Chapter Fourteen: Trapped

When everything had been collected, Chen Xiang gained more than three hundred proficiency points. He first spent ten on Three Thousand Thunders.

“Ding! Ten proficiency points consumed. ‘Three Thousand Thunders’ successfully upgraded. Current progress: 10%. Host can barely use Thunder Flash.”

“Wow, each proficiency point advances by one percent! Haha, let’s max it out first.” Chen Xiang leapt up in excitement at the system message. This was too generous.

“Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade!”

“Ding! Ninety proficiency points consumed. ‘Three Thousand Thunders’ successfully upgraded. Current progress: 100%. Congratulations, host has mastered ‘Three Thousand Thunders.’ Would you like to exchange for the Earth-class advanced movement technique ‘Three Thousand Thunder Phantom Body’?”

“No need,” Chen Xiang replied. He would have liked to, but he was strapped for resources. ‘Three Thousand Thunder Phantom Body’ required eight hundred reputation points.

After maxing out Three Thousand Thunders, he spent another ten proficiency points to upgrade ‘Imperial Seal Art.’

“Ding! Ten proficiency points consumed. ‘Imperial Seal Art’ successfully upgraded. Current progress: 2%.”

“Only two percent? So to max out Imperial Seal Art, I’d need five hundred points?” Chen Xiang exclaimed in surprise.

Earth-class advanced techniques really were different—upgrading them cost five times as much as the lower-tier ones.

He then spent another ninety points on Imperial Seal Art.

“Ding! Ninety proficiency points consumed. ‘Imperial Seal Art’ successfully upgraded. Current progress: 20%. Host can barely use the Second Seal, and can use the First Seal smoothly.”

“Huh? So I couldn’t even use the First Seal smoothly before upgrading?” Chen Xiang was taken aback. Luckily, he wasn’t fighting anyone at the moment—one wrong move could have been disastrous.

Chen Xiang opened his personal status panel.

Host: Chen Xiang
Realm: Foundation Establishment, Level Three (Some Attainment)
Experience: 307/3000
Reputation Points: 113
Proficiency Points: 137
Cultivation Method: ‘Chaos Formula’ (First Chapter)
Martial Arts: Imperial Seal Art (20%, Second Seal mastered), Three Thousand Thunders (Mastered)
Profession: Cultivator
……

“Not bad. Today was a real windfall, hahaha!” Chen Xiang laughed heartily.

Just as he was about to check the Heaven-class techniques, the system’s cold voice interrupted him.

“Host’s current realm is insufficient. You do not meet the requirements to practice Heaven-class martial arts. Please return after advancing to the Nascent Soul stage.”

What the hell? He couldn’t even look at them because his realm was too low? Chen Xiang muttered a few curses but didn’t dwell on it.

The bathwater had gone cold long ago, so he finally got up and climbed out of the tub.

He put on his Transforming Robes, intending to change into Earth-style clothes, but thought better of it—it would be too conspicuous in this world.

Chen Xiang also exchanged for a bottle of Rapid Hair Growth Spray from the system shop, costing him some reputation points.

He sprayed it over his head, and his hair grew rapidly before his eyes until it reached his waist, then stopped.

He then used his mind to manipulate the Transforming Robes, changing into a form-fitting martial arts outfit, and tied up his hair. Now, aside from lacking a sword, he looked every bit the wandering hero of the martial world.

His features and musculature had become more defined after cultivating, and combined with his former streetwise air, he now resembled a handsome yet roguish swordsman.

Indeed, clothes make the man!

With newfound confidence, Chen Xiang strode out of his room.

Downstairs, the attendant kept glancing up, wondering why the guest hadn’t come out yet. Even women didn’t take this long to bathe—truly, the world of those with special tastes was beyond understanding.

Suddenly, he saw a handsome, dignified young man, the very image of a righteous hero, descending the stairs.

“Huh, who’s this? How did he come down from upstairs? I don’t remember anyone like that checking in, but he does look familiar…” the attendant mused.

Chen Xiang looked around after coming down, spotted the attendant, and beckoned him over.

The attendant hurried over and asked, “Honored guest, how may I serve you?”

“Which way leads to the imperial city?” Chen Xiang asked. He needed to be sure this time, to avoid another embarrassing misadventure.

The attendant was stunned by Chen Xiang’s voice. “Sir, how did you end up looking like this?”

He had clearly recognized Chen Xiang. An hour earlier, the man had short hair and a dirty face—how could one forget?

Chen Xiang touched his face and asked, “What’s wrong? Is there something odd about my appearance?”

The attendant shook his head vigorously. Odd? Not at all. In fact, it suited him perfectly. Still, anyone who saw the transformation would surely be shocked.

“If there’s nothing wrong, then answer my question,” Chen Xiang said.

“Yes, sir. The imperial city is to the southwest. Just head out the East Gate,” the attendant replied respectfully.

