There was a strange dynamic between the three of them, Ziye, cold and sassy, occasionally watching him with weird expressions, while Matriarch Zareena was blunt, sarcastic, and oddly maternal when it came to making sure he and Ziye ate well.
They told stories, joked, and at times simply sat in comfortable silence, watching the fire crackle beneath the night sky.
During the day, Gray trained. Matriarch Zareena personally oversaw the training of his body.
With her cooking and guidance, his cultivation advanced to Qi Condensation Level 7 and his Physique also increased at an astonishing rate, reaching Mortal Physique Level 9.
However, before he could feel satisfied with himself, Matriarch Zareena gave him some heartbreaking news.
"This is as far as you can go without further advancing your cultivation," Zareena stated, observing him with a critical eye. "Your body is now a bit better than normal, but without a Physique Scripture, you won't be able to advance further."
"Physique Scripture?" asked Gray in puzzlement.
"A Body-Refining Technique, it's an alternative to Spiritual Energy Cultivation, the only problem is, your lifespan won't increase. It's also generally considered weaker than Spiritual Energy Cultivation."
Gray nodded as he wiped the sweat from his brows.
"Sigh... and here I thought I could just rely on you to temper my body until none of the cultivators in this world can harm me." he sighed in regret. Well, at least I'm not completely helpless like before." shrugged Gray.
"ROAA—"
Just as he thought of that, a huge leopard monster came from behind him and was about to bite his head off but was cut off as Ziye pierced through the head of a large reptilian Fierce Beast.
'...okay maybe there's really not much difference.' thought Gray with a dark face.
…
They explored for a few more hours, and just as they were about to wrap up their day, a rustling sound in the distance caught their attention.
They walked towards the noises without bothering to conceal themselves, their senses sharpening as they observed the movement ahead.
A group of 3 cultivators emerged into view, their robes marked with the insignia of a simple hill.
Gray's eyes narrowed as he analyzed the scene before him.
At the center of the group stood a young boy, no older than ten, locked in battle with a Qi Condensation level 8 Fierce Beast.
Two elders, one with long hair, and one bald, surrounded him, providing guidance from time to time, as well as ensuring his safety.
Gray observed and was shocked. The boy was already at the 8th level of Qi Condensation at such a young age.
It was even higher than his own! By the time the boy reaches the same age as him, he might already be at the Foundation Establishment.
In the Anarkin clan, the person with the highest cultivation at age twelve in the past one thousand years was only at the 1st stage of Foundation Establishment, which meant this kid was a generational talent!
Not to mention the young boy, even the two elders beside him were not normal.
Even without trying to purposefully expose their cultivation, he could feel that their aura wasn't much weaker than the Anarkin's clan leader.
'A training exercise in the middle of nowhere?' Gray thought, his eyes narrowing as his [Threat Assessment Scanner] activated, projecting the familiar information over their heads.
[Power Level: 65.3 Million]
[Intimidate: 4.35 Million SC]
[Defeat: 43.5 Million SC]
[Kill: 435 Million SC]
[Power Level: 70 Million]
[Intimidate: 4.67 Million SC]
[Defeat: 46.7 Million SC]
[Kill: 467 Million SC]
'Sixty-five million... seventy million,' Gray's mind instantly ran the calculation.
'Nascent Soul Realm. Both of them. Each one can give the Clan Leader a run for his money.' He instinctively held his breath. Then his delinquent eyes saw the reward, and he let out a silent, bitter whistle.
'I was right, it's much lower than the Clan Leader because the calculation for the rewards is based on my current strength.'
He scanned the Clan Leader before when he was still a mortal with no cultivation.
The rewards back then were at the billions.
Although his strength right now was still much weaker than these two, he wasn't as weak as before, which made the rewards slightly lower.
His gaze then shifted to the boy, who skillfully dodged a charge from the boar.
[Power Level: 2,500]
[Intimidate: 167 SC]
[Defeat: 1,667 SC]
[Kill: 16,667 SC]
Gray's eyes widened slightly.
'Power Level 2,500. He's already broken past the 2,000 ceiling for Qi Condensation. A kid who looks ten years old has the raw power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. What a monster.'
'If this kid was at my age, he'd probably be already at the early or even middle stages of Foundation Establishment.'
In the history of the Anarkin Clan, the one with the highest cultivation level was only at the early Foundation Establishment, which meant that this kid was a generational talent.
Through his own experiments and observations since gaining the scanner, Gray had already established a rough but reliable mental scale for the world's power levels.
He had found that a typical Qi Condensation cultivator's strength topped out around a Power Level of 2,000.
The next realm, Foundation Establishment, occupied the 20,000 to 60,000 range, while Golden Core masters were likely somewhere between half a million and 2 million.
That meant the legendary Nascent Soul realm, where figures like his old Clan Leader sat, began in the terrifying space of 50 million.
This mental blueprint put the young boy, Raven, into a frightening perspective.
The threat assessment scanner wasn't just a simple energy reader; it assessed a person's entire combat potential, factoring in their techniques, hidden skills, and raw talent.
It was the only explanation for why Raven, despite being only at the 8th level of Qi Condensation, registered a Power Level of 2,500, surpassing the peak of his realm.
However, Gray himself wasn't intimidated at all by this genius.
The secret to Gray's burgeoning confidence was simple, and the System confirmed it with a single, solid number:
[Power Level: 15,000!]
While his 7th level Qi Condensation wasn't bad, his 9th level Mortal Physique and legendary skill of [Street-Smarts of a Thousand Gang Wars] was doing all the heavy lifting, pushing his raw power to near Foundation Establishment bracket.
…
"You're doing great young master! Keep attacking at its head! It won't be long until you take it down." the bald elder shouted in support.
"That's right, and circle around it to keep it confused. Once it's disoriented, you'll eventually find an opening." instructed the long-haired elder. "You're so amazing, young master! I can't believe you're able to keep up with it."
The boy circled around the Yellow-Eyed Direwolf, trying to disorient it.