New Manuals! (1)

Kai checked his system notifications log and noticed that he had used [20 Qi] during both fights.

"Ever since that woman showed up I've been burning through my hard-earned Qi faster than I can imagine". He gained [10 Qi] from the subsequent kills, but with all things considered, he still came out with [10 Qi] less than he started with. Kai was annoyed, but he decided to look at the bright side.

"Well at least I can sell these two [Fungus-Ape] and the few [Slime-Vine] gallbladders I found, so I didn't completely lose today".

Kai walked over to the [Fungus-Ape] carcasses. Kai had done some research and knew that apart from their tough hides, the [Fungus-Ape] were not too useful to crafters and alchemists. Eastern Swamp would usually not have many Hunters because of this reason. The beasts here just weren't worth hunting.

Kai expertly skinned the first of its hide, then moved on to the next one. Once done, he strapped them onto his backpack and got ready to leave. Just these two hides were quite massive and would restrict his movements too much in a fight.

The hides were also quite heavy so he decided to cut his losses there and call it a day. This place wasn't the great grind spot it was before.

"At this rate, the [Slime-Vine] in this whole swamp will be extinct by tomorrow. I wonder if they will be able to recover their populations..." Kai didn't really care about them but was rather more concerned with losing such a great hunting spot.

Kai lugged his backpack and turned around to leave. However, after taking a few steps, Kai had a sudden thought. He turned back to face the two [Fungus-Ape] carcasses and thought about turning them into manuals.

Kai was with Su Ling and Su Fang the first time he killed a [Fungus-Ape], so he couldn't actually turn it into a manual without exposing his secrets. At the time, Kai decided to just be happy with the hide.

However, now things were different. Kai looked around once more to make sure there wasn't anyone in the area. The place was relatively quiet after he killed the beasts.

Kai assumed that the other two were either dead, still chasing the armor-clad woman, or on their way back. Either way, he didn't have any time to waste.

Kai immediately used [Qi Detection] on the two bodies.

[Grade-2 [Fungus-Ape] Qi 325]

[Grade-2 [Fungus-Ape] Qi 388]

Kai remembered that before the system went to sleep, it had said any item with more than [100 Qi] would guarantee an E-Rank manual. He would also get a 1% chance of getting a D-Rank manual.

For Kai who still considered some of his F-Rank manuals to still be useful and irreplaceable, anything E-Rank or above just seemed too godly.

At this point, Kai only had one E-Rank Manual [Corrosive Dragon Stance], which was single-handedly the best offensive skill Kai had at the moment. It was also the reason why his [Slime-Vine] killing speed had increased.

"Alright Let's give it a try. System, please turn this big guy into a manual for me!"

=[Create Manual]=

=[ Base material [Grade-2 Fungus-Ape] selected. This will cost [10 Qi] would you like to proceed?]=

"Hold on System, wasn't it [5 Qi] last time?"

"..."

"Are you hoping I won't notice you increasing the prices?. At least tell me why it's going up..."

"..."

"Sigh, Fine use the [10 Qi] that I used my blood, sweat, and tears to earn!"

Kai put the system's Qi robbing ways out of his mind. He was too excited to be bothered. it had been a while since he tried creating any manuals.

Previously, Kai had noticed that the chances of getting a useful F-Rank manual were far too low, so back then it wasn't worth the Qi he had to spend. He had rather focused on increasing his Internal cultivation level to make himself stronger.

Kai knew that if he hadn't reached the Fourth Level of Qi Condensation, his fight with the armor-clad woman would have probably ended a lot differently, so he didn't regret his decision to focus on Increasing his cultivation.

Kai was a little hesitant to gamble his Qi on manuals when he could use it for guaranteed power, but, Kai felt without the [Slime-Vine] to hunt, his Qi gather rate would drastically reduce so he may as well use it to gamble a little.

"No matter what I get, it should be minimum E-Rank so I'm happy with this gamble"

Kai watched the large [Fungus-Ape] turn into little motes of light as it scattered into the air. The lights floated around in a mysterious pattern before they gathered again into a small three-page booklet which he willed into his mind.

==[New Entry Recorded]==

=[Martial Arts Manual]

>Unnamed Martial Arts Manual [E-Rank] based on [Grade-2] Fungus-Ape]

[The amalgamations of beast and nature can trace their lineage to the first Primordial Chaos. At its origin, Primordial Chaos cannot be created or destroyed, it only exists]

>[Ability 1, Passive]: Steadily increase physical defense when you are attacked.

[Cost]: 1 Qi per hit received.

[Duration]: 10 seconds per stack, stacks up to 11 times.

>[Active 2, Active]: Gain 'poise', making you immovable for 1 second.

[Cost]: 2 Qi

[Cool-down]: 3 minutes

"It came!". Kai was giddy.

"This doesn't seem to be an attack manual, but it still looks really good!. Also as expected of an E-Rank manual, it has two abilities"

It was a defensive Martial Arts Manual which was beyond Kai's expectations. He was in dire need of more defense so this skill was actually quite welcome. The reason Kai was hesitant to fight in head-on battles was because of his iffy defenses, so with the ability to increase his defense mid-battle, he would be more open to these types of fights.

He had to be hit to receive the benefit from the ability, but Kai was already used to this from [Corrosive Dragon Stance], so it wasn't a big deal. In fact, the two abilities seemed to work well together which was what caught his attention.

As for the 1-second immovability, Kai would have to experiment with it. It seemed like a short time, but if he used it with the right timing, he could probably do some interesting things.

Kai had a fourth slot open thanks to his recent breakthrough, so he learned the new Martial Arts Manual without having to forget anything. As for the name, Kai decided to keep going with the 'Dragon Stance' naming series for his Martial Arts Manual's.

"Let's go with [Primordial Dragon Stance]!". As usual, Kai patted himself on the back for his superb naming sense.

He looked over at the second [Fungus-Ape] carcass, then over to his cool-down for [Create Manual].

[1 hour, 56minutes, 37 seconds]

Kai sighed. He didn't want to leave it since it could be another good manual, but at the same time, he didn't want to stay out here in the open and risk being attacked.

Kai dragged the body over to a group of large reeds growing from a nearby marsh. He also grabbed some large shrubbery and used it to hide the beast's body as best as he could.

"I guess I'll keep looking for [Slime-Vine] around this area for a while. Wait for me, I'll be back for you soon my precious, don't go anywhere" Kai said lovingly as he caressed the body. If anyone were here to see him, they would think he was a psychopath.

Kai left the area in a good mood, secretly hoping to find something to try his new skill on. His right arm was still heavily damaged and his legs were a little strained from the continuous Qi enhancements, but he felt like he could go a few more rounds if he had to before his body gave up on him.