The sour taste in his mouth from the interaction spoiled his meal, and he spent the rest of the day recovering from his injuries and questioning things.
He kept himself to himself, training quietly and diligently, yet he ended up suffering for it. He went out of his way to help someone in need, yet once again he ended up suffering. Maybe he should try being cold and cutthroat, maybe then he wouldn't be the one to suffer. But this didn't really sit well with him either. He wasn't an evil person at the end of the day. He just wanted fair treatment.
The only answer he could come up with was power. Only those with great power were respected and treated well enough. He could guarantee that if he was stronger than he was at this moment, he wouldn't have suffered an attack earlier. He would surely have come to him with more respect.
As much as Tianyu was suffering from other people's actions, the more of a fire it was burning inside him. He was more determined than ever to gain strength.
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The following morning, Tianyu geared himself up and set off for the next red zone. It was about an hour's walk away, but there were 3 zones all close to each other. If all went well, he was planning on clearing out all of these zones today.
The first red zone he approached was once again quiet. He had figured these red zones to be the domain of some higher-level beasts, so there was a good chance that there would be nothing else living in these areas.
After wandering around the zone for a good while, he was starting to think that whatever had been here at the time the map was made, was no longer here. Another 15 minutes had passed and there was no sign of anything. He decided to move on to the next zone, he pulled out his map and settled on a direction, before pulling out a skin of water to refresh himself before heading out.
This was a strategic move on his part. Although he couldn't find anything, the complete lack of any other wildlife in this area signaled to him that there was still a predator there. Making it seem as though he lowered his guard was bait. And it worked a treat.
There was a loud hiss as a gaping maw snapped at where Tianyu's body should have been. Tianyu dodged to the side the moment he felt the presence behind him.
He had started to get into the habit of spreading out his Qi in an area around him, in order to sense any movement. This was a great advantage, but it was also very taxing, so he couldn't do it all the time.
What greeted Tianyu was something out of the prehistoric age. It was an enormous snake, around 15-20 feet long, with huge fangs and scales that looked like armor. Its head was crested with colorful rock-hard-looking plates, and it had yellow, green, and black striped markings along the length of its body. As it hissed at Tianyu, venom sprayed out from the glands in its mouth.
Although it was a terrifying sight to behold, its main form of attack was assassination. After it had lost the element of surprise the snake was at a loss. Tianyu was quick enough to avoid the venom it would spray. Although it did have an incredibly fast bite, it wasn't enough to harm Tianyu as he could use the long reach of his halberd to keep it at a distance. The hide of the snake was quite tough, however, using his Lightning Qi he made short work of the snake.
[Gained 1000 exp points]
Although he thought this fight was much easier than the gorilla, if it wasn't for his keen senses and speed, he could see how this would be a perilous battle.
Tianyu popped a Recovery Pill and set off in the direction of the next zone.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
The next red zone was a bit of a letdown. Tianyu was looking forward to a tough fight where he could grow quickly, or learn how to use his current skills better. Unfortunately, this wouldn't be it. What awaited Tianyu in this next zone was a large eagle. The eagle noticed Tianyu as soon as he entered its territory. It gave a very loud cry and flew right at him. Seeing this giant eagle approaching from the distance, thanks to it immediately giving away its location. He pulled out his bow, and injecting Qi into the arrows, fired shot after shot. His aim still wasn't perfect, but after 4 or 5 arrows had pierced the eagle, it dropped to the floor not far away. Tianyu went over to it and with his halberd finished it off.
[Congratulations host, for killing your first Silver Ranked Beast. Reward: 500 exp points, 1x Gacha Spin Ticket]
It made a little more sense after he had seen the notification. Being only a silver-ranked beast its power and intelligence were much lower than the gold ranks he had been facing before. Presumably, it became the overlord of this area due to its aerial advantage.
He didn't even need to rest before heading to the final zone for today.
Approaching this final zone Tianyu was hoping for a good fight. After checking with Sophia about his current exp points, if this beast turns out to be gold-ranked, this will be the last one he needs to kill before he can enter the True Qi Realm.
As he pressed on there was a dangerous feeling in the air. "This is it," he gleamed "After this fight, I will be able to break through. I can feel it."
