"Damn it, only a day after transmigrating, haven't even touched a girl's hand yet."
'Swish'
'Swish'
His hands became blurs, and monsters fell from the sky like dumplings. In an instant, seventeen monsters lay at Li Xi's feet, each with a steel needle precisely piercing the same spot between their brows.
With only two steel needles left at his waist, Li Xi held them tight, daring not to shoot. He regretted not taking a knife from the blacksmith's shop that morning.
Sensing Li Xi was difficult to deal with, the remaining monsters circled in the air, awaiting the arrival of their companions.
With these monsters watching, Li Xi dared not run. Soon, he faced a swarm of monsters that were forming a dark cloud. Even with this psychological preparation, Li Xi couldn't help but swallow.
"Will they devour me in one go, leaving not even bones?"
Seeing that the monsters weren't attacking yet, Li Xi executed a front roll, heading towards the monsters he had previously shot down. This action broke the delicate balance between him and the monsters.
Monsters attacked him from all angles, truly overwhelming him. In an instant, Li Xi was submerged.
But Li Xi didn't passively wait for death. He pulled out a steel needle from the ground and shot at the nearest monster. He only managed to bring down seven or eight before having to use his last two needles against the enemy.
Thanks to the changes in his hands, before his eyes could even see the monsters, his hands moved as if they had eyes, attacking on their own. A gentle touch on the monster's brow was enough to eliminate one, his speed so fast it was pure instinct, unburdened by his brain.
The blurs of his hands were faster than the steel needles he shot out. It was as if Li Xi had grown countless arms in that instant. Dozens of monsters were struck simultaneously in their brows, falling to the ground at the same moment.
After scattering this wave of monsters, Li Xi looked at his hands in disbelief, as if gazing at two peerless beauties.
"Am I this powerful now?"
His brain hadn't kept up with his hands' movements in that moment, as if his hands had a life of their own.
"Xiao Fan, isn't this just the Kunai Throwing Technique? How can it be so strong?"
"Master, this is the Kunai Throwing Technique. You might have misunderstood its capabilities."
Misunderstanding or not, the monsters above continued to increase. Li Xi gathered the steel needles around him and slowly began to move towards Kado City.
Knowing he possessed such an ability, his hope of survival greatly increased. He certainly didn't want to die.
Seeing Li Xi attempting to escape, the monsters swarmed him again.
The dense, high-frequency flapping sounds made Li Xi's scalp tingle and his stomach churn.
Just as Li Xi was about to try his usual tactic, taking them down head by head in minutes, the monsters opened their mouths. A straw-like appendage emerged, and a pale green liquid was about to be sprayed.
Even before the liquid could spray, a foul stench wafted over. Li Xi turned and ran, abandoning any concern for the danger of exposing his back to these monsters.
As Li Xi had predicted, the toxic liquid was poured onto the rice paddies. The golden stalks of wheat, ripe for harvest, were instantly bathed in what looked like sulfuric acid, melting away at a visible speed.
Li Xi weaved and dodged, avoiding the spraying toxins, while his steel needles swiftly harvested the approaching monsters.
However, the soft ground in the wheat fields made Li Xi struggle. Finally, in a moment of carelessness, he tripped on a wheat stalk. Unable to fall flat, he immediately performed a front roll, evading the spray of toxins. The spot where he had just been was now covered by seven or eight streams of poison, even burning a layer off the soil.
Li Xi looked up, his escape routes completely blocked. There was no way out.
With a bitter smile, he mused, "Next time I transmigrate, I definitely won't do anything this reckless."
As the monsters loomed, about to engulf him, Li Xi prepared himself for suicide. At this critical juncture, a voice boomed from the walls of Kado City, echoing through the surroundings.
"God said, sin shall not exist in this world."
As the words finished, a radiance that could dim the sun sliced through the wheat fields like a sickle.
Wherever the light passed, regardless of whether it touched the flying monsters, they were ignited by an unnamable fire. In a single breath, they were completely consumed.
Li Xi, who had been waiting for the monsters to pounce so he could end it all with his needles, was buried under a shower of black ash.
The light lasted only a few seconds, eradicating the flying monsters from the large pit.
Li Xi dug himself out of the black ash and eagerly looked towards the figure on the city wall. It was too far to see clearly, only that the person was bathed in light, their features completely obscured.
"God said, the darkness of this world must face its rightful judgment."
As the person finished speaking, the light in the heavens and on earth converged above the crater. Even the omnipresent sunlight was drawn in, causing other areas to rapidly transition from afternoon to evening, giving the impression of impending darkness.
Soon, a sword of light tens of meters long was formed. The invisible pressure from the sword bent the wheat fields flat, and Li Xi, also under the pressure, prostrated himself on the ground.
The unknown entity within the crater felt the threat of the light sword. With a roar, the earth shook again, its tremors resounding throughout Kado City.
A colossal mouth, seemingly capable of swallowing the sky, emerged from the ground, intending to devour the light sword.
However, as the unknown demonic beast opened its maw, 'clang' – the light sword descended with lightning speed, piercing directly into the great mouth and instantly forcing the beast back underground. Following this, a blinding burst of light erupted from the crater, and the sky, which had been in an evening state, returned to its daytime brightness.
The earth seemed to groan under the immense energy fluctuations. Li Xi, lying nearby, felt as if he were on a small boat sailing on a turbulent sea, constantly at risk of being swallowed.
In the next second, the violent tremors were drowned out by the demonic beast's agonizing roars. The cries were filled with pain and madness, accompanied by expelled black blood. The beast's wails grew weaker and weaker, soon fading intoaudibility.
