Several days later.

Liu Xing jumped from branch to branch frantically. He spent a day and a night chasing that damned fox. He wouldn’t let it escape!

Jumping from branch to branch like a ninja, Liu Xing locked his eyes on the orange fox. He summoned his gun, but aiming while moving was difficult, and the fox, bouncing around like a rubber ball, was hard to hit.

"Stop moving, you bastard!"

Liu Xing pulled the trigger. His bullet flew straight, but the fox, either sensing the bullet or by coincidence, leaped off the branch and dove into a bush.

"Damn it!"

Liu Xing sped up his qi cycling and tried to move faster. He jumped so hard that the branch exploded beneath his feet and flew through the air, scanning the surroundings like an eagle.

There! That damned fox was running on the ground like a dolphin swimming in the sea. It moved smoothly around bushes, brambles, and roots, its feet barely touching the ground.

This fox was a spirit beast. It wasn’t strong, only at the Lock Opening second stage. By all means, Liu Xing could reduce this creature to a bloody pool with a flick of his finger, but this damned fox was really fast and too cunning.

Liu Xing's hatred for the fox began several days ago when it pissed on his face while he slept. The shame when he realized what had happened and the fox's mocking expression when it saw him awake ignited a fire in his heart. Whatever happened, he would kill this fox!

Liu Xing shot another bullet. The bullet flew straight, hitting the fox's back. For a moment, Liu Xing thought he had succeeded, but when the fox shimmered like an illusion undone, Liu Xing realized he was fooled again.

Liu Xing scanned his surroundings and saw the fox behind a tall, slim tree. The fox smiled and yapped like a prankster who had successfully thrown an egg at an innocent pedestrian.

Liu Xing aimed at the fox, but before he could pull the trigger, the fox leaped as fast as lightning, becoming an orange blur.

Liu Xing took a step to follow, but then he realized his foot had touched something warm and sludgy.

Looking down, Liu Xing saw he had stepped in fox shit, indicated by the annoying laughter.

"Bastard!" Liu Xing shouted, his emotions flaring up.

He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Forget it. This fox is too fast. I can't catch it."

He had already wasted a day chasing this fox. Sooner or later, he would catch it, but how many days would be wasted for little gain?

Liu Xing noticed the fox's laughter had stopped. No doubt it was already running away. His pride whispered to continue the chase, but Liu Xing reined in his emotions and calmed down.

While he wanted to gut the fox, another reason for catching it was to finally kill another spirit beast. After killing the mantis, he had managed to kill a large sea star, a creature hard to kill. He needed to flip it and shoot it in the mouth. But after that sea star, he hadn't found any other spirit beasts except for that damned fox.

"It's not surprising. This place isn’t far from the sect. There are fewer spirit beasts here."

That's why he chose this place to experiment. He wanted to find spirit beasts to test his gun but didn’t want to encounter an overwhelmingly strong one.

The conditions were different now. He had finished his experiment and wanted to hunt, but this place lacked spirit beasts. Liu Xing was sure he could find another spirit beast if he was patient and searched thoroughly, but how many days would it take?

"Should I go back to the sect and find a more suitable place? This nameless forest was not an optimal place to hunt spirit beasts."

He nodded, deciding leaving this forest was the right decision.

He started walking, ignoring the soft texture on his right sole and the weird laughter reverberating in the forest.

Damned fox!

***

Liu Xing walked along the forest path. The trees here were tall but narrow, like poles. It had been half a day since he decided to return, and if he calculated correctly, with his walking speed, he would reach the sect in a few days. If he ran at full speed, he could arrive today, but he decided to take his time for one last experiment.

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Jumping over a fallen log, Liu Xing summoned his gun in his left hand. He realized he didn’t need to hold it with both hands.

Liu Xing wasn’t an expert with guns; he just copied what he saw on TV, in films, and on the internet. He assumed people held guns with both hands to handle the recoil, and since this gun had almost no recoil, there was no reason to use both hands.

Liu Xing ducked under a few branches and started cycling his qi in a specific pattern. After activating the Lightning Palm, his right palm should have been coated in electricity, but instead, a bullet inside the gun now felt like it was created from electricity.

Liu Xing aimed at a tree and shot it. Electricity danced around the tree, but no hole was created.

He dismissed the gun and cycled his qi again. Now, in his right hand, a blue lightning encased his hand, with a few strands of electricity dancing around it.

Liu Xing focused on a tree in front of him. Then, he ran as fast as he could and slammed his palm into the tree. Instantly, the tree shattered, electricity dancing around it, and Liu Xing stepped aside to avoid the falling tree.

