In the blink of an eye, heaven and earth had changed, and Lu Li had arrived in the Divine Continent of another world.
He glanced at the enormous travel bag, half his height, in his hand. Only after confirming it had come with him did he finally breathe a little easier.
He'd brought quite a lot this time: weapons and ammunition, watches and lighters, soap and shampoo. All told, it weighed a good thirty pounds.
Lu Li had worried he might not be able to bring everything along, but it seemed the Kunlun Mirror was nowhere near its limit.
Carrying the travel bag, he walked out of the dim, narrow alley and headed for Mo's Medical Hall.
But when he reached it, he found the clinic's doors tightly shut, with a crowd gathered outside, grumbling noisily.
"Doctor Mo's so narrow-minded. She really did stop opening the clinic."
"Exactly! My husband's waiting for his medicine."
"We're all neighbors. We see each other every day. There's no need to take things this far, is there?"
It looked like Wan Qing hadn't opened the clinic, leaving a crowd of people disgruntled.
When they saw Lu Li approaching, they stared at him, whispering among themselves.
"Isn't that the cripple from the clinic? I heard he's Doctor Mo's lover."
"He's pretty handsome, but he's still a cripple."
As they spoke, Lu Li suddenly cast them a cool glance.
His gaze swept lightly over them, and the crowd was instantly chilled. Their hearts inexplicably raced, and they struggled to catch their breath. The more sensitive ones hurriedly fled.
Lu Li already had a powerful spirit, and he had dozens of lives on his hands. His presence alone could overwhelm ordinary people.
A few hotheads refused to be intimidated, still hoping to sneer at him and reclaim some dignity.
But as the young man drew closer, they instinctively found themselves unable to speak. They didn't even dare meet his eyes, and their gazes shifted away of their own accord.
The crowd parted like a tide, opening a path for him. Lu Li walked through without a care.
Meanwhile, two young women stood talking in the clinic courtyard.
Wan Qing looked conflicted. "Xiao Cha, this doesn't feel right..."
"What's wrong with it?" Xiao Cha said indignantly.
"You've practically been treating people for free all this time, but when trouble came, there wasn't a single person willing to help. From now on, we're done serving them!"
Just then, someone knocked on the door, and a familiar voice called from outside. "I'm back."
The two young women brightened. Xiao Cha darted over to open the door and welcomed Lu Li inside.
"You're back! Did everything go smoothly?"
"More or less."
Xiao Cha shut the door, then said, "You saw that crowd outside too. I don't think Wan Qing should keep seeing patients."
"Miss Wan Qing should focus on her cultivation. At most, she can treat people she knows well."
Hearing Lu Li say the same thing, Wan Qing stopped hesitating. "All right, then. I can help the children process the raw herbs."
"That's more like it! With wars breaking out everywhere, medicinal herbs are getting more expensive by the day. Isn't that much better than treating people for free?"
Xiao Cha was grinning when she suddenly heard a loud thud. Lu Li had set his heavy travel bag on the ground.
"What's in there? I'll help you carry it inside."
"I brought you some... specialties."
Lu Li opened the bag and first took out five watches of average quality. "Take these and trade them for Calming Incense."
Then he took out the soap and shampoo. "These are for you to use..."
"Wait!"
Xiao Cha pointed at the bag full of weapons and ammunition, her face full of astonishment. "Are you going to war?"
"The times are dangerous. I brought them for self-defense," Lu Li replied matter-of-factly.
"..."
Xiao Cha was speechless. Wan Qing picked up the soap and shampoo, touching and smelling them with interest.
"This soap smells wonderful. I bet it feels great to use!"
Xiao Cha lifted one of the shotguns, muttering to herself. "Is this... a hunting gun? Why is it so short?"
Similar shotguns had appeared on battlefields as early as 1880, so they weren't anything unusual.
The Remington M870 Lu Li had brought had no stock, making it look especially short.
But its craftsmanship was more advanced, its performance far superior, and it was even deadlier!
Xiao Cha sensed as much. Her pretty face flushed with excitement.
