7 Hunting.

After I stopped posing like a twat, I ran around the periphery of the Black Swamp. After running for approximately half an hour, in which my stamina didn't even drop, I finally found my first victim. A deer the size of a sedan. I almost straight up ran up to it, but then I remembered some things.

'System, what's my SP count?"

[16830]

'Ok, purchase [Soul extracting technique], [Merchant's Wet Dream], [Law Inspecting Eye].'

[Done.]

Ffffuuuck.

That's some idiocy right there. Next time I should just purchase one thing at a time.

Due to the pain in my head, I started hypervilenting. Can you guess what a deer would do when hearing someone hypervelenting? Yeah, Run.

Ahhh, I guess he's lucky. I'm not chasing after it when I can probably find some more aggressive beast.

Ok, the headache subsided. And, now I know how to use the skills. Ok, first, [Law Inspecting Eye].

Oh wow. That's…even better than LSD. And half of those colours I don't know. Neat. Now, on a more serious note, the red lines probably have something to do with fire. Yeah, and if I look down, I can see so much Earth Law that it's not even funny. There are some dark red lines coming from that direction. What is this feeling? Bloodlust? Rage? Hmm, probably have something to do with battle.

Which means there's something alive.

Which means there's something I can kill.

Yeah, Let's do that.

I turned the skill off and on while I was tracking the red lines of war.

'System, how come I can use this skill even though I didn't even start to cultivate soul force, which the skill uses?'

[Well, earlier I mentioned that due to your difficult life on earth, your soul was reinforced to a level similar to a silver ranked Demon Spiritualist.

Now, Every living being has a Soul Force, as every living being has a soul. What you refer to as cultivating soul force, is, in essence, strengthening your Soul, it's just that all that growth is contained in your soul realm due to world laws, from which it then bleeds into your soul, reinforcing it. That is also the reason why older demon spiritualist are stronger when comparing to someone who is in the same realm but is younger. In the later power realms this becomes even more evident.]

'So, you're saying that instead of using Soul Force to power up my techniques, I directly use my soul?'

[Yes, it's also why the technique is easier to use and is more effective, as it's instinctive to use a thing that you had your whole life]

Shiit…

No wonder I can use it quite easily, as I already was an entirely spiritual body when talking when god, so I must be used to a presence of soul in pure, unbodily way.

Hmm, food for thought.

But not now, as I finally came upon the battle that I was tracking through the red lines.

Well, they don't look that strong.

One is a huge snow-white gorilla, probably came here from a snow-wind ape tribe that lives somewhere in the mountain range. Its opponent is a boar of bright yellow colour with huge tusks that shine like metal but are currently bloodied.

Ok, observe time.

[Merchant's Wet Dream] activate.

Oh wow. The boar demon spirit is worth 341 points. So the boar should be around Gold 3-star realm. But I should treat it as solid gold 4-star.

Next to the ape. 325. Not bad. Although weaker than the boar in purely value, so in a sense, strength, but it makes up with the advantage of opposable thumbs, and how it utilises them.

Namely uprooting a tree and then playing whack-a-boar.

The fight is intense. The boar charges like a drunk bull. Always. Due to high stamina usage, it's already running on gasses.

The gorilla tough is playing this smart. It doesn't engage with the boar in a war-o-tug, but rather nimbly hops away and smashes the tree into the boar when it has an opportunity.

After watching for a few minutes, both beasts are visibly tired. The boar froths at the mouth, and the gorilla is breathing heavily, clutching his pierced arm. Possibly an outcome of a mistake at the start of the battle.

Yup, its showtime.

I leap out of the bushes, instantly arriving next to gorilla by deploying my legs with a maximum effort. The gorilla doesn't even have the time to react when I punch, with all my strength behind, at its heart. And another one to the throat, and another one to the groin. Both fists from the sides, while the gorilla is keeling in pain of having his dick annihilated, go to the area between his ears and eyes. Unconscious.

I turn to the boar and realise half my techniques won't work as those are for people.

Hmmm, well, I still have half of them, and I can adapt.

I rush the boar full speed, about two times as fast as the boar when he's charging. Now that the animal saw me, it instantly started to charge. No matter.

I leapt up, going linear to the boar's spine. With all my might I punch out with the fist in a place where, I assume, should his skull connect with his spine.

Success.

The boar crashes to the ground while still charging, causing him to slide several meters nose-first into the ground.

