Cultivation

Zhishi Wu waited for the tiger like creature to eat the rabbit before attacking it, he was aware that no matter how different it was compared to regular creatures it still would be at its most vulnerable in the middle of a meal. He grasped the sword and stared down the beast as it slowly lifted the rabbit and tossed it into its mouth.

"NOW!" he shouted internally as he jumped off the tree at lightning speeds and came crashing down on the beast's nape, the sword was lodged deep into its neck as only the hilt remained visible on the surface of the skin.

ROAR!

The tiger like beast erupted in fury and let out a mind curdling sound that sent Zhishi Wu flying back into a tree.

THUMP!

He felt like he broke something on impact, the beast continued to flail around until it went limp on its left side and turned its sight on him, at this point it was moving using only its right limbs and even the left side of its face was paralyzed.

"I injured its spinal cord but it only disabled one side of its body." he said as he slowly stood up.

The beast was crawling towards him as fast as it could, despite being on death's door it did not relent in its aggression.

He also stood up and adjusted his shoulder which had popped out of its socket during the exchange, at this point he had no weapons but didn't want to fight it barehanded.

He quickly dug his hands into the ground and removed stones that were within reach, he quickly positioned them into his palms and started to scan for openings on the beast.

"These stones will help my punches strike with even more power." he thought to himself he had learned all the intricacies of combat and martial arts back on earth, even if he wasn't able to demonstrate them perfectly on earth he still had an abundance of theoretical knowledge.

The beast got close enough to lunge at him and pounced on Zhishi Wu with all the strength it could muster.

As the beast was about to land on him with all the weight that came with it Zhishi Wu quickly got into a slightly angled curled position and launched himself straight into the beast with all the strength he could.

The scene that followed was extremely grotesque as Zhishi Wu quite literally pierced the beast's abdomen and exited on the other side like he was a bullet going through a person.

He wasn't able to land on his feet and ended up falling on his face, he crawled to the nearest tree and propped himself up against the trunk. He let out a deep sigh as he closed his eyes for a moment.

He had the initial idea when he came to this world that he could enjoy a comfortable life as a merchant and he would be able to learn along the way but cultivation, people plotting against him and even nature all restricted his ability to live a peaceful life.

"I need to take this beast back to the cave." He thought to himself as he was panting trying to catch his breath.

Once he had rested up enough he forced himself to stand up and pick up the beast, this time he was extra careful and paid attention for any signs of new aggressors as he hurried back to the cave.

…

"You fight in strange ways, you're a weird child." The enforcer was finished with her cultivation and looked straight at Zhishi Wu as he dumped the huge body of the tiger by the cave.

"Efficient is probably the word you are seeking, Goldilocks." Zhishi Wu said as he began to cut out a chunk of flesh from the beast, he was beginning to malfunction due to the starvation he was facing and couldn't help but give her a nickname, he really hated the idea of something not having a proper way to be addressed or classified.

"Don't give me nicknames as you please." Goldilocks stood up and released some of her aura, the pressure was so immense that any small creature in the general vicinity was turned to paste.

Zhishi Wu although struggling against it didn't budge "You want to kill me go ahead, I'm right here." he grabbed branches to start a fire as he said this.

"Tsk! Don't you have any concept of consequences ." Goldilocks retracted her aura.

"I only worry about things I can alter myself, why would I stress about a meteor that may strike me at any time, it's out of my control." He said as he struck stones together to create a fire.

"I see." Goldilocks said as she saw Zhishi Wu roasting his tiger meat over the open fire.

Zhishi Wu slowly took bites out of the roasted food. He was right about the food satiating him he even felt that his wounds were closing faster than they normally would.

"That beast you are consuming is a spirit beast." Goldilocks said, she had seen the look of surprise on Zhishi Wu's face when he had started consuming the beast no matter how hard he had tried to hide his expression.

"A spirit beast?" Zhishi Wu was up front about asking questions now, he did not have any trace of arrogance left, if there was a chance to learn he would surly take it.

"A spirit beast is an animal that has undergone Qi condensation, this tiger beast was in the middle stages of Qi condensation."

Zhishi Wu closely observed the meat he was eating and he was able to see the residual aura on it, he now understood what it was.

"It was above me in cultivation, should I not have lost miserably to it." he said as he continued eating.

"In theory this should be the case. In this situation you were able to practically half kill it with a surprise attack and then made use of some unorthodox tactics to dispatch it."

Zhishi Wu was stunned.

"You saw all that?"

"Of course, nothing in this entire jungle can escape my sights." she had a smug expression on her face as she said this.

"..."

"Anyway back to the topic of spirit beasts, eating spirit beasts has wondrous effects like the increased healing you are experience, of course." She waved her hand and the piece of meat that Zhishi Wu was munching on flew over to her.

She took a small bite out of it before tossing it back "Its effects decrease the further up in cultivation you go, for me to benefit like you, I would have to slay a beast that could probably wipe this entire subcontinent off the map."

"You sure love bragging huh, gold-i-locks" Zhishi Wu said with a slight chuckle, he was in a difficult situation but what would he gain from brooding he might as well have some fun.

"You like to crack jokes, let's see if you're as funny when I leave and all the foundation establishment beasts have you as an option on the menu."

Zhishi Wu let out an awkward smile.

"I retract my previous statement goldi- respected Enforcer."

Silence overtook the camp as Zhishi Wu continued to eat and Goldilocks looked up at the sky staring into the stars.

"What is it you really want from me?" Zhishi Wu was finished eating and was ready to discuss what was truly eating away at him.

Goldilocks looked at him with a surprised expression and then a relaxed one.

"I want you t-"

Zhishi Wu looked at her with a disgusted expression.

"I didn't think the enforcer was a lecher, praying on young children."

Goldilocks immediately released her aura once more and buried Zhishi Wu's head into the ground.

"Let me finish my statement."

Zhishi Wu got his head out of the ground and looked at her with an attentive expression.

" I need you to do me a favor once you are qualified to reach the mainland."

She looked at him with the most serious expression that he had seen from her.

"I-."

"I presume the better thing to address right now is what you want." she interjected

Zhishi Wu was ready to reply instantly but froze up, what did he want? He obviously wanted knowledge, but it was unattainable to him currently. He had thought about this earlier after fighting the tiger but adversity was unavoidable in this world.

"I guess I want to become someone that will no longer face adversity, I want to be someone who only has answers not questions, I want to be someone who can look back at his life and say that it has been a success. I do not want to be someone who dies wondering what could have been."

"I didn't ask for you to recite a novel." Goldilocks thought to herself but she didn't say it out loud, as it would have been in poor taste.

"What you seek can only be obtained with strength, I will set you forth on the path you desire, all I ask is that you assist me one time when I call upon you."

The sun had slowly vanished and the night had set in, the flames that burned in the campfire were bouncing off of her golden hair and pupils, Zhishi Wu found himself hypnotized for a moment before he shook it off, he had to be careful not to look at her for too long, it wasn't good for his heart.

"So let me guide you into the Qi condensation stage." she said with a smile.