Flores Wanda, forty-eight years old this year, had always been a winner in life, with everything going smoothly.
As a youth, he discovered he was a spiritual energy sensitive and displayed considerable talent, so he quickly apprenticed himself to a renowned master. Although that master's style was a bit strange, she possessed true abilities.
In his youth, his teacher introduced and recommended him to join what was said to be the oldest, most mysterious, and most powerful organization in the entire Universe. The organization's purpose was unclear, but it truly contained many powerful figures. Wanda once thought that as long as he clung tightly to this golden dragon's leg, he would surely reach the pinnacle of his life.
Of course, for some unknown reason, his teacher later broke with the organization, but because his righteous backstabbing came in time, the organization's trust in him remained undiminished.
Then, he was assigned to establish a religious group, preferably one rooted in the upper echelons of the Commonwealth, to serve as one of the organization's visible 'snakeheads'.
He was very satisfied with everything he had. The religious group was established very smoothly, and its direction of rooting in the upper class was very correct. Coming from an ordinary middle-class family, he quickly found himself chatting and laughing with important figures like sector governors and senators. His own cultivation and research were also excellent; although he couldn't compare to those heaven-defying geniuses whose names went down in history, he 'creatively' developed the reversal of life energy and the art of physical transformation in the field of mysticism. Just based on this, Wanda was enough to leave a great name in the history of mysticism.
Having built a thriving career and achieved accomplishments in cultivation and research that he could be proud of for a lifetime, these two joyful things combined would bring him even more happiness. What he received should have been a time as blissful as a dream... But why was it like this?
Wanda truly wanted to understand this question, but he truly couldn't. The only thing he could do now was... run, run with all his might.
He had already lost the courage to face that person.
In fact, when he felt a dying resentment, he didn't even have the thought of looking back.
"Ai Ru is dead... Alas! The world is so wonderful, so why must there always be strife? Why can't everyone learn to be peaceful?" Wanda wiped away his tears, feeling a sense of shared sorrow, and increasingly felt that being in this Five Rings of Turbidity and Evil, his next mission was to teach everyone to view problems peacefully and resolve conflicts peacefully. For such a glorious mission, he must survive and preserve his useful body!
The two young spiritual energy users were still relentlessly pursuing him. Their steps were agile, and their movements were flexible, but that was all. In the past, he would have easily shaken off these two novices. But now, he could only awkwardly operate this supposedly advanced mechanical prosthesis, each step feeling like he was walking on stilts. When encountering obstacles that required dodging, weaving, and crossing mountains and seas, he even had to use telekinesis to propel himself forward.
This operation made him look like a giant flea. Although it was humiliating, Wanda stated that he had already achieved enlightenment and was now calm and composed, his mind as still as water. For the future, for hope, he could not afford to care about such trivialities.
First, he needed to use the passage routes here to shake off those two people, then take a large detour along the outermost pipeline to reach the port and seize a ship. By taking such a winding route, he should be able to shake off that jinx, right? Wanda calculated his route while jumping and running.
Although he had already switched his persona to that of a calm and composed individual who could shatter the void, he had actually carefully observed the structure of this space station during the past few days, despite seemingly being in a daze every day, and had planned several escape routes for himself.
Wanda, of course, was not only guarding against potential pursuers, but more so against his friend Ai Ru.
"Listen carefully, little Frick, whether it's combat or escape, you must prepare thoroughly in advance!" This was the teaching from his teacher, whose whereabouts were unknown. Although Wanda had given her a righteous backstabbing at the most critical moment, he had always kept her teachings in mind and diligently carried them out. If he hadn't had such good habits, he would have died several times in Luminar already.
The mechanical prosthesis beneath him faintly emitted sounds of being overwhelmed. This type of machinery, which participated in the Iron People's Combined Legion, was actually the best performing mobility prosthesis on the market, yet it still couldn't withstand his spiritual energy user's excessive practical use. However, Wanda gritted his teeth and once again concentrated his spiritual energy to drive the internal engine of the machine, swiftly darting out of a cross-shaped passage, even directly knocking over an occasionally passing vending machine robot.
The enemy's bullets only hit the afterimage he created during his charge.
Wanda followed the magic-user support route and did not possess subtle spatial jumping techniques like Field Shimmer, so he could only make do with cruder charging techniques. Fortunately, the effect was good.
He disappeared from the sight of the two spiritual energy newcomers for the first time.
Left! Wanda quickly determined his direction of movement. That was the space station's cargo hub area, where pedestrian and freight passages converged, making the routes more complex. As long as he got in there, discarded his prosthesis, and found a hidden corner to hide, even that jinx wouldn't be able to find him, right?
Probably...
Three seconds later, Wanda couldn't help but be glad that he had at least added a "probably," so it wouldn't be too awkward. Because that jinx really did appear directly in front of him, and still carried that terrifying, playful, and sinister smile.
Why can he always find me? universe spirit above, this is too un-spiritual!
