Li Yuan didn't take the long way back, where someone might see him coming down from the Scripture Pavillion and cause him trouble, leading to him losing even more fortune to deal with them.

  Instead, he cut through three courtyards, slipped past a training field, and didn't slow until he reached his small residence on the outer slope of the peak.

  He shut the door behind him and slid the latch into place. Only then did he release the breath he'd been holding.

  Finally, safe home. And now he could begin studying the techniques he had just bought.

  He took out the scrolls one by one and laid them carefully on the floor, weighing down the corners with whatever was nearby. Then he knelt among them and began to read.

  The Sword technique came first as he already had a background as a swordsman and believed he could pick it up much faster.

  He memorised stance diagrams, breath timing, the exact angle of wrists and shoulders.

  The Mountain-Splitting Stillness Sword demanded stillness for long periods of time. You have to lock your body in a single stance, compress your Qi into specific places in your meridians, and sharpen your sword intent until the last moment where you let it all out and strike with overwhelming force.

  The movement technique came next.

  Shadow-Cloud Steps required him to channel his meridians through specific pathways in his feet in order to gain a burst of speed.

  That was not all there was to it, of course. In fact, it was the first and most basic step, and the technique only became more complicated as it moved forward. But he didn't need to worry about that. He only needed to understand and pick up the basics to get a leg in. Then the Stele would do most of the hard work for him.

  Stealth technique followed next.

  Veil of Borrowed Heaven was… unsettling in ways he couldn't quite express. The text was written in ways that made him feel like he was reading some kind of eldritch book.

  It barely explained how technique worked, and went on and on about something that the author called heavens, describing the phenomena in long flowery poems, before giving a brief explanation on how to use the 'Heavens' to cover his presence, sound, scent and Qi signature.

  It took him a long while to realise that the 'heavens' the author was talking about was the Ambient Qi energy that permeated the world around him. Even then he wasn't completely sure if he was right or not.

  Learning the technique somehow became ten times more difficult after gaining that understanding.

  The Tracking technique came last.

  Reading the manual on 'Spirit Residue Following Technique' made him feel like he was reading a hunter's ledger.

  The author mostly talked about his hunts, followed by little clues here and there on how the technique worked. Looking for the little clues in between the long dry texts made him want to slam his head on the table multiple times, but he finally managed to gather enough clue to figure out the very basics of how the technique worked.

  And so, he practiced.

  He practised each day from morning to evening. Until his legs shook from exhaustion and his wrists burned with pain.

  Days slipped by unnoticed. And he figured out the techniques one by one. At least learning enough to register them as skills in the Stele. And then, only the Veil of Borrowed Heaven remained.

  It took him two more weeks, before he finally managed to get a rudimentary understanding of the Veil of Borrowed Heaven.

  And that… that was enough.

  Li Yuan entered his home, closed the door shut and sat cross-legged on the ground before summoned the Stele.

  It emerged soundlessly, and landed in front of him with a loud thud. Then, at a single thought from him, lines of text begin to emerge on its stony surface as it showed him his Status Panel.

  Two familiar techniques sat at the top. His Cultivation technique as well as the Sword technique his clan had given him. The technique he hadn't even bothered to learn properly. Or, to be more exact, didn't have the time to master.

  Below those two… were four new entries.

  Mountain-Splitting Stillness Sword – 1 / 75 (Minor Accomplishment)

  Shadow-Cloud Steps – 1 / 100 (Minor Accomplishment)

  Veil of Borrowed Heaven – 1 / 300 (Minor Accomplishment)

  Spirit Residue Following Technique – 1 / 125 (Minor Accomplishment)

  Li Yuan's eyes snapped wide open as his gaze fell upon the Veil of Borrowed Heaven.

  "Three hundred…"

  The Minor Accomplishment of this technique alone required more points than most techniques needed to reach Major Accomplishment.

  No wonder no one had ever managed to complete even the Minor Accomplishment stage. Especially with how bad the author was at explaining the technique.

  No wonder it was treated as a niche concealment method that no one bothered to learn instead of terrifying stealth technique it actually was.

