SK 10

(10: Chase)

"This is for today, I guess. We don't want to be annoying guests." Xiao Yuyan said as she readied herself to leave.

"Not at all, Lady Xiao." Dai Mo went up to see her off.

"My Senior Sister and I are staying in the Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant. Drop by tomorrow, Dai Jin, I want to treat you to something nice."

"Alright." Dai Jin nodded happily. Both versions of him are not the kind to let a meal down.

"We are troubling you will Jin'er, Lady Xiao."

"It's really no trouble at all." Xiao Yuyan said then thought for a second before adding, "We will be staying for another week so let's hang around until then."

"Wait! What?" Xi Ming seemed to have not been informed about this development beforehand.

"Alright then. Farewell." Xiao Yuyan walked out with Xi Ming chasing after her.

Both Dai Mo and Dai Jin were left clueless about the situation but as soon as Xiao Yuyan and Xi Ming exited the Dai Clan residence, Xi Ming held Xiao Yuyan and dragged her to a quiet place.

"What the hell are you thinking? We were to leave tomorrow after treating that idiot pet of yours." Xi Ming said in anger.

Xiao Yuyan forcefully freed her arm from Xi Ming's grip.

"You are not to call him that anymore." Xiao Yuyan said glaring at Xi Ming.

"Enough with your damn fantasies. Nothing of this would bring the past back. You are wasting time and money in this town that is not even on the map for a shitty brat and a history that is long since gone."

"Shut up." Xiao Yuyan almost shouted, "I made a promise. His father and… my father. They may be both gone but I made a promise for Concubine An to look after him. Little Jin is finally recovering. This is all good news, very good news."

Xiao Yuyan said so and walked past Xi Ming. The latter didn't drop the subject and pursued it after Xiao Yuyan.

"And why would the Demon Concubine care for the child of one of her maids." She asked.

"I only made a promise." Xiao Yuyan replied.

"And the training in the Immortal Tomb?"

"Sister Xi." Xiao Yuyan halted her steps and looked with a tired face at Xi Ming, "Will the Immortal Tomb open during the next week?"

"It may not but we…"

"It won't. Neither the week after it. So instead of camping in the dirty woods among the bugs and the monsters, why don't we stay at the nearby town where we can sleep on clean beds, eat good food and have plenty of training resources only an arm away."

"That's…"

"That's the situation we are in. We can always go back. The big schools and sects have their locations saved up. No one dares steal our places with you around."

Xiao Yuyan knew the weakness of Xi Ming being vulnerable to compliments.

"Well, I guess… if that's possible… but no more than a damn week I swear." Xi Ming reluctantly agreed.

"And you just became the best senior sister in the world."

***

Back at the Dai Clan, Dai Jin and Dai Mo were still sitting together.

"The virtuous lady and the mysterious lady have left." Dai Mo said.

"Right." Dai Jin nodded, "I guess we can call this a night then, Grandpa."

"Alright, come here." Dai Mo gestured for Dai Jin to approach and recovered a few things from his sleeve.

"What is that?"

"I guess you started training now so you must have a Martial Novice allowance. Here are your weekly 5 Liangs."

"5… Liangs?"

Dai Jin was gratified. He worked all day long swindling the swindlers and cheating the cheaters before making one-fifth of what his grandfather would have just handed him.

"And what are these books?"

Other than the 5 Liangs, his grandfather seemed to have given him two books as well. One looked fresh and the other looked worn.

"This book is our Dai Clan's Martial Technique. You may learn it as all family members do. This worn book on the other hand is something Tian'er… your father used to have. It is a martial technique as well but I never figured it out, to be honest. Still, it is said to be much better than the Clan's technique and very powerful. After all, your father became a high ranking officer in the army thanks to it." Dai Mo said.

"Is that so?" Dai Jin seemed troubled not knowing if he could learn anything like that at all without the help of the System but he decided to give it a try, "I will try my best."

