I Might Be a Big Shot — Chapter 3
Ever since he agreed to Li Xinglun’s request, Changkong Zhuoyu became particularly concerned about leaving the gorge, racking his brains to climb the cliff.
That’s right, Changkong Zhuoyu’s so-called racking his brains really only stayed at the level of “thinking.” Every day he sat cross-legged on a stone by the stream with an inscrutable look, eyes closed in meditation, as if opening his eyes would instantly let him leave the gorge. Watching him made Li Xinglun’s eyes ache; he completely ignored Changkong Zhuoyu.
While Changkong Zhuoyu was thinking, Li Xinglun was the one actually trying countless methods. He attempted to climb up, but the cliff was too steep — for a cultivator unable to use spiritual power, it was simply impossible to scale such a high cliff.
Then he thought of digging a tunnel with his dagger, making a passage from the base of the mountain — if the heavens offered no way out, then surely the earth would. But who would have thought the divine power not only covered the gorge’s floor but also guarded the ground and surrounding mountain walls? When the dagger struck the stone wall, it simply bounced back. The divine power seemed to have its own intelligence: it could bounce back the dagger but not the hand touching the cliff, able to distinguish between a harmless touch and an attack.
When the dagger bounced back, Li Xinglun developed a hypothesis. He threw a stone into the air and found that no matter how much strength he used, the stone would reach a certain height and then fall, unable to rise higher. This height seemed to coincide with the spot where Changkong Zhuoyu had earlier carved characters — in other words, it wasn’t that Changkong Zhuoyu couldn’t jump higher, but that an invisible force was suppressing him.
At last, Li Xinglun understood why the Soul-Breaking Gorge could trap so many cultivators. It wasn’t that they couldn’t climb out, but that the divine power enshrouded the gorge, forming a barrier — a barrier that allowed entry but forbade exit. Until death, they could only move within this barrier.
Having figured this out, Li Xinglun felt a bit hopeless. He was just a young Foundation Building cultivator — how could he possibly break through the barrier of an ancient battlefield of the gods? Truly, heaven was unfair. The Li family was doomed to perish, and they didn’t even know whom they had offended.
Li Xinglun felt bitter at heart. Looking at Changkong Zhuoyu still sitting cross-legged and thinking, he couldn’t even muster the energy to get angry. In fact, being foolish like Changkong Zhuoyu was not so bad — at least one wouldn’t feel so miserable.
He went to pick some wild fruits. Although he had already reached the stage of fasting, in this frame of mind it was better to have something to do than to sit idly — otherwise Li Xinglun feared he would go mad.
The living things in the Soul-Breaking Gorge grew under the nourishment of divine power. Even the wild fruits brimmed with vitality and tasted quite good. After eating a few, seeing that Changkong Zhuoyu was still sitting cross-legged, Li Xinglun couldn’t help feeling a little pity for his intelligence. He wrapped the washed fruits in a leaf and placed them in front of the man — a good deed done, so to speak.
Sensing movement nearby, Changkong Zhuoyu opened his eyes. His long lashes drew a tempting arc through the air, and his bright eyes looked at the fruits on the ground, asking: “What are these?”
“Food,” Li Xinglun bit into one, “Do you need me to teach you how to eat it?”
Changkong Zhuoyu stared at him for a moment, then picked up a fruit and bit down. At once, his handsome face contorted.
“Is this disciple deliberately teasing his master? Truly mischievous.” Changkong Zhuoyu spoke generously, face bitter.
Li Xinglun: “...At least look at the fruit you’re holding and the one in my hand. Yours needs to be peeled. Also, we haven’t even left yet, and I’m not your disciple — don’t take advantage of me.”
Saying this, he resignedly walked over, peeled the fruit, and handed it to Changkong Zhuoyu. “Here, this is the right way. You’ve really lost your memory completely.”
Only now did Changkong Zhuoyu taste the sweet fruit, his frown relaxing into a look of delight. “Having a disciple is truly wonderful. This master is very gratified.”
The veins on Li Xinglun’s forehead popped again. “Haven’t I already said, I haven’t acknowledged you as my master?”
“A matter of time,” Changkong Zhuoyu replied confidently. “This trifling gorge can’t possibly trap a master like me.”
Li Xinglun didn’t even bother correcting Changkong Zhuoyu’s self-address anymore. He deeply regretted that careless moment when he said he could acknowledge Changkong Zhuoyu as his master — it had only brought him an unwanted master.
“The most terrifying thing here isn’t these towering mountains but the divine power barrier. We’re trapped inside, and unless we have the strength to break it, there’s no way out. Yet the power of the ancient gods was so strong it could defy the heavens — how could ordinary cultivators, who barely cling to life under the control of Heaven’s Order, possibly resist it?” Li Xinglun hadn’t intended to tell Changkong Zhuoyu this, but he couldn’t bear to see him living so innocently.
“Is… is that so?” For once, Changkong Zhuoyu’s usual confidence cracked a little. He stared at the sky, quietly lost in thought.
Seeing his dejected expression, Li Xinglun couldn’t help walking over and patting his shoulder. “At least I got to meet you before I died — that’s some comfort. Who knows how much longer we can survive under this divine power barrier? Better to face the Yellow Springs {the Underworld} together than walk that lonely road alone {the path of the dead towards reincarnation}.”
He was comforting Changkong Zhuoyu, and himself as well. Fortunately, Changkong Zhuoyu wasn’t an annoying person — being with him wasn’t so bad.
