New Memories and Cultivation

But there was one thing I didn't predict or call. New goddamn memories. Places, a family, their deaths, the fact I was living on the streets after the fact I was a Mutant was found out - Jesus Christ. What a shit life, huh?

Yet I didn't care for any of that trauma. Sure, it effected me somewhat but I was the dominant personality now. I could just push through it.

What I cared about, was the stunning information that I seemed to be in the MCU. Fuck's sake.

The year was 2008, Tony Stark was a gambling addict who had a history of sexual escapades damn near a mile long - but he was also the genius who who ran Stark Industries. He used his mechanical genius to build weapons of mass destruction and he made a fucking tonne off of it. The guy was probably one of the richest people in America.

I have memories of 2003 when a giant Green Monster was shown in San Francisco and was apprehended by the military after it turned back into a man. My new memories didn't tell me who this man was but I knew who he was anyway:

Bruce Banner. A scientist, who if this was the MCU, tried to recreate the Super Soldier Serum that made Captain America so powerful. He, of course, was unaware of this. He thought he was making something to help heal soldiers. But when he got impatient and decided to test the serum on himself, the Gamma radiation used to activate the serum mutated him into a big green humanoid that would one day be known as the Hulk. Dr. Banner practically made the military's best weapons and soldiers look like toddlers using toy guns and he went out rampaging.

...And if all these memories were true, I was definitely in the MCU. Fuck. But I also knew I was a Mutant: Is that bald prick Xavier here as well? Or do I have the luck of being in a world with McAvoy's version of Charles Xavier? Sure, that dude still sealed the Phoenix Force and practically crippled Jean emotionally by saying her parents were dead. But he meant well, and the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Plus, he didn't do nearly as much fucked up shit as the Xavier in the comics. That guy...well, he was a real piece of work.

So, I'd like to know which one I'm dealing with. But before I go snooping, I need to be able to get back to the White Room so I can buy some sort of mental defense/telepathic resistance skill. No way am I going near him without one of those.

...The MCU, huh? Plenty of opportunity to do some fun stuff here, ain't there? But first I need power. Kinda becoming the recurring theme here, honestly.

Ignoring that thought, I looked around the warehouse I was in and found some items I'd - or rather whoever's body I've taken over - stolen laid around me. I was on a sleeping bag at the minute, so I just got comfortable and looked at the items around me. A lot of cans of Spam, loads of water and cans of corn. From my memories I could see that my Mutant power was pretty much me being the serpent version of Sabretooth or Wolverine. Just without the healing factor. So, I lived a bit like an animal and stole whatever I needed in terms of food.

I took a whiff of the air and winced at the terrible smell my body was giving off - Jesus, man, ever heard of a shower?! Just break into a hotel room and use the shower there for God's sake.

Standing up, I began stripping the rags past me called clothes off my body before I got off the sleeping bag and grabbed a few big bottles of water before I started giving myself an impromptu shower.

I didn't really care about the wastage of water because I could steal whatever I wanted with my powers right now. Plus, I didn't plan to spend the rest of my life in this world as a homeless animal.

As I was washing the grime from my body, I circulated my Qi through my skin, occasionally pushing through the skin to get rid of dirt and grime that was a bit too much for simple water to get rid of.

Once my body and hair were all clean, I dried my body off with a burst of Qi that blasted off any water on my body still. After I did that, I felt my chin and cheeks and found there was some patchy hair growing there.

Frowning, I lifted a hand and extended my index finger. Once I'd done that, I extended the claw inside of the finger and began to shave.

Either have a full bushy beard or have a clean-shaven face. Nothing looks worse on a guy than patchy facial hair. Maybe patchy facial hair and a fedora? A deadly combo able to protect anyone's virginity.

Chuckling to myself, I kept dragging the sharp of my claw against my skin until there no longer any hair on my face other than my eyebrows. Maybe I'd try growing a beard when I was a bit older but this body was that of a 17-year-old's. I was 23 in my original life, for reference. Seeing that I was dry, I walked back over to where I'd left my clothes and frowned seeing how dirty they were.

If I'd known, I would've brought some clothes from the shop or exchanged the rest of my points for money to buy clothes when I got here. How was I supposed to know I'd be homeless in my new life?

Shaking my head and getting rid of these useless thoughts, I sat down on the sleeping bag naked before I got into the proper position for cultivating.

Pulling on my knowledge of how to cultivate from the skill [Advanced Beast Cultivation Method Lv1], I settled into a specific breathing pattern. Unlike the method I brought for 10 points after killing that first wolf-man, this was much more complex and the way of absorbing Qi was both different and much better.

If the basic method I was using before was unfocused and just tempered the body, then this was the proper way to cultivate as a Beast Cultivator. The orthodox way. The difference between the two might not seem too different - the basic method tempered the body just like the Beast Method did. But the main difference was that the basic method could only push your body to it's limit but never push it passed that limit. It was a weak method and useless in the long run.

But the method I was using now followed a standardized route of cultivation. A route to get to your limits and beyond.

The difference was like night and day, Heaven and Earth. Or whatever they say in those Xianxias.