She loved these Blue Star killing machines. Their rugged, streamlined design looked good to her from every angle, and she couldn't put the gun down.
Unfortunately, it wasn't hers to keep. Firearms were never cheap, so she reluctantly put it back in the travel bag.
Just then, Lu Li said, "Take one of the shotguns for self-defense."
"Huh? Is that really okay...?" Xiao Cha began fidgeting again, squeezing her long legs together.
Lu Li casually waved his hand. "There are two of them, anyway. Besides, it's for everyone's safety."
"Hehe, then I won't be shy!"
Xiao Cha hurriedly hugged the shotgun to her chest, grinning like a fool.
After a while, she declared boldly, "I can't just take it for nothing. I'll teach you a set of the White Dragon Whip Technique!"
At that moment, Wan Qing interjected, "The White Dragon Whip Technique is Xiao Cha's family's inherited martial art. It's never been taught to outsiders."
"Then thank you."
Lu Li had been interested in Xiao Cha's Nine-Section Whip for a long time. It was a powerful weapon, he thought—ordinary people could even crack the sound barrier with it, and it was highly concealable.
But it wasn't that simple. Xiao Cha's pretty face turned serious as she said solemnly:
"The White Dragon Whip Technique is a superior martial art that combines fighting and training. Injuring an enemy is secondary. Most important, it trains the tendons and bones throughout your whole body! The Dragon Unwinding Stance you've been practicing is only one set of movements from the technique!"
Hearing this, Lu Li grew even more interested!
Wan Qing gathered up a pile of bottles and jars and said with a gentle smile, "You two practice. I'll go make dinner."
The two went to the center of the courtyard, where a sandbag stood.
Xiao Cha brushed a hand across her waist and drew the gleaming silver Nine-Section Whip.
Then she swung her arm, sending the whip whistling through the air. It cracked with a sharp POP, and the sandbag burst apart!
Lu Li sucked in a breath. How terrifying would that be if it hit someone?
That was exactly what Xiao Cha had wanted—to put her "disciple" in awe.
She spoke slowly. "Firearms rule the world now. Killing techniques aren't worth much anymore. But the training methods that temper the body are still closely guarded secrets!"
"Watch carefully. The White Dragon Whip Technique's training method has seventy-seven movements!"
The young woman put away her Nine-Section Whip, then began moving her arms.
Her movements were very slow. Lu Li entered the "Spirit Concentration State" again, and watched closely.
Her arms moved like a pair of whips, constantly swinging and tracing figure-eight patterns, stretching the major tendons throughout her body.
Seventy-seven movements was certainly a lot, and some of them looked strange, but that was precisely because they were meant to train the tendons and bones throughout the entire body.
After demonstrating the whole set, Xiao Cha said, "You absolutely can't rely on your arms alone for power. You have to swing using the major tendons throughout your body!"
"I understand!"
Lu Li nodded and began practicing too.
His very first attempt already looked about seventy percent right, and Xiao Cha corrected him as he went.
Two hours later, Lu Li was already practicing with considerable skill.
Unfortunately, because he was missing a leg, he couldn't perform many movements smoothly, and the results were greatly diminished.
Xiao Cha sighed with feeling. "Not bad. You learn quickly. Don't rush yourself, though. Take it slow."
Lu Li fell into thought without speaking.
The Dragon Unwinding Stance hadn't made it very clear at first, but the White Dragon Whip Technique showed that Martial Arts cultivation was definitely not as simple as building muscle at the gym.
Seventy-seven movements formed a systematic process for strengthening the human body; pull on one part, and the whole body moved!
And he was missing the most important "foundation." No matter how hard he tried, he'd get half the results for twice the effort.
On top of that, he still hadn't figured out "conviction." The path ahead was anything but smooth.
Lu Li couldn't help letting out a long sigh...
Just then, Wan Qing called to them from a distance. "Come eat first! I made hand-pulled noodles!"
Xiao Cha patted him on the shoulder and said softly, "Where there's a will, there's a way. How could cultivation not have its share of obstacles?"
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