Grace

Su Ming darted through the forest, his figure like an arrow loosed from the bow. Relying on his familiarity with the place and his nimble body, he soon saw Wu Mountain in the distance.

Once he passed through this forest, he would enter Wu Mountain.

Su Ming had gathered herbs on this mountain ever since childhood. To him, nearly every blade of grass and tree here exuded an aura that made him feel deeply at ease.

The beast-hide scroll said that when Barbarian Cultivators reached the Blood Condensation Realm, they tempered the Barbarian Blood within their bodies, stirring their blood to awaken strength and continuously strengthen the body. I thought I would never experience such a thing in this life, yet now I can truly feel it! The first level of the Blood Condensation Realm requires condensing three bloodline threads within the body. I have not even completed them all, yet my speed has already increased greatly, even my strength... Su Ming's body swayed. As he rushed forward, he leaped into the air beside a towering tree, clenched his right hand into a fist, and smashed it fiercely into the trunk.

With a bang, a faint fist mark appeared on the tree. Su Ming's right hand went numb as well, but excitement appeared on his face.

Yet just as he rejoiced, a red blur flashed past him, accompanied by a string of smug chirps. Little Monkey had clearly caught up and overtaken Su Ming.

Su Ming smiled faintly and chased after the red blur. Though he was not slow, he could not compare to Little Monkey. In the past, whenever he reached Wu Mountain, Little Monkey would invariably be lying there with a disdainful, impatient look, as though it had been waiting for ages.

But now, more than an hour later, when Su Ming climbed Wu Mountain and reached the halfway point of one of its peaks, near the hollowed boulder, he found Little Monkey still wearing that disdainful, impatient expression. Yet the sweat not yet faded from its brow revealed that even it had not arrived much earlier.

Su Ming smiled and stepped forward to rub Little Monkey's head. He took off the woven basket on his back, stood atop the boulder, looked at the hazy mist stretching across heaven and earth in the distance, and drew a deep breath.

He liked standing here and looking ahead. A few steps forward lay a bottomless abyss, and when mountain winds blew, they could make one feel as though they were about to topple over. It was quite dangerous, but Su Ming had climbed this mountain since childhood. To him, it was like a second home.

"Xiao Hong, what is it like on the other side of the mountain... Have you ever been there?" Su Ming stood there as the wind stirred his beast-hide clothes with a whistling rustle. His right hand unconsciously touched the jet-black fragment against his chest.

Little Monkey rolled its eyes, glanced at the distant world, and ignored Su Ming. Instead, it lowered its head and scratched through its fur, as if searching for something within it.

Seeing Little Monkey grooming itself and ignoring him, Su Ming rubbed his nose, shook his head with a smile, and simply sat down cross-legged where he was.

"Xiao Hong, I won't be returning to the tribe for a while this time. I'll probably live here for some days. When you go out to play, remember to bring back some wild fruit for me."

Little Monkey immediately raised its head, revealing a surprised expression. After carefully examining Su Ming a few times, it instantly beamed with delight and nodded repeatedly. Usually, it spent only three to five days with Su Ming at most. Once Su Ming returned to the tribe, it would be left alone in these mountains and forests. Now that it understood Su Ming's words, it was overjoyed.

Su Ming took a deep breath, faced the mountain wind, and slowly closed his eyes. He intended to cultivate here until he had fully completed the first level of the Blood Condensation Realm before leaving.

After all, Su Ming did not know how to explain what had happened to him. Faintly, he wanted to conceal it and did not want anyone else to know.

Not long after he closed his eyes, a bloodline thread emerged upon Su Ming's body. It gave off a faint red glow, but the glow did not flicker. Instead, it was rather solid.

Even that bloodline thread was no longer half-hidden as it had been half a month ago. It was now fully revealed.

Su Ming might not possess talent in the path of Barbarian Cultivation, but he possessed perseverance and a resolve not to give up easily. As he sat cross-legged, time slowly flowed on.

The sun rose and set. Mist drifted through the mountain forest, gathering and dispersing. The cries of birds and beasts often echoed around him, filling the place with a peculiar tranquility. Beneath that tranquility, Su Ming opened his eyes on the morning of the second day.

After stretching his body, he turned around and discovered that Little Monkey had vanished. However, there were some wild fruits on the ground, along with fruit pits it had spat out after eating...

Su Ming picked up some fruit and ate more than ten of them. With his appetite, those fruits were enough to make him mostly full. Though he liked this kind of wild fruit, he did not like eating too much of it at once.

After finishing the fruit, Su Ming sat cross-legged once more and immersed himself in condensing his Barbarian Blood. Yet this time, only a few hours passed before he opened his eyes, confusion appearing within them.

The first bloodline thread has already fully condensed, but when it comes to the second one, it always feels as if there isn't enough blood in my body... Even Su Ming could not explain the feeling. It was as though the first bloodline thread had absorbed more than half his blood, leaving too little to condense the second.

It sounded contradictory and mysterious, difficult to explain, yet it was Su Ming's true feeling at that moment.

