The world was muted gray to my eyes.
I moved through the fifth Ring and entered the sixth.
I moved but I didn’t care.
I moved passed and even through the shouting ruffians and emaciated people who called the sixth ring home as they scrambled out of the way.
The only reason I wasn’t being messed with was no one had cultivation here and they could at least feel I had Qi.
My vision was gray like the backdrop of grays and browns smeared with the grime of the lesser slums.
It held no meaning.
Cultivation had no meaning.
Not in this city.
I moved through it like a ghost, my body on autopilot, my mind a numb void echoing with Plum's final written words.
I shook my head.
I didn’t need revenge, I needed to leave.
The ramshackle hovels of the sixth ring blurred past me, not due to speed, but apathy.
I wandered out of the gate and into what might be a seventh ring in about one hundred or so years, the inhabitants mere shadows in my peripheral vision.
The burgeoning shantytown beyond the gate held nothing for me.
This festering wound on the city's outskirts was just more of the color brown.
Escape, that was all that mattered.
Escape from this city.
The city that took everything from me.
Hours passed and I walked through the darkening plains, the road leading somewhere, I didn’t actually care where.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" a mocking voice sliced through the haze of my grief.
Apparently it’s five idiots and their six out of their depth friends.
Apparently none of whom can figure out how to measure Qi.
I looked up to see a group of ragged men blocking my path, their faces twisted into cruel smirks, their eyes gleaming with predatory hunger.
The other six look like apes and one of them is just repeatedly swinging a knife in the air.
They’re this stupid and somehow have their lives still?
The Six of them who were mere Level ones had their stances placed in ways that were more menacing than their actual threat.
Bandits like these would die in a few days.
Numbers mean nothing in this world.
A group of eleven idiots at the third level Gathering fighter would die to a single fourth stage fighter.
The nearby sect would send a Qi Condensation level fighter and they’d die instantly just from projected Qi.
They didn’t even have more than one person at Qi Gathering level three.
They must have just started for some reason.
Three of them in front were the subleaders, clearly.
A hulking brute, a skinny moron, and a large, fat wretch of man.
That one reeked of some kind of faulty Level two cultivation.
Their leader, a greasy-haired thug with a scarred face, exuded the aura of a Level three, his strength amplified by his athletic physique.
He clearly did something moronic with his cultivation. He can’t advance ever again from what I’m sensing.
"Looks like a lost little lamb," the fat level two of the group sneered, cracking his knuckles. "Just wandered into the wrong pasture."
"Lost and loaded," the leader added, his gaze lingering on the pouch where I kept Plum's letter and the storage ring. "Let's see what treasures this little sheep has hidden away!"
They started laughing like that was funny.
Their words were meaningless noise, buzzing flies against the backdrop of my grief.
They were obstacles, nothing more.
I moved like a phantom.
Even with phantom steps, I refuse to call an orange movement technique ‘Phantom Lord’s Myriad Forms.’ Damn imbecile who made it must have been a third-grader with super-saiyan 42 training muscles.
As I moved with the obviously mislabeled technique, it was still enough to be a blur of motion unseen by their untrained eyes.
Six sharp cracks echoed in the stagnant air as I twisted their necks, their lifeless bodies crumpling to the ground like discarded toys.
The Level twos barely registered the demise of their companions before I was upon them. their eyes widened in terror, a silent scream frozen on his lips as I delivered the same swift justice.
The leader, the Level three brute, stood frozen, his face contorted in a mixture of confusion and dawning fear.
He hadn't even seen me move, only the aftermath of my actions.
I stepped towards him, my gaze locked onto his.
A cold fury radiated from my being.
He was a partial symbol of everything that had taken Plum from me.
But he was the result, not the cause.
It was just a representation of the cruelty and injustice of this world.
He stumbled back, fear finally overcoming his bravado. "W-who are you?" he stammered, his voice cracking with terror.
"Death to a moron who can’t measure the strength of themselves or others," I droned, my voice a low mumble that echoed in the silence of the paved road outside of the gate.
