Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

”Man, leave, dog, tree...”

In the backyard, Jiang Ding held a thread-bound book, occasionally muttering to himself.

”Thousand-character Classic”

Feeling incredibly bored, he went out for a stroll and got a children’s book, complete with simple illustrations, specifically for learning the script of this world.

His progress was quite rapid. Since the characters were square like those he knew and accompanied by pictures, and sometimes he would consult Huang Deyou in the front yard, learning them wasn’t hard.

After pondering for a moment, he took out the ”Shenxiao Hundred Step Flying Sword” that Gong Caiyu had given him.

In the past few days, he had easily gathered information about the Ancestor Master of the Qixuan School.

Legend has it that a thousand years ago, Master Qixuan was unbeatable in the Jianghu, establishing an enormous foundation and even influencing the succession of emperors, who had to visit Qixuanshan Mountain and receive approval before they could ascend the throne.

The most famous martial skill of Master Qixuan was the Hundred Step Flying Sword. It was said that within a hundred steps, he could easily decapitate someone, even a Xiantian Martial Artist, with its formidable and fearsome reputation.

It’s just a shame that after Master Qixuan, the Qixuan School quickly declined, and no one else managed to master this swordsmanship again.

”It’s impossible to practice, the local martial arts are full of risks that can cut off one’s future path,” Jiang Ding said as he touched the pistol grip hidden in his sleeve. ”But, if I could master the Qixuan School’s Hundred Step Flying Sword, my ability to defend myself would skyrocket, and I wouldn’t have to worry about exposing modern firearms and attracting unknown trouble.”

This world was far from peaceful.

In the front yard, Huang Deyou was leading a group of temporary hires cleaning and building new counters, making quite a ruckus.

But suddenly, it became quiet.

Huang Deyou jogged over, his forehead slightly sweaty, and spoke in a hushed voice, ”Boss, people from the Wild Wolf Gang have come. They’re here to collect the monthly protection fee.”

”Word sure gets around fast,” Jiang Ding said with a smile. ”Just give it to them. It’s no big deal.”

In this feudal society, the government’s management capabilities were extremely limited. As a result, many power vacuums existed, occupied by gangs and clans—it was unavoidable.

Huang Deyou’s forehead grew more sweaty: ”Boss, it’s not just that. Apart from the monthly payment of one tael, they are demanding five taels as an opening fee, which is four times more than other shops in the same area. And these wolf cubs are never satisfied, no matter how much you give.”

Jiang Ding said indifferently, ”We’ve been seen as an easy target. Invite them in.”

Soon, three brawny men deliberately showing off their robust chests kicked in the door and entered.

The one with a scarred face said coldly, ”Shopkeeper, you’ve got quite the nerve having us brothers come to see you. I, Liu Qi, could let it go, but you’re not taking the Wild Wolf Gang seriously, are you?”

The two men behind him chimed in, ”You’ve got some nerve!”

Jiang Ding looked at these social underlings with a trace of curiosity.

With blue dragons tattooed on their left arms and white tigers on their right, scars decorated their chests and arms , and behind their waists, they carried long, black cloth-covered objects, most likely knives.

They radiated an air of a desperado from head to toe. No wonder Huang Deyou couldn’t handle them.

Clang!

A streak of cold light slowly rose from the sword scabbard.

Jiang Ding stood up, void of the pride of not drawing a sword on the nameless, knowing that the strong can be killed, and he did not disdain ants.

Liu Qi’s face changed as he quickly grabbed the handle of his knife, reacting very quickly, showing his rich combat experience.

”Come on, take a swipe at me.”

Jiang Ding said.

Liu Qi’s eyes narrowed, as if stared down by a ferocious beast.

The cursing from the two companions ceased.

Huang Deyou sneakily glanced at them and noticed that the air of desperado about these men seemed to suddenly disappear, seemingly harmless.

”Young hero, we were blind and failed to recognize a great person...”

After a while, the three men remained motionless. Liu Qi squeezed out a smile.

Having sharp eyes was crucial in the Jianghu.

”I said, take a swipe at me.”

Jiang Ding’s smile disappeared, his face expressionless.

”Or I’ll kill you.”

Liu Qi’s face twisted, sensing an ominous premonition of what was to come.

”Young hero, forgive my offense!”

He gritted his teeth and hacked forward with his knife, his strike steady, precise, and fast. His blade stirred up a slicing wind capable of cutting skin, a technique known within the Wild Wolf Gang as the Wind-cutting Knife.

Clang!

He saw a silver star launched later but arriving first, accurately landing on the weak point three inches up from the handle of his knife, not a fraction off.

Then, an enormous force exploded without warning, smashing him against the wall behind, causing him to vomit blood incessantly.

The two brawny men, ready to join the fray, found themselves rooted to the spot, afraid to look forward.

They could be savage to ordinary merchants, but they were astute enough to know that going up against Jiang Ding would be suicidal.

”Had enough?”

