Murim to XianXia: A Martial God’s Cultivation Journey

CHAPTER 1: Transmigration

Deep in the woods behind Clear Spring village, a short figure quietly stalked a furry critter. A hunting bow held firmly in their hands, and its string was pulled to the limit. The steel arrowhead gleamed under the sunlight as it glared at the Red-eared rabbit’s neck. The figure was not in a hurry to shoot. Hunting needed patience: despite their young age, the figure understood it quite well.

The critter chewed on a piece of green leaf; its red-patterned ears stood upright on its head, ready to pick up any unnatural fluctuations in its surroundings. Aside from their agility, the red-eared rabbits also had a pair of excellent ears. They could hear even the faintest vibrations on the ground when one walked. The rabbit had complete trust in its ears: it grazed without a care in the world as its ear hadn’t detected anything dangerous yet.

Out of nowhere, an arrow with a bamboo body tore through the air at a breakneck speed and pinned the unsuspecting furry into a nearby tree. Before the hare heard the whistling sound, its neck had already been pierced through by the arrow’s steel tip.

The trait that had always helped it avoid disasters failed for the first time.

Luo Ling emerged from hiding, wiping his forehead with the back of his palm. The bow he used to hunt the red-patterned rabbit hung from his shoulders, with a quiver dangling on his back. Although he succeeded in killing his prey, there was no sign of joy or compliance on his tender face.

Luo Ling was indeed disappointed with himself. He was nine years old this year and had already started training his body, yet the improvements he saw were almost negligible. As things stand now, he couldn’t even catch a rabbit without wasting an entire afternoon. Even then, he had to resort to tricks. As a former Martial Transcendent, it was nothing but a disgrace.

It had been a year since Luo Ling awoke the memories of his previous life. Although he called it past life, in reality, he was no longer in the same world. It’d be more accurate to label it as a transmigration. As mystifying as it may sound, it was indeed the truth.

He used to be an illustrious figure who reached the pinnacle of his previous world in a mere twenty years— a feat unprecedented in the world of Murim. After he rose to prominence, Luo Ling had been to every corner of the Murim. He remembered the global geography like the back of his palm, and yet he had never seen the Five Fragrance Village or the Hundred Beast Forest. How could this be unless it was no longer in the same world? For the time being, Luo Ling stopped thinking about it. He lacked enough evidence to comment on the topic.

The Murim’s martial artists start their journey as martial apprentices, then step into 3rd-rate martial artists and level up to 1st-rate martial artists through rigorous training. After 1st rate martial artists, the next stage was Martial Masters. Then, Martial Grandmaster. If one’s comprehension was high and they could deduce the true nature of their martial skills, it’d be easy for them to step into Martial Transcendent.

Luo Ling had achieved the [Transcendent] stage after mastering and comprehending the true nature of the martial skill he practiced. In only twenty years, he climbed five massive hurdles and set a record that might never be broken by anyone in the future. While partially it could be attributed to his talent, a bulk of credit went to his hard work and the resources provided by the school he was a part of.

In this life, Luo Ling had no one to depend on. His parents perished in a magic beast riot before he could even know who they were. Later, he was sent to the orphanage in the village and has been staying there until now. Aside from not having any talent, he didn’t even have access to the resources he had in his previous life. Left with no choice, he could only compensate for what was lacking with hard work, but with it alone, the results were less than satisfactory. At the very least, it couldn’t keep up with his overarching expectations.

Luo Ling pulled the arrow out of the rabbit’s neck and wiped the blood off the tip with a piece of leaf. Putting the arrow back into the quiver, he took out a short knife made from sharpened stone and dressed his game. Nimble hands moved with expert precision as Luo Ling skinned the rabbit without damaging its fur. Luo Ling had planned to sell them to the local leather workshop when he returned; those furs would definitely fetch an attractive price. The meat could also be sold for an even higher price as they were considered a rare delicacy among the neighboring villages. But Luo Ling would not do that. The flesh and blood were for his own consumption.

Martial arts practice puts a massive toll on the body. To heal those wounds, the body demands extensive amounts of energy. A diet of meat and grains is a must. The better one’s consumption is, the faster one will progress during the early phases.

Luo Ling had been hunting these exotic small animals around the edges of Hundred Beast Forest and managed to become a 2nd-rate Martial artist. The energy his body harvested from the consumption of such exotic animals shortened his grinding time.

After skinning, Luo Ling drained all its blood, dressed the meat, and got rid of unwanted internal organs. He wrapped the cleaned meat with banana leaves and returned to the village.

As he stepped out of the dense winding forest path and onto the pavement road connecting Five Fragrance Village and the nearby town, a gust of strong wind blew past his face, messing up his hair. Luo Ling instinctively closed his eyes, protecting them from the dust and debris that followed the wind.

After a few seconds had passed and he no longer felt the wind, Luo Ling opened his eyes and looked up. In the sky, a lean figure zoomed into the horizon while standing upright on something.

Flight.

Humans conquering the sky; Luo Ling never thought it was possible until he came to this world. His worldview refreshed when he witnessed it for the first time, and once again it became clear that he was no longer in the Murim. The Martial artists could make use of [Lightness Skills], also known as agility-based martial techniques, to step on air and perform long leaps. But they certainly couldn’t fly.

