8 Rapidly improving

Joshua opened his eyes in complete delight. He had managed to enter the first layer of the Qi condensation realm in about a week of arduous cultivation. It was a feat that few could accomplish, and the power of his system played a huge role.

"Aggr, my belly hurts. It's been a few days since the last time I ate, so I need to find something," Joshua thought.

He left his wooden cabin looking for something to eat. Strong cultivators didn't have the need for human foods, but Joshua was still a newborn in the cultivation. Joshua noticed how everyone was in their own cabins, diligently cultivating the first step of the Glimerring Spirits cultivation art. He had been the first one to succeed, not that it mattered anyway.

The forest was nearby and Joshua was in the mood for a hunt. His body had improved by a large margin after he officially entered the first layer of the Qi Condensation realm. He was eager to test it out.

Joshua had learned how to hunt with his father. It wasn't as if he were an expert, but he could at least follow the tracks of normal creatures. Boars were common around the area, as Joshua spotted a footprint belonging to one.

He ran through the forest without much effort, looking for his prey. The bushes trembled as he passed them like a lightning. Even in the first layer of the Qi Condensation realm, his strength was already unmatchable to those mortals.

It was big. Bigger than normal boars, presumably due to the high amount of Qi near the sect. The boar was near a river, drinking water recklessly. Joshua crouched like a leopard staring at its prey, waiting for the right moment to strike. He then exerted all of his power into his legs, dashing towards the boar.

The animal didn't even get the chance to retaliate, as Joshuas hand strokes his head effortlessly. He felt bad for killing it. The only reason he did it was because he needed to eat.

Joshua put the animal on his shoulders, looking to return to his quarter. It was a large animal, so he intended to share it with his friends from Twin Rivers City. But then, Joshua heard some murmurings, and it didn't look like a good thing.

"Are you sure this is the mountain? This place feels ordinary," a man said to another. They both wore hooded cloaks, so it was hard to tell exactly who they were.

"I'm certain of it. The Green Cauldron Sect lives here. We should go back and report it to our sect leader."

Both left at an astonishing speed. Joshua knew that the only reason they did not notice his presence was that his cultivation was so shallow that he was almost like a human. He was at a loss. Joshua had read the novel up to volume 3, but he was currently living in a time where the MC had not even arrived. Everything was unknown to him, and he didn't feel comfortable with that.

"Could the story change due to my presence here? I didn't do anything yet, so it shouldn't be changing that much, right?" Joshua wondered as he went back to his cabin.

Everyone was still trying to reach the first layer, but Joshua knocked into Niels and Marie's door. His spiritual sense was shallow but still better than the rest of them. He felt that Niels and Marie were not actively cultivating. They were probably taking a rest as they did not manage to reach the first layer.

"Did you hunt his by yourself?" Niels said.

"You're awesome," Marie jumped in joy as they were all hungry.

They built a small campfire, and sat around it, toasting the boar.

"It's really hard to cultivate. I and Marie weren't able to achieve the first layer yet," Niels complained.

"It's okay. I didn't manage to reach it too. Remember that cultivating takes time. That's why all of the strong cultivators lived for centuries," Joshua replied, trying to make them feel better.

"You're Joshua. We need to be patient."

The trio chatted happily. Joshua didn't tell them about him reaching the first layer because, well, it happened too fast. Even those so-called heaven-defying talents couldn't achieve something like that, and Joshua didn't want to attract too much attention. He planned to secretly get stronger, and when the time comes, he would defeat the current sect leader and take the position to himself.

After eating, they all returned to their usual cultivation. Joshua was eager to reach at least the third layer of Qi Condensation. That way he could start to get some sect missions and explore the world. Alchemy was also something he wanted to master. The problem was that he would need at least the sixth layer to start practicing it. One needed to be able to conjure the Spiritual Fire. Having the sixty layer was the bare minimum to be able to conjure a low-quality fire. And it was not recommendable to start practicing that early, but Joshua thought he was capable of due to Miranda helping him out.

Little did Joshua know that his achievement of reaching the first layer did not get unnoticed, as Elder Ji was watching his every move.

"This kid is interesting. I felt like the day the stone turned black in the test. What secrets does this kid have?" Elder Ji thought, stroking his beard.

Joshua's routine consisted of the same. Cultivating nonstop inside his cabin and hunting from time to time to get some food. After three months of diligent cultivation, he managed to reach the second layer of the Qi Condensation Realm. He could now challenge the ninth quarter to improve his residence and his cultivation resources.

The only problem was that he did not know any combat martial arts techniques. But even the slums had their own library with martial arts books. They weren't that good, but it was better than nothing. One needed to be at least at the second layer to enter that place, and Joshua was now capable of.

"All right, Miranda. Help me choose some techniques in this damned place."