Jack sprinted through the wilderness, heading towards the general vicinity where he felt attraction from Luna’s bond. He found himself slightly conflicted- on one hand, his sensory abilities were clearer than ever after he absorbed the undead creature’s cultivation base, but on the other- Jack could no longer sense or absorb Qi the way did earlier. The difference was so vast, it was like a mortal being given the power to shape the world, only to be deprived of it a few hours later.

He didn’t dare cast the essence art again, since casting just one symbol alone had the ability to drive him insane, and the ability to clearly see the Qi channels, the thin veins that he was supposed to channel Qi through, was also not a feat he could accomplish again. There was a difference, he now knew what the correct path ahead was. And he also understood a lot about how the system works, based on his conjectures.

Jack had managed to cast Qi Blade, and the system had mentioned that cultivators had the potential to learn basic skills on their own. Could he do it again? Without the control his essence art provided, and the ability to see his Qi channels, no. However, that gave him a lot of information to work with. The system let him cast the skill he’d selected, Qi Shield, because Jack had received fragmented knowledge and muscle memory that meshed together to let him accomplish that feat. But would it be different if he were to learn it himself, again? Yes, it definitely would. The state where he had perfect control of Qi made Jack realize he could manipulate it to any state he wanted, as long as he had the ability and the Qi reserves.

Another deduction he made was that it was not the system that allowed him to increase his cycles, but rather the system was acting as an intermediary for those who did not have an Essence Art of their own. His surrounding environment had a very sparse density of Qi, but Jack could now sense that the system had also granted him the ability to automatically absorb Qi from the surroundings- much like breathing except he couldn’t sense it clearly before. But due to the sparsity, the process was agonizingly slow compared to the ocean of Qi he had access to earlier. A rich man reduced pauper would be an apt way to describe how Jack felt at that moment.

Jack had been sprinting at his peak speed for ten minutes now, moving through the woods with the grace and poise of an experienced hunter- moving from tree to tree to guard against any ambushes. His increased physical ability meant that such maneuvers had almost no effect on his speed.

The bond’s location was getting more and more clear with every step he took, but Jack was no longer nervous at the thought of being outnumbered-. He was extremely concerned about Luna, and very, very, angry, but he would find it hard to feel nervous even if he tried to.

One question was in the back of his mind though- what would he do if they had unlocked innate talents? That, Jack admitted, would make things complex. He had used [Deny] once earlier, and based on how much it had drained him, he could use it once more at most without shattering his soul. So he had one extra life, essentially.

Qi Blade was out, so he was back to no offensive skills. His sword…. Well, after so many surprises receiving a damaged growth type weapon didn’t seem that impressive in comparison. He’d gone through the description, and it was just like any other F- Grade Sword, except once fixed it had the ability to evolve. Considering what the Weapon Master had said about Growth Type Weapons being worth more than Earth’s entire solar system… Jack felt like a big, red target had just been painted on his back. But he’d also mentioned something about it going up to C grade. What tier could his weapon go to-

‘No, no, nevermind. I don’t want to know the answer to that question,’ Jack stopped deliberating on that matter, taking everything one problem at a time. Though he definitely appreciated the boost to his thought processing, letting him analyze the new information he’d received while he ran so fast that he could feel steam rising from his shoes.

World Announcement: Cultivator ‘Survivor’ has received an Ancient Legacy Technique.

‘Shit. Yeah go on, paint an even bigger target on my back,’ Jack felt like cursing out loud, but after the harrowing experience he’d been through he wished to stay away from doing anything that might antagonize ancient entities for now.

Jack urgently wanted to reach out to Luna through their bond, but she could definitely feel his approach and a mental message could distract her at a crucial moment.

“Jack… Help! Wounded….,” Luna’s soft, comforting voice echoed out in his mind, and he had to try and not let the rage overwhelm him by taking deep breaths. Finally, she was close enough for him to get a lock on her location. She was situated North-East from his current location, some fifty or sixty odd meters away- bushes, shrubbery and trees obscuring his vision.

Luna, by intelligence, was no longer a cat. Due to Jack’s actions, her mind was no less advanced than a human teen, perhaps even a human adult. She was an individual now by human standards, and he was her guardian. If they wanted to harm his ward, they would have to be prepared to bear the wrath of an enraged father.

Jack felt the cube in his heart stir, rotating slightly in an anticlockwise direction- almost as if his rage had managed to invigorate it, but Jack was in no mood to be paying attention.

Qi Shield at the ready, Sword pointed forward, Jack charged towards Luna’s location like an ancient viking charging towards a bloody war, without any fear of death- knowing that the result could only be victory or a banquet in the halls of Valhalla. For Jack, it was even simpler. If they wanted to kill him, they better get it right the first try.

Because they wouldn't get a second.