53 – Bullet Intent? Gun Intent?

“Uwoeh. That was scary as fuck!” I shook my hand as I walked beside my father. “I really thought she was going to kill me for a second there.”

“The five good-for-nothings don’t even compare, right?” my father added. “Now you understand what it feels like when someone truly powerful gets serious.”

I nodded, still remembering the cold shiver that had run through me just from Senior Sister Hanhua’s presence alone. Good thing I landed that cheap shot and it was only first to hit. Still…

“If we fought for real,” I asked, “who do you think would win?”

“Oh, look at you,” my father cooed, treating me like a proud parent watching his child boast. “Won a couple of exchanges and already getting a big head.”

“Come on,” I whispered urgently. “Not in front of everyone.”

I glanced around, silencing the nearby whispers and stares with a glare.

“Well, you do have potential,” my father continued more seriously.

“But?”

“But it’s shit.” He adds honestly. “Which makes sense. You’ve been in this world for less than a year.”

“Could you elaborate?” I asked, genuinely interested.

“Your application of power is certainly… creative,” he began. “But also very limited. Take your Divine Fog, for example.”

I leaned forward. Guess now I have the name for my black fog.

“Creating the Divine Fog and imbuing it with your divine sense is a solid idea. But like with presence of a stronger cultivator, A stronger cultivator can suppress others with pure divine sense, which is why those five retreated so quickly. It’s also the foundation of most Illusion Arts. However, in your hands, it’s mostly brute force. Someone skilled in proper Illusion Arts could do far more with the same technique. That part is easily fixed with the right manuals.”

I nodded along.

“Is that also how harming someone’s divine sense can damage their body?” I asked.

“Correct. True Illusion Arts are far more subtle than your visible fog. Trapping others in an illusion to harm their mental strength or soul. If strong enough, they can harm both soul and body. Your Divine Fog works as concealment, so I’ll let it pass. Those little copies of yourself however…”

“It’s a work in progress,” I defended.

“They consume too much Qi, demand perfect concentration, and you can barely control more than a few at once?”

I winced. “I assume this is a common pitfall?”

“Indeed,” my father nodded. “This is not something you can brute force. How you develop this ability will depend entirely on you.”

“Finally, there are those guns of yours.”

“What about them?” I asked, tilting my head.

“It’s one thing to take pride in your heritage and weapon,” my father said. “It’s another to remain blind to its flaws.” He sighed at my confused expression.

“Tell me son, why did Hanhua feel so terrifying to you earlier?”

I thought for a moment. “Her Sword Intent? Her sword arts? Her training?”

“Everything?” I answered uncertainly.

“Shoot me,” my father said suddenly.

“What?”

“I’ll show you.”

I projected the 8mm (24mm) railgun and aimed it straight at his head from less than a hand’s length away. I glanced at him skeptically. He was completely serious.

BANG!

The bullet split cleanly in two without him moving a muscle. The halves screamed past his head and slammed into a distant rock formation, exploding on impact.

“What was the last thing Hanhua said about Sword Intent?” my father asked calmly.

“It is what separates true swordsmen from those who merely swing blades,” I recited.

He nodded, tracing a finger along the railgun’s barrel. “Ideals and heritage are important. But what separates you from anyone else who simply possesses a gun?”

“You speak passionately about purpose when talking about your weapon, yet how is that any different from what sword cultivators say about theirs? You’ve already offended many people by dismissing the sword. Those people, like Hanhua, can grow stronger through their sword. Can you do the same with your gun?”

OH FUCK! I fucked up big time! If people ain’t gonna lynch me, they are going to challenge me one by one!

I hadn’t thought about it that deeply. “Well… making a gun stronger usually just means making it bigger, but I’m guessing that’s not what you mean,” I muttered. “So… uh, haha. What do I need to do? Master something like Bullet Intent? Gun Intent?”

“That is for you to discover,” my father replied, a faint chuckle in his voice as he resumed walking. “No one uses guns in this world. So… good luck with that.”

I gripped both antlers tightly, trying to process everything. This was turning out to be far deeper and more complicated than I expected. Why couldn’t things just be as shallow as a puddle? I liked puddles. I hate anything deeper than my waist.

It looked like I would be heading to the Grand Library.

“Now, if you like to learn swords however…”

“I’m going to the library first.” I said at the exact same time as my father. Without hesitation, I activated the Great Thundergod Steps and shot off toward the library.

What was that about? Is he going to teach me swords? So I got that covered. For now, I needed Illusion Arts manuals and something useful for developing my guns.

Luochen let out an annoyed sigh as his son disappeared in a blur. Just a little longer, he thought. He’ll pick up the sword eventually. Definitely.

—

I arrived at the towering doors of the Grand Library. Instead of lounging with his feet on the table as usual, Tianjiao was standing right at the entrance, as if expecting me. His face was beaming with unrestrained joy, his smile stretched ear to ear.

“So!” he exclaimed enthusiastically. “What are you looking for today, young master?”

“More Illusion Arts manuals,” I answered. “And some weapon arts, if possible.”

Tianjiao leaned forward dramatically, cupping a hand to his ear. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

“Illusion Arts and some weapon arts,” I repeated, sensing trouble.

He moved even closer. “I’m sorry… did I hear correctly? No Sword Arts?”

“No?”

“No Sword Arts at all?”

“Yes.”

