The 'wolf' in front of him was towering at over 15 meters tall and f*ck-knows how many meters long and wide. It was a behemoth thirsting for blood and he had the nerve to actually challenge it.
Looking at the Thundering Sword in his hand, it looked no better than a toothpick in comparison with the large creature. The chance of finishing off such a monster with a sword that's not even one meter long was a dream inside a dream.
"Damn! No wonder the System said that it's Life Essence had reached 20.000. Even with my Strength and Vitality, if I take one full-powered blow from it... I'm a goner!"
The previous sneer he saw on the beast's face now turned into a malicious grin. This malignant dog had actually plotted against Herman and now it wanted to slowly enjoy torturing him.
Its eyes were conveying that very thought, while Herman could feel the air itself becoming more suppressive with each passing second.
"Hoooh! Would you look at this dog!? It's actually releasing a mixture of raw Primordial and Spiritual Qi and infusing them into the air around us. He's creating a fake 'domain'?"
Once a cultivator reached a high enough realm, they can manipulate the laws of the world and therefore can become direct controllers of the space surrounding them for a limited area. Obviously, it wasn't sufficient to reach a certain realm and you would be able to do so. First, you had to release some limiters in your brain, then you had to use your own understanding and process how laws functioned in the world, and only then once you managed to decrypt at least one single law to the maximum degree, would you be able to use it to bend the space around you in any way you pleased.
The 'fake domain' was a skill where one would use massive amounts of Qi to charge up the air in a specific area and make it more suitable for the user. Besides suppressing the enemy, such an act could allow other small benefits such as less friction when moving through that area, therefore resulting in higher speed, one's perception range increasing slightly, and making the mind much more aware of incoming dangers while inside this domain.
Now, the gigantic bastard in from of him actually wanted to bully him to this degree by using its enormous form as well as the almost infinite supply of Qi he can get from the main body. Suppressed or otherwise, the real Qiongqi sealed below had reached Golden Immortal Realm. The amount of Qi it had was way above the ridiculous realm.
"Well then... what now? If I try stabbing it, I might actually make it laugh to death by showing it such a pointless endeavor. I cannot overpower the 'fake domain' it's creating also due to the difference in Qi amounts we possess. I have one card still to play but..."
Unfortunately for him, the Qiongqi didn't plan to let him finish thinking before making its move. A bit flustered, Herman used 'blink' and moved away from the paw that was big enough to demolish a normal house in one go.
A flurry of attacks continued to make their way towards him, yet by using 'blink' he was able to somehow avoid them and have the beast target only the afterimages left behind. The main problem was that this technique put quite a strain on muscles, especially on the legs.
If he was to keep using it, at best he could run around for ten, maybe fifteen minutes before he would be unable to move for an entire day.
*CRASH*
Herman's distraction was used against him and the paw barely grazed him, yet he was sent flying and dug quite the hole in the large plateau. It looked as if a meteorite had crashed there. With small rocks moving to make way, he got out and dusted his now damaged costume.
"*Sigh* Do I really have no other way? It's going to be quite painful and maybe even counterproductive if I do that. Nevermind exploring the Westmount realm, I won't be able to properly cultivate for an entire month..."
Carefully weighing the pros and cons while moving back towards the grinning saint beast, sighs could be heard again and again from Herman, seemingly unable to decide.
While cursing, he brought up the System's interface and the second level of the Sutras Hall, beginning another shopping spree.
"Since I want to be reckless, I can at least do my best to prepare as much as possible first..."
Treasures Hall Sutras Hall (2nd floor) Spirit Jade Hall Reputation Hall Top Up Li-Kan Pieces VIII
Cost: 4.990 Spirit Stones Li-Kan Pieces X
Cost: 4.990 Spirit Stones Skyworm Pieces IX
Cost: 4.990 Spirit Stones Faceless Pieces V
Cost: 30.000 Spirit Stones Faceless Pieces VII
Cost: 30.000 Spirit Stones Faceless Pieces X
Cost: 30.000 Spirit Stones Faceless Pieces XII
Cost: 30.000 Spirit Stones Primordial Pieces III
Cost: 30.000 Spirit Stones Primordial Pieces V
Cost: 30.000 Spirit Stones Primordial Pieces IX
Cost: 30.000 Spirit Stones Mystery Pieces III
Cost: 30.000 Spirit Stones Mystery Pieces V
Cost: 30.000 Spirit Stones Mystery Pieces VI
Cost: 30.000 Spirit Stones Mystery Pieces XI
Cost: 30.000 Spirit Stones Mystery Pieces XI
Cost: 30.000 Spirit Stones
"Piece of shit! Talk about bad luck..."
If he would've had enough Spirit Stones, then this sort of sutras configuration would've made him the happiest man alive. However, with only about 130.000 Spirit Stones in his pockets and another 12.000 needed for salaries and Dwelling maintenance, he could barely afford the three tier 2 sutras and if he overreaches, another three tier 3.
