41 Chapter 40: The Evil Within (1/2)

”Damn it! Fucking damn it!”

Swearing, Qi Fu Ren stumbled through the academy courtyard. Both of his arms were still bandaged tightly, and he wasn't able to use either, not this soon after Teacher Yi Liao reattached them. He would need to wait for them to heal further, for the severed nerves to reconnect and heal completely, for the freshly mended muscles and tendons to strengthen, and the recently repaired bones to harden and recover.

Until then, he couldn't even use his arms for the most basic of things, never mind practice martial arts.

”Not only that, he dared to cripple the qi vessels in my arms! That bastard!”

Qi Fu Ren cursed me. Of course, I wasn't aware of his insults at that time because I was away, but I had to incorporate this scene into the narrative chronologically in order for the whole story to make sense. Just assume it's the protagonist's privilege. As usual.

”And now I'm expelled from the White Tiger Sect! Fucking bastard…!”

”Don't worry, boss…”

”No matter where you go, we'll follow you.”

Hu Shuo and Ba Dao trailed him closely, as loyal as ever. With their boss expelled from the sect, they left as well, faithfully following him to the end.

Qi Fu Ren hesitated for a moment, and then said a word that was extremely rare for someone like him.

”Thank you.”

”No problem, boss.”

”We're always at your back!”

Shutting his eyes, Qi Fu Ren turned away. While he appreciated his lackeys' company, he wished they would be a bit more useful. Nonetheless, as long as they didn't abandon him, he couldn't give up on all hope yet. Rage swelled in him and he gnashed his teeth in fury.

”I swear, I'll have my revenge.”

”Well, we can try to beat that Fei Wu up for you.”

”If we work together…”

”Are you idiots?!” Qi Fu Ren sighed and shook his head at their sheer stupidity. ”Neither of you are a match for that trash, even if you go against him together. And with my arms hurt and my qi vessels severed like this, it'll take me a year or so to recover. Damn it! I can't wait that long! I'll never be able to catch up!”

He fell silent as he considered his options, and found that more despair awaited him.

”Damn it…and now that I'm kicked out of the White Tiger Sect, I won't be able to learn new techniques, obtain new spirit pills or martial arts resources…what the fuck do I do?”

”Don't give up, boss!”

”I'm sure we'll find something!”

”Shut up, you two!” Qi Fu Ren roared, his anger overtaking his rationality for the moment. ”You're both useless! Everyone is useless! Ugh!”

Bellowing, Qi Fu Ren unleashed an explosive blast of electric qi from his body, scorching his surroundings and causing the air around him to tingle with static. Both Hu Shuo and Ba Dao were forced to retreat, unable to withstand his fury.

”B…boss…calm down…”

”Sorry for being useless…”

”I told you to shut up, didn't I?” Qi Fu Ren snarled. The duo fell silent and timidly retreated. Qi Fu Ren gulped down huge breaths of air, his eyes and nostrils flaring as he glared around him, lightning continuing to spark and dance off his body.

After he calmed down, he slowly turned to face his two flunkies.

”Sorry. I lost my head for a bit.”

”It's okay, boss!”

”We understand!”

No, Qi Fu Ren thought bitterly. Neither of you understand the pain I'm going through at the moment. You both have always been useless trash, how would you understand the humiliation and frustration to losing to trash? How would you understand the pain of once being at the top, only to fall into the abyss of despair and disgrace like this? No, neither of you would ever understand what I'm going through. Nobody!

Howling in his heart, Qi Fu Ren turned away and stomped back toward his dormitory. In any case, he was in no shape to do anything right now. He could only wait to recover for a bit before he tried finding ways to take revenge.

*

And just like that, a week passed. Qi Fu Ren managed to get rid of the bandages. He no longer needed them, and could move his arms somewhat normally now, employ them in things as simple as picking things up or writing.

However…

”Ugh…ah!”

Lightning failed to flow to either of his arms, even as he attempted to cultivate. His severed qi vessels, though reconnected, hadn't healed enough for him to direct the flow of his electric qi through them. As a result, he couldn't execute Lightning Fist or Thunder Break, never mind his ultimate move, Lightning Flash.

And I still have yet to learn Lightning Blade! Fuck!

Hollering in his heart, Qi Fu Ren punched the training dummy with all his might, only to regret it when his freshly healed arms shrieked in pain. He recoiled and then spun away, bitterly spitting at the training dummy.

”That's enough for today. Terminate training session.”

”Understood.”

Speaking in a mechanical voice, the training dummy folded its metallic limbs upon itself and retreated into the hatch in the training room wall where it emerged earlier. Without sparing the battered machine a glance, Qi Fu Ren stomped out.

”How was your training session, boss?”