  He thought back on the techniques he'd seen in Xu Chen's Status panel. Xu Chen's techniques had been high-grade. Some absurdly so. But even among them, none had demanded this much at the first threshold.

  A slow grin crept onto his face. 'So that's how it is. It seems I've really struck gold this time.'

  He didn't hesitate for a single moment.

  Points vanished in a rush as he allotted them all into the four new techniques he'd learned.

  Understanding slammed into him as he gained deep comprehension of all these techniques. And then he felt his body change as well.

  The muscles that were required to perform those techniques grew stronger, while within him, a select few Meridians grew sturdier in a similar manner.

  And on the surface of the Stele, all four techniques crossed Minor Accomplishment instantly, and stepped on the Moderate Accomplishment sage.

  Seeing that he still had 283 points left, he pushed further.

  One hundred and fifty points poured into the Mountain-Splitting Stillness Technique, completing the Moderate Accomplishment stage and taking it straight to Major Accomplishment stage.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The remaining points flowed into Shadow-Cloud Steps, carrying it halfway to the next threshold before his reservoir of points finally ran dry.

  Then, he looked at the Stele once again.

  NAME: Li Yuan

  AGE: 14

  CULTIVATION: 5th Stage Qi Condensation

  SKILLS

  Nine Peak Breathing Art – 23 / 50 (Minor Accomplishment)

  Seven Step Sword Form – 4 / 35 (Minor Accomplishment)

  Mountain-Splitting Stillness Sword – 1 / 300 (Major Accomplishment)

  Shadow-Cloud Steps – 134 / 200 (Moderate Accomplishment)

  Veil of Borrowed Heaven – 1 / 600 (Moderate Accomplishment)

  Spirit Residue Following Technique – 1 / 250 (Moderate Accomplishment)

  Li Yuan let out a slow breath.

  Then he focused the changes in his body, as well as the deep comprehension of the techniques that had settled into his mind, and laughed quietly.

  He placed the Stele back within himself, stood up and stepped out into the courtyard.

  This time, when he practiced those techniques, there was no hesitation, and he felt as if he'd been training for years, or even decades.

  The sword form unfolded naturally. Small mistakes that he'd been making before without even being aware of them were overcome naturally. His form was perfect, and his strikes lethal. A single swing of his sword sent out a Qi arc that left a deep gash on the ground.

  And when he moved, he moved so fast that other Qi Condensation cultivators would have trouble keeping an eye on him as he became nothing but a blur in their vision.

  And when he finally stopped and used the Veil of Borrowed Heaven, it felt as if the world itself was hiding him.

  A grin formed on his face. This… this was what true strength looked like. What he'd wanted for himself.

  Li Yuan turned toward the distant tree line beyond the sect's outer boundaries, beyond which lay the outer edges of the Forbidden Forest. And he smiled.

  "Alright," he murmured. "Time to hunt."

  —————

  Li Yuan returned to the Merit Hall before dawn the next day.

  The place was already awake, already starting to get crowded despite how early he'd come. Though not nearly as crowded as it would become by the time sun rises properly.

  Disciples lined up in loose columns, some half-asleep and stumbled around like zombies while others looked sharp-eyed and tense.

  He took his place at the back of the line and waited as the line moved forward at a glacial pace.

  When it was his turn, he stepped up to the counter.

  "I need information on beast-hunting tasks," he said.

  The disciple behind the desk paused, brush hovering above the register. He looked up, eyes flicking over Li Yuan's cultivation, then lingering a beat longer than necessary.

  "…Spirit beasts?" he asked.

  "Yes."

  The disciple leaned back slightly, as if reassessing what he was seeing. "Are you sure?"

  Li Yuan nodded, his clan elders had given him all the info they had on the outer edge of the Forbidden Forest before they sent him to the sect. A wise decision considering that the sect bordered the Forest.

  The Forbidden Forest bordered five entire prefectures. And it's border creeped forward with each passing generation.

  The deeper you go into the forest, the more dangerous it becomes. Till at the centre of the forest, where you may even face Fourth-Grade spirit beasts who could face Nascent Soul level cultivators on even ground.

  There were even rumours about a Fifth-tier Spirit Beast King living at the centre of the forest, but he wasn't sure if he believed those rumours.

