There was no doubt that [Force of Mind] was a powerful trait. He had chosen it because he believed his mind and intelligence were his greatest assets. It had served him well, from helping his cultivation and qi control to saving his life at a critical moment.

As it was, Xiao Ji was not feeling particularly intelligent at that moment.

He was glad Ruo Long was not around to see his shame. No doubt he would spare no expense in teasing him. He had been so excited about the prospect of finally achieving a lifelong dream that he did not even take the time to properly sit down and ask the right questions.

In a way, he was thankful for the training session with his master. Though his enthusiasm was dead, and he was unlikely to enjoy the day’s practice much, it would at least serve as something to take his mind away from the betrayal.

Master Fan Guo stood opposite him in a large courtyard. He suspected this was going to be the start of the most hands-on training he would receive so far. A suspicion that was proven right the moment the man started talking.

“Fighting is an inevitable part of every cultivator’s life, regardless of whether you choose it or not. I am sure you understand this to some extent after your trips.”

Ji nodded. Though he certainly could not speak for all cultivators, his first real foray into the world of cultivators had started with him getting challenged. Even if he excluded the cultivators, there were still wild spirit beasts to think of.

“Good,” the old man nodded. “Now, we will first begin with the basics. Footwork, stances and all of that. When I deem your progress sufficient, then you will get a technique.”

With that, his training began.

As he watched his Master’s movements and copied them, Xiao Ji noted that he was not completely unfamiliar with the basic concepts. His uncle had given him a few lessons on fighting, after all. Still, what he was learning from his Master was clearly a cut above the little he had done as a chick.

Not that it was surprising. It was not realistic to expect a rooster who was barely older than a chick to practise on the same level as an adult in the fourth stage of the Qi Condensation.

The next few hours turned into a blur of repeating movements. Mastering one thing before moving forward was something the old man emphasised, so he spent an annoying amount of time practising just a single stance. By the time the day’s training was over, all he felt was relief. He knew such repetitive practice was necessary, of course, but that did not make it any more interesting. The qi control exercises at least had the advantage of being something he was truly fascinated by. And even that eventually got tiring.

Thankfully for him though, the second part of the training was something that interested him a lot more.

By the time that came around, he was bored enough that his excitement at something new momentarily overpowered his sadness from getting scammed.

“Traits can often be tricky things. Most of them are fairly simple. Yet occasionally, you will find one that is less intuitive than the others. Qian Shi and the Second Disciple both fit this description. Have you been able to use the trait successfully since you returned?”

That was unexpected. When he thought about it more though, Ji supposed he had never actually bothered to find out what Qian Shi’s trait was. He tried to think of anything different he had seen her do yet came up blank.

“No, I have not.”

His Master nodded.

“As I suspected. Even though I have limited experience with esoteric traits, there seems to be a pattern of awakening the active parts of the trait in moments of heightened tension. It will likely take a while and some creative practice before we can make serious progress, but we have a start, at least.”

They went on to testing the trait, which went about as the old man had predicted. He was supposed to be attempting to influence a simple bowl of water with his mind. So far, he only managed to create little waves with it, but it was progress, which was a lot better than all the previous attempts.

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The sun was still in the sky when the training for the day ended, but he felt surprisingly tired. The martial arts stances he had practised were surprisingly draining, despite how simple they seemed on the surface. Still, his physical exhaustion was mild compared to how he felt mentally. If there was one thing he had confirmed for sure, it was that the trait drained his mental energy very quickly.

Unfortunately for him, the end of training brought with it the one part of the day he had been dreading.

On any normal day, the time he spent eating in the dining room would be something he looked forward to. Both for the food and the time he spent with his fellow disciples. Unfortunately, it was no normal day.

He was halfway through his food and contemplating escaping to his room when Ruo Long entered the room with his usual swagger, bringing a large pile of steaming meat from the kitchen.

The dragon watched him with a devious expression but said nothing, instead eating the food with purposeful slowness. Ji was tempted to quickly escape when he was done, but something told him that would not end well. So he waited for the smug dragon to finish, mentally preparing himself for what was to come.

Ruo Long finally finished eating after what seemed like an eternity and then turned to Ji with exaggerated slowness.

“Fellow disciple Xiao Ji,” he said, his voice irritatingly smug. “I heard you went to give your pills to Mei for testing. This disciple is curious about what happened. He would have expected fellow disciple to be bigger by now. Or perhaps the pills take some time to work.”

“They were not rooster enlargement drugs.”

“Ha! I told you so. You all so rarely listen to me in this place. I can only hope falling for such an obvious scam will open your eyes. We could have been one gold richer today.”

Ji was tempted to leave a scathing remark, but then he remembered all the times he had joined Shi to make fun of the dragon. Perhaps this was simply well-earned payback.

Alas, whether he deserved it or not did not stop the entire ordeal from being embarrassing.

*

The air reeked of prey.

For the second time in just a few hours, Qian Shi was once more on a hunt. This time though, her prey proved far more elusive.

The hunt had been fairly straightforward at first. She had tracked the ape’s scent, which was still present, if a little faint. Somewhere along the line though, things had gotten much harder.

Her target had somehow managed to spread their scent around, making it hard to pinpoint the right direction. The only reason she had not given up completely was because of her traits. It was able to give her a vague sense of direction for her prey.

So she followed it, running as fast as she could while she did. The pursuit continued into the night, and even further till the next morning. The more she ran, the more it seemed like the hunt was going to take longer than she expected.

That was fine though. She was a patient hunter. Her father had taught her so.

The chase continued, her Foundation Building endurance letting her run without needing to rest except for the occasional brief stop. She could not keep it up forever though, something that remained at the back of her mind.

Finally, in the middle of the third day, when the sun was shining high overhead, the forest started thinning. Within a few hours, she had left the forest completely and entered a vast field of grass. The ape had run in a different direction from the mountain, so she did not recognise her current location. That was fine though. All she needed was to find her prey.

Thankfully, the ape seemed to have stopped messing with its scent the moment they left the forest. She was not sure if it was because they did not believe she would go past it, but finally having a proper trail was not something anyone would catch her complaining about.

The pursuit continued on the grasslands for another day until something changed all of a sudden. The sun was already setting on the fourth day and tiredness was seeping into Qian Shi’s bones when the scent of her target suddenly intensified. She knew without a doubt that her target was close, at that point. Something her trait also helped confirm. She redoubled her efforts, following the trail with single-minded focus.

Finally, she arrived at a clearing surrounded by lush grass. In the centre of that clearing was a hastily made tent. Even before the owner of the tent rushed out, she knew she had found her target.

The great ape, an intelligent spirit beast at the Third stage of the Foundation Building Realm, caught sight of Qian Shi and it immediately attempted to flee. Unfortunately for them, she was faster.

It only took a few seconds to catch up with her prey, who immediately tried to defend themselves. They tried fighting her off with brute force, but she either dodged the blows or simply let them land.

Her target quickly found out that physical attacks were useless and tried instead to use techniques. Qian Shi nipped that plan in the bud with a few well-placed blows to the head. It took less than a minute to assert her dominance, and the great ape shrunk before letting out a cry of surrender. She was just about to remove her paws from her prey and start asking questions when something hit her from the side all of a sudden.

The intruder, another great ape who was clearly larger than her prey, faced her without fear. It did not seem to care about its fellow ape though, as the blow had smashed their head open. That took a moment to actually register. When it did, she growled, sudden anger rising in her like an erupting volcano.

They interrupted her hunt.

One did not just kill another hunter’s prey. Especially not Qian Shi’s. It seemed though, that this newcomer did not know much about hunter’s etiquette. That would not stand.

She would have to teach it.