As always, keep in mind that you are reading this from the biased viewpoint of the Main Character! Not everything is the absolute truth!

So I have been brainstorming the past few days about the overall story and how it is going to go. I feel like I have a much better grasp on it now but it did delay this chapter release a bit.

Sorry about that.

I do have some good news though.

Starting from next weekend, I will have a LOT more time for this project so you guys can look forward to that (whoever still reads this little story that is).

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Chapter 9:

Feeling countless eyes on me that scanned my body from head to toe was not a pleasant feeling.

Xu Luin was still standing there with a face that demanded answers and I could see that both Xu Xie, who had finally bothered to wipe her face clean, and Xu Feng were thinking the same.

“Alright, how about we all sit down again and talk about this in a normal manner that doesn’t attract the attention of the entire clan. That sound good?”

I asked, mainly pointing the question towards Xu Luin who was making a scene and it apparently only now dawned on her.

She looked around at the countless faces that had their attention directed towards us before slowly sitting down again.

After a few seconds, the dead silence that had been stifling the hall dissipated, as if it had only been a bad dream.

“Alright.”

I said while keeping my gaze concentrated on the few that were not part of our little group and still kept their attention towards our table.

Seems like they had gotten a whiff of our previous talk and were just as intrigued as Xu Luin about the subject of my rapid growth.

“So tell us then Li Jun, what was the cause for this incredible transformation?”

Xu Feng asked, a seemingly eternal grin stuck to his lips while sipping on a glass of wine.

I purposely took my time with answering and decided to enjoy a gulp of the liquor they handed out here too.

Surprisingly enough, it tasted kind of bland.

I mean I never tried alcohol in this world so I guess even in a high class clan like this one it couldn’t compete with the one from back home?

“Beats me.”

This simple but short answer put a row of question marks on everyone’s faces and it dawned on me then that they once again didn’t know what that phrase meant.

“What I meant to say was, I also have no idea why or even how this happened.”

I said, having to resort to the longer version.

Seriously, would they understand me if I threw a ‘Mount Tai’ or two in there instead?

“So even you yourself cannot explain this phenomenon.”

Xu Xie echoed after me.

The entire thing would have naturally been a lot less creepy if she didn’t look at my bulging muscles with a hungry look while speaking but nothing is perfect I guess.

I mean she was cute and all but I am not into little girls and especially not older ladies stuck in young bodies.

As mentioned before and I will say it gladly again, the women the previous owner of this body knew all seemed to be the ‘crazy you don’t want to touch’ kind.

So you can forget that budding dream of a harem with these girls right this instant dear reader!

I am not a fan of crazy!

“B-but how can this be. How can the useless and untalented Li Jun suddenly have such an earth shattering change that he also doesn’t deserve? Why couldn’t it have been me?”

Xu Luin mumbled with a lost look on her face.

Once again she was showing that absolutely lovely personality to the world.

Go for it girl!

This kind of shit only makes me kind of want to bash your head in with a rock!

And no I am not saying that because she is actually starting to get to me, that would be ridiculous.

Trying to change the subject, I asked what level their cultivation had reached since the last time we all saw each other and their answers left me with a somewhat defeated feeling.

Xu Xie was at the 7th layer of Qi Condensation, Xu Feng at the 8th layer of Qi Condensation and Xu Luin, the loveliest lady I have ever met was at the 9th layer of Qi Condensation.

Now mind you, not Foundation Gathering, the stage I was currently at, but Qi Condensation.

They were an entire realm above me and not only that, all of them were even approaching the Body enlightenment stage.

Was there really such a discrepancy between the Li and Xu Clan?!

Because I remember a certain rising star of the Li clan that was at the 7th layer of Foundation Gathering.

No wonder our clan was going downhill.

Compared to the younger generation of other clans, we just didn’t seem to have any talent whatsoever.

“I hope that this stroke of good fortune continues for a long time for you Li Jun.”

Xu Feng said while lifting his glass in my direction, a smile ever so present on his face.

