”Cultivators have to be exceptional in some way—in fact, even hiding successfully, is also considered a skill.”

“Old Bu’s servant!?”

“Yes senior, I come from the village in the outer ring of this island. I normally hunt Spirit Beasts, for Senior Bu and deliver him all the beast cores.”

“What? You hunt Spirit Beasts? It seems Old Bu had good eyes to have found you. Any Qi Condensation stage cultivator capable of hunting Spirit Beasts is certainly a talent.”

‘And it appears he was also able to forge his body. No wonder he unscathed when Ao Tian attacked. It’s just unfortunate that it seems this young man started cultivation a bit late.’

“Senior, I rely much on my physical strength. I have a sturdy body. But as Protector Bu kept on telling me, my cultivation base means nothing much.”

Qai at this point did not try to hide his strength to at least show the other his value. Only by proving them that he is worthy in their eyes that he would be able to survive, he thought.

“Good, then where is this scumbag Old Bu right now.”

“Senior, that is..”

Qai pretended to hesitate. This was the emergency plan he came up with.

“Go ahead, tell me the truth and I will reward you for it.”

Qai’s face turned from hesitation to one of excitement.

“Senior, one year ago, Old Bu revealed that he found something wonderful in the periphery of the core ring. In his happiness, he generously rewarded me one of his flying swords. But I never heard anything from him since then.”

“What!?”

‘That bastard must have died in the core ring.’

“Senior, I never dared to enter the core ring so I had no way to know what happened. Since then, I wait for him every day near his immortal cave just a mile away from here. And that is how I ended up meeting all of you when I noticed from there the sudden flux spiritual Qi energy in this area.”

“Quick, lead me to his cave.”

“Senior..”

“What!? Is there something wrong?”

“No, it’s just that I have no way to get through his Array formation.”

“Hahaha, such a trifling matter. With me here, any formation that old bastard put up would be useless.”

And from there, Qai led the elder looking cultivator away, leaving the young Foundation Establishment stage disciples behind. That was because the disciples were already heading their way to the core ring—it was their Trial by Fire, after all.

When Qai and the elder reached Old Bu’s peak, the latter immediately sensed Qai’s makeshift abode but paid no attention to it since, as Qai had already confessed, it only contained the said flying sword plus some weapons crafted by a mortal.

The elder then simply waved his hand that exuded an overpowering spiritual Qi energy to break the Array formation.

And so the cave entrance appeared.

Qai remained outside as the elder inspected the cave.

Meanwhile, the elder looking cultivator was struck at the sight of the amount beast cores—and he with a sweep from his hands, all the beast cores flew into his storage pouch.

Of course, he also discovered a hidden room that Qai did not know of as it was restricted by an illusion array. Inside, all the treasures Old Bu collected which include ‘Spirit Stones,’ cultivation jade slips, medicinal pills, talismans, and some other materials, were all taken by the said cultivator.

When the elder went out of the cave, Qai saw him beaming with a smile.

“Hahaha, you’ve done great service to me. Here, I can’t be stingy. So, take these pills. It will help you in your cultivation. They’re called Spirit Pills. Perhaps, in your case, you might breakthrough another level.”

“Thank you, senior.”

“Also, when this Trial by Fire is over in two months, I might take you to the sect to become an outer disciple. At least, you already met the qualification. Stay alive from now on then and don’t provoke those disciples anymore.”

Qai did not know whether to laugh or cry when he heard the last sentence.

He could not recall how had he provoked the young disciples. At any rate, he had no plans to get anywhere near them in the near future, at least for the next couple of months.

“Go now. I’ll take this immortal cave for myself. When that scumbag Old Bu comes, tell him that Elder Li is waiting for him inside. But other than that, do not disturb my seclusion.”

“As you wish, senior.”

‘Elder Li sure has a better temperament than Old Bu. But since Old Bu is dead, there’s no more need to wait for him.’

Qai waited for the sect elder to enter the cave before he went his own way to his own old cave in order to cultivate.

‘Hah, I better just go into seclusion myself than meet any of those arrogant disciples. I never thought Old Bu’s presumptuous demeanor was the norm.’

After just a month, Qai indeed broke through to level 6 of the Qi Condensation stage—true to Elder Li’s words.

‘If I could have more of these Spirit Pills, maybe I could catch up a bit with those disciples. They seem to be not far from my age, but I can feel they have the same cultivation base as Old Bu.’

Qai emerged from his cave.

He had no other thing to do so he wanted to test his newfound strength against level 1 or level 2 Spirit Beasts.

‘According to Old Bu, the 9 levels of the Qi Condensation stage may also be called early, mid and late with 3 levels each. So currently, I am at the peak of the mid-level. One more breakthrough and I will be in the late levels. And once I stepped into level 7, I will be able to use the basic defensive sphere provided in my ‘Transcending Autumn Arts.’ I will thus gain another ability up in my sleeve.’

Qai thus went on his way to find a target.

And after a time it took to brew a cup of tea, he saw from afar a large green-colored Snake coiled on a trunk.

But just as he was about to approach, a sudden burst of spiritual Qi energy in the form of tens of sword lights appeared from the other side of the trunk.

‘Someone stole my prey!’

Of course, the cautious him right now wouldn't dare cause a commotion. He had to first see who attacked the Spirit Beast.

The sword lights emitted Water element and they directly attacked the coiled Snake.

Swoosh.

Baam. Baam. Baam.

Then a fight between the green colored Snake and a female sect disciple ensued. But in just less than 20 breaths, the sect disciple already killed the Snake.

She appeared to have been poisoned but the female disciple simply tossed a medicinal pill and a healing energy visible to the naked eye immediately covered her body.

Qai was dumbstruck at the sight.

He had been enduring with just healing pastes in addition to his regenerative secret ability to treat injuries—and he never thought there could be a pill with miraculous effect.

‘Old Bu was right, the cultivation world is indeed vast.’

“Hey you, aren't you that servant boy?”

Qai was certain that he was still far from the area of the battlefield so he was surprised when the female disciple called him.

Qai rushed forward, acting submissively.

“Senior sister, how can this humble servant be of service?”

“Right, I was chased by a level 4 giant Scorpion in the core ring. That’s a Spirit Beast comparable to an early Core Formation stage, in case you don't know. So I ended up lost here in the inner ring.”

The female cultivator, despite her average looks, had a well-mannered bearing on top of her fair skin. All in all, she had that flare that would be a beauty in its own right.

“I saw you before and thought that you do have some skill. How about this, let's team up and help me deal with the Spirit Beasts in the core ring while we explore the ruins. In return, I'll give you a cut with the treasures we could find. And if you have any questions regarding cultivation, I can give you some pointers.”

“Ah!”