"Good, good. I hope Tian'er is happy watching ove… I hope he is happy wherever he is." Dai Mo smiled, "There is one last item that belongs to you but it is kept safe in the family's treasure room."

"What kind of item are we talking about?"

"It is a medicinal pill. Very precious, very miraculous." Dai Mo said, "I have never told you before but your father and mother intended to give you this pill alongside another ingredient saying it is the only way to fix your Meridians."

Dai Jin felt the seriousness and the value of this pill. But… if it is kept in the Family's Treasury, there is a big chance the rest of the Dai Clan are eyeing it. That's how they always did things back in the day.

"Rest assured, grandfather. This child will take everything to the heart and work hard." Dai Jin said and then remembered the reason why he was after money in the first place, "Grandpa, do you know an item called Spirit Stones?"

"Spirit Stones? Yes, all Warriors know about Spirit stones. But you are an External Martial Arts practitioner, Jin'er, you have no use for such things." Dai Mo said.

"Oh! It is just…" Dai Jin didn't really want to lie to his grandfather but he had to at least figure it out, "Master Sage said… he can make me stronger with Spirit Stones."

"Truly? I have never heard of External Martial Arts that require Spirit Stones but how would they help you?"

"I am not sure, to be honest." Dai Jin didn't give a straight answer.

"Alright. Wait here." Dai Mo walked into his residence then walked out with a small purse, "Here are 50 Spirit Stones."

"50?" Dai Jin almost jumped around.

"It is also part of the Martial Novice allowance but I thought you don't need it. A Silver Liang can buy 10 of them so be careful not to lose them."

Dai Jin received the purse and nodded.

"I better go back and do some training then." Dai Jin was in haste now to get back to the Game World and upgrade his items.

"Alright, don't overdo it." Dai Mo saw Dai Jin off and took his time standing under the darkening sky.

After ten years, there was no word of Dai Tian or his wife. Dai Jin almost died and then he is now finally picking up the path to Martial Arts. It is truly good news. If only those two were here to watch over and protect their son.

***

Dai Jin was hot on heels heading towards his courtyard but surely he has used all of his luck today as he pumped into Dai Yaoting.

"Hey, trash." Dai Yaoting called.

"What do you want?" Dai Jin turned to him but instead of being replied to, he felt a couple of feet landing on his torso as Dai Yaoting landed a fall kick on him.

Dai Jin didn't endure the force and was launched backward for his back to land on a wall. He still managed to endure and stand up.

"Heh! You really have become bold. Since when do you stand up from one of my hits?" Dai Yaoting looked at Dai Jin in disdain while spitting at him.

"Little fucker."

Dai Jin wasn't at any rate in the mood to deal with Dai Yaoting. Still, the little fucker was quick and hit like a Lv.3 enemy. So this guy is only a level higher than Dai Jin as it seemed.

Dai Jin wouldn't normally be afraid of a Lv.4 but what made him hesitate was the ones standing behind Dai Yaoting. It was those guards that met him at the gate especially the one that tried to get him in trouble in front of Dai Mo.

"So he was your lackey."

"Hmph! Next time, don't go running your mouth to Dai Mo, you piece of shit, and just get hit." Dai Yaoting tried to punch Dai Jin one more time but Dai Jin hurried and moved away.

"Don't you dare escape."

"Fuck you!"

Dai Jin didn't want to confront them in such a hallway among the courtyards since he can already guess he will be disadvantaged either way. Still, he soon found himself cornered with four guards alongside Dai Yaoting.

"You guys realize that once my grandfather finds out, you are all fucked?" Dai Jin said.

The guards looked between themselves and laughed, it seemed that he had said something so funny they can no longer hold themselves.

"And why would anyone listen to trash? Even if your grandfather complained, we all have alibis, you idiot." A guard said.

"Well, you shouldn't call him an idiot. He became very talkative lately as it seemed." Dai Yaoting joined the mockery as well as he seemed to be harboring the intention to attack Dai Jin any moment.

