CLANG! CLANG!
"To think that the Blue Moon Sect left behind an expert like you to guard it! This is outside my expectations," said the shrewd old man as he defended against several |Large Fireballs| and a |Fireball Burst|. "But if they believe that strength like this is enough, then they're sorely mistaken!"
HA!
Dispersing all of the Fireball attacks at once, the shrewd old man erupted with an invincible aura. His once frail body turned wide and muscular, with the thin sword in his hand being switched out for a giant double-sided axe.
"Let me see what you can do against me, Lu Bo, with those puny flames of yours!"
"...."
Xue Ren, with a black hood covering his face and body, looked away from the transforming old man. The corpses of the bandits littered the ground, with the shiny rings on their fingers making his eyes shine with greed.
'Although I don't want to use their cultivation resources or whatever, I imagine I can sell all the treasures they have in their Storage Rings for large sums of money. The amount of protein I can purchase then will be immense…'
Was protein considered an external influence, same as Pills and Elixirs?
Xue Ren thought not!
The other things were trashy garbage, whereas Protein was Life!
"Do you dare ignore me, Lu Bo, Elder of the Bloodring Assassins Sect!?"
OOOM!
The shrewd old man unleashed an even more oppressive level of aura, his strength nearing even that of Fang Ren and Lan Yue.
Silence…
"Ignore you…?" Xue Ren finally spoke up, tilting his head in confusion. "But you're already dead."
"Huh!? What nonsense are you rambling about!?" Lu Bo exploded in fury, taking thunderous steps in the short hooded figure's direction. "Truly Courting Death— Wait… What…?"
His eyes suddenly pointed to his forehead. It was there that one could see a several-inch-wide bloody hole drilled all the way through the other side.
"See?" said Xue Ren, emotionlessly blowing smoke off his right index finger. "You're already dead."
"W-When…!?"
Lu Bo made sure to keep track of their fight. There was no way the hooded figure had the opportunity to deal a lethal blow to him!
That was unless…
"You show off too much," Xue Ren said coldly while walking like the Reaper of Death in Lu Bo's direction. "In your next life, you should train more instead of wasting your time with showy moves that have too many openings."
'He hadn't even let me finish my transformation!!' Lu Bo cried out inside his head as fear welled up inside him. 'No! I have to run!!'
"Thinking of running?"
"!!!"
Lu Bo was scared shitless by the shadowy-faced figure who shortened the gap between them in an instant.
"It's better if you just burn." Xue Ren flicked his fingers at Lu Bo, causing him to light ablaze, his last few moments consumed by utter terror. "Fireball Sniper was the move that killed you. It's something you can remember in the afterlife with pride, for you were the first of many to die to it."
*Whooosh—!*
All that remained of Lu Bo was ash, and even that blew away into the wind, destined to be scattered throughout the Region.
*Ding!*
[Skill 'Fireball Sniper' proficiency increased by 0.000045%]
[Total proficiency of Skill 'Fireball Sniper' has surpassed 0.1%!]
"Even at 0.1%, this skill that functions by repeatedly exploding and condensing small Fireballs at my fingertips is capable of killing a stupid Mid Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator." Xue Ren stroked his chin. "In the future, it will surely become my most powerful single-target Skill. Well… it already is, but it'll become even more so is what I mean."
Without looking back, he picked up the sprinkled Storage Rings and returned to the mountain range he had been training at.
However, little did he know that another member of the Blue Moon Sect—a small, shriveled-up old man—saw everything that went down. This old man had been planning to step in and do what he originally came here to do if the boy couldn't handle it, but surprisingly, the boy performed a miracle.
"I thought Little Linghua and Mei Mei were the only true talents of the Sect, but it would appear that a diamond in the rough is still covered by the dirt that surrounds him." The shriveled-up old man's hollowed eyes brightened a bit as he vanished from the mountain he was poised on. "I'll go and inquire from the youngsters about this seedling. He may have special circumstances that I should know about."
Some time later, and after a period of discussion.
"You're saying that his name is Xue Ren and he's the son of those two geniuses from a century ago?" the shriveled-up old man repeated just to make sure. "Furthermore, when you tested his attributes, he was discovered to have the Lowest-ranked |Empty Spirit Roots| as well as Highest Affinities in both the |Blank| and |Fire| Elements?"
Elder Gu, who was sitting opposite the shriveled-up old man, nodded.
"That's correct, Ancestor Yong. But although his awakening was a big disappointment—with his ability to utilize any energy attacks severely limited—I found him to have a very robust and well-trained physique. If nothing else, he could be suitable for the Body Path, which relies less on the Grade of your Spiritual Roots than the Energy Path."
Ancestor Yong's brows drew together, this matter a profoundly intriguing one.
'What I witnessed could in no way be considered to be "severely limited" energy attacks,' he thought. 'Is it possible that this Xue Ren was able to fool the High-rank Talent Tester Stone…?'
— Next time on Spamming Fireball: 2nd Layer of Qi Condensation, 14 Years Old, Ancient Gold Body Refining Technique —