The problem was how to deal with Qiongqi.
His stats so far have been well-balanced thanks to a large amount of Spirit Jades at his disposal and he could exchange some of that currency for Spirit Stones, albeit at a pretty big loss. The System knew how to take advantage of newbies and Herman didn't want to fall into that trap... again...
"For now I can ignore the Li-Kan and the Skyworm Pieces. They only give a negligent amount of Dexterity and Vitality with which I cannot do anything in my current predilection. Now then... since they will be only at Level 1 and I don't have anywhere near enough Spirit Qi to upgrade them, it would be 36 points in each attribute I spend 30.000 Spirit Stones for... BULLSHIT! What the f*ck can I even do with such a ridiculously low amount!? It won't even scratch this f*cker! Preparations, huh? F*cking bullcrap!"
The sound of something snapping was heard from Herman's body, further confusion the Qiongqi. It had already watched the human suddenly becoming confident after being smashed into the ground, then dejected, then angry, and now once again confident.
It even wondered if the crashed he caused might've deranged some things in the human's brain since that snapping sound seems to have occurred there.
On the other hand, Herman was stretching again. His body felt much more... his. He was in control of it much more before he forcefully removed the limiter.
Human bodies are incredibly powerful, yet in order to avoid harming oneself the brain imposes some limiters here and there for protection purposes.
One of the prerequisites of learning how to control a domain was removing most of these limiters in one's own brain. However, it wasn't something easy to achieve unless one's bodily cultivation is high enough. In Herman's case, it's more the sheer amount of attributes that allow him to temporarily bypass this limiter and expose the true potential of the human body.
"How pathetic... I can barely undo one of the smaller limiters, huh? With this, my mental faculties should've received a nice boost. I can think much more clearly and I can see the details around me much better as well. The only problem... *Sigh*"
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
In fact, even the Qiongqi was amazed at the sudden change in the little human's body. Suddenly, his heart started pumping like crazy, in a rhythm that made it look like it would burst any second now.
While the brain was sent into overdrive, the rest of the body had to compensate so that it can avoid certain death. The heart was the first to do so, pumping more blood and oxygen towards the head. At the same time, adrenaline and neo-adrenaline were also being released in large quantities, making Herman unable to stay put even for a second longer.
That's how he suddenly vanished from the Qiongqi's perception range. One second later, without any weapons in hand, the little human appeared on the saddle on its back and smashed with both of his hands downwards.
Sneering at the futile action, the Qiongqi whipped its tail to smack him down from there, since it was an insult to its status as a saint beast. Having a human there that wasn't Lin Fan... such a thing was unacceptable.
"Hehe..."
With a burst of creepy laughter reaching the beast's ears, Herman's hands also made contact with the saddle. The beast wasn't sure if it was its imagination or not, but the entire mountain seemed to have trembled at that point. Its paws also dug a couple of meters into the plateau it was being materialized on, leaving it speechless if not for the pain coming from its back.
Fortunately, it managed to endure the shock its spine sent to the brain and remained conscious long enough to see its tail smash into the foul creature jumping on its back. However... it just passed through him.
It was another afterimage!
*ROOOOOOOAR!*
As pissed off as the Qiongqi was, it couldn't catch Herman that was using 'blink' much more proficiently than before. Now, it really looked close to teleportation if it wasn't for the delay between appearances.
Showing up on the beast's nose and staring it dead into the eyes with one of his legs raised, he grinned viciously and stomped with all his power. A whimper escaped the saint beast's maw and a bout of dizziness was preventing it from taking any further action.
The loathsome human targeted the areas with most nerves in its body, temporarily overloading its brain with nothing but pain and distorted sense. The Qiongqi didn't have time to hate the human for too long, as it suddenly felt a sharp pain coming from its right eye and hurried to close it by reflex.
It was too late, however. Before it could even let another howl of pain, it froze on the spot and fell over. Dispersing back into Qi mist, albeit unwillingly, a faint growl could be heard coming from the mountain.
In the middle of the plateau, standing inside of a crater sprawled on the ground and wincing in pain, Herman was covered in all sorts of smelly fluids. He couldn't even bother about that as the muscles in his legs were torn apart, his lungs seemed to be on fire, his heart was aching and there was a sharp pain coming from his head.
"F*ck my life man! It hurts so damn bad!!! Shit, shit, shit! System, give me my damn reward and send me back for the love of f*ck!"
Congratulations!
You have successfully sealed the Level 3 Nascent Soul Qiongqi!
50 years' worth of sealing power has been added to the suppressing array!
Rewards for defeating the enemy have been granted to the user!
You have used up your three entries for this year.
With a splashing sound, Herman was teleported back into his Dwelling and directly into the pond full of fish, alerting the nearby people. Celeste materialized from the void or something and upon seeing her employer's condition almost fainted herself. She wasn't able to understand how come he went through a fight but there wasn't as much as a scratch on his skin, but his insides were so messed up that she wondered if a coffin was in order.
