People from Qing Province

"It can be mass-produced, made bigger and thicker, even turned into cannons."

Gao Fei said with a smile. He no longer cared about such things now. As long as he taught Lu Xiaoliu and had him spread it around.

If every villager had a flintlock, they would have the means to protect themselves. As for what came later, they could develop it on their own.

Gao Fei had not come here to launch an industrial revolution.

"Xiao Liu, remember to find some soft metal for making ammunition. Using silver on a large scale won't do."

The entire day, Gao Fei swept through the villages around the county seat, hunting monsters and gaining 54 Merit Points.

It was not that he had not worked hard. Even after venturing deeper, he had not encountered any monsters.

By the time he returned to the county seat, it was already dinner time.

Lu Xiaoliu and Gao Linyue each held a flintlock, testing them in the courtyard.

He heard the crack of gunfire from far away.

Gao Yan and Qiu Mei were watching nearby as well, both showing immense interest.

"At close range, this thing is easier to use than a bow. Fire it once, then toss it away. At long range, it can't hit accurately."

"Yeah, loading is too slow. We should ask my lord..."

Hearing their complaints, Gao Fei snatched a gun from Lu Xiaoliu's hand.

"You need to improve it yourselves. If loading bullets is too slow, package them in paper beforehand. If the shots fly off-center, cut rifling into the barrel. Gunpowder gets damp easily in the rain, so the bullets and powder need to be sealed. It can even be developed into repeating fire. If the barrel fouls too easily, alter the gunpowder formula and remove impurities. I don't know how to do any of this either. You can only rely on yourselves!"

Gao Fei laid out the future directions firearms could take.

He had never handled them on Blue Star. Any exact figures would have been sheer fantasy, and he did not even know the formula for smokeless powder. This was already the last of his "hard goods."

Lu Xiaoliu's eyes shone at these words. He grabbed the flintlock from Gao Fei and dashed away.

Only after running several dozen feet did he realize how discourteous he had been. He hurriedly stopped. "Thank you for your guidance, my lord!"

Gao Linyue looked at the gun in his hand and spoke somewhat irritably.

"This kind of obscene and ingenious trick is entirely putting the cart before the horse. With the power of a firearm, it can't even kill a Bone Tempering Realm cultivator, let alone monsters."

Gao Fei did not argue. Whether it would succeed was still unknown, but the seeds had been sown regardless.

If spiritual energy dried up again and even martial arts vanished, this would be their way out.

That night, when no one was around, Gao Fei looked at his remaining hundred-odd Merit Points and the two cultivation techniques he had just obtained.

System, add fifty years to Savage Bull Force.

In the first year, you began absorbing spiritual energy to fill the Twelve Standard Meridians.

In the second year, the spiritual energy you absorbed filled one standard meridian.

In the twelfth year, the Twelve Standard Meridians were filled with spiritual energy. You began attacking the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and spiritual power began linking your limbs. Savage Bull Force had reached mastery.

In the forty-eighth year, six meridians had fully opened. Savage Bull Force reached minor accomplishment, and you entered the Middle Spirit-Absorption Realm.

Over the remaining two years, you worked out a method of protecting your body with spiritual power, but it could not cover your entire body.

It could only be used temporarily and could not last long. Its defensive power was worrying. It could only block one attack from an opponent of the same level. Once shattered, the acupoints around it would ache unbearably, and they had to be nourished with spiritual power before it could be used again.

It seemed he still needed to find Beast Cores. With his Four-Pillar Pure-Yang Body, it had taken fifty years just to reach the middle Spirit-Absorption Realm.

For anyone else, directly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth would probably leave them like this for their entire lives!

He had not practiced Air-Splitting Slash either. Its charge had not yet filled up.

The night passed without incident.

At dawn, he left the city to kill monsters, returning at dusk.

In the blink of an eye, five days passed.

He encountered one or two Minor Monsters with Awakened Intelligence each day. He had 355 Merit Points remaining, and their growth was slow.

All the villagers outside the city who had been willing to enter the county seat had already moved in.

