Sunlight filtered through the phoenix tree leaves, scattering spots of light like copper coins across the ground. They formed a lazy river of gold on the blue brick path.
The drone of cicadas cut through the stifling, humid heat, weaving a desolate symphony among the concrete buildings.
Zhao Rui accompanied Sun Tiantian and her two friends, taking some nostalgic photos around campus. After agreeing to meet one more time before the start of college, he rode his bike off campus.
With that, his high school life had well and truly come to an end!
'It'd be a lie to say I don't feel nostalgic, but life's a long road, and I have a much wider future to explore.'
About half an hour after leaving the school, not long after Zhao Rui arrived at his apartment complex, he got a call from Bai Xuening.
"Are we friends?"
the girl asked softly.
"Of course we are!"
Zhao Rui replied. 'Why wouldn't we be? We didn't know each other for long, but she was a nice girl to be around.'
"Good. See you in college!"
Zhao Rui was taken aback for a moment, then smiled freely. "See you in college!"
Bai Xuening had always been mysterious, giving people the feeling that she was both near and far, like trying to see through a fog.
She had transferred into their class in their second year of high school. The moment she arrived, her beautiful looks and extraordinary air made many of the girls in class jealous.
Having joined the class midway through, combined with her somewhat cold personality and not knowing anyone, she was constantly ostracized by the other girls.
'The way I got to know her was during a class sparring session when I accidentally touched a sensitive spot. That was how we started talking.'
'But we only really got familiar with each other starting last month when we started sparring by the riverbank. It really hasn't been that long.'
After they finished speaking, they both hung up.
Zhao Rui locked his bike and headed upstairs.
Now that he had submitted his college preferences, all that was left was to wait for the acceptance letter to arrive.
Of course, there was a chance it might not come, but that was highly unlikely. After all, he had his second choice as a backup.
With nothing to do for the summer holiday and no school to worry about, Zhao Rui devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Cultivation of his Martial Arts.
The celestial light blazed, illuminating sun and moon!
Time passed in a blur, and the peach blossoms bloomed in riotous splendor!
One day, Zhao Rui sat cross-legged on the riverbank, bathing in the light of the morning glow and soaking in the river's moisture. He guided the qi from his Guanyuan acupoint, circulating it throughout his body.
For a moment, all the acupoints in his body vibrated, sounding like the roars of tigers and leopards, like the beating of drums and gongs. There were faint signs of his Inner Qi overflowing.
Just then, the red sun was beginning to rise. A ray of brilliant light pierced through the edge of a cloud, striking the river and reflecting off its surface.
"Ten years of Power begin today; I'll storm the celestial gates to claim my prize!"
Zhao Rui let out a cold snort. As he opened and closed his eyes, a brilliant light seemed to flash within them, as radiant as the morning sun.
'My master might be unreliable, but this Misty Divine Skill is the real deal. Truly as misty as the clouds!'
Zhao Rui finished his exercise and exhaled, his mind inevitably turning to what had just happened.
After nearly half a month of sparring, he had gained another three Advancement Points on his system panel. He used two of them on his Inner Strength.
He used the last one to tentatively enhance the Middle Mansion Acupoint on his Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian.
The Martial Art he practiced, Cloud Hand Star-Picking, followed the Taiyin Lung Meridian, one of the Three Yin Meridians of the Hand. As the saying goes, the lungs are the mother of qi's movement.
Cloud Hand Star-Picking followed the lung meridian, allowing one to connect with the qi of heaven, earth, and self, transforming it into a "cloud." It absorbed the qi of the universe during its Circulation and used the rhythm of breath to refine the body.
Upon reaching the state of Great Success, all the acupoints along the Taiyin Lung Meridian would be opened, and every move would naturally contain an inexplicable and mighty True Qi.
However, this "Great Success" was just what Li Da Nao had called it. He wasn't clear on the specific Realm it represented.
