After days of cultivation and two victorious battles in the sect's arena, I felt the strain of my limited experience. It wasn't enough to rely solely on pills to advance. Real combat, against real beasts, was what I needed to temper my body and sharpen my instincts.
I decided it was time to leave the sect grounds and train in the wild.
Li Shen furrowed his brow when I told him my plan.
"Chen Yu, you just recovered from your injury. Going alone into the beast territories… it's risky."
"I know," I said, tightening the strap of my small traveling bag. "But if I keep training here, I'll only be fighting disciples. I need to face beasts — unpredictable, ferocious, life-threatening. Only then can I truly grow."
Li Shen sighed but finally nodded. "At least be careful. Don't wander too far. The outer forests have beasts up to the Qi Refining Realm."
"That's exactly why I'm going."
Before I left, I purchased a few basic supplies — bandages, dried food, and another body tempering pill. With my savings from the arena and the previous mission, I had just enough.
I set off at dawn, the sun's light barely cresting over the mountains as I stepped beyond the sect's gates.
The forest outside the sect was dense and quiet, its ancient trees reaching toward the heavens, their leaves whispering in the breeze. The further I walked, the wilder it became. Paths disappeared, replaced by tangled roots and overgrown shrubs.
I spent the first day cautiously hunting beasts at the third and fourth minor stages of body tempering. Each battle left me with cuts, bruises, and aching muscles, but it also brought valuable combat experience.
On the second day, I encountered a fierce battle with two Ironhide Boars. Their thick hides were like natural armor, but after a brutal fight, I managed to bring them down by striking at their unprotected necks.
The more I fought, the more I understood my body's limits. My movements became sharper. My strikes grew heavier. I learned to read my opponents' patterns, to trust my instincts.
Each evening, I would find a safe place to rest, consuming the pill I had bought to slowly push myself toward the next minor stage.
After nearly a week in the wild, I could feel the marrow within my bones strengthening, slowly preparing for the next breakthrough.
But I wasn't finished yet.
I had come to this forest to hunt beasts, but I realized something else — I was also hunting my own weakness.
The forest didn't scare me anymore.
I was becoming stronger.
And I wasn't done.