I Shall Steal the Heavens 23 Chapter 22: Survival

I woke up in a coughing fit as more water flowed into my mouth, causing me to choke and splutter. Sitting up, I grimaced as my broken arm brushed against the damp ground, and then glanced around groggily.

"Eh? Where am I?"

Then everything came back to me. The Lunar Rabbit. The Ghost Bear. The gigantic tree and rabbit's burrow…

That's right. I managed to escape from the Ghost Bear by running into a rabbit's burrow under a giant tree…

I was able to piece and put everything back together in my mind now, reassembling the blurry fragments of my memories.

What should I do now?

I realized that water was still dripping onto my face and trickling into my mouth. So that was how I ended up choking. Apparently, while I was unconscious, the water had been dripping onto my cheeks and flowing straight into my mouth.

At least I wouldn't die from dehydration…

I grimaced when I touched my arm, but then blinked in surprise when I saw its current condition.

"Eh?!"

It was no longer bent at an unnatural angle. My arm had straightened out and the pain wasn't as bad as before. Before, I could clearly see broken white bone sticking out of my flesh. However, there was no sign of any bone this time, as if it had returned to the interior of my arm and mended itself even without me setting it. In fact, I could even move it. Gingerly flexing my left arm to test it out, I expected the same debilitating sharp pain from before, but now all that remained was a dull ache.

My right arm was similarly back to normal. The gigantic, ugly bruise had vanished, replaced by healthy-looking skin tone, and it no longer hurt like a bitch. Actually, it didn't hurt at all.

"Huh…"

At some point of time, both my arms had healed. How long had I been down here? Weeks? Months? How did my left arm heal even though I didn't set it properly?

No…

As I looked around, I caught sight of traces of my blood. While fleeing here, I had been bleeding from my abdomen, a result of the Ghost Bear almost eviscerating me. Leaning closely, I checked and saw that the stains were still fresh, having yet to dry.

"Wait…so not much time has passed since then?!"

I couldn't believe it. Not to mention, the pain in my gut had faded away. Pulling up my torn shirt to make sure, I saw that the wounds in my gut were really gone.

How?!

At that moment, a drop of water splashed onto my face and splattered onto my mouth. As I unconsciously swallowed it, I suddenly felt revitalized. Huge amounts of qi swirled around my body, filling me with energy.

"I see…so this water must have healed me…"

But I had never heard of healing water…no, maybe I had. Closing my eyes briefly, I tried to remember the contents of the numerous encyclopedias that I had devoured in the Wu Ling library over the six months.

Let's see…something about water holding mystical properties…what did the encyclopedia on mystical springs say again?

That was right. There was a book on mystical springs. Now I could recall about the various springs – surface or underground – that populated the Middle Continent in this timeline. Just like the onsen or hot springs in Japan, most of these mystical springs contained excellent healing properties, and were used by martial artists to recover or heal grievous injuries.

There was also many mystical springs that helped accelerate cultivation. In one city, for example, there were eight tempering springs, which were held by four different powerful clans. They would have one of their sons or daughters who were cultivating martial arts to bathe in these tempering springs so as to aid and speed up their cultivation, increasing their cultivation levels or stages. Typical fantasy wuxia stuff.

Still, if I can pinpoint the origin of this mystical spring and bathe in it, I should be able to both heal and improve my cultivation.

Clichés might be clichés, but they were useful in predicting how a fantasy isekai or reincarnation story worked. If I followed the logic of wuxia novels and applied it here, I could somewhat identify what worked and what didn't. That was the advantage of being genre savvy. It was kind of funny that I was relying on wuxia novels back in my world to work my way around an alternate timeline.

Well, whatever works will work.

I had no complaints. Rubbing my still aching left arm, I began tracing the flow of the water. It seemed to be flowing from somewhere deeper inside the burrow. For a second, I wondered if I was like Alice, going down the rabbit's burrow and emerging in some wonderland or a world completely different from the timeline I now occupied.

