The Sun Gun

He aimed at a relatively thick foam board and fired. The bullet did not lodge in it on impact, but exploded with a bang, blasting the entire board to pieces.

This was a dumdum bullet, also known as an "expanding bullet" or a "bullet that deforms upon entering the body." When it struck a target, inertia forced the lead core out of the jacket and flattened it into a mushroom shape, causing the jacket to expand or rupture. It rapidly released its energy and enlarged the exit wound, giving the bullet a wounding effect similar to that of an explosive projectile.

A person hit by this kind of bullet would be either killed or wounded. If fragments remained inside the body, they could cause lead poisoning. Even if the victim was extremely lucky and few fragments remained inside, the enormous, ragged wound would be extremely difficult to heal and prone to infection.

Because these bullets had an extremely high fatality rate and caused wounded people tremendous suffering, the Hague Convention prohibited their use in international warfare. But the world of Sea Continent had no such convention, and there was no need to observe the principles of humanitarianism. At present, aside from the Su Dynasty of the Mohist School, the only nation researching firearms was the Ying Dynasty, formed by the Lu School and the Military School.

But this sacrifices penetration, Si Ming thought. Against a master of external cultivation, it might not break through their defenses. Then I'd have to shoot vulnerable spots like the eyes.

Human bodies on Earth were fragile, so whether a bullet had that extra penetration made no difference to the outcome. But masters in the world of Sea Continent could train their bodies to be as hard as steel, so it was hardly unusual for an attack to fail to break through their defenses.

Just then, applause sounded behind him. Si Ming turned and saw Jiang Zhengtai approaching in a white lab coat, a sunny smile on his face. Si Ming had to admit that, judging by appearances alone, the man's smile was remarkably deceptive.

"Impressive. To achieve such accuracy in just three days, you must be very talented in this area too. Perhaps in the future you could apply to cultivate the forbidden art Super Martial Dao."

"Super Martial Dao? I've never heard that name before."

"Ha, it's a martial art from beyond the heavens. Its martial philosophy is said to be based on scientific and technological knowledge, vastly different from traditional martial principles. Many exceptionally gifted and brilliantly talented martial artists have struggled even to get started because they couldn't accept its principles. But the people at the Mohist Academy of Science hold it in high regard. The Mohist School was able to create Profound Armor largely by drawing on its system of knowledge."

Si Ming asked skeptically, "The first suit of Mohist Profound Armor was developed a century ago. By that logic, Super Martial Dao must have been in the collection for at least a hundred years, but I've never heard its name. Could it be that no one has successfully cultivated it and made a name for themselves with it in all that time?"

Jiang Zhengtai spread his hands. "I'm not sure about that. After all, I'm just a doctor, not an academician of the Mohist Academy of Science. But rumor has it that successfully cultivating Super Martial Dao drastically changes a person's temperament. Its founder was a great devil, which is why it was listed as a forbidden art."

Si Ming thought for a moment, then shook his head. "None of that has anything to do with me. I came to ask you something today. As a man who fancies other men, what the hell were you up to by attending that matchmaking event?"

"Oh, so that woman really is an acquaintance of yours. She wasn't lying to me." Jiang Zhengtai smiled frivolously. "Personally, I really don't want to attend, but you know the state requires it. Having to go once a week is terribly annoying, so I had to come up with a stopgap measure. Sigh, everything else about this world is fine, but it's not very friendly to those of us pursuing true love. It insists on forcing us to do things that go against our hearts."

Si Ming's expression turned grave. "My relationship with that woman isn't great, but I can't just stand by and watch someone close to me jump into a fire pit. If you're planning to deceive her into marriage, I won't go easy on you."

Jiang Zhengtai's smile widened. "Are you planning to feed yourself to the tiger?"

"Rather than feed the tiger, killing it would settle the matter once and for all!"

The moment the words left his mouth, the psionic revolver fired with a bang.

But Jiang Zhengtai slid sideways like a ghost in white, easily dodging the shot. He chuckled. "Pan Gouxiong must have told you that this kind of weapon poses no threat to a master in a head-on confrontation. I can't possibly move faster than a bullet, but I only need to be faster than you can aim and pull the trigger. Ultimately, this thing is just a hidden weapon."

Before he had finished speaking, an unexpected gunshot cut him off. His expression abruptly changed, and he hastily spun on the spot, but failed to dodge completely. The bullet still grazed his shoulder, leaving a wound.

Si Ming raised his left hand and blew into his sleeve. Smiling, he said, "You're right. A psionic gun is also a hidden weapon, so concealing it better allows it to display its power. This is the Gun Concealment Art I came up with just this morning. I hope you'll give me some pointers."

Chapter 28: The Sun Gun

Since masters could predict a shot and dodge it, all he had to do was hide his movements so his opponent couldn't predict them.

That was the principle behind the Gun Concealment Art, and the whole of it.

