All sounds ceased.
In the distance, there was an endless sea, and the sparkling waves on the sea cautiously permeated the gray sky.
"It really is... the sea."
"Am I on an island?!"
The cave was located on the mountaintop. Yoriichi Tsugikuni was wearing a tattered linen short trousers and a crude sleeveless animal skin jacket, standing on the open ground in front of the cave entrance, looking into the distance.
The climate of this world was very strange. Last night, the cold wind outside the cave was biting, yet the temperature immediately warmed up in the morning. The strange temperature fluctuations made it difficult for Yoriichi Tsugikuni to adapt immediately.
"First... let's check the surroundings."
After taking a few deep breaths of fresh air, Yoriichi Tsugikuni returned to the cave. Not long after, he walked out of the cave with the long sword, glanced around, and followed the only small path in front of the cave down the mountain.
It was evident that the original owner had lived in this cave for some time, as there were obvious signs of clearing around the entrance.
Before long, Yoriichi Tsugikuni's figure disappeared into the dense forest.
...
This was a primeval forest, filled with towering ancient giant trees.
The branches of the trees intertwined, and the sprawling, lush leaves were like emerald clouds, completely covering the blue sky. The sea breeze blew, and the leaves made rustling sounds, just like the sigh of a giant dragon.
Along the way, Yoriichi Tsugikuni saw many strange plants he had never heard of. He was often attracted by these peculiar plants and would stop to check them from time to time. This wasn't purely out of novelty; he just wanted to see if there were any familiar fruits on these plants that he could use to satisfy his hunger.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni hadn't forgotten the scene in the cave yesterday; the only thing in the entire cave that could be considered food was that mushy substance. If he had a choice, he definitely wouldn't want to try that.
But unfortunately, along the way, he didn't see any fruit-bearing plants.
"ROAR!!!"
Suddenly, a loud roar exploded from within the dense forest. The next second, a foul, fishy wind rushed towards Yoriichi Tsugikuni's face.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni subconsciously jumped back, tapping the ground with his toes, instantly leaping several meters away. The moment he left the spot, a giant claw descended suddenly, smashing heavily onto the ground and covering the ground in spiderweb-like cracks.
"What is that?!"
Looking intently, he saw a striped giant tiger nearly ten meters long appear in front of Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
This tiger, however, was somewhat beyond Yoriichi Tsugikuni's comprehension. Ignoring its huge, exaggerated size for a moment, just the two nearly half-meter-long fangs protruding from its mouth made Yoriichi Tsugikuni's eyes widen.
Being stared at by such an anomalous giant tiger, Yoriichi Tsugikuni's current body's hairs involuntarily stood on end. Sometime, the long blade had been drawn from the scabbard, and he looked at the abnormally sized "tiger" in front of him with a solemn expression.
"ROAR!!!"
With another roar, the giant tiger, having missed its strike, suddenly leaped forward, instantly attacking Yoriichi Tsugikuni face-to-face. Its two enormous front paws scissored fiercely towards Yoriichi Tsugikuni, and the thick, foul wind made Yoriichi Tsugikuni involuntarily hold his breath.
He wondered how many animals had perished under this pair of tiger claws.
At this critical moment, Yoriichi Tsugikuni's mind was completely clear, and the rhythm of his breathing quietly changed.
The giant tiger's movements seemed to slow down in his eyes, and the world in his sight underwent an earth-shattering change.
See-Through World (Transparent World)!
By concentrating and shutting down redundant senses, a creature's body appears as if it were transparent. One's own movement speed, prediction, and evasion of attacks are significantly improved. The blood flow in the opponent's lungs is clearly visible, and the contraction of one's own muscles can be grasped faster. Even the fighting spirit can be freely turned off according to need, because accelerated perception makes the enemy's actions appear slower.
In this world, Yoriichi Tsugikuni awakened this terrifying talent that should have been innate. From Yoriichi Tsugikuni's perspective, every organ in the giant tiger's body became clearly visible, and the huge, beating heart, with every beat and expansion, contained terrifying vitality.
