The Back Mountains of the Vane Estate were not a place for the weak. They were a jagged spine of rock and dense, ancient forestry that served as a natural barrier between the civilized lands of the Azure Dragon Empire and the true wilderness beyond.
For the servants, this place was a death sentence. For the Vane family disciples, it was a hunting ground.
For Kaelen, it was a buffet.
The rain had reduced to a freezing drizzle, turning the forest floor into a treacherous slick of mud and rotting leaves. Kaelen moved through the underbrush, his breathing controlled and rhythmic. His stolen boots were heavy with mud, but his steps were light.
Body Refining Stage 2 is insufficient, he analyzed as he crouched beneath the roots of a massive twisted oak. My muscles are denser, but my skin is still soft. A single direct hit from a spirit beast would disembowel me.
He needed targets. Specifically, he needed beasts with high vitality.
Snap.
A twig broke twenty meters to his left.
Kaelen froze. His [Soul of the Demon Lord] trait, though locked, still provided him with an instinct that bordered on precognition. He didn't see the enemy, but he felt the intent.
From the shadows of the ferns, a pair of glowing yellow eyes emerged.
It was an Iron-Bristle Boar.
The beast was the size of a small sedan, its fur matted with coarse, metallic spikes that acted as natural armor. It snorted, pawing the ground, its tusks gleaming like jagged daggers.
"System, scan," Kaelen commanded silently.
> [Target Analysis]
> Species: Iron-Bristle Boar
> Rank: Low-Tier Spirit Beast
> Equivalent Cultivation: Body Refining Stage 3
> Risk Level: High (due to Host's lack of equipment)
>
"Stage 3," Kaelen muttered. "Higher defense than the guards. Lower intelligence."
The boar charged.
It didn't shriek; it exploded forward with a guttural roar, tearing up the earth. It was a chaotic ball of muscle and spikes aimed directly at Kaelen's chest.
Kaelen didn't run. He couldn't outrun a boar in this terrain.
He waited. One second. Two seconds.
The smell of the beast—musk, wet fur, and rot—filled the air.
Just as the tusks were about to impale him, Kaelen dropped flat onto his back in the mud. The boar, unable to correct its momentum, thundered over him.
As it passed above, Kaelen thrust his stolen dagger upward with both hands.
SCREEEE!
Sparks flew as the blade skidded off the iron-like bristles on the boar's chest. The weapon was too low quality; it couldn't pierce the hide.
"Tch. Cheap steel," Kaelen hissed, rolling away as the boar slammed into the oak tree behind him, shaking the massive trunk.
The beast shook its head, dazed but furious. It turned, eyes burning with rage.
Kaelen scrambled to his feet. He couldn't pierce the hide. He needed a soft spot. Eyes, ears, or... the underbelly, which he had missed.
Think. Adapt. Overcome.
The boar charged again. This time, Kaelen ran. He sprinted toward a cluster of jagged rocks jutting out of the hillside.
The boar followed, faster than him, closing the distance rapidly.
Kaelen leaped, planting his foot on a mossy stone and vaulting upward. It was a move that strained his new muscles to their limit, tearing fibers in his calves. The [Pain Nullification] kept his face stoic as he grabbed a hanging vine and swung himself onto a high rock shelf.
The boar slammed into the rock below, squealing in frustration. It reared up on its hind legs, trying to reach him.
"Open wide," Kaelen whispered.
He jumped down.
Gravity was his weapon. He didn't aim for the hide this time. He aimed for the open mouth.
He landed on the beast's head, driving the dagger downward with all his weight. The blade plunged into the boar's left eye, sinking deep into the brain.
The beast thrashed wildly, throwing Kaelen off. He hit the ground hard, rolling to absorb the impact.
The boar squealed, staggering sideways, blood pouring from the ruined eye. It took three steps, its legs trembling, before it collapsed with a heavy thud.
Kaelen lay in the mud for a moment, staring at the canopy. His chest heaved. His left shoulder was dislocated from the fall.
Pop.
He slammed it back into place with a sickening crunch. He didn't blink.
He walked over to the dying beast. It was still twitching.
"Thank you for the meal," Kaelen said emotionlessly.
He placed his hand on the boar's snout.
Heaven-Devouring Scripture. Activate.
This was different from the humans. The beast's vitality was wild, chaotic, and scorching hot. It rushed into Kaelen's meridians like a flood of molten lava. It was violent energy, filled with the beast's dying rage.
Kaelen's veins bulged, turning black for a split second before settling.
> [Vitality Absorbed: Massive]
> Target: Iron-Bristle Boar
> Essence Points Gained: 300
> Strength +4
> Constitution +5
>
A warm, golden light enveloped Kaelen. His skin began to itch—a sign that it was hardening, becoming tougher. The impurities in his pores were forced out in a cloud of gray steam.