Before he could even blink, my fist connected with his jaw, sending him sprawling onto the dusty ground.
He was strong, yes, but against my speed and Level Four cultivation, he was a helpless infant.
This was the difference in cultivation.
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If he were level Five, I would be worthless before him, too.
I unleashed a torrent of blows, each strike fueled by my grief and rage.
He was a punching bag, a canvas upon which I painted my fury, a pathetic substitute for the justice Plum deserved.
He whimpered and begged through a mumble and broken teeth.
He asked for mercy.
“Mercy!” He begged again, mistaking my confusion for what he had said.
He thought I couldn’t hear him.
But I was just incredulous.
His pleas fell on deaf ears.
There was no mercy in this world, only the cold calculus of survival. On this day, my survival meant his demise.
I gave him the mercy of a swift end.
The crack rang out and I stood.
I surveyed the meager belongings of the fallen bandits with a sneer. Rusted blades, tattered clothes, and empty purses. Pathetic. Their leader, however, proved more fruitful.
A worn booklet peeked from his fur coat, and a pouch was strapped to his side and indenting the dirt where he fell.
The booklet first. Long Legged Wind Stride, the title proclaimed. A movement technique, utilizing leg muscles for unnatural bursts of speed, with the potential to generate wind Chi at higher cultivation levels.
Mid-blue quality. Not bad for a roadside thug.
"Thanks, you stupid, dead, fucking bastard," I muttered, tucking the booklet into my robes.
“Why not use a manual like that instead of standing there like a moron.” I muttered.
It was another tool for my survival kit.
There were no drawbacks I could see from the initial look-through.
It was hard to comprehend, though.
That might be why he hadn’t used it.
Aptitude.
More unfairness.
The pouch joined the growing collection of ill-gotten gains within the spatial ring.
I'd sort through it later, along with the treasures Plum had sacrificed himself for.
I go over the technique, not to master it, but to memorize the contents so in case I died again I could use it in the next life.
I memorized the contents after a few passes of looking and reading, then I started trying to learn it genuinely.
I memorized the intricate diagrams and cryptic instructions.
The moon had risen and my journey had just begun.
The familiar ache in my meridians reminded me of the gift Plum had left behind.
Reaching into the spatial ring, I retrieved another high-quality meridian repair pill, the second of the three he had miraculously procured.
With a grimace, I swallowed it, the potent medicine coursed through my damaged channels, slowly mending the wounds I had inflicted upon myself in my desperation.
Before going to bed, I’d take one more, and my meridians would be fixed.
I hadn’t gone through all the pills, but plum really saved me.
He truly was a good brother.
I wait 10 minutes, and go back to practicing the movement technique.
About 5 hours later, I took the final High quality meridian restoration and repair pill.
Climbing a nearby tree, I secured myself to a sturdy branch and allowed sleep to claim me, the rustling leaves a calming piece of music compared to how the city sounds at night.
----------------------------------------
I woke up quickly as dawn broke, birds chirped as orange and pink of the sky I hadn’t seen since being isekai’d here in what I’ll call life 0.
I sighed as I descended from my perch and set off, my steps lighter than they had been in years.
The road stretched before me, leading away from the festering wound of the city, towards an uncertain future.
In the distance, a weathered signpost marked a crossroads.
I should probably check the rest of what was in the ring, but I didn’t feel up to it yet.
----------------------------------------
I had arrived at the signpost.
It marked 15 different paths, at least two of which would mark a terrible fate for me.
One, a wide brick road, led back to the city I sought to escape.
Also, a highway, stretching into the horizon, pointed towards a distant capital city, a journey of 1980 kilometers.
A fool's errand for someone like me, and an even more foolish endeavor to try to enter if I even survived reaching it.
I ignored the path back to the city and the distant allure of the capital.
My gaze finally lingered on the remaining three options.
Village, town, or even smaller village?
