But There's No One Above Me Anymore

The Azure Sun Hall disciples fled at top speed. Gale-force winds swept across the earth, devastating everything in their path like dry weeds before a storm, and quickly caught up to the man's footsteps.

Countless iron filings battered the man's legs. He let out a miserable howl and fell to the ground, blood spreading across his leg wraps. Seeing that escape was hopeless, the man turned to fight back.

Apparently having learned from his junior brother's death, the man gripped his spirit sword and spun up a flourish before him. The blade became a full moon stretched across his front, blocking the remaining iron filings outside.

The two stood ten meters apart. Lu Li controlled the iron filings with the Qi-Combining Cauldron, and that distance happened to be its limit as well.

Not long ago, Lu Li himself had been fish on the chopping block, and he knew how terrifying the struggle of a trapped beast could be. The other man's weapon was a sword, and he possessed a measure of swordsmanship, so Lu Li did not dare rely on the Qi-Combining Cauldron and rush in to fight him at close quarters.

Buzzzzz!

The Qi-Combining Cauldron was driven to its utmost limit, letting out a tremendous roar. Lu Li remained at a distance, keeping space between them to wear down the other man's strength.

But Lu Li soon discovered a problem. His own chest was injured as well, blood steadily seeping out. His dark blue coarse hemp clothes had been stained a deep red by blood.

The wound had not struck anything vital, but the bleeding would not stop. If this continued, he would be the first to collapse.

As for the man before him, although Lu Li had stabbed him in the chest at the start, the bleeding had already stopped.

At that thought, a powerful sense of danger rose in Lu Li's heart. He clearly remembered that this man had taken out an ointment and applied it to his wound, stopping the bleeding almost immediately.

If he wanted to live, he had to kill the man and take that ointment.

Thinking of all the suffering he had endured these past days, Lu Li felt unbearably stifled.

He had no money anyway, and no way to earn much. If he wanted to live, if he wanted to cultivate immortality, then he would rob!

Bzz! Bzz! Bzz!

The rotor within the Qi-Combining Cauldron spun faster and faster, its hum deafening as its outer shell gradually reddened. Lu Li's chest grew scorching hot, as though a ball of fire truly burned within it. Lu Li sucked in a sharp breath.

The air entered the Qi-Combining Cauldron, compressed and compressed again until it reached its limit. Lu Li suddenly expelled that breath.

Pfft!

The airflow surged upward, tearing Lu Li's throat. The blood that flowed out was scattered into mist by the blast, then all sprayed from his mouth together, forming a crimson ribbon. Before the iron filings could hit the ground, they were swept up once more.

The man raised another sword flourish to block it, but this time, the spirit sword failed to withstand the impact of the iron filings and shattered with a crash. Without the spirit sword's protection, the crimson ribbon slammed into the man's body without restraint.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Those successive crisp snaps were the sound of the man's bones breaking. He could no longer hold on. With a thud, he actually dropped to his knees and began begging for mercy.

"Ah, ah, don't kill me! I did not know a fellow cultivator was here. It was I who offended you, fellow cultivator. Please, show mercy and spare this lowly one's life! This lowly one is a disciple of the Azure Sun Hall. If fellow cultivator is willing to show mercy, there will surely be a great reward when I return!"

"A great reward? I'd believe in ghosts before I'd believe you!"

"You can't do this! I am Elder Wang's newly chosen disciple! You can't kill me! I have people above me!"

"But above me... there's no one left."

Now that he had neither ties nor burdens, what was there left for him to fear?

Lu Li's eyes were desolate, and his fists clenched unconsciously. He had long since killed until his eyes ran red. Standing at a distance, he raised a hand and swept it down. The crimson ribbon fell from the air and finally severed the man's neck.

Pfft!

In an instant, the head hit the ground, blood gushing like a fountain.

Lu Li stood there blankly, his chest heaving violently. Only after a long while did it gradually calm. Blackness and whiteness alternated before his eyes, and he nearly fainted dead away.

Lu Li walked over and kicked the headless corpse lying facedown on the ground. The body rolled over, and Lu Li crouched down to rummage through the pouch at its waist.