”Here, a drink.”

Qi Fu Ren snatched the bottle out of Ba Dao's hands and then glared at the duo.

”While I appreciate you two hanging around, can't you both do something more useful, like train or something? Don't just watch me train! Improve yourselves, for Heaven's sake! No wonder the both of you are so useless!”

”Sorry, boss…we'll try.”

”But we have no talent.”

”No talent?” Qi Fu Ren scoffed. ”Look at that trash, Fei Wu. He is only a One Star Constitution cultivator, yet he got so strong, strong enough to rival a Four Star Constitution cultivator. If he can do it, why can't Two Star Constitution cultivators like you do it?”

Even as Qi Fu Ren said that he realized how he was bitterly acknowledging my strength, and that pissed him off. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, and shook his head.

”Hmph. That won't be for long. Next time, it'll be my turn to cripple you. No, I won't just cripple you. I'll end your sorry existence…I'll definitely kill you, you fucking bastard…”

Mumbling senseless threats under his breath, Qi Fu Ren continued to stalk off. His two flunkies glanced at each other, then hurried after him.

As he stomped toward the dorm, passing through the deserted courtyard, Qi Fu Ren continued to growl platitudes of senseless threats and promises of vengeance. Muttering an invective, he glared in the direction of the dormitory.

Then he suddenly turned and marched out of the academy. Proceeding straight for the walls of the academy, Qi Fu Ren sprang to life, leaping above it and landing on the outside in a single bound. Hu Shuo and Ba Dao scrambled to follow him, jumping up and down, but it took them several tries before they finally cleared the wall.

”Huff…huff…you're as impressive as always, boss.”

”Wait for us!”

The two underlings were sprawled on the ground, covered in perspiration and dirt, as they wheezed and panted heavily. They gasped for air, trying to recover from their earlier exertions, but Qi Fu Ren merely glared at them in disgust.

Useless trash…the both of them…can't even clear the wall…

Without waiting, he spun around and stomped off. Even though his arms had been crippled, his legs were still in pretty good shape. I hadn't injured his legs, after all. That was why Qi Fu Ren could still channel qi into his legs and jump high and far without any problems. He didn't need to rely on his arms for walking, jumping or running.

”W…wait, boss!”

”Don't leave us!”

Despite panting heavily, the two cronies forcibly picked themselves up and chased after their leader. Qi Fu Ren reluctantly slowed down so that they could catch up.

”Where are you going, boss?”

”Why did we leave the academy?”

”I need some fresh air,” Qi Fu Ren replied, and then raised a hand as if reaching out for the heavens. ”I need a change of pace. It's pointless to train and practice with my arms in this state, but I can't sit around and do nothing either.”

”Why don't you go to the library?” Hu Shuo suggested. Ba Dao nodded enthusiastically.

”Yeah, you might be able to find something useful. And since you're level 5, you'll be able to borrow and learn a few of those level 5 techniques!”

”And be like that trash, Fei Wu?” Qi Fu Ren snarled. ”Learn kicking and copy him? Are you intending to humiliate me further?”

Both lackeys fell silent, unsure of how to proceed. That certainly was not their intention. Qi Fu Ren knew that, but he couldn't help taking his frustration out on them. He gritted his teeth and turned away.

”It's pointless in any case. With my arms like this, it's impossible for me to practice martial arts. Damn it, Fei Wu should be the one suffering like this, not me! He's the trash and I'm the genius! How is it that our roles are reversed?”

He glared at the heavens and showed them his middle finger.

”Is this your idea of a joke, you fucking gods?!”

Hu Shuo and Ba Dao exchanged glances uncertainly, not sure what to make of their leader's outburst. Then they hurried after him as he ventured through the streets.

”Fuck this.”

Qi Fu Ren suddenly blurted out, and then he took a turn into a game center, where many of the citizen's residents sought entertainment. His lackeys followed him closely, trailing him until he stopped in front of an arcade.

It was an old fighting game. Qi Fu Ren gazed upon it, and then reached out with his hands to grab the joystick and controls.

”Er…boss, is that a good idea?”

”Don't forget, your arms haven't fully recovered yet.”

Qi Fu Ren gave both of them a droll stare. ”It's only playing a game, not practicing martial arts. My arms have healed enough for something as simple as this. Coins.”

At his order, Hu Shuo produced a coin. Qi Fu Ren snatched it out of his grip and slotted it into the arcade. In an instant, the screen flashed to inform the player that he might begin anytime.

”I love fighting games when I was young, you know,” Qi Fu Ren suddenly said as he began, his avatar on the screen launching a barrage of vicious uppercuts against the artificial intelligence controlled character.

”…boss?”

Ba Dao wasn't sure how to react at the revelation.