The Expedition: Something seems off

A cold breeze blew gently as it ruffled the heavy leaves that hung atop the many branches of each towering tree. 

The silhouette of two persons soon came into view as one of them slowly turned back towards the direction in which they came. 

'Hm, why do I have such a feeling..?' 

Jin Mu asked himself as he pondered why he was suddenly hit with a feeling of anxiousness. However it wasn't long before he was brought out of his thoughts as a sudden hand was gently tapping his shoulder. 

Turning his head towards the hand he met eyes with the young fairy known as Mei Xing

"Are you alright?" She questioned.

Jin Mu's red lips parted, ready to utter a few words of reassurance when suddenly, a bone chilling aura rippled out from the far distance.

Shudder!

"W-wha-" Mei Xing shuddered as goosebumps of horror blossomed atop her skin. Jin Mu felt his body go numb as well as he too was slightly affected by the dreadful aura. 

As if his body acted on pure instinct, a skin-tight aura sprang out from within him, suddenly coating his body in a somewhat protective shell. A white translucent yet strangely visible aura firmly re-enforced his body's defenses instantly disabling the effect of paralysis he had experienced earlier. 

Mei Xing however was not faring as well as Jin Mu was. Unlike Jin Mu she was a mortal and had no such access to the things he had.

Gasp!

She could not help but clutch her throat at this given moment as her oxygen was suddenly cut short. Jin Mu, seeing this, acted instantly, scooping the girl off her feet and retreating a few meters back, stopping only when he had been out of the aura's reach. 

Finally, her breath had returned as her horrified eyes were now latched onto Jin Mu who had gently lay her down into the grassy field. This was the first time since becoming a slave that she had.. feared dying. Indeed, she, like everyone else, was afraid of death. It did not matter how much a person may have suffered, they would at any day choose suffering over death.

Jin Mu shifted back from her personal space and readied himself to return to the territory of this ferocious beast. A beast that stood at the same level as him. 

Walking off, leaving her there he stopped before turning his head towards her. 

"Don't worry and just sit tight here, there shouldn't be any Spirit Beasts around here as they were most likely killed by the owner of that aura. Collect whatever you can find here that is mentioned on the list and await my return." Jin Mu ordered as he simultaneously reassured. Mei Xing did not know what to think as she heard his words, her mind filled with the events which had played out earlier. 

Not waiting for her to snap out of her stupor and respond to him, Jin Mu resumed his walk as he took big strides while approaching the territory of the Spirit Beast fearlessly. 

It did not take Jin Mu long before he had arrived at his previous stop. His vision had now been locked onto the depths of the forest as this was surely where that aura had originated. 

And surely it was. The very moment he had peered into the distant trees and bushes that the same monstrous aura returned. 

Evaluating its strength he felt a troubled tick from atop his forehead before sucking his teeth as it was clear as day that the Spirit Beast held the strength of a Peak Second Layer Qi Condensation Realm cultivator or in other words the same strength as him.

Jin Mu despite his nervousness knew that a match up such as this although totally unexpected was much needed as he was nothing more than an inexperienced cultivator. 

Jin Mu did not see this opportunity as an unfortunate one, no! He was eager! He knew to himself that with this battle he would officially take his first step onto the path of a warrior! Onto the path of a cultivator!  

'This opportunity..I will not waste it!' 

Jin Mu arrogantly flaunted his aura as a giant flare of white began soaring towards the sky. 

The beast as though understanding Jin Mu's intent released a powerful roar as it did not shy from his challenge!

'COME!' Jin Mu screamed mentally as he took on a rough and improper fighting stance which gave way to numerous openings. 

His somewhat developed muscles tensed as his body began to bob up and down, common knowledge telling the boy to instill his use of footwork. 

Swoosh!!

A blur from the distance suddenly came darting forward! Jin Mu, eyeing the blur indicating that his speed was no less than the beast's own, directed his hands forward as he intended on diverting the direction of which the beast was heading by utilizing its own momentum against it. 

And just that he did. 

Jin Mu, whose body was now turnt, faced the new location of the stunned beast. Ignoring the beast's stunned expression he brought his arms towards his body as he tucked his right arm into his side while positioning his left slightly above his chin

With a face covered in anxious beads of sweat he motioned two fingers towards the beast taunting it as he forced a smile of false bravado masking his nervousness.

The single striped tiger that measured a full length of three meters and stretched a width of two now peered at the boy with eyes layered in fury and a clenched jaw of massive canines smothered in froth! 

The single striped tiger suddenly tensed its legs' muscles as it viciously pounced towards Jin Mu. Jin Mu while trying his best to maintain a steady breath took three steps back forcing the tiger to make another leap this time however a bit higher than before. 

Jin Mu revealed a crazed grin as he too began tensing his muscles. 'This is it!' He screamed as his left foot stepped forward and his right arm shook slightly. Jin Mu then rotated his body from his hip to his shoulders before his right hand balled into a fist, swung out. 

Jin Mu connected a devious right jab to the snout of the tiger, denting it severely causing the oncoming claw swipe it had sent out towards his face to fall short. It instead connected with his chest before its body was blasted away. The tiger slammed into the ground as its heavy body left nothing but destruction in its wake. 

BANG!

Finally the tiger's body came to an abrupt stop after it was met with an immovable, massive ancient like tree.

With a bloodied knuckle, busted up due to this being his first time throwing such a heavy blow in his entire life he wasted no time as he rushed towards the stunned and downed beast. 

