As Yang Xuan mopped the floor of the Crimson Bear Sect's main building, he cursed the sect elders in his head. This was his last task before he could venture out into the forest, and he was completely fed up with sect life. "Patience, Little Xuan! Cultivation is found in all aspects of life, not just combat. When you begin cultivating your own Dao, you will understand," Grandpa Gui instructed him.

Yang Xuan almost cursed him by reflex before catching himself and agreeing. 'My Dao is already decided. I will definitely cultivate the Dao of Heaven-Defiance! Yet, I am now acting as little more than a slave to the Heavens. This shall be the last task I do for this backwater sect. I, Yang Xuan, will never again serve anyone!'

Yang Xuan then proceeded to mop the floor with renewed intensity. His mopping was akin to the passionate brush strokes of a Master Painter! Mop, mop, mop! No dust dared resist his Demonic fury.

[You have unlocked the active skill [Cultivator's Fury].]

{Cultivator's Fury: Level 1}

[Rank: Advanced]

[Cooldown: 10 hours]

[Doubles all stats for 10 seconds.]

In no time at all, the floor was shining and Yang Xuan was lining up to enter the Blood Lotus Forest. After a little waiting, Yang Xuan confirmed with the disciple manning the gate that he had completed his tasks and could spend the rest of the month in the forest. If he stayed too long, there would be consequences. Yang Xuan did not care to learn what they were. He was overjoyed to finally leave that prison and get into some fights.

Ten minutes later, he had made it into the heart of the forest. He closed his eyes and expanded his senses. Everything within 30 meters exposed itself to his mind's eye. Or, at least, that was what was supposed to happen. His senses felt blurry and weakened. Just as Yang Xuan was about to investigate, the hairs on his nape stood stiff. He ducked. Four long claws slashed where he had stood. Still ducking, Yang Xuan jumped up, tackling the creature that had attacked him. Mud splattered as Yang Xuan landed on top of it.

It was a relatively short, bipedal creature with brown skin. It tried to slash at Yang Xuan's gut. He grabbed it by the wrists and pinned it down. With the surprise factor of its attack gone, it was insultingly weak. Yang Xuan stabbed it with its own claws, finishing it off.

[Savage beast defeated. You have gained 30SP for defeating a third-stage Qi Gathering Realm enemy. You now have 199SP.]

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"Good job," Grandpa Gui praised him, "though you should never let yourself be taken by surprise like that. It was using its own Qi to tamper with your senses. In the future, look out for those attacks."

Yang Xuan considered Grandpa Gui's advice. Then, he took out his pocket knife and used it to extract the creature's spirit crystal. He placed it in the pouch he'd brought and continued his exploration. Along the way, Grandpa Gui would instruct him on the forest herbs. He learned which were valuable and what he could use them for. He encountered weak savage beasts every now and then. Most of them went down as easily as the first. As Yang Xuan was starting to get tired, though, his qi senses suddenly screamed at him. He frantically turned to the direction of the powerful qi.

It was a hulking red ogre. It stood at triple his height and quadruple his width. Its cultivation was first-stage Foundation Establishment Realm. In its right hand it held a massive club. Yang Xuan, panicking, took out a purple herb from his pouch, ground it with his fingers, and forced it down his throat. Supposedly, it would increase the strength of his qi. The beast had seen him by now and was approaching him. He strengthened himself with his qi and quickly strategized.

When the beast neared, Yang Xuan quickly activated [Cultivator's Fury] and launched himself at it. He did not aim for its head, nor did he aim for its gut. He aimed lower. As his fist collided with the beast's member, the beast bent its back and knees by reflex. Its club sank into the mud. Yang Xuan jumped at the creature's descending head and slammed it against his knee. However, it grabbed him before he could continue his assault. The savage beast smashed his body onto the ground. It held its right hand with its left and struck him as he lay in pain.

As the beast lifted its hands, it found the ground beneath them empty. It frantically searched for the cultivator. Just as it started to search, a massive boulder struck the beast's head! Finally, it fell. Yang Xuan had tricked it with Silent Serpent's Shadowshade Shroud.

Meanwhile, Grandpa Gui was in shock, 'My disciple... How could he be so shameless?!' For some reason, Grandpa Gui felt Yang Xuan was going to bring a lot of shame to his name.

Yang Xuan, however, was blissfully ignorant of Grandpa Gui's thoughts.

[Savage beast defeated. You have gained 200SP for defeating a first-stage Foundation Establishment Realm enemy. You now have 559SP.]

Yang Xuan tried to harvest the ogre's spirit crystal with his knife, but its skin was too thick. He used one of the herbs he'd gathred to weaken its skin before harvesting its core. As he stared at the large, pure core of a Foundation Establishment savage beast, he reveled in his victory. This was going to greatly speed up his cultivation.

Finished harvesting, Yang Xuan felt this was a good time to rest for the day and let his skill recharge. He made his way back to the safe outskirts of the forest, avoiding more fights. When he arrived, he set up a small shelter for himself and drifted off to sleep with Grandpa Gui ready to alert him in case there were any savage beasts.

As Yang Xuan slept, he dreamed of breaching the heavens and reigning supreme over the realms. His resolve to become an immortal only strengthened.