What a Letdown

'I can be at least strong enough to last 3 months fighting off Banshee summon passers by, right?'

Kai's problem is a serious one. Before, he did not worry about Banshees coming for him. He was impotent but now, he was more than fertile.

Although he is relatively safer now because he was a lone man with balls in Iron Beasts village, he should still worry. The Empire still doesn't know how Banshees track their prey. They say that it may be the smell or maybe they just magically know where their favorite food is.

Due to being a lone food source in the outskirts, not many Banshees will come his way. But, there surely will be.

"This is troublesome! I need to get stronger. Fast!" Kai did not waste any more of his time and just ran back home inside his room after eating and drinking water. He was a low level cultivator but he was still a cultivator which required less food and rest for sustenance and recovery.

Zhou Kai was pressured as he should be.

The weakest of Banshees are known to clap low-level Mortal Realm weaklings like him while the average Banshee can delete his balls from their sack with a single swipe of their long, sharp-clawed arms.

Not to mention the strong Banshee summons, Even the weakest of them can Threaten his balls. Everytime he thinks about it now, he can't help but feel cold.

He now knows the feeling of the men in 21 who were like powerless chicks waiting to be swooped on by predators. Thinking of how the Banshees will just yank his balls off his body, his ball shrank into his body.

'Is it too late to go back in time? NO! Being Impotent is worse than being in this situation! I just need to get stronger!'

With that, Zhou Kai entered his mental dimension again.

There was no use waiting for the spirit herbs. He must do something while his uncle Chen gains some results.

Zhou Kai chose to study the other manual which was the Life Draining Palm. Once again, Kai was in a trance lost in his own mental dimension.

'Yggdrasil had only one martial art in his arsenal. But this one art led him to the top of this world. This peerless martial art is the Life Draining Palm.'

Life Draining Palm has 5 different movements in it. First is the Life Seeker Strike. The 1st movement is to be on a modified horse stance. Basically do the horse stance but position yourself sideways of your opponent with open palms stretched on opposite sides. Life seeking means to carefully observe opponents and strike areas where life is abundant. In short, strike where it hurts or in vital organ areas. Also, This movement is also used to hit areas where Qi flow is felt to disrupt your foe's momentum during a fight. This abrupt interruption of Qi flow can destroy enemies with minimal effort. Just wait for the backlash and you win.

'In other words, It's a versatile movement that can be used for engaging or countering opponents. This Martial art is also above heaven grade right?'

Once again, Zhou Kai was amazed. He didn't even know how he got this blessing. 'Maybe just form a contract with a weak beast and you gain this? Nah there's definitely something different.'

With that, Kai continued his studies. He will spend his time absorbing the information from this manual first before practicing it in his small backyard.

Just like that, a whole day had passed.

Zhou Kai exited his mental dimension and stood up and stretched his body."Just 5 forms huh. Well I should always start from the 1st step of the stairs right? Haha!"

Zhou Kai went out of the house and did not see his Uncle Chen.

'Must be busy with the new business. I'll just practice alone then.'

He wanted a sparring partner in order to practice since he needed to familiarize with the vital points of opponents and how to detect life sources and Qi flow while moving but, there was no one he could ask to practice with him.

Kai just practiced the basic stance of the 1st movement of the Life Draining Palm.

***After 30 minutes***

"GAH! Haaa! Ha…" Zhou Kai laid on the ground panting.

"This is harder than I thought it would be! How can doing this stance be this tiring? My whole body hurts! Ha…"

Well Zhou Kai knows how to do the martial art but he sure is lacking when it comes to performing it. His body was too weak and his muscles, bones, organs, and tendons are not used to the kind of strain that is needed to execute the 1st movement.

Kai barely made 30 minutes of the basic stance or the entry stance of the Life Draining Palm and he was already drained of energy.

"Big brother Yggdrasil must have been born a monster! A monster I say!" First, he learned that Yggdrasil made his own cultivation method and then this martial art which was also Yggdrasil's invention. How can a man be that great?

"Ha… No use thinking about it. Thank you big brother Yggdrasil for this gift."

Zhou Kai then spent all his energy and time on practicing the basic stance of the 1st movement Life seeker Strike. He would just take a break to catch his breath and eat. He did not bother taking a bath.

***After 3 more days***

Zhou Kai was on the modified horse stance that he shamelessly called Zhou Stance. Kai was covered in dirt and sweat all over his body. His long black hair fell down in a mess and his eyes were tired but his energy fluctuations seemed vigorous.

"I can finally execute the basic stance with relative ease and I believe that I can easily move whenever I see fit. It's just that I lack a sparring partner to familiarize myself with the feeling of life detection and seeing Qi flow."

At that moment, Wu Chen's voice suddenly broke his deep thinking.

"Chief. I see that you are working hard." Wu Chen said with a smile. 'Brother Bing would be proud.'

"Uncle." Zhou Kai said in a soft voice. "What news have you got for me?" He continued without turning to face his uncle. He just remained in the Zhou Stance.