Swoosh!

The beast, seeing this reacted almost instantly, shifting its body to the side as it evaded the oncoming Jin Mu. It knew now that it should not have underestimated the human in front of it. The beast seemingly vanished before reappearing behind a stunned Jin Mu. 

Sensing the location of the new presence Jin Mu reacted quickly as he spun around quickly before retreating. However it was too late as his arms, intersecting each other, took on the heavy blow of a deadly claw swipe. 

"Gra!" Jin Mu released a pained grunt as he was forced four steps back. He repositioned himself however and once again got into his fighting stance as chunks of meat hung out from the front of his forearms. 

This time however, Jin Mu appeared to be a bit different. The beast saw the aura around the boy slightly changed as though he was no longer a dull and bleak sword. Rather he felt like he had been slightly refined, having his sharpness increase steadily. 

The beast decided to take a rather cautious approach however it would soon come to regret this decision as it thought Jin Mu would do the same. Jin Mu's feet blasted off the ground as he left several deep cracks in his wake. It was only a matter of seconds before Jin Mu appeared behind the tiger, raising his feet up and smashing it down with all his might! He performed a deadly axe kick which had not been foreseen by the beast. 

"RA-" The tiger tried to release a pained roar but was immediately cut short as Jin Mu dashed in front of it and grabbed the fur atop its head before he brought it towards his knee, smashing his knee into the beast's face ruthlessly.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

"GRA!!!" Jin Mu yelled through clenched teeth as he continued to slam his stiff knee into the face of the tiger, sinking it with each strike. His face was twisted into a maniacal grin as blood bathed his entire upper body. One after the next came forth his heavy knee as the sound of mushy meat and crunchy bones blended into one. Jin Mu did not stop his incessant act of madness until the tiger had appeared lifeless to him. Finally, he released his grip of the tiger as its body slumped toward the ground. 

'That was… too easy..' was the first thing that came to Jin Mu's mind. He did not know why but he was suddenly showered with the strange feeling that something was about to go extremely wrong. Saber at this moment however, had broken Jin Mu out of his thoughts as its emotionlessly flavored words of praise came wobbling over. 

"Congratulations Jin on defeating your first Spirit Beast and overcoming the blockage that stood in front of your cultivation path! The system would like to reward you with a gift that would surely adhere to benefiting you on your cultivation path. This will likely be the last time you will be rewarded personally by the system after a fight."

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Item: Seed Of Noir

Tier: Unknown-

Description: The Seed Of Noir is said to be a legendary seed which is located solely beneath the earth of #$$#1X9 and is only accessible to those it chooses to be its host. The Seed Of Noir has seen great potential in you and thus has chosen you, Jin Mu as its host! With the Seed Of Noir the mysteries of your potential and where it truly lay will immediately be revealed to you! Wherever you potentially lay the strongest, you along with the Seed Of Noir will begin cultivating from there on. One ability of the Seed Of Noir is that it assists greatly in increasing the speed of cultivation however that is all you may know as once you fuse with the seed you will know its other abilities.

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Jin Mu had been momentarily stunned by the lengthy description of the item he had now been introduced to; however his mind did not linger nor remain stagnant on this reward as he had still been staring at the giant corpse of the tiger. He could not believe that someone as inexperienced as him took down such a beast. Something felt off. Saber's previous words had by now totally gone over his head as he suddenly felt a bad situation befall himself. 

Swoosh!

Fwoosh!

Swoosh!

The immovable wind suddenly began releasing powerful cleaves of itself as its heavy gale cut through several leaves. As it did, three auras simultaneously boomed forward and together, nearly decimated Jin Mu's own! 

'Gah!!' Jin Mu found it difficult to breathe and so for the first time since his encounter with the Single Striped Tiger asked Saber for ts assistance. Saber then took over Jin Mu's internal energy as it began forcefully circulating it through his reserves cautiously. 

It did not take long for the boy's breath to finally return to him and just as it did the empty field of green welcomed three newcomers. They carried a striking resemblance to the Single Striped Tiger he had killed yet there was something which told them apart from each other. 

That was the auras which encased their bodies. The one on the left side had the aura of a Mid Second Layer Qi Condensation Realm cultivator whereas the one who had stood right had the aura of a Peak Second Layer Qi Condensation Realm cultivator just like the one Jin Mu brutalized. 

But there was one among those three Jin Mu had been eying since their arrival. It was the one who stood at the center of the three. It stood high and mighty, its furry chest puffed out with pride and its eyes carrying a hint of disdain and disgust as it took glances back and forth from Jin Mu and it's now dead companion. 

The tiger which carried two stripes upon its body! It had a heavy aura which hugged its long and massive body tightly! It was the aura of a Third Layer Qi Condensation Realm cultivator! Jin Mu could not accept the fact that such a beast had truly been lurking in such shallow depths of the forest! He simply could not believe it. 

How could he face such a beast? Jin Mu remained glued to the ground, his body completely still as though it was an immovable mountain. 

His brain at this moment went into overdrive as he envisioned hundreds of battles with the three tigers in front of him. And in each he was met with a cruel fate.

In each and every one he… died!

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[Author here look, I apologize for being late updated again for those who don't know I'm very busy with my school work at this time period as in a few months I will be sitting final exams. Truly I'm so scared as this is my last few months in school before I leave and begin working as an adult😭 But yes I already started another chapter and I'll finish it and upload it today! Double upload?? Or triple?!?! Maybe it depends really]