Chapter 4: The Cultivation System
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
A short distance away, Ling Fei kept her brother behind her. Fear rose in her heart as she watched them fight. Never in her dreams would she ever have imagined that martial artists could be so strong.
Within her team of bodyguards, many were trained in martial arts since young. They were well versed in various martial art forms such as kickboxing, taekwondo, and judo, but they were still only slightly more capable of fighting than ordinary people. At most, they could take on three to five ordinary men at once.
However, the martial prowess displayed by those two far surpassed her expectations.
Once this ordeal was over, Ling Fei decided that she must find a way to employ such masters to be her bodyguards. That was the only way to ensure their safety.
"You're a Baodan Grandmaster!" exclaimed Poison Scorpion. His eyes widened as though he had just seen a ghost.
He couldn't believe that he saw a Baodan Grandmaster! Not only that but also one so young!
The reason why he was so sure about his judgment was that he, himself, was already a HuaJin Master. He had had a unique encounter when he was young and was allowed the chance to become the disciple of a martial powerhouse. Then, after many years of braving through deadly dangers, he finally made it to the stage of HuaJin.
He could be considered top-of-the-line in the current martial arts circle. Who would have known that he would be crippled of both hands by a single kick?
There could only be one possibility. His opponent was a fighter above the stage of HuaJin; he was a Baodan Grandmaster.
"That's impossible! He's too young!"
Poison Scorpion was almost scared to death by his revelation. His opponent looked a little over 20, but his strength was comparable to a Baodan Grandmaster. One could not advance this quickly, even if they began practice within their mother's womb!
Within the martial arts realm, such existences were legendary masters of the martial arts world, few and far between.
"Wait, that's not right. You're an Awakened! You're not a warrior!" A more horrific possibility came to Poison Scorpion's mind. His opponent was not a martial arts practitioner but a more mysterious Awakened!
Only an Awakened could possess such staggering power just by awakening. However, even so, he had never seen an Awakened with strength so frightening.
He was a man as strong as a Baodan Grandmaster. Even within the Awakened, he would be one of the greatest.
"I am not an Awakened, nor am I a Warrior. I am a cultivator!" Lu Xuan stated mildly.
To put things into perspective, be it an Awakened or a Warrior, both were subgroups under the system of Cultivation. However, not all cultivators were Warriors or part of the Awakened.
"However, there is no need for you to know all that since you'll be dead in a second!"
Lu Xuan's words alarmed Poison Scorpion, who jumped up and ran for his life. Both of his hands were rendered useless, and that immediately halved his battle power. Moreover, he was no match for Lu Xuan when he was in his best condition. Now that he was half-crippled, he stood even less chance.
The speed of a HuaJin Master was, unsurprisingly, fast, and he took a mere moment to reach the factory entrance. However, his joy died before he could celebrate. Whatever speed he had, Lu Xuan was faster. Before he knew it, a lethal Lu Xuan had already swept up to his back.
Spirit qi churned out of Lu Xuan's hands, forming a long sword of Vigor. He then brought down the sword onto Poison Scorpion.
Psshtt!
Poison Scorpion was killed with a single slash. He went down before he could even make it to the door.
Only till the very last seconds of his life did Poison Scorpion realize his grave error in judgment. Lu Xuan was not a Baodan Grandmaster, but a Great Grandmaster in the Big Dipper Stage.
There were at least two big cultivation stages between him and Lu Xuan!
Lu Xuan's expression was calm after he killed Poison Scorpion. To him, who was reborn, it was only natural to kill. He simply rid the world of a lowlife.
"There should be no problems now. Call the police immediately, and let them handle the rest!"
Lu Xuan fished a dated cellphone from Poison Scorpion's body and gave it to Ling Fei.
"If you wish to repay me, don't say anything about me to the cops. With your statuses, I believe that the police would not dare to give you a hard time!" Lu Xuan added.
After finishing what he had to say, he turned and left the abandoned factory.
With Lu Xuan's speed, he quickly reached the foot of the mountain. At the same time, police sirens were on full blast as they echoed off the trees, and he could see the many police cars making their way over from a distance.
Lu Xuan hid somewhere far out of sight as he watched the cops heading up the mountain. Upon affirming that everything looked clear, he secretly left the scene.
More than a dozen police officers did an area sweep inside and along the perimeter of the abandoned factory mid-mountain. Some were examining the bodies, and some were getting their statements from Ling Fei, who stood on the side.
Meanwhile, among them, the two men in black trench coats stood out the most.
However, while the officers were curious about their identities, they knew better to ask. If it were something they should not know, it would be wise not to ask anything in the first place.
The two men squatted beside the corpse of Poison Scorpion, tossing and turning it for a good while. One of them looked to be in his twenties and was a little baby-faced. He seemed quite young and shy. He asked, "Boss, we've confirmed his identity as Poison Scorpion. Who would have thought that he would die in a place like this after all the time we spent to track him down!"
Beside him was an overweight man, seemingly over 200 pounds, with ordinary looks and a squarish face. He stood up. "This beast has committed countless heinous crimes and is better off dead. However, I can't believe that someone had managed to kill him this easily. The man behind this must be quite the force to be reckoned with!"
"Boss, is that Poison Scorpion truly that formidable?" asked that young greenhorn, who had not yet shed all of his naivete.
The square-faced plump man answered, "You just joined the agency, and has not experienced the fights first-hand. It is only natural that you do not know!
"I might as well take this chance to explain the current situation!" the square-faced fatty continued. "There are many cultivators in the world, often belonging to different systems such as Awakened and Warriors. Right now, we classify and rank them from levels one to nine. Level one is the essential requirement that one needs to clear to cultivate, and they are only slightly stronger from everyday people. The first few years, when a Warrior started to practice martial arts and when the Awakened just awakened, they often start at level one!
"Of which, level two cultivators have achieved some success with their Cultivation. For a warrior who managed to practice till the stage of MingJin or discernable energy, they could easily fight one-on-ten. Level three corresponds to the AnJin—or hidden energy—warriors. Level four would mean that the warier has achieved HuaJin or attainment. Poison Scorpion was a level four powerhouse!" said the square-faced fatty.
"So, he's just a level four?" That naive young greenhorn shrugged him off.
The square-faced fatty shot him a side glance and said, "Do you think that a level four is weak? Cultivators of the first three levels were still humans whom you can still shoot down with a gun. A level four powerhouse, however, is a tough nut to crack. If you arm them from head to toe with proper gear and put them atop the battlefield, one of them is enough to wipe out an entire special ops team. Now that Sprit Qi has awakened on earth, and massive changes are happening to the Sun and the Earth, these warriors will only be tougher and even more troublesome. Their powers will increase exponentially!"
The inexperienced greenhorn immediately knew that he had underestimated the Poison Scorpion. To go up against an entire special ops team alone was unheard of. He must be someone extremely dangerous.
"Even if I were to make a move, I am not sure if we can truly capture Poison Scorpion. Unless we invite our biggest boss from the agency, then we might stand a chance. However, our biggest boss is out of the city. That's why he had an opening to slip past us!" said the square-faced fatso.
"In that case, wouldn't the guy who killed him be at least a level five or six?" The young greenhorn asked, "If a level four powerhouse is already that formidable, wouldn't a level five be a lot more powerful?"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone