Although Little Bro had stopped absorbing my Qi, it had also stopped wiggling. My face, as I realized this, scrunched up in slight anger as I felt that this Little Bro was just being petty… He had been about to hatch, but now that I had stopped feeding him my very Supreme Qi, he had stopped? How do you even stop hatching? I could feel my face wildy twitching in annoyance.

But, I stopped thinking about that stupid, arrogant egg. It annoyed me, but it could turn out to be a supreme beast or some nonsense like that. I could rule the world, with it by my side… I knew how much of a far-fetched dream that was, but still. I sighed a bit, and continued walking for several more hours before the Qi got much denser. I frowned a little, thoughts racing through my head. The only thing I could think of… was how much longer until I got there!? I had been walking for maybe six days already. I muttered incoherently, before I sat down and began to meditate.

Again, I marched forward at the pace of a meteor. My speed going through the realms had probably doubled, I noted, and so had the power of my Qi. I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but it probably had something to do with me meditating in high concentrations of Qi. It only took three or four hours this time, much shorter than the last, before I arrived upon a new gate. This gate was, quite understandably, much thicker. The materials had a stalwart feel to them, as I observed the gate, wondering where I should strike. My eyes wandered the whole thing, before I face palmed in realization.

Did I even have to break the gate? I dug my feet into the void around me, it was quite soft. What, I thought, if I struck the ground and tunneled under the gate? A devilish grin wandered onto my face as I began to think about it. It would work; I had struck the ground before, on my way here, out of general impatience. No negative feedback, pain, or anything like that. A glowing Spear, colored like a beautiful green jade, appeared in my hand. I aimed it this time at the ground, instead of the gate.

By the time I threw it, I was shocked. It had instantly pierced through the barrier. I had theorized this would work… but, to such an extent? The massive surge of Qi caught me off-guard while I was thinking, and made me sit down a little bit. If I had thought my previous Qi Core could hold an ocean, this… could hold a planet! There was no way this was normal, and neither should me breaking through in such a way be. I walked into the tunnel my Spear had carved out, going down and up, before arriving on the other side.

This… definitely wasn’t normal. The abundance of left-over Qi in the air proved that. After I had broken through previous realms, there was almost no Qi in the atmosphere. But here, there was plenty! I stared at the gate behind me, before sighing in contempt. This was a way to get an easy boost… but would it always leave so much Qi out? I waved my hand as the Spear appeared once more. I threw it, in all of its new glory, at the Gate. It cracked almost immediately, before exploding from the center outward.

The leftover Qi in the environment quickly rushed to me, and was absorbed hastily by my Core. I sighed in relief, my Qi Core had barely expanded any, but it was still more than I had before I broke through. I was now in the Qi Core Foundation Realm, second step. It hadn’t even taken a long time, I thought, so I was questioning whether or not I should continue in Cultivation before I headed farther in the wasteland. I rolled the idea around in my head, my expression blank, when I decided that, no I wouldn’t continue. My Qi was getting much higher Quality the further I went in, so I decided I should continue that way. I left my consciousness with a thought, when I had noticed something strange.

My Qi… was getting siphoned? Was Little Bro trying to take all my Qi again..? A comically large sweat-drop appeared on my face as I muttered annoyedly. Little Bro wasn’t taking much this time, so I suppose… I would let it happen. My Qi regenerated at almost the pace he absorbed, and I knew I would likely hit the next realm before I died of Qi Exhaustion, or got anywhere near depleted enough to make that a possibility. I smiled, Little Bro’s antics no longer worrying me.

It took another four days of traveling before I reached an area that was denser in Qi. This time, however, It was extraordinarily denser. The Qi here… was so thick! It was similar to molasses, except… you know what, I thought to myself, why am I even explaining it? I grunted a little bit. I sat Little Bro next to me, before beginning to meditate again. I felt slightly dizzy in this environment, my body likely not used to the ungodly amount of Qi here. I looked around in my consciousness for a brief second, before exploding forward with speed.

It had taken me several, several hours to get the next Gate. This time, I don’t think I would be able to cheat it. I stomped a foot into the ground, a miniature soundwave booming, as the ground held firm. I frowned, my forehead scrunching. The sound-wave… had messed up my hair. My beautiful, dark black hair… I grabbed the small length that had been forming, it had gotten to my shoulders, and fixed it back into place. I summoned my Spear once more, my Qi Core having expanded quite a bit since my journey on the way here, and frowned in perplexion. The previous green jade that my Spear had been made of now had a red hue on the conical tip. I shook my head, expelling thoughts.

I held my Spear, and… yeeted it as hard as I could! The spear felt no resistance in the air, as it met the Gate. It cracked, leaned back, and then burst. My Qi Core had instantly been flooded. My previous planet-sized Qi Core, had now… doubled in size? That wasn’t right, I frowned in slight confusion. It hadn’t ever exactly doubled before, it had almost always gone much higher than its previous size. I had been expecting a Solar System as the next size, but it was only two planets? Although I couldn’t be disappointed, I was confused. A stream to a river, a river to a lake, a lake to an ocean, and then an ocean to a planet. Naturally, the next step in size would be a Solar System… but…

I didn’t dwell on my thoughts much longer. Perhaps I was being punished for cheating the last time? Was my Cultivation Realm, separate from my consciousness? It would make a lot of sense, I mused, that when I had dug through the floor previously there had been no pain whatsoever. I sighed, and left wherever I had been previously. I was now back in the black desert, and probably only a few days journey from the center if I used my Qi. I have no experience in using my Qi outside of the Cultivation Realm. I muttered a few curse words as I began to attempt at controlling my Qi outside of the Cultivation Realm.

It had been easier than I expected, only taking me an hour or so before I had learned how to infuse Qi into the lower half of my body to run faster. Since I had been ignoring my Body Cultivation, I could not run too fast without Qi. I was annoyed, thoroughly. And what made it worse was that Little Bro, and my Qi Infusion, added up to enough Qi that I couldn’t replenish it fast enough. I could at most keep this up for a day before I would have to rest. It only took a few seconds to gain my bearings as I began to dash through the sands with a force little could match. My determination was clear; I wanted to get to the center. It took several hours before my pace began to slow, and several more before my Qi was nearly depleted. I stopped. I released the Qi around the lower half of my body, and felt the Qi around me. My jaw dropped.

The Qi practically assaulted me. It was pure, thick, amazing Qi. It was extremely good; I almost stopped and began to cultivate right then. But, I took Little Bro’s egg and examined it. It was now almost a pitch black, with a jade green speck here and there. There was likely some connection of the green on the egg, and my Qi Spear(which I couldn’t actually summon outside of the Cultivation Realm), but it wasn’t one I could make without further study. I likely would never study it, though, as the egg quickly began to crack. Little Bro immediately stopped sucking the Qi out of me, and began to suck it from the atmosphere around us. The viscous Qi slowly disappeared around us, and then Little Bro hatched.

It was almost cute. The slimy thing that came out of Little Bro’s egg was quite similar to that of a cat and a lion, yet it was the size of my pinky finger. I was in awe - It’s cultivation realm was already several tiers higher than me, in Body and Qi! It was absolutely incredible, that this white tiger is so strong when it’s so tiny…

“In honor of the White Tiger Baihu, a mythical creature from my homeland,” I began, a smile creeping onto my face, “I’ll name you Baihu.” Immediately after I named him, my mind felt like it exploded - An inseparable tie between me and Baihu had formed, and he grew rapidly; His cultivation and size expanding at an ungodly pace.

I watched in absent-minded shock. The previously baby-like Tiger, now actually resembled what could be called Baihu. He had begun to rise high above me, I was only the size of a two-year old(which for some reason doesn’t transfer over into the Cultivation Realm). Baihu then began to speak in the voice of a child, which definitely did not fit his visage.

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“I thank you,” he began, “for saving me. This wasteland would have never provided enough Qi where I was located to hatch. This world had suddenly reset a week ago, and I was reset along with it. I am truly Baihu, The White Tiger of the West.”

While him actually being Baihu did shock me a little, what shocked me more was that this world had reset just before I was dropped here. Was that the reason John(I still wasn’t sure that was his real name) had taken so long to come and get me out of that hellhole? He was preparing this planet for my arrival? I was quickly brought out from my musing as Baihu released a dominating wave of Qi outwards, and the previous liquids on his coat of fur dissipated.

