Hundred Beasts Marrow Quenching Scripture, Returning the Favor

In the barren wilderness, weeds grew rampant; there was not even a place to set foot.

Yet as he stepped upon the weeds, Li Yan felt as though a lifetime had passed.

For the first time, he felt that the scenery of this savage mountain forest was so beautiful.

"This is the Nine Desolations Mountain Range. The people below will not come up here, but whether you can make it out depends on yourself."

With that, the young man turned to leave.

"Wait."

"Something else?"

"What is your name?"

"Is it important?"

"Of course. Although you did not save me out of kindness, you did save me in the end. I will repay this debt."

Hearing that, the young man gave Li Yan a thoughtful glance. Then he walked over to a rock, kicked it aside, took out a bundle hidden beneath it, and tossed it over.

Li Yan caught the bundle. "What is this?"

"Since you are determined to remember my kindness anyway, I might as well give you a little more. Besides, you do not want to run around naked, do you?"

That was right. The two of them were currently stark naked.

The mine tunnel had been unbearably hot, and to prevent the miners from hiding anything, they had not been given clothes at all.

The fact that they were not even given clothes showed that this place had never considered the miners human.

Li Yan swiftly opened the bundle. Sure enough, there was a set of clothes inside, along with a booklet.

Across the cover of the booklet were several bold, flowing characters:

Hundred Beasts Marrow Quenching Scripture

Meeting Li Yan's astonished gaze, the young man smiled. "If you want to kill Wu Zongren, you need strength. This marrow quenching scripture is enough to let you cultivate to the Bone Tempering Peak."

Li Yan looked deeply at the young man, then nodded and put away the marrow quenching scripture. "Thanks. I will repay what I owe you."

"Good. Remember it. My name is Yan Qi."

"Yan Qi..."

Just as Yan Qi was preparing to return to the cave, Li Yan called out to him again.

"Hey!"

Yan Qi turned back in confusion, only to see a fist whistling straight toward his face.

The wind from the punch made Yan Qi's hair flutter slightly, but Li Yan's fist stopped right before his face.

"I will remember the favor you showed me. I will also remember that kick you gave me."

"The day I repay your favor, I will repay that kick as well."

With that, Li Yan turned and left with the bundle in hand.

Only after Li Yan vanished into the forest did a smile curl across Yan Qi's lips. "That fellow is rather interesting."

Just then, another person emerged from the cave. Had Li Yan still been there, he would certainly have been shocked—the two looked eighty percent alike!

The newcomer stood beside Yan Qi and looked in the direction Li Yan had disappeared. "Will he become an ally of ours?"

"Hard to say. But he will definitely make things difficult for Great Wu."

The wind in the forest was not particularly loud, yet it sent waves of chill through one's heart.

Li Yan had already changed into the clothes. Perhaps his luck was not bad; though they were ancient-style clothes, they unexpectedly fit rather well.

Fortunately, Li Yan had visited a film studio during a team-building event in his previous life and knew how to wear ancient clothes. Otherwise, it would have been quite troublesome.

At the moment, Li Yan carried the two pickaxes through the forest, planning to find something to eat first.

Anyone who knew, knew what the food in the mine was like. Even pigs would not eat that stuff, and it only barely staved off hunger. Right now, his chest was practically pressed against his back.

Still, Li Yan was at a loss.

Across both lifetimes, none of his memories had anything to do with surviving in the wilderness. Although animal noises occasionally came from the forest, he looked as far as he could through the lush greenery and could not spot a single hair.

Fortunately, after walking a while longer, Li Yan found a mountain stream. Fish swam within it.

The moment he saw the fish, Li Yan's eyes lit up. How could he care about anything else? Catch fish, eat meat!

Fortunately, Yan Qi's bundle had also contained a flint.

Before long, wisps of smoke rose into the air. Li Yan gnawed several fish clean, yet he still felt somewhat unsatisfied.

Afterward, Li Yan began reading the Hundred Beasts Marrow Quenching Scripture.

However, just after finishing the booklet, Li Yan felt something stir within him and summoned the system panel.

Then, in the Martial Arts section, he found the Hundred Beasts Marrow Quenching Scripture.

Martial Arts: Hundred Beasts Marrow Quenching Scripture, unlearned (0/50)

After the previous First Kill, Li Yan currently had 200 Experience Points. He could use them directly to give it a try.

As the thought flashed through his mind, 50 Experience Points were deducted. A warm current flowed through Li Yan's entire body, and the contents of the Hundred Beasts Marrow Quenching Scripture appeared in his mind. His body also faintly felt stronger.

Li Yan immediately brought up the system panel to check.

Name: Li Yan

Realm: Body Tempering First Level

Strength: 23

Speed: 20

Physique: 17

Spirit: 19

Martial Arts: Hundred Beasts Marrow Quenching Scripture, First Level (0/100)

Remaining Experience Points: 150

Just by cultivating it to the First Level, his strength, speed, and physique had each increased by 5 points. He also felt that he was about to break through.

Presumably, once his strength, speed, and physique had all been cultivated past 20 points, his strength would successfully reach the Body Tempering Second Layer.

However, Li Yan was in no hurry to break through. As the Hundred Beasts Marrow Quenching Scripture reached the First Level, hunger rose from his newly filled stomach once again.

"It seems Experience Points can rapidly advance a Cultivation Method or Martial Arts, but they cannot make up for the physical consumption..."

That being the case, even with sufficient Experience Points, necessary preparations before improving a Cultivation Method could not be skipped. Otherwise, before the Cultivation Method broke through, his body might be drained dry first.

If he wanted to keep leveling up, he had to fill his stomach first.

Fortunately, the sun was already setting behind the western hills, and numerous animals had begun moving through the forest.

Although he had never hunted in either lifetime, with the strength of the Body Tempering First Level, ordinary wild beasts were no match for him at all.

Before long, an adorably ugly rack had been set over the bonfire, and two pheasants and a wild rabbit were spinning over the flames.

When the moon hung high overhead, all that remained beside the bonfire was a pile of chicken and rabbit bones.

After letting out a satisfied burp, Li Yan was about to cultivate the Hundred Beasts Marrow Quenching Scripture again when the bushes behind him suddenly stirred!

Li Yan immediately grabbed the two pickaxes and warily stared at the forest not far away.

A deep, rumbling growl sounded. A Tiger with Fiery Eyes slowly emerged from the woods, saliva dripping constantly from its mouth. It had clearly been hungry for quite some time.

The instant their eyes met, the great beast before him brought immense pressure upon Li Yan.

The next moment, the Tiger with Fiery Eyes let out an enraged roar and charged at Li Yan.

A fierce gleam flashed through Li Yan's eyes. Killing intent crushed down his instinctive fear, and the two pickaxes in his hands swung almost on reflex.

Clang!

The pickaxe heads collided with the tiger's claws in midair, yet the sound was like metal striking iron.

A tremendous force surged through him, nearly making Li Yan lose his grip on the two pickaxes.

Man and tiger passed one another. The Tiger with Fiery Eyes landed gracefully, turned with light steps, while Li Yan's hands trembled slightly.

The explosive strength at the limit of the Houtian First Layer was actually inferior to this beast's terrifying power.

But the more it was so, the stronger the killing intent that surged within Li Yan's heart became.

In his previous life, he had worked himself to death on a zero-zero-seven schedule. After transmigrating, he was still a miner not treated as human, suffering torment in both body and mind.

And this towering resentment had been ignited not long ago. The overseer had been the first unlucky fool beneath those flames.

This Tiger with Fiery Eyes would be the same!

"System, cultivate the Hundred Beasts Marrow Quenching Scripture!"