Where did I go wrong?
That's the question he had been asking himself.
Though what he does know is that he had to leave. Get as far away from his sect as possible. But with his weak cultivation, can he truly survive this?
"Damn it. Get a hold of yourself, Li Rong!" Li Rong chided himself, but it faltered weakly. "You have to escape the assassin first!"
Li Rong is just a basic Qi-Refining outer disciple of the Jade Cloud Sect. Someone insignificant, yet he was being chased by an assassin sent by his own sect.
He is just one of the outer disciples, lacking talent and often overlooked. So, why is he being hunted down?
It's because he was one of the unfortunate disciples chosen to be. . .
'Taken care of. . .'
Yes, it is exactly as you imagine. The Jade Cloud Sect elders decided to limit the number of outer disciples, especially those who couldn't advance in their cultivation, so that the most promising disciples, including the inner and core disciples, would receive the cultivation resources instead of those with no hope.
Why didn't the Sect Leader stop this practice? He has been in closed-door seclusion for decades to break the bottleneck, so news of such curbing has not been known to him or reached his ears.
The elders knew that direct curbing would cause a major scandal in the cultivation world, so they decided to create a disguised test for outer disciples that appears once every year to avoid arousing suspicion and alerting the sect leader.
The so-called test is designed to prevent students from being caught by the invigilators during the time limit set by the elders.
Sounds simple, like the game of tag, doesn't it?
But the hidden catch was that the invigilators are the Storm Guards, a newly created pavilion by the Jade Cloud Sect for the sole purpose of reducing the numbers of the outer disciples.
And the Storm Guards are disciples of the sect, specially handpicked and trained by the sect elders in assassination. Beyond that, they are also trained in scouting, stealth, and information gathering.
For the Storm Guards, the 'test' was just a game. A way to show off their skills and put them to the test.
If Li Rong had known these events would happen, he wouldn't have participated in this 'test' and just run away from his sect to avoid being killed.
But what's done is done, and right now, he is currently on the run from the Storm Guard with severe internal injuries; it shouldn't even be possible for him to run that long unless he were running desperately on pure adrenaline.
However, it was merely wishful thinking, as a dagger had flown through the air and pierced his abdomen from behind.
Li Rong let out a cry in pain as he fell after being struck.
He tried to crawl away from the Storm Guard, using his limited strength to put some distance between them. But it was a futile attempt, as he could hear the crunching footsteps of the Storm Guard approaching, seemingly unbothered by the need to hide their presence.
"This is the end of the road for you," the Storm Guard spoke, walking out of the shadows.
Is this truly the end for me?
Li Rong closed his eyes hopelessly, waiting for the fatal blow to finish him off.
But something happened. . .
Like a knife cutting through the particles of air, like an arrow shot through the Storm Guard in a headshot.
It was quick.
Too fast for the Storm Guard in the Middle Foundation Building realm to react.
The Storm Guard lay dead on the ground with an expression of shock permanently etched on his face.
Li Rong opened his eyes and stared at the lifeless Storm Guard in shock. He wondered who the Saviour was who saved his life. He followed the arrow's line of sight and found a man with braided hair (Mix of Manchu and Han hairstyles) in strange clothing (Military general's uniform from the 1940s) and a black half-sleeved battle robe with golden embroidered dragons on it, riding a black warhorse that looked too supernatural to be ordinary with a bow in his hands.
However, Li Rong recalled his previous lessons from the sect and sensed the stench of Yin Qi with his Qi senses. It did not take a genius cultivator to put two and two together.
A Ghost Cultivator. . .
He was a powerful ghost cultivator, yet he couldn't gauge this man's cultivation realm.
But why?
Why does this man's gaze make it seem as if Li Rong is being judged?. . .By an emperor!
"Wha—What was that arrow just now?" he blurted out.
Oh, Heavens. That was the first thing you blurted out after that near-death experience?!
Li Rong felt his face turn 50 shades of red at the blunder, even more so when he saw the man merely raise his brow.