W-was that actually a nice comment towards a low tier bottom feeder like me for once?!

I think I am starting to feel tears forming in the corner of my eyes…

Alright, enough playing around (more like getting my feelings hurt by a certain evil female).

As lovely as the company of these 3 was, the only person I actually didn’t want to run away from at this point was Xu Feng.

Together with the previous incident, I had every intention of going back to my little courtyard and spending the rest of the evening there together with the girls.

“It is about due for me to excuse myself. I am still somewhat weak and want to take an early rest so I wish you all an enjoyable evening an-“

“You will stay here until I have some answers.”

Xu Luin casually remarked while interrupting me.

Can I just say that I officially hate this bitch?

Once again, anger was rushing through my entire body at the commanding tone she was using with me.

I had a clear understanding of this world at this point.

Cultivators liked to flaunt their powers and be above others.

If you had a higher cultivation level than that other guy? Well guess what, you are his new daddy!

He has to kiss your boots and lick your behind from now on because you are stronger than him!

Isn’t that great fun?!

No.

Not one bit.

I think I know now what it really was about Xu Luin that had ticked me off from the moment I met her.

She embodied every single characteristic of a human piece of trash that treats everyone like shit for basically no other reason than sky high arrogance.

Everyone had a breaking point in their patience, and I was starting to hit mine with this girl.

I knew it was dumb, getting so worked up.

More than anyone, I should know what this Xianxia setting was trying to do right now.

And before any of that could happen, before I finally goddamn lost it with this bitch, I had to leave.

I was not blessed with heaven defying plot armor that would allow me to skip levels in cultivation as easily as taking a step forward.

Neither did I have martial talent that could bridge that gap.

I had only my wit (which was starting to quickly disappear thanks to this girl’s grating personality) and the knowledge of my previous world.

Call it temporary insanity, a fit of rage or my true nature coming to light but I really wanted to teach this girl a lesson in the Clan Gathering that was half a year away from now.

It must have been something on my face or a change in my behavior but I could feel Hua Hong’s small and soft hand on my broad back.

This was the only reason I didn’t snap back at Xu Luin even though I really wanted to.

The mental support I found from this gesture that was hidden from the eyes of others helped me calm my billowing anger as a dead pan expression appeared on my face.

I could clearly see the surprise on their faces as I stood up without another word and left the table.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said you are going to stay here!”

A shout resounded from behind me, evidently coming from Xu Luin but I paid it no mind.

All I concentrated on was the warm hand that was still pressing against my back, as if pushing me forward step by step.

“Li Jun, I will remember this!”

Once again the angry voice of a certain female who had lost all face from my behavior bellowed into my direction as I finally stepped out of the room.

A sigh escaped from my mouth when I realized that I had been holding my breath until now.

Hua Hong’s hand remained on my back the entire time as we walked to the desolate northern side of the manor in complete silence.

When we finally reached our goal I couldn’t help but feel relieved.

It was only after closing the door behind me and sitting down on my bed that I felt the soothing warmth leave me as Hua Hong pulled her arm back.

I was left in deep thought for a few minutes while Hua Hong and Hua Ping looked at me with worried gazes.

Time passed and complete darkness quickly filled the room as the sun had finally fully disappeared behind the horizon.

Hua Ping was in the middle of standing up to light a candle but my arm shot out like a pit viper and held her back.

“Don’t.”

This single word came over my lips in a short growl and I could feel the girl shiver in my grasp as she stared at my face that was hidden by the shadows.

Only after she once again completely sat down did I let her go.

I could feel their eyes on me, even though it was dark and they would only be able to make out my frame.

Undoubtedly, countless questions stirred their minds despite the pressing silence that remained in the room and it was time to set things straight.

This decision did not come easily for me but my mind had already settled on it.

Now or never.

“I have known you two for nearly a month now and it is clear that you are smart so you should have a few questions about me. Questions I have been avoiding, no matter how many times someone asked me.”

Just by the way they both tensed it was clear that I had their attention.

