Where did you get this!?

The dark cave filled with spiritual energy as Li Jun rotated his spirit core. He now knew why beast meat was so sought after by martial artists. In just a couple of minutes, the majority of the pain in his body vanished. 

He felt full from just a single piece, and the most surprising part was that it didn't taste bad. The snakes flesh had the same texture as raw fish but tasted like a smoked beef despite it being raw.

After recovering his strength, he cut up as much meat as he could fit into his universe bag. By the time he was finished, the cave became cool again as if the sun had now set, but he wasn't sure. 

Not wanting to meet another beast while he was injured he decided it was for the best if he spent at least a night to recover. He had walked a long way and didn't know if he could make it back.

"Agh." He let out a whimper as he rubbed the right side of his chest. The feeling had returned to it, but he noticed two of his ribs had snapped and moved as he inhaled.

He took another serving of meat and then took out his spirit stone. The best way to heal his injuries without taking pills would be to circulate spiritual energy.

The night quickly passed, and the cave warmed up again, letting him know it was daytime. He gathered as much meat as he could and searched for a beast core, but he couldn't find one. He realized that he wasn't as lucky this time and left the rest of its corpse and set off back home.

The walk back felt much longer as he limped through the dark forest, using his sword as a crutch but after what felt like hours he finally reached the city walls. Han Jie was quick to meet him and came running out to help. 

"What happened? Don't tell me you fought the beast?" He asked. 

Li Jun smiled and accepted the help. He swung his arm around Han Jie's shoulder and hobbled over to the other guards on duty.

"Where do I go to sell mutated beast meat?" He asked with a grin. 

"You killed it?" One of the guards asked with a pale face. He had seen the corpses of wild animals the hunters had brought back after being torn to shreds by whatever roamed the dark forest.

"I killed a beast. I don't know if it was the one that you were looking for. I saw three of them while I was there."

"Three mutated beasts? Someone needs to let the city lord know about this. That many beasts in one place can only mean one thing." Han Jie said.

"What does it mean?" Asked Li Jun.

"There's a Beast King." He said solemnly as the pale-faced guard grew even paler.

Beast Kings, as the name suggested, were beasts that could give simple commands to other mutated beasts. They acted on feelings; if the beast king wanted to kill something, its subordinates would kill everything they came across. If the beast king felt hungry, then its subordinates would bring it food. 

Li Jun thought back to how many bones had filled the cave where he had found the snake.

'Was that a beast king?' His mind raced as he thought about the snake's lair. If a mutated beast was worth a handful of gold, then beast king meat was worth a mountain of gold.

'I'm rich!' He thought as he made plans to head back and collect more after he sold what he already had. 

"So, where can I sell the meat?" He asked again.

"If you really do have mutated beast meat, then you can sell it directly to the city lord. I'm sure you would also get the best price." Han Jie said with a frown.

"Can I trouble you to help me to the city lord's estate? I will pay you for the trouble." Li Jun asked. 

"Sorry, my shift doesn't finish for another hour." Han Jie frowned.

"I can take you." Said the other guard. "My shift ended a while ago. I guess I should probably report the possibility of a beast king, too."

"Thank you." Li Jun said as he let go of Han Jie and began to limp once again.

The guard led him to the city lords mansion and after speaking with the guard captain he was taken to a seperate building on the property. Li Jun however had to wait.

Of course, the city lord knew as soon as he had arrived, his senses wouldn't allow him not to notice the presence of a martial artist, yet he didn't make an effort to greet him.

Li Jun sat down in the courtyard and pulled out another chunk of meat. Just as he was about to take a bite it vanished from his hand. A gust of wind shook his surroundings as a figure in a golden robe appeared before him. 

"Where did you get this!?" Shen Tai demanded as he looked down at Li Jun.

"The dark forest. There was a gray snake in a big cave, and as you can see, it almost ate me."

Shen Tai's eyes fell upon the sword in Li Jun's hands. His gaze pierced through the scabbard and settled on the lingering spiritual energy that remained on the blade. It matched the energy of the beast meat in his hand.

"You killed a beast king?" Shen Tai asked, his eyes widened with surprise. 

Li Jun nodded. Pain welled up in his chest once more as his ribs floated freely. 

"How much meat do you have?"

"My universe bag can only hold two meters of space. I filled it completely, but I can lead you to the cave where the rest of its body is once I've healed a little."

Shen Tai flicked his hand towards Li Jun, and a jade bottle fell into his lap.

"We can discuss a price after I see the rest of its body." Shen Tai said and then vanished once more.

Li Jun looked down at the bottle and sensed a large amount of spiritual energy coming from within. As soon as he removed the lid, the pain in his chest seemed to vanish. The pill inside let out a rich medicinal scent. He knew if he let it linger for too long it would decrease the pills effectiveness so he tilted his head and swallowed it whole.

His body was filled with warmth as he felt his ribs rearrange themselves within minutes and begin to heal. 

The warmth soon vanished, and he was left feeling refreshed; every injured part of his body healed completely; even the scratches on his face from when he rolled along the floor had vanished.

A gust of wind blew by once more as Shen Tai seemingly appeared out of thin air.

"Let's go." He said simply as a group of four guards gathered around him. Each of them carried an aura of energy that was at least twice as strong as Li Jun's

He had no choice but to lead them to the cave where he had killed the beast king. He just hoped the city lord had enough integrity not to rob him.