The air around the spear seemed to distort from the searing heat of the flames. I took a breath—potentially my last—though even that near scorched my windpipe. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the tip of the spear approached my forehead.

  I’d fought admirably, but in the end hadn’t achieved much. While I’d managed to make a breakthrough, in the end I was still going to die a dog’s death to some random disciple of the Cloudy Falls Sect.

  Yet there was nothing I could do here. Even so, I refused to give in until the final moment. I lifted both hands to block the spear and grunted loudly as it pierced straight through them, cooking the flesh.

  All that my struggle achieved was to delay the inevitable. The disciple continued to push and I wasn’t able to resist the spear’s advance. However, I’d forgotten something important.

  I was not fighting alone.

  Suddenly another explosion of qi from the side made both me and the spear user turn our heads. The other injured disciple from before had not been idle during my battle and had dealt with his injuries somewhat.

  He’d pulled a sword out and thrust it straight at the spear cultivator, who was forced to abandon his attack on me in order to block. I winced as he ripped the weapon out of my hands.

  Gingerly, I reached up and touched the centre of my forehead. There was a single drop of blood there, from where his spear had made contact.

  I’d been one thrust from death. That had a funny way of putting things in perspective. Rather than an interesting puzzle to solve—namely, finding a way to break through to Qi Gathering without spirit roots—it had become an obligation. If I didn’t have the strength to defend myself, I would be leaving Xiao Cui defenseless in a nest of vipers.

  Not only that, but my own life was not in my hands. Admittedly, that would remain true until one was unmatched under the heavens, but at least reaching a new realm would reduce the number of threats significantly.

  I couldn’t stay on my knees pondering the fragility of mortal life for long. The other disciple had come to my aid but he too was outmatched. Even the fiercest dog can’t kill a tiger, but perhaps two could.

  Besides, with the spear cultivator now having to focus on attacks from two enemies, the chance of me being able to make contact was far higher. Things weren’t looking so dire anymore.

  The only drawback of this method of fighting was that I would gain less by healing them after the battle. However, survival was the most important.

  Minor gains were far preferable to death.

  Even now that the battle was more even, the spear cultivator still came out on top. He seemed to be a natural talent when it came to fighting. The kind to chop nails and sever iron without a second thought.

  Every strike was aimed at a vital point of mine or the other disciple’s bodies and there was no delay between his attacks and defensive moves. He would transition from a lightning fast thrust to a graceful parry with barely any effort.

  Though I noticed that the movements of his qi were far more erratic and the intensity of the flames on his spear was not as great compared to the start of the battle. Our slow efforts were paying off.

  But he wasn’t going to stand by while we wore him down. Suddenly the man’s qi exploded out to every facet of his body and I jumped backwards before he could finish his technique.

  Unfortunately the other disciple was not as perceptive and was caught as a wave of fire burst outwards from the spear cultivator’s body. It was like a moving wall that incinerated everything in its path and I had to run about twenty-five metres backwards to escape it.

  The ground was scorched in its wake, trees incinerated and left as little more than charcoal. The same was true for my ally of convenience, though he at least was still standing.

  His flesh was scorched and bloody and he took a single step forwards, still holding his sword, before falling to the ground. A perfect opportunity for our opponent to strike.

  Yet I saw our enemy didn’t move. He was still standing in the same spot and a second later he even stumbled backwards, but kept himself upright at the last moment.

  I realised why when I saw that his qi was now little more than a flicker. Whatever that insane fire technique was, it had taken a lot out of him to use. Even as I observed him however, he gripped his spear and began walking towards my downed ally. I didn’t have much time.

  I rushed forwards, my first steps slow but gradually increasing in speed as I realised there was no danger from the scorched earth, except it being a little hot. All I needed was a single touch.

  When I was just a few steps away he noticed me, but his focus was on killing the other cultivator so he failed to react appropriately. It was to be expected. Most cultivators couldn’t cause lethal damage with a touch.