If Yoriichi Tsugikuni had to make a comparison, the heart vitality of the demon he once killed, known as Lower Rank, was about the same as that of the giant tiger in front of him.
"I can see it! Just like before, I can see everything!"
"Breath of the Sun - First Form - Waltz (Round Dance)!!"
The familiar sight in his eyes made Yoriichi Tsugikuni's nervousness suddenly vanish. In an instant, Yoriichi Tsugikuni slashed three times. The giant claws that struck in front of him passed directly on either side of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, like runaway wild horses.
The next second, blood spurted, splashing onto the ground, and the thick scent of blood filled his nostrils.
"Thud!"
The claw-waving giant tiger now collapsed thunderously, and blood immediately soaked the ground.
The tiger corpse on the ground had both front paws neatly severed at the root, leaving only flat cut surfaces. A large amount of blood poured out from the wounds. At the same time, there was a long gash on the huge tiger head, with plasma and blood flowing together.
With such trauma, it was no wonder that this kind of anomalous tiger would die instantly.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni was about to sheathe his sword and step forward to check, he sensed something, suddenly stopped, and looked up.
"Swoosh—"
A loud noise came from above Yoriichi Tsugikuni's head.
A strange bird broke through the dense branches and leaves and swooped down. The next second, a black shadow flashed in front of Yoriichi Tsugikuni. The strange bird's sharp talons directly grabbed the tiger corpse. In an instant, it spread its wings and flew up, carrying the tiger corpse and disappearing from Yoriichi Tsugikuni's sight.
"What kind of world is this...?"
Yoriichi Tsugikuni was stunned by the changes in front of him. If he hadn't mistaken it, the strange bird that had just flown down probably had a wingspan of nearly twenty meters. Yoriichi Tsugikuni had never seen this kind of creature before. The vitality of its heart was even stronger than that of the tiger just now.
It even reached the level of a mid-tier Lower Rank.
Of course, this only refers to heart vitality and has no necessary connection to actual strength.
The two consecutive anomalous creatures filled Yoriichi Tsugikuni with curiosity about the world he now inhabited. What kind of world could breed such strange and bizarre creatures?
Moreover, this body could easily sustain the "Total Concentration Constant" (Full Concentration Breathing) method, without feeling any pressure, and the smoothness he felt when swinging the sword was more comfortable than when he swung it before.
The move to avoid the giant tiger's attack just now was completely a subconscious reaction of his body.
Undoubtedly, this body in this world was even slightly stronger than his previous body!
A combination of these signs led Yoriichi to form some speculations about the world he was in. Perhaps... could this be a world of immortal cultivation?
With this thought in mind, Yoriichi Tsugikuni walked up to the two tiger paws he had just severed. However, calling them tiger paws was inaccurate; since he had cut them off at the root, calling them tiger legs might be more appropriate.
The two tiger legs were both three to four meters long, and their weight was incredible.
"It should... be edible."
"This is a decent harvest. At least I don't have to try that batter."
"If this is a world of immortal cultivation, this should count as a spirit beast, right? It's so big, after all."
"I wonder if the meat of a spirit beast is really like the legends say—eat one meal and become strong and robust, able to climb five floors without getting winded."
Muttering to himself, Yoriichi Tsugikuni was about to cut some meat from the tiger leg, but as he approached, a preposterous idea suddenly arose in Yoriichi Tsugikuni's mind.
He sheathed his sword, put his hands on the "claws" (talons/nails), and actually attempted to pick up one of the tiger legs.
Initially, he was just trying it out, but as Yoriichi Tsugikuni exerted force, he discovered that the tiger leg actually lifted completely off the ground. What was even more surprising to Yoriichi Tsugikuni was that he felt no strain at all!
"What kind of monstrous strength is this?!"
Yoriichi Tsugikuni was also utterly perplexed by the terrifying strength of his body, having no idea where it came from. However, he didn't dwell on the matter. After all, time travel had happened to him twice, so having immense strength was perfectly reasonable.
Yoriichi attributed all of this to the blessing of the heavens. Perhaps the heavens' favorite child wasn't that little brat who liked to drink beast milk after all.