He resumed walking, thinking that while stunning bullets were useful, sometimes the original Lightning Palm Technique would be better.

"Problem is, I can’t use this technique while holding the gun," he muttered.

The technique was absorbed by the gun.

After getting the gun, Liu Xing decided to change his fighting style. Before, he used the Lightning Palm Technique and its variations for close combat, but with this gun, he needed to become a ranged combatant. However, he still needed a close combat technique for safety. Some enemies could reach him before he could pull the trigger. But he couldn’t use the technique while holding the gun.

"What do I do?" He regarded the black gun in his hand.

If he dismissed the gun, he could activate the technique, but it would be slow. Liu Xing thought it would be better if he could use the technique while holding the gun.

Liu Xing decided to fill the bullet with electricity again. He aimed at nothing, not intending to shoot.

He walked while thinking. He tested how fast he could summon and dismiss the gun, and while fast, it wasn’t fast enough. Liu Xing then tried to deceive the gun. He thought, if holding the gun absorbed the technique, what if he threw it for a moment?

He imagined throwing the gun into the air, attacking the enemy, and catching it again. It's a cool set of movement, and since he could dismiss and resummon the gun, he wouldn’t lose it.

But when he tried these sets of motion, even throwing the gun to the air, the technique was still absorbed by the flying gun.

"Damn, I thought it would work."

He walked on. Above, the sun was high, making the air warm. When he saw a little river ahead, snaking like glittering blue snakes, Liu Xing got an idea.

Standing beside the river, Liu Xing aimed the gun at the water. He cycled his qi and activated the Lightning Palm. As usual, the gun absorbed his technique, creating a lightning bullet that could stun enemies.

Now, Liu Xing closed his eyes and tried to feel the bullet's presence. In his mind’s eye, he felt the bullet glittering and crackling like thunder. Liu Xing then tried to pull the electricity back. His idea was: since he could absorb the energy from the gun, perhaps he could reclaim his technique.

At first, it felt impossible, but when he pulled, the electricity reacted easily. It moved from the gun to his left hand, then quickly settled in his right palm. Liu Xing checked his right hand, and indeed, lightning crackled in his palm.

"I didn’t think this would work."

Liu Xing tried to coat his hand in electricity. As soon as he thought of it, lightning encased his hand, making it glow blue. Seeing this, Liu Xing blinked several times. The true Lightning Palm Technique was to create focused electricity in the palm. This coating technique was a variation that usually required coaxing the lightning, adding more qi, and focusing his mind to achieve. But this electricity was so easy to control it felt like it had a mind of its own.

"There’s no way, right?"

Liu Xing's heart thumped. He thought he had unraveled all this gun's abilities, but it had another function!

Liu Xing added more qi. The technique greedily absorbed it, making his hand shine brighter with arcs of electricity.

He then imagined a lightning sword forming in his hand. The reason he chose this technique was to emulate a certain dark-haired emo’s technique, but unlike him, Liu Xing only succeeded in coating his hand with electricity. He couldn’t manipulate it freely, but maybe now he could.

After successfully imagining a blue lightning sword, a real sword sprung from his hand like a sprouting seed. Seeing this, Liu Xing's mind went blank for a moment before he giggled uncontrollably.

Liu Xing added more qi, making the sword longer, then shorter. The lightning sword obeyed his commands like a servant obeyed his emperor.

He then formed the ball of electricity in his palm again and assumed a stance. His right hand pointed to the ground, body low like a runner at the starting line. He added more qi, willing the technique to sound like a thousand chirping birds. Liu Xing willed the lightning to glow intensely, focusing his power. Then, with a focused face, he ran as fast as he could. Electricity trailed behind him.

He shouted "Chidori!" and raised his hand to strike a tree. His hand pierced the tree, which shattered. But Liu Xing didn’t stop. He ran straight, piercing and felling trees while laughing madly.

After several moments, standing in a clearing surrounded by fallen trees, Liu Xing calmed his mind and exhaled.

"It's amazing!"

Who knew he could realize one of his childhood dreams.

Dismissing the technique, Liu Xing regarded his gun. This gun was powerful. He wondered how Nui got it. Did he create it? Discover it? Whatever the truth, this gun was out of this world. Liu Xing suspected it didn’t work with qi but another form of energy converted from qi. When it was converted back, the result was pure, compatible qi that Liu Xing could meld easily.

Caressing his gun, Liu Xing smiled softly. Even in another world, he owed his friend again.

He would repay their help and kindness by becoming strong, becoming a legend, and doing something about the darkness in this world.