Occasionally, I would drink some more of the mysterious water to speed up the healing and recover my strength. As I did so, the ache in my left arm slowly ebbed away, and it was fully healed before I knew it.

At the same time, I finally located the source of the water. Stumbling through the burrow, I finally emerged in a vast subterranean cavern. A cavern within a cavern…I didn't know whether I should laugh or cry at this discovery.

Nonetheless, as I thought, there was a massive spring stretched out far beneath the surface, hidden by trees above and rocks below. It occurred to me that perhaps the trees were able to survive, grow and prosper within the subterranean cave because they were nourished by this water. Certainly, I could see several tree roots stretching down this far, drinking in the trickles of water that spread far and wide from this mystical spring.

And then, I saw the source of the mystical spring's power.

From what I read, the water in the mystical springs don't naturally have these healing powers or cultivation properties. They get embedded with these properties from arcane ores or crystals located in the middle of the spring…

Just as I suspected, there was a relatively big ore glowing at the bottom of the spring. It was the size of a soccer ball, but buried at the bottom of the spring and emitting a soft, gentle verdant glow. I was suddenly reminded of the images of Green Dragon…no, the qi emanated from the ore felt almost identical to the qi that Qing Xin Xia produced whenever she performed one of her healing techniques. I was certain it was related to the Green Dragon Sect somehow.

I'm not greedy enough to steal the ore and try to bring it to the surface.

For one thing, the Green Dragon Crystal seemed firmly embedded and buried into the bottom of the spring. While the edges were shallow, the further inward you venture into the spring, the deeper it got. The core of the spring seemed to stretch out to five meters in depth. I couldn't breathe underwater, and even if I could, I didn't have the strength to yank the crystal out. I bet it would be too heavy and I couldn't lug it around.

Especially with that Ghost Bear still prowling the surface…

Let's see…what did the book say about ores and crystals that embed these springs with their mystical properties?

I cracked my head as I tried to recall if the book said anything about a green crystal that was somehow related to the Green Dragon Sect. uh, right. Green Dragon Crystal. Seemed like my memory was right when it identified the crystal in reflex. It was a Heaven-tier crystal that was thought to exist only in legends. The formation of such a crystal was usually considered a miracle because it took millennia for natural essence to condense into a crystal of dense qi, but when it formed, it endowed the water with sacred properties that could heal any injuries or diseases. It was considered Water of the Gods, and could indefinitely extend one's youth as long as they consistently drink it. If I recalled, there were legends in the book about people with lethal injuries, brought to the brink of death, being healed once they bathed in these holy waters.

Like hell I'm going to let such a golden opportunity slip out of my hands!

Not only was the Green Dragon Crystal benevolent in bestowing healing, it was also excellent for cultivation. Immersing the waters with dense, natural qi, any martial arts practitioner who bathed in the holy spring would be able to improve their cultivation by leaps and bounds.

And someone like me with only a pathetic One Star Constitution, would definitely benefit from this miraculous encounter a lot.

"Heh."

I wondered if I would get another miraculous encounter. Perhaps there was a beautiful girl bathing in the mystic spring's depths to improve her cultivation. Both the readers and I would then get an amazing fanservice and ecchi event where I stumble upon her, catch sight of her beautiful naked body, she screams, "kyaaaa!" and then tries to kill me. You know, the usual cliché ecchi scene.

No such luck. The spring was completely empty. The waters were clear enough that I could see the glowing Green Dragon Crystal, and I didn't see any sign of any other humans having come down in here with me.

"Oh, well…"

Knowing that the readers weren't interested in seeing a male naked body (even the girls, since I was unattractive, ugly and unappealing), I decided to undress off screen and dive into the spring to make full use of its recuperative powers.

*

"Ugh…I'm starving."

Even though the waters of the Green Dragon Spring possessed miraculous recuperative powers, they did not quench hunger.

