Bullet Time (Please Keep Reading)

The time went back a hundred and fifty years. Han Xuanwu had only been dead for a few years when Zhao Xuanlan, then at Foundation Establishment Level Four, suddenly vanished without cause during an outing. No word of her was ever heard again.

At the time, Zhao Yujie was the only Foundation Establishment cultivator left in the Zhao Family.

Overnight, the Zhao Family's skies changed.

For the first time, the First Branch seized control of the family and began deliberately—or otherwise—suppressing the Second Branch.

The reason was simple: the two branches had never been particularly close. With limited cultivation resources, unfair distribution, and countless other issues, conflicts between them had never ceased, leaving their relationship neither warm nor cold.

So it was hardly surprising that the First Branch chose to suppress the Second Branch after taking power.

Thanks to the legacy Han Xuanwu had left behind, the Second Branch also had certain connections and ties within the Purple Sun Sect.

Thus, Zhao Yujie did not dare go too far, only knocking them down and squeezing them bit by bit.

Ninety years ago, Zhao Yujie passed away.

Zhao Zhongge of the First Branch advanced to Foundation Establishment, continued to hold the Zhao Family's reins of power, and likewise chose to secretly suppress the Second Branch.

Until one year ago, Zhao Zhongge died of severe injuries. The Zhao Family suddenly had no Foundation Establishment cultivator to hold the fort, and the family's authority entered a vacuum.

And so, under the leadership of Elder Zhao Jingang, the Second Branch, which had endured nearly a hundred and fifty years of repression, suddenly erupted and began confronting the First Branch head-on.

Over the past year, the infighting between the two branches had greatly weakened the Zhao Family's power, while their relationship deteriorated at a breakneck pace.

Two months ago, the Zhao Family had drawn upon its accumulated foundations to purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Afterward, the two branches fought bitterly over who should take the Foundation Establishment Pill.

If not for the several nearby cultivation factions watching them like tigers eyeing their prey, the First and Second Branches would likely have come to blows long ago.

However...

While Zhao Sheng's thoughts wandered, he rose from the ground and brushed the dust from his clothes.

Looking at the two clearly divided groups below the Martial Arts Stage, he could not help sighing inwardly. Things aren't much better now, either.

Just then, Zhao Sheng suddenly felt something being stuffed into his hand. Looking down, he found a white porcelain pill bottle.

He looked up at Zhao Chongwei, his expression somewhat complicated.

Without even opening it, Zhao Sheng knew the bottle contained first-grade Spirit Essence Pills.

Spirit Essence Pills were one of the pills most commonly taken by Qi Refining cultivators.

Ten pills came in a bottle, and a bottle cost seven Spirit Stones—a price fair to young and old alike, unchanged for a thousand years.

Zhao Chongwei said furtively, "Hurry and put it away. Don't let anyone see."

Zhao Sheng stuffed the pill bottle back into her hand and shook his head. "You don't need to give it to me. Keep it for your own cultivation. You have Three Spiritual Roots and have hope of reaching Foundation Establishment. The family gives you Spirit Essence Pills because it hopes you will cultivate diligently and establish your foundation as soon as possible. Remember not to disappoint the family's expectations!"

Zhao Chongwei froze at his words. Ever since Zhao Chonghe had awakened, it was as though he had become an entirely different person, suddenly turning exceptionally mature and steady.

He used to cling to her and beg for pills and Spirit Stones, yet now he was taking the initiative to refuse them.

Zhao Chongwei could not help thinking, Could a blow really make someone mature so quickly?

Seeing her stand there speechless, Zhao Sheng turned to leave the Martial Arts Stage.

At that moment, a sharp voice suddenly called out behind them, "Weiwei, what are you doing? Don't tell me you want to give spirit pills to that piece of trash again?"

As he spoke, a burly old man with a square face and thin lips strode over to stand before them.

The moment Zhao Sheng saw him, a feeling of disgust rose within him.

The old man was named Zhao Jinpeng. He was harsh and narrow-minded, and loved throwing his weight around as an Elder.

The Zhao Family's First Branch had seventeen cultivators, and Zhao Jinpeng was one of them, with a cultivation of Qi Refining Level Five.

For some reason, Zhao Jinpeng had always looked down on Zhao Sheng's former self. Whenever he saw him, he either berated him or sneered at him.