  The Nine Peak Sect sat uncomfortably close to the forest's edge, which was both a blessing and curse for the Sect.

  Blessing because the forest was filled with Spirit herbs and other valuable cultivation resources that were useful to the sect. Curse, because many of the sect disciples died to the spirit beasts each year.

  Heck, forget the Outer Sect Disciples, even the Inner sect disciples, and Core disciples are said to die regularly inside the forest.

  And every decade or so, when the number of spirit beasts grew too much, the forest vomited its excess outward in the form of Spirit beast tides.

  Waves of howling monsters crashing into nearby towns and villages, trampling fields, tearing down walls, and leaving mountains of corpses in their aftermath.

  That was why the sect encouraged the hunting of Spirit beasts by handing out Spirit beast hunting tasks with very generous rewards. Not because they cared for their disciples. But because it was necessary to cull their numbers as much as possible before the next Beast Tide erupts.

  Of course, the task itself was incredibly dangerous. And the spirit beasts that emerged from the forest ranged just as wildly in strength as they did in types. A strategy that might work against one type of spirit beast would see you dead against another type of spirit beast.

  That's why in the outer sect, only the disciples who had reached the late or peak stage of Qi Condensation Realm dared to take a Beast Hunting task. Which probably explained the disciple's hesitation in giving him such a ask.

  Li Yuan met the disciple's gaze calmly and nodded. "Yea, I'm sure."

  The man hesitated, then sighed. "Most outer disciples who take those tasks are at the last stage of Qi Condensation. Some even wait until they're at the peak of Qi Condensation to take these tasks. And even then, many of them hunt in pairs or small groups. While you yourself are alone and only at… what… fifth stage?"

  Li Yuan nodded.

  A long look followed. Not a judgmental look. Just a wary one. As if the disciple was thinking that he was just looking for a complicated method of suicide.

  "Are you really, really sure about this, junior brother?" the disciple asked finally, voice lowered.

  Li Yuan kept his expression blank and nodded again. "Yes."

  Silence stretched between them.

  Then the disciple exhaled and reached under the desk, dragging out a thick pamphlet with a dull thud and slid it across the counter.

  "Take this," he said. "Don't skip the descriptions. And bring the right ear of each spirit beast you've hunted."

  "Not the entire corpse?" He asked.

  "No. Most Outer Sect Disciples don't have Spatial rings, and the spirit beast corpses are too heavy to carry back to the sect, so just bringing in their right ear would serve as proof."

  Li Yuan nodded and accepted the pamphlet with both hands.

  Calling it a pamphlet was generous. It was closer to the size of a thin book. He flipped it open and saw that it was filled with page after page of details regarding the first-tier spirit beasts commonly encountered along the forest's edge.

  Each entry came with a sketched image, notes on habitat, temperament, attack patterns, and, most importantly, their weaknesses and the way to kill them.

  At the end of each entry sat the amount of sect merit points you'd get for killing a beast like that.

  Of course, even the sect merit points gained for killing the same type of spirit beast ranged greatly based on whether they were at Low, Mid, High, or Peak Stage of 1st Grade Spirit beasts.

  In cultivation terms, the classifications went like this:

  Low-stage: 1st to 3rd stage Qi Condensation.

  Mid-stage: 4th to 6th stage of Qi Condensation.

  High-stage: 7th to 9th stage of Qi Condensation

  Peak-stage: 10th stage of Qi Condensation.

  Li Yuan closed the book. Understanding now why the disciple had hesitated. If this list was true, and the edge of the Forbidden Forest was indeed attacked by Peak stage Spirit Beasts, then the idea of hunting them down did indeed seem quite risky.

  But with with improved strength, his Veil of Borrowed Technique to hide himself should something go wrong, his Halo warning him of future dangers, as well as his great fortune, he was confident that he would be just fine.

  "Thank you," Li Yuan said with a respectful bow. If only because the disciple had shown a measure of care for him.

  The disciple studied him one last time, then nodded. "Don't be stupid out there."

  Li Yuan gave another nod before he turned and left the Merit Hall.

