Flying Needles

"Seize..."

A cold glint flashed, and a steel needle more than two inches long sank deep into the solid wood door. Its exposed tail continued to vibrate with a buzzing hum.

Gao Xian inspected the result and was quite satisfied.

The wooden door to his room was crude, but it was made of pine. Its planks were three inches thick and exceptionally sturdy.

With a flick of his finger from ten paces away, he had driven the needle an inch into the door. Though its power was nowhere near that of the Ice Arrow Art or Flame Bomb, it was enough to pierce a human body and inflict injury.

The key was that flying needles were simple and convenient to use. He just needed to practice his aim more. He also had to figure out how to carry needles that long on him and retrieve them quickly.

The Lightning Dragon Hand really was useful. A simple move like flicking a flying needle posed no difficulty for him.

Gao Xian practiced a few more times and soon mastered the knack.

Just then, a fly landed on the door. He bent a finger and flicked it; as a cold glint flashed, the fly was pinned dead.

More accurately, the fly had become a smear of filthy blood.

The flying needle carried too much kinetic force. The impact and shock had smashed the fly to pieces.

Practicing with flying needles cost very little, and unlike spells, they made no great noise. Flicking a needle and hitting the target with precision also brought a tremendous sense of accomplishment.

It was like the smooth, exhilarating rush of sinking every basketball shot—so satisfying you couldn't stop.

The packet of sewing needles Gao Xian had bought was soon used up.

Some of the needles had been shot into the door, others into the walls. The tremendous force of their launch had also bent, snapped, or shattered them, rendering them unusable.

Gao Xian had no choice but to go out again. This time, however, he couldn't find any sewing needles to buy. There were plenty of cultivators in Flying Horse Market, but few of them sewed their own clothes.

The general store's entire stock had amounted to just over sixty sewing needles.

The shopkeeper had also realized Gao Xian wasn't buying needles for any ordinary purpose, so he advised him, "If you want to buy a self-defense weapon, fellow cultivator, you should go to Old Huang's weapons shop. She has everything there."

Gao Xian thought that made sense. For something like this, it was more reliable to seek out a specialist.

To his surprise, Old Huang wasn't old at all. On the contrary, she was quite young—and flirtatious.

Old Huang looked to be around forty. Her features were evenly proportioned, though nothing special, and faint crow's-feet were already visible at the corners of her eyes.

But her red lips were full, her bosom ample, and her waist slender. The bright red Daoist robe she wore lent her a bewitching air.

"You're the alchemist from Old Zhu's place, aren't you, young man?"

The moment Old Huang saw Gao Xian enter, a smile appeared on her face. There were plenty of cultivators in Flying Horse Market, but only one as young and handsome as Gao Xian.

She had seen him from afar once and had been left with a deep impression.

Now that she could admire his handsome face up close, she liked it more and more.

She approached him warmly. "I still don't know what to call you, young man. How old are you this year?"

"My surname is Gao, and my given name is Xian. I'm twenty-four."

By now, Gao Xian had fully settled into this identity and answered with ease.

"Only twenty-four, and already accomplished in Qi Refining. You have a bright future ahead of you."

Old Huang smiled. "My name is Huang Ying. I'm a few years older than you, so just call me Sister Ying."

"Sister Ying." Gao Xian didn't like socializing, but he was familiar with this sort of "brother" and "sister" form of address and didn't find it awkward.

Huang Ying was delighted. "Don't worry, I won't let you call me Sister for nothing. Whatever you want, I'll give you a discount."

"What are you looking to buy?"

Seeing how warm Huang Ying was, Gao Xian relaxed a little too.

The weapons shop wasn't large, but it had a decent selection of weapons.

There were swords, spears, halberds, bows and arrows, all kinds of throwing knives, javelins, hatchets, and various types of armor.

On top of that, one of the display cases held some low-grade magic artifacts: swords, knives, and all sorts of other shapes.