Thankfully, the man seemed to have ignored it as he conjured something in his hand and flicked it into Li Rong's mouth.
Li Rong choked, trying to spit it out for fear of whatever the Ghost Cultivator had fed him.
"Do not spit it out if you don't want to heal your injuries"
He froze at the man's words and halted his struggle, letting the healing pill slide down his throat to do its bidding.
Slowly, he felt a warm sensation in his body as his internal injuries and the stab wound from the dagger started to heal.
Li Rong got up but stumbled a little after having just taken the healing pill.
"Wha—what do you want from me?" he asked raspily.
What does he want?
Why would a Ghost Cultivator like him save a Qi-Refining cultivator like him, much less heal him?
The man tilted his head to the side; his expression remained unchanged. But that gesture did not ease the unease Li Rong had felt. It felt like a mix of danger and something he couldn't name.
"Just passing by," the man simply replied. "Now, why are you being chased?"
Li Rong's lips were pressed into a thin line. He knows that the man is most likely lying but couldn't prove it. Now he's just diverting the conversation, as if he took the reins and controlled the flow.
"Actually, no, don't tell me," the man raised his hand to stop him from speaking. "I don't want to know. Just keep it brief"
Li Rong blinked but cautiously and reluctantly obliged, knowing that if he refused or lied, it would be effortless for the man to obliterate him with one finger.
"I was chased by an assassin," he explained briefly, cautiously choosing his words carefully.
It's particularly true, but it was more than that; he wasn't exactly lying, just omitting some parts of the truth.
The man didn't respond immediately, just staring at Li Rong. Then he simply said, "Oh. Since you're out of danger now, I will take my leave then"
Li Rong's eyes widened, dumbfounded. Wait, that's it?
Leave just like that?
"Wait!"
The man halted his reins on the horse and turned his head to him with a raised brow.
"W-Why did you save me?" Li Rong demanded. "You—you're a Ghost Cultivator. Are you even a little curious about my situation?
"No, why would I be?" the man asked back. "Mortal affairs no longer concern me"
Mortal affairs. . .
He's speaking as if he were no longer mortal.
While Ghost Cultivators did indeed cultivate in the Dao of Death, they still retained some shred of their humanity and can be considered 'alive'.
Meanwhile, this man did not seem to be the slightest bit human.
The man merely glanced at some sort of parchment in his hand, then he conjured a manual and casually tossed it at Li Rong's feet.
Li Rong cautiously picked the manual up and carefully probed it and its contents. "This is...?"
However, his eyes widened and his breath hitched as he read the contents.
This manual contains a cultivation technique for archery. Slow down time around the archer by holding your breath and focusing your Qi into the bow and arrow.
What's more absurd isn't the seemingly simple yet complex technique. It's that he can understand and comprehend it after reading it only once.
"This—! Where did you—?!" Li Rong sputtered.
"You're practicing the wrong path. You have more potential in this than some sword," the man said nonchalantly.
The wrong path?
Does he mean that I've been practicing the wrong Dao?
Is that why he gave this manual to me?
He recalled all those times when he failed to comprehend the sword techniques compared to the others. He thought he was slow to learn or just untalented.
It turns out that wasn't the case after all. Li Rong isn't untalented. It's just that he was learning the wrong Dao because his true talent lies in the bow, not the sword.
Li Rong swiftly got on his knees and bowed. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior! I have realised how foolish I was to be cautious of such greatness in front of me!"
The man's eyes flickered momentarily before giving a short nod and rode away on his horse.
Li Rong stared blankly, watching as the gallopping figure slowly faded out of view. It wasn't until then that he realised he had overlooked something.
Damn it, I forgot to ask him for his name!
He silently cursed himself for his carelessness. Forget it. Now that he had survived, he'd best get moving. Lest this news reach the sect elders.
Li Rong carefully placed the manual into his robes like a priceless treasure and left the scene, leaving the dead body of the Storm Guard out in the middle of the night.