CHAPTER 30: CHAPTER 5: FALSE FIRE?

"Thank you, brother, for giving me this supreme martial art. I will definitely practice it well."

Li Cunxu asked curiously, "Why do you believe it’s a supreme martial art?"

Li Anle tilted her head adorably and said, "Because brother wouldn’t lie to me."

Li Cunxu felt a warmth in his heart and patted her little head.

"No need to practice too hard. Martial arts are just a means of self-defense, not the right path. The true path is being a Beast Master."

Li Cunxu didn’t think highly of the martial artist profession because, even in his past life, not many players excelled as martial artists.

He gave Li Anle the Extreme Divine Fist for three reasons: she liked it, it wouldn’t waste her talent of resurrecting the undead, and it would teach her how to control her strength.

If Li Anle’s strength grows in the future and she still can’t control it, and then she starts pounding her little fists on his chest again, Li Cunxu worried he might get pounded to death.

That was the real reason why Li Cunxu sought out the Extreme Divine Fist.

Li Anle tugged at Li Cunxu’s clothes and whispered, "Brother, can I stay for a bit?"

Li Cunxu firmly said, "No."

Li Anle’s eyes dimmed.

Li Cunxu added, "But you can stay a few more days."

"Ninety-nine days."

"I said a ’few’ days."

"How about nine days?"

"No, three days."

"Eight days."

"Four days."

"Seven days."

"Three days."

Li Anle pursed her little lips, displeased, and said, "Shouldn’t it go up? How come it dropped back down?"

Li Cunxu said, "You thought I’d go along with what you want? Not happening. Three days at most, no bargaining."

"Alright, three days it is then."

Li Anle said somewhat reluctantly.

"Come on, let’s go test your Red Lotus Eye."

"Okay."

As she spoke, Li Anle was about to activate her Red Lotus Eye, but Li Cunxu quickly covered her eyes and gave her a light flick on the forehead.

"What are you doing? You can’t just show your eye in public. What if someone sees it?" Li Cunxu whispered harshly.

"If someone sees it, I’ll immediately send you to the family."

"No, please."

Li Anle pleaded, holding onto Li Cunxu’s arm.

"Let’s go to the underground cellar."

The number of Earth Slimes skyrocketed due to the breeding potion effect.

With all the Earth Slimes eating dirt together, they’ve dug out a large subterranean kiln under the pasture.

"Mechanical Annihilation Hunter, please guard the entrance to the cellar."

"Alright."

The Mechanical Annihilation Hunter sat at the entrance, closed its eyes, and sensed the movements around it.

Li Cunxu clapped his hands and said to the working Earth Slimes, "Alright, everyone stop for a moment and leave first."

The Earth Slimes ignored him.

"I forgot, I can’t command them. Xiaoruan, come out and tell them to leave."

"Puchi~ Puchi~"

The earth-colored Earth Slimes swarmed out like a pack of mice, jumping out with their overstuffed bellies.

Earth Slimes don’t digest soil quickly; they usually consume a lot of it, store it in their bellies, and then jump outside to expel it using a mud-throwing skill.

Li Cunxu inserted a wooden stick and ran far away.

"Use the Karmic Fire of the Red Lotus on the stick."

Li Anle’s pupils transformed into a red lotus of flames. The stick spontaneously ignited with the Karmic Fire and turned to ash in just a second or two.

Li Cunxu frowned, not because he disliked the power of the Karmic Fire but because he found it too weak.

"Even though the Karmic Fire is more effective on living beings rather than inanimate objects like a stick, it shouldn’t be this weak, right?"

In his previous life, the Karmic Fire of the Red Lotus he saw could vaporize a stick instantaneously, with no ashes left behind.

To claim invincibility below the level of a King with this power would be difficult!

"A fake Karmic Fire of the Red Lotus?"

"Or maybe it’s not fake; perhaps I overestimated it. Once Li Anle grows, maybe I’ll see the fearsome Karmic Fire of the Red Lotus from my past life that even Kings dreaded." Li Cunxu thought to himself.

"How’s your pupil power consumption?"

"It’s gone after one use."

"Can you absorb the Karmic Fire back?"

The Karmic Fire burned the stick but did not extinguish after losing its fuel. It continued to burn on the ground, using the soil as fuel.

If it’s not absorbed, this strand of Karmic Fire of the Red Lotus could continue burning in the cellar.

Throwing sinful people into the Karmic Fire of the Red Lotus could even expand the blaze, potentially burning down the entire pasture if not careful.

Hence, the Karmic Fire of the Lotus shouldn’t be released carelessly.

There are consequences to carelessness, as seen in the south where there’s an inland sea. A city of sin beside it had a Karmic Fire of the Lotus accidentally unleashed, setting the entire inland sea ablaze, turning the water sea into a sea of fire, which still burns to this day.

"I can, but I have to wait until my pupil power recovers." Li Anle rubbed her slightly sore eyes.

"How long until it recovers?"

"It’ll take a day."

"Tomorrow, as soon as your pupil power recovers, you need to absorb it back."

"Brother, can’t we just let it burn? It’s so dark in the cellar anyway, it saves on electricity for the lights."

Li Cunxu retorted, "I’d rather pay for electricity than use this thing—it’s too fierce, too dangerous; it could backfire."

Li Anle stuck out her tongue.

Li Cunxu moved closer to observe the Karmic Fire again.

"It burns very slowly on the soil."

Li Anle said, "Earth carries the virtue of all things, and it has virtue, no sin, so it burns slowly."

Li Cunxu argued, "It instantly burned the stick. Does the stick have sin?"

"Trees steal nutrients from the earth to grow, so it’s sinful."

"After trees die, their bodies enrich the soil. Do they still have sin after that?"

"They’re supposed to return nutrients to the soil after stealing to grow, aren’t they?"

Li Cunxu frowned slightly, "Where did you learn this strange logic? I didn’t teach you that. Was it from TV?"

When Li Anle was bedridden, Li Cunxu worried she’d get bored, so he often left her with the TV on when he left, mostly airing educational programs.

"No."

"It told me."

Li Anle pointed to her Red Lotus Eye.

Li Cunxu asked again, "What if your Karmic Fire of the Lotus is blocked by the enemy’s earth wall? It burns very slowly on soil."

"The earth serves as a shield for the enemy against the fire—it’s extremely sinful and deserves to be burned."

Li Cunxu opened his mouth but said nothing. So, it’s subjectively decided by you. If you think it’s sinful, then it is.

An idealistic Karmic Fire of the Red Lotus?

Li Cunxu instructed Xiaoruan once more to tell the Earth Slimes not to enter the cellar today.

If any Earth Slime accidentally carried out the fire, it would be quite the chaos.

In the afternoon, Li Cunxu exchanged some gold for money, getting three million, and spent a hundred thousand in a store to buy a Small Fruit.

A Small Fruit can shrink a pet beast’s size, with the shrinking effect lasting for one year, after which the size will return to normal.

In his past life, Li Cunxu didn’t have an extra-large pet beast, so he hadn’t used such an item and didn’t know its effect. He planned to try one first and see how it worked. If unsatisfactory, he would buy more.

On the street, summoning Xiaoruan would attract too much attention, so Li Cunxu went to rent a meditation training room.