Nevertheless, Tianxia Xue had to intervene while Celeste was pondering on something and Xu Wen'an was simply stunned upon seeing such a grand 'appearance'. Carrying the almost drowned Herman into his room, the three girls were a bit curious but couldn't help but wince at the sour smell coming from his body.
[You stink! Celestial Flames!](Celeste)
[Eh!?](Xu Wen'an)
[Huh!?](Tianxia Xue)
"W...wait! Celeste, what the..."
Before he could even complain, he was swallowed whole by blue flames. Flames that burn at an intensity so high, that their original color changes. Celeste used such flames to... clean him!?
[Calm down... It's not like I can't control my own spells...](Celeste)
[Amazing! Big sis Celeste! Your granular control is amazing!](Xu Wen'an)
[*Sigh* It seems that I have a long way to go...](Tianxia Xue)
"..."
While everyone was praising Celeste for being amazing, Herman saw his poor costume whimpering and doing its best to resist the flames while repairing itself. He somehow felt the bitterness of the clothes and supplied it with as much Primordial Qi as he had left to at least maintain his dignity in front of the three girls... whatever was left of it.
Not long after, the flames were retracted and only a tired Herman was left on the bed, with holes in his clothing slowly mending themselves.
[Where did you go this time to end up in such straits? I don't think you went to the Westmount territory this time around. There shouldn't be anything there that can threaten you...](Tianxia Xue)
[The smell was even worse than the one of the Stone Beasts though...](Xu Wen'an)
"These girls... *Sigh* Beast sealing! I went beast sealing..."
[Huh!? At your level? Do you have a death-wish, brat?](Celeste)
"Would it hurt her pride so much to freaking spare mine? I'm still your employer you know... not that I dare to say that aloud."
Seemingly realizing what he was thinking, a cold smile appeared on Celeste's face, making Herman shiver. He swallowed his saliva and looked away from the celestial beauty that could wipe the floor with him at any given moment.
"The System brought me to the Samsara realm. The human world."
[Oh my! The Qiongqi?](Celeste)
[Eh? Big sis, wasn't that the rampaging saint beast that trashed half of that world many centuries ago?](Xu Wen'an)
[I've also heard about it. It was Lin Fan's pet, wasn't it? I heard it was sealed by the administrators. Senior Jason was among them as well.](Tianxia Xue)
[So? How many levels?](Celeste)
"Three. All the way up to the Nascent Soul."
[Hoh... not bad, not bad at all! You should've gotten the rewards for your bravery, right? Let me think... three levels were starting from the first, so it should be 15 Beast Nucleus and 18 True Beast Pills, right?](Celeste)
"Mhm... I also have some Beast Int. Pills from the 'Yearly gift' as well."
[With how much of a mess you made out of your body that's good. You won't be able to properly cultivate for at least a month or two. Well, we'll get you some healing pills and you can eat one of each Beast Pill each week. 100.000 Cultivation Base should be sufficient for you to accumulate until your body is properly healed and can undergo tribulations.](Celeste)
"It seems so... please and thank you!"
[Hmpf!](Celeste)
[Tell us more about it. What fighting patterns did it have? Did it use any spells?](Tianxia Xue)
[I heard that it brought terror to four continents for thousands of years until someone finally managed to seal it away. Was it big, big brother Herman?](Xu Wen'an)
"..."
Smiling bitterly even if he wanted to get some rest, seeing how Celeste remained in the room as well and didn't stop the other two, it must mean that she's curious about the saint beast as well. Every cultivator can help with sealing arrays three times per year, but with how big the Immortal World was, it wasn't like they could pick where the System would send them.
That's how a very prolonged storytelling session began, with back and forth from the younger girls, as well as many questions. Celeste did nothing but watch Herman squirm in pain for a good couple of hours until he finally passed out due to the pain under her wide grin and appreciative eyes.
At the moment where he lost consciousness and saw her smiling eyes, he was almost scared awake... almost.
"Sadist! 100%! She's a sadist for sure..."
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While Herman was out cold, the rest of the world kept moving forward and countless geniuses were popping up, similar to mushrooms after a spring shower. The intense competition had already started and the forces acting in the shadow were just as restless.
The Heavenly Realms were a pie too big to ignore and this 'Herman Roy' was getting in the way of too many interests. Unfortunately for them, they could only wait until a chance appeared to either draw this genius to their side or make sure he doesn't have the time to grow. With a large population that the System always kept mum about, no shortage of heaven-defying geniuses appeared daily.
That's why another one wasn't a problem, as long as they could control him. If they couldn't... well... geniuses were a fearsome thing once they reached maturity and developed to their full potential indeed. That's, however, if they could reach maturity.
After all... just like countless geniuses were being born daily, just as many or even more were dying at the same time...