> [Breakthrough!]
> Cultivation Reached: Body Refining Stage 3.
>
Kaelen exhaled a breath of white mist. He clenched his fist. The air popped audibly in his grip. Stage 3. He was now as strong as the strongest guard he had killed earlier, but his combat technique made him exponentially more dangerous.
"Not enough," he said, looking deeper into the forest. "Thorne is Stage 6. I need to reach at least Stage 5 to guarantee a kill."
He looted the boar quickly. He used the dagger to pry out the beast's heart—a dense lump of muscle rich in blood energy—and pocketed the Beast Core, a small, marble-sized crystal found in its skull.
> [Item Obtained: Low-Grade Earth Core]
> Can be sold or consumed for Qi.
>
Kaelen pocketed it. He would eat it later if he got desperate.
He spent the next four hours turning the outer perimeter of the Back Mountains into a slaughterhouse.
He killed three Wind Rabbits (fast, good for Agility stats).
He killed a Venomous Pit Viper (Stage 2, extracted the poison sac).
He ambushed a lone Stone Wolf (Stage 3).
With every kill, the Heaven-Devouring Scripture refined his body. His muscles became leaner, more defined. His skin took on a faint, healthy sheen, shedding the sickly pallor of the old Kaelen.
But the forest had a hierarchy, and Kaelen was making too much noise.
Around 3:00 AM, the rain stopped completely. The forest went silent.
Kaelen halted. He was standing in a small clearing, wiping wolf blood from his dagger. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
The silence was unnatural. The crickets had stopped. The wind had died.
From the tree line, a figure emerged.
It wasn't a beast. It was a human.
Kaelen narrowed his eyes. It was an old man, wearing the gray robes of a servant, but he carried a bamboo basket on his back filled with herbs. The man looked frail, hunchbacked, with a long white beard.
"Young Master Kaelen?" the old man asked, his voice trembling with disbelief. "Is that you?"
Kaelen recognized him. Old Man Mo. The herb gatherer for the Vane family. He was a neutral party, someone who had occasionally snuck the original Kaelen an extra steamed bun when he was starving.
"Old Mo," Kaelen said, his voice guarding. He didn't sheathe his dagger.
"Heavens," Mo whispered, stepping closer, squinting. "You... you are covered in blood. And your aura... you are cultivating? But your meridians..."
"Are fixed," Kaelen lied smoothly. "I found a lucky opportunity."
Old Mo's eyes widened. "A lucky opportunity... good. Good! You have suffered enough, child." The old man smiled, reaching into his robe. "Here, I found a Spirit Ginseng. It will help you stabilize your—"
[Danger Sense: Critical Warning!]
The System screamed in Kaelen's mind.
Kaelen didn't ask questions. He threw his dagger.
Swish!
The blade flew straight at Old Mo's face.
The "frail" old man vanished.
He moved with terrifying speed, reappearing ten feet to the left. The bamboo basket fell to the ground, revealing not herbs, but a collection of human skulls.
Old Mo stood straight, his hunchback gone. His face contorted into a sinister grin, his eyes glowing green.
"Sharp senses for a cripple," the man sneered. His aura erupted. It wasn't the weak Qi of a servant.
> [Target Analysis]
> Name: "Corpse Collector" Mo
> Identity: Rogue Cultivator (Demonic Path)
> Cultivation: Qi Condensation Stage 1.
> Warning: Target exceeds Host's current capabilities. Run.
>
Qi Condensation.
The realm above Body Refining. A realm where one could project energy externally. A realm where mortals became true cultivators.
"I've been hiding in the Vane family for five years," Mo chuckled, a green poisonous mist forming around his hands. "Waiting to harvest the Young Masters. But you... you smell delicious, Kaelen. Your blood reeks of the Forbidden."
Mo licked his lips. "Forget Thorne. If I eat you, I might break through to Stage 2."
Kaelen took a step back, his mind racing.
Body Refining Stage 3 vs. Qi Condensation Stage 1.
The gap was an ocean.
"System," Kaelen said, his voice steady despite the overwhelming killing intent crushing down on him. "Calculate win probability."
> [Probability: 0.01%]
> [Recommendation: Flee.]
>
Kaelen smiled. It was the same smile he wore when he faced the Global Alliance armies alone on Earth.
"I like those odds."
Kaelen reached into his pocket and crushed the Venomous Pit Viper's poison sac in his bare hand, coating his fingers in deadly neurotoxin.
"Come and eat, old dog," Kaelen taunted. "I promise I'll choke you."