The pouch was the size of two palms, but it was an ordinary pouch with little space inside—not the storage pouch Lu Li had imagined. Still, he did find what he wanted within it.

It was a bottle of ointment. Imitating what the man had done earlier, Lu Li squeezed some out and smeared it over his wound, then forcefully pressed the torn muscle together.

At first, the wound felt painfully itchy, but the sensation gradually faded before long. When Lu Li released his hand again, the wound was still visible on the surface, but it no longer bled. The torn muscle had miraculously stuck back together, and even the pain had eased somewhat.

Lu Li looked at the ointment in his hand as though he had found a priceless treasure. Sure enough, medicine used by cultivators was extraordinary.

In his previous life, a laceration like this would have needed at least a dozen or twenty stitches.

The moment he thought that, the voice in his mind promptly dumped a basin of cold water over him.

"Kid, why do you look like you've never seen the world before? Let me make this clear first: this stuff is called Blood-Coagulating Ointment. It only stops the bleeding and temporarily seals the wound. It can't heal you at the root."

"It'll flare up again?"

"If you don't treat it properly afterward, it'll still fester and become infected."

"I see."

Lu Li nodded. It was equivalent to stitching the wound shut first; he would still need medicine and disinfection afterward, along with rest. Strenuous activity was out of the question. Even so, the effects of this Blood-Coagulating Ointment were downright heaven-defying.

"Ahem..."

Lu Li cleared his throat and adjusted his voice. He had noticed it since earlier—his voice seemed to have changed. At fifteen, his vocal cords had only just finished maturing.

Yet now, his voice had the childish timbre of a young boy, while his breath had become much more sustained. Lu Li even felt confident that he could now play a whole tune of Phoenix-Tail Bamboo on a hulusi without stopping once for breath.

"Stop coughing. You don't have phlegm stuck in your throat."

"Then what happened to my voice?"

"The Qi-Combining Cauldron replaced your windpipe along with it. A slight change in your voice is normal. Once you replace your vocal cords with a Charm Voice Box someday, you'll be able to adjust your tone however you like."

"Charm Voice Box? Is that also a mechanized artifact? What a girly name. It lacks masculine vigor."

"Heh heh heh."

At that, Elder Duan merely smiled without saying a word.

More importantly, Lu Li had a more pressing question right now.

"Who exactly are you, and why are you helping me?"

"Me? I'm an immortal from the heavens. I saw how pitiful you were—working yourself to the bone while drowning in debt—so I descended to show you the right path."

Lu Li's face was full of suspicion. Ever since he was born, he had been surrounded by all kinds of swindlers. Some hid knives behind their smiles, some spouted lies without batting an eye, and some dressed themselves up in grand righteousness. On the surface, they claimed to be doing him good; in truth, they were after his money.

He was all alone. In this world, there was no longer anyone who would treat him well for no reason. So whenever others spoke to him—especially when they promised him benefits—Lu Li instinctively questioned them first.

"What kind of immortal are you supposed to be!"

"Heh, this old woman is an immortal of White Jade Capital."

"Would an immortal of White Jade Capital threaten people with their lives and lend money against their organs as collateral?"

"You little brat, why are you so ungrateful? Don't immortals need to eat? Why can't immortals lend money?"

Whenever immortals were mentioned, Lu Li had instinctively assumed they were some transcendent beings beyond the mundane world.

But that was not the case. In this world, everyone died for wealth; cultivators were no exception. Immortals were even richer than oil, and for all he knew, the immortals of this world were all this vulgar—a nest of snakes and rats.

Seeing Lu Li's thoughtful expression, the old woman continued fanning the flames.

"You should trust this old woman. Though I lend money, I'm still a good person. From now on, you may call me Elder Duan—but if you insist on calling me your benefactor and master..."

"Alright, Senior Duan. So what exactly is your purpose?"

"Hah, you child, why are you so suspicious? You probably don't know that back then, countless people smashed their heads bloody fighting to take me as their master."

With his sharp nose for trouble, Lu Li caught the crux of the matter. He had read plenty of webnovels in his previous life. Though this cultivation world was vastly different from what he had imagined, the other party's few words alone allowed him to connect many dots.

"Back then? So you've fallen on hard times now?"