The path of cultivation was pretty easy to understand. For Beasts, anyway. Each stage was separated into nine levels and those levels were grouped into Low, Middle and High. Low being levels 1-3, Middle being 4-6 and High being 7-9. There were sort of mini-bottlenecks between each of them with breaking through into the fourth level from the third being harder than the earlier levels. So the transition from Low to Middle and Middle to High being a harder than other levels, I guess.

The first stage was focused on Body Tempering. First level was Skin Tempering, second level was Muscle Tempering and the third level was Vein and Nerve Tempering*. Then it was the Middle levels. Fourth level was Bone Tempering, fifth level was Blood and Marrow Tempering and the sixth was Organ Tempering. Then it was the High levels. But those were a bit away, so it didn't really need to be spoken about, really.

(*A/N - By 'Vein' I mean blood vessels. So veins, arteries, capillaries, etc. I know putting 'vein' isn't the most accurate but 'Blood Vessel and Nerve Tempering' is a bit too long and one of the other levels already includes the word 'Blood' so I'd like to avoid possibly confusing some people.)

Anyway, I pulled the surrounding Qi into my body with deep breathes that sounded more like that came from something ten times bigger than I was. Like an actual sleeping Beast, deep in some deep dark cave.

Once it was in my body, I guided it to my Dantian where the natural Qi was converted into Beast Qi. Once it was converted, it was sent through my body before it began flowing through my skin in complex patterns that didn't really make sense to my mind. Kind of like I was trying to understand something incredibly mysterious or complex. Probably to do with some sort of Law or Dao. That shit probably exists, right? I am cultivating, after all.

Whatever. By the time I'd finished threading the Qi through my skin, I'd covered every inch of it and it felt stronger. Harder. The tensile strength that was already leagues above a human's was improving already. It seemed a bit slow but my body was already decently strong. Making something that's weak into something that's strong is easy. Making something strong into something stronger is much harder.

So, I just sat in this abandoned warehouse, taking in Qi and tempering my skin.

Contrary to what I said, by the time sunlight began to shine on my skin, warming it up, I'd already made genuine progress in the first level. About 20ish% overnight. My talent must be pretty good.

Disregarding that thought, I stood up and grabbed the boxers I'd taken off last night. They were a bit dirty but significantly better than the other clothes. The insides of them were clean, so I guess that's what mattered, right?

I would try and clean my clothes with my Qi but I'm pretty sure the ferocious nature of Beast Qi would just rip through the fabric because it isn't strong enough.

...Oh well. Guess I've gotta go steal some clothes.

Closing my eyes, I delved into the new memories and found out where I was. Harlem, New York, near the Hudson River. Well, I know where I am and where the nearest houses to steal from are. Can't avoid to steal from a shop - CCTV could get my face and I'd rather not draw attention to myself. Not in this world. Not with SHIELD existing and practically being able to monitor everything digital. All it'd take is for me to use any part of my superhuman strength and they'd be on me like a rash.

I could easily fight them all. The Avengers don't exist and everyone employed by SHIELD is nothing but a well-trained human. Hawkeye and Black Widow could be slightly harder to kill. But that's only slightly harder. Like the difference between killing an ant and a spider - the latter just requires a little more effect.

But the problem is, is that I don't want to be on the run for the foreseeable future. I've got these powers and I'll use them how I want but at the same time, I need freedom to be able to do that. You know what isn't freedom? Being in a secret war with a Governmental Agency that's like the CIA, FBI, KGB and the NSA all combined together and put on spy steroids.

Though this doesn't mean I'm gonna be willing to stick in the shadows or be SHIELD's bitch. Hell no. Just means I have to play it clever until I have the strength to frighten them so much they piss themselves at the thought of coming up against me. Even with the Avengers.

...I'd kinda be like this world Yujiro Hanma if I did that, wouldn't I?

Cracking a smile, I took a step forward as I jumped straight up with a casual exertion of my strength, and onto the metal scaffolding that supported the roof of the warehouse.

Once there, I took my hand and swung it upward and into the metal roof.

There was no one nearby and it was about 5 or 6 O'Clock in the morning. I needed to hide my powers, sure, but not in places or at times like this.

The metal burst out of the way of my fist, the remaining force tearing the metal back and leaving a hole big enough for me to squeeze through. Why not just use the entrance to the warehouse? I don't know. Seemed like the boring exit, honestly.

Getting through the hole, I took in a deep breath of the fresh away before bursting forth and jumping to the next warehouse over.

I must've leapt forth about 40 feet...but I didn't even use my full strength and I didn't infuse even the slightest bit of Qi into my legs either. Well, I guess that confirms it: My body is thoroughly superhuman. Though I shouldn't get too cocky. Right now I'm only a slightly bigger ant than the others.

Carrying on with my journey, I kept away from places with cameras, using my enhanced senses to spot them before I came into the viewing range or into the sights in general.

I had some clothes to steal...and then I had money to steal--

I had a lot of stuff to steal and a lot of stuff to make. Something tells me I'll have a lot of time to waste during my time here in the MCU and outside of the white room. I'd still be ready by 2:00AM tonight but, again, something tells me that won't be necessary.

So, while I'm here and safe I might as well cultivate both my power and money, right?