Not enough blood... Su Ming scratched his head and began to ponder. He did not know that Barbarian Cultivators, especially in the early stages, not only needed strong bodies to sustain their cultivation, but also needed to consume large amounts of medicine. The purpose of those medicines was to rapidly create new blood, thereby driving cultivation forward and condensing bloodline thread after bloodline thread.

Thus, the deeper a Barbarian Warrior's cultivation within the Blood Condensation Realm, the more astonishing the power of blood and vitality within their body. Once it erupted, the strength of their flesh alone could tear powerful beasts apart alive. That was why they were called Barbarians!

Such matters were secrets of the tribe. Only tribesmen who possessed a Barbarian Body could learn of them.

When someone in the tribe is injured, they lose a great deal of blood, their faces turn pale, and their whole bodies grow weak. At such times, they need to take herbs that replenish blood and vitality... Su Ming's eyes lit up. After thinking carefully, he immediately stood, slung the woven basket onto his back, and leaped toward the side of the mountain. This time, he moved with tremendous speed. About half an hour later, he hurried back.

When he returned, his woven basket already contained herbs still clinging with dirt. After cleaning and sorting them, Su Ming took out a stone bowl from the basket. He crushed the herbs, mixed them with some dew, and mashed them together into a dark green liquid that gave off a strange smell.

But he had long grown accustomed to the smell. After taking a few breaths of it, he added some more herbs. Once he had finished everything, he took a deep breath and drank the entire bowl without hesitation.

It tasted terrible. Su Ming frowned, forced himself to drink every last drop, then sat cross-legged and meditated again.

It was not until deep into the night that Su Ming opened his eyes. He stared blankly into the darkness ahead.

It has some effect... but it's too slight... The method should be right, but there must still be something I got wrong... Su Ming frowned. He could not ask Grandpa about these things and could only work them out himself.

No!! Su Ming's eyes flashed. As the tribe's herbal physician, he was specifically responsible for gathering medicinal herbs. He vaguely recalled that whenever he brought back medicine, Grandpa would usually select some of it and take it away. Only the remainder would be sent to the tribal chief, stored as required, and later taken out to brew medicinal soup for treating illnesses and wounds.

Among the herbs Grandpa took away was Black Dragon Saliva. Later, however, this Black Dragon Saliva seemed to lose its effect on Grandpa, so all of it was left to Su Ming to nourish his body.

There should still be some Black Dragon Saliva left after I gave Lei Chen the last batch. Su Ming immediately rummaged through his woven basket and found the small earthen bottle. When he opened it, a familiar fragrance rushed toward him. After giving it a slight shake, he found that a little less than half remained.

Without hesitation, Su Ming lifted the small bottle to his mouth and drank it all in one gulp.

He immediately sat cross-legged and immersed himself in condensing his bloodline threads. Su Ming had consumed much Black Dragon Saliva since childhood. Every time he drank it, he would feel dizzy and sleepy, as though drunk.

But this was the first time he had cultivated according to the methods of Barbarian Cultivation after drinking Black Dragon Saliva. As the blood within his body circulated, he clearly felt a cool, icy current arise inside him and swiftly spread to every part of his body.

As it spread, it gradually merged into his blood, immediately speeding up its circulation and seemingly increasing its quantity as well.

So that's how it is! Su Ming's heart surged with excitement. Just as he was about to continue circulating it, his entire body suddenly trembled. His eyes flew open, filled with disbelief and daze.

How could this be... Grandpa...

Within his body, Su Ming clearly sensed that as the coolness was absorbed, even more icy currents emerged from every part of him. Those currents seemed to have existed for many years, silently stored away as they waited for the day his bloodline began circulating and they could erupt.

The mouthful of Black Dragon Saliva Su Ming had drunk earlier was precisely the trigger for that eruption!

Now, countless tiny streams seemed to gather from all directions, converging into an ocean.

This was a grand gift Grandpa had prepared for him since childhood: the immense gift of constantly nourishing his body with Black Dragon Saliva. If Su Ming cultivated Barbarian Cultivation, this power would greatly aid his early cultivation. If he never did so in this lifetime, it would still keep his body healthy.

In his daze, Su Ming seemed to see Grandpa's kind gaze over the years, his gradually aging face, the expectations he had placed upon Su Ming, and the dimness from more than half a month ago.

"Grandpa..." Su Ming murmured. A muffled rumbling echoed within his body as the power of Black Dragon Saliva accumulated over countless years pushed his blood onward. The second bloodline thread immediately appeared upon his body and rapidly solidified.

After the second bloodline thread emerged, the third bloodline thread rose up as well!!

Even the fourth bloodline thread seemed faintly on the verge of appearing!

Then Su Ming's body gradually grew sturdier at a speed visible to the naked eye. The circulation and strengthening of his blood and vitality drove the growth of his body. If this continued, he would no longer be frail from this day onward, but would possess a sturdy body like the other members of the Barbarian Tribe.

But at that very moment, the jet-black fragment on Su Ming's chest suddenly emitted the exact same dazzling, ghostly light it had within the Barbarian Statue!

The light flashed, and a sudden change erupted!

Thanks to a fellow Daoist's reminder, the volume title has been added. This is Volume One: If Life Were Like Our First Meeting.