Who would have thought that the one being comforted would suddenly turn his head and say: “But I can’t just die at the bottom of this gorge. There must be many people waiting for me to return — the cultivation world can’t do without me. I’m so important, I have to find a way back!”
Li Xinglun: “...You’ve regained your memory?”
“Of course not,” Changkong Zhuoyu said frankly. “I severed my mortal ties in order to undergo a tribulation — how could I recover so quickly?”
“Then how do you know so many people are waiting?” Li Xinglun looked puzzled.
“This is naturally a marvelous feeling. Even though I severed my mortal ties, perhaps I still retain a faint impression of the past.” Changkong Zhuoyu nodded confidently again, his fighting spirit restored.
“Oh.” The now-numb Li Xinglun replied perfunctorily and sat down to rest with his eyes closed.
Being struck by Changkong Zhuoyu’s confidence had left him a bit weary — he needed a break.
Seeing Li Xinglun ignoring him, Changkong Zhuoyu felt a little disappointed. But he was an innately optimistic person and soon perked up again.
This time it was Li Xinglun who remained motionless while Changkong Zhuoyu wandered around the gorge, searching for an exit. He had no weapon in hand, and when he touched the cliff it didn’t bounce back. Looking up at the towering cliffs, Changkong Zhuoyu felt that even if he was very capable, he couldn’t climb it with just his body.
He gazed at the sky and saw several wild geese flying in from afar. They quietly rested at the bottom of the gorge for a while before taking off again.
Changkong Zhuoyu: “...Huh?”
He hurried back to Li Xinglun, lightly patting his cheek. “Disciple, wake up. Your master has found a way out.”
Li Xinglun hadn’t actually been sleeping, just thinking quietly. Being slapped like that annoyed him a little, and hearing that title made him even angrier. But when he heard the last part, he immediately opened his eyes: “What’s the situation?”
Changkong Zhuoyu pointed to the sky. “Just now I saw a few wild geese descend from a great height, rest briefly, and then leave. By rights, if the Soul-Breaking Gorge only allows entry but no exit, once they landed they shouldn’t have been able to fly up again. Yet they left smoothly.”
“I’ll watch closely!” Li Xinglun immediately looked up, waiting for wild geese to pass by.
There were plenty of birds in the Soul-Breaking Gorge, and soon enough Li Xinglun saw one soaring high in the gorge before returning with a fish in its beak.
“...Why can these birds exit the barrier?” Li Xinglun murmured to himself.
Changkong Zhuoyu, having no theoretical knowledge at all, couldn’t figure it out either. He didn’t interfere, just quietly sat next to Li Xinglun, occasionally crunching into a piece of fruit.
Hearing that crunch, Li Xinglun shifted his gaze to the fruit Changkong Zhuoyu was happily eating. He snatched the wild fruit from his hand and flung it hard into the air.
Changkong Zhuoyu: “...”
The wild fruit soared high, far surpassing the height of the stones Li Xinglun had thrown earlier. It reached its peak before falling back down into the dirt.
Changkong Zhuoyu: “...”
“So that’s it...” Li Xinglun murmured. “The creatures here were born and raised with divine power, regarded as part of it, so the barrier doesn’t stop them from leaving. I wonder if this discovery can help us get out. The Soul-Breaking Gorge has trapped so many cultivators — surely someone must have noticed this, yet no one ever survived… the chances are slim.”
“Disciple,” Changkong Zhuoyu suddenly called.
“Mm?” Li Xinglun responded reflexively — after being called that so often, he was too lazy to resist.
“Go pick some more wild fruits for your master. They’re quite tasty. Even though I’ve reached the stage of fasting, I’ve forgotten the flavors of the world’s grains — to recover my memory, I must taste them again.” Changkong Zhuoyu spoke righteously.
Li Xinglun: “...Just admit you want to eat. Fine, I’ll pick more and also study these creatures to see what makes them different.”
“Mm, good disciple.” Changkong Zhuoyu smiled and nodded in satisfaction.
Li Xinglun not only brought back a lot of wild fruits but also caught many small animals, planning to examine what made them different. As he diligently studied, Changkong Zhuoyu finished all the fruits, then pulled up some weeds and deftly wove them into a green grass hat, placing it on his head.
Li Xinglun: “...What are you doing?”
“Since the creatures in the gorge coexist with divine power, perhaps doing this will let me break through the barrier,” Changkong Zhuoyu replied. “I was afraid dead creatures wouldn’t have that power, so I even uprooted them. Wild grass has strong vitality — even away from the soil it can live for a long time.”
“So why are you wearing a green hat?”
“To test it.”
With that, Changkong Zhuoyu immediately leapt up. This time he actually surpassed his earlier height — but it wasn’t Changkong Zhuoyu himself, it was the green hat.
Changkong Zhuoyu reached the usual limit and was stopped by something, falling back down. But the green hat shot even higher before descending neatly back onto his head.
“So no matter what, only they can leave the barrier, not us,” Changkong Zhuoyu said regretfully. “Looks like we’ll have to think of another way.”
Li Xinglun could no longer bear it. He strode forward, snatched the green hat off his head, and said: “Don’t wear green hats again.” {"wearing a green hat" is an idiom for a man being cheated upon by his wife, hence Li Xinglun's weird reaction.}
“Why?” Changkong Zhuoyu looked confused. “I think it’s quite pretty.”
“Let’s discuss how to leave the gorge instead,” Li Xinglun immediately changed the subject.
~ Chapter End ~
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