Jiang Siming said nothing more and simply loaded the gun.
Bang! A bullet skimmed past Tang San's hair and slammed into the tree behind him.
"A Hidden Weapon!" Tang San exclaimed in shock, staring at Jiang Siming in disbelief.
"It's a gun." Jiang Siming blew on the muzzle and said coolly.
"Brother Siming, can I take a look?" Tang San stared intently at the M4A1 in Jiang Siming's hand. Jiang Siming passed it to him to examine. If they hadn't been on the road, Tang San would probably have sat right down on the ground.
"Little Monster, do you know how much of a stir your invention will cause once it's out in the open?" Dugu Bo asked with some concern.
"To be honest, I regret it just a tiny bit. I didn't expect the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to have such close ties with the imperial family." Jiang Siming furrowed his brow slightly.
"But now that I think about it, who cares? Do I look like someone who's afraid of trouble?" Jiang Siming said coolly. Jiang Siming didn't know exactly how strong he was now, but he could definitely go toe-to-toe with Zhao Wuji. He might even be able to kill a Soul Saint with weak defenses.
Half an hour later, at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
"As expected of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!" Tang San marveled. His eyes lit up as he looked at the Immortal Herbs scattered all around.
"Xiao San, don't hold back. Everything here is yours. Take whatever you like!" Jiang Siming clapped Tang San on the shoulder and said generously.
Tang San looked at Jiang Siming with gratitude.
"You two really think this place is your own home, don't you?" Dugu Bo said sourly.
Over the next few days, Tang San helped Poison Douluo regulate the toxins in his body. In his spare time, Jiang Siming had Tang San carefully study the concentration of gunpowder in the bullets. Tang San took the task seriously; after all, in some ways, the M4A1 was superior to the Godly Zhuge Crossbow.
Outside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Jiang Siming pressed his index and middle fingers together. A surging sword intent burst from his fingertips, its reach growing from three inches to more than seven.
Watching the sword intent grow longer and longer, Jiang Siming found himself even more confused. Wasn't the point of Hidden Sword to hide the sword? He was merely forcing his sword intent to his fingertips; it wasn't a breakthrough in his cultivation, just a different way of wielding his sword intent. He couldn't shake the feeling that Sword Douluo had been pulling his leg.
Jiang Siming was still pondering when a leaf drifted down in front of him. Suddenly, sword intent flickered from his fingertip. He swung, and the leaf split in two.
Jiang Siming seemed to grasp something. He stood and punched the tree beside him. Leaves fluttered down.
He pressed his fingers together again, swept his arm, and slashed at the falling leaves. It was clearly wasted effort.
"I am the sword, yet I can't cut a falling leaf." Jiang Siming rested his chin on his hand and pondered.
Jiang Siming sat down cross-legged again. The sun sank in the west, but he remained motionless.
When the first rays of dawn brushed Jiang Siming's forehead, he suddenly opened his eyes and brought one finger down. The leaves before him split in two.
"In the realm of Unity of Man and Sword, man is still man, and sword is still sword. Hidden Sword doesn't mean hiding the blade's sharpness. It means that I am the scabbard." Jiang Siming couldn't help but marvel.
With that strike, Jiang Siming hadn't sensed even a trace of sword energy, yet the leaf had been cut in two.
Jiang Siming extended two fingers again. His sword intent surged skyward, then settled at around three inches.
If Sword Douluo had been there to see Jiang Siming make another breakthrough after just a few days away, he might have spat blood on the spot. One could throw away goods when comparing them, but comparing people was infuriating!
"Little Monster! What are you doing making such a racket this early in the morning?" Dugu Bo hurried over.
The sword intent Jiang Siming had just unleashed was so terrifying that it had startled Dugu Bo.
"Morning exercises. A healthy life every day." Jiang Siming stretched.
Dugu Bo said nothing. He rolled his eyes at Jiang Siming and left.
Looking at the rising sun, Jiang Siming couldn't help thinking of what had happened in the Slaughter Illusion Realm.
The Great Bright Sword Song was meant to carve a path to the light through slaughter. But in reality, Jiang Siming had fallen into madness and become a killing monster.
"Does slaughter really have no way of bringing about light?" Jiang Siming sighed in disbelief. People's ideas were often idealistic. In his previous life, for instance, some people believed that fighting violence with violence could punish criminals who broke the law yet escaped its reach. In reality, they had merely unleashed another beast from its cage, shaking the order even further.
Nothing was entirely good or bad. Jiang Siming didn't want to give up on the Great Bright Sword Song just yet. Even if he couldn't use it normally, it would still be a good trump card when he had to fight for his life.
Aftereffects of the White Space
These days, Jiang Siming had been working to comprehend the second realm of the Sword Dao and compress his Soul Power. At the same time, he was thinking about how to take part in the Spirit Master Tournament.
Dugu Bo had been right about one thing: even if Jiang Siming had invented the M4A1, Spirit Hall might not fear him. They could simply force him to make weapons for them. But if Jiang Siming had great potential and possessed a weapon capable of changing the balance of power, then Heaven Dou, the Star Luo Empire, and Spirit Hall would all see him as someone they had to destroy if they couldn't claim him.
What's more, unlimited production of firearms could change the balance of power across the continent in a very short time. Jiang Siming had discussed it with Tang San, too: they absolutely couldn't reveal the formula for the concentration of gunpowder required for the bullets to a third person.
"Who cares? There are still more than two years." Jiang Siming muttered to himself.
Jiang Siming slowly made his way back to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. He saw Tang San studying the herbs on the ground and patted him on the shoulder.
"Brother Siming, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well really is one of the three great treasure lands. Most of the herbs here are too potent for the human body, but some can be taken back for Boss Dai and the others." Tang San said excitedly.
"Take whatever you like. You saved the old man's life, after all. If you didn't take anything, I don't know how he'd save face." Jiang Siming said.
Tang San could only marvel at how easygoing Jiang Siming was.
Jiang Siming turned to look at the spring, divided into red and blue halves. The herbs on the two little stone mounds in the middle had vanished. Tang San must have taken them.
But Jiang Siming wasn't concerned about the two Immortal Herbs. He was curious about the two dragon souls at the bottom of the pool. As a proud transmigrator, Jiang Siming knew that this treasured land had been nurtured by the dragon souls of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings.
But then Jiang Siming shook his head. Even the hundred-thousand-year-old Evil Orca King had been destroyed by these twin springs when caught off guard. Jiang Siming had no intention of going down there to get himself killed.
"Ding! Plane mission activated: Subdue the two dragon souls of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Reward: Unknown. No time limit."
"Damn, you really do assign these missions at random," Jiang Siming couldn't help grumbling.
A few days later, the toxins in Dugu Bo's body had nearly all been cleared. Jiang Siming and Tang San then left the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Before they parted, Dugu Bo filled Tang San's Soul Tool with Immortal Herbs. It made Dugu Bo wince, but he had no choice.
Inside Heaven Dou City.