  —————

  Spirit beasts had an unfair advantage from the moment they were born.

  They were stronger, faster, and far more durable than humans of the same cultivation level. Not to mention their vitality. A spirit beast could have a dozen weapon sticking out of its body and it would continue fighting. While a human just... won't.

  Plus, even the weakest among them possessed instincts honed for killing. Which most humans don't have. At least not at the beginning.

  It is comparable to how a mortal peasant won't be able to fight against a bear, or a horse, or a wolf.

  In theory, humans could bridge that gap. With enough skills, and a proper weapon, a human could indeed take out a wild animal far larger and stronger than him.

  Similarly, a cultivator with a sharp enough weapon and the skill to wield it properly could bring down spirit beasts far stronger than himself.

  Add talismans, artefacts, formations—layers of preparation—and the balance shifted further still on the cultivator's side.

  The problem was time and resources.

  Most early-stage cultivators didn't have either of those.

  They are too busy cultivating, scrambling for resources, chasing breakthroughs before their peers left them behind. So they don't pay much attention to combat techniques, which usually take years if not decades to master.

  Plus, most of the low level cultivators—unless they're lucky enough to come from a powerful or wealthy family— don't have artefacts to protect them either, due to most of their wealth going toward increasing their own personal cultivation.

  So when a young cultivator runs into a spirit beast along the outer edges of the Forbidden Forest, the result are almost always the same.

  Nine times out of ten, it is the cultivator who dies.

  That equation only starts to change with age.

  With years spent fighting, escaping, nearly dying. With storage rings full of defensive artefacts and talismans bought at obscene prices… humans slowly gain the upper hand.

  Spirit beasts grow stronger with time as well but not with the same breadth as humans do.

  Li Yuan walked through the sect paths with his hands tucked into his sleeves, mind clear.

  Part of the reason he felt confident—truly confident—was because he no longer suffered the same problem that most other cultivators his age tended to have.

  Namely: Skill issue.

  But that wasn't enough.

  As skilled as he was, it would only take a single swipe of a sharp claw to his belly, and his intestines would spill out.

  Yes, his fortune would most likely protect him from such a scenario, but he did not want to rely too heavily on his Fortune, lest he dries it up and doesn't have any left for truly life threatening situation.

  What he needed currently, was a defensive artefact. For a cultivator, a defensive artifact could mean the difference between walking away with only a few injuries to never walking away at all.

  Yes, he owned a formation—but formations were static. And they took time to set up.

  Which was why, instead of heading directly for the Forbidden Forest, Li Yuan instead changed course and made for the Treasure Exchange Hall.

  Just like techniques were bought in the Scripture Pavilion within the sect, artefacts of every kind could be bought in the Treasure Exchange Hall. Weapons, Talismans, Defensive tools, Formation plates, etc, etc.

  He had only ever been here once before.

  When he first entered the sect and had been sent here to get his Outer Sect Robes as well as his Sect Identity Token.

  That time, he was a nobody. This time… well, he was still a nobody. But he was a nobody who he knew was about to become 'somebody' in the future.

  The Treasure Exchange Hall was less crowded than the Merit Hall, but still far more crowded than the Scripture Pavillion, which had been nearly empty.

  Inside, he could see long counters dividing the space into multiple sections, each lined with glass cases and jade racks displaying weapons, talismans, formation plates, and strange tools whose purposes weren't immediately obvious to him.

  Once here, he didn't have to browse for long before he found what he wanted.

  The last of his Seventy-five merit points vanished from his token, exchanged for a single string of dull prayer beads. They looked unremarkable—dark wood, and faintly warm to the touch.

  A life-saving artefact.

  When facing a life threatening situation, it would automatically generate a solid defensive barrier around his body—strong enough to withstand a fatal blow.

  The only downside was that it only had three uses, after which it would turn to dust. Li Yuan weighed the beads in his palm, then slipped them around his wrist.

  'If I fall into mortal danger three times despite all the advantages I have,' he thought calmly, 'then I deserve to die.'

  Life Saving Artefact purchased, he immediately left the Treasure Exchange Hall and headed for the back of the mountain from where he could go to the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

  Time to put his skills to use.