However, the powerhouses of this world, Cultivators, could achieve such a feat. His knowledge of them was limited to what the villagers of Five Fragrance Village knew. The orphanage he grew up in was rumored to be funded by an organization of cultivators, but the matron and the staff had never revealed anything even after he asked.

Luo Ling’s blood burned with desire. He also wanted to soar into the sky and enjoy freedom like a bird. He wished to hold the capabilities of the man who just flew into the horizon.

The walk to the village was a quiet one void of any other surprises. The sighting of the cultivator was only a brief respite in Luo Ling’s usual routine. Soon, a pair of towering iron gates and high-rising walls made of stone came into his view. As a village that shared borders with the dangerous Hundred Beast Forest, these gigantic fortifications offered much-needed confidence and security to the people.

“Well, if it isn’t the slayer of rabbits, the mighty Ling!” As Luo Ling got to the village entrance, a bald head peeked out from one of the two outposts built on either side by the foot of the towering gates. A large grin plastered on his dry, unkempt face. “How about selling what you got today to me? I’ll pay you one stone plate higher than the market price.”

“Not happening today, gatekeeper Daluo. You can’t afford what I got.” Luo Ling grinned, patting the banana leaf package tied to his back. Gatekeeper Daluo would often buy the byproducts of his hunt, and he had always been generous with his offers. Luo Ling liked to trade with him because the man had never taken advantage of his ignorance when he was just getting started in the new world.

“Big words coming from a small brat. What treasure did you catch that I can’t afford, hmm?” Gatekeeper Daluo snorted.

“A red-eared rabbit. Anyway, I am off to the market. See you later.”

Leaving behind the stunned gatekeeper Daluo to his own devices, Luo Ling rushed to the market. His sensitive ears caught not-so-loud mumblings of ‘lucky brat’ from the man, but he didn’t pay it any mind. Lucky or not, only he knew the truth.

As the afternoon waned, the sun dipped lower on the horizon, casting long shadows across the landscape. The sky began to take on hues of orange and pink, painting a breathtaking tableau of colors. The night was fast approaching, and it’d soon be time for everyone to return to the safety of their homes, making the marketplace at its busiest around this hour.

Luo Ling beelined to the only place in the village that knew the worth of the materials in his hands—Huang’s Craftsmanship.

-~x~-

“Exquisite softness and silken textures; it's indeed the fur of an adult red-eared rabbit.” Old Huang, the master of Huang’s Craftsmanship, mumbled under his breath as he ran his thumb against the skin. Time might have deprived him of the sharp vision he once had in his youth, but his rich experience in handling materials made him an excellent appraiser of fabrics. Luo Ling respected people like him who mastered their craft to such heights.

“How is it, Old Huang? It’s worth at least forty iron rings, is it not?” Luo Ling offered his price confidently.

“I admit the furs of red-eared rabbits are rare, but it’s not that rare.” Old Huang shook his head and made a counteroffer. “I can give you fifteen iron rings for this pelt.”

“Old Huang, are you not ashamed to spout such nonsense in my face? Just because I've never been to the town doesn’t mean I don’t know anything. The rugs made from these pelts go as high as sixty iron rings. Compared to that, my asking price for the pelt isn’t that high.” Luo Ling slammed his hands on the table. “Give me thirty-eight iron rings.”

“Too much! I will suffer a loss. Alright, considering we are from the same village and you are the same age as my grandson, I'll give you 17 iron rings.”

Not one to eat a loss, Luo Ling kept haggling for a better price until they reached an agreement at 20 iron rings.

“I really can’t underestimate you, Ling brat. That shrewdness is beyond your years.” Old Huang exclaimed as he handed out the money. His expression betrayed his disbelief at Luo Ling’s bargaining capabilities.

“How is it shrewd? It’s called negotiating.” Luo Ling insisted. “Anyway, take care, Old Huang. I’ll be back if I get better spoils next time.”

-~X~-

Luo Ling arrived at a relatively deserted corner of the village— a small clearing surrounded by towering trees and dense shrubbery. He discovered this place only a few days after awakening his memories, and it had been his secret training location since then. No one came to this place, giving him peace of mind while he trained.

There were a few training dummies made from dried leaves and wooden posts scattered around, serving as his target practice dummies. Off to a corner, there was an earth stove sitting quietly. The dark patches around the burner were an indication of its frequent use.

Luo Ling untied the banana package from his waist and put it down. A strong scent of turmeric and some other herbs wafted off the meat inside it. Before coming here, Luo Ling went to an herb shop and bought a few stalks of Blood Congealing leaves— a herb that helps in blood coagulation. With a few pieces of turmeric roots, he made a paste with those leaves and applied it to the meat before wrapping it in banana leaves.

It had been half an hour since then, and the medicinal oil from the leaves had already seeped into the tender meat. It was ready for consumption.

Luo Ling started the fire and slotted the meat into wooden skewers. Leaving it to cook in low-intensity flames, he sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. His consciousness sank into the depths of his head— a place where his biggest secret lay. Traversing through the inky darkness of his mind, Luo Ling approached a world bathed in golden radiance. In the middle of this vast expanse, a gargantuan tablet seemingly made from gold stood out proudly.

Luo Ling guided his consciousness to approach the tablet. As he got closer, words written on this monolithic structure became clear.

There was only one line—

[Iron Muscles Steel Veins Body Forging Exercise (Second Level)]— Proficiency: 178/500