The unknown demonic beast fell silent, and the energy surging from the light sword dissipated. The earth returned to its tranquility. Li Xi guessed that the beast was either dead or severely wounded.
However, Li Xi didn't care. He stood up and bolted, running through the wheat fields and onto the road. He saw many people in the same state as him, disheveled and fleeing like madmen.
With such a major event occurring outside, those lingering outside the city were bound to return.
Being young and having been hungry for half a day, he couldn't outrun the others. By the time he reached the city gate, a large crowd was rapidly surging in. But the sheer number of people, coupled with the chaos, meant Li Xi couldn't get in immediately.
Li Xi scanned the area and saw the young priest from the Temple of Agriculture tirelessly directing mercenaries into the city through a side gate, where the flow was faster. Without a second thought, Li Xi headed over.
"All those who have received missions from the Temple of Agriculture can go to the Mercenary Hall to claim their full reward, which is four times your current compensation, as compensation for today," the priest announced loudly while arranging the mercenaries' entry.
Hearing this, Li Xi, having narrowly escaped death, was overjoyed. He currently had one silver coin and thirty copper coins. Four times that would be five silver coins and twenty copper coins, enough for an ordinary person to live on for a year.
Mercenaries lived a life on the edge, their days uncertain. They had long since come to terms with death.
Furthermore, in times of chaos, a few deaths were normal. To be alive meant being blessed by the goddess of fortune; to be dead meant being blessed by the god of death.
"Thank you, honored priest."
"Gratitude to the goddess's favor."
Gratuitous pleasantries flowed from the mouths of these mercenaries. Li Xi joined in with them.
Li Xi quickly escaped back into the city through the side gate. He went to the Mercenary Hall with his payment proof and collected five silver coins and twenty copper coins, along with a record of one successful mission. After ten successful missions, he could be promoted to an E-rank mercenary.
Of course, getting the money wasn't what made him happiest, but the voice of the system, Xiao Fan.
"Master, you have completed a mission and earned a lottery chance."
Li Xi hurried home and opened the system. He could see a large roulette wheel with a pointer, adorned with various items: kunai, short swords, explosive tags, shuriken – these were all bladed weapons.
Besides these, there were ninjutsu, such as the Clone Technique and the Body Replacement Technique, which were mandatory in ninja school. He wondered why the Transformation Technique, also one of the Three Basic Ninjutsu, wasn't listed.
The Clone Technique was self-explanatory; it would eventually be replaced. But the Body Replacement Technique was different; it could be used until one's dying day, offering incredible cost-effectiveness, making it the most valuable among support-type techniques.
Li Xi's eyes continued to scan and he discovered another gem: Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, a true offensive ninjutsu.
Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu was an excellent technique, capable of spitting out a large fireball three to four meters in diameter from the mouth, delivering both knockback and high-temperature damage.
If he had possessed this today, any number of flying monsters would have met their demise.
Only after experiencing hardship did one realize what they truly needed.
"I want it, I want it."
There were many things available here, but the Fireball Jutsu was what Li Xi desired the most at the moment.
However, as Li Xi looked closer, he noticed the differences. Bladed weapons like shuriken and kunai each occupied about ten percent of the roulette wheel. The Clone Technique and Body Replacement Technique each took up twenty-five percent. The Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, however, only occupied a tiny fraction.
This indicated that the chances of obtaining the Clone or Body Replacement Technique were highest, while the Fireball Jutsu had the lowest probability.
Li Li couldn't help but clasp his hands together, muttering prayers, "All gods and Buddhas, Grand Supreme Elder, Great Sage Equal to Heaven Grandfather Sun, please bless me to draw Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu. If not, drawing the Body Replacement Technique would also be great."
"Begin."
The pointer on the roulette wheel spun wildly. Li Xi couldn't even see where it was pointing.
"Stop."
The pointer's speed immediately decreased, eventually slowing to a snail's pace. It passed the shuriken, passed the explosive tag, and in Li Xi's most tense moment, it passed the Clone Technique. The next was the Body Replacement Technique.
The Body Replacement Technique occupied nearly twenty-five percent of the wheel. As expected, the pointer stopped on it.
"Although it's not the Fireball Jutsu, the Body Replacement Technique is still excellent. It's a divine skill for escaping."
"Congratulations, Master, on obtaining the Body Replacement Technique."
As Xiao Fan's words finished, a memory flowed into Li Xi's mind, instantly making him feel as if he had always known it.
He performed the hand seals: "Un-Hai-Chou-Xu-Yin."
Li Xi's figure instantly appeared at the corner of the courtyard wall, while a piece of wood that had been placed there now occupied Li Xi's previous position.
"Hahahaha, divine skill."
Li Xi performed the hand seals again: "Un-Hai-Chou-Xu-Yin."
His body swapped back with the piece of wood from before.
After performing this jutsu, Li Xi stroked his chin and pondered. The distance between him and the wooden block was about three meters, likely not the maximum range yet; it could be a bit further. Based on his current strength, the maximum range should be around seven meters.
The time taken to cast the Body Replacement Technique was one and a half seconds. In a life-or-death situation, this time would be stretched infinitely. The timing of the cast was crucial; otherwise, like what happened during the day, several rounds could be lost in that one and a half seconds.
After eating his fill, Li Xi bought some pastries and headed towards the blacksmith's shop.
From afar, he heard a steady, booming voice: "Andy, your strength is being applied incorrectly. It's not your wrist, it's your arm that needs to exert force."
Immediately, Andy's reply came: "Yes, Master."