that I had woken up from my coma.
Apparently the former inhabitant of this body had a good relation with this girl and a few of her friends that would also come to visit this evening.
I on the other hand naturally had no idea who those people were so it would not only be awkward but possibly dangerous, should they ask too many questions.
Not only that but I was also getting sick of giving the same excuse each and every time.
It gets tiresome, trust me.
Maybe it had a little bit to do with the fact that the girl of the Xu clan was apparently my ex-fiancé but that was just a small matter, at least that was what I told myself.
I am not trying to be mean here but girls almost always meant trouble, especially in a Xianxia setting.
It would be better to live without them for now and avoid any romantic relationships, funny thing to say when I was constantly teasing Hua Hong I know but that was different.
She was my maid.
Those other rich girls were only one thing, unnecessary trouble.
Call me a hypocrite but am I the only one who is smelling the flag with this event?
I mean I was told the girl was already pissed off with me, that was indicator enough that this was going to be an annoying evening.
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Hope you liked it, should you have any thoughts or want to say/ask something, just comment below.
Always love reading comments ^^.
Anyways, see you in 2 or so days when I have finished the next one.
I wish you all a good and enjoyable evening! [th_059_.gif]