“After all this time, despite the number of people I have met, only you two have stayed dead loyal. More so than I could have ever asked of you.

You never truly questioned or doubted me even though both of you definitely had much you wanted to know.

I will give you this one chance, a show of trust that exceeds our current relationship of ‘Master’ and ‘Servant’.”

Hua Ping was stirring a bit in her seat while Hua Hong on the other hand remained completely still.

The darkness made it impossible to guess their expressions but I was betting on my gut here.

“My attempts to lure you both out of your shell and away from the mental shackles that have been put on you have borne fruit but that is no longer enough after tonight’s events, that is what I realized.

I need to be able to trust you two with more than just simple services.

So I have decided to give you both a choice.

Ask and I will answer.

It doesn’t matter what it is, you can ask me anything and I will not hide a single thing.

No more hiding or dodging the question.

In return you will no longer be simple maids but retainers and my followers for as long as I life.

There is much I do not know and many who will possibly come after my life but it is clear to me now that I can no longer delay seeking true allies.

Should you feel that what I am asking of you two is too much or your interest in certain aspects about me is not too high, please leave this instant.

I will not blame nor resent you.

It is simply time to stop playing around and face the future fully prepared.”

After the last few words left my mouth I closed my eyes.

Even I myself was not sure why exactly I did that.

I mean it was already dark enough so I wouldn’t be able to see their faces anyways.

In a way it was probably done instinctively to hide my view of the world as I waited for their decision.

Or anything, really.

Time passed eternally slow as I sat there, hoping, wishing for the right answer.

As I said before, the events of today had been an eye opener for me.

I needed someone to have my back no matter the situation, even in death.

The thought of being betrayed, feeling the sickening realization trickling in that you had been played scared me.

Having experienced the same thing before when I found out that my girlfriend had been cheating on me, that it was with one of my best friends too on top of that.

It had hurt.

This right here, in a Xianxia world with an unknown amount of life threatening dangers was worse.

Betrayal here wouldn’t only just hurt and leave scars, it would straight up lead me to hell.

Which was why I was rigidly sitting on my bed and waiting.

Praying that my instinct hadn’t been wrong.

After nearly a minute passed, I felt something shift beside me as Hua Hong stood up from the bed.

A storm of thoughts and emotions hit me like a sucker punch in the gut as I listened to her soft footsteps moving away from me.

More than the disappointment I felt and sadness about this, the surprise that it was her of all people that would leave first struck me the most.

I couldn’t help but inwardly laugh at the ‘love’ she was supposedly feeling for me.

It should have been obvious.

Who in their right mind would really care about me at the end of the day?

Self-mocking thoughts like these swirled around in my mind as a burst of light suddenly assaulted my closed eyes.

Surprised, I opened them and found both Hua Hong and Hua Ping standing before me, each holding a lit candle in their soft hands.

Despite everything I had been left to believe and my worries, they both stood their ground with a small smile plastered on their faces.

“Who are you?”

This simple and honest question floated in the room after Hua Hong uttered the sentence in a calm manner.

I could see her determination as well as resolve as she voiced these three life changing words.

More than anything else I felt grateful as I looked into her almond colored eyes before switching towards Hua Ping’s face and gaze that showed the exact same look as her sister.

“My name is Fiodor, and I am not the Young Master of the ‘Li’ clan. To be more precise, I am not even really someone from this world.”

….

I could feel the unease and sweat of my sister’s hand as we looked towards the Young Master when I asked him this question.

Just judging by the serious look on his face, the anxiousness and trepidation as well as worry that dissipated from his eyes the moment I asked him this, it was clear that the decision we had made was the right one.

Me and my sister genuinely enjoyed the company of the new Young Master.

Sure we were curious, but more than anything else we both had felt something for the first time in our life ever since the Young Master had woken up.

Acceptance and care.

Something we had only ever known from each other emanated from the Young Master’s body and actions at every moment.

He didn’t treat us like strangers, servants or slaves.

All things we had grown used to over the years.