I didn't know how long I remained immersed in the waters, but after shedding my clothes and bathing in the spring, I had managed to meditate and strengthen myself. My injuries had healed long ago, and I focused completely on enhancing my constitution. I didn't know if it was possible to increase my Constitution from One Star to multiple Stars, but that was not my concern. I was going to work with what I had.

And right now, I had the Green Dragon Spring to draw upon.

Once I increased the innate amount of qi within my body, I climbed back onto dry land, dressed myself and practiced martial arts. As I mentioned pointed out before, martial arts weren't just about cultivation and meditation. It was pointless sitting around (even inside a mystical spring) and meditating everyday if you didn't actually practice actual martial arts.

Unfortunately, the only martial arts I had learned in addition to the level 1 Shadow Steps were the footwork techniques that Teacher Jiao taught me. Perhaps I should work on mastering the other three footwork techniques…

No, there's another thing I can learn…

The Lunar Rabbit. Even when I was under threat, I saw how it beautifully executed those deadly kicks and defeated the Silverback Wolves. Moreover, I also witnessed up close how the Silverback Wolf unleashed a storm of icicles. And then there was the Ghost Bear and its ghostly claws. If I could master that, then I wouldn't need a weapon…

My body was my weapon.

How did the Lunar Rabbit do it again?

Closing my eyes, I pictured the movements of the Lunar Rabbit. Then I infused my foot with qi and tried it out.

Failure.

Never mind. Try again. And again. And again. I didn't stop, didn't rest until I was satisfied with my kicks. A hundred kicks. Two hundred. Five hundred. A thousand.

Before I knew it, I had exhausted myself.

Damn…still no good, huh?

I couldn't put the kicks into actual use. It was only natural. I wasn't some genius who could pick up those techniques at one glance. I wasn't a prodigy like Bai Ning Xue, nor was I some protagonist with God blessed luck or cheat powers like Zhu Jiao.

I was just a normal guy thrown into extraordinary circumstances.

"Huff…huff…huff…"

Panting, I wiped the perspiration from my face. I was feeling exhausted after practicing the kicks a thousand times. I still was far from satisfied, because I wasn't able to capture the form of the Lunar Rabbit's kicks. The power was one thing – the Lunar Rabbit was clearly much stronger than me and it would be impossible for me to catch up to its strength in such a short time…but at the very least I sought to replicate its form.

There has to be a way…

But how do I find that way?

Winded and exhausted, I stumbled over to the Green Dragon Spring. Scooping up a handful of water, I downed it to quench my thirst.

"!"

This…!

Upon drinking the water, I immediately felt vitalized. My exhaustion was melting away and my qi was being replenished immediately.

"Heh…"

At this rate I could practice for as long as I wanted without needing to worry about getting tired or running out of qi. I could practice a lot more than I ever could in the surface…probably practice a lot more than my former classmates ever did.

That's fine. What I lack in talent, I'll make up with hard work. Unending, unyielding amounts of effort and hard work!

Drinking another mouthful of water, I began to practice kicking once again with renewed determination.

"After all, I managed to learn the footwork techniques that Teacher Jiao showed me in just one month of unrelenting practice! There's no way I won't be able to learn a kicking technique that even a beast created!"

Determination rising within me, I practiced over and over again.

Days passed. Three days of unending practice went on and on. Even with my mastery of Shadow Steps, I realized that the kicking techniques were actually a bit more difficult than Shadow Kick and the footwork techniques, but after practicing for so long, I suddenly gained an epiphany.

The footwork techniques and the kicking techniques…they were related. They were similar to each other, and operated in similar principles and movements. Furthermore, I had already established a solid foundation with Shadow Kick. Infusing my feet with qi, relying on perfect timing and a burst of speed…

With that enlightenment, I was able to produce my own version of the Lunar Rabbit kicks. It was not identical to the original kicks, but was similar enough that no one but an expert could distinguish them apart. Part of the reason was because I based it off Shadow Kick and the other kick from the Shadow Steps. Furthermore, I began experimenting with ways of incorporating Shadow Steps and my footwork techniques into the Lunar Rabbit kicks.