On the other hand, Dai Jin was vigilant to his surroundings and started figuring out a plan to fight back.

"System, please tell me I can use the shop now."

< Opening Game World Store… >

Without even glancing at the list, Dai Jin knew what he was buying.

"Exchange 5 Spirit Stones for the [Brass Knuckles]."

< Purchase Complete! >

"Equip the Knuckles."

Two Brass Knuckles appeared on Dai Jin's fist which were covered under his long sleeves. He made sure he was grabbing them right and lowered his posture as he initiated the attack on the first guard who was covering his escape route.

The guard instantly responded with a left jab but Dai Jin saw it coming and evaded it before viciously striking the ribcage of the guard with a hook from the side right under his left. Dai Jin could swear that he felt his fist sinking deeper than it should as the guard howled from the unimaginable pain.

The guard beside the first tried to straight kick him off his mate but using the Footwork he learned, Dai Jin evaded the kick and faced the kicker in one turn. His right hand held the kicking leg to disturb the guard's stance and with his left, he launched a punch with the knuckle right to the side of the jawline under the right ear. Once again, the guard fell from just one attack.

If the system was functioning in the real world, he would have given Dai Jin two "Critical" notifications just for his move.

*Thud* *Thud*

Either way, this doesn't change the fact that Dai Jin has taken down two Early Martial Novice warriors in a breath of time.

"What… what sort of trickery did this idiot use?" Dai Yaoting couldn't believe what he was seeing but the reality was that Dai Jin had opened to himself an escape route and now he can simply just run.

"Support me." Dai Yaoting recovered faster than Dai Jin expected and ran towards Dai Jin but instead of attacking straight forward. He jumped towards the nearby wall a few feet to his right and launched himself by kicking against the wall intending to show no more mercy towards Dai Jin.

Dai Jin barely managed to dodge the little fucker by stepping back at the nick of time but the other two warriors came forward with a joint palm attack towards his chest.

"Argh!"

It was simply too difficult for him to endure and he was pushed back almost falling down only to see Dai Yaoting coming at him with a knee towards his face.

"Shit!"

He barely avoided it and took his distance form by rolling on the ground once and running back.

This small encounter left him out of breath but a glimmer of hope appeared when one of the servants walked out with a lantern.

"What is this noise over here?"

The servant came from behind Dai Yaoting and his group forcing the group to check on the identity of whoever came in. Once Dai Yaoting saw it was a servant, he turned violent instantly.

"PISS OFF, YOU BASTARD!"

"Young master, he's running." A guard pointed at Dai Jin who was already taking a turn away from them.

"Fucker! I'll catch him…" Dai Yaoting wanted to chase but he felt that this situation got out of hand already with two guards injured, "Bastard, this isn't over."

Meanwhile, Dai Jin reached his courtyard and locked his door while huffing. The pain in his chest was so terrible that he had to fall down on the wall and rest.

"Fuck! Fuck you, Dai Yaoting. Fuck all the Dai Clan."

Dai Jin was gnashing his teeth from both pain and frustration.

"A fucking 14 years old brat made me run like a bitch! Fucking pathetic. I'm fucking smashing his face one day."

Dai Jin simply dragged his body and went off to his bed, he didn't change or anything but directly went to sleep.

"Log In."

Back in the Game World, Dai Jin felt like all his aches and pains had gone away. If he stays here, he can simply endure and train to get stronger. He needs the next level up in order to beat that shit face called Dai Yaoting.

"Storage!"

———————————
« Storage »
- Spirit Stone x45
- Silver Liang x5
- Wen Coins x1200
- [Dai Clan's Smashing Circle Technique]
- [Wolf Fang Edge Technique]
———————————

"System, can I learn any of those techniques?"

< Training Tip: Ash has the ability to memorize and duplicate any ability registered to him. >

"Truly? Fine, register those two to him."

Dai Jin ran out of the dojo right away and saw Ash in his usual spot which is the center of the fighting ring where he faced him once.