I wondered for just a moment if that meant Baihu, the literal incarnation of a direction and a ‘God,’ was my pet now? And, if Baihu had been reset, did that mean I could find the other three’s eggs here as well? I sat there thinking for probably thirty minutes while Baihu sat next to me. He looked uncomfortable, and his eyes were constantly shifting around. I looked at him, my baby fat jiggling slightly, before asking in a serious tone.

“Baihu, would you like me to collect the eggs of the other three directions?” I asked in a serious manner, which was immediately a moot point because of my voice and body size.

He gazed at me, a fire in his eyes, before responding. “Yes, in fact… it is imperative that you collect them. If they do not awaken, the world will almost definitely fall into chaos. I was the only one awake before the Great Setback, and the entire world was engulfed in chaos, except the Western Zhou Dynasty. It was horrible, and I had been desperately searching for their eggs since… Well, I had been searching for them since time had begun.”

At that point, I knew I would have to awaken them. A world is no fun when it’s all about murder and chaos. But, with the peacekeepers under me… wouldn’t I be a supreme existence no one would dare offend? I stopped, and thought for a moment. If the world had been reset… would people even exist right now? Would Spirit Beasts even be in circulation? If there were people, did they have civilizations? Were they cavemen? It was impossible to know at the moment, but I had a sinking gut feeling.

I ignored the feeling, and instead sat down and meditated. At this point, with the density and quality of the Qi around me, it took me less than two hours to advance to the third step of Qi Core Foundation. The wall had looked meagre before my might spear, and fell as easily as a bubble that was met with a stick. I could feel the eyes of Baihu on my back, but I continued to cultivate, ignoring him for the time being.

The next breakthrough took four hours, and I had reached the fourth step; I was one step away from the Great Completion of the Qi Core Foundation realm. But with the time it’s taken me already, and the clear pattern, I was less confident in doing it here. The gate would likely be much tougher. So, I opened my eyes and looked at Baihu, muttering a quick ‘Let’s go,’ before marching even further into the black desert. I rode atop Baihu’s back, our speed massively increasing, and we reached the center-point within a day. The sun had just begun to rise, which gave plenty of light to shine on whatever the hell made this place so abundant in Qi.

It was then, I realized, that the sand was definitely scorched. Then, I realized just how much Qi Baihu gave off as an egg, and how it kept increasing up until his birth; and how much of it he concealed. The next, and final thing I realized were three gray stones, with patterns on them. It gave me a nostalgic feeling, like it was Baihu all over again. And then, I realized once more. It was the three for the other directions. It was so easy? Just like that? I shook my head, a grin on my face, before speaking.

“Baihu, I have collected all the Eggs. I want to cultivate as fast as possible, please stop concealing your Qi.”

He looked perplexed, but nodded. I was almost literally blown away by the massive force that Baihu’s Qi generated, and had fallen to my knees in utter shock. Baihu immediately suppressed, but I shook my head and told him to continue. I laid down this time, and began to cultivate. I had gathered all the Qi to fill my now Solar System sized Qi Core, which I had thought I’d get sooner, all the way.

I had counted, in seconds, the amount of time it took me to reach the final Gate. It had taken me, from start to finish, fifty-eight seconds. Then, I had begun counting how long it took me to destroy the gate. Twelve seconds. It had taken me just barely over a minute to break through the fifth and final step, and make my Qi Core double again. Two Solar Systems in size; By the time I broke through to the next realm, wouldn’t this amount be comparable to a raindrop in an ocean? I shook my head with a gentle smile on my face, my Qi Core surging.

I moved, Baihu looked at me curiously, as I sat next to all the eggs, each egg pointing in their direction, and began to cultivate some more. The next break through, the one to the Qi Core Nurturing realm, had taken me exactly three minutes. I ignored the voice in my head telling me I broke through a major realm, and completely blocked it out when it began to tell me my rewards. I could feel the three eggs draining my Qi heavily, and ignored it almost entirely. It wasn’t as significant as it had been before, but it was still a burden.