"Bang, bang, bang!" The opponent raised his rifle and fired a burst of shots, and the steel nail bullets were immediately blocked by Wanda's automatically deployed force shield.
The former cult leader did not understand why the opponent would attack him with such weak mortal weapons, but he dared not even ask. He turned his head, changed direction, and continued to run blindly.
"Don't run! Flores Wanda, you're a Five Rings spiritual energy master, can't you show a little bit of high-level aura? What's there to run from in front of me, a newcomer who only awakened less than a year ago? And, I might as well tell you, I follow the 'Balance' Star Ring, which has the least future, so there's no problem of conflicting paths! So, the world is so beautiful, the future is full of vitality and hope, why are you still running? Didn't you tell me to have the heart of a brave one? To face your fears?" Yu Lian loudly taunted, and once again threw the Lightsaber in his hand like a boomerang.
But this time, the Lightsaber boomerang did not hit its target. Wanda's spiritual energy field created interference, directly neutralizing the telekinesis Yu Lian used to control the Lightsaber, and even formed a counterattack.
The Lightsaber bounced back and was firmly held in Yu Lian's hand. He couldn't help but shake his head. Five Rings is Five Rings after all; even if he was crippled by me, he still had such mental power. If he truly fought back, there was still a chance.
What a pity! He was by no means a born warrior, nor a proletariat with nothing to lose; he was merely a cult leader who profited from corruption, with too many possessions, and ultimately lacked the indomitable pride.
Thinking of this, Yu Lian decided to change the direction of his taunt: "Your esteemed teacher, the Thorn Witch, still has four mouths above and four mouths below flowing with mournful bodily fluids... Wait, why do I feel like I've said that before?"
It's one thing to talk about me, but constantly persecuting my esteemed teacher's posthumous reputation, what kind of hero is that?
In that instant, Wanda was indeed severely provoked, and for a brief half-second, he actually considered going back and fighting him to the death, but then he immediately abandoned the idea and continued to run.
You? One year? Newcomer? Who are you trying to fool? Anyone who believes you grew up drinking disinfectant is crazy!
Also, why did my esteemed teacher's mouths inexplicably multiply? How many mouths does she actually have?! I've only used three...
Of course, compared to my esteemed teacher's defiled posthumous reputation, my future is more important, and I must preserve my useful body for the peace of the entire Universe!
Wanda ran, gritting his teeth and ducking, dodging a spiritual energy pulse blasted at him, then deploying his shield to deflect a volley of bullets, plus a rifle grenade with an air-shock warhead.
The bullets were easy to deal with; the shock explosion was harmless to his Five Rings master physique (though only half of it remained). The problem, however, was that the mechanical prosthesis he was wearing couldn't withstand it as well.
Wanda immediately felt the unnatural twisting of the machine, which caused him to stagger back a few steps, almost crashing into the nearby wall.
"Crack!" "Bzzzzzz~~~" The mechanical prosthesis finally showed obvious cracks, sparks flew out from below his pant leg, and then a small gas cylinder directly exploded, letting out an earth-shattering "Pfft!" from his groin.
Cult Leader Wanda didn't even have time to feel humiliated. At this moment, another pulse wave formed by concentrated spiritual energy whistled past. Although it didn't hit the target, it blasted the nearby pile of debris into a flurry of metal scraps. One or two pieces, whether screws or wires, bounced over, and by some strange coincidence, pierced through Cult Leader Wanda's shield and actually struck him on the forehead.
This minor damage couldn't break Wanda's defense, and he didn't even feel pain, but it made him involuntarily shiver three times, his hair standing on end, as if his back had been brushed with a steel wire.
He wanted to change his path, but saw that the two newcomers he had shaken off reappeared directly in front of him, and began firing again.
Ordinary bullets couldn't break his defense, but they could still slow him down. Wanda gritted his teeth, and with the mechanical walking device emitting an unnatural, grating sound, he frantically rushed into an unblocked passage nearby.
The scenery beyond the passage suddenly opened up into a considerably large compartment, about the size of a football field, and over ten meters high. At the end of the passage was a sturdy alloy railing, which was the main entrance to the space station's restricted area.
Of course, this was also the scene of the battle between the pirates and the Imperial soldiers. However, by this time, the battle was coming to an end. The pirates, having suffered heavy losses, scattered like birds and beasts, retreating into the surrounding passages. The Imperial soldiers were not planning to split up and pursue, intending to push straight through to the port area.
They truly hadn't expected that even with the battle having progressed this far, the pirates would still have reinforcements. They all paid their respects to this sole brave one and decided to honor him with concentrated fire.
However, from Wanda's bewildered perspective, he only saw a large group of Imperial soldiers plus ugly combat robots, blocking his escape route, firing a barrage of scattered 'biubiubiubiu' at him.
Wanda was beyond furious!
It's one thing to be bullied by a jinx disguised as a newcomer, but now I'm going to be bullied by a bunch of mortals? Then what's the point of me being a spiritual energy user?
"Get lost! Minions!" Flores Wanda finally unleashed his first burst of power since becoming crippled.