That was…surprisingly easy.

Ok, time to extract them demon spirits!

I come up to the ape's body with a spring in my steps and using the technique, I plunge my hand into its chest cavity. The ape wakes up with a startled look in its eyes and tries to move, but shortly slumps back, this time dead.

That's…a bit disturbing.

No, I need to stay strong. I will have to do this thousand of times in the future.

Ok, next, the Boar Demon-soul.

Extract!

Success. Good. Now, I should inspect them using the [Law Inspecting Eye]

Hmm, as expected. The Gorilla has a large amount of Snow and Wind Laws around it, with traces of Yin Law, which I assume is a higher tier one.

The Boars soul has a large number of earth Laws, with bits and pieces of Metal Law.

Hmmm, should I sell them now? Well, I don't have anyone I could give them to, and I always can get more.

Yeah, sell it.

666 SP gained.

"…"

[…]

Is this some kind of foreshadowing? I hope not.

Okay, enough brooding. I grabbed both bodies of the demons beats and placed them in my inventory. I can use the meat to trade for stones, so I wouldn't need to waste the points for buying pork. Even though it's just a couple of points, every bit counts.

After making sure I didn't forget anything, I left the place in search of other prey.

As I was travelling, I revised what I could do better in that fight. I should refine my martial arts and create a style specifically to deal with demon beasts that don't have a humanoid body. But it's tricky. There can be bird type beasts, four-footed ones, even enlarged beetles wouldn't be out of the realm of possibilities. Hmmm.. Truly tricky.

Well, no matter, I can think about it when I meditate. Now I should be trashing that fiery tiger that I just came across.

Show me your worth!

461

Shit.

That's the problem.

It either can be a 5-star gold, or between 1 and 2-star Black gold.

Hmmm.

[Law inspecting Eye]!

Aha, the Laws of Fire and Blood is really thick around him, so it must mean he's a black gold beast.

I'm so fucked.

He instantly rushed at me, with a speed of 2 me. So speed battle is out of the question.

I narrowly dodge his plunge by leaping backwards. The ground where the tiger landed instantly shattered.

Power tournament is also a no.

The Tiger tried to lunge at me again. I sidestepped to my right and whirled my left leg anti-clockwise, impacting the tiger's ear.

*roar*

Oh, don't whine.

I stepped closed while the tiger was shaking head to clear the spinning in his ear. My left hook impacted his left ear, next I jumped onto the back of the tiger, essentially riding. This is fun.

The tiger felt something on his back and tried to shake off that something, namely me.

I held to my dear life.

While the tiger trashed and I was clinging to it, I asked the system to purchase something similar to a sword-shaped from energy. It fucked me up.

[Spirit Force Materialization

Price: 1600

Use: Lets user shape tangible weapons from Soul force.]

Ok, no magic swords, due to my piss poor skill with the technique, but a spear should be doable.

Without letting off the tiger, who was still trashing, I formed a spear in my hand…which instantly bypassed tigers skin and muscles and bones and brain and.. dead.

That's …anticlimactic.

Oh well.

I extracted the Demon-spirit, just this time placing it in my inventory and not exchanging it for points, as I feel is quite a nice candidate for my first Sacrifice(referring to Demon of The Many techniques).

∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆

Home sweet home.

After tidying up a bit, as I was quite a mess after the fight with the Fire tiger, I came back to the village.

As I was nearing The Congee Shop, I noticed that there were several guards placed around the place. Weirdly, they didn't stop me but did nod at me as a show of respect, I guess.

I entered the shop, ready, and more than willing to spend the rest of the day with Yun Ling. I weirdly became even more attache to her.

Hmmm.

I saw her selling, well, congee and saying farewell to a customer, a kind old lady.

"Hey Ling-chanmmmmmm"- just as she saw me, she rushed at me and hugged with a strength of a bear. She smells nice.

" Ed-d-do, do you even know how worried I was about you! And why didn't you tell you are that strong!!"-she looked at me with wet, red, and accusing eyes.

"Wha? What do you mean?"- I asked unsure why she even cared about me.

" Then how should I react when a person I care about blabs heroic words and how I should protect myself, and doesn't come back the rest of the day! And when I asked the villagers said Xiao Kuang tried to bully you but got his ass kicked, then you warned them about causing trouble, and vanished!"-God, she's hot…headed.

