Chapter 4: Using the Tiger’s Skin as a Banner

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Using the Tiger’s Skin as a Banner

A brief peace returned to the cave.

The short-bearded middle-aged man and the old man came before Li Ye, while the rest went to help those who had been taken down.

Those with broken bones and torn tendons were one thing, but the ones hit by the Groin Kick were far more miserable. They were essentially crippled. Slumped on the ground, they gritted their teeth and circulated their energy to heal, trying to disperse the stagnated blood in the afflicted area. They occasionally shot glances at Li Ye, the hatred in their eyes completely unconcealed.

Li Ye paid their glares no mind. ’Survival is always the top priority. When there’s a conflict, the law of the jungle—the survival of the fittest—comes first. There’s no reason for me to sacrifice myself for the sake of others.’

...

The short-bearded middle-aged man stood before Li Ye and asked cautiously, "Young Hero, what is a ’civilizational composition’?"

’They don’t even know what a civilizational composition is. This world is a bit backward!’

Li Ye glanced at the middle-aged man and sighed inwardly. ’Still, it’s easier to survive in a relatively backward civilization.’

’As expected. Even though I had a miserable start, it seems I still have some luck on my side.’

Li Ye furrowed his brow slightly, putting on an appropriate display of disdain for the middle-aged man’s ignorance. "A civilizational composition is the combination of everything in your world: your knowledge, materials, society, ecology, culture, and so on.

"Simply put, it’s what your world is like right now, the path of development it’s on, and the level of achievement that path will ultimately lead to. That is civilization."

"..." The middle-aged man and the old man known as Sect Leader Liu exchanged a glance, growing even more confused. The surrounding Knights eavesdropping on Li Ye were also completely bewildered.

’Their confusion is exactly what I want. Otherwise, how could I project such a superior image?’

’If not for that, I wouldn’t be in a world that so clearly resembles a Martial Hero setting, spouting nonsense about ’civilizational composition’.’

Li Ye looked at the crowd as if they were a group of uncivilized primitives. He shook his head and asked, "Civilization is a very broad topic, so let’s simplify it. Who is the most powerful person, or what is the most powerful weapon, in your world? Are they capable of reaching the third cosmic velocity?"

"..." The short-bearded man was mystified but impressed. He looked at Li Ye. "Young Hero, the most powerful people in our world are the Four Grandmasters. But could you please explain what this ’third cosmic velocity’ is?"

"You don’t even know the third cosmic velocity? Your civilization truly is backward." Li Ye looked at him and shook his head. He picked up a rock, tossed it into the air, and let it fall to the ground. As the crowd watched with incomprehension, he began to educate them. "Why does the rock fall? It’s because the planet beneath our feet has a powerful attractive force. This is why no matter how good your Lightweight Skill is, you ultimately have to return to the ground."

Gravity?

The middle-aged man’s mouth fell slightly agape. He seemed lost in thought, as if a new door in his mind was slowly creaking open.

"Judging by your performance, you pursue a path of individual growth. There’s a saying in martial arts: pure speed is unbeatable, and true power is Indestructible. The first cosmic velocity is called orbital velocity. If you reach this speed, a person can float in the air forever, without ever falling down." Li Ye continued, "The second cosmic velocity is called escape velocity. At this speed, a person can break free from the planet’s shackles and enter the starry sky.

"The third cosmic velocity, also called solar system escape velocity, allows you to not only break free from the planet’s shackles but also escape the sun’s gravity, to roam the cosmos... the starry sky."

The middle-aged man glanced at the equally stunned Sect Leader Liu and swallowed subconsciously. At this moment, he truly felt that Li Ye was not of this world.

’A madman wouldn’t have such a logical and meticulous mind.’

’And these first, second, and third velocities... they sound so unfathomably profound.’

Seeing the group of hicks stunned by science, Li Ye smiled and asked, "How powerful are the Grandmasters you just mentioned?"

The middle-aged man pondered for a moment before saying, "Young Hero, we have never seen a Grandmaster in action. However, we’ve heard that a Grandmaster can easily Divide River and Break Mountain and travel hundreds of miles in a day. But we’ve never heard of a Grandmaster being able to fly indefinitely, so I suppose they cannot reach the first cosmic velocity!"

’Divide River and Break Mountain?’

Li Ye froze for a second. ’Holy shit, High Martial? The survival difficulty just went up again!’

Alarm bells went off in his head, but Li Ye didn’t let it show. He ripped the wig from his head, his face a mask of annoyance and agitation. "Fuck! The strongest individual power can only Divide River and Break Mountain? Not even enough to shatter a star? What rotten luck, to have ended up on such a Primitive Planet.

