Hunting a Tiger

"What? Three spirit stones for just this little basket of soup dumplings?"

Hearing what the server at the Spirit Restaurant said, Lin Shiyu looked incredulous. That was half a month's wages for her.

"It's fine, Junior Sister. It's been several months since we last had any. Besides, this is the most tender meat from a Level 2 Demonic Beast. It's worth it."

Zhou Er still ordered two small baskets. He wanted to try them himself.

The server awkwardly brought their food and hurried away, afraid Lin Shiyu would scold him again.

"Senior Brother, I know you recently became a Talisman Master and earned a little money, but you drew every one of those talismans yourself. We can't spend so extravagantly."

Lin Shiyu still felt a pang over the spirit stones.

Just then, Zhou Er quietly took out the little pouch Lin Shiyu had given him back then and held it out to her.

"Don't worry, Junior Sister. Your spirit stones are all here. With interest, there are thirty in total."

"How could the interest be that high? When I lent them to you, Senior Brother, I never expected any interest."

Lin Shiyu hurriedly waved her hands, not daring to accept it.

"A drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring. I've kept your kindness to me in my heart. If you won't accept it, you'll be putting me in an unrighteous position."

After a round of refusals, Lin Shiyu could only accept.

"All right, Junior Sister. Eat while it's hot. These Spirit Snake Soup Dumplings are delicious."

Zhou Er urged her.

The Spirit Snake Soup Dumplings had thin skins and generous fillings. Their broth was rich, and spiritual energy wafted from them. No wonder they were so expensive.

Lin Shiyu ate one daintily, then said, "Senior Brother, these dumplings are too nourishing. I'm full after just one. Help me finish the rest!"

Lin Shiyu did this every time, and Zhou Er was used to it by now. He could only finish them for her.

In the end, Lin Shiyu went to pay the bill ahead of him.

Zhou Er had still had two months of his monthly stipend left, which he'd been saving for the bill.

But Lin Shiyu had rushed over and paid first.

There was nothing Zhou Er could do about it. It wasn't a big deal, though; he could treat her next time.

After eating, Zhou Er recovered some of his spirit energy and went back to his room to draw talismans.

Watching Zhou Er busy himself, Lin Shiyu felt a little hollow inside.

I need to work even harder too. I can't fall too far behind Senior Brother.

Back in his little room, Zhou Er focused all his attention on drawing Fireball Talismans.

His cultivation had improved, and his Mana Limit had increased. He could now draw at most five Fireball Talismans at a time.

Setting aside the time needed to cultivate and recover his mana, he could draw ten talismans a day.

Five days later.

[Wondrous Brush (White): Increases the success rate for first-grade talismans by 30%.]

[Solidification Condition: Successfully make 300 first-grade talismans. (299/300)]

As Zhou Er finished the final stroke, he completed another Fireball Talisman, and the solidification progress reached its goal.

[Solidified Attribute: Wondrous Brush (White). Removing the Wolf Hair Brush from the Equipment Slot will not affect the attribute's effect.]

After successfully solidifying the Wondrous Brush Attribute, Zhou Er immediately took off the Wolf Hair Brush and equipped a Bigu Pill instead.

The Taotie Attribute was simply too good. If making talismans didn't require him to equip the Wolf Hair Brush, he'd never have considered removing the Bigu Pill from his Equipment Slot.

[Taotie (White): Hollow abdomen, greatly increased appetite, and the ability to get stronger by eating.]

[Solidification Condition: Eat and digest 10,000 jin of food. (1,971/10,000)]

After half a year of eating and drinking, Zhou Er had made nearly a fifth of the progress needed to solidify the Taotie Attribute.

If he could feast at the Spirit Restaurant every day, he'd make even faster progress.

Zhou Er calculated his current income. He made nearly ten Fireball Talismans a day, with a success rate of about seventy percent.

That came to 210 talismans a month.

Of course, that was after Zhou Er's cultivation had improved enough for him to make more than ten talismans a day.

He hadn't been this efficient before.

The Fu Family Talisman Shop paid him one spirit stone for every four talismans.

That came to fifty-two Low-grade Spirit Stones.

After subtracting the cost of more than twenty spirit stones, Zhou Er's monthly net income was about twenty-five Low-grade Spirit Stones.

It wasn't a fortune, but it wasn't bad either. He earned far more than Lin Shiyu.

And he could still improve, while Lin Shiyu could only toil away as a Fire Control Attendant. She'd been at it for half a year, and her income had barely increased. Who knew how long she'd be stuck doing it?

Zhou Er badly wanted to help her escape that misery. He had to save up enough spirit stones to buy a Purple Cloud Furnace.

But Zhou Er wasn't some charity boy. Helping others came after making sure he wasn't hurting himself.

He decided to improve himself first, then think about helping Lin Shiyu.

After solidifying the Wondrous Brush Attribute, Zhou Er began considering which Attribute to solidify next.

[Rune Mastery (First-tier): Mastery of most first-tier runes.]