Jiang Ding sheathed his sword and asked indifferently.

```

”Submit! I admit defeat! Thank you, young hero, thank you!”

The scar-faced strong man didn’t care about the fresh blood all over his chest, he kept kowtowing non-stop, extremely smooth.

”I have something to attend to here, so I won’t keep the three of you for tea.”

Jiang Ding sat down again and focused his gaze on the book.

The three men scrambled out, wishing they had an extra leg from their parents to flee the backyard like the wind.

”Manager Huang.”

”Master, I’m here!” Huang Deyou jolted to attention.

Jiang Ding said indifferently, ”Take out one month’s fee and one tael for the entrance fee; send it over to them. Tell them if they dare not come to collect the monthly fee next month, I will break their legs.”

”Yes, Master!”

Huang Deyou hurriedly followed.

This kind of small gang may seem insignificant, but the fact that they could hold their ground meant they had protection; he didn’t want to meddle too much.

...

Inside the high school’s cultivation room.

His body was drenched in sweat like a fountain, soaking his clothes, and he downed a strengthening bone soup in one gulp. Jiang Ding glanced at the light blue figure in front of him.

His perfectly straight yet slightly curved spine, like a dragon or a snake, had been mostly tempered, except for thirteen vertebrae that were still at 23% or 5% completion.

”It’s only because we, the students of the Xianmen Sect, are assisted by Array Spirit computers,” Jiang Ding sighed. ”If it were other martial artists from different realms, tempering the sternum or lumbar vertebrae would be decent enough, and at most they could temper up to fifty percent.”

”Going any further is impossible. Even martial artists at the Internal Qi Realm or even the Xiantian Realm cannot observe it, let alone temper it.”

Flesh and bones, skin—nothing was spared; everything was tempered to perfection.

The most ultimate achievement was one of the important intellecutal achievements of the Xianmen Sect—a miracle product in the eyes of the Outer Realm people—a man-made Dao Body Embryo.

[Name: Jiang Ding]

[Student ID: 1246215]

[Realm: Bone-refining Peak]

[Training Subject: ”Soaring Eagle Sword Technique No. 68” (Proficiency 99%)]

The proficiency level on the panel flickered slightly, jumping to 100%, and then blurred and morphed.

Small Success 1%!

Jiang Ding’s mind felt slightly hazy. Days and nights of uninterrupted sword training, the experiences since he got the broken sword tip, including scenes where he, alone with his sword, plunged into bandits with blood and flesh flying abound.

Countless accumulations erupted, breaking through a certain bottleneck.

Within his previously hard to advance swordsmanship, there seemed to be something extra.

Clang!

Unknowingly, his sword left the sheath and a bright silver arc of regularity blossomed.

The arc remained the same, still perfectly standard, and even using a caliper to measure, one would not find any mistakes, yet there was clearly an extra bit of agility.

”I see.”

Jiang Ding had a moment of enlightenment, ”The pinnacle of proficiency is nothing but mechanically performing the sword art like a programmed machine, while small success means one can begin to fine-tune the sword art, transforming the technique from someone else’s to one’s own swordsmanship.”

The sword-light flickered, now on the left, now on the right, as if it filled the entire cultivation room.

After a set of sword moves, Jiang Ding’s face turned pale, and his body was sweating profusely.

”No good, the ’Soaring Eagle Sword Technique No. 68’ at small success is too taxing on the body, too harsh; I will damage my body if I continue forcefully!”

”I must have replenishing Qi medicines!”

The strengthening bone soup provided by the school was not enough for all students.

Jiang Ding sheathed his sword, rested for quite a long time, then took a bath and changed into a new set of clothes before going back to class.

At the end of the school day.

In the sky, silhouettes flew through the air, and among the tree tops, someone executed the Wind-riding Technique to move over ten meters in one step, while the two on the ground walked without a sidelong glance.

”Congratulations.”

Jiang Ding inspected carefully for a moment and said to Li Junhao, ”You’ve broken through to the Body Refining Realm.”

There’s no particular aura or anything in the Three Levels of Body Refinement, but one can judge by the stride, skin luster, and other characteristics, especially since Li Junhao had just broken through and couldn’t control his strength perfectly, walking a bit awkwardly.

”Ha ha!”

Li Junhao felt elated, ”Old Jiang, actually I, Li Junhao, am also a martial arts prodigy, a late bloomer, achieving it today!”

After the laughter, he sighed, ”I took your advice, felt it made sense, and trained more these days. I didn’t expect to break through so suddenly, and I feel much more energetic than before.”

”The literary and cultivation subjects complement each other, one theory and the other practice,” Jiang Ding nodded. ”If we reach the Internal Qi Realm, our academic scores should see a slight increase.”

Internal Qi may not compare to mana, but it is still a form of energy.

Based on this, understanding talismans, cultivation methods, and the spiritual veins of mountains and geography naturally becomes easier.

After waving goodbye to Li Junhao, Jiang Ding took the bus, not home, but in the direction of the Downtown Library.