212 The Xianxia System
[Survivor Proficiency: +1 | 1/20]
Huh? He thought.
The act of consuming the water must’ve been the last act that helped level up the new proficiency. It was something he had realized beforehand, but in this situation, he was coming to terms with the potency of his unique system.
…Just about everything I do seems to be able to ascend. Social skills, cooking, and now survival skills? What’s this one do exactly, Mr. System? He thought.
Just like that, the voice answered in his head:
[‘Survivor’ focuses on developing skills and knowledge on sustaining yourself through any perilous environment. As of right now, you might find yourself grasping concepts you didn’t previously know. For example, inspect the nearby fruit.]
As the System told him this, he was a bit confused, but indulged the words from the inner voice as he walked over to the shrub near the riverbank, finding bulbous, yellow fruit that seemed inedible at a glance.
[How do you feel about this one?]
“…They’re fine to eat. Nutritious; they contain a good amount of water, so it serves both for calories and hydration,” he said.
It was surprising that he seamlessly knew this despite never having seen the odd fruit before, but the knowledge was already there in his mind.
As he took a couple of the yellow-skinned fruits with him, snacking on their juicy forms, he followed the riverbank for some ways, finding himself in a much more open area of the region.
Though something caught not only his eye, but his whole body as the entirety of the forest-jungle hybrid seemed to rumble and roar out.
What’s…? He questioned.
“Woah there, mate!”
It was the yell of a youthful, masculine voice, but he didn’t even process where it was coming from until he looked up, finding something sailing through the air, flying right towards him.
A bird…? No, that’s a person?! He realized.
There wasn’t much time to react, so he planted his boots down and held his arms out, managing to catch the mysterious person just before they crashed into him. The impact caused him to slide back several meters, but he eventually stopped as he helped the stranger up to their feet.
It was a man with lengthy, but messy hair of a bright-blonde shade, wearing cargo shorts and a verdant-and-brown vest; he looked like some sort of park ranger.
On his head was a beige hat with strings hanging from the sides, having a feather tucked onto its side.
“Thanks for the save there, mate! Yer a real bloody hero!”
The man seemed to be around his age, perhaps a couple years older, but he definitely wasn’t from the same region as him, not by a long shot by his potent accent.
He had deep, green eyes that were kind and a bright smile; his skin was tan, certainly presenting him as somebody that lived outdoors.
He’s…australian? He thought.
[Player Recognized…]
[Archie Irvine | Level 25]
Despite the System already likely introducing both of them to one another, the eccentric, blonde-haired man extended his hand, “Name’s Archie! Ya can call me ‘Arch” if ya want! Or anything, really!”
His level isn’t bad. He doesn’t seem like he has any malicious intent, either, he thought.
He accepted the man’s hand, nodding, “…Yeah, no problem, I’m Jeong-Hui, but…why were you flying?” He asked.
Before answering, Archie blinked at him before laughing without a care, “Oh, that? Well, there’s a big ol’ lizard thatta way!”
The blonde-haired man hailing from Australia pointed to the north, but all he could see from there were trees.
“…A big lizard?” He repeated with a raised eyebrow.
Archie seemed excited to clarify, “Oh yeah! A real big chook that one! I scared ‘im good so he slapped me with his tail, and I went flying right into yer arms there!”
“…Tail?”
It sounded like he was listening to some imaginary recollection from a child, but it was coming from a grown man.
“Yeah! It was about as big as one of these trees, I tell ya! C’mon, ya wanna see it, right?” Archie asked with sparkling eyes.
“…Err, no,” he replied.
Archie had already begun marching north as if certain that the red-haired young man was going to agree, only to stop at the clear-cut rejection as he spun around.
“Huh?! Why?!” Archie asked in shock.
“Do I really need to answer that? Whatever that lizard is, it sent you flying across the forest with its tail,” he explained, “…Sorry, but I’m not exactly up for that. I have friends I have to find.”
As he turned the other way to find another direction to go, he was stopped from words shouted from behind by the eccentric Australian.
“…Tracking, eh? That’s just my specialty! If they’re in this world, I can find ’em for ya!” Archie proclaimed.
This made him stop as the man certainly didn’t have the air of a liar, and the uniform he wore was definitely something of somebody experienced in the wilderness.
“You can help me find them?” He asked, glancing back.
“Sure can! I reckon it’ll be easy as piss! But, there’s just one condition!” Archie raised a single finger.
“And that is?”
Archie smiled brightly, “Yer gonna help me catch some critters!”
–
[Near The Capital of The Yinlong Empire]
“He’s too powerful…!”
“How is this fair?! We just got here?! We got to the level you asked for, God…so why?!”
Across the lavish courtyard just outside of the city protected by grandiose walls of such imposing height, bloodied corpses of those who had reached the Tower were strewn about, laying dead.
There were at least a dozen, all mutilated and felled at the feet of one man.
He was lanky, but wielded two, humongous halberds of a pure-white steel and dressed in jewels; spiked up were his silver locks, and looking forward with a fierce joy were his golden eyes.
Though he was slick with blood, it was not of his own, but the enemies he had slain; he wore a smile vibrant in ecstasy, thriving in battle.