When Zhao Chongwei saw that it was Zhao Jinpeng, she weakly defended herself. "Sixth Grandfather, I didn't."

Zhao Jinpeng glared at her, snatched the pill bottle from her hand, and barked, "And you still say you didn't? What's this? The family is at a time when the old are gone and the new have yet to rise. We finally managed to set aside a few bottles of Spirit Essence Pills, and you're giving them to this trash?"

Zhao Sheng was extremely displeased by those words.

Damn it, calling me trash over and over—don't I have a name?!

"Who are you calling trash?" Zhao Sheng's face darkened as he stared Zhao Jinpeng straight in the eyes.

Zhao Jinpeng looked at Zhao Sheng with contempt and mocked, "You brat are trash. You've cultivated for five or six years, yet you can't even beat fourteen-year-old Zhao Chongxia. If that doesn't make you trash, what does? And not just you—your father too. A Qi Refining Level Six cultivator who couldn't even guard a shipment properly deserved to die out there."

"To insult another's parents—is that what an Elder should do? I, Zhao Chonghe, will remember today's humiliation. Let me give you a saying today: bully the old, not the young; do not despise a young man because he is poor!"

After throwing down those harsh words, Zhao Sheng nodded to Zhao Chongwei, then turned and left.

"Chonghe, Chonghe!" Seeing Zhao Sheng leave in anger, Zhao Chongwei hurriedly called after him.

Zhao Jinpeng scolded, "Weiwei, why are you calling after that trash? Your next match is about to begin. Why aren't you hurrying to prepare?"

"Sixth Grandfather, how can you say that? Chonghe is one of our First Branch too."

"He's just trash. It makes no difference whether the First Branch has him or not."

In the span of those few words, Zhao Sheng had already gone far away.

Returning to his little courtyard, Zhao Sheng impatiently entered the cultivation chamber.

Compared to the all-important pursuit of immortality, Zhao Jinpeng was nothing at all.

By now, Zhao Sheng had already cast him to the back of his mind.

Before cultivating, Zhao Sheng quickly opened the page and pulled up his personal data: Name: Zhao Chonghe (Zhao Sheng) Lifespan: 16/97 Realm: First Layer of Qi Refinement

Constitution: Four Spiritual Roots (Yellow Grade), Elementary Self-Healing (Mortal Grade)
Talents: Spirit Sniff (Yellow Grade), Talent Bullet Time (Yellow Grade), Adamant Hand (Mortal Grade)

Skills

Cultivation Art: Mystic Spirit Art (Entry Level)

Spells: Spring Breeze Rain Spell (Proficient), Water Drop Sword (Entry Level), Light Refraction Art (Entry Level)

Talisman Crafting: First-Rank Spring Breeze Rain Talisman (Entry Level), First-Rank Golden Light Wall (Entry Level)

During the final two draws before his reincarnation, Zhao Sheng had obtained the Yellow Grade talent Talent Bullet Time and the Mortal Grade constitution Elementary Self-Healing.

Talent Bullet Time (Yellow Grade): Once activated, your consciousness becomes incomparably focused and your mind exceptionally sharp. The entire world before your eyes instantly slows by many times over, as though time itself has frozen. Each use lasts two seconds.

Elementary Self-Healing (Mortal Grade): Depending on individual constitution, bodily recovery speed increases by three to ten times.

Zhao Sheng looked over the descriptions, his thoughts beginning to turn.

There was nothing much to say about Elementary Self-Healing, but Talent Bullet Time seemed like it had plenty of potential.

With that thought, Zhao Sheng cast aside his distractions and slowly focused his consciousness.

When his consciousness condensed into a single point, it was as if he had suddenly pierced through an invisible barrier. Zhao Sheng abruptly discovered that the world before him had almost instantly "stopped."

The once-fluid world slowed into movie frames advancing one by one.

No, it was ten times slower than that.

Under his extraordinarily sharp spiritual senses, countless minute specks of water vapor and dust that had been impossible to see suddenly revealed themselves.

Fuzzy, oddly shaped fungi, coarse dust, round droplets of vapor—

All manner of strange and tiny particles became clearly visible within his "field of vision."

Zhao Sheng felt indescribably fascinated, as though he had seen a brand-new world.