[Solidification Condition: Master the production of five types of talismans. (1/5)]

Rune Mastery required mastering the production of five types of talismans. That meant Zhou Er would have to practice four more spells and train each to Great Accomplishment or Perfection. His schedule was already packed, and he had no time for that.

Besides, this would take at least four months. It was impossible in the short term, so Zhou Er could only put it aside for now.

[Spirit Gathering (White): Automatically gathers spiritual energy, increasing Cultivation Speed by 20%.]

[Solidification Condition: Consume 100 Fine-grade Spirit Gathering Pills.]

To solidify the Spirit Gathering Attribute, all he had to do was take Spirit Gathering Pills. It was also an extremely useful Attribute that could help Zhou Er quickly improve his cultivation. The sooner he solidified it, the better.

But all medicines had some toxicity, and pills contained Pill Poison.

Eating too many Spirit Gathering Pills would make it harder to break through bottlenecks.

Fine-grade Spirit Gathering Pills had less Pill Poison, to be sure, but they weren't free of it.

That was why Zhou Er hesitated to take them.

But eating one pill at a time every day would be getting too fixated on the details.

Still, if he didn't take any, it would be a problem if he couldn't solidify the Spirit Gathering Attribute for ages.

"I'll eat one every five days. That should be about right."

In the end, Zhou Er decided to take the Spirit Gathering Pills, but slowly. There was no need to rush.

But that meant the Spirit Gathering Attribute would keep occupying an Equipment Slot, which was a problem too.

Then Zhou Er looked at the item equipped in his first Equipment Slot.

[Five Animals Health Technique (Perfection): Mastery of the Five Animals Health Technique.]

[Longevity: Lifespan increased by 10 years.]

[Solidification Condition: Consume the five viscera of a tiger, deer, bear, ape, and bird. (4/5)]

Of the Attributes related to the Five Animals Health Technique, he had only yet to eat tiger liver. As soon as he did, he could solidify the Attribute and free up an Equipment Slot.

Back when he was at the Qi Refining First Layer, he hadn't dared to fight a tiger.

Now he was at the Qi Refining Third Layer. He could cast Fireball Technique five times and carry plenty of talismans for protection. Taking down a tiger wouldn't be a problem.

Strike swiftly and end it. Spend a few days on this, and I can free up the Equipment Slot for something else. This is the most efficient way.

That was what Zhou Er thought.

The problem was how to find a tiger.

Just because Zhou Er didn't know what to do didn't mean there was no solution. He could ask a Hunting Team for help.

The Xiayun Sect stood near the Sunset Mountain Range, and many of the sect's disciples made their living hunting Demonic Beasts. They knew all the tricks of the trade.

Zhou Er could spend some spirit stones to recruit a Hunting Team and have them find a Fierce Tiger for him.

But Zhou Er didn't have much of a social circle, and he didn't know any Hunting Teams. He also lacked permission to post a mission at the Mission Hall.

Fortunately, he knew the manager there, Zhu Shunyang.

They were already quite familiar with each other, so Zhou Er went straight to see him.

"Junior Brother Zhou, what brings you here with so much free time?"

Zhu Shunyang said with a smile when he saw Zhou Er.

"Senior Brother Zhu, I have a favor to ask."

Zhou Er didn't beat around the bush and told him what he wanted.

"I want to hunt a tiger, so I'd like you to introduce me to a Hunting Team."

Zhou Er explained.

"A Demon Tiger? Those aren't easy to kill."

Tigers were among the Demonic Beasts with the strongest bloodlines, making them extremely difficult to kill.

"Not a Demon Tiger. An ordinary tiger will do."

Zhou Er hurriedly clarified.

The other five animal viscera he'd eaten had all come from ordinary animals. They didn't have to be Demonic Beasts.

"That's easy, then. There are a few Hunting Teams in our district. One is led by Li Wuya. He's at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer and could easily catch a Fierce Tiger for you."

Zhu Shunyang thought it over and came up with a candidate.

"Then I'd appreciate it if you could introduce me to him, Senior Brother."

Zhou Er said quickly.

"Sure. Just go to his little courtyard and find him."

Zhu Shunyang replied.

"Do you know where Senior Brother Li's courtyard is?"

Zhou Er asked awkwardly.

Although he'd been in Wutong District for half a year, he'd kept to himself, focusing on cultivation and talisman-making. He really didn't know Li Wuya.

"I'll send a Junior Brother to take you."

Zhu Shunyang called over one of the Servant Disciples under him and had the disciple lead Zhou Er to Li Wuya's courtyard.

"Senior Brother Zhou, Senior Brother Li's home is right here."

The Servant Disciple pointed to the courtyard.

Zhou Er took a look. The courtyard wasn't far from his own, less than three hundred meters away. He committed the location to memory.

He knocked on the door, but no one answered.

"Senior Brother Zhou, if you have something to do, I can wait here for Senior Brother Li. Once he comes back, I'll let you know."

The Servant Disciple offered.