“HAHAHAHA!” Tianjiao threw his head back and laughed loudly, clearly delighted. “Excellent! Since this isn’t your first visit, you’ll need to spend merit points for the manuals. However, because you didn’t request any Sword Arts, I’ll generously offer you a discount.”

“Uh… is this some kind of petty jab at my father? Is there some kind of silly thing I am not in for?”

“Do you want the discount or not?”

I caught on quickly. “Absolutely. There is definitely nothing suspicious going on here.”

“Good boy.” Tianjiao stepped aside with a satisfied grin. “Now hurry inside before I regret offering that discount.”

I dashed inside the Grand Library.

“The second floor is off limits!” Tianjiao called after me.

Before I started grabbing books at random, I decided to check the rules. My eyes landed on the towering central pillar I had ignored during my previous visit. Elegant characters were carved deeply into the ancient stone, glowing faintly with spiritual light.

“All manuals on the first floor shall be exchanged for one hundred Merit Points.

All manuals on the second floor shall be exchanged for one thousand Merit Points.

No outward signs distinguish the value or profundity of any art. Let your Dao Heart be your guide. Choose wisely, and never regret the path you walk.”

Damn. So there might be complete trash manuals mixed in with the good ones? Or was every manual of equal quality and it was simply a test of judgment? Either way, it felt like a clever way to trap people with the sunk cost fallacy. Once you spend the points, you’d probably force yourself to master whatever you picked.

I currently have one thousand Merit Points. That meant I could afford ten first-floor manuals… but that felt excessive. Five at most seemed reasonable.

Now let’s see. I wandered through the towering shelves of the first floor, scanning the countless manuals. After some browsing, I settled on two basic Illusion Arts that seemed useful.

The first was a humble-looking scroll titled “Dreamweaver’s Veil”. A manual focused on creating intricate mental illusions capable of trapping opponents in fabricated realities, attacking their mind and soul directly. The second was “Phantom Sensory Prison”, which specialized in deceiving the target’s external senses. Sight, sound, touch, and even smell, to create perfect disorientation and concealment.

Mostly interested in the former as I have no idea on how to do it while the latter is mostly to enhance my Divine Fog. Satisfied with those, I moved on to weapon arts. For bows, I picked “Gale Sovereign Bow”, an exaggeratedly named art that dramatically boosted the speed and destructive power of each shot, and the more modest “Guiding Willow Arrow”, which focused on precise arrow control, mid-flight adjustments, and multi-arrow coordination.

Finally, for my hammer, I chose a straightforward manual called “Mountain Shaking Strike”. It was a simple but effective force-amplifying technique that multiplied the raw physical power behind every swing. Nothing fancy, but fancy is not what a hammer needs.

Exiting the Grand Library, I show Baldy Tianjiao with the five manuals I pick.

“Interesting.” Tianjia comments as he deducts five hundred Merit Points.

“What is?”

“Nothing.” 

So I just shrug. with five manuals secured and five hundred Merit Points spent, I felt reasonably satisfied. Time to head back and start studying. I blasted home using the Great Thundergod Steps. No way I was sticking around to get challenged or lynched after that spectacle.

I landed in my courtyard like a thunderclap, startling Wuchen who was reading in the gazebo.

“I’m going to get busy reading. Don’t disturb me.” I tell him to notify the others.

“Are you going into seclusion?” Wuchen asks.

“Yes, sounds like what I am going to do.” I enter my house. “Also, I met your sister.” Then I close the door.

—

I drop the five books on the table. Then I remembered something. Pulling out two additional books. The Great Thundergod Steps and Tranquil Heart Sutra. I should be able to try the Second Step of the former while the latter is not yet checked.

I glanced at the five books I chose. Picking one before swiftly putting it down. What if it doesn’t work though? Let’s just read the Sutra first. It is somehow quite thin so this can be a good icebreaker.

Picking the Tranquil Heart Sutra and started reading it. It looks normal enough. A Qi circulation and chant method to stabilize the mind and strengthen the soul. To maintain absolute clarity and inner peace even under extreme pressure.

No. Wait.

I flipped through the Sutra at blinding speed, reaching the end in seconds. What the hell? I flipped back. Less than ten pages. This was supposed to be a Sutra right? A holy book, a scripture, like the Bible? Where’s the history? Life stories? The parables? This is just an instruction manual.

Still, I had memorized the core Qi circulation routes and chants. It was actually easier to understand than half the textbooks I’d suffered through for my bachelor’s degree. No weird conversion requirements either, so it probably wasn’t heresy if I gave it a try.

I closed my eyes and began circulating my Qi according to the instructions while softly chanting the verses. The effects were immediate. Layers of anxiety and doubt I hadn’t even noticed started melting away. But then my head began burning while my body grew icy cold. A sharp ringing pierced my ears.

“Wah!” I gasped and stopped instantly as the brief calm was replaced by a throbbing headache.

What the fuck was that? It clearly helped stabilize my mind, so why the backlash? Was it because of Qi circulation? It was the only thing I could think of. It felt like forcing my brain to do something it wasn’t built for. This never happened with my projection and Great Thundergod Steps. So external use of Qi is fine but not internal? The more I experimented, the more questions piled up.

Let’s not use the Tranquil Heart Sutra anytime soon.

Then I pick up one of the five books.

More calmer and mentally prepared than before.