And like that, I managed to find out how to execute the fourth footwork technique, Liu or Flow.

"So this was what Teacher Jiao meant when he said I could use it to disrupt the flow and rhythm of my enemies…"

Or at least that was what I suspected. I could finally come up with a working theory and put it into practice, but without any real opponents I was unable to test it out and see how it would operate in actuality. Thankfully there were real enemies awaiting me above the surface, but I still wasn't confident to go out there and confront them.

I still wasn't able to learn and use Shadow or Ying, unfortunately, but that was far too advanced for me. It was a pity, but as I said, I was no genius. I was relying on hard work and countless hours of unrelenting and unending practice to get me this far.

That was funny. Even though I had mastered Shadow Steps, the Shadow footwork technique was the last one left, the only one I still had yet to learn. I wondered if the Heavens were playing some sort of practical joke on me.

"Now that I somewhat understand how to kick like the Lunar Rabbits…"

I began practicing the icicle barrage I saw the Silverback Wolf used. This was a lot harder than anything else I had practiced, as it involved me manifesting my qi in the form of a long-range elemental technique. Hell, I couldn't even manifest short-range elemental techniques, so how was I supposed to fire off icicles from range?

"That's strange, I could have sworn this was how the Silverback Wolf circulated its qi. What am I doing wrong?"

Obviously I was skipping and missing many important steps. Perhaps I was approaching it from the wrong way.

"Before I even begin to shoot icicles, I have to find a way to clad my body in ice."

Immersing myself in the Green Dragon Spring again, I attempted to convert the natural essence that I was soaking up in the spring into elemental qi. I tried fiery qi, since the yang qi within the Green Dragon Spring was so rich and dense, but as always, I didn't have much affinity with the element. Then there was wood qi. Since the Green Dragon's element was wood, perhaps I should try that. However, I failed.

Maybe I should try something simpler. Since this spring is made out of water, I should try turning my qi into water.

I had a bit more success in converting my qi into water techniques. I also found, after countless experiments, that I could even lower the temperature of the water and freeze it into ice. While it was nowhere near the level of the Silverback Wolf where I could fire off a barrage of icicles from range, at least I could cause the temperature of the immediate vicinity surrounding my body to plummet, and coat my body in frost.

But that's still not practical in combat. The ice isn't thick enough to serve as armor, and there isn't much I can do by wreathing my fist in ice except give my opponents a chill.

I was comparing my Frost Fist to Qi Fu Ren's Lightning Fist, and the difference was just too great.

"Ugh! Is there anything I can do?!"

I sighed at my failure. Even though I spent another three days trying to manifest elemental techniques, I was far from successful. It seemed that the only techniques I could rely on were my improvised Lunar Rabbit kicks.

"Well…"

Rubbing my forehead, I took a deep breath and calmed myself down.

"It's still better than nothing. Given how I began with absolutely nothing, no martial arts techniques, no offensive skills, a terrible weapon that broke on the first day…I guess I'm a lot better off right now."

Yeah…now that I thought about it, it had been a week since I was trapped down here in this burrow.

No one came to rescue me.

My shoulders slumped downward. Perhaps they did, and I was sure that Zhu Jiao, Ban Zhang and maybe even Tong Xue would be leading the search. But they had no idea where to search. Hell, even I had no idea where I was. And given how I was so deep inside Sen Lin Forest, I doubted they would be able to reach this far.

Even if they did, the class would just get massacred by the demonic beasts dwelling in a region this deep. I didn't want them to die for my sake.

Besides, why the fuck would I want them to come save me? The only person I can rely on is myself. I don't want to be dependent on other people.

