A village that had once produced a cultivator might have some ways of subduing Demonic Beasts. That was probably fairly normal.
"Maybe we did something foolish. They were the ones who provoked the Demonic Tiger. We weren't exorcising a demon—we were accomplices." Lin Yang led his horse along, speaking as he walked ahead.
Yun Shu led the other horse. The two of them had walked back.
As for the tiger, they had taken it apart a little without damaging the Tiger Skin, then had the two horses haul it.
At first, both horses had trembled under the Demonic Tiger's pressure and could barely move. Later, they found a sack and stuffed the tiger's corpse inside. Once they couldn't see what it was, they did much better.
That was the king of the jungle. Even dead, it still left the beasts trembling in fear.
"It has nothing to do with us. We just completed a task," Yun Shu said casually.
Lin Yang turned his head curiously and glanced at Yun Shu, then shook his head. "Maybe your temperament is the most suited to the Immortal Path."
"What do you mean?"
"Heart of stone. The Demonic Tiger was the one being bullied, and we still killed it. Anyone would feel a little guilty." Lin Yang spread his hands.
Yun Shu smiled softly. He hadn't expected Lin Yang to be a little cute.
He had never thought of it that way. To him, the task was worth three Qi Nurturing Pills, so he had gone and completed it. That was all. As for Sacred Lake Village and all the grudges within it, they had little to do with him.
If the other Demonic Tiger had still been there, Yun Shu would most likely have killed it too, then exchanged it for Cultivation Resources.
In the cruel Cultivation World, if you wanted to gain a foothold, you could only fight your way to the top.
Everyone wanted to survive. The weak had never had reason on their side. Were they pitiful? Perhaps. But without strength, they were bound to be oppressed. It had always been that way.
If you wanted greater strength, then fight for it!
The Human Path was faint and distant; the Immortal Path, vast and boundless.
If you were less skilled than me today and I killed you, then your life was meant to end here.
If tomorrow I was less skilled than someone else and died at their hands, I would accept defeat.
That was how it was even among people, let alone with Demonic Beasts.
Lin Yang didn't seem to understand.
Perhaps he had simply experienced too little.
By the time Yun Shu and Lin Yang returned to the Mountain Gate, it was already the dead of night.
"Let's carry it straight over," Lin Yang said. "The longer we wait, the more power the Demonic Heart loses, and it might not be worth as much. Let's exchange it first. There should be someone on duty at the Scripture Pavilion, anyway."
"Okay." Yun Shu nodded.
The two carried the sack containing the Demonic Tiger toward the Scripture Pavilion.
The Fat Steward was dozing at the front desk when a sound suddenly startled him awake. He jerked and opened his bleary eyes.
"Who's there?"
He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and glanced at the sign on the desk. He had just been woken by the sound of it striking the tabletop.
"Oh, it's you two. How did it go? Did you complete the task?" The Fat Steward took the sign and looked at them.
"Yes. This is the tiger. It's dead."
"Let me see." The Fat Steward took out a bamboo slip and carefully compared the Demonic Tiger in the picture with the shape of the beast's corpse before him.
He then sensed the tiger's aura. Only after that did he nod slightly. "Good. This is the right Demonic Tiger. It was equivalent to the Body Refining Fifth Level of the Human Race."
"Here are six Qi Nurturing Pills. Take them." The Fat Steward glanced at the two of them and handed Lin Yang a small bottle. "Give me your Jade Tokens."
They both handed them over. As the Fat Steward recorded the Contribution Points, he said, "One of you just joined, and the other just reached the Body Refining Fifth Level. I didn't think you'd be able to complete this task, but somehow you brought it back in just one day."
"All right, here are your tokens. A Grade-D task is worth one Contribution Point. I hope you'll keep up the good work." The Fat Steward smiled.
The Fat Steward seemed like a decent person. That was Yun Shu's first impression.
"What about the Demonic Tiger's corpse?" Lin Yang asked.
The Fat Steward glanced at it. "Do you want to sell it to me? I can offer one Qi Nurturing Pill for the Tiger Skin, one for the Tiger Bone, and two for the Demonic Heart."
"The Tiger Skin would normally fetch two pills, but it has a cut in it, so the price has been reduced."
"Good." Lin Yang nodded.
"Mm." The Fat Steward took a small jade bottle from a drawer and handed it to them, smiling broadly. "If you have something like this next time, just come to me. I'll give you the best price."