When the disciples asked him how many major acupoints he had opened, Li Da Nao would just hem and haw, changing the subject without giving a straight answer.
Because of this, everyone figured he was probably just full of it. Either he hadn't created this Martial Art himself, or he was just talking nonsense.
Even their eldest martial brother, who had been practicing for twenty or thirty years, hadn't managed to open a single acupoint, to say nothing of the other disciples.
In short, no one took it seriously.
But now, today, Zhao Rui had used the power of his system to successfully open an acupoint. And by channeling his ten years' worth of Power through the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian, he suddenly realized that it seemed... it was actually possible.
From within the Middle Mansion Acupoint, his Inner Strength clearly had a sense of connection with the True Qi of heaven and earth. This hazy feeling was incredibly profound.
It made a wisp of misty cloud-qi spontaneously arise whenever he used Cloud Hand Star-Picking.
It wasn't an illusion.
'Could Li Da Nao be one of those legendary masters from the stories, a great hermit hiding in plain sight in the city?'
Zhao Rui couldn't help but wonder. After all, such hidden experts were common in the novels of his past life.
But then again, when he thought about Li Da Nao's usual behavior, it just didn't seem to fit.
'Whether he is or isn't, it doesn't matter. No matter how amazing he is, can he be more amazing than my system panel?!'
Zhao Rui finished his Cultivation and scanned his surroundings. There was no one around. Only duckweed swaying in the wind on the river's surface and tall reeds rustling restlessly on the bank.
He had chosen this spot after a long search; it was more than ten kilometers outside the city.
The area was all hills and riverbanks, with only a few scattered villages.
It was a perfect place to comprehend nature and polish his Inner Qi alone.
He quickly packed his bag, tied it to the back seat of his bicycle, and started riding along the riverbank toward the city.
It wasn't as comfortable as a car, but being close to nature was nice in its own way.
Zhao Rui comforted himself with this thought as a car flashed past him on the road.
"Watch where you're going, you little punk! Tsk!"
As he was riding, a car turned from an intersection on the right, aggressively cutting off Zhao Rui's bicycle as it drove through.
As it passed, the driver even stuck his head out the window and spat in Zhao Rui's direction.
"PTUI!"
The spit was weak and fell right onto his own car door, leaving a wet streak down the side.
"Fuck!"
Zhao Rui, furious, stopped his bike, picked up a rock from the roadside, and with all his might, hurled it at the car's rearview mirror.
With a CRACK, the rock hit the rearview mirror dead on, shattering it to pieces.
The car stopped abruptly. A door flew open and the people inside poked their heads out. After a glance at the shattered mirror, they instantly ducked back inside.
Then the driver slammed on the gas and sped off into the distance, instantly hitting a hundred miles per hour.
"Fuck, we ran into a real martial artist!"
Meanwhile, Zhao Rui, the perpetrator, felt a bit embarrassed. He'd momentarily forgotten he was a Martial Artist and acted like he would have in his past life—just throwing a rock to scare them, assuming it wouldn't hit anything anyway.
He never expected that now, with his Inner Strength, he possessed immense power. Forget a rearview mirror, he could probably punch a hole straight through the car door.
Zhao Rui couldn't help but click his tongue, feeling a little scared in retrospect. 'My temperament is still unstable,' he thought. 'My Divine Soul isn't firm enough!'
This was the downside of having the memories of two lives merged into one. His Divine Soul would sometimes drift, and he'd forget his current circumstances.
This was one of Zhao Rui's good points: he was good at pondering and reflecting.
Knowing his own weakness meant he could target it more specifically in his future Cultivation.
Zhao Rui hopped back on his bike. Just as he was about to turn onto the road, he suddenly glimpsed a group of men brandishing cleavers charging out of a nearby alley.
Their ferocious momentum really made him jump.
Fortunately, after leaving the alley, the group hurriedly turned into another dark lane. A moment later, the sound of frenzied chopping and a chaotic mix of shouts and screams erupted from within.
