The depths of the forest were already rather hot and stuffy, and Lucas had been sweating as he walked. If he exposed himself to the blazing sun as well, his body would lose water too quickly.
That would be courting death. Lucas rested for a moment. He knew that, at this time, most magical beasts had already eaten and drunk their fill. This was not their hunting time, which also made it his only opportunity to light a fire.
So Lucas climbed down from the tree and collected a helmetful of water from the nearby stream. Then he stacked stones into a makeshift stove, lit a fire, and began boiling the water. Once it boiled, he hurriedly put out the fire. Then he immediately moved elsewhere!
After walking for a while, he climbed back into a tree. When the water had cooled a little, he poured it into his waterskin! He planned to wait until it cooled further before drinking it, although he did not know whether the water in the Coiling Dragon World contained microorganisms too.
Still, he did not dare drink unboiled water. He understood that drinking unboiled water in any world was courting death. Besides, shallow, slow-moving water in a primeval forest like this was certainly unsafe.
After replenishing his fluids, Lucas ate some dry rations. He leaned against the tree and rested. Once he had rested enough, he continued traveling that afternoon. At dusk, after finding a relatively safe place, he began his daily training!
Whenever he encountered a lone fifth-level magical beast along the way, Lucas would invariably approach it and fight it for a while. If he killed it, its meat would become his rations for the next few days.
Thus, over the past six months, Lucas's mental power had also improved because his nerves were constantly on edge. Under that pressure, he had cultivated his Battle Qi to the fifth level during those six months as well.
Today, he planned to challenge a herd of wild boars he had been watching for several days. He knew that both of its boar kings, one male and one female, were fifth-level magical beasts. Magical beasts like these were just right for him now, allowing him to hone his combat skills appropriately.
He would first use the pair to gain experience and level up, then go back and solo those packs of Wind Wolves that had chased him last time. Lucas was a man who repaid every slight. At his current fifth level, being surrounded by two sixth-level magical beasts and a pack of fifth-level magical beasts would still mean certain death. He would let them enjoy a little more time alive first!
These wild boar herds were clearly the main food source within the Wind Wolves' territory. Lucas also understood that, as long as he killed the wild boars, the Wind Wolves would certainly discover them. They would come to eat the dead boars, and Lucas planned to bait the Wind Wolves this way. It would also give him indirect control over their movements.
After getting himself into peak condition, Lucas chose an afternoon to act. By this time, the wolf packs had most likely finished hunting, so he would be less likely to end up surrounded while killing the boars.
When he reached the boar kings' territory, he saw some piglets basking in the sun from a distance. The moment he approached, the piglets darted straight into the cave, while a boar king stood at the entrance and roared at him.
Lucas charged. Seeing him rush over, the boar immediately cast Earth Spike. Lucas moved in a zigzag, evading the magical attack. When the boar saw that Lucas had dodged its spell, it realized there was no time to gather another magical attack. It charged straight at Lucas with its tusks instead.
Lucas's attacks still could not kill the thick-skinned boar in a single blow, so his strike only wounded the male. At that moment, he noticed that the sow had also joined the fight. While he was battling the male, she charged from another direction. Lucas used the recoil from his strike against the boar to leap away, dodging the attack.
After fighting them for a while, Lucas gradually grew accustomed to the rhythm of their attacks. Since they could no longer put him under pressure, he decided to end the battle with Wielding Something Light as Though It Were Heavy, which he had become considerably more familiar with since last time.
When he unleashed this move he had comprehended, Lucas indeed killed the boar in a single strike. The other one charged over at that moment as well. After some thought, Lucas decided not to kill the sow too.
After all, one should leave some room for mercy. They were no longer of any use to Lucas, nor could they threaten him. After he drove her back, the boar knew she was outmatched and fled. Lucas did not pursue her. Instead, he took a foreleg from the male boar and left straightaway. Lucas figured that the boar he had spared would probably return to take her piglets away. Leaving them alive would also leave a potential food supply for the Wind Wolves, so they would not attack his tribe ahead of time over a shortage of food.
This place was not too far from his tribe, and Lucas had not left those Wind Wolves' territory during the past six months. He planned to cultivate to the sixth level and kill these Wind Wolves before leaving. That would also eliminate a potential threat to the tribe in advance!
Over these six months, he had also become fairly familiar with the feel of using heavy weapons, thanks to having swung a sledgehammer at Master Drake's weapon workshop before.
After switching back to his comparatively light spear, he sorted through his sense of using a light weapon like the spear while recalling how it felt to swing the sledgehammer. He carefully reflected on the feeling of force as the heavy hammer slammed into the iron back then. It helped that he had used Wielding Something Light as Though It Were Heavy before and had already been able to perform it occasionally while in the tribe.
Over these six months, he had made considerable progress. He could now be said to have mastered Wielding Something Light as Though It Were Heavy, which warriors had to comprehend before becoming Saints and comprehending the force of heaven and earth.
Although Lucas had previously gained a tiny sliver of comprehension of the Death Edict, he had no magic. Furthermore, he did not know how to cultivate the Death Edict, so it currently provided no boost whatsoever to his combat strength.
Lucas was confident that, once he reached Saint level, that sliver of the Death Edict he had comprehended would be the dividing line that took him from early Saint to advanced Saint-the key to his path toward becoming a god.
Moreover, thanks to his current comprehension, Lucas was confident that his attacks should now be significantly stronger than those of ordinary sixth-level magical beasts. He was also confident that he could briefly exchange blows with some of the less powerful seventh-level magical beasts. But Lucas, after all, had the steady soul of an elderly man. Even with such combat strength, he did not plan to go kill the Wind Wolf packs that had first humiliated him by forcing him to flee. He had to play it safe!
That afternoon, after replenishing his fluids and stamina, Lucas found a somewhat safer place and began sorting through what he had gained from the battle. Once he finished, he began refining his Battle Qi as usual. When darkness fell that evening, he meditated for a while but did not enter deep meditation, because he needed to keep enough energy in reserve to deal with dangers that could arrive at any moment.
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