Cruising Along in Desolate Era c1

As time passed on, Ren adjusted to his new life. Well, that's what humans do. They adapt to their circumstances.

At least, that's how Ren feels about it. He swiftly got into the role of a ‘barbarian’ or ‘caveman’. He is even striving in these circumstances.

Eventually, his cultivation got him to the point that he could cross quite a distance by running and travelling through branches.

But these are just children's abilities in this reality.

After another one of his training exercises, he returned to his cave.

With his higher cultivation, he could see further and observe more closely. His eyes observed his cave from a distance. He noticed something peculiar about it.

It wasn't an ordinary cave.

It didn't look like it was naturally created, so he walked to the end of it and started to inspect everything about it.

The conclusion he came up with was that It had a cave-in. There are a bunch of boulders which are blocking a portion of it.

“Hmm, well, well, it appears I have a quest! Let's see if I get a karmic or whatever bullshit they call an encounter, which will spring-shoot my journey into immortality.”

Ren monologues how seriously his ‘trope senses’ are tingling.

So he pulled out a stone sword he had made a while ago and proceeded to channel some of his Qi into it. The blade sharpened as he stabbed into the boulders and started to cut apart.

A few minutes later, he created a tunnel and walked into it—on the other side of the tunnel, it had a cavern.

“Dark as a butthole. Hmm, let me get a torch.”

He returned to his main cave area, picked up a burning stick, and returned to the new cavern.

For a while, he didn't find anything. That was until he saw a skeleton leaning against a wall.

“Shit. You look in a bad state.” He patted the skeleton before inspecting it.

What he found was a ring with a crystal.

“Bingo.” He yanked the bone finger and inspected the ring.

Knowing the cliche tropes, he sends a wisp of Qi into it. The ring reacted, and Ren could sense a small space inside it.

“So it's a storage ring.”

He was a little bit surprised. But not much. Part of him expected this. That's how it usually happens in the Xianxia trope setting.

After doing a basic inspection, he walked around and tried to look for more things.

Sadly, there was nothing else there.

Ren left the cavern and returned to his area.

He sat down on a boulder and proceeded to check the content of the ring properly; after all, he found some books like the content.

These books were all leather. So— they should be short, and there should be no mumbo-jumbo stuff.

‘Heh, the novels Chinese write are inflated, but the manuals are sharp and right to the point.’

He chuckled, thinking about that as he opened the first leather book.

“Oh my. You gave me the language as well. Such a nice person.” Ren swiftly realised that he understood the content of the books.

“These are—”

He swiftly started to go through them.

“Damn this guy. He had balls. That much I give you, buddy.” Ren chuckled as he realised these arts were copies of Ji clan arts. Whoever was in the cave has stolen Ji clan arts!

“Polaris sacred manual, a mortal rank sword skill set. The Thunderfire sword, like the Ji clan’s, only has three techniques.

Then, it was followed by a manual of 108 Swords of Demons and Gods. All of them are mortal rank manuals, but the best part is this!” he pulled out the last leather scroll.

It was the Fiendgod body refining manual!

Yep, he got the GOAT skill! Sure, it's only the first scroll, but this refining manual is the key for him to survive and bitch slap everyone!

“The Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens!”

Without wasting much time, he started to read.

As he was reading this, his eyebrow slightly went up.

“...Why are they saying this is hard? Bruh!” Ren shook his head.

It's basic Taoism! Balance and essence of heat and cold, woman and men, water and fire, sun and moon, and so forth! What kind of ‘mysticism’ there is to it!?

‘I feel like Ji Ning dumbed himself down to get the full experience instead of utilising his earthling’s knowledge. I am brutally disappointed!’

Ren shook his head one more time before starting to practise it.

Mentally, he visualised what he understood about Taoism and Fire and Water. He could feel a massive surge of Ki rushing into him and starting to refine his body into that of a Fiendgod.

Fiendgods are the body refiners, while Qi Refiners are the regular ones. He will do both!

Basically, it is a hax! It's like playing both the tank and the ranged wizard. Eventually, it's literally, what one needs to do to become a True Immortal. Practise both!

As Ren was practising, half of him was on fire while the other half was encased in ice. Tattoos of the Lunar Star and Solar Star appeared on both sides.

The process continued for a while as Ren continued to understand the process. He already had enough understanding of Taoism to grasp what the manuals were saying.

It's like he already has the materials needed to build; all he needs is to make the bridge. So there is no need to wait for anything! He just continued to practise and continuously refine his body and rebuild over and over again with the art!

“Aghhh! Man! What the fuck! I am out of juice!” Ren exclaimed with annoyance. He fully understood what the scroll had!

“This is like finishing a volume and then waiting for a second one! And it's usually a few months to a couple of years!” He complained as he stood up.

He could feel his body was brimming with supernatural power!

“...Wait… wasn't the first manual up to Zifu Disciple?” Ren exclaimed with disbelief as he inspected his hands. He was feeling like Superman!

With a single step, he cracked the ground and blasted out from the cave. He crossed at least 50 metres!

‘Holy fuck!!!’