The Young Master treated my sister and me like true friends.

It had taken a while for us to realize this, simply because it was an unconceivable outcome.

No one in their right mind would really care about their servants that were only there and trained to follow orders.

It was simply unheard of.

But his presence changed that.

The pleasant talks we had from time to time, joking and teasing that he frivolously did whenever possible and the look in his eyes when he let us sleep whenever he went to train.

Ever since that fated day me and my sister had slept in he had stood up early and always left without waking us.

This strange behavior naturally puzzled the two of us so we decided to see what it really was that made him do so.

We pretended to be asleep, just like we had been the previous few days he had woken up early and watched him get ready from between half closed eyes.

It was the moment he turned around and looked at us before leaving that would forever be stuck in our minds and the moment we realized the truth.

The genuine smile that burned brighter than a thousand suns, a warm glint of affection and care in his eyes coupled with the wave of his hand and a murmured “sleep well you two” before he left struck a chord in my heart.

It was only when I couldn’t hear his footsteps anymore that I let the tears flow freely.

How we deserved a treatment like this?

I had no idea.

But I was grateful for it.

More than I could have ever expressed in words.

It was little things and actions like these that made my sister and me stand hand in hand before the gigantic frame of the Young Master today while asking this question that had always been on my mind.

And it was also after my words had echoed inside the room that I once again saw the same smile and warmth in his eyes that had unwittingly made me fall in love with this man.

His answer though was not what I expected.

“My name is Fiodor, and I am not the Young Master of the ‘Li’ clan. To be more precise, I am not even really someone from this world.”

If anybody would have told me something similar I would have called them a liar or laughed but this was not a moment for lies or a joke.

It was clear from his expression that he was speaking the truth which allowed a torrent of new questions to bloom inside of me.

“What do you mean you are not from this world?”

I heard my sister ask.

This was naturally also something I couldn’t wrap my head around so I closely stared and waited for a reply.

“I mean that I died in my old world, one as different from this one as heaven and earth, and came here.

How or why I can’t tell you, all I know is that after I died the next thing I remember was waking up in this body you all seemed to call ‘Li Jun’.

And before you ask, no, I don’t think he is still alive.

It has been nearly a month now but I never heard a voice in my sleep, during the day or anything similar.

Everything is as if this was my original body so my best bet is that ‘Li Jun’ has already moved on.”

I could feel a tremble through my sister’s hand and knew that she was thinking the same thing as me.

If news of this started floating around the clan…

The results of something like that would be terrible, especially considering the Clan Head’s, Li Kong’s temper.

No wonder ‘Fiodor’ had been adamant about us staying with him until he died after answering our questions.

This kind of information wasn’t only dangerous, it was deadly.

Just like this we learned more about the mysterious entity called ‘Fiodor’.

The conversation itself continued until nearly dawn.

Through it, both my sister and I had a general idea of the ‘paradise’ that Fiodor was describing to us.

From metal birds that sailed through the sky to a hidden archive of information and indecent material that he called ‘Porn’, many things came to light.

All of this sounded like a fantasy or crazy dream but despite my doubts and inquiries, his responses and explanation were too sudden and sound to be made up.

Either he was completely mad or telling us the truth.

Those were the only two options I was left with after an entire night of questioning and every time I looked into his warm eyes I couldn’t help but lean towards the later.

If someone like him was a mad and a crazy lunatic, then I would gladly join him in this world of his.

It sounded so much better than this one after all.

One thing this late night talk did explain were several of his actions or behaviors me and sister always couldn’t help but describe as ‘strange’.

The news that slaves were no longer a thing back in his old world shocked us both silly, only finding out that cultivation didn’t exist either and was only a theoretical concept trumped that.

That technology could evolve to a stage where by pressing a thing that he called ‘button’ and entire country would go up in flames without any need for Qi or effort was a frightening concept.

Even more so when he told us about something called an ‘A-bomb’, a weapon of mass destruction.