  In less than a breath’s time, he crossed the distance to my ally and an explosion of flame wreathed the tip of his spear as he thrust it into the disciple’s chest. At the same time, I closed the gap between us and kicked out at his knee while thrusting two fingers towards a rip in his robe, near his torso.

  The disciple who’d been hit with the spear strike screamed and fell backwards, clutching a burnt hole in his chest. I had no time to focus on him for now, but I hoped he would survive until the end of the battle.

  To heal him of course. The fact that it could lead to enlightenment regarding my path had nothing to do with it.

  Before the spear cultivator had even finished his strike I started pouring blood essence into his body with the sole intention of corrupting his flesh. I wasn’t sure how effective my technique—I really needed to come up with a better name than tumour touch—would be on a middle stage Qi Gathering cultivator, but that wouldn’t stop me from trying.

  At first nothing happened and I feared the worst, but then I saw the spear guy’s eyes widen in shock. He leapt backwards from me, brandishing his spear outwards to keep me at a distance.

  “What the hell did you-” he began to exclaim then suddenly yelled in pain, cutting himself off.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I saw the side of his chest swell as lumps formed and his body began to twitch. The technique had worked. His grip on the spear did not waver however, proving he had trained himself to the extremes.

  Despite that I still rushed forwards. There was no better time to strike than now, before he found a way to resist my technique.

  He stepped towards me but suddenly twitched as another lump exploded from the side of his chest. That small movement allowed me to parry his spear to the side.

  It still burned my hand, the tip of the spear constantly red hot from the fire qi that circulated his body and weapon, but he was running low. As long as the fight went on long enough I was confident in at least surviving.

  I swung my foot in a narrow arc, aiming to knock my opponent off his feet. Taking the fight to the ground would shift the battle in my favour against an opponent used to using a weapon.

  As a middle Qi Gatherer I was sure he still had the advantage over me in strength, but perhaps my ridiculously durable body would allow me to claim victory regardless of the gap. I had reached ten-star Body Tempering after all, something no other cultivator had achieved—to my knowledge.

  That gave me an absolute advantage when it came to raw physical strength. At least against opponents who weren’t specialised body cultivators or just so far ahead of me on the road of cultivation that they could ignore my superiority.

  Even while struggling with my technique he shifted his foot to the side, avoiding my swipe. I pivoted instantly and struck towards his chest but he even managed to block that punch, responding by slicing towards my neck with his spear.

  I narrowly avoided it, feeling the air against my scalp as it passed. The swelling in his chest continued to grow and he was forced to strike an acupoint on his body while guarding against me.

  That gave me an opening to finally kick his knee. His bones were tough. Against a weaker opponent that strike would have snapped their leg but his only bent a little.

  Even so, it was enough for me. As his hands dropped I dropped under his spear strike and elbowed upwards into his jaw with lightning speed. His head snapped backwards and for the first time he truly lost balance.

  I pressed my advantage, unwilling to waste the fruits of my effort. One more jab into his stomach, pushing as much blood essence as I could into his body.

  He doubled over instantly as his flesh burst outwards. Tumours rapidly multiplied as whatever technique he’d used to suppress the first application was unable to handle a second.

  “What is this demonic technique!?” the man roared, defaulting to rage when he found himself unable to win in strength.

  I just smirked in response. Demonic? Maybe from his perspective. Even on Earth, there were many who might view cancer in the same way. To me though, it was now just another tool in my arsenal.

  He shouldn’t complain. If I won the battle I’d end up healing him anyway, so what was the problem?

  I increased the speed of my attacks, barraging him with punches and kicks. He blocked a few and even managed to cut me with his spear a few times but the momentum of battle had shifted heavily in my favour.

  Even with the huge gap in cultivation that existed between us he was unable to overcome my technique. He coughed blood as I delivered a swift jab to his jaw.

  I saw his eyes rolling back in his head and he collapsed to the ground. I stepped back and started to turn around when suddenly his hand twitched.

  A few bits of jade dust fell from his palm and I saw a stream of qi rapidly escape into the sky. There was nothing I could do to stop it. I didn’t even know what he’d done.