Rage filled me as I kicked another boulder inside the spring, blowing it into smithereens. Heaving, I wiped the perspiration from my brow and glanced at the row of boulders that marked my progress. A week ago, I hadn't been able to make even a small dent in the boulder. But as I practiced over and over and over and over again, I had finally gradually but surely cracked the stone. A line of broken boulders lay as testament to my efforts, each of them sporting different levels of damage in chronological order. I was pleased at my progress.

That's right. I couldn't die here. I had to get my revenge. Right now, my rage and thirst for vengeance were the only things keeping me alive. I had to return to the surface and crush that smug Qi Fu Ren for betraying me. I had to overturn the unfair treatment of Heaven and revolt against Fate. I was going to fight the Gods if I had to…for putting me in this ridiculous predicament. For abusing me, and then laughing and jeering up there in their celestial thrones, torturing me for their own amusement. I will smash this stupid thing called fate or talent and steal the heavens from the gods themselves.

That would teach them for toying with me, thinking that I was someone so easy to bully.

Gr…

My stomach rumbled loudly and I glanced at it. I had been so carried away in my practice that I had neglected to eat and now I was starving.

"Ugh…"

Even though the Green Dragon Spring provided miraculous restorative powers and helped my cultivation, it couldn't feed me. At this rate, I would die from hunger. Not only that, I had been expending a lot of strength and power through unceasing practices. I needed food and nourishment to replenish my depleted stores of strength.

"Damn it! I should have taken rations from Teacher Jiao."

I regretted not pressing the issue and accepting the rations from Teacher Jiao. Back then, I had thought the rations were unnecessary. That as long as I stayed with the group, I would be able to return home safely. As it turned out, I was dead wrong, and now I was ruing my decision. In what seemed like a good idea at the time to save on my load and allow me more speed and movement, that choice backfired on me and now I was on the brink of starving to death. How stupid of me.

For the last week or so, I had been relying on qi to stave off my hunger and provide me minimal nourishment, but my expenditure rate had far exceeded whatever miniscule amounts of nutrients that drinking the Green Dragon Spring or the dense natural essence could provide. I needed real food and I needed it fast.

Pushing my glasses up, I smiled as I considered my options.

"I guess it's time to test my newly practiced martial arts against real, live opponents…"

*

The journey back to the surface was uneventful. While there were several passages that led into the underground cavern that housed the Green Dragon Spring, I took the passage that led me back out into the hollow of the tree that I sought refuge in when being pursued by the Ghost Bear. As I expected, after a week, the Ghost Bear had left.

Of course it had better things to do than to waste its time waiting one week for me to emerge from the hollow of the tree.

Relying on my knowledge of the various species of the magical beasts that dwelled within this level, I stealthily moved about. From what I knew, it seemed that the Silverback Wolves were the weakest demonic beasts in this level. Aware of their vulnerabilities, they moved in packs to cover each other. As a result, they usually moved around in groups of four to six.

The pack I was tracking was no exception, with about four Silverback Wolves prowling the vicinity as they hunted for food. They were scrounging the forest for prey, an isolated figure such as the Lunar Rabbit I encountered on my first day here.

But even a single Lunar Rabbit was enough to wipe out an entire pack of Silverback Wolves. This group was wise enough to search for a somewhat weaker prey, most likely a Gemstone Antelope, a magical beast with gemstone-like features embedded in its back. Usually hunted by human nobles, the fur of a Gemstone Antelope was in high demand to weave into expensive, luxurious leather coats for high-class ladies.

They were pretty common in this underground cavern, but like the Lunar Rabbit, far from helpless. A single kick from one of these Gemstone Antelopes could blow a hole through a rock wall, and they could generate elemental techniques from range. Apparently the organic gemstones in their backs produced a lot of qi, and were also regularly used to craft Spirit Engraved gear, empowered elemental weapons and defensive armaments.

But the pack of Silverback Wolves never got to track down a Gemstone Antelope. Instead, with their keen senses – especially their sense of smell – they sniffed the air and located me. Snarling, they twisted toward me, their jaws slavering and slobbering ravenously.