The Lin Family's courtyard was so vast that using it to temporarily shelter villagers posed no problem, even for several thousand people.

Outside the city, the villages that remained basically worshipped Yellow Great Immortal and the Fox Demon.

Those people would have to wait until the two monsters were killed.

He was confident he could fight Yellow Great Immortal to a draw, but he could not catch up to it. The Fox Demon was worse—he could not defeat her.

It seemed he still had to make a trip to Li Qingyao's place and obtain a lightness skill manual.

No sooner said than done, he turned and headed for her residence.

Not long after entering, he passed through the shop attendant and entered the inner courtyard.

An embroidery needle flew in from the distance, stabbing straight for his shoulder. The attacker did not intend to take his life, but the strike would still rob him of his fighting ability.

Gao Fei raised his hand slightly, and the flying needle landed steadily between two of his fingers.

Two figures appeared atop the courtyard wall.

One wore black robes from head to toe. His expression was cold, revealing nothing, and he remained motionless on the wall.

The one who had attacked was a middle-aged man with a small mustache and worn clothes.

The middle-aged man held a sword in his right hand, with three steel needles pinched between his fingers, ready to fire them again at any moment.

"Did you kill the old master of the Lin Family?"

Gao Fei did not answer. He hurled the steel needle back with brute force and charged forward at high speed.

After charging straight ahead for some distance, he saw the other man raise his hand.

He twisted aside, evading the steel needles shot again by the other man.

An Air-Splitting Slash, charged with spiritual power from one meridian, shot forth. It collided with the longsword and knocked the other man's attack off course.

They exchanged punches!

Gao Fei unleashed Dark Force, while the middle-aged man had a steel needle clamped in his fist.

Both retreated quickly.

Gao Fei felt a faint sting in his hand. Looking down, he saw slight redness and swelling, but the skin had not broken.

Fortunately, he had used less than half his strength. Otherwise, it would have been ridiculous if he had injured himself outright.

He looked at the other man's left hand, which had thrown the punch and was still trembling.

Middle Spirit-Absorption Realm.

The assessment of their strength was over. Gao Fei charged again.

This time, flecks of golden light appeared over his body as the power of his blood and qi, along with his spiritual power, surged to their limits.

Transforming Force erupted from his right hand at full power, and his palm began to burn.

There was still someone behind him whose depth he did not know. This time, he intended to settle the man before him in a single move.

He directly unleashed brute force, protected his left hand with spiritual power, and seized the longsword thrust at him.

He stepped closer. The distance was enough. After three seconds of Transforming Force in his right hand, his burning palm sent forth a scorching gust of force.

"Clang...!"

The echo lingered.

Gao Fei had not struck his opponent. A shield about three feet square had suddenly appeared, floating in the air and blocking that fatal palm strike.

The shield shook violently and fell to the ground, a black palm print embedded in it.

"Stop. We are not enemies."

The black-clothed young man hurriedly spoke to stop them. He pointed a finger at the shield, which twitched slightly before wobbling back into the young man's hand.

Gao Fei retreated several steps and returned to where he had stood. This was not a method that someone in the Spirit-Absorption Realm should possess.

He had killed quite a few Spirit-Absorption Realm monsters, but he had never encountered this kind of method for remotely controlling a shield.

The moment the shield reached the black-clothed young man's hand, it shrank at once. Wearing an expression of deep heartache, he tucked it into his clothes.

Gao Fei looked at the two men, who still showed no intention of speaking.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourselves?"

"Li Jie, disciple of the commander-in-chief of Qing Province's Martial Suppression Guard. He is Lin Ye. What is your relationship with Qingyao?"

The black-clothed young man spoke, his earlier coldness returning to his voice.

Gao Fei glanced at him. His appearance was decent enough—the pale pretty-boy type—but could a man who acted all frosty and cool really win a woman over?

The tremendous commotion outside had alerted the mistress of the courtyard.

Li Qingyao emerged from the room.

"Second Senior Brother, didn't Master come?"