"Sorry for the trouble, Junior Brother."

Zhou Er took out a Fireball Talisman and gave it to the Servant Disciple.

The Servant Disciple's face immediately lit up when he saw the Fireball Talisman.

Servant Disciples earned far less. Usually, just one Guide Technique was enough to make them willingly serve as laborers for years without complaint.

Naturally, they were overjoyed to receive a reward from an Outer Sect Disciple.

Zhou Er returned to his courtyard, picked up his brush, and drew talismans until he had exhausted his mana. Still, neither Senior Brother Li nor the Servant Disciple came to find him.

A while later, the Servant Disciple knocked on Zhou Er's door. When Zhou Er answered, he said, "Senior Brother Zhou, Senior Brother Li hasn't returned today. I'll come wait for him again tomorrow. There's no need to worry."

"Then I'll trouble you again, Junior Brother."

Zhou Er nodded.

The next day, the Servant Disciple brought word that Li Wuya had come looking for Zhou Er.

"Junior Brother Zhou, I've heard a lot about you."

Li Wuya looked like a frail young man, but he was actually solidly muscled and gave off a powerful air.

"Senior Brother Li, I've been looking for you for two days."

Zhou Er said with a smile.

"My apologies, Junior Brother Zhou. We just went on a hunt a few days ago, so I went down the mountain to have some fun. I only got back today."

Li Wuya explained.

"Understandable."

Everyone had things to do. Nobody was just sitting around with nothing on their hands.

"You came to ask us to hunt a tiger for you?"

Li Wuya skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.

"Exactly!"

Zhou Er nodded.

"That won't be difficult. Our Hunting Team is heading out tomorrow. I can catch a Fierce Tiger for you along the way. Do you want it alive or dead?"

Li Wuya also practiced Body Technique. His body was strong, and he'd once fought a tiger with his bare hands.

"Senior Brother Li, if you can bring me one that's half-dead, that would be ideal. Do I need to go with you?"

Zhou Er asked. He'd really rather be a hands-off boss and not go hunting himself. It would waste time.

"Junior Brother, just stay in the sect and cultivate. We'll be back in a few days."

Li Wuya said.

Even if Zhou Er went, to be honest, he wouldn't be much help. It was better if he didn't come along.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Senior Brother. Also, how many spirit stones should I pay you?"

Zhou Er asked.

"Five should do. The tiger isn't a Demonic Beast, but it's still somewhat dangerous. I hope you understand, Junior Brother."

Li Wuya said.

"Of course."

Zhou Er understood. He even thought it was cheap.

If I'd known five Spirit Stones would settle the matter, I wouldn't have dragged it out for so long.

But Zhou Er was now rolling in wealth, and he'd built up a network of connections. Otherwise, five Spirit Stones wouldn't have been easy to come by.

"Then let's wait for good news, Junior Brother!"

After making a verbal agreement, Li Wuya didn't bother Zhou Er any further. He took his leave.

After making Fireball Talismans for several more days, Zhou Er had saved up some Spirit Stones. He set aside enough to pay Li Wuya, then used the rest to buy two Spirit Gathering Pills.

Until now, Zhou Er had never used a Spirit Gathering Pill in his cultivation.

This time, with everything ready, Zhou Er took out a Spirit Gathering Pill and swallowed it.

Then, without wasting a moment, Zhou Er began circulating his cultivation technique. The pill's medicinal power spread, and he slowly absorbed the pure Spirit Energy as it flowed into his meridians.

Finally, under Zhou Er's control, that energy converged from a hundred streams into the sea, becoming a single Mana Flow. It circulated through his body according to the method of the Qi Gathering Technique.

Zhou Er's cultivation also rose rapidly in the process.

[Name: Zhou Er]

[ cultivation: Qi Refining Third Layer (7.3%)]

[Equipment Slot (3/3): Five Animals Health Technique, Spirit Gathering Pill, Bigu Pill.]

[Unsolidified Attributes: Spirit Gathering (white), Five Animals Health Technique (Perfected), Longevity, Taotie (white).]

[Solidified Attributes: Wondrous Brush (white), Fire Attribute Amplification (white), Spirit Qi Purification (white), Qi Drawing into the Body, Strength Increase (white).]

In the blink of an eye, two hours had passed. Zhou Er checked the panel, and his cultivation progress had risen by more than one percentage point.

At this rate, he was cultivating three or four times faster than before.

If his body weren't under so much strain, Zhou Er would have kept going.

But with the Taotie Attribute, even if he didn't cultivate, it could refine the remaining medicinal power, so none of it would go to waste.

Zhou Er stepped out of the courtyard. Seeing that it was already late, he immediately turned back and went to bed.

At Qi Refining Third Layer, he still needed sleep. But now that he had begun cultivating, he needed far less of it.

He used to sleep about four shichen a day. Now he needed less than three, and stayed clearheaded all day.

It was said that after Foundation Establishment, one could truly abstain from food, using meditation to temper the Spiritual Soul in place of sleep.

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