Borrowed Time

{Right now?!} Bestie said incredulously. A soft, blue glow enveloped Ryker as she did, however, and he slowly got back up to his feet, looking relieved.

[Interesting...] came Mini C's voice in his head, [That unknown substance from the dinner three nights ago actually incubated in your meridians, just now activating to trigger a laxative-like effect.]

"Uh, sounds great, and all, but why am I suddenly *not* feeling like I'm about to poop my pants?" Ryker asked, hurrying after Elder Shi, who had taken this opportunity to flee, once more.

[I used a neural signal inhibition spell to block your urge to defecate,] Mini C explained.

[You may want to hurry up, though, as the laxative has already taken effect, and you won't be able to physically hold it in, for long.]

"Lovely," Ryker said, grimacing, as he leapt across the city rooftops in pursuit of Elder Shi. There was quite a distance between them, now, and if he didn't hurry and catch up, he could easily lose sight of him.

"Guess it's the perfect time to try out that 'borrowing' system!"

[Good point. Shall we 'borrow' from Luo Shuchang, for our first test?]

"You know it!"

Luo Shuchang was really the strongest person he knew, at the moment, and his friendship rating with him was pretty high, as well.

A brief glow surrounded him as Mini C initiated the system's 'borrowing' function, and Ryker felt his qi rising in real time as the methods for a multitude of different cultivation techniques forced their way into his head. It kind of gave him a headache, to be honest.

"Man, this guy knows a lot of stuff," Ryker complained, massaging his temples to help relieve the mental strain.

[Countdown has started: 9 minutes and 47 seconds left on the 'borrowing' function,] Mini C reminded him in his head. Ryker just nodded and sifted through the knowledge that had forcibly made its way into his brain, searching for one technique in particular.

"Let's see... ah, here it is! The Void Crossing Steps."

Unlike his Profound Wind Walking Technique, the Void Crossing Steps was a spatial movement technique, enabling him to instantly traverse hundreds of kilometers with a single step... so long as he had the qi for it. As it was, even with the boost given to him by borrowing some of Luo Shuchang's qi, he could only manage 100 meters, at best, and that would take up a good portion of his qi.

This high consumption, along with some difficulties in using the technique for moving short distances, made it somewhat unsuitable for combat... But perfect for a chase such as this, right?

"Heh, that old man better watch out, now!"

Ryker quickly circulated his qi in accordance with the technique, feeling a tugging sensation similar to the one that brought him to this world in the first place, but on a smaller scale.

He instantly disappeared, reappearing a few dozen meters further ahead, and this process repeated itself until he was right behind the fleeing Elder Shi.

"Whoo!"

With a loud whoop of excitement, he pushed for one final jump, aiming to get the drop on the old man from above. However, as he initiated his Void Crossing Steps, Elder Shi suddenly spun around, seemingly sensing Ryker's move and slashing at him with his sword-whip, the long, flexible blade snapping through the air.

Ryker quickly shielded himself with his arms, blood flying as the blade tore into his skin. His spatial jump still went off, however... and he found himself staring right at a low, stone wall in the back of an alley.

"Oof!"

His previous momentum carried him straight into the wall, crashing through it and tumbling across the ground as a din of panicked clucking filled the air.

"My chickens!"

A distressed man ran out of his house to see his destroyed wall, as well as the flock of chickens escaping through the newly created hole.

"Oh, damn, my bad!"

Ryker smiled and scratched his head awkwardly, fleeing the scene in a whirlwind of dust and feathers. The man was left to desperately chase after his escaped flock, yelling after Ryker in his anger.

[Perhaps you should be the one watching out, Ryker,] Mini C glibly observed, as Ryker brushed some feathers off his jacket.

"Ugh, not helping, dude..."

[6 minutes, 28 seconds left.]

Elder Shi looked over his shoulder with glee, glad that this whelp wasn't too skilled in concealing his qi fluctuations, which gave him an opportunity to interrupt his technique.

"Ha! Don't think that I've never dealt with spatial techniques before, brat!" he gloated as he continued his escape. It was right around the corner, now...!

Unfortunately for him, he suddenly sensed a strong killing intent just up ahead, and he jumped to the side as a beam of sword qi demolished the road where he was running, just before.

"You!"

Elder Shi paled as he saw Luo Shuchang descend from the rooftops, sword glowing with a strong sword momentum. Ryker also caught up at this time, shaking the feathers from out of his hair as he moved to surround Elder Shi.

"Give yourself up, elder," Luo Shuchang said, pointing his sword at Elder Shi, "We're only here to capture you, not kill you; but we're not above crippling you if you won't come quietly!"

Elder Shi looked back and forth between Luo Shuchang and Ryker, cursing his bad luck. The secret base was right there, and yet he was cornered!

"Hmph, you really think I'll give myself up without a fight?" he said, steeling himself for the coming battle. If he could just force his way through, he'd be free!

"You underestimate the power of a peak Nascent Soul cultivator!"

--

Back at the Yuliang City Amphitheater...

Sweat dripped down Long Meiling's face as she struggled to hold her defense against her sister's unyielding barrage of attacks. Although they had fought somewhat evenly, at first, Meiling quickly felt the strain of using both qi and mana at the same time, rapidly draining her physical and mental stamina as she pushed to keep up with Jingfei.

"Hmph, I don't know what you've done to be able to hold your own against me, sister, but it seems you're reaching your limits?"

Long Jingfei taunted her as she hooked one of her daggers onto Meiling's defending sword, using the leverage to pull it out of the way and thrust out with her other dagger. Meiling quickly dodged to the side, twisting her sword out of Jingfei's bind before jumping back, hand covering her side where the dagger had grazed her.

"It's still much too early for you to be competing with me," Jingfei went on, shaking her head in mock exasperation. Meiling could only clench her teeth in anger, a cold expression on her face.

'It's not over yet!'

She forced herself to rush in, brandishing the sword she had received from Ryker as she circulated her qi to its limits. Her mana control, too, was pushed to the limit, and she quickly stepped into range of her attack, bringing her sword down like lightning, straight for Jingfei's head.

Long Jingfei looked as if she was going to step back, but she instantly shifted her weight to spin around to the side, going for a thrust towards Meiling's chest. Meiling's sword was already on its way back, however, and she swiftly parried it before returning with a thrust of her own.

Their exchange continued for what felt like minutes, seeming to dance around each other as the crowd watched with rapt attention. Long Meiling was still at the peak of Qi Gathering, wasn't she? How was she able to fight across realms so effectively?

These questions and more went through their heads as the two sisters furiously exchanged blows, with each strike looking to end the fight and just barely missing the mark.

Eventually, however, the two of them broke from the exchange, jumping back to create some distance between them. Long Meiling fell to her knees where she landed, gasping for breath.

Jingfei, too, was breathing heavily, though still able to stand, and she walked leisurely over to where Meiling was kneeling with a triumphant smile.

"Do you realize how little you can do to change your situation now, sister?" she asked in her usual, sickeningly sweet tone.

Meiling panted to catch her breath, eyes glued to the ground as if in defeat, but she slowly broke out into a smile, thinking of Ryker.

Or, more specifically, thinking of something that fool had done quite recently. If he could do it... Why couldn't she?

"You won't know what you can or can't change... until you try!"

She started to circulate her energy wildly within herself, her qi rising erratically as she did so. Long Jingfei looked confused, until she realized what Meiling was trying to do, her eyes going wide in shock.

"It can't be... Forcibly breaking through?!"