To accomplish this, Si Ming had deliberately chosen clothes with wide sleeves. By drawing his hand inside, he could largely conceal the direction of his shots. As for how to hide a gun inside his sleeve and grip and fire it in such a confined space, those techniques could all be learned from hidden-weapon martial arts. They were merely the basics.

Si Ming fired the psionic revolver he held in plain sight, forcing Jiang Zhengtai to dodge. Then he predicted Jiang Zhengtai's path and fired the psionic revolver hidden in his left sleeve, like a man waiting by a stump for a rabbit.

Thus the power of prediction fell into Si Ming's hands instead, and he seized the initiative completely. Firing his two guns in succession, one in the open and the other concealed, he left Jiang Zhengtai in a sorry state. Even using every trick he had, Jiang Zhengtai could only protect his vital points, unable to dodge completely, and every so often another bullet graze appeared on his body. This was with Si Ming deliberately holding back; otherwise, he would have been shot long ago.

"Dual-gun technique—you really do have a couple of tricks up your sleeve!"

Jiang Zhengtai leaped behind a rock barrier on the training ground, gaining a moment to catch his breath. "If I were attacked without warning, even I would be shot," he observed. "No wonder the Mohist Academy of Science hasn't made this weapon widely available. A beginner martial artist with a firearm can threaten a master with level-ten internal cultivation. If everyone knew that, I'm afraid beginners would no longer be willing to diligently train in martial arts. No one can resist the temptation of ascending to heaven in a single step."

Having seen a technological civilization, Si Ming strongly agreed. In the world of Sea Continent, one could at least gain power surpassing firearms through cultivation, but no such thing existed on Earth. Thirty years of grueling martial arts training couldn't compare to someone else practicing with a gun for three months, so it was only natural that martial arts had been reduced to a means of keeping fit.

The nations of his previous life could promote firearms because the limits of human strength fell far short of them, so it didn't matter if people became dependent on guns. But supernatural power existed in the world of Sea Continent. Even if powerful martial artists remained unmoved, those at the bottom would find the temptation hard to resist. Once they lost their drive to improve, there would be no one to succeed the powerful martial artists. The state simply couldn't bear such a loss, which was why the Mohist School had not promoted firearms.

"Even so, it only works in an environment without obstacles. And if you were determined to attack me with your ultimate move, I'd be powerless to stop you."

Although Si Ming had the upper hand, he knew it was because they were sparring, not fighting a duel to the death. Otherwise, his opponent could have killed him on the spot at the cost of taking a few bullets. High-level martial artists had remarkably tenacious vitality, no worse than a cockroach's.

For instance, he had actually already lost in the present situation. Jiang Zhengtai could easily have stoned him to death. Using martial techniques like the Divine Finger Flick, a high-level martial artist could shoot stones no slower than bullets.

Against a master, if one couldn't kill them quickly with a sneak attack, the outcome was already decided once they had a chance to catch their breath.

So on the surface my class is archer, but I'm actually an assassin? Si Ming thought.

Just then, Jiang Zhengtai spoke again. "Besides, your Gun Concealment Art has another weakness. I was too flustered to notice it just now, but once I calmed down and thought about it, it wasn't hard to spot."

With that, he stepped out from behind the barrier and gestured for Si Ming to shoot at him.

Si Ming, of course, did not hold back. His open and concealed guns went into action again, the visible gun forcing his opponent to dodge while the hidden one predicted his path and lay in wait.

This time, however, Jiang Zhengtai dodged with ease. Neither the open nor the hidden gun could so much as graze the hem of his clothes; he clearly predicted the direction of every shot.

"The simplest way to predict a shot is to watch the gun. But the hand controls the gun, so judging the hand's movements is actually enough. Even though you've hidden your hand in your sleeve, as the saying goes, pull one hair and the whole body moves. Just watching your shoulder is enough to tell me where you'll aim next."

As Jiang Zhengtai spoke, he advanced through the hail of bullets, proving with his actions that these were no empty words.

"Actually, rather than those two guns, I'd much prefer you to shoot me with the third gun on your body. I promise I won't dodge."

Once he had learned the pattern, Jiang Zhengtai moved with ease. He rapidly closed the distance and lunged at Si Ming with a philosophical smile.

After just one exchange, this guy has already found a way to counter it! He's highly skilled, handsome, wealthy, and clever. He's practically flawless-except that he's a pervert!

Since the Gun Concealment Art was useless, Si Ming simply brought both guns into the open and fired. No longer thinking about accuracy, he poured out bullets at high speed, trying to make up for quality with quantity.

But Jiang Zhengtai was too fast. Before Si Ming had fired six shots, he had already crossed the distance between them and unleashed a Chrysanthemum Acupoint-Brushing Hand, intending to forcibly snatch both guns away.

"You've lost. If you want to beat me, you'll have to use your third gun after all."

"Not necessarily. This is the moment I've been waiting for!"

Si Ming circulated the little Blazing Sun True Qi left in his body and gathered all of it into his psionic revolver. The instant he fired, a burst of intense light erupted from the muzzle like a flashbang, dazzling Jiang Zhengtai's eyes.