Breaking through the five stages in the Qi Core Nurturing realm had taken me almost three days, as I sat there and constantly cultivated. I stopped when I felt that all three Eggs had begun to shake, and put a hold in my cultivation, just before I had reached the next major realm. I watched slowly as the vermillion bird hatched, in interest. Slowly the bird covered in goo came out from her egg, and her wing-span went about as far as from one side of my hand to the other side of the same hand. Keep in mind, I was two years old…

I looked at the bird, and smiled.

“In honor of the Vermillion Bird Zhuque from my homeland,” I said mightily(which still didn’t sound cool, as it came from a two year old), “I name you Zhuque.”

The process of which happened to Baihu had also occurred to Zhuque, but multiplied several fold. Her Qi was much denser, and her body bigger, but I could tell she didn’t pack as much of a punch as Baihu. I sat there and waited, not cultivating, for another day before the black turtle had crawled out of his shell. I smiled, and repeated what I had said before, but this time with the Turtles name.

“In honor of the Black Turtle Xuanwu from my homeland,” I began, and not trying to sound mighty at all(I promise), “I name you Xuanwu.”

Again, the turtle magnified his size by several tens of fold, and his Qi thickened quite considerably as Baihu began teaching both of them together. As neither had been awoken in the previous world, they had no knowledge to grow from. So, Baihu had to teach them. It took four more days before the Azure Dragon had burst from his shell in a show of power. He had been the largest when hatched, nearly my size(although I wasn’t sure how from that tiny egg) and by far the strongest. Still, however, I continued my ritual of naming.

“In honor of the Azure Dragon Qinglong from my homeland,” I had started calmly, “I name you Qinglong.” I finished curtly, and kept a smile on my face.

Once again, Baihu took Qinglong under his teaching as he taught them all they’d need to know. Although they were all hatched and I was happier than ever in the ungodly amount of Qi and the high density, I was slightly confused. Where was the Qilin egg? Naturally if the Four Auspicious Beasts were here, the QIlin would naturally be too. But, I did not see his egg anywhere. It was odd! I took a peak at Baihu and the other three, Zhuque, Xuanwu, and Qinglong, and saw them practicing with their control and strength. It was amazing seeing four godlike beasts just training. So, I steeled myself, I would train too. I would catch up to them! I had a connection to all of them, and if they were defeated or died, I… don’t think I could live on. I was not emotionally attached, it was more of a physical and mental connection.

But, I shook my head to clear those thoughts. They would not die; They were the four protectors. So, I embedded myself into their mighty Qi… and cultivated. I had broken through the Qi Core Nurturing realm exceedingly fast, in only forty two seconds. I once again ignored the voice telling me I broke through a major realm, and sped quickly through the next five small realms in just two days. My Qi Core had expanded massively, the previous size comparable to an atom to a mansion. The Qi Core Expansion realms final door looked mighty and imposing, unlike the other gates. I still threw my spear with a hefty weight behind it, and pushed through.

Immediately I was wracked with intense pain as my Qi Core expanded greatly again, tripling in size. I had hit the Qi Refinement stage, but… my body was not ready to take it! I had to immediately go up several times in terms of Body Cultivation or else I might not make it another week. My eyes widened as I slumped the moment I exited my Cultivation Realm, the beasts immediately looking at me in worry. I suddenly remembered… my ten Ox pills! A bottle flashed into my hands, and I dumped them into my mouth and swallowed as I shouted at the Beasts to not worry.

They looked unconvinced, but did not intervene as my body began to spasm with intense pain, my nerves on fire and my mind exploding with effort to keep me awake. I fell unconscious, and my body continued spasming for what I could only assume were several hours before I awoke again, my body sore and broken; I was still alive. Although my body still felt strained, it was no longer on the brink of collapse from an overload of Qi. I smiled weakly at the beasts who had been standing still since I can only imagine when I passed out. I sighed in pain as I moved, and looked through the loot I had gotten from passing two major realms.

The beasts, noticing my look, shook their heads to themselves and went back to training as I just froze in slight shock. Wasn’t this loot…

[Bronze] Shiny Halberd

5 Earthen-Body Pills

15 Grade-Three Spirit Stones

[Earth] Supreme Body Cultivation Technique

too good?