Hidden Achievement: Blood Splatters Three Feet Reward: Acquired Trait: Blood Courage Blood Courage: Critical Hit +1, Vitality +1
After Lu Xingshi used the Golden Crow Hand Cannon to blow Black Face Snake to death, he had unexpectedly completed a hidden achievement. Thinking about it, he truly had never killed anyone before.
More importantly, the Acquired Trait Blood Courage could still be upgraded. There were three later stages: Meridian Courage, Bone Courage, and Spirit Courage.
The subsequent tasks were rather special as well: defeating the many with the few, overcoming the strong while weak, and Thousand Army General Slayer.
The most difficult should have been Bone Courage's task of overcoming the strong while weak. Lu Xingshi did not even know where to find someone stronger than himself.
Well, perhaps such a person existed, but finding one would be very difficult.
Defeating the many with the few was easy enough, since there were no restrictions on strength. As for Thousand Army General Slayer, he only needed to be a little more reckless.
"Little Friend Lu, this Golden Crow Gun of yours is contraband..." Cui Xuan reminded him.
The Imperial Court did not prohibit swords or sabers, but armor, bows, crossbows, bird guns, cannons, and other military equipment were forbidden. Unless one had received permission, they could not be displayed openly at all.
"Are you going to report me?" Hearing that, Lu Xingshi loaded another shell into the Golden Crow Hand Cannon.
The Golden Crow Hand Cannon had three flaws. First, it was inconvenient to carry. Second, it could only fire one shot at a time. Third, it was illegal and could easily get him arrested.
As for it blowing himself up, that was no issue whatsoever for Lu Xingshi. With his twenty-thousand-percent Health Points, hundredfold self-healing and regeneration ability, and the enhancement from his cultivation technique, how could anything happen to him?
Lu Xingshi had originally planned to build an entire set of mechanical armor. But after looking into it, he realized that before he could even finish the design, the grass on his master's grave might already be growing.
So he could only make do with the Golden Crow Hand Cannon. If he had ample time, he planned to start by building a Steam Engine, then make an alloy dump truck and charge about like a bull in a china shop.
"No, no, no, Little Friend, you misunderstand." Cui Xuan's eyelid twitched. Especially when he saw Lu Xingshi loading ammunition, he hurriedly spoke up, terrified that Lu Xingshi would misunderstand and blast him with a shot.
He only dared to cautiously call it a Golden Crow Gun. In truth, he had long regarded it as a miniature cannon.
"That's good, then. Don't worry, I'm only loading ammunition as a matter of routine. I'm not going to shoot you." After loading it, Lu Xingshi put the Golden Crow Cannon back into his bundle and carried it on his back.
Cui Xuan had not even seen where Lu Xingshi had pulled the ammunition from.
After the thunderous blast, Cui Xuan gathered everyone together again and prepared to discuss the situation.
The Shangguan Family had suffered the worst. A joyous occasion had turned into a funeral.
Only after Cui Xuan went over to help settle things down did he return.
"Speaking of which, what exactly is going on in Saibei? Why would someone come to intercept and kill you?" Lu Xingshi asked curiously.
The Iron Sword Sect's movements were not exactly secret. Shangguan Zhe had previously invited the Iron Sword Sect here for the birthday banquet. Cui Xuan should not originally have come; the Iron Sword Sect's leader was meant to come instead. But the sect leader had gone to Saibei, so only Cui Xuan, the chief elder, could come. He would also be heading to Saibei afterward.
But now, it seemed that the situation in Saibei was far from simple. Otherwise, how could things have coincided so perfectly? It showed that the other side had come prepared.
"I'm not entirely sure, but one thing is certain: the rebellion in Saibei may no longer be containable." Cui Xuan spoke gravely.
"If the Iron Sword Sect was intercepted, could the other famous sects and great clans have suffered the same?" Lu Xingshi suddenly thought of this.
"It's possible. If my guess is correct, they may very well have already been wiped out to the last man." Cui Xuan made a reasonable deduction. Had they not encountered Lu Xingshi, who was skilled in "gun techniques," they too would have been killed or grievously wounded.
"Black Face Snake's strength was not right. Thinking back carefully, he may have taken some kind of secret medicine. Otherwise, no matter how inferior I was, I could not possibly have failed to last even one exchange against him."
"The origins of this secret medicine are far from ordinary." Cui Xuan voiced the key point he had observed earlier.
Lu Xingshi did not care whether the other man had taken secret medicine. No matter how strong he was, he could not surpass Lu Xingshi's Hand Cannon. And if he could withstand the Hand Cannon, then Lu Xingshi would have to take the field himself.
Black Face Snake's overall strength was probably only half a notch above Bearman's. If he truly faced Bearman, then in a head-on clash, he would very likely be beaten to death by Bearman.
As for Cui Xuan, he was about Bearman's equal, perhaps a notch stronger. His inability to defeat Black Face Snake came from being countered by him.
Desert Saber Gao Li was slightly less capable than Bearman by a notch. That was why he had failed to kill Bearman and could only flee despite being heavily wounded.
"Back in Youping County, I once heard..." Lu Xingshi thought of something: the deserters he had heard about back then. Combined with Desert Saber Gao Li suddenly heading southbound and even inviting his master, a grandmaster, he had initially thought they were merely ordinary deserters. Now, however, it seemed there were many hidden secrets within.
"I know a little about this matter. It is said that something went wrong with Saibei's military pay." Cui Xuan revealed a portion of the intelligence.
Upon hearing this, the words silencing witnesses surfaced in Lu Xingshi's mind.
"Then this military pay..." Lu Xingshi continued to ask.
Cui Xuan merely shook his head without speaking. Whether that shake meant he did not know or could not say, Lu Xingshi could not tell.
"Since that is the case, does your sect plan to continue north, or return to the sect to recover from your injuries?" Lu Xingshi could see that they could entirely use their injuries, or even their disappearance, as an excuse to evade this northern journey.
Yet Cui Xuan had no intention of returning. "We will continue north. Should things become critical, we can support the sect leader."
Going back was impossible. They could only grit their teeth and press onward.
Fortunately, they were not the Iron Sword Sect's true main force or foundation. Only Cui Xuan knew that they had been requisitioned by the Imperial Court. They could indeed evade it now, but that would draw too much attention. If they had suffered devastating casualties, they could refuse. But since they had suffered no losses, they had to go in order to avoid being targeted again.
"Only, this matter is urgent. I fear we cannot wait until tomorrow. Once matters within the Shangguan Residence settle, we shall depart at once."
"What do you think, Little Friend Lu?" Cui Xuan sought his opinion.
"Of course, the sooner the better." Lu Xingshi certainly did not want to delay. He had not even planned to come for the banquet, yet he had ended up attending it anyway.
"Then please wait here for a moment, Little Friend. I will go make arrangements." Cui Xuan understood the danger as well, so the group's composition needed to be adjusted.
He would have some disciples who had come to gain experience return to the Iron Sword Sect first. They would travel light and reach Saibei as quickly as possible.
"Do as you please." Lu Xingshi saw through Cui Xuan's intentions, so he found a nearby place to sit. Alone, he fiddled with the Golden Crow Hand Cannon, considering how to make up for its flaws.
For instance, the number of shells it could fire... That probably could not be increased at this stage. But changing them into bullets was possible. Still, handcrafting rifling and a gun barrel would be somewhat difficult; he needed to find a substitute.