Seeing the girl soar into the sky and disappear in the distance, Liu Xing exhaled a breath of relief. His heart still thumped wildly like galloping horses. This sensation was a mix of excitement and nervousness. He felt excited because he was genuinely strong. The Lightning Cloak technique, despite being a Base Grade technique intended only to increase user speed, wasn't supposed to make him move as fast as lightning. The manual stated it could increase maximum speed threefold. However, after his gun absorbed and re-released the technique, the Lightning Cloak had become faster, stronger, and more efficient.

Moving with this technique felt surreal. The world didn't slow down; instead, everything blurred. Yet, his brain could process the blur, giving him the sensation of navigating a dark room while knowing everything inside it. Despite his excitement about his newfound strength, he felt conflicted about letting the girl go.

He now lived in a xianxia world that was often described as a dog-eat-dog world where only the strong and ruthless survived. He worried that the girl might harbor resentment and seek trouble in the future. Still, he couldn't bring himself to kill indiscriminately. He had only wanted his cave back and hoped she would understand and put the incident behind her.

"Even so, that girl is truly strong," he mused to himself.

Compared to the disciples from the previous year's tournament, her attacks were on a larger scale. He was fairly certain she hadn't even used her full power. She probably underestimated him and lost before she had a chance to get serious.

"But I'm still stronger than her!" Glancing at the gun in his left hand, he grinned. "If you were a woman, I would marry you!"

He pushed the matter of the girl to the back of his mind and headed toward his cave. As he walked, he began to plan his next steps. His immediate priority was breaking through to the Lock Opening realm sixth stage. To achieve this, he needed to find a location with abundant spirit beasts. However, to ensure his next hunting expedition went smoothly, he needed to train further.

Moving his broken little desk back into the cave, Liu Xing started making decisions. First, he needed more practice with his new techniques. While the Lightning Cloak's initial effect was already impressive, Liu Xing sensed room for improvement. He needed to train until he could utilize the Lightning Cloak without the gun's assistance. At that point, he was confident the technique would become even stronger after being reabsorbed by the gun. He also needed to test his Exploding Fist technique, assessing its power both as a standard technique and when amplified by the gun. Ideally, he aimed to master this technique, but given the backlash, Liu Xing would be satisfied if he could use it without injuring his fist.

"Only then can I go hunt spirit beasts." He nodded to himself as he placed a chest of clothes inside the cave. After storing all his belongings in the cave, he stepped outside again. His lawn was a mess, the ice that had already melted turning the clearing in front of his cave into mud. He wanted to resume training immediately, and while a designated training ground or the nearby forest would be more suitable, he worried someone else might try to claim his cave again. Therefore, he removed his shoes and robe, standing only in his pants, his feet sinking into the mud, and began to train right there and then.

He cycled his qi according to the Lightning Cloak Technique's instructions and began to feel tingles throughout his body. Without the help of his gun, he failed to activate the technique the first time and the second time, but he persisted with his training.

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Day and night, he tarin and didn't slack off. He enjoyed using the technique. Even when he occasionally stumbled and fell, his face landing in the mud, he would simply get up and continue training with determined eyes.

He recalled the last time he had enjoyed something so much was when he trained relentlessly to prepare for an interview in Japan. Back then, Nui, Mamat, and Joni would check on him, sometimes bringing food, sometimes just to hang out. While they weren't physically present, his gun, a gift from Nui, was here, and that felt like enough. Even separated by universes, they remained friends.

With that, two months passed.

***

Below the mountain, a river flowed through the valley. It was wide and deep, but the current was gentle, making it an ideal place to bathe. A boulder the size of a hut rested beside the riverbank. This boulder was not originally there. Liu Xing had dug it up from underground and carried it to this spot for his final training session.

Standing almost five hundred meters from the boulder, he held his gun in his left hand, aiming at the giant rock that, when he squinted, resembled an elephant.

"Alright, let's do it."

Liu Xing cycled his qi in a specific pattern and activated the technique. Nothing changed visibly, not even his gun, but he knew his Exploding Fist Lightning Variation technique was now loaded within the gun.

Focusing his mind, he aimed at the boulder in the distance. He relaxed his stance and pulled the trigger with complete confidence. He heard a soft whooshing sound and saw a blue bolt shoot from his gun. It covered the five hundred meters instantly and struck the boulder dead center. Immediately, the sound of the explosion reverberated, and the boulder shattered into smithereens. Dozens of palm-sized chunks flew outwards, hitting trees and splashing into the water, while the rest dissolved into a cloud of dust, spreading slowly like a lazy mist.

"Not bad, and that wasn't even at full power."

He could modulate the power of the Exploding Fist technique. When he used the technique manually with the same qi expenditure, the explosion was weak, like a firecracker. But inside his gun, that firecracker transformed into a full-blown explosive. He felt proud of his progress. Just two months prior, he had been a normal cultivator, but now he was likely one of the strongest among the outer disciples.

Concluding his training, Liu Xing began walking toward the sect. He was ready to hunt again and already knew the perfect location. A forest that was called the Dragon Skull Forest.

As he walked, his stomach suddenly rumbled, causing him to stop. His destination was the Mission Hall, but since he was hungry, he decided to stop by the Dining Hall first. The walk was uneventful, and soon he found himself in the spacious cafeteria. As it was morning, the place was crowded. Some disciples ate in silence, while others talked, gossiped, and loudly challenged each other. He chose one of the unoccupied tables in the corner of the room and started eating porridge made from spiritual rice, which aided in disciples' cultivation. Not far from where he sat, a group of disciples discussed recent interesting events within the sect. He recognized some of their faces, indicating they were older disciples like himself.

"This year's new disciples are unbelievable, I tell you!" A bald guy said.

"Yeah, I heard one of them is already at Lock Opening realm sixth stage, and just two months ago he was only at the third stage. His growth is insane."

One of them scoffed. "Even if the current batch are geniuses, I, Lei Peng, will crush them all like an elephant stepping on worms!"

"What are you talking about? You're the least impressive among us. Still only at Lock Opening realm fifth stage after years of cultivation."

"Watch your mouth! When I become an inner disciple, I'll make sure you're blocked from becoming one!"

"Alright, alright, brother Lei Peng, we apologize," the bald guy said while rolling his eyes.

They seemed to be close friends, and Liu Xing decided to eavesdrop on this group.

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