‘Radiation poisoning, ‘World wars’, ‘Biological Warfare’, many unknown concepts and terms that sent chills down my spine were explained to us with a light hearted tone.

It was clear that this ‘paradise’ was in no sense perfect but still a lot more peaceful nowadays, according to Fiodor.

Countless unthinkable tales of human ingenuity and achievements left both my sister and me flabbergasted.

Walking on the ‘Moon’, the abolishment of old political systems in many countries, a strange energy called ‘electricity’ that seemed to give power to nearly everything in his old world.

Much he told us that we would have to slowly think about and make sense off.

It was definitely too much to comprehend in a single night and as the sunlight of a new day was beginning to warm our bodies, my eyelids started to droop.

I felt tired, confused by what the ‘Young Master’ had told us and curious about what else he would tell us.

“Alright, I think that is enough for now.

We will have enough time to talk about this later, now that I know that I can fully trust you two.

You both look tired to the point of falling over so don’t force yourself any longer and just take a nap.”

He said in a warm and soothing voice before gently pushing my shoulder so that I fell backwards and onto the bed.

“But we have our duties as your servants to take care of and have to make sure that-“

I tried to argue back while struggling weakly against this all too powerful arm that was pressing me into the soft embrace of the Young Master’s bed.

My eyes closed by themselves and I could hear the faint reply of the man that I now knew as Fiodor from somewhere in the distance.

“For now you don’t need to worry about anything. Get some rest and we will continue our conversation when you wake up. Sleep tight you two.”

That last part made me want to struggle against the blanket that was thrown over me and held me like iron weights, but it was pointless.

After only a few seconds, darkness filled my mind despite the sunlight that was shining through the paper windows and a dream filled with an exotic and unknown world took me away.

…..

The cat was finally out of the bag.

I had told them everything despite a small nagging voice in the back of my head telling me that I was being stupid without holding anything back.

Right now I was sitting in the training area of the Li clan and watching various youths practice their Martial arts as well as Qi techniques on a few training targets or in an exchange of pointers.

Martial arts used Qi together with weapons or in tune with the body while Qi Techniques on the other hand focused on using the inner Qi of a practitioner outside of the body in various forms.

I was once told from Hua Hong that there were 4 different grades for Martial arts and Qi techniques.

From the worst to the best it was Basic, Mortal, Earth and Heaven grade.

Each of these also had a low, middle or high rank which determined how useful or efficient a particular Martial art or Qi technique was.

It was simple logic that determined that a Heaven grade high rank Martial art would be a god like fortune to chance upon.

Even the ‘Blazing Fists’ that I was currently studying with the help of Hua Hong was only rated as a Basic middle rank Martial art.

Despite that as a Basic grade it was pretty simple to get a grasp of, I had quite an internal struggle in comprehending certain aspects described in it.

Like how the hell am I supposed to let my punch be both explosive and fiery at the same time?

With not much explanation except these vague concepts of throwing a punch given to me I had naturally hit a bit of a roadblock in my study of the ‘Blazing Fists’.

This was quite normal, Hua Hong had told me, as mastering a martial art or Qi technique, even when it was of the lowest grade, was a difficult thing.

Not only that but Qi techniques, which needed the person in question to use their Qi outside of the body could only be practiced when one reached the Qi Condensation stage.

The difference between a Qi Condensation Cultivator and a Body Enlightenment Cultivator using the same Qi technique while having the same mastery over it was said to be enormous.

Which was why Qi Techniques being generally only a thing for those at the Body Enlightenment stage or above (whatever that might be, maybe one day we will find out) was the overall common sense.

I for one had no thoughts about acquiring a Qi technique or even another martial art as I watched a boy of maybe 16 smash his hand against a brick which soon after the collision broke into two.

No, what I was trying to observe and gain a bit more understanding into was this mysterious thing called Qi.

Sure, I had personally experienced it many times while absorbing it into my body and knew that it had something to do with oxygen, but what exactly enabled an elderly man in his 40s to let a pillar of flame shoot out of his hand?