"Senior Martial Brother, hehehehe. Show me that Smashing Circle Technique."

Ash is the third NPC in the Temple and the one with the least presence, his face is very ordinary, actually it is too ordinary one might even forget it the moment he looks away. Unlike Master Sage and Scarlet, however, his training options are the most versatile. Dai Jin can request a demonstration of any skill, an imitation of any enemy or even just a spar.

Just as Dai Jin asked him to demonstrate a skill, Ash seemed to have tapped into the knowledge of the technique somehow and instantly executed it.

The first try was him just using his leg. The Smashing Circle was an area attack as the book in Dai Jin's hand mentioned and it would cover most of the area around the warrior using it. It is also more effective when used without a weapon or with a blunt one rather than a bladed weapon but it simply focuses the Natural Qi force into a certain spot of the attack causing it to be stupidly strong. It was a worthy technique but still trash in the eyes of actual techniques since it had too many openings and relied on limiting the movements. In other words, it is just an overpowered roundhouse attack at best.

The other technique was the [Wolf Fang Edge] which was very promising compared to the one before it. If used unarmed, it would focus the Natura Qi force of the user to be focused on the tips of their strikes such as claw attacks and stab attacks or even slashing with the tip. It can be used in more than just one way and cause a great effect but it still depends on how much the user can keep up and how good of a fighter they are. Compared to the first technique, this one is very fast and explosive.

One thing to note is that those two techniques rely on Natural Qi force or in other words, the Null Element. The Null Element is not the most reliable thing to use since it is simply Qi without any Element enforcing it. They can still be mixed with Elemental Qi afterward which raises their power by a few folds depending on the Qi type and the application of the technique. It is basically a science of its own and Dai Jin was beginning to tap into it but he still lacked the most important step and that is to learn how to manipulate Qi.

He gave up on learning the techniques now and returned to the Fights Board where he went against a Lv.3 Thief one more time but didn't even level up.

"For heaven's sake. I have finished 6 fights out of 25 at this level. Shouldn't I at least be Lv.3 by now."

He was frustrated now that he only had two more fight attempts for tonight and the last fight was extremely difficult even with the new Lv.2 Brass Knuckles.

It was then when he decided to do one more shot in survival since it was the one he avoided the most as it mostly ended with death.

Now he stood back in the jungle again and walked in disheartened steps looking for any opponents to fight. For some reason, most of the Shadow Fiends he met were Lv.2 and Lv.3 which made him fight in some insane situations. He slew eleven of them and his progression in the Survival Mode has risen to 13%.

As the area he was farming in became much cleaner now, he spotted a different Shadow Fiend which was hiding behind a tree. The moment he tried to circle around it, the Shadow Fiend started escaping.

< Objective: Chase down the spy. >

"Huh?"

Dai Jin couldn't comprehend what just happened but he soon remembered that the Survival Mode had some secret events going on. This is surely one of them. He instantly tried to follow this presence from a while ago and locked on him closeby. The shadow was still trying to lose him but Dai Jin was running around with all his vigor in order to make the impression that he is up to that spy no matter where he hides.

Soon after, he cornered the spy in a clearing between the bamboo trees, a place that is usually used for the arena fights.

< Objective: Chase down the spy - Complete! >

"You… you have chased me this long. You are truly troublesome. Master Viper should never know I was discovered or it will be the end of me. I'll end you here or now." The so-called spy rambled.

"Yeah, bro, just give me a sec… need to catch my breath."

< Optional: Fight the spy - Reward: advantage over Viper >

"Hell, yeah. Let's do it."

< Deducting 1 Energy Point >

"Energy point? No! Wait, that's the last one I had."

< Lv.3 - Snitch >

<Dai Jin vs. Snitch >

< Round 1 >

< Ready! >

< Fight! >

And the fight began. Dai Jin realized after this fight the importance of Survival Mode as the secret it uncovers will be the most game-changing feature the Game World has to offer.