"It’ll take forever to heal my injuries now. To think that I, a magnificent Star Thief, would be trapped and left to die on this backward planet? For fuck’s sake, this is unbelievable..."

He was bluffing, using a powerful facade to intimidate them.

During his three months at the Demon Hunting Bureau, aside from wilderness survival, Li Ye’s training had mainly focused on psychology and acting.

Trained by the very best acting and psychology masters, he could flawlessly project any mental state he desired, leaving no openings to be seen.

...

Individual power to shatter a star, Primitive Planet, Star Thief, healing injuries...

A series of unheard-of terms sparked their imaginations.

"Young Hero, may I ask where you come from?" Sect Leader Liu and the short-bearded man exchanged a look and asked cautiously.

"I’m from the Galactic Federation," Li Ye said irritably. "A place you primitives could never reach in a lifetime..."

"Are all people from the Galactic Federation like you, Young Hero? Have you reached the third cosmic velocity?" the short-bearded man asked boldly, wanting to learn more about him.

"Third cosmic velocity is jack shit. At my strongest, my physical body could perform a space jump directly." Li Ye snorted. "If I hadn’t been ambushed by the Federation police this time and run into temporal turbulence during a space jump, I wouldn’t have been diverted to a backward place like this."

This was the second time Li Ye had mentioned a "space jump." The short-bearded man asked hesitantly, "Young Hero, what is a space jump?"

"A space jump is folding space to travel the shortest possible distance." Li Ye glanced at him, picked up the wig from the floor, and plucked a single strand of hair. "See this strand of hair? If this is a road, walking from this end to that end is the normal way to travel. But a space jump..."

He folded the strand of hair, making the two ends meet. "Like this. You skip the distance in the middle and go directly from this end to that end. That’s a space jump. Understand?"

After speaking, he looked at the dumbfounded crowd and impatiently tossed the hair to the ground. "Your civilization’s development is too backward. It’s pointless explaining it to you..."

"Isn’t that the Shrinking Inches technique from the Immortal Techniques!" a young man who looked to be in his early twenties suddenly exclaimed.

"It’s something like that, but a space jump covers a much greater distance than Shrinking Inches. It can cross entire galaxies in a single long-distance jump..." Li Ye’s eyes lit up as he looked at the young man. "You know about Immortal Techniques?"

"I’ve read about it in storybooks." The young man gave an embarrassed smile and looked at Li Ye. "Are you... are you really an Immortal?"

"In terms of civilizational levels, I come from a Level 4 Civilization. You can’t even reach the first cosmic velocity, so you barely qualify as a Level 1 civilization. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration for you to call me an Immortal." Li Ye smiled. "At my peak, I visited many Level 1 civilizations, and those foolish natives did indeed worship me as a Divine Spirit..."

"What do Level 1 and Level 4 Civilizations represent?" the young man asked, looking completely lost.

The short-bearded man and Sect Leader Liu were also full of probing curiosity.

Li Ye scanned the area, taking in everyone’s expressions. He let out a sneer. "I haven’t even gotten the details of your civilization, and you’re already interrogating me. Interesting." He pointed at the young man. "What’s your name?"

"In response to the Young Hero, I am Yu Fei of Huaguo Village," the young man replied hastily, giving a cupped fist salute and a dry laugh.

"And you?" Li Ye asked, looking at the short-bearded man.

"In response to the Young Hero, I am Fan Jie of Crane Peak Mountain," the short-bearded man replied with a cupped fist salute.

Li Ye then looked toward Sect Leader Liu. Before he could even ask, the Sect Leader said, "I am Liu Guangsheng of the Xuesong Sect."

"Your skills don’t look all that great. Why don’t you just roll with me!" Li Ye looked at them and laughed heartily. "Anyway, I have to stay here and heal for a while, so I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. I’ll show you the good life. First, tell me what’s good to eat and what’s fun on this planet. When I’ve got some free time, I’ll educate you hicks about the cosmos..."

’Li Ye knew that this group wouldn’t just believe his words. Their previous back-and-forth questions might have seemed like curiosity, but they were actually testing him.’

’As expected, there would be other attempts to test him.’

’However, their attempts to test him were exactly what Li Ye wanted.’

’As long as he left a hook to keep them interested, he could wait until he grew stronger using the Team Emblem. By then, he’d have plenty of ways to prove his identity, and eventually, the fake could become real.’

’But for now, his Star Thief persona couldn’t collapse. A superior being wouldn’t answer every single question. When it was time to be assertive, he had to be assertive.’