18 1st level of Body Tempering
''Morya, you better give up on the fruit, else you will come to regret it!'' The thin squinty-eyed man with short hair and unshaved beard threatened while skillfully swinging his double maces.
''Krikk, you dirty thief, are you threatening me?'' Morya butchered the skinny monkeys around him as he replied with his vigorous voice. His face was a bit pale due to previously sustained injury, but he was still as lively as a bull.
Krikk was the leader of 'Closed Eyes Mercenaries.' He was on the same level as Morya, except more infamous for his deeds.
''Why listen to him, boss? As long as you order and I'll cut him up.'' His subordinate laughed sinisterly as he harvested the monkeys' lives with his bronze sickle.
People on both sides were struggling to deal with hundreds of monkeys, yet they still had time to quarrel. It was evident how intense the competition for the fruit was.
''I'll get the fruits.'' The short-haired beauty dressed in tight leather clothes surprisingly advanced through the path infested with monkeys with her excellent footwork. When needed, her dagger flashed, slashing their necks, effortlessly taking their lives. Not half an unnecessary movement was made.
''Don't be rash, Mia!'' Morya's expression changed as he was worried about his daughter's safety, but seeing her skillfully swimming against the tide and effortlessly taking their lives, he was a bit reassured.
''Leave it to me. I won't take risks.'' Mia voiced resolutely as she somersaulted through the air, used the monkeys' heads as stepping stones, landed on the nearby tree branches and kept moving forward.
''Jiejiejie~'' A sinister laughter came from Closed Eyes mercenaries' side. Mia felt the approaching danger as she hastily dodged the incoming arrow. It was a close call.
''Whoops, I missed.'' The short man snorted as he prepared another arrow.
''Krikk, I'll fight it out with you!'' Morya raged as he slaughtered his way towards Closed Eyes mercenaries.
''Kukuku, glad to be in your service, any time.'' Krikk met Morya's greatsword slash with his double maces, unexpectedly overpowering him.
Blood trickled down Morya's lips as his wound opened, but he didn't back off and instead relentlessly fought.
''Boss, wait for us!''
''It's dangerous!''
''Brothers, follow me.''
Swallow mercenaries were alarmed as they also followed Morya, afraid he would be quickly suppressed alone.
Soon, a complicated battle ensued in full swing.
Roar!
The red-skinned ape was enraged. It lifted up a small boulder and threw it in their direction.
''Careful!'' Someone exclaimed, but it was already too late.
Two people from Swallow mercenary gang were turned into a meat paste, dying ugly deaths.
''Brother!'' Someone shouted in grief.
''Jiejiejie, even lady luck is on our side.'' The Closed Eyes henchman chuckled, delighted over other side's misfortune.
Morya felt pained in his heart, as his brothers were dying, but he could only temporarily lock the grief deep in his heart, as there was no time for that.
Deep in their hearts, the mercenaries were prepared for death. This wasn't pessimism, but hard truth. Their job was about dancing on the palm of death for a bit more profit. Generally, such people were unbridled, as they lived every day like it was their last. After all, they didn't know whether their next trip would be the last, whether they could return...
As the mercenaries were always close to death, the bond they shared with their brothers was extraordinary. As they went through life and death situations with their brothers, they treasured each other more, as they knew they could trust their backs to them. That's why their death hurt their fellows this much, yet...they could accept it. All of them knew, today or tomorrow they would share a similar fate.
They were prepared, hence they could move on fast, but it didn't mean they would forget...
The battle continued.
From the original 20, there were only 16 people left on their side, while Closed Eyes mercenaries greatly outnumbered them with 23 people. The difference in numbers was almost half.
Roar!
The red-skinned ape's fur stood on end as it was completely enraged, seeing his subordinates dying left and right, their heads exploding like watermelons.
Dozens of bigger and stronger looking monkeys joined the fight, swarming in their direction at its command.
''Cheh, the dumb monkey finally realized he can't do shit to us with ordinary soldiers, eh?'' The bronze sickled man ridiculed. Though he was laughing at the ape's stupidity, inwardly he was cursing as he was already somewhat tired out.
As everyone was busy doing their own thing, Leto wasn't idle.
Keeping the distance, he went around the ape and arrived behind it.
After calculating the distance, he took in a deep breath and launched the grapple hook, which latched onto the Coral tree branch.
'Here I go!' He traveled through the air and soon appeared at his destination.
Meanwhile, Mia was confronting the furious ape, nimbly dodging its physical attacks.
''It's you!'' She cried out as she noticed the thieving Leto, causing him to lightly shudder. He hastily snatched the fruits and stashed them away in his backpack.
Suddenly, the ape was also alerted. It turned its elongated head and roared in madness.
