That Tribulation Cultivator reacted quickly, hiding behind a Giant Stone at the entrance of the village, covering his entire body.
Lin Chen frowned slightly at the sight.
This was the drawback of the gun.
Against these Tribulation Cultivators, who had never seen a "Magical Treasure" like a gun, they were caught off guard and almost had no power to resist.
But once they understood the lethal principle of the gun, its threat greatly diminished.
As Lin Chen pondered a strategy, a shout came from behind the Giant Stone:
"Young brother! Your Magical Treasure is formidable! You've already killed ten of my men so quickly."
"But how many more times can you use this Magical Treasure?"
"The road lies ahead; why don't we each walk our own paths... I won't plunder this village, and you needn't make another move..."
Lin Chen was silent for a moment, then shouted:
"Alright! Then hurry and leave, I won't take further action!"
Even though he said this, Lin Chen didn't lower the gun in his hand, his nerves still tense.
Just as Lin Chen finished speaking, a bright Long Blade came flying rapidly toward him from above.
The Long Blade traced a bizarre arc in the air, aiming straight for Lin Chen's head.
"Artifact Control with Spiritual Energy!"
Lin Chen quickly reacted, raising his left hand.
He held a palm-sized shield in his left hand.
Model y-3 Nanoshield!
This was the latest product from the Technology Research Institute, its defense not top-notch, capable of blocking a 17mm bullet, but prized for its lightness.
A shield like this was worth a million Great Xia currency!
Wang Xinyu's additional support saved Lin Chen's life at a critical moment.
Lin Chen activated the nanoshield's switch.
The palm-sized shield instantly transformed into a one-meter diameter alloy shield, firmly blocking the blade.
Clang!
The Long Blade left a not too deep nor too shallow scratch on the shield.
The distant Tribulation Cultivator cursed, the Spiritual Energy on the Long Blade exhausted, unable to control it again.
Having deflected the Long Blade, Lin Chen breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he remained cautious, aware of the Tribulation Cultivator's treachery and unreliability; otherwise, he might have already lost his life.
His voice came again from the distance.
"Brother, to which Sect do you belong, to possess so many Life-Saving Treasures?"
"To be honest, I'm an Outer Sect disciple of the Wild Wolf Sect, and I'm out here to earn some Spirit Stones..."
"Why don't we cease our actions here..."
Lin Chen paid no heed to the Tribulation Cultivator's attempt at conciliation.
He raised the nanoshield to fully cover his vital parts.
With the other hand, holding the gun, he slowly approached the Tribulation Cultivator...
"Damn it, this is bad..."
The Tribulation Cultivator also noticed Lin Chen's slow approach, aware that his strength could not counter Lin Chen's powerful "Magical Treasure".
Thus, the Tribulation Cultivator gritted his teeth and ran out of the village.
His sudden burst of speed was almost comparable to a cheetah.
Lin Chen showed no mercy, adjusting his breathing, raising his gun, and fired at the Tribulation Cultivator's back.
Bam!
He missed!
The bullet didn't hit the Tribulation Cultivator's back but struck his thigh instead.
"Ah!"
The Tribulation Cultivator screamed in pain but didn't dare stop, continuing to run forward.
Bam!
Lin Chen fired another shot.
This shot successfully hit the Tribulation Cultivator's back, blowing a fist-sized hole in his chest, sending a large chunk of flesh flying.
Seeing the Tribulation Cultivator leader fall, Lin Chen dared not relax his guard.
Holding the shield, he slowly approached, until he was two or three meters away.
Lin Chen pulled the Long Blade from the shield and threw it from a distance.
The Long Blade struck the Tribulation Cultivator leader's face, demolishing half of his head.
The Tribulation Cultivator trembled all over, then finally stopped moving.
"Finally, killed them all..."
Lin Chen sat down on the ground, breathing heavily.
Even though he was the prodigy Martial Artist of the Great Xia Country...
This was, after all, his first time killing!
Single-handedly, he slew eleven Tribulation Cultivators, the tension leaving him dizzy.
Lin Chen felt grateful he had reported to the state and received support in weaponry and equipment.
Otherwise, he would probably have been hacked to death by now...
After resting on the ground for a bit, Lin Chen suddenly heard footsteps.
Instinctively, he jumped up and gripped his gun, only to see villagers from Zhou Village approaching.
More than twenty villagers, old and young, male and female, knelt on the ground.
Disheveled, worn, with traces of blood and wounds on their bodies,
But now, there was something called hope in their eyes.
Two or three eight or nine-year-old kids, dirty and hiding by their parents' side, curiously watching Lin Chen.
The villagers held items like eggs and buns, kneeling and repeatedly thanking him.
"Immortal! Thank you, Immortal Lord, for saving us!"
"Thank you, Immortal Lord..."
Just then the sun rose over Yanyun Mountain, casting golden sunlight on Lin Chen's feet and on the villagers.
Lin Chen watched this scene, silently for a moment, then looked toward the southeast.
Four hundred miles southeast of Zhou Village was the Changchun Sect's location.
"I'm not an Immortal..."
"This time, it is to seek the Immortal..."
Lin Chen did not take the villagers' offerings.
They were already so poor, barely able to survive in this chaotic world.
This time, they suffered undue calamity because the accompanying merchant caravan was raided by the Tribulation Cultivator.
Lin Chen went to the caravan's cargo, mostly transporting fine silk in the crates.
Unable to carry them, he left the goods in Zhou Village.
Of course, he took the thousands of silver notes and pieces of loose silver from the dead merchants.
Then, he began to search the Tribulation Cultivators' bodies.
He found no Storage Bags as rumored, these Tribulation Cultivators were weak, some hadn't even reached the Qi Introduction to the body of the Qi Refining Stage.
After searching through the dozen corpses, Lin Chen found more than ten thumb-sized, crystal-clear stones.
"Spirit Stones! Alongside Spirit Stones, there's some Spiritual Sand..."
Lin Chen counted them, approximately thirteen Spirit Stones and seven to eight hundred grains of sand-like Spiritual Sand.
Spiritual Sand contained faint Spiritual Energy, not much use for cultivation, but serves as common currency between low-level cultivators.
A hundred grains of Spiritual Sand roughly equaled one Spirit Stone.
Besides the Spirit Stones, only the Long Blade used by the Tribulation Cultivator leader was valuable.
It seemed a low-grade Magical Artifact, but still worth some Spirit Stones.
He leafed through a few ancient texts, none recorded Divine Techniques or Cultivation Techniques, just some common knowledge of the Cultivation Realm.
Lin Chen did not linger in Zhou Village, setting off at first light.
His destination was the Changchun Sect, four hundred miles away.
The only righteous Cultivation Sect within a thousand miles.
The triennial Sect examination was about to start, and missing this chance meant a long wait for Lin Chen...
He had to reach the foot of Changchun Mountain in six days.
With a Long Blade at his waist and a backpack on his back, Lin Chen ran southeastward.
As a Ninth-Level Martial Disciple, his stamina and pace were excellent, covering a hundred miles a day was no problem.
So he journeyed through thorns and thickets, over mountains and ridges.
After five days, Lin Chen arrived at a bustling Marketplace.
This Marketplace was a place where mortals and cultivators cohabited, situated at the foot of Changchun Mountain.
"Finally arrived, the Sect examination shouldn't be over yet..."
Lin Chen murmured as he gazed at the towering mountain peaks.