Chapter 5

Because there was still a year until the start of the main plot, Xu Lin utilized this time to train and strengthen himself. On the journey towards Floating Cloud City, Xu Lin cultivated and killed all the profound beasts he could find. Initially, in the first few months of this routine, Xu Lin had a difficult time fighting true profound beasts, since genjutsu was less effective against them. Although Xu Lin could erase the injuries he sustained, which happened often, the journey still proved to be a painful and harrowing experience for him.

However, as time went on, he grew stronger and more experienced. His proficiency with the sword reached the point where his swings would create afterimages. From then on, killing true profound beasts was like chopping vegetables to Xu Lin. His cultivation also increased too, from the 1st level of the Nascent Profound Realm all the way to the 7th level.

With the profound cores that he obtained from killing beasts, instead of absorbing the energy from them to boost his cultivation, Xu Lin sold them to the system for credits. After about of year of doing this, his balance eventually grew to a staggering total of 501,000 credits.

'Finally I've got enough to upgrade my sharingan. System, what options are there for mangekyou sharingans?'

[Host must first select the category of mangekyou sharingan he wishes to purchase. A pair of normal ones will cost host 250,000 credits, and eternal mangekyou sharingans (EMS) will cost 500,000 credits. The difference between the two is that with the normal mangekyou, overuse will cause host's vision to deteriorate, eventually leaving host blind. On the other hand, the EMS has no such restriction. However, with each purchase of 20,000 credits, host can restore the vision in both eyes to peak condition without any drawbacks.]

'Of course I'll go with the eternal mangekyou. I don't want to deal with any of those troubles.'

[Host can select two mangekyou abilities from the already existing ones. Alternatively, host can also create his own ability, but it has to be within the bounds of reason. I will be the judge of that.]

Even though it would cost his entire balance, Xu Lin felt that the power granted by the eternal mangekyou sharingan was certainly worth it. After some consideration, he came to a conclusion.

'For my first ability, I choose kotoamatsukami. Being able to control other's actions without them knowing is extremely useful. For my other one, I wish to create my own. This ability will allow me to rewind time without the knowledge of other people.

[Ding! The host has purchased a pair of eternal mangekyou sharingan for 500,000 credits. The new ability the host has created will only rewind time for a period of five seconds.

Warning! Evolving your sharingan is an excruciatingly painful process which will last for an hour. Do you still want to go ahead? (Yes/No)]

Xu Lin found a secluded area away from the road before he thought:

'Begin!'

He grit his teeth and braced himself for the pain. At first, it was just a dull, aching feeling. However, after a few moments, Xu Lin thought that his eyes were on fire as they experienced a torturous burning sensation. The pain was akin to someone gouging both of his eyes out with a knife. As his vision became clouded by blood, Xu Lin howled a scream of pure agony. Fortunately for him, because his brain could not handle such a great amount of pain, Xu Lin soon fainted after five minutes.

A few hours later, he finally woke up. Opening his eyes, Xu Lin noticed a massive improvement in his eyesight. All around him, the world felt clearer. His eyes could perceive an ant on the ground from one hundred meters away.

Xu Lin stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. Purchasing a mirror from the shop for a few credits, he retrieved it from his inventory and looked at his reflection. In each of his crimson eyes was a jet-black flower with eight petals (Kind of looks like Sasuke's EMS, just look it up). After deactivating the sharingan, they returned back to their normal azure color.

[Just a reminder, Kotoamatsukami will not work on those who are much stronger than you, while your time reverse ability, which I am henceforth naming "Rewind", can only be activated once per day. In the future when you improve your strength, this cooldown can be shortened.]

'Well, I supposed it'd be too overpowered if those abilities could just be used without any restrictions. Still doesn't make my any happy about that though.'

Xu Lin continued on the road. There was only a few days left before Xiao Che reincarnated. He would utilize this time to enter the city and try to form good relations with Xia Qing Yue, whom he knew was destined to become a powerful figure in the future.

Some time later, Xu Lin finally saw the faint figure of Floating Cloud City in the distance. However, it was at this time when he suddenly heard the sounds of horses and men shouting to his side. Looking over, Xu Lin found himself face to face with a band of four people armed with swords. The man in the front, who appeared to be their leader, dismounted from the horse and walked towards Xu Lin.

"Hey there kid. I'll be straightforward. Give us all your money and we might consider letting you live."

'Oh great, it's a band of thieves. Based on the profound energy leaking from them, the guys in the back are in the middle levels of the elementary profound realm, while their leader is slightly better.'

With his overpowering voice and menacing appearance, it was definitely enough to scare ordinary people into complying with their demands.

But the thing is, Xu Lin was anything but ordinary!

"And what if I don't?"

"Then don't blame I, your father, for being impolite!"

The moment he said that, the other men surrounded him from all sides.

"I will repeat myself again in simpler terms. Your money, or your life. You have ten seconds to decide."

Not wanting to deal with this man's bullsh*t for any longer, Xu Lin activated his sharingan and placed a genjutsu on the four thieves. He commanded them to hand over all of their belongings, which in total amounted to around 10 purple profound coins. Placing his hand on the leader's forehead, Xu Lin read through his memories when he instantly frowned.

'This guy really is scum. Not only was he not planning to let me go, his band committed this same act against numerous others! They really deserve what's coming to them.'

Angered by their previous crimes, Xu Lin forced them to commit suicide. One by one, the four men fell to the ground with a sword pierced through their heart.

Xu Lin didn't pay any more attention to them as he walked away and entered Floating Cloud City.

[Status:

Name: Xu Lin

Age: 16

Race: Human

Bloodline: None

Cultivation: Nascent Profound Realm 7th Level

Skills: Basic Sword Technique, Basic Disguise

Abilities: Kotoamatsukami, Rewind, Regrowth

Credits: 0]