“Thanks—here, a tip for you.” Chen Xiang nodded and handed him a silver ingot from his storage pouch, worth about ten taels. The system didn’t accept such things, so they were useless to him, though he wasn’t about to give spirit stones to regular folk anymore.

The attendant gratefully accepted the silver. “Thank you, sir!”

After settling his bill at the counter, Chen Xiang made his way to the East Gate.

But as soon as he stepped outside, he was blocked by a crowd.

He paused, recognizing a familiar face at once: the demonic sect man who’d previously escaped from him.

This time, the man had brought several hundred followers, surrounding the inn completely.

Standing behind a middle-aged man, the demonic cultivator spotted Chen Xiang coming out, whispered a few words to his leader, then stepped forward without fear.

“Hmph, brat, you’ve got guts. After killing someone, you didn’t flee but dared to come to Misty Forest City. I have to say, you’re a special kind of stupid,” the demonic cultivator sneered, his face twisted with malice. He was even more jealous now—the kid’s new look was so different, if not for his unchanged aura, he wouldn’t have recognized him at all. Damn it, he’s even more handsome than me. Today, he’s dead for sure.

Chen Xiang grinned. “Oh, it’s you. I’ve regretted letting you get away that day. Didn’t expect you’d deliver yourself to me—perfect, I love it when experience points come to me.”

At this, a blue-robed cultivator at the front of the crowd couldn’t hold back and stepped forward, voice heavy: “Boy, did you kill my junior brother?”

“Who’s your junior brother?” Chen Xiang asked coolly.

“My junior is Gao Yu.”

“Never heard of him.”

“You—!” The blue-robed cultivator was furious, about to strike him down on the spot.

A handsome, white-robed cultivator by his side also stepped forward, his expression playful. “Lad, thank you for killing my little junior. Now I have one less rival in the sect. But our master wants your head, so I’m afraid I have to kill you. Such a pity for someone so good-looking.”

Chen Xiang shuddered at his words. “Brother, it’s one thing if you’re bent, but dragging others into it is on you. Sorry, not interested!”

The white-robed cultivator’s face darkened. “What did you say?”

“Didn’t you hear me? You freak!” Chen Xiang replied with clear disdain.

“I’ll kill you!”

“Come on, I’ll even give you one hand,” Chen Xiang taunted.

He had already assessed the group: the strongest among them were three cultivators at Foundation Establishment Level Ten (complete), plus a bunch of lesser thugs. There were also three Core Formation cultivators hiding in a building across the street, likely as backup in case of trouble.

But Chen Xiang was unfazed. He had just mastered Three Thousand Thunders and upgraded Imperial Seal Art—this was the perfect chance to test them out and get a feel for his strength before venturing deeper into the cultivation world.

“Boy, surrender and hand over all your spirit stones and treasures. We’ll let you die quickly,” said the man standing before the demonic cultivator.

He was the senior disciple of the Demon Flame Sect, notorious for killing anyone who crossed him, and had made quite a name for himself in the region.

Chen Xiang blinked and said, “Alright!”

The crowd was momentarily stunned. They’d expected him to refuse, at which point they’d capture him and decide his fate. But the Demon Flame Sect’s senior disciple had barely spoken and he’d already agreed.

“It’s just that I don’t have my storage pouch on me. I buried it under a big tree outside the East Gate. You should all go and get it,” Chen Xiang said sincerely.

The entire group’s expressions darkened. What kind of amateurish lie was this?

Knowing they wouldn’t believe him, Chen Xiang put on a wounded look. “Sigh, after my first kill, I was scared and hid everything I had. I changed my clothes, hoping to slip away unnoticed. Now that you’ve found me, I know escape is impossible, but I can’t bear to let my Earth-class spiritual weapon be lost underground forever!”

Boom!

The words “Earth-class spiritual weapon” instantly quieted the crowd; everyone seemed to stop breathing.

Even the three Core Formation experts hiding nearby appeared before Chen Xiang.

“Boy, are you telling the truth?” one of them demanded, grabbing Chen Xiang by the collar.

“It’s true. Think about it—how else could I have single-handedly killed so many Foundation Establishment cultivators?” Chen Xiang replied innocently, secretly delighted at the chaos he was about to unleash.

They considered it. With Chen Xiang’s cultivation at only Foundation Establishment Level Three, there was no way he could have defeated five or six of their number alone.

Avarice filled the crowd; everyone stared at Chen Xiang, afraid he’d escape.

“Boy, lead us there,” the Core Formation cultivator ordered, seizing Chen Xiang and flying toward the city outskirts.

The crowd followed, for an Earth-class spiritual weapon was worth investigating no matter what. If it was a lie, Chen Xiang would surely die a miserable death!

The news spread like wildfire. In no time, the whole city was abuzz—even the city lord of Misty Forest City sent people to check it out.

By now, more than a thousand cultivators were making their way toward the East Gate.

To be continued...