What made it so that a girl’s leg grew hard to the point of steel as she kicked a wooden pillar apart?

I watched countless different Martial arts and Qi techniques for the entire day as the people of the Li clan practiced.

Many noticed my hulking body sitting at a corner of the courtyard and watching them which attracted quite a bit of attention in its own right but after two hours, nobody paid any real mind to my eyes that followed their movements anymore.

From time to time I still received a quick look thanks to yesterday’s events with Xu Luin but other than that I was glad that nobody walked up to bother me.

Reason being that I felt myself inching closer towards an answer to my question since a few minutes ago.

What I was looking at was the before mentioned elder of the Li clan using various complicated hand seals that made no sense to me and looked like a certain yellow haired anime character giving it his all to me.

Having nurtured my Qi flame to the size of an adult’s fist, I had a certain feel for the Qi that was outside of my body, which included the one in the elder’s hands.

I was not really watching the seals he was performing, but more staring and feeling for the changes that the Qi in his hands was going through.

Logic alone told me that those seals had no real meaning as channeling Qi was more of a mental thing.

So what did they represent then?

The only thing that came to mind was a help of some sorts.

It was quite possible that this elder truly thought that the Qi technique he was performing only worked thanks to those seals, but my logic that didn’t stem from this world nor believed in the overall bullshit that making weird signs with your hand would determine if fire or water appeared from your hands.

When I reached this point my thought process came to a sudden and abrupt stop.

How exactly was Qi transforming into Fire or Water anyways?

I mean I understood that it had something to do with oxygen before but it was clearly only tied to it and not the actual thing, that much at least even I could feel when I absorbed it into my body.

So how then, with little connection to oxygen that was being burned to fuel a flame or the good old H2O could Qi turn into said things?

I mean it was obviously some kind of energy not present back on earth but how could a cultivator will it into a specific form?

Looking at my own hands while deep in thought, the answer soon enough appeared in my mind.

It had always been there, staring me directly in the face.

How did I absorb the Qi into my body or Qi Flame when I was meditating?

With my thoughts of course, but that was only half the answer.

It was imagination, desire or mental power, call it what you want, that enabled me to move this unknown energy.

If it was indirectly or directly linked with life on this planet itself I couldn’t say but I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t electricity that was currently coursing through my body but instead Qi, let’s just say that much.

And it was about time to find out if my revelation about Qi was right or not.

Because if it was… that would change everything.

I concentrated on my hand while sending the Qi in my body towards my palm.

Naturally I was still not at the stage where I could send my Qi freely outside of my body but there was still something else I could try.

With as much concentration as I could muster I thought about water, everything I knew about it from science classes, how clouds were made up of it, the oceans, rain, blood, moisture in the air, underground water sources, the feeling of being submerged into it and finally, I imagined my goal.

The Qi flame inside of me billowed before suddenly shrinking by nearly half as a wet patch appeared on my palm, seemingly sweat that had been pressed out of my body.

I stared at this small achievement with shaking hands before quickly looking around and wiping my palm clean.

It had taken me quite a bit of internal Qi because it was somewhat outside of my body but nevertheless, it had worked.

My theory was correct.

And I finally understood why I couldn’t understand the ‘Blazing Fists’ completely until now.

It was unclear to me if what I had discovered was common knowledge or an incredible secret but for me, it opened up a new world.

Childhood dreams of shooting fireballs out of my hand, creating earth walls beneath my feet when I walked and lifting my body with the power of the wind resurfaced for the first time in years together with something else.

A desire to grow stronger.

No longer only fueled by the want of staying alive but the need to see those dreams of an age long gone fulfilled.

As long as I reached a high enough level of cultivation, with my imagination, born from a different world and filled to the brim with thousands of stories created from brilliant minds as well as experiences of countless lifetimes, not even the sky seemed to be the limit.

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A tiny bit shorter than normal but I wanted to end it on that note.

Hope you liked it and as always, write a comment if you feel like it or find a mistake.

Always appreciate that!

Anyways, hope you all have a good day!