Chapter 22: The Sudden Appearance of the Masked Stranger

Therefore, in order to refine the first batch of pills for Old Master Zeng, after dinner that evening, Zhang Pu spent several hours visiting every pharmacy in the Qingwu city district. In the end, he managed to gather all the required ingredients and felt quite pleased. With his own experience, he could use these materials to make pills for Old Master Zeng—the kind known in the cultivation world as "Vitality Pills." In truth, even in the world of cultivation, Vitality Pills were not considered especially high-grade. What Zhang Pu produced from the materials found on Earth could not be as pure as those from the cultivation world; after all, the herbs here were inferior. But for Old Master Zeng, he thought a slow, gradual treatment would suffice—there was no need to expect a miraculous, immediate recovery.

Though it was already late, the main streets outside were still bustling with traffic, but as Zhang Pu approached the area near South Lake Park where he rented a room, the lanes grew noticeably quieter. On the road nearest to his residence, Zhang Pu was the only person in sight.

Yet Zhang Pu felt no fear. In his previous life, he might have been afraid in such a situation, but he was no longer that same person. Calm and composed, he walked toward his home, but at some point, he sensed that something around him was different from usual. Tonight, the place was deserted, the streetlights dimmer, and there seemed to be a chill in the air. Was it just his imagination?

"Is this the student?" a voice whispered.

At that moment, three masked men lay hidden among the bushes by the road.

"That's right. According to the information we were given, it should be him."

"All right, let's move. But don't kill him—just teach him a lesson. At worst, let him be bedridden for a few months so he can't attend school. That'll show him that a transfer student from the countryside can't just go around hitting people, hehe."

"Let's make it quick. They say this kid is tough, so the three of us should go together, just in case."

"Agreed. No matter how tough he is, he's just a student—he's only shown off at school. With the three of us together, nothing can go wrong."

Strange sounds finally echoed in the night. But Zhang Pu was no ordinary student. He was now a true cultivator.

He had already reached the intermediate stage of the Qi Refining realm, which was equivalent to being a martial arts expert on Earth. Although he had consumed some of his true energy that morning helping Old Master Zeng, it wasn't too serious—a slight loss of strength at most. Within the boundaries of Qingwu City, he was confident there were few who could truly threaten him.

In a flash, Zhang Pu spun around and saw three figures rushing toward him. What was this, an ambush? But he did not panic like a student caught off guard outside school. Instead, the battle-hardened instincts he had cultivated in the world of immortals surged to life in an instant.

Whatever these three masked assailants intended—robbery, kidnapping, or worse—didn't matter. What mattered was stopping them from succeeding.

In the blink of an eye, the three men attacked. Seeing that they remained silent, Zhang Pu didn't bother with words either. He immediately deployed the Shadowless Hand. Since his rebirth, he had already used this basic combat technique, common to entry-level cultivators, several times—against the campus bullies Zheng Furen and Gao Lixia—and had become quite adept with it.

During the fight, Zhang Pu could tell that the three masked men were skilled in combat and street fighting. They were likely in their twenties, physically stronger and more experienced than a high schooler like him, and probably street thugs rather than mere campus troublemakers. Moreover, since he had expended true energy that morning, he couldn't deal with them as quickly or effortlessly as he had with Zheng Furen and Gao Lixia.

Nevertheless, he held his ground and didn't let any of their blows land.

This kid really knows what he's doing! the three attackers began to think, growing uneasy.

But the more impatient they became to end the fight, the more Zhang Pu's skill showed. Worried that his depleted energy from helping Old Master Zeng might put him in real danger, he quietly cast a spell he had learned in the Dark Star Realm—a minor illusion known as Little Mirage. Although he couldn't yet wield many of the cultivation world's spells, this low-level illusion was just within his grasp. It might have been basic, but against these three, who were far from real experts, it was more than enough.

Suddenly, the leader of the masked men found himself lost in a hallucination mid-fight.

"What is…"

But before he could react, reality snapped back and a foot caught him squarely in the groin, utterly unprepared.

"Aaagh—" the leader howled in pain.

"You little bastard, how dare you—"

He didn't finish the curse before Zhang Pu's Shadowless Hand struck his mouth, knocking his teeth askew.

"Who are you calling a little bastard? Who are you, exactly?"

The masked leader tried to bluster, but another blow landed on his face, and blood gushed from his mouth.

"Let's get out of here—!" he finally shouted in a panic.

His two companions, reeling from Zhang Pu's blows, dragged him away, scrambling through the bushes in a desperate escape.

Seeing their leader spit out curses, Zhang Pu had half a mind to give him a lifelong lesson, but just then, he felt his true energy falter and let it go.

Damn! I really did use up too much energy on that old man this morning and didn't even realize—I almost let myself get caught in the gutter.

With this thought, Zhang Pu hurried away as well, worried that more trouble might arrive.

He forced himself to make it back to his small rented apartment, shut the door, and even double-checked the lock as if afraid someone might break in.

At that moment, he realized that, aside from the minor illusion from the Dark Star Realm, he truly could no longer use even the most basic combat techniques without exhausting himself.

It was clear his cultivation was still not firmly established.

This won’t do. Having returned to Earth for a second chance, he would have to rebuild the foundations of his cultivation more solidly than ever before. After all, he would eventually return to the world of immortals—he must not let this chance end in regret.

Reflecting on the day's events, Zhang Pu concluded that it was his own carelessness—he had overexerted himself for Old Master Zeng in the morning, then rushed into another battle by nightfall.