Wu Chen didn't mind. "Chief. I've acquired 100 low-grade null elemental crystals and 1 mid-grade null elemental crystal for you. I have partnered with the Earth Snake Town to get null elemental stones at an affordable price."

'Earth Snake Town is the nearest town to us which is still pretty far. It is directly north of here. I guess Uncle ran this errand himself.' As a cultivator in the True Qi realm, his uncle Chen should be fast enough to make a roundtrip in only 3 days. If mortals tried doing this, they would never succeed except if they rode on a powerful mount which can be bought for a price that exceeded the income of the whole Iron Beast village.

"Hmm. That's great news." Zhou Kai finally stood up straight and faced his uncle. "Come uncle. Let's go to the village hall to discuss official matters."

"Of course. But, first." Wu Chen covered his nose and looked at his nephew in a meaningful way.

"O-Oh. Haha right. Wait for me there as I wash up." Zhou Kai scratched his head apologetically then rushed to clean himself from the accumulated sweat and grime in his body.

Zhou Kai was swift and finished in just a few minutes. He then returned to his backyard where he practiced and trained and then invited his Uncle Chen inside the Chief's house.

The Chief's house was just a simple asian style house with only 1 floor, 3 bedrooms, a dining area, an external kitchen, 2 bathrooms, and an area to receive guests (living room). And of course his small backyard.

Inside, Wu Chen gave the null crystals to Zhou Kai which was then put into his 10 cubic meter silver storage ring.

Suddenly, Zhou Kai remembered to ask his uncle a question he had for several days now.

"Uncle Chen, what happened to the Malpe Stallion that I contracted?"

"Oh. About that, It seemed to have died during your breakthrough. I did not bother mentioning it because your breakthrough was more important at the time. It was buried thereafter. We did not dare eat the beast that you chose."

"Is that the case? Well I figured that it would be in bad shape but I did not think that it would have died." Zhou Kai had no big hopes for the maple stallion because he cannot even feel a link between him and the stallion. He had its soul inside him but felt no conscience from the beast's soul. 'I wonder why.'

"In any case, that's that." Zhou Kai dismissed the topic with a wave of his arms then continued. "Uncle, I have some plans that I have thought of these past few days. It is for our village."Zhou Kai said seriously then added. "Can I trust you on this?" Kai looked intently straight at his uncle's eyes.

"I'll be honored." Wu Chen said with a bow. 'Must be another serious matter.''

"Haha. Good!" Zhou Kai was joyful. "As you know, the village that you and my father built is on the brink of ruin, maybe because of my incompetence and unluckiness."

"You should not say such things. Chief."

"You're too kind uncle. But it is the truth. Until just a few days ago, I had no ability to cultivate further than the starting point. But now, this year, I feel that it will be different."

"I agree with this statement, Chief." Wu Chen replied with a pleasant smile.

"Alright then. My order for you is to gather the remaining villagers and conduct a thorough census. That way, we can easily identify them and their respective talents. We can't possibly run the Iron Beast Village without a clear goal."

"Consider it done. Is that all?"

Zhou Kai thought for a moment then replied to his uncle."Identify the abandoned properties of those who left. It will be used for rewards for meritorious deeds of the remaining villagers. This will serve as an additional reason for them to stay in our village. Report to me after the census. Let us hurry uncle Chen. This is for the village." Zhou Kai said all these with a polite but authoritative tone. As a Chief, he has to have a superior aura.

"Then, I'll immediately take action." Wu Chen did not mind being an errand runner of someone younger and weaker than him. He actually preferred his previous boss' child being a leading figure.

Wu Chen quietly left the Chief's house and then proceeded with the census.

Meanwhile, inside the house, Zhou Kai ceased training the Life Draining Palm. Instead, he took out the null crystals from his storage ring and placed them on his bed.

"Sigh. 100 Wood elemental Crystals coming right up!" Licking his lips, Zhou Kai began turning the transparent crystals into dark green crystals one by one.

It took him almost an hour to complete 100 low-grade wood elemental crystals. After finishing, he then took the mid-grade null elemental crystal and examined it thoroughly.

"It's a little larger than the low-grades. Let's try transforming it."

Zhou Kai sat in a lotus position and held the crystal in both hands as he gently tried to infuse it with some of his Qi. He found it quite easy but, Zhou kai discovered that the dark green color did not stay inside the crystal.

Instead, it dissipated into nothingness the moment Zhou Kai stopped infusing it with his Wood Qi.

"Oho. So I can't do it with mid-grade crystals. I think the problem lies in my low cultivation level. Sigh I really need those spirit herbs any moment now."

'And, as expected of Uncle Chen. He thought of testing if I could do it with mid-grades. Unfortunately, I can't at the moment.' Zhou Kai knew that his uncle could have purchased more low-grade crystals instead of 1 mid-grade. His uncle most likely thought that if Zhou Kai can make Mid-grade Wood Crystals, It would even be better.

"What a letdown."