I'm Going to Find Someone to Hit Me
"Those who abandon me and depart—the days of yesterday cannot be made to stay."
After writing those words, Li Zhexian set down his brush and looked at them for a while.
The ink had spread along the edges of the characters. He left them as they were and spread out three more sheets of paper.
On the first sheet, he wrote Shi Potian's name.
Ordinary punches and kicks: 412 damage per hit.
First Soul Skill: 1,300 damage per hit.
When the same attacker struck repeatedly, the quality of the prize pool would decline.
On the second sheet, he wrote Soul Power Tempering Liquid.
The suppression rate had fallen from 97 percent to 92 percent, and the medicine's effects could only last for one hour.
After his Twin Martial Souls resonated, the suppression rate could fall as low as 80 percent.
On the third sheet, he wrote Drunken Immortal Wine Pot.
It needed spirit wine, and it also needed Soul Power.
Relying on wine mist alone, it could not maintain a physical form for long.
The three sheets lay spread out on the table.
They looked like an unfinished ledger.
Li Zhexian said, "System, organize the attacks I've suffered before."
White text appeared in his sea of consciousness.
"Shi Potian has caused a total of 4,327 damage."
"The Black-Backed Fang Beast caused 18 damage."
"Chen Xin's Sword Qi caused no damage."
Li Zhexian looked at the three lines and fell silent for a while.
"You call that organizing?"
"The system has finished organizing them."
"All you know how to do is eat, not work."
"The system has no need to eat."
Li Zhexian dipped the tip of his brush into the inkstone again.
"Then switch to another function."
"The host has insufficient permissions."
He drew a line through Shi Potian's name.
The more concentrated the damage, the better the prize pool would be.
After too many successive attacks, the prize pool's rank would drop.
Shi Potian's strength was only average, but he had already helped Li Zhexian verify many things.
Li Zhexian had decided not to seek him out for further tests.
"I won't go to Shi Potian anymore."
"The system recommends that the host seek a higher-ranked attacker."
"That sounds a little more like something a person would say."
The white text lingered in midair without answering.
A moment later, the system added, "Sword Douluo Chen Xin is an option."
Li Zhexian raised his head.
"Assessment."
"High risk."
"Damage."
"Highly effective."
"Can I challenge him myself?"
"The rules do not permit it."
"The host cannot attack the shield himself."
"Nor will Sword Douluo attack the host of his own accord."
"The system does not recommend attempting it."
Li Zhexian leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the table.
If Chen Xin were willing to strike, his shield might receive a very good test.
But he could not force the matter.
Deceiving Sword Douluo into coming over and cutting him just to test the system was not something he could do.
"He could make a mistake."
"The system has detected no chance of a mistake."
"You can calculate something like that too?"
"Yes."
Li Zhexian crossed out Chen Xin's name as well.
"I can't go to him."
"But surely I can find Soul Beasts or Soul Masters out in the wild?"
"The system recommends seeking Soul Beasts or Soul Masters in the wild."
"I didn't need you to tell me that this time."
Footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate.
Li Zhexian did not raise his head.
"Uncle Jian?"
The footsteps stopped outside the gate.
No one answered him.
Li Zhexian stood up and opened the door. On the stone table in the courtyard lay only a black pass token and two copper coins.
He picked up the pass token and saw a line of tiny characters carved on its back.
Heaven Dou City's north gate, White Heron Caravan, third gray carriage.
This was not a route the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect used openly.
Chen Xin had arranged a way for him to leave.
Holding the token, Li Zhexian looked toward the empty courtyard gate.
"Uncle Jian, if you'd come in and said something, I could at least have thanked you."
The wind blew through the branches in the courtyard, and the leaves made a faint, broken rustling.
There was still no one outside the courtyard gate.
Li Zhexian put the pass token away, returned to his room, and took the little gourd out from under his bed.
He poured all the spirit wine left in the kitchen into it.
Because he poured a little too quickly, a few drops landed on his shoes.
"With only this much wine, the Drunken Immortal Wine Pot can only show its head."
White text appeared before his eyes.
"The Drunken Immortal Wine Pot needs both spirit wine and Soul Power to grow."
"Can it cultivate on its own?"
"No."
"Can it drink wine on its own?"
"No."
Li Zhexian stopped what he was doing.
"Then what use is it?"
"It assists the host."
That answer did not resolve the question.
Li Zhexian hung the little gourd at his waist.
"Neither of you likes working."
"The system cannot be carried."
"Then stay in my sea of consciousness."
"The system has always been in the sea of consciousness."
"Say a little less."
"All right."
The Azure Lotus Sword lay beside the table, its tassel pressed against its hilt.
He wrapped the remaining medicine bottles in cloth.
He placed the healing pills on the outside, where they would be easier to reach.
He put the Low-Rank Sword Qi Condensation Method and several sheets of paper away together.
He did not take many things.
After leaving the sect, he needed to find a way to wear down his shield. He was not moving house.
The white text appeared again.
"Do you need to bring Soul Power Tempering Liquid, healing pills, the Low-Rank Sword Qi Condensation Method, and spirit wine?"
Li Zhexian hung the Azure Lotus Sword at his waist.
"The wine, the sword, and you are all coming."
"The system cannot be carried."
"Then stay in my sea of consciousness."
"The system has always been in the sea of consciousness."
"Say a little less."
"All right."
Li Zhexian spread out another sheet of rice paper and began writing a letter to Chen Xin.
He wrote, "Uncle Jian, Zhexian will remember the six years you spent looking after him."
The tip of his brush stopped on the paper.
The sentence looked too much like part of a last letter.
After looking at it for a while, he picked up the brush and crossed it out.
Li Zhexian wrote a different sentence.
"Uncle Jian, I'm going out to find someone to spar with."
"If anyone asks, tell them I'll be back after I've eaten."
After reading the two sentences, he was the first to laugh.
That sounded like something he might leave behind as an explanation.
At least it was less like a last letter.
Li Zhexian continued writing, "If there's no word from me for three months, sorry for the trouble, but please put my wine jars away safely."
He read it over, then crossed that sentence out too.
Only the living would keep thinking about wine jars.
He did not like what the sentence implied.
What remained in the end was short.
"Uncle Jian, I'm going to find a way to wear down my shield."
"The sect can't give me an answer, so I need to leave and find it myself."
"You don't need to explain anything to me about Rongrong."
"She doesn't owe me anything."
"Neither do you."
When he finished, Li Zhexian put down the brush.
The ink had not yet fully dried.
He untied the Azure Lotus Sword's tassel from his waist and laid it on the letter to hold it down.
The tassel had been with him for many years.
Leaving it here now would serve as his answer to Chen Xin.
The wooden post Chen Xin had used when teaching him swordsmanship still stood against the wall.
Beside the well lay a candy wrapper Ning Rongrong had left behind after eating the candy.
In the flowerpot on the windowsill, the crooked blade of grass still had not been pulled out.
All six years had been stored in these inconspicuous things.
Li Zhexian looked around, feeling a little reluctant to leave.
The feeling was faint, but he could not pretend it did not exist.
In the end, he picked up the pass token.
"Heaven Dou City."
White text appeared in response to his voice.
"Multiple Soul Masters are present in the target area."
"Ranks."
"Unable to confirm."
"The strongest one?"
"I can't be sure."
Li Zhexian tucked the token into his sleeve.
"The unknown is what makes things interesting."
He blew out the lamp in the room and left the letter on the table.
The door had only opened a crack when Shi Potian's roar came from outside the courtyard gate.
"Li Zhexian, do you think beating me once means you can leave the sect alive?"