“Cafeteria’s closed. Go! Get moving!” the large child shouted, shooing the smaller children away.
Hui stared down at the large child, his lips pressed together, a strange intent flashing in his eyes. You get between me and food? I’ve come all the way here, but I’m not even allowed to sample the cafeteria? It might not stand up to Sis Mei—how could it—but I refuse! I won’t be blocked from breakfast by some small child!
The large child glared up at Hui. “Y...
2023-07-03 13:40:01 +0000 UTC
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Turning slowly, Hui took in the room. Pure white walls with no interruption wrapped around him in all directions, except where the door stood by the entrance. The small desk and table and chairs bore slight bumps and scuffs, signs of previous usage. Hui knelt and peered close at the corners of the walls, then jumped up to squint at the ceiling, hovering in the air. Faint edges of qi glimmered here and there where the walls met.
He hovered closer and pressed his hand to it, carefully inj...
2023-07-02 13:59:01 +0000 UTC
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They worked their way up the stairs, back and forth from platform to platform. Hui looked around as he walked, still taking in the palace around him. So big… so big! One tier is easily as many people as All-Heavens. Argh. We’re in trouble, we’re in trouble for sure! I only wanted to learn about the palace and its techniques, then reassess… but I think I might need to full-on launch a solo attack!
Come to think of it, I need to check up on Si Wang and the resentment ...
2023-07-01 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
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The attendant startled. She looked at the small child lying dead beside her, then stared out at the assassins disapprovingly. “Who killed him? Who killed the Tier Master’s new disciple? Step forward, right now!”
On the ground, Hui blinked. Eh? Oh, wait. Yeah. They are assassins. It’s totally possible that someone launched a stealth attack to kill me!
Ahhhhhhhh! I hate this tier! I want to go home! It’s scary here, someone help me!
Deep breaths...
2023-06-30 14:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Hui followed after Jizhi Zhimei, riding on her attendant’s sword. He took a deep breath. Okay. So I’m with the worst Tier Master, the most dangerous one of all, whose beloved disciple I killed, who handles poisons and hidden weapons, whose mere existence can warp hearts and minds… but… but, on the upside, I’m considered to have the highest potential in years, surely due to my secretly high cultivation, so I’m unlikely to be mistreated or thrown in a dungeon. Okay. Could be wor...
2023-06-29 15:59:02 +0000 UTC
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Since I have my choice of Tier Masters, I might as well make a good one!
Hui glanced left to right over the cultivators. Alright, so… let’s see. Obviously, the poison and hidden weapons master is right out. Not only is she a threat to my mental survival, but also—poison? Hidden weapons? All my fellow disciples will be far too dangerous! No thank you.
As for the muscular man… I do have some karma with body cultivation, but… eh. I’d rather not. Too ...
2023-06-28 15:00:03 +0000 UTC
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All the cultivators on the teleportation pad stared at Hui in open amazement. A few exchanged glances. One or two stepped forward, adjusting their robes with self-importance.
Tian Honghua looked at the shattered crystal in her hand. This orb measures one’s karma with cultivation and Eight Tiers’ Palace’s techniques. No matter how high this child cultivated in the other sect… not that it appears to be high, but—regardless of his cultivation, it shouldn’t influence the lig...
2023-06-27 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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“An imposter!” the cultivator shouted, pointing at Hui.
Instantly, a barrier burst up around him. The physical restraint grew heavier, slamming him flat to the floor. With his intentionally-lowered cultivation, he couldn’t even fight back.
Ahhh, how was I supposed to guess they’d have a cultivator who checked to see if I was wearing a disguise by checking my skin, specifically? Although it’s a perfect disguise in almost all ways, the snakeskin disguise technique does...
2023-06-26 15:01:37 +0000 UTC
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Hui put his hands on Bai Xue’s chest, calling out to the teleportation formation at the same time. Using the quantum communication technique, but without a karmic connection… I’ll just call out to whoever’s on the other side of the formation! After all, it’s not like there’s a specific person I want to talk to. Anyone who can teleport me out of here works!
I wonder if anyone has ever worked as hard as I have to get kidnapped…?
“Hello, who is t...
2023-06-25 15:00:03 +0000 UTC
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The incense burned slowly. The small portion remaining burned bright red, tall ash growing atop the small piece of incense as it grew smaller yet. Bai Xue flew at top speed. In moments, he’d left the sect far behind, but the barrier mountains still didn’t appear at the horizon yet.
Hui yawned. Hmm. Mentally, I’m still an adult, but it seems like my physicality is affecting me a little bit. I could use a nap.
Huh, strange. At this level of cultivation, I shouldn...
2023-06-24 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Zeke swallowed the ant. Alright, here we go.