Zhao Rui's expression instantly turned grim. Although he had encountered the Fire Cloud Evil God causing trouble and even killing people at the Carefree Pavilion, he had been far away at the time, surrounded by many others, so he hadn't felt much of anything.
But this was completely different. It was like watching a gangster movie—it looks cool on screen, but when people are actually hacking at each other with blades right in front of you, the feeling is worlds apart.
"Help!"
Just as he was recoiling in horror, a sick feeling rising in his chest, and was about to get away, two figures shot out of the alley. They were drenched in blood, stumbling and frantically running for their lives.
But they were running straight toward Zhao Rui.
By now, Zhao Rui had recovered from his initial shock. He quickly grabbed his bike with one hand and leaped to the side of the road.
The two men had already suffered several knife wounds and were running on fumes. One of them made it to the middle of the road before his strength gave out, and he collapsed with a THUD.
He fell right in the path of an oncoming car.
Seeing this, the other man didn't hesitate for a second and kept running for his life.
At the same time, their pursuers closed in—a mob of more than a dozen thugs armed with knives.
The sight was terrifying.
Zhao Rui stood by the roadside, his hair standing on end. 'Is this fucking still a civilized world?'
'I'm only a few miles out of the city, and it's already this brutal?'
Although it was obvious these men were just ordinary thugs with no Inner Strength, their sheer ferocity was a far cry from the peaceful life in the city.
Just as Zhao Rui was about to get on his bike and leave, the sound of a siren echoed in the distance. A patrol car came speeding toward them.
The thugs immediately stopped in their tracks and scattered like startled birds.
"All of you, freeze!"
The patrol car arrived in a flash, its tires screeching to a halt. The door flew open, and a young female officer in a well-fitted uniform leaped out, gun raised.
Following right behind her, several other patrol officers got out from the other doors, also armed.
The thugs paid her no mind and took off running.
The patrol officers didn't open fire, but instead chased after them on foot.
Zhao Rui crouched down slightly, scooped up a handful of small pebbles from the ground, and gave his wrist a slight flick.
Instantly, the pebbles shot out, striking several of the fleeing thugs on their Huantiao Acupoints.
The men's legs immediately went stiff, and with a yelp, they tumbled to the ground.
Seeing their chance, the patrol officers lunged forward, twisted the men's arms behind their backs, and hauled them over to the side of the road.
Seeing this, Zhao Rui didn't linger. He casually got on his bicycle and continued down the road toward the city.
At that moment, the beautiful female patrol officer, having just called for backup, scanned the surroundings with a puzzled look in her eyes. Aside from the passing cars, she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.
She couldn't help but shake her head to herself.
...
That night, countless stars studded the sky like a curtain, and clouds veiled the silver disk of the moon.
Dressed all in black and wearing a face mask, Zhao Rui strolled into an old "urban village" in the city.
This was the very same alley entrance he had passed after his advancement exam.
The sides of the road were still piled high with all sorts of trash. Swarms of flies and mosquitoes buzzed in the air, making the already dim, yellow light of the streetlamps seem even darker.
"Brother Hong? Why did you ask to meet in a place like this?"
Zhao Rui looked at the scar-faced young man standing under a streetlight, puffing away on a cigarette, and walked quickly toward him.
Brother Hong glanced at him with cold eyes and casually tossed his cigarette butt to the ground.
"Follow me," he said.
Zhao Rui grunted in acknowledgment and hurried to catch up.
The two of them took a side path, heading deeper into a narrow alley.
The alley was lined with shops and various food stalls steaming in the hazy heat. Customers were scattered in front of the storefronts.
These customers were all shirtless, their chests covered in tattoos of dragons and phoenixes. Their manners were casual and crude, and the air was filled with a constant rise and fall of shouts and curses.
Brother Hong said nothing, simply weaving through the crowd and continuing forward.
Zhao Rui didn't dare to stare. After a quick glance or two, he averted his eyes.