With wide eyes, he elegantly landed on a branch.

He lifted his hand again, and flame appeared on the top of his fingers. Then, on the other hand, he created water.

“This requires me to mention another trope, something like: ‘Long ago, four nations lived in peace and harmony until the fire nation attacked’.” He snorted to himself as he played with his new powers for a bit.

Once he was done, he returned to his ‘bat cave’.

The next thing he started studying was the three swordsmanship arts he got from the ring.

Polaris Secret Manual will need to wait for now; instead, he focused on 108 Swords of Demons and Gods. It's basically the following skill set after learning fundamentals. After that, he can focus on more advanced forms of the Polaris Secret Manual. While the Thunderfire manual is the heavy hitter, the supplementary moves.

Well, nothing is set in stone. Considering it can be improved. Ren is not stupid enough to believe that things are set in stone with martial arts.

Once one understands the ‘true meaning’ of the technique, it can be improved. The main character does that a couple of times throughout the series, so in Ren’s eyes, the author literally contradicts himself so that the whole ranking system can continue to exist.

“Basically, bullshit. Since I am here, I might as well I should slaughter these ‘ranks’.”

He got into the details of the 108 Swords of Demons and Gods.

Ren quickly understood that there was no substance to these sword techniques. That was the reason why it was so simple.

With his new, improved mentality, he quickly learned all those 108 moves.

To test it out, he decided to explore for a bit. Find some targets to beat up. After all, he was in the Xianxia world. Everything is open for beat-up.

~~~

“Ah, man! This place is surely wide with nothing in it!” As he complained out loud, he eventually stumbled upon something.

“Hmm…these look like marches.” He said, curious look. He walked a few more steps forward and inspected the place.

For a second, he pondered before starting to grin.

“It appears I just found a place to do some water surfing, Xianxia style!” He said with a grin.

For a second, he looked around, finding a burly tree. He used his absurd speed and appeared in front of it before kicking the trunk.

With a loud crack, the tree collapsed. He then proceeded to use his stone sword and started to cut it up.

Before long, he had a wooden surfboard. Like a small kid, he rushed back to the water and used his water-controlling powers to kick off!

Since Ren is a Zifu Disciple, his power is absurd. Compared to the Ji Clan, there are only 3 Zifu Disciples. By this point, he had only been here less than a month, and he already had enough power to rule a ten thousand-kilometre territory or a large tribe.

So, surfing in a Daremonster-infested swamp. Well, he has ‘ego’ to do that.

He already has enough power to crack mountains with his bare hands. If anyone has something to say about his hobbies, they can discuss that with his fists.

“Hell Yeah! This shit is dope! Water manipulation for the win!”

Ren loudly exclaimed as he utilised his water manipulation powers to push himself forward and create waves to surf. He picked up the whole idea of how to do it real quick. After all, his comprehension power is increasing by the minute.

His loud noise and massive use of water have attracted attention.

“HUMAN! YOU DARE TO INTERRUPT HIS KING'S SLEEP!?” A mountain-sized Rhino surfaces from the depths of the marshes.

It was huge!

“Oi! Bitch! Get out of the way!” Ren shouts as his fun is interrupted by mountain-size food. It has created waves and interrupted the way he was moving!

“YOU DARE!?”

The teen rolls his eyes as he surfs to the rhyno before jumping from his surfboard and delivering a sound-shattering enzuigiri kick to the rhino’s face.

*BOOM!!!*

The rhino is sent flying from the marshes and, like a ragdoll, rolls through the forests before stopping tens of metres away on the shore.

“Fucking dork. Doesn't he see I am busy!?” With a huff, he landed on his surfboard before returning to his surfing. His grin returned as he was once again having fun!

It lasted for a while before a whirlpool appeared, and an elegant azure snake surfaced.

For a second, Ren stopped and looked at the snake. He blinked for a second.

“Beautiful! Hey, snakey! Do you want to be my pet?” Ren asked with an excited tone. He was feeling like a WoW player, playing Hunter all over again and collecting those rare animals.

*HISS!!!*

“Oh, right. You are a Godbeast. You don't speak until you are a Zifu Disciple, right?” Ren said that out loud as he was standing on the surfboard with crossed arms and recalling some things.

“His Majesty wants to know why you are making so much noise in his territory?” A man surfaced from the water. He was dressed in a white cloak.

“Ha? Territory? I don't see fences anywhere, buddy. So why don't you return underwater and play with tadpoles.” Ren motioned with his hand to get lost.

*HISS!!!*

The snake became extremely angry and tried to hit him with her tail, but Ren didn't look impressed. He caught the tail.

His Divine energy roared to life. And yes, his Body Refinement uses Divine energy—those tattoos he has to need to be fueled by something!

“Z-Zifu body refiner!!!” The white cloaked man exclaimed with disbelief and cold horror.

“As I said, get back and play with tadpoles at the bottom of the marshes, buddy.”

“Y-Yes!!!” the guy swiftly retreated, leaving only Ren and the Azure Skysnake King. Yep, Ren knows what this beauty is, and he won't be letting her go.