The Laws of Cultivation: Qi = MC^2

I walked through a field at the edge of the sect premises, making my way up to Qiao Ying. A burly man stood nearby, with a stout body, and I recognised him to be the blacksmith Qiao Ying often worked with.

Next to him a nervous looking boy stood, holding what looked a lot like the pistol I had given him.

Zhang was nearby as well, as they all waited for my arrival. Qiao Ying bowed as I walked closer and I raised a hand to tell him to stop.

“The model for the gun has been prepared,” the man said smoothly, before glancing towards the blacksmith.

“Had to make some changes, lengthen the barrel, added those spinning groves you mentioned. Changed the trigger and added the safety thing as well, was a pain to properly shape it. Next one will be easier with the molds for shaping the parts but it works for now, see for yourself,” the man said, glancing sideways at the kid.

The boy walked closer to me, bowing his head before he handed me the gun.

I held the rifle in my hand, inspecting it. Pieces of wood and engravings gave it a classy look, instead of the heavy and hard metal and plastic that any modern gun would have. Portions were painted with a golden layer, though the central body was still metallic.

Keeping this in my arms, I could feel the weight of the things I brought into this world, and the fear of my actions returned. I didn’t like the feeling of thinking that I would be the one to introduce weapons of mass destruction into the world, and be responsible for the death, suffering and wars that it caused.

And yet… I knew this had to be done. Growth and progress were inevitable. Whether I had arrived in this world or not, eventually, things would’ve changed and progress. Perhaps the nature of society and life was cycical and we would all eventually end up destroying ourselves and all I was doing was speeding up the inevitable, but I refused to believe as such. Power did not have to come at a price. People did not always have to learn from their mistakes. And thus, it was my responsibility to make sure the fear and the consequences were clear from the result of these weapons existing.

“Good make isn’t it? Used Qi-reinforced wood for the handle. Fitting for a lord. The other ones will have to be simpler though,” the blacksmith said, grinning proudly at his work.

I nodded my head. If the villagers had one way of fighting against the demonic beasts and holding their own against cultivators, it would be weapons like these. And a lot of them.

“We have prepared a target for testing as well, if you’d like to use it,” Qiao Ying said, and I looked at the target dummy made of a bag stuffed with straw on a wooden pole that the boy dragged over and stood in place, before he rushed away.

I looked at the dummy, before checking the gun. The blacksmith handed me the bullets which I slotted into the chamber, before raising the weapon up and pointing it towards the target. My thumb pressed against the lever, unlocking the safety and after a moment of aiming, I pressed the trigger.

With a loud explosion the bullet shoot forward, rocking the dummy over. With a thud, the straw dummy collapsed, a hole inside it’s body piercing it deeply.

I walked closer, followed by the others as we inspected the sight.

“Yup, that would kill a man if it hit right,” the blacksmith said. “Not much to be done about it either. Can’t run away like with a sword. Scary thing,” the man said, before looking at me. “So, should I start making more?”

I looked back at him, thinking over what I saw. This was already a fairly powerful weapon, even as a prototype. And if work continued, especially after the books I had written, it would only get stronger.

Perhaps I was too hasty in trying to bring things like this and give them into the hands of common people. There would be other ways to gain power.

I turned to the blacksmith, considering telling him to stop for now when Zhang interrupted me.

“Brother Jie, I’d like you to use that on me,” he said, pointing at the rifle.

“What?” I blurted out, taken aback by his statement.

“I’d like to test the strength of this weapon, against my blade,” Zhang replied, as if it was the most natural thing to say, tapping the wooden sword he carried at his waist.

“Zhang this isn’t a toy—“ I replied, about to tell him the danger of the weapon, when I paused as I saw his look.

“I understand that brother. But it is a weapon that even mortals can use. And from the looks of it, without nearly any training. As such, I would like to test just how powerful this thing is,” Zhang replied.

I felt a headache starting to rise.

“There’s a saying in my home. Don’t bring a sword to the gunfight. When guns were made, they ended a long history of swords, as those weapons could simply not compare,” I said, looking at him, about to put the gun away. “I don’t intend to shoot this at you or get you hurt.”

Zhang did not say anything, simply clutching the sword at his side, as he looked at me.

That was unfair. I was weak to his silent protests, more than I was when he asked me for things. I was about to firm my decision and give away the gun when Qiao Ying spoke.

“It would be a good test to see how harmful it is to a cultivator, and Zhang is one of the least likely ones to get hurt my it.”

I looked towards Qiao Ying with a look of betrayal before I gave in with a sigh.

“Alright. We’ll do a test,” I said, and Zhang nodded.

Walking forward readied himself, taking out a wooden sword and raising it as he took a stance. The weapon was vibrating, ever so subtly, fast enough to not be visible to the naked eye, but I recognized the movements of his Chi.

It was something I’d told him a long time ago, when mentioning oscillating blades that were used to cut casts for broken bones, and Zhang had ended up forming a technique with it.

“Are you sure, this could seriously hurt you,” I asked, adding more bullets in the rifle’s chamber.

“I’m sure,” Zhang replied.

I sighed, once again. I’d seen the impact of the weapon. I knew it wouldn’t kill him, but I didn’t want to risk it either.

But I saw the insistent look and continued anyways. Raising the weapon, I thumbed the safety, putting my finger on the trigger.

Aiming to miss Zhang, I shifted the gun, pointing it towards him.

