Fighting to be Kind in a Cultivation World

Chapter 15: Listening Skills

With the healing attack option gone, I now have to come up with other ways to hide my healing, since I cant use it offensively. For non-cultivators, I will probably have to go with a combination of the low tier scanning and subtle healing.

If I consider the method that requires the least material and reference knowledge, it might be the qi-less acupressure method.

With my scanning ability, Im able to pretty easily tell where the points are on the body and how it reacts to different points. Unlike on earth, meridians and dantians seem to have a distinct and measurable effect on the body.

So, from what I can tell, acupressure actually seems to have a huge effect on the body and it can nourish how internal qi is used and absorbed.

My plan is to use those different points to generate effects and then inject healing energies into them to further amplify them.

My skill will, hopefully, explain away any additional healing. Ill have to consult with Lin and Ai on whether the methods Im using are workable in this situation.

In addition, I will have to restrain myself in what I heal. If someone off the street has a serious condition, I will have to ignore it. Especially, if there is no way that I could know or solve it without using non-cultivation-based methods.

From this point on, I will have to truly hide my true strength. Otherwise well, Gong said most of it. I may also use other methods, like acupuncture and concoctions that dont require qi infusion.

Explaining to Gong how I know all of this will probably be pretty tough.

For my taming abilities, I believe I can mostly stay the same.

However, I will need to come up with training and taming methods based on scans of the creatures. I definitely have to take the entire process slower and use food as a taming tool.

This will hopefully disguise my taming as a real, but skilled process.

At each step I will have to perform the optimal actions, as if I were a simply a genius and not an aberrant with the ability to just take over any creature, willy-nilly.  

However, I believe I desperately need to come up with worst-case scenario abilities.

Ones where I dont have the luxury of hiding my abilities, but need to handle the situation. I will call these the escalation measures.

I will focus the escalation measures on three different situations, in order of escalation:

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Escape, for when I need to get out of a situation immediately, but not kill anyone.

Survive, for when I need to either defend or hold down a position long enough to accomplish an objective.

Fight, which will be when I have no choice but to completely throw away defense and fight with everything I have.

Focusing first on escape, since I already know that I can use the scanning tool to get information about an area, I attempt to use it for mapping. Instantly, a map is generated of the cave system.

Its actually quite cool, being 3d and able to zoom in and out. However, I barely have it up for a second before having to shut it down because of horrendous brain pain that brings me to my knees.

After holding my head in my hands for a bit, for what feels like an hour, the pain finally recedes. Bringing the ability to the lowest level I can imagine (for what I need), I can sense the right direction to head in, to get away. This level of the ability takes almost no energy.

Taking it further, I can get a ghostly string that leads me to my goal. This makes me feel a bit of a strain, but not to a point where I cant keep it up constantly. I am reminded of the scanning abilitys description, which allows it (like a muscle) to get stronger with strain.

Interestingly, as I use it with different areas as waypoints, it shows the string heading there.

What is pretty nice about it, is that it takes my intent into play.

If I dont want to worry about how I get there, it will go over objects.

If I do care, then it will go around.

This reminds me, maybe I should look into free-running/parkour Changing the appearance of the string, to my body form, it appears as if a shadow of myself is going through the movement on loop.

I try to follow through on a vertical wall run and barely touch a third of the way from the floor to the ceiling. From what I can tell, it takes my current abilities into play. However, within a minute or two of this only enough for one try, it becomes painful to use.

After doing this, I try to heal my soreness.

Ah.

This should have been quite obvious, but now the headaches havent gone away. However, if I remember correctly, the damage from the scanning ability can only be healed over time. While I feel that all other types of brain damage could be easily healed by my ability, this form seems to be different.

It would have been nice to have the pain lessened by the overuse, though.

Continuing on the path of healing, Ive realized some key points about how to improve myself. With a quick test, I do some intense exercise. Squats, pushups, heavy running, pull-ups, etc. Using all of my bodys energy, until I literally collapse on the ground in pain. This takes several hours to do. However, even as I rest for a minute, my strength comes back. This should be impossible for me, especially since I was someone who literally couldnt do one proper pushup without getting out of breath. Is it possible? My body must be continuously optimizing itself. Not only that, but when I expend energy, Im recovering at the same time.

Another frightening, but also reassuring realization comes across me. Its barely been one day since Ive come to this world If I improve at this rate, what will I become a month from now or a year? This isnt even considering cultivation or the like.

Taking another look at the wall, I consider how I can leverage my new abilities. Maybe I should look into parkour. The assumption I have from most cultivation novels is that only martial arts experts can perform such actions without experience, without qi.

Using my scanning ability at the hint of a shadow level shows exactly what I need to do to complete certain movements.

Taking this concept to the next level, I attempt to shadowbox and have a shadow enemy make an attack at me. Im able to keep the shadow up for the tiniest bit longer than before.

If I focus on the intuition side of an enemy attacking me and reduce the shadow, I believe I can have my reactions be instinctual.

Well, only if Im able to tie the ability directly into my subconscious reactions. I might have to train with Lin or Gong for this.

A variation on this has that I can use it as a spiritual sense of sorts in an area around me. By pulsing the ability, I can get a general sense, as if I had looked all around me, imported directly into my brain.

This can likely be helpful for situational awareness. Surprisingly, the pulse doesnt put too much of a load on me and seems to pass through objects.

Currently, I can do about a 10m radius without an issue. If pushed, I can do up to 50 meters. If I keep the 10m radius constantly on, I can run it for about 3 minutes. If I make it linear, I can send it much farther.

This brings up my overall concept as a cover, though. If I can establish myself as a natural genius, that just intuits unfamiliar concepts or actions, I might be able to hide my abilities better. The key will be to have all of my abilities lie at the base of my subconscious, instead of overtly.

With these ideas as a good starting point, I collapse back onto the bed. My thoughts filling my mind.

I dont know how But Ive seemed to have found some fantastic people. Theres Ai and Lin, who were being abused by their father, but somehow fought for each other and still was open to including me in their group.

Though, the money and saving their lives probably had something to do with that.

Then there is Gong, who definitely has been hurt over and over by humans like me. Even if I smell differently It still takes a lot to still care about people after going through something like that.

I cant forget that old man, as well. My journey might have ended before it began, if it wasnt for him.

I dont know.

I feel as though there are a lot of good people in this world. People who have been put into a really shitty position. That if you can somehow open their hearts and surprise them with kindness, theyll respond in kind. If only because they want to pay you back.

At least, thats what I want to believe.

Even though I know not everyone is like that I still want to approach everyone the same way. With kindness and keeping that hand outstretched.

With that in mind, I must still be wary though. There are twisted, evil people in this world, just like my last world. I must be cautious and keep my eyes out for anyone trying to take advantage of me. I need to take Gongs words seriously. Though, admittedly its difficult. I want to believe that people can be good, if you only show them good first.  

Even the best of us can be tempted by money, desperation, and power. People can also change. At the very least, Ill choose to believe in Gong, Ai, and Lin, though. If only because I dont want to imagine what it would mean if I couldnt.

For those of a higher status or cultivation, Ill have to be careful. Like the old man had mentioned. The best thing to do right now is to avoid them

Sigh. So much to think about.

With all of this in mind and only a few hours left in the night, I decide to turn in and get some sleep. There are more overt techniques I can come up with and I dont feel the slightest bit tired (likely due to my Healing Constitution), but Id like to at least feel like a normal human, and sleep at night. I force myself to fall asleep.