There was no stopping at first blood when fighting magical beasts. Whenever Chen Cang found one blocking his path, he fought not only to determine the victor, but to decide who lived and who died.
Since he kept roaming around the outskirts, Chen Cang encountered almost no danger throughout the day.
Even so, these bouts against mindless opponents still helped him discover some problems of his own.
The most obvious was that his control over his strength lacked precision.
An ordinary Tier 1 Magical Beast, for instance, was roughly equivalent to a four- or five-star Dou Zhe.
With Chen Cang's strength, he should have been able to kill it effortlessly. Yet in battle, he always wasted more Dou Qi than necessary, sometimes even having to use a Dou Technique.
It was a minor problem, but in an evenly matched fight, it could very well become fatal.
He had to get the details right.
A whole day of slaughter left Chen Cang somewhat weary, but utterly exhilarated.
Discovering problems meant he was improving. He did not expect to fully integrate the vast wealth of combat experience in his mind all at once. Digesting it bit by bit was enough.
Moreover, he had confirmed today that he could peer into magical beasts' memories. That alone was an enormous gain.
After all, most of this world's natural treasures grew deep in the mountains and wilderness. The magical beasts that also lived there were undoubtedly the most likely to discover them.
Being able to peer into their memories meant Chen Cang could find these opportunities more easily, putting him far ahead of others who were stumbling around blind.
"The magical beasts on the outermost fringes can help me get used to killing and become proficient with Dou Qi. I'll stay here for a few days before going deeper to seek greater pressure."
Black Eagle Mountains, you'll be my home from now on!
With his training plan settled, Chen Cang took his modest spoils and left the mountains without looking back.
In a magical beast mountain range like this, the danger during the day and at night could never be treated as equal.
Night was a paradise for magical beasts.
For now, Chen Cang did not dare spend the night deep in the mountains.
Back in the familiar city, Chen Cang first went to the marketplace and sold his spoils as a lot.
Unfortunately, they had all come from Tier 1 Magical Beasts, so their prices were predictable. Altogether, they fetched only a few hundred gold coins.
Well, the result was passable. Chen Cang had been prepared for it, after all.
Come to think of it, these were his first savings in this life.
Fortunately, Chen Cang currently had nothing he needed to spend money on. The City Lord's Residence provided his food and lodging, and Master Mo even supplied the pills he needed.
It was a small sum, but little by little, it would grow. He believed that by the time he could cross the Black Eagle Mountains, it would have become a substantial amount, enough to cover his expenses on the road.
After hiding his bag of gold coins and the jade bottle containing Qi Gathering Powder, Chen Cang washed up, brimming with drive, then buried himself in cultivation again.
Days filled with hope always passed quickly.
Chen Cang was like a diligent old farmer, setting out at sunrise and returning at sunset, traveling back and forth between the Black Eagle Mountains and Tianying City every day.
With such persistence, his progress was tremendous.
Now, when Chen Cang fought magical beasts, only two words could describe him.
Clean efficiency!
He dealt with magical beasts simply and effectively, never wasting a shred of Dou Qi. This let Chen Cang move through the outskirts of the Black Eagle Mountains like a fish in water. Even if he encountered a Tier 2 Magical Beast, he was confident he could exchange a few blows with it and then retreat unscathed.
A month slipped quietly by.
That night, Chen Cang sat cross-legged on his bed, his hands forming a cultivation seal as the Dou Qi within him circulated along the pathways prescribed by Crimson Fire Refinement.
Suddenly, his bell-steady body gave a slight tremor. Had a powerful expert been present, they would certainly have noticed the surrounding natural energy circulating faster, drawn in and refined by the figure on the bed.
"A one-star Dou Shi! Half a month sooner than I expected!"
Chen Cang opened his eyes, delight spreading across his face.
He released his hand seal and clenched his hands into fists.
Crimson Dou Qi instantly appeared over the surface of his body. After emerging, it suddenly drew inward again. A moment later, it slowly settled against the outside of Chen Cang's clothes, as though forming a defensive layer of Dou Qi.
This was the Dou Qi Veil.
The signature skill of a Dou Shi!
It was also the most practical skill.
The Dou Qi Veil covered the entire body, its most obvious effect being a sharp increase in defense.
Beyond that, it also provided a measure of improvement to speed and attack power.
Upon becoming a Dou Shi, the Dou Qi in one's Dou Qi Vortex would begin to liquefy, bringing a qualitative improvement to the energy within the body.
I'm ten times stronger than I was yesterday! When I enter the mountains tomorrow, I can visit that lake. Even if I can't win, I'll at least be confident of escaping.
Feeling the changes in himself, inside and out, Chen Cang settled on a plan.
As the saying went, a wise man did not stand beneath a crumbling wall. Throughout the past month, Chen Cang had always managed to avoid the formidable magical beasts on the outskirts of the Black Eagle Mountains and find the most suitable training opponents. The fundamental reason was that he knew the distribution of magical beasts there like the back of his hand.
From the memories of one magical beast after another, Chen Cang had learned where the strongest Tier 2 Magical Beasts held territory. If he could fight them, he fought; if he could not, he went around.
One could say that Chen Cang already had a detailed map of the outer region in his mind.
With it, he sought good fortune and avoided danger, securing each step before taking the next.
Within this region, Chen Cang knew that a small lake to the east was home to its only Tier 3 Magical Beast.
The Jade Wave Turtle!
This creature could certainly be called powerful. It specialized in defense, and even the strongest Tier 3 Magical Beasts, or some fourth-order magical beasts, could do nothing against it. They simply could not break through its defenses.
Calling this creature weak was also fair, because it had a fatal flaw: it was extremely slow. Even some Tier 2 Magical Beasts far surpassed its speed.
Overall, its strengths and weaknesses were quite clear.
By Chen Cang's assessment, the Jade Wave Turtle could serve as a training opponent for quite a long time. He had wanted to investigate it for ages.
But without the protection of a Dou Qi Veil before, Chen Cang had been far too uncertain of his chances, which was why he had put it off until now.
His improved strength put Chen Cang in excellent spirits. He immediately got up, picked up a fruit from beside his bed, and headed to Master Mo's courtyard.
It was a Tanning Spirit Fruit, one of the main ingredients for the second-grade Pulse-Protecting Pill.
Mercenaries who frequently ventured into danger would more or less always come across some unexpected gains. Chen Cang was not a mercenary, but the same principle applied.
During this time, he had also obtained some medicinal ingredients in the Black Eagle Mountains. Rather than selling them, Chen Cang had given them all to Master Mo.
Although their value still fell short of the pills Master Mo had given him, they were at least a token of his gratitude.
Heaven was his witness: Chen Cang truly thought this way. His motives were simple, fundamentally different from his earlier deliberate attempts to cultivate a friendship.
Master Mo, however, was a man who observed the courtesies.
Chen Cang's respectful gifts pleased him greatly. Over the past few days, Master Mo had been privately gathering ingredients for third-grade Qi Recovery Pills, intending to give them to Chen Cang as a gift after he broke through to Dou Shi.
Chen Cang was deeply moved by this.
If only I had a trace of wood affinity.
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