The choice was mine, the path forward unclear.
Large Village of Rumdrink 510 Kilometers.
Large Village of Runetether 380 Kilometers.
Small Town of Woodhall 439 Kilometers.
I turned to the northeast, and began walking on the mid-size dirt path.
The Large Village of Runetether it was.
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Year 16 Day 6
The dirt path towards Runetether stretched before me, a dirt road winding through the vast green plains.
With each step, I pushed myself further, my legs burning, my lungs screaming for respite.
The ‘Long Legged Wind Stride’ technique was proving more challenging than I anticipated.
I crashed head-first into a sturdy tree as I missed a step and launched myself much faster than I meant to.
Year 16 Day 7.
My initial attempts at learning this technique were clumsy, my strides were uneven and my balance was garbage.
I stumbled and fell, tasting the stone grit and dirt of the path on my tongue.
frustration gnawed at me.
The technique required precise control of internal Chi.
It also required a subtle manipulation of Qi in my legs that I had yet to master.
With a cracking sound I knocked over yet another tree.
Year 16 day 13
I persisted.
With each sunrise, I rose and ran.
the manual's instructions echoing in my mind as I tried to do it with the expected channeling and movements.
I visualized the flow of Qi in my legs and the subtle shifts in my muscles as the coordinated movements that would propel me forward with unnatural speed-.
Failed again.
I really wanted to be strong.
I wanted to be fast.
I would be fast.
Year 16 day 21
Days blurred into nights.
The landscape full of trees, grass, exotic flowers and ferns seemed to mock me as I slammed, yet again, head first into another tree.
Year 16 Day 29
The sun beat down on my back, the wind whipped at my face, and still, I ran. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, I began to feel a change.
My strides grew longer, my movements more fluid.
The Qi allotted for this technique flowed more readily.
My efforts made the Qi respond to my commands with increasing precision.
The stumbles became less frequent as the day went on as the falls became less painful and uncontrolled.
As the sun began its descent, casting long shadows across the plains, I felt it.
A surge of energy, a lightness in my step, a sense of effortless movement.
I was gliding across the path, my feet barely touching the ground, the wind whistling past me as if urging me forward.
I had done it. I had learned and used the ‘Long Legged Wind Stride!’
Well, at least in its initial stages.
I smiled for the first time since Plum's death.
I tried to smother it as it spread across my face.
But I had made progress and I felt too good.
Exhausted but exhilarated, I settled down beneath a gnarled tree.
I examined its branches as I tried to find a portion of the tree that offered a good portion of shelter from the coming night.
It was time to sort through the spoils of our heists, the treasures Plum had entrusted to me.
Most of the pills were mundane – basic healing salves, low-grade cultivation accelerators, and common body strengthening concoctions. Useful, but nothing extraordinary.
Then, I saw it.
A small, jade-green pill nestled at the bottom of a normal pouch inside of the ring.
Its surface pulsed with a subtle energy, a faint hum that resonated within my own Chi.
My eyes widened as I recognized the inscription etched on its surface: "Meridian Widening and Dantian Reinforcement Talent Enhancing Pill."
This wasn't just any pill.
This was a treasure beyond measure, a chance to rewrite my chances in this life.
I knew this was a chance to break free from the shackles of my low talent and reach a bit higher.
I had always known they were unattainable in this life.
But why shouldn’t I reach a little higher if it would make it easier not to lose someone next time.
With trembling hands, I brought the pill closer, its energy warming my palm.
A spark clicking into place was felt as hope, however small and dim started to sputter to life.
That flicker of hope sparked into a new ember.
The tiny flame of hope flickered back to life within me was nearly non-existent.
But it was enough to take a step.
This boon.
“Thank you Plum.”
For everything.
“I will do it for my good brother. I will drink a drink for you who never got old enough to drink. I will live for you and if I live long enough maybe I will find a jade beauty to live with and make a family like you wanted for yourself. I’ll live. My first son will be named Plum.”
I swallowed the pill.