Ordinary Ant
Worth 0 Levels
Choose Skill
None
Zeke scowled. “Not even Resilient or Steel Stomach?” He looked at the rest of the ants, then shook his head. Maybe if I eat them all? Lowering his head, he licked up a line of ants.
[Devour]
Many Ordinary Ants
Worth 0 Levels
Choose Skill
Teamwork (Minor)
Carapace (Miniscule)
2023-05-11 00:24:30 +0000 UTC
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Pain. Darkness. The taste of copper. Eyes shut, Zeke laid completely still on the sidewalk.
An alarm blared. The wind blew, wafting an acrid scent over him. Zeke twitched, and immediately regretted it. The tiny shift sent agony blasting through his body, washing over him in waves.
What… what…
Ryan, with an iced coffee. A casual chat. That familiar face, his blue eyes colder than the arctic. Mia’s horrified expression.
I fell. No… Ryan pushed me. I ...
2023-05-11 00:23:10 +0000 UTC
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A/N: Hello, everyone! I've been working on a new book, Apocalypse Me, for a while now, and I think it's finally ready to go on Patreon. This book will replace Predatory System for the summer, until I pick it back up again this fall. This idea kind of came to me and consumed all my brainpower for a while, so I couldn't help but write it! Please let me know what you think :) I'll post the rest of the chapters tonight... I just wanted to give you a glimpse this morning!
A/N, cont: Ch...
2023-05-10 17:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Hui scurried closer, tilting his head and making his eyes big. Senior Si Wang is about to spill the tea! Must hear, must hear! “Oh?”
Si Wang put a hand on his forehead and pushed him back. “Don’t do that. You look like a chipmunk.”
“Ah, my apologies, Senior.” Hui straightened, adjusting his hems and tucking his hands behind his back. Setting his shoulders and standing with a ramrod spine, he nodded just once at Si Wang, as upright and righteous as could be. ...
2023-05-02 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
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A bright light burned through Hui’s vision. He flinched back, startled. A blurry black form took shape before him, slowly congealing into a slightly bloated version of Si Wang. Si Wang turned to face him, lifting his hand and opening his mouth.
“Ah! Senior. Good afternoon,” Hui said cordially, before Si Wang could start.
Si Wang flinched. “Good afternoon.”
Excellent! I preempted his attack with pleasantries. He is a madman, after all. As long as I maintain cont...
2023-05-01 15:00:05 +0000 UTC
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In no time, Hui reached the foothills of the protective mountain formation of the Eight Tiers Palace. He circled the sect, searching for signs of a resentment demon. If the resentment demons are all after the Eight Tiers Palace, then there should be a few resentment demons hanging around.
Far below, he caught sight of a writhing ball of white. His eyes sparkled. There it is! Right on schedule. He darted down, flying down from the sky to hover just above it.
Mindl...
2023-04-30 15:00:03 +0000 UTC
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He looked back toward his quarters, then hesitated. Should I go back? Or will Elder Sister be waiting there to bully me…?
In my past life, home was always…
Hmm. Well, surely Elder Sister won’t be that vengeful? She didn’t strike me as someone totally without manners.
Hui gazed toward the village for another few moments, then turned away. You know what? Let’s not risk it.
He jumped into the air, flying away.
Across the...
2023-04-29 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Zhu Diyu lifted another document, peering at the parchment beneath it. Casually, he reached out and took a sip of his tea, then looked down at the reaper. “Is that all?”
The reaper stiffened. “When I—”
Waving his hand vaguely, Zhu Diyu yawned. “You and he are very different people. He’s probably far too cowardly to interfere.”
Hui swallowed. Er… well, usually, but… He put on an innocent look and continued to stare off into the distance, as if thi...
2023-04-28 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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With little more ado, the group of cultivators split into squads, who took off over the peaks. As the last squad left, the leader turned to Hui. “Coming along, Lao Gongren?”
Hui waved his hand. “No, no. I have to go take the children back to their homes.”
Li Weiqi scoffed. “What was that about all talk and no action?”
Hui gently patted him on the head. “One shouldn’t criticize one’s elders. In any case, I’m going to go search. I just need to return you tw...
2023-04-27 15:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Panting, Bai Xingxue stumbled up to Hui. He braced himself on his knees, then stood, wiping his mouth. “Are… are we… back in time?”
Hui nodded. “The meeting’s about to start.”
Li Weiqi ran up after Bai Xingxue, barely sweating or panting. He bowed and cupped his hands to Hui. “Disciple ran ten laps, to ensure I remembered!”
Eh? Well… it’s good to overachieve, I suppose. He nodded silently at Li Weiqi, not sure what to say.
Li Weiqi’s ey...