"L-Let me explain, ok?"- I asked.

She then separated from me and sat on a nearby chair, while giving me 'you're in trouble' glare.

Unexplainably, when she separated from I somehow felt sad.

" You see, the reason I didn't tell you that I'm strong is because of me not being strong."- I said.

"What do you mean not being strong, then who punched Xiau Kuang to half-death!"- she asked with a pout.

" You angry because of that?"-I asked unsure what her current expression meant.

"Of course not, you dummy. I just- I just feel like you played with me for your own amusement. I feel like you only came here for help, which you didn't need, only for a joke. And a bad one at that…"- She started telling but got quieter and quieter as she went on.

" Look." I cut her off." I really was weak back then, I came here for help because when I saw you I instantly knew you are a good person. I didn't play with you. I really did need help. Your help more specifically. Remember my request for those stones? Strange it was, yeah? The truth is, those stones are special and using a unique family technique, I can quickly reinforce my body. Even to the black gold. Understood?"-I asked with helplessness in my voice. If she doesn't want to believe it, I truly have no way of proving it.

I mean, would you believe if someone, who you knew for less than four days suddenly told you he has a way to bypass several years of intense training by using some stones.

"Mmhm"- She mmh-ed with a downcast voice.

Shit. I need to do something. Ah.

" So, you are now a…black gold warrior?"- she asked.

"Y-Yeah."-I said unsure of myself.

"Hmmm…strange…"-she said with a mysterious voice.

" What's strange?"- I followed like a sheep.

"I don't remember being able to scare such strong experts, hahahah"- she said with a barely contained laugh, which later burst out in full glory.

I just stood there blank-faced, staring at Yun Ling laughing like an angel. Yup, that smile is truly gorgeous.

" You're not mad?"- I asked afraid of the answer.

"Of course not silly, just…from now on share your plans with me, if they include me or my shop, okay?"

"Yeahhh…"-I answered absent-mindedly.

After that fiasco of a conversation, we talked about small things. Yun Ling, being the awesome person she is didn't bring up the whole zero-to-hero thing again. We did discuss out favourite foods, colours, demon beasts. What adventures we had. I told multiple stories, from Batman to Spiderman.

She especially liked the spider man and his 'great responsibility…' motto.

Eventually, evening came and we both said our good-nights.

Finnaly, bed.

Oh yeah, nearly forgot.

'System, bring up Bloodline, Perk and Fusion sub-categories and explain what they are.'

[Bloodlines: A way for the user to enhance himself/his body beyond what soul power can accomplish.

Will fuse selected bloodline into the user's body, giving and unlocking certain perks.]

[Fire Demon bloodline.

Cost: 15 000 000

Use: Gives used Enchanted Fire attribute, Gives Greater Fire Resistance to the user. Unlocks Molten Heart. Pyro Breath. Incinerating Claws. User can select if he wants to gain Fire Demon Characteristics.]

[Perks: A way for user to go above what Soul force can accomplish, from passive effects, to devastating combos.]

[Water Breath

Cost: 20 000

Use: Let's user breath in any water.]

[Reinforced Bones

Cost: 25 000

Use: Reinforces the bones, giving them way more hardness and resistance to breaking.]

[Fusion: Let's user create, his own, or fuse already purchased techniques, bloodlines, perks, ¶°•∆`¢\]

'Wha- SYSTEM!!! Why are the bloodlines so expensive?'

[First: Every Bloodline gives and unlocks otherwise unattainable perks. Second, by possessing a bloodline of a legendary being, your very being will be elevated. Same rank people won't be able to give you a challenge. Body strength, Soul Force quality will both be elevated.]

Oh, okay. Well, then..

'What about the bloodlines that give me body strength? Will I still have them after Martial Ancestor?'

[No. The bloodlines belong only to the body. They will simply be deleted after Martial Ancestor Transformation. The Perks related to the bloodlines that don't change the body permanently will be retained taught.]

Shit, so no bloodlines before Martial Ancestor? Bummer.

'What about perks like [Water Breathing]? It doesn't say that it will change the body, but how can I breathe underwater?'- I asked, not understanding due to my still earthen thinking.

[Those kind of perks activate when the environment allows it. So no, it won't be deleted. Same with Resistance type perks, as they are, talking in the crudest way, activatable.]

Hmm.

With that information I drifted off to sleep, planning my build.

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