Seeing this, his eyes widened with shocked.
Even the Iron-clawed bear couldn't make him this shock, perhaps only that regression skill could startled him, but.. this!
Before he could even process this notification further, his body shudder. It was like a bottle being hit by a metal bat.
His body twitches uncontrollably, producing a series of cracking sound, followed by intense pain. Although he was no medical expert, he could guess what was happening.
Body metamorphosis!
He didn't know the meaning behind Body Tempering, but it must be related to cultivation. At the same time, he grasped the clues behind this notification.
"It seems like among us transmigrator, the system will regard those who take the first step in achievement!" He murmured and grit his teeth, his eyes was lit up with even more motivation.
A long time passes, it was already morning. As he stood up, his body was filled with vigor.
Shi Jing had a feeling that if he were to fight that iron clawed bear again, he would be able to kill it with one or two punch!
"Cultivation, cultivation, this is the power of cultivation!"
Then he tried to recall the memories from this body. Somewhere on his first death, he had memories of this foreign language upon transmigrating.
It was the memories of this body, who happened to also have the name Shi Jing. The only difference was that this Shi Jing was younger, being thirteen year old.
Was it a coincidence? He can't say, for that, he did not know. Regardless, that did not matter to him right now anyways.
He realized something even more pressing. It seems like too many death and cycles has affected his memories.
In the future, if possible, dying should be his last option, not the go-to solution. With that in mind, he pulled himself back to the cultivation manual.
With great focus, the characters in the cultivation manual came to him. It was like recalling his knowledge when taking an exam.
The cultivation manual felt warm in his hands, like holding a piece of concentrated sunlight.
Iron Body Transformation Art. The cover read in elegant characters that somehow translated themselves in his mind.
The Heaven-Grade Sword art was Spring Mist Cloud.
He'd been studying it for two hours now, cross-referencing what he'd learned through twenty-three painful deaths with the actual theory.
The strange energy which allows him to killed the iron-clawed bear? That was inner qi, and apparently, he has been unconsciously cultivating it through repeated trauma.
How poetic.
The manual refers to nine stages of Body Tempering, each one requiring specific breathing techniques, meditation, and—most importantly—spirit stones to fuel the transformation.
According to the text, most cultivators took months to reach the second stage. And that bear, it was a rank four body tempering beast!
At this point, he can't help but wondered, did he choose hell difficulty for his spawn point?
No wonder why that fat bear had the thickness of a concrete slab and the strength of a semi-truck.
How many death would he have to sacrifice before being able to kill it if not for his talent for body refinement? One which allowed him to display extraordinary strength in the midst of combat?
Just that thought alone would make his back sweat.
As he keep reading, he can't help but turn the book upside down and murmured," Where's the rest of it?"
The content at the end briefly mentioned the realm beyond body tempering, Qi Refinement.
It referenced that every mortal step on the path of body tempering, before drawing and refining Qi. This is known as Qi-Refinement.
In a way, you can even say that only by reaching Qi-Refinement can you be considered a "True Cultivator".
Don't tell him he has to fight many monster like that bear to loot their cave for more manuals right?
Just that thought made him shiver.
Although he can regress infinitely, it doesn't mean he do not experience that pain each time!
Who knows, there might even be beast stronger in this strange forest!
"Maybe it's better if I use my regression skill to loot other people's belonging?" That thought was quite feasible. He believe it would work. And that's what he planned on doing.
But right now, he need to focus on reaching the next step in cultivation, stepping into Qi-Refinement!
Then, he turn his attention to the [Spring Mist Cloud] Sword Art. The text was quite complicated and filled with cryptic message.
At first glance, he was at a lost and decided to focus his attention on the Body-Refinement Art.
For the next week or two, he spent his time in the cave following the methods recorded in the [Iron Body Transformation Art].
Gradually, he became obsessed with the prospect of gaining power. With each day passed, he was an inch stronger. This only further fueled his obsession.
This is because of his foundation.
Although the system rewarded him with peak Body-Tempering stage cultivation and he had no need for tempering the body, his usage of Inner Qi was rudimentary.
This is like a child being handed a gun.
Similarly, as he practice the Iron Body Transformation Art, his understanding of Inner Qi grows.
Other than needing to hunt for food, he would not take a step outside. It was like he's grown allergic to the presence of the sun. The mere warmth of the sunlight makes him sneeze.
At this moment, he faced another crisis.
"Fuck, I need more spirit stones." He murmured as he wipe the sweat off his back and sat down to take a breather.
The pile of spirit stone that was tucked in the corner of the cave has now dwindle to a measly three pieces.
"At least I made some progress! If It was before, I am confident in releasing half of my power, but now… I can release close to a hundred percent of it!" He comfort himself, taking a looking outside the cave.
Before he could get up and start a fire to cook some wild animals, he was alarmed.
The system which only had two message has now changed. His SSS-Ranked skill remained, but the number of transmigrator changed.
[Number of Transmigrator: 30]
[Number of Survivor has reached the threshold, unlocking new functions.]
[Transmigrator Chat Unlock!]
[Mission Unlock!]