2023-04-26 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Really, I should have expected this. Now that I’m fifth-realm, a lot of the things that I create, even incidentally, are nigh-indestructible except by higher-realm cultivators. Something like the snakeskins I cast off casually could be considered a relic or treasure by a low-realm cultivator! Thus… I should, from now on, intentionally destroy everything I cast off!
Hui sighed. What are the chances I remember that…?
Anyways, I’m… I’m just seeding t...
2023-04-25 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Hui’s eyes widened. Is this the Eight Tiers Palace’s attack? Has Fei Guren come to kidnap my children? So early? He leaned toward the female cultivator. “Do we have any details?”
The female cultivator shook her head. “They found some evidence down by the training field for low-level disciples. Once those two disciples finish breaking through, come with me, and I’ll show you.”
Finish breaking through? Hui thought, startled. He turned and looked at hi...
2023-04-24 15:00:06 +0000 UTC
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As long as I’m in the mortal realm and close by Starbound Sect… I’d be remiss if I didn’t check in on my children, Hui thought, nodding. He fixed his hems and nodded at Song Wei. “Thank you for caring for my… for me. I’ll be off now.”
Song Wei held out his hand. “Before you go… could I have Master’s seed again?”
Hui scowled. “What did I say about talking about it!” He rubbed his hands together, quickly forming a seed.
“Eh? Even between ...
2023-04-23 14:00:02 +0000 UTC
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“Wait.”
Hui stiffened, startled. He turned, slowly. “Senior…?”
Out of the fire, a hand appeared. It pressed up against the wall of the bubble. The flames stirred, forming the woman’s face. “Please. Kill me.”
“How?” Hui asked. Elder Sister, I don’t want to kill anyone, but… if you’re asking me, I will. After all, if you ask me to kill you, then I’m not sowing bad karma! It’s a negative-karma-free killing.
Still, you’re Immort...
2023-04-22 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Little Flame pointed the way, her fingers skeletal whenever they peeked out from under her sleeves. They left the Night Market behind, flying out into a wilderness of dead trees, wilting bamboo, and stagnant ponds.
“I once tried to escape the Night Market,” Little Flame said softly. “I walked out into the wilds, on and on until my legs went numb, and even then, I kept going. Out and out. Into the endless night. And then, at the very edge of the horizon, I found her.”
Darkn...
2023-04-21 14:00:03 +0000 UTC
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A/N: looks like Patreon let today's post schedule go up in smoke... Sorry all!
The figure in black all but dragged him up a narrow set of stairs hidden behind a wall. Hui casually dropped his new lotus seed in the darkness of the corner of the wall, then followed after her, hurrying to avoid tripping up the stairs. Her grip tightened on his wrist to the point that his hand hung uselessly, and his wrist turned red, but she didn’t seem to notice.
Does she hate this Little Flam...
2023-04-20 20:12:33 +0000 UTC
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Hui stood before a grand pair of pillars holding up a gilded arch. A brilliant nameplate declared it the Black Dragon Gambling Hall in blazing gold letters. An enormous bowls of phoenix fire burned at the base of each pillar, lighting the entrance gate and sign in flickering red. Black doors reinforced with brass stretched tall overhead.
He nodded to himself. Yep. Definitely not an evil den of madness. Definitely not.
Alright, Hui. You can do this. Focus. Fin...
2023-04-19 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Hui flew out of the water and into the air. High up, he peered down at the world around him.
In the darkness of night, a few lanterns dimly lit a sprawling market. Ghosts, ghouls, and other monsters of unknown providence wandered around the narrow streets, the passageways cluttered with stalls, stands, and streetside sellers. Half-dressed female ghouls in thick makeup allowed glimpses of their rotting bodies through translucent robes, winking and smirking at the passersby from beneath r...
2023-04-18 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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On the far side of the smoke, searing heat blasted out of the furnace. Hui blocked his face with his hands, peering through his fingers at the crack in the furnace.
Inside, flames danced over a glowing ball about the size of two fists put together. As the flames burned, the glowing ball turned from a brilliant, scintillating pill into a lump of charcoal. Black char crawled behind the flames, leaving nothing of the medicinal value of the pill. The black smoke billowed out from the flames...
2023-04-17 14:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Hui cast around, glancing all around for a hint, anything. Water didn’t work… Ice didn’t either… what else, what else?
Death qi…?
Can’t hurt!
Hui gathered his qi, then sent it outward in a fierce pulse. The flames around him died for a moment, only to surge back a second later.
Catching his breath, Hui nodded. That’s not a solution, but it is a chance! I can use the death qi to suppress the flames, then escape during that mo...
2023-04-16 15:00:01 +0000 UTC
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