Inner Conversation
Linfeng awoke with a piercing headache and a bloodied head. He was lying shirtless against the rough dirt path separating his clan’s residence from the one opposite to it… Exactly the same spot he had been knocked out cold in–Only that now his whole body was aching, and the first thing he saw was the hollow gaze of a disembodied head already being infested by flies.
Crows cawed all around him, and it took him a while to get over the intense dizziness permeating every pore of his being…
“Fingmi! Where did he go?!”
He suddenly stood up, almost losing his balance in the process. There were no signs of the Elt noble at all. Instead, Linfeng felt sick to his stomach. Everywhere he looked–Every direction he turned to… All he was was brutality and carnage. While he was unconscious, it seemed like the great scion had decided to go on a rampage.
Try as he might, Linfeng was unable to find a single living soul through the mountains… Each and every lesser clan that made up this community had been eradicated. Their bodies had been mutilated and left to rot out in the open, to be feasted upon by scavengers. The ways in which they had been killed had clearly been horrific... Terror was still etched upon their cold visages.
He felt a sharp pain coming from his back, and as he reached backwards, he found that a piece of paper had been stabbed into his back with a needle… Apparently, he had also been beaten up after falling unconscious. He was covered in deep bruises from head to toe.
When he was able to remove the needle, he found a message left for him…
Linfeng. Out of the kindness of my heart, I have decided to let you live for now.
Do you desire to save your dear Alrinir? If you don’t know what that word means, then use the context clues, you fool.
Regardless of your intelligence, Fingmi is now my property. She is my toy, and I intend to do as I please with her. I won’t keep it a secret from you–I am going to defile her in every way you can imagine, and I will not be kind to her. You see, there is property in my understanding, and ‘property’.
She currently belongs to the second category.
It is likely that I could break her before you show up. If I do so, I’ll keep her in my ice house for you to collect once you arrive. In any case, I just wanted to tell you two things:
Firstly, as I just elaborated upon, don’t expect me to be a sympathetic hostage taker.
Secondly, I am waiting for you. Do your best to grow stronger, and maybe you’ll be able to retrieve your sweet Alrinir with just a few bumps.
Do not worry, regardless of how harsh I might get, she will love every second of her time with me. This is just how it works with whores like her.
Sincerely, Edrick Lucien Anoteros.
Linfeng tore the piece of paper into pieces. He could feel his inner energy raging. The pain he was in was an afterthought at the moment. He needed to save Fingmi from Anoteros.
‘I can’t leave her alone with that disgusting pig…’
His desire to rush directly after the noble was strong, but it was clear that he was no match for Edrick at the moment. He had been defeated in mere moments, and without even having a single chance to fight back.
He had to become stronger to stand a chance.
‘System! I need your help! I need more powerful cultivation techniques!’
This is not possible
‘What do you mean by this?!’
You have already been granted ‘Raging Bull Punch’ and ‘Moon Hare Kick’. You have only cultivated the former at the moment. I am not able to provide anything else until you have mastered both at the beginner level. You are close with ‘Raging Bull Punch’, at the very least
‘You don’t understand! Fingmi is in danger! Didn’t you see for yourself? That guy is going to… He’s going to violate her! I need to do something!’
Dear User, plenty of women and girls suffer this fate. You should focus on your cultivation. Forget about Fingmi, and forget about Edrick Lucien Anoteros. It is pointless
‘I will not give up on her’
That is a foolish decision. However, that is a good mindset to cultivate these two techniques. They are meant to hit hard and nothing else. One trains the upper body, and the other trains the lower body. When both are brought to the same threshold, the overall improvement of your physique, talent, and overall strength will be noticeable
‘Great, then-’
Do not delude yourself. Minor achievements in both will not bring you to a level where you can challenge this man. He barely even tried during your short confrontation. He is many times more powerful than you and is backed by the Elt clan. He eclipses you in all aspects
‘How encouraging you are, System! What will you give me once I have cultivated enough, anyway?’
I will grant you one more slot for an additional cultivation technique, alongside the technique that shall serve as the ground zero of your potential and strength as a cultivator: The ‘Primordial Yang Emperor Physique’
Once you acquire this particular technique, combined with the other two, you will have a clear path toward strength–Especially if you can find a woman with a yin physique to dual cultivate with
‘So… When I have this at a good level, I can face Edrick, is what you are saying?’
The system took an uncharacteristically long time to answer. Usually, the answers would always come out immediately.
User... Listen very closely. I will not be allowed to repeat myself often about such a topic. Edrick Lucien Anoteros is not a normal individual. I sensed the presence of one of my brethren within him. He is in possession of a system. Realistically speaking, it is unlikely that you can have anything he doesn’t
He has a system like you. He has more influence. More money. More authority. Greater reputation. Greater status. Greater lineage. Greater natural physique… Mathematically, unless you can cultivate your techniques to incredible levels without him growing in strength as well–It is pretty much impossible for you to catch up to him
This is why I am telling you to forget all about this. I understand that you wish to rescue Fingmi, but she is the prisoner of a hydra now–A hydra whose golden head you can not reach
I already know your answer, but think carefully. If you are going to go through with the rescue, then you'd better be prepared. More prepared than you can possibly imagine… It is also not impossible that he is targeting you, not because of your comments regarding his wife, but precisely because he seeks to take away the techniques I have provided you with
Advance with utmost caution
Linfeng could only clench his fists. The system was right, unfortunately. If he wanted to have a shot at saving Fingmi… Then he would have to leave her in the grasp of Anoteros for a while…
“Damnit!”