'But still, where to get those martial books?" he wondered. "I don't know anyone who would be willing to give me their cultivation art, and I don't have any money, tsk, even after getting this chance, I can't do anything.' he took a deep breath.
'I guess I have no choice then. I will go hunt magic beasts and sell their cores to buy a cultivation book... let me go prepare supplies.'
Tianyu went back to his house and found a broken broomstick. He then sharpened one edge of it, forming a crude spear.
'This should do.' he thought, weaving around the Qi-infused stick.
He crouched low and left through a narrow tunnel he had dug for himself, and moments later, he found himself outside once more.
'Huu... finally, fresh air,' he took a deep breath and began charging toward the great forest of Toe.
He began his run, now even faster than before. "It's a truly addictive feeling. I finally understand why people cultivate despite the danger. The feeling of breaking through your limitations is nice."
As he approached the forest, he found himself instinctively slowing down; a great pressure emanated from the forest.
"Mmmm, looking at it now, I think I might have underestimated its dangers," Tianyu thought, creeping closer.
The entrance was cluttered, with many dense trees covering most of the area, and visibility was minimal.
Tianyu began his hunt. He strolled about, most of his morning spent by him searching and tracking, but he couldn't find anything. Only at midday did he get into his first fight, finding a yin-rat's nest.
"Tch, I thought that I would find a second rank magic beast by now. I guess tracking isn't as easy as I thought."
He began walking north in search of a river; his running around throughout the day had made him realise that it was in the deeper parts of the forest with higher-grade beasts, that and a shadow-dense place in Southeast, which his instincts told him was something far stronger than him.
Mmm, that sounds like the flow of water, his ears shot up.
He rushed toward the sound, climbing trees and leaping from one to the other.
"I see. The key is dispensing the Qi in my heel. That way I can have a great grip but also a burst of speed... Mmm, this is interesting. It feels like I am gliding through the air."
The river finally came into view. Tianyu stood atop a tree and scanned the area for danger, concentrating most of his Qi into his eyes.
He looked through the river and saw nothing. Confident, he leapt off the tree and dove into the water.
"Ugh... finally refreshing! I thought I was going to die from this heat. Since I got here, it's been getting hotter and hotter. I wonder what's going on."
Tianyu spent the rest of his day lazing around, splashing in the water, until he heard a cry.
"Ahhh, let go of me!" a feminine voice echoed. "Have you no shame? You were supposed to become the guards of my family, yet here you are doing something so unsightly!" The voice continued.
'I hope they don't come this side... I don't want any trouble,' Tianyu thought to himself, quickly walking out of the water.
As he walked out of the water, a bright flash of light boomed from the distance, causing the nearby trees to shake violently and prompting the surrounding beasts to flee.
Tianyu quickly threw on his clothes and jumped atop a nearby tree to hide.
"Tch, what is it now?" he thought, concealing himself deeper within the leaves.
"Come on now, Huǒ Yànhuā, let's have a taste." A large brute spoke. His body was twice the size of the girl he was chasing. A massive grin split his face, and a single scar crossed his cheek. His mouth was open, practically drooling. In his hand, he hefted a large axe-sword, its silver head glimmering high in the air.
"Shame on you all," a feminine voice responded. The girl was around Tianyu's age, with pink hair and pale skin. Her orange robes lay perfectly across her curvy body.
"How dare you betray my family after everything we have done for you?" Huǒ Yànhuā demanded.
She drew the sword from her waist; its hilt was made of gold, and a simple carving of a flame was embedded in it.
The blade pulsed to life with a vibrant red flame. She swung the blade, intending to strike the man before her, but from a distance, an arrow came flying through, knocking the sword away from her hand.
"Hahaha… come on now, Princess, why are you making this hard for yourself?" The brutish man spoke, striking Huǒ Yànhuā down. He then laughed out maniacally.
"Finally, I will take back everything that the Huǒ family has taken from me! If I get the Ten Thousand Year Fire Essence, I can break through the Jīn Hé stage, and while I'm at it, I get to enjoy this princess!" He spoke, licking his lips.
"Wait… Lu Yan, you said we would sell the fire essence for essence stones, didn't you!?" The archer spoke, stepping into view.
He was a thin-looking man wearing a sharp hat, his face resembling a rodent, and his wispy beard like whiskers.
One of his eyes was covered by an eye patch, and his bow hung on his back.
"Hahaha… of course we will sell! I never go back on my word… you know me, right?" the large brute replied, a huge grin stretching across his face.
His words said one thing while his body showed another.
"Huu… this is truly dangerous, but a ten-thousand-year Fire Essence might help me greatly. I could sell it for some decent cultivation book and still have money left to buy a spirit condensing pill." Tianyu thought readjustng his stance.
Shhhhshshhhhshhhh!
The trees rustled when Tianyu shifted his position.
"Oh… it seems we have a rat here," Xianshun, the archer, spoke, drawing his bow and shooting an arrow straight towards Tianyu.
"Damn, they found me," Tianyu mumbled, jumping off the tree. He narrowly evaded an arrow. He fell to the ground on his feet and watched the tree behind him groan and fall to the ground.
"Hey… Hey! I'm no threat!" he spoke, raising his hands high.
"Too bad for you. The fact that you are here is the reason why you will die. Blame yourself for being in the wrong place at the wrong time... ahahaha!"
Lu Yan spoke, throwing a slash with his axe-sword. A blue light flew from the blade, whistling through the air.
It scorched the ground as it headed straight for Tianyu.
Before the attack could connect, Tianyu used the movement technique he had learned while running through the trees and swiftly evaded the attack, moving to the side.
"Wooo! I guess you have some skill, ha! It will take some effort to try and get rid of you, won't it?" Lu Yan spoke, tossing another attack, which Tianyu evaded as well, before turning and beginning to run away.
"Xianshun! Go after him! If word gets out about what happened here, we will be in trouble!" Lu Yan commanded.
Xianshun instantly ran after Tianyu.
Lu Yan turned back to Huǒ Yànhuā. "Now, Princess, let—" But before he could finish, he realised the princess had escaped during that brief interaction with Tianyu.
"Damn it! Damn it!" Lu Yan roared as he quickly went after the girl.