''Shit!'' Leto didn't have time to fool around as he quickly hooked to another ancient tree's thick branch and flew away.
The furious ape barraged fists on the ancient tree trunk, causing it to splinter bit by bit, but it was far as it could go.
Leto was secretly frightened as he almost fell from the tree due to tremors the ape created by banging its fists onto the tree.
Looking down at everyone like ants, Leto grinned in ridicule. He was temporarily safe, so he decided to not waste time and started eating the red-veined Coral fruit in big bites.
The fruit had a strange bitter-sweet taste, but Leto didn't care about its taste. A few moments later, he felt his body was on fire as his skin turned red. Panting heavily, he gritted his teeth and coped with it.
In the end, he felt his blood boil so much, he let out a roar, following which the feeling slowly subsided. His skin returned to original color too.
He clenched his fists excitedly as he felt invigorated.
He silently checked his status again.
[ Leto Lockhart
Cultivation: Body tempering, 1st level
Cultivation Technique: Star attraction technique
Linked Celestial entities: Moon
Stardust: 100
Cultivation arts: Moonlight Tiara
Daos: Motion (Low)
Bloodline: None
Skills: Shooting technique (Mortal, 1st level)
Vitality Essence: 498
Attributes:
Strength: 115;
Spirit: 104;
Internal: 16;
Qi: 0 ]
''I finally reached the first level of body tempering!'' Leto exclaimed in excitement.
'Eh?' His celebration came to a sudden halt as he saw a slim figure rapidly leaping on the tree branches, quickly approaching him.
His expression turned cold as he readied his crossbow.
Soon after, Mia landed on the branch he was standing on, lightly panting.
''What do you want?'' Leto asked coldly.
Mia bit her lower lip as she asked. ''We sacrificed a lot for this fruit. Please, hand one over.''
''And what if I don't?'' Leto sneered.
''H, how can you say that?! If not for you, how could little junior have died?'' Mia spoke indignantly with clenched fists.
Of course, Leto instantly understood what she was implying.
''Heh, if not for me, more of you would have died. You should be clear about that. I don't owe you anything. Now, scram.'' He told her off.
''You...'' For a moment, anger flashed by her eyes. Her hands indistinctly motioned for the dual daggers strapped at her thighs, but she quickly paused.
Of course, Leto didn't miss her small movements. He coldly chuckled in his heart.
'If not for me killing the giant boar in one shot, you wouldn't be standing there, peacefully discussing.' He thought.
''I know you are a good person. You saved us. We really need that fruit. You already ate once, so it's no longer useful to you, as its efficacy drops by more than half if more than one is taken. I will forever remember this favor.'' Mia gave her last attempt at persuasion.
''You must have misunderstood. I might be a good person, but I'm not so charitable. Who said it's no use to me? I can give it to my friends or family. Heck, even if I eat another one, despite its lowered efficacy, it's still incredibly useful. There's no room for discussion.'' Leto gave a final push, curious how she'd react if he completely ignored her soft approach. He was hoping she would reveal her true colors, so he could kill her without remorse.
After a moment of silence, Mia's shoulders weakly dropped as she sighed.
Leto was fully alert, not believing she would give up so easily.
''My people are in danger. At least help us for a bit. That's not too much to ask for, right?'' Worry was written all over her face as she was looking down. She appeared to be ready to jump off and go her own way, not having any hopes of him agreeing.
Leto was slightly surprised by her reaction. He thought they would have to do it the hard way, but unexpectedly, she gave up. He didn't think much about her last proposal, as he wanted to immediately deny, but upon further contemplation, he concluded her request wasn't excessive.
After all, they were really laying down their lives for this thing. He had no qualms over acting shameless and running off with the treasure while leaving this group of besieged strangers to die, but...somehow his heart was feeling uncomfortable with it.
Leto wasn't a normal youth. He was someone who had once reached relatively high realm, so he knew how important it was to live with unfettered heart.
It didn't matter why he wanted to help them.
He might be afraid to feel guilty if he unreasonably stole the fruits and abandoned them.
He might have formed a good opinion about these mercenaries, as Mia didn't try to take his things with force and instead, tried to persuade him.
He might even secretly want to impress the girl.
Whatever the reason, it didn't matter.
What was important, was that, if he acted opposite to his beliefs, his heart would no longer be unrestrained, which would cause more adverse effects in the future, than any cultivation bottleneck could cause.
It might not be as exaggerated, but Leto didn't want to take any risks. Instinctively, he remembered wise Seer's words. 'It's not healthy to always follow reason.'
''Alright, but don't expect too much,'' Leto replied.
''Eeh?'' Mia looked at him in astonishment, with open mouth.
Leto chuckled. ''Let's go.'' He leaped down, not waiting for her. After coming back to sense, she hastily followed.