It wasn't long before Tianyu could hear some low-pitch growling coming from the bushes. Turning to face the direction with his weapon at the ready, he saw bright yellow eyes staring back at him. Slowly walking out from the bushes, was a magnificent beast. Its bright orange fur shimmered as if made of flames in the sunlight amidst the cold black stripes. The pure snow-white of its underbelly gave it a contradicting look as if the snow had been set ablaze.
Tianyu stood in awe. It was a perfect mix of beauty and power. He made a decision that day that he would definitely own one of these beasts. Unfortunately, that day would not be today. Today, this beast stands between him and the True Qi Realm.
The beast roared at Tianyu and made its move.
It was terribly fast, as fast as Tianyu himself, and held a natural advantage in its own domain. But Tianyu was not to be taken lightly, he had attack range on his side and wasn't losing out on speed.
Each time Tianyu blocked a hit from the tiger, it felt as though he had been hit by a car. The power in its paws was incredible. On the flip side, every time Tianyu managed to get a hit in, it would leave a nasty wound on the tiger.
After a couple of minutes of fighting, the tiger was on the back foot and was losing ground. To Tianyu's surprise, the beast dashed off into the trees and made a hasty retreat. But there was no way that he would let his exp points escape that easily, so he gave chase.
After running after the beast for a moment, he lost sight of it. He saw the blood droplets on the floor and followed in pursuit. Walking through the thicket, Tianyu saw a small cave on the side of a rock and slowly approached with his weapon at the ready.
Rustle.
Woosh!
"Argh!" Tianyu cried out. The tiger had jumped out of the bushes to the side of him and swiped out, leaving a bloody gouge across his arm, before once again running off into the brush.
"Bastard!" Tianyu shouted in anger. He had fallen for the trick of a beast and ended up wounded. The beast wasn't running away at all. It changed its approach knowing it would lose in a fight, and was now using hit-and-run tactics.
Quickly eating a Recovery Pill to stop the bleeding, he took off once again in the direction of the beast. This time, however, he spread his Qi out around him. He was currently only able to cover a small area around him with his Qi, but it should be enough.
As he was walking through the brush, once again the tiger sprung forth to attack, but it was noticed by Tianyu, who turned to attack. Unfortunately, with the speed at which the tiger was moving, and the small area of his Qi, by the time he reacted, the tiger was already too close for his halberd to hit, and he suffered another attack, this time to his thigh.
Taking another Recovery Pill, he had to quickly adapt to this situation. This is the shortcoming of only using a polearm for a weapon. He made a note to learn something he could use in closer combat.
For now, he had an idea he wanted to try. He once again went on the hunt for the tiger. Soon enough, the tiger went for another sneak attack. This time, however, Tianyu was prepared. He had previously pulled out some of his poisoned needles, and as soon as he sensed the attack, he dodged to the side using his Venomous Needle Technique and managed to get the beast in the side of his body with a few needles before it took off once again.
With more confidence this time, he set out again. The next time the tiger went for a sneak attack was its last. Thanks to the poison in the needles, the tiger's speed had dropped significantly, and Tianyu was able to catch it unaware and kill it.
[Gained 1000 exp points]
With a heavy sigh, he was glad this battle was over. This tiger was his smartest opponent yet, which made it the most dangerous. Tianyu wanted to rest for a while, but he didn't know if there would be any further dangers and he had a goal to achieve before he left. Tianyu spent the next 30 minutes skinning the tiger he had just killed. He was mesmerized by the beauty of its fur, and he would find somebody to make this into a cloak for him.
He threw the beast's skin into his system space and set off back to his pagoda. He was done hunting for the day and would begin his preparation to break through as soon as he got back. In anticipation of this, the was an extra spring in his step. He made it back much quicker than it took for him to get to the red zones.
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After he got back to the Pagoda, he sat in the lotus position for a while and used the formations inside to recover his wounds. It took about an hour for him to be fully healed.
Next, without moving from his position he sent a request to his system.
"Sophia," he called out "I'd like to advance to the True Qi Realm"
[Confirm spending 7500 exp points to ascend to True Qi Realm: Initiate?]
"Yes," he confirmed with a smile on his face.
[Processing...]