Gao Xian didn't see what he was looking for. A little embarrassed, he spoke quietly to Huang Ying. "I'd like some needle-type concealed weapons..."

Huang Ying was a little surprised. Plenty of cultivators used concealed weapons, but few used needles as weapons.

Needles were too small to pose much of a threat to cultivators.

"Little brother, I'd say you're at the second level of Qi Refining, right?" Huang Ying asked, looking Gao Xian up and down.

Gao Xian was a little surprised. Cultivators didn't have their Qi Refining level marked on their foreheads. This woman had seen at a glance that he was at the second level—what a sharp eye! No wonder she ran a weapons shop!

He clasped his hands in praise. "Sister Ying, you truly have a discerning eye. I'm impressed."

"That's nothing. At the first level of Qi Refining, cultivators open their Qi Apertures and begin drawing in Qi. At the second, they change their sinews and strengthen their bones. At the third, they cleanse their marrow and change their blood.

"The first three levels of Qi Refining all have obvious physical signs. For instance, your muscles are taut now, and you're much leaner than usual. That's because, at the second level, you change your sinews and strengthen your bones, guiding the primordial Qi into them. You can tell at a glance with the Qi Observation Technique..."

Huang Ying was quite knowledgeable. Seeing Gao Xian looking so bewildered, she gave him a brief explanation.

Gao Xian had learned a great deal. He knew about his own condition, but not how other people cultivated.

That was partly because the original owner's memories were incomplete, and partly because the original owner was an alchemist who might genuinely not have known much about this.

He couldn't help asking, "Is it the same for all Qi Refining cultivators?"

Huang Ying found that amusing. "Your master never told you about any of this? The body is the foundation of a cultivator's training. Before Foundation Establishment, no matter what cultivation method you practice, tempering your body is the most important thing.

"Different methods simply emphasize different aspects.

"Only after Foundation Establishment does the path of cultivation truly diverge..."

"Oh, thank you for the guidance, Sister Ying." Gao Xian clasped his hands in earnest gratitude.

"This is all common knowledge. It's nothing."

Huang Ying thought Gao Xian was rather adorably innocent. She turned and retrieved a silver-colored bracer from behind the counter, then handed it to him. "Needles are too thin. Nobody uses them as weapons.

"There's a set of White Plum Needles inside this bracer. They're first-tier magic artifacts. The set has six flying needles, each three inches long, made of white steel mixed with flowing silver, and engraved with sharpness runes. Do you think they'll suit you?"

Inside the bracer, six raised grooves held three-inch silver needles in neat rows.

He liked them at a glance. The flying needles were made of excellent material. Even without using spiritual power to drive them, they would make excellent concealed weapons.

"Sister Ying, how much for this set of flying needles?"

"Though the White Plum Needles are only first-tier, they're excellent quality. Once refined, they can pierce heavy armor within ten paces. The needles themselves are very light and don't require much spiritual power."

Huang Ying smiled. "They'd normally go for twenty Spirit Stones."

"Oh..."

Gao Xian nodded. That price didn't seem too expensive, considering they were a complete set of magic artifacts. The key was that he didn't have that many Spirit Stones.

He had thirteen low-grade Spirit Stones to begin with. He'd earned three more from Old Wang, bringing his total to sixteen.

Before Gao Xian could say anything, Huang Ying offered, "Since we're like brother and sister, of course I'll give you the best price. Fifteen Spirit Stones will do."

Gao Xian was a little surprised. Did this woman have X-ray vision? Could she see how many Spirit Stones he had in his pocket?

Thinking of Old Wang's vicious look, he gritted his teeth. "All right, I'll buy them."

"Don't worry, little brother. It's an absolute bargain at that price. Whenever you don't want them anymore, I'll buy them back for the same price."

Seeing that she'd made the sale, Huang Ying smiled even more brightly.

Gao Xian was quite pleased too. With his current skills, he could always earn more Spirit Stones. As for the medicinal ingredients he owed Boss Zhu, he had already thought of a way to settle the debt...