Mutation

The bandit leader did not send anyone after Tie Li. If Tie Li could kill the second-in-command with one blow, then if he went after him himself, he might not make it back unscathed.

"Boss, are we really just letting him get away?"

Smack! The bandit leader fiercely slapped the lackey beside him.

"What? Do you want to go get revenge on him?"

Riding hard through the night, Tie Li's mind was filled with countless thoughts.

In the end, he made a decision.

He would find a safe place, absorb the thousand-year Thunder Python inner core first, raise his soul power to level twenty, then obtain a soul ring. Once he became a two-ring Grand Soul Master, he would set out for Gengxin City.

With the help of the thousand-year Thunder Python inner core, it would not take long for his soul power to reach level twenty.

Relying solely on the strength of a one-ring Soul Master, safely reaching Gengxin City would be far too difficult. Not to mention that he carried a treasure like the thousand-year Thunder Python inner core. If he encountered a lightning-element Soul Master, they might sense it.

After riding through the night, he did not see a city until noon, which made Tie Li breathe a sigh of relief.

After running for an entire night, the horse beneath him was already exhausted, heaving deep breaths.

Tie Li removed its saddle and let it go.

He covered the remaining few miles on foot.

Arriving at the city gate, he presented his Soul Master handbook and underwent the usual questioning.

Several of the soldiers guarding the city had faint soul power fluctuations around them.

A city that could use Soul Masters as gate guards was surely a major city.

"No problem. Go in!"

"Alright."

The moment he entered the city, Tie Li could feel the prosperity of a major city, something neither Manno City nor Fragrant City could compare to.

After asking around, Tie Li learned the general situation.

This was Dragon Prosperity City, within the Ancient Thunder Kingdom and close to the Star Dou Great Forest. That was why the city was so prosperous, not the least bit inferior even to Ancient Thunder City, the capital of the Ancient Thunder Kingdom.

But prosperity also meant high prices and high spending!

"I refuse to believe there's no commoner district," Tie Li muttered quietly.

He did find a commoner district, but even the cost of living there was not low.

In the most remote corner of the commoner district, Tie Li spent five silver soul coins to rent a small wooden hut.

Three silver soul coins were the deposit, while two were the monthly rent.

Compared with lodging, Tie Li cared more about food.

Ordinary food could fill his stomach, but it was not good enough.

Now that he was not short of money, Tie Li planned to replace his meals with soul beast meat.

Soul beast meat rich in strength and lightning elements contained the attributes he needed. Consuming it over a long period could gradually enhance those two attributes his body required.

Tie Li recalled a shop he had passed earlier that specialized in selling soul beast meat.

He returned to the bustling main street, found the shop from before, and walked inside.

"Sir, what type of soul beast meat are you looking for?" A young female clerk stepped forward to receive Tie Li.

For a soul beast possessing both strength and lightning elements, Tie Li's first choice was naturally Thunder Python meat.

Not only did it possess the attributes he needed, more importantly, it was compatible with him.

Whether it was his first soul ring coming from a Thunder Python soul beast, or his upcoming absorption of the Thunder Python inner core, consuming Thunder Python flesh would benefit him.

"A lightning-element soul beast, preferably a Thunder Python," Tie Li said.

"Do you have any requirements for its age?"

"A hundred years would be best."

Soul beast meat was not cheap, especially the meat of a high-grade soul beast with a bloodline like the Thunder Python. Its price would be even higher.

He was not short on money for the moment, but he might be staying in Dragon Prosperity City for some time. If he chose meat from a high-age Thunder Python, his hundred-odd gold soul coins might not even last for a few meals.

What he needed was long-term consumption. Only then could it have a gradual effect and improve his physique.

Hundred-year Thunder Python meat was ideal. It met his body's needs without exceeding what he could afford.

"Sir, you're in luck. A few days ago, a powerful soul-hunting group killed a hundred-year Thunder Python in the Star Dou Great Forest and sold it to us. How much would you like?"

Dragon Prosperity City was located northeast of the northern region of the Star Dou Great Forest and was quite close to it. As a result, many soul-hunting groups made their living there.

"How much is it?" Tie Li still felt this was the more important question.

"Hundred-year Thunder Python meat is ten gold soul coins per jin."

Hearing that price, Tie Li was slightly shocked.

Back then, he had carried a two-hundred-jin hundred-year Iron-Armed Ape to the Snowwind Trading House and sold it for only thirty gold soul coins. Yet a single jin of hundred-year Thunder Python meat cost as much as ten gold soul coins.

"I'll take two jin for now."

"Certainly."

Under the clerk's arrangement, two jin of Thunder Python meat were brought out. After Tie Li confirmed there was no problem, he went to the counter and paid twenty gold soul coins.

On his way back, Tie Li also bought a clay pot and some mushrooms.

He had no intention of eating raw meat.

Meat was better cooked. All the nutrients stayed in the broth.

Though the wooden hut was small, there was enough room to cook.

He lit a fire beneath the pot, added water and a little salt, then put in the meat and mushrooms before covering it with the lid.

After about an hour, a rich meaty aroma drifted from the clay pot.

Of the two jin of Thunder Python meat, Tie Li had cut off only half a jin. He did not need to worry about the meat spoiling, as soul beast flesh had a long shelf life until all its soul power dissipated.

He lifted the lid, picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks, and put it into his mouth. It tasted delicious. The only regret was that it would not stew tender, so chewing it took some effort.

In no time, Tie Li finished the entire pot of meat and soup. Waves of warmth spread from his abdomen throughout his body.

The remaining Thunder Python inner core energy in his body actually began to refine under that warm current.

Tie Li immediately sat cross-legged on the wooden bed and refined the essence of the meat along with the remaining inner core energy.

The process was rather slow. Tie Li did not finish cultivating until the following afternoon.

After cultivating for so long, he did not feel hungry at all. His entire body felt filled with inexhaustible strength.

Taking out the jade box from his clothes, Tie Li prepared to continue absorbing the Thunder Python inner core's energy.

He took out the inner core and placed it against his chest. Tie Li absorbed its energy as usual, but this time, the efficiency far surpassed before.

It was as though he had become more compatible with the inner core, reaching some sort of balance.

Tie Li himself did not notice during meditation that his Forging Hammer martial soul had appeared before him without being summoned. Lightning flickered over the hammer, resonating with the lightning surrounding Tie Li's body.

Crackle!

A phantom image of a Thunder Python appeared behind Tie Li.

Tie Li only felt his body undergoing an indescribable stabbing pain, as though steel needles were piercing every part of him.

The more solid the Thunder Python phantom behind him became, the more intense the pain Tie Li endured.

Even Tie Li had not expected the Thunder Python inner core to undergo such a change.

Just as Tie Li was about to be unable to endure the pain any longer and wanted to forcibly stop meditating, the Thunder Python suddenly opened its gaping maw.