“Is that all?! The Great Emperor foretold the arrival of challengers to the Yinlong kingdom’s glory, but I expected more! Ha-ha!” ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
[Yinlong Empire | One of The “Twelve Winged Generals” | Yahui, The Demon General | Level 40]
He had a tail sprouting from his tailbone, clad in scales that patched his silver hair; the same scales protected his forearms and chest.
Those that were still standing were those that had recognized the man’s level, freezing in fear and not having stepped one step closer since recognizing his strength.
“Come!” Yahui yelled out with a smile.
In addition to his singular command and challenge, the blood-lathered man of such indomitable fighting spirit slammed the bottom of his dual-wielded halberds against the tiled floor below, summoning a daunting roar of the wind.
“–“
“I can’t move…!”
None dared step closer to accept the challenge from Yahui; there were just three players left, of three levels of no consequence to an enemy of such magnitude:
[Tobias | Level 20]
[Rachel | Level 22]
[Jurah | Level 21]
The merciless general held a stoic expression after recognizing the lack of fighting spirit left in the three, holding a disappointed look as he moved his halberds slightly.
“…So be it. Out of my sights weaklings–”
–Just as the man began to swing one of his halberds, about to unleash a skill that would surely have the heads of the three–it was stopped.
“Huh?” Yahui raised an eyebrow.
What stopped his mighty weapon was not another, nor a shield, but something completely unexpected and inexplicable.
A…fist? Yahui realized.
It was a man with hair as pale as snow and a fair face that stood in juxtaposition of his muscular body; he wore a sleeveless, dark uniform with silver decorations, but most prominent of all were his eyes.
Those eyes the mysterious man possessed were as if one were staring into a kaleidoscope of many colors.
“You…stopped my halberd with your first?” Yahui asked.
The man didn’t answer, withdrawing his hand silently as he exuded an aura so suffocatingly thick that it forced the battle-loving general back, causing him to jump back.
“Who are you…?” Yahui asked.
Even the three that had nearly lost their lives were in shock, but they could see who the man was through their System.
[Guozhi | Level 44 | Xianxia System]
He was like them, but that wasn’t quite right. In all regards, that man was far above them.
“I am the one who will reach Heaven–with my fists alone,” Guozhi said calmly.
Yahui smirked as sweat trickled down his cheek, “–I’ll take you there right now!”
Utilizing both of his three-meter tall halberds, which boasted an incredible reach, the powerful, youthful general began rapidly swinging them towards the man.
CHNK. CHNK. CHNK.
Each swing was met with total nullification as the halberds’ edges were blocked by the immutable knuckles of the Xianxia System user; he was dead calm, keeping up with Yahui’s speed without breaking a sweat.
“…What’s…going on? I can’t see anything…it’s like they’re…blurry?” Tobias mumbled.
The surviving players that stayed behind this battle watched in a mixture of fear and awe, unable to perceive the movements of both fighters.
After swinging both halberds towards both sides of the pale-haired man with rainbow eyes, using a pincer-attack, Yahui was utterly surprised to find, once again, his attack was blocked effortlessly by Guozhi’s knuckles.
What is this man?! I’ve never met anybody like him! I don’t sense dragon blood in him, but his might is unfathomable! Yahui thought.
Guozhi looked at him with his stoic expression, “…Are you done waving those around? I’ll begin, then.”
Begin…? Yahui thought.
What came next took away all of the fighting spirit from the general that was utterly composed of that energy.
The man with colorful eyes of a divine shade held a calm stance, pressing both palms together as the moment both hands met, “something” was invoked.
Beneath the enigmatic man’s slippers, the tile below became translucent, shifting into a glimpse into the cosmos themselves.
There was a haze that encircled Guozhi; though it was no simple fog–a nebula was worn around his neck and under his arms like a scarf; the very clouds of creation.
The snow white hair of his became softly radiant, flowing like the absolute, untampered white of an empty realm; spheres gathered around him, worn like a bead necklace of planets.
What…is this? Yahui thought.
“Transcendence.”
It was a simple realization, and one confirmed by a single glance of Guozhi, who now stood with a celestial nebula around him and planetary beads hung around his neck; the glitter of stars hung around him and below each step he took, the cosmos seemed to follow.
I don’t understand. This man is…different? He’s not human–he’s evolved. He’s become something else, Yahui thought.
The other players watched from a distance, but the sight was too complex and beyond reason; it was impossible for their eyes to decipher.
Once Guozhi finally parted his palms from one another, his eyes opened once more, revealing those rainbow kaleidoscopes for eyes had shifted, holding the veil of the cosmos within them.
“I am ready,” Guozhi said.
What proceeded could not be called a battle.
In truth, it was over in the blink of an eye. What it could be called was “punishment”–perhaps for the sins committed by Yahui, or perhaps simply just for attacking a man possessing such transcendent qualities.
“Trampling the weak should not bring one such joy. Perhaps you’ll learn that in the next life,” Guozhi said.
Though his words met no ears, as all that was left was a massive crater in the courtyard, stretching well over a few acres, embedded in the perfect shape of a human hand.
Nothing was left of the Winged General.