"Actually, if we'd sold it at the Trading Market down the mountain, we might have gotten a better price—at least six pills," Lin Yang said as they walked out. "But I'm not eligible to enter yet."
"Oh?" Yun Shu asked. "What qualifications do you need?"
"You have to put down ten Qi Nurturing Pills as a deposit to enter. They'll return them when you leave."
Yun Shu couldn't help clicking his tongue. The market down the mountain sounded prosperous. Still, between the two of them, they had only just enough to let one person enter.
"Junior Brother Yun, take this bottle of Qi Nurturing Pills. I'll be going now," Lin Yang said, handing one of the bottles over.
"Doesn't this have six pills in it?" Yun Shu said with a smile, then tipped one out and gave it to Lin Yang.
Lin Yang shook his head. "We could complete the task only thanks to Junior Brother Yun's strength. Besides, I think you could've done it on your own without me. I only lent a hand. Four pills are already plenty."
"We agreed to split them evenly." Yun Shu placed the Qi Nurturing Pill in Lin Yang's hand.
Yun Shu was short on Qi Nurturing Pills and dirt poor, but he wouldn't go back on his word.
Five Qi Nurturing Pills.
That was the first real windfall Yun Shu had ever received, earned from an Outer Sect task.
As soon as he returned to his room, Yun Shu took out the five bottles of Hundred Herbs Liquid the sect had given him earlier, along with one Blood Coagulating Pill and the five Qi Nurturing Pills, and placed them together.
After hesitating, he decided not to absorb the Blood Coagulating Pill. It wasn't the kind of pill that replenished cultivation, and he might have a use for it.
As for the rest, "Absorb!"
In the end, all that remained of Yun Shu's possessions were one bottle of Hundred Herbs Liquid and one Blood Coagulating Pill. A single bottle of Hundred Herbs Liquid wasn't much use, so Yun Shu didn't absorb it all.
His Energy Points had reached 16. They seemed plentiful.
At least he no longer had to worry about running out of points for the time being. It still wasn't quite enough, but things had improved considerably.
The next day.
The sky was still dark. Moonlight spilled down like a layer of frost as Yun Shu arrived at the Training Ground.
Only a few scattered figures were there. Yun Shu paid them no mind and began practicing the Body Refining Technique off to one side.
The Body Refining Technique was the most basic cultivation method in the sect. Yun Shu had now obtained the complete Nine-Level Body Refining Technique, and all he needed to do was master it before continuing his cultivation.
"Ding, you practiced the Body Refining Technique once. Proficiency +1."
"..."
"Ding, you practiced the Body Refining Technique once. Proficiency +1."
Yun Shu threw each punch and kick with utter focus. He had no bottleneck in his progress, but he still needed time to absorb everything.
In particular, this proficiency directly added to his comprehension. Only after fully absorbing it could he call it his own.
He knew his aptitude wasn't especially outstanding. He could only reach the average level of the more gifted disciples by working harder than others.
Even with the script in hand and the system's help, he might not cultivate as quickly as the Female Protagonist.
And now that the Female Protagonist had appeared, her strength was bound to advance by leaps and bounds from this point on. That put him under considerable pressure.
Compared to her, his achievements were far too insignificant. So Yun Shu kept cultivating diligently, earnestly absorbing the insights that his proficiency brought him.
A solid foundation was extremely important. Only with a firm foundation could one build higher.
As the Body Refining Technique circulated, Yun Shu soon felt his blood and energy surging wildly through his body.
Endless strength burst forth inside him.
Every punch and kick carried a thick aura of blood and energy.
At one moment—
Boom!
Yun Shu threw a punch. A visible shockwave, condensed from his blood and energy, burst forward. The air rumbled, and the wave traveled a long way before finally fading.
"Ding, you practiced the Body Refining Technique once. Proficiency +1. Proficiency has reached 100. Great Accomplishment achieved!"
Yun Shu couldn't help feeling overjoyed. Great Accomplishment! Whatever else, being able to send his blood and energy outside his body was almost something that could only be achieved upon reaching the peak of the Body Refining Realm!
Although his current strength was nowhere near the Body Refining Peak, with his Body Refining Technique at Great Accomplishment, he could still fight opponents at the Late Body Refining Stage even when they were a level above him!
Yun Shu brought up his status panel.
Name: Yun Shu
Age: 16
Realm: Body Refining Stage Six
Technique Proficiency: Body Refining Technique, Great Accomplishment (1/200); Sword Intent, Stage 1 (0/100)
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