“Ready?” I asked.

Zhang gave me a nod.

I pressed the trigger and with a loud bang, the weapon shot.

Zhang moved with inhuman speed, swiming his blade as Chi pulsed around it, making it vibrate rapidly. Gravity shuddered all around him, as I saw his sword swing, but the swing missed his blade and flew past him.

He frowned, as he looked at me.

“Don’t hold back,” Zhang said, with a serious look. “Our enemies won’t be.”

It was hard to reply to his words. I could tell he was serious, and so I returned a nod. At least I’d be able to heal him if something happened.

Focusing my attention, I let out a breath, before raising the rifle as I aimed once more, this time, to actively hit Zhang. Feeling a tight pressure in my chest, I nonetheless put my finger on the trigger and shot.

Zhang moved in a blur, swing his blade once more. His sword hit the bullet cutting a portion of it, but it missed it by a small amount, as one piece of it rushed forward, flying past his face and cutting a line across that dripped down blood.

I almost threw away the gun then and there to rush closer, but Zhang simply wiped his face, before raising his blade. “One more time.”

I hesitated to follow, but I knew Zhang could be extremely stubborn when he wanted to. And I could also tell, that this was important to him somehow. So, I put some more bullets back in the barrel, and raised my gun.

Another bang echoed through the area as I shot once more. Zhang swung once more, and this time his attack was more precise, almost deflecting the bullet and splitting it. But it wasn’t perfect. I saw his wrist twisting, his grip slipping from the impact of the bullet striking his blade, but it wasn’t enough to cause him to let go.

Zhang paused, going through the motions a few more times, correcting the minor errors he had made, before he gave me a nod.

“Brother Jie, I’ll be attacking you now. Try and reinforce the bullets with Chi as you shoot. I’d like you to try and stop me,” he said, raising his sword.

“Do we really have to do this?” I asked.

“Yes,” Zhang replied.

I sighed, before preparing myself. I could tell that if I hesitated, I would get hurt, and so I focused my attention. My Chi swirled around me, and I focused it into the weapon, condensing it around the bullet. The world slowed down around the both of us as I saw Zhang preparing.

Then, with a rapid rush, he moved closer. I pressed the trigger as the bullet shot, rushing ahead rapidly. Zhang stepped as the world moved around him and he dodged the bullet. I didn’t wait for a second as I shot again. This time his blade struck, swinging as the bullet was deflected, but the Chi had reinforced it, and it shook the sword. Nevertheless, Zhang didn’t stop, rushing at me rapidly. Barely a second had passed, and already I could tell that this gun was far too slow to react in time.

And so I compressed by Chi, forcing the mechanisms to shift into place faster as I aimed the gun and shot one more time. The bullet spun around, almost glowing as it rushed out, and Zhang found himself too close to be able to react in time. And so he didn’t. Instead, he moved slightly, enough that the bullet only grazed his shoulder, digging a small portion of his flesh and drawing blood, but it didn’t go deep. Zhang’s Chi was reinforcing him, and it had cut down the damage as well.

Before I could try to shoot the gun one more time, I could tell that doing so would break it completely. And as the second ended, Zhang’s blade was here, resting on my neck.

I looked into his eyes silently, before Zhang withdrew his blade. Rotating his shoulder, he tensed his muscles as the fragment of the bullet fell out, before he channeled his Chi. His blood steamed from the energy the bleeding stopped immediately and his wounds closed up.

“Well, that was quite something,” the blacksmith said, looking at me. “Didn’t even get to see much, he just moved from there to here and bam!”

I almost chuckled at the man’s words.

Zhang looked at the gun in my hands. ”This weapon kills cowards. If you run from it, you will get hit and will not be able to protect yourself. But if you run towards it, you’ll be ready to strike back,” he said, shaking his head. “I do not like it.”

I nodded. I could understand the sentiment. A gun didn’t need as much skill to use, and did not have the mastery required. Though one could certainly still train and get better.

“It is a powerful tool… especially for a mortal. Even with everything, I was injured enough that it would cause me to slow down a little. If I had to face ten mortals with these at once… I may lose,” Zhang said, almost sounding reluctant to admit that, but after that, he looked up at me. To add “But it will not end spears or blades. If anything, it will push people to master those even further.”

This was something I had feared, even more so than the potential war and death that could be inflicted on this world. I had been naive. Unlike my world, this one had magic, it had people who destroyed literal mountains.

Guns were mere toys to the divinities. A part of me knew I’d need to be shot point blank as I was now to even get seriously injured.

It had been arrogant of me to think I could bring war to a world that had been mired in it for thousands of years, with powers greater than any humanity had seen back home.

I nodded, feeling a little more calm.

This was the right step, a way to bridge the gap between those in power, and those without it.

But more importantly, to bring the lagging portions of humanity to a level where they could protect themselves from harm.

Zhang stepped aside as I gave the gun back to the blacksmith.

“This works for mortals, but we’ll need to look into reinforcing for cultivators. It’s too slow right now,” I said, looking at Qiao Ying who bowed my head.

“Wasn’t made for you guys and your inhuman speed and strength. But it can be done,” the blacksmith said. I smiled, liking the man’s irreverential attitude. It was refreshing.

“Start the production,” I said, glancing at him.

“How many would you like?” Qiao Ying asked.

I thought over it for a second, but the answer was obvious. Looking at Qiao Ying, I gave my reply.

“Enough for an army.”

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