63. Journey
Rain lay quietly inside his tent, his senses keen as he eavesdropped on their conversation, piecing together their identities and purpose. From what he gathered, another young boy was inside the carriage. Since the girl had come to apologize, it seemed likely she was older and more authoritative, and their destination—Wutan City—was linked to joining the Black and White Holy Land.
Captain: "Miss, has he forgiven us?"
Young Girl: "Yes, but make sure your subordinates hold their tongues next time."
Captain: "Understood, Miss." He turned to scold his team, ensuring they were ready to settle in for the night.
Manager: "Miss, if we could convince that warrior to escort us to Wutan, we'd reach the city safely."
Young Girl: "I asked. He refused." A brief silence hung in the air.
Manager: "Miss, we're being pursued by the men wearing black mask because of that item. Perhaps we could offer it to the warrior in exchange for his protection."
Young Girl: "Never mention that again. This item is the only valuable heirloom left by our ancestors. Without Father's permission, I won't hand it to anyone."
Manager: "But, Miss, the Master has been missing for two years now, and you've led the Zhang family since his disappearance."
The girl's tone was resolute: "Manager Zou, my father is still alive, and one day he'll return. Besides, we haven't seen the Black Mask men for two days—they may have lost our trail."
The conversation that followed offered Rain nothing of further value. He had already gathered the essential information. But he knew the girl's assumption was wrong—their pursuers were still close. Rain could sense a figure standing on a tree branch roughly 30 meters away, the subtle sounds of breathing and shifting weight on the branches giving the spy away.
Rain considered his options. He could acquire the valuable item they carried without tarnishing his reputation; in the coming days, their pursuers would undoubtedly attack. When that happened, he could either step in as a savior or let their fates be sealed and handle the attackers afterward. With his plan set,Rain allowed himself to drift into sleep.
Hours passed in the forest, the roars of animals echoing through the trees as the moon and stars shifted overhead. When the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon, Rain awoke and opened his personal panel.
Personal Panel:
- Name: Rain (Yun Ting)
- Realm: True Energy
- Physical: 1.848 (20)
- Agility: 1.698 (20)
- Genetic Energy: 1.89 (20)
- Techniques:
- Poison Claw 1st Chapter (D) – (9/9) (familiar) – 2.2%
- Life Vine Shield (D) – 100 (Start)
- Spring Rain Sword Art (E) – Master
- Iron Sword Art (E) – 100 (Familiar)
- Cloud Sword Art (E) – 96 (Familiar)
- Sword Technique – 12 (Master)
- Movement Technique – 80 (Start)
- Shadow Sword Art (E) – 16 (Start)
- Mysteries:
- Poison Stone – 0.12%
- Sap of Devil Trap – 0.001%
- Dark Iron – 0.0006%
- Rain Stone (D) – 1.581%
Examining the panel, Rain noted slight increases in his physical strength, agility, and energy. However, at this rate, reaching the next realm would take decades. In the Radiation World, where a Beginning (D) rank granted a minimum lifespan of 150 years, this pace would have been acceptable. But here, even though he had reached a rank equivalent to Beginning (D), his life expectancy was only 120 years.Additionally, according to the chip, his body's prime would decline after 35 years, making it harder to sustain or improve his physical and agility growth. Without access to advanced medicines to preserve his body, maintaining his current training speed would become increasingly difficult.
Rain stepped out of his tent and surveyed the surroundings. Two guards were stationed near the girl, while the rest of their team remained inside their tents. Without acknowledging them, he packed up his tent and secured his belongings to his horse. After untying the reins, he led the horse into the forest, aware of a river nearby. Rain sensed the number of watchers around the group had grown from one to about twenty, so he left, giving their pursuers an opportunity to strike.
As Rain made his way through the forest, small rabbits darted away, and birds chirped softly overhead. His thoughts drifted to the Cloud Sword Art; while the sword technique itself was just a step away from mastery, the movement technique lagged behind. He resolved to fully master the sword technique of the Cloud Sword Art before attempting a combination with the Spring Rain Sword Art.Just then, he received the stored memories of his main body from the chip. Receiving memories every minute would disrupt his daily life, so he allowed these memories to download only during free moments. His main body had just returned after the third day of fighting in the dead battlefield.
Personal Panel:
- Name: Rain
- Realm: Middle D-rank
- Physical: 8.67 (20)
- Agility: 5.555 (20)
- Genetic Energy: 7.08 (20)
- Genetic Energy Refinement: 13.93 (100)
- Techniques:
- Poison Claw 1st Chapter (D) (9/9) (familiar) – 2.2%
- Life Vine Shield (D) – 100 (Start)
- Spring Rain Sword Art (E) – Master
- Iron Sword Art (E) – 100 (Familiar)
- Cloud Sword Art (E) – 96 (Familiar)
- Sword Technique – 12 (Master)
- Movement Technique – 80 (Start)
- Shadow Sword Art (E) – 16 (Start)
- Mysteries:
- Poison Stone – 0.12%
- Sap of Devil Trap – 0.001%
- Dark Iron – 0.0006%
- Rain Stone (D) – 1.581%
Yesterday, the main body had used his merits to buy two vials of Bronze Blood and two Fire Blood Buds. His goal was to first increase his strength to the limit of Middle D-rank before maxing out his Genetic Energy Refinement, allowing him to earn more merit and ensure his safety on the battlefield. However, the two doses of Bronze Blood only boosted his physique by 1 and 0.5 and his agility by 0.25 and 0.125, respectively—not as significant as the first time, which had yielded increases of 1.5 and 0.5. He guessed this decline was due to the diminishing returns of taking it repeatedly.
Today, his main body earned 107 merits in battle, bringing his total to 116. He decided to buy three more doses of Bronze Blood to test further improvements and, with the remaining merits, purchase two Fire Blood Buds. After reaching the physique limit, Rain planned to buy the Life Fruit, costing 50 merits, to boost his Genetic Energy reserve. Their team had committed to staying the full 1-month limit in the dead battlefield, facing only D-rank monsters for safety. Staying longer was risky, as C-rank monsters would begin to appear.The main body aimed to reach the peak of D-rank within this time and then focus on advancing to the True Body realm.
Rain felt the main body's path was clear, but in this world, he had no idea how to increase his realm, as the Immortal Path had closed its gate to him. He pushed away the depressing thoughts, determined to find a way as long as he was able. By then, he had arrived at the river. After tying his horse to a tree, he went to wash himself. Sensing a rare chance, he decided to make the most of it. He caught a fish using his true energy, cleaned it, set up a fire, and cooked the fish. After eating, he began to practice the sword technique from the Cloud Sword Art.
However, after an hour, he still hadn't mastered it, leaving Rain with the sense he was missing something. With his heightened senses, he noticed that the group in the clearing hadn't been attacked yet. The people pursuing them had left only five behind, while the rest had vanished. Rain suspected it was either because of his presence or they'd moved ahead to set an ambush.
Turning his focus back to why he couldn't fully master the Cloud Sword technique, Rain sensed something crucial was missing. He realized that the art was a combination of both sword and movement techniques. With his movement technique lagging behind, it made sense that he couldn't complete the skill. Rain then began practicing the movement technique itself.This technique involved gathering energy under his feet and releasing it in a burst to propel him forward. While the initial burst was straightforward, the real challenge lay in using it to change direction—a skill that demanded precision and control.
Rain suddenly stopped practicing, sensing movement from the clearing as the group resumed their journey. The five pursuers began trailing them, and without hesitation, Rain untied his horse, mounted, and set off to follow them as well.