They had found a prey that was weaker than even the Gemstone Antelope. Or so they thought.

Cracking my neck from side to side, I stretched my arms and proceeded toward them. Smiling faintly, I beckoned them with one hand.

"What are you waiting for? Come at me."

The first Silverback Wolf lunged at me without hesitation, its paws outstretched and its claws poised to eviscerate me. I had an image of the Lunar Rabbit and its attack on the Silverback Wolf about a week ago, and my body automatically moved to replicate its movements.

Spinning around, I pivoted on my left foot while striking out with my right leg in a roundhouse kick. My right foot connected with the Silverback Wolf's head, even as its claws maimed my right shoulder, drawing blood. Ignoring the pain, I increased the amount of force into my kick and sent the Silverback Wolf flying into the trees.

Thud.

A sickening crack echoed throughout the woods as the Silverback Wolf slammed into the tree, and then crumpled down, its neck twisted at an unnatural angle.

Success!

While I wasn't as good as the Lunar Rabbit, having sustained an injury in return, I had prevailed against my first foe. Elated by my success, I used my footwork techniques to advance forward. The second Silverback Wolf jumped back when I suddenly appeared in front of it, but I was already making use of my momentum to swing my leg forward and crack its skull. This time, I had used Shadow Kick. With a whine, the second Silverback Wolf went down, its throat bent and crushed.

The remaining two Silverback Wolves howled and lunged at me in vengeance. I used Tui to immediately retreat and avoided their attack. However, they quickly recovered and spun around swiftly and skillfully to face me once again. Their muscles bristled and bunched up as they prepared to pounce on me again.

"All right then…let's do this."

Taking a deep breath, I remembered how the Lunar Rabbit dealt with the two Silverback Wolves that had foolishly attacked it when it landed. While the two Silverback Wolves pounced on me again, I did a backflip and landed on my hands. Whirling around, I tossed both legs out and spun about. The momentum of the Silverback Wolves carried themselves forward and right into the vortex of my kicks, and they were sent hurtling in opposite directions.

I did it. I actually successfully replicated the kicking techniques of the Lunar Rabbit! I was the real successor of the Lunar Rabbit Sect!

Dismissing the poor joke from my head and feeling a little sorry for Tu Zi Yi and her master, I jumped back onto my feet and proceeded toward one of the Silverback Wolves that had been struck by my kicks. One of them had survived, having managed to dodge its head in time, but I had caught it at the side of its shoulder and the power of my kick had shattered the bone.

Growling, it tried to stand, but could only limp on three limbs. I looked down on it coldly as I advanced. The Silverback Wolf glared at me defiantly and growled, but I wasn't intimidated. Instead, I shook my head.

"Sorry. It might hurt, but I have no choice. I'm doing this to survive…the same as you."

The Silverback Wolves attacked me because they wanted to eat me. I hunted them because I needed to sate my hunger. That was why I didn't blame them. And they weren't hypocritical enough to blame me either, right?

It didn't matter. Unlike the Lunar Rabbit, I had no intention of toying with my victim. I delivered a devastating Shadow Kick onto the wounded Silverback Wolf, finishing it off cleanly with a single stroke. It let out a howl before its skull was caved in by my foot.

Exhaling in relief, I then glanced around to make sure that our struggle hadn't drawn the attention of more dangerous foes. I didn't want to get ambushed by another Lunar Rabbit or the Ghost Bear from before. Once I made sure that there was nothing nearby, I nodded in satisfaction.

"All right. Time to collect the food."

Trying to stem my hunger, I bent down and picked up the Silverback Wolf's carcass. Collecting all four of them, I began to hastily return to safety.

My hunger was driving me mad, and I was nearly consumed by the desire to devour the fresh meat that I now carried. Suppressing my pangs of starvation, I quickened my pace, the promise of a fresh meal for the first time in a week awaiting me back in my temporary hideout.

Chapter end