  Perhaps he’d sent a message to someone? If the Cloudy Falls Sect believed a talented inner disciple had been slain by a demonic cultivator, this region might get a little chaotic.

  I’d need to keep a low profile from now on. First though, I had to heal my ally. If he was still alive.

  Even while knocked out, the fire cultivator still clutched his spear tightly. From the quality I guessed it was a spirit weapon, perhaps even martial grade.

  He’d been an impressive opponent. I could respect his grit and tenacity, even if I disapproved of him trying to kill his fellow disciples.

  I rushed over to the cultivator with the burning hole in his chest, increasing my speed when I saw he was barely moving. When I was next to him I realised his condition was even worse than I’d thought.

  A few of his ribs were protruding from the wound, the ends charred and the flesh around it still burning. I saw faint orange sparks, the lingering remnants of the other cultivator’s qi.

  I wasn’t even sure if my healing technique would dispel the qi, but it had worked on the potent Qi Gathering poison before so I was quite confident. I didn’t wait or inspect his body further.

  My technique didn’t necessarily rely on understanding what the patient was suffering from, only that I had a close enough cultivation and enough blood essence to heal them. Healing a Core Forging Master would be like overturning the heavens.

  I didn’t worry about such things as I used my technique. I made sure to focus on what happened inside the disciple’s body as I healed him. This guy was in the Qi Gathering realm and I believed that healing those in the realm above mine was the key to advancing my own path.

  It was at times like this that I couldn’t help but curse the heavens and my luck. All those novel protagonists transmigrated with overpowered cultivation methods, systems, or grandpas in a ring.

  All I got was shattered spirit roots and a magic finger…

  When I really thought about it I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Then again I couldn’t exactly complain—most people didn’t even get the chance to have a second life.

  I was getting distracted again. Focusing on my patient I saw my blood essence rushing into his body, most of it settling around the horrific hole in his chest.

  The fire qi was fierce, burning away my essence as it made contact. At first I was worried. The gap between a Body Tempering cultivator—even a peak ten-star one such as myself—and a four-star Qi Gathering cultivator was vast.

  It wouldn’t surprise me if my blood essence wasn’t potent enough to overcome the gap. Such was the law of the world. A law that I overturned through mule-like stubbornness. A trait that my blood essence had inherited.

  The fire qi was far more powerful but my blood essence attempted to overcome the gap through sheer quantity. Like an army of chickens suddenly gaining the courage to fight a tiger, my essence swarmed the wound and the lingering qi in order to dispel it and initiate the healing process.

  This only worked because of the faintly toxic properties my blood essence had acquired over the past few months. My encounter with the nine-star spirit snake and then the poison in Young Master Teng’s body had been devoured by my essence and absorbed.

  Every time the fire qi burned one of the reddish-green sparks, it grew fainter. A few seconds later the first mote of fire qi disappeared.

  At the same time I watched as the flesh around that area started to heal. The burnt muscles and charred ribs regained their luster and new skin formed. I was making progress.

  This continued for a while. I grew tired, my blood essence reserves draining. Healing a wound inflicted by a cultivator this far ahead of me was tough. I was getting half the results for twice the effort.

  Despite this, I persevered. I knew that once I was able to heal this guy I might get an opportunity to glean some insight into the workings of qi and perhaps even figure out how to take the first steps towards the Qi Gathering realm myself.

  Or maybe… No, I didn’t even want to consider that ridiculous possibility.

  It was an uphill battle but one that I was slowly winning. Most of the fire qi was destroyed and the wound was slowly closing.

  I couldn’t help but smile. I’d come to find powerful spirit beasts and awakened beasts to battle in order to advance but ended up crossing paths with my old sect. The will of the heavens was strange.

  I had never been one to believe in fate much, but some things were just too coincidental to be random occurrences. I suddenly chuckled out loud. “Surely that senior brother Wang Ren isn’t here in this mountain too…”

  At that moment I suddenly felt a cold sensation running down my spine. Had the technique finished already?

  “What are you doing to Brother Meng!? You’re courting death!” a feminine voice accused me.