Akata and Peizhi Xiuying stood outside of Misty Forest staring inside of it. Peizhi Xiuying had a worrying look on her face and her breathing was uneven. Akata was in front of her but he could sense her worried state. He turned around and smiled then said, “It’s alright. I’m here to protect you.”

Peizhi Xiuying gave a smile back and nodded her head. They both then proceeded along into the forest. Peizhi Xiuying walked behind Akata but she stuck closely to him.

Akata had spread out his nature sense which took on a calm and silent aura. It spread out to cover over him and Peizhi Xiuying and when it did it was almost like they were predators hidden in plain sight.

In Akata’s training all his senses had been restricted greatly but now that he was out they flourished like never before. At first his nature sense could only spread out to ten meters at max, but after his training with Second Elder it could reach thirty with no problem. He could also sustain it three times longer than he could before, even when moving.

His nature sense had covered the area, watching anything that seemed dangerous. If ever he came across something that he deemed as a threat he would simply move around it, however most of the threats they encountered were just Docile Rank Grade 1 or 2 creatures.

In those situations Akata would instantly kill it without it even noticing his presence. Even though Akata felt bad about killing these innocent creatures he did it anyway to further protect Peizhi Xiuying. ‘This is just how the world works. The weak are just subject to the strong.’ He would think to himself after every kill.

On one occasion Akata saw a Docile Rank Grade 4 Blood Rabbit and stopped moving instantly. This had left Peizhi Xiuying to become apprehensive. Akata stayed still for about ten breaths with his eyes closed until he opened them again and moved in another direction.

“What was that about Akata?” Peizhi Xiuying asked.

“There was a Blood Rabbit ahead of us just now. It had a mid stage Docile Rank cultivation base. I might have been able to handle it in a fight but I didn’t want to risk it. Although it was weird for it to be this close to the outer zone I’m not going to find out why. For now let’s keep on moving.”

Peizhi Xiuying nodded her head and kept on moving. After about two hours of roaming they found a clearing in the forest. “Let’s rest here for now and then move out in the morning.” Akata suggested. By now the sky was completely dark and the moon’s rays couldn’t penetrate through all the trees.

“Mn. Okay.” Peizhi Xiuying wasn’t tired but she knew that dangers could lurk in the darkness and therefore thought it was a good idea to wait out the night. They quickly set up camp and soon afterwards Peizhi Xiuying fell asleep.

Even though Akata fought all the creatures he wasn’t the least bit tired, on the contrast he was energetic. Akata had been studying the World Omen of Lord Dullahan technique which taught many assassination skills. As he was proceeding along in the forest earlier he was actually practicing his skills, slowly polishing them up.

‘Just the first chapter is this great. The first chapter only teaches about hand-to-hand combat and assassination which is good for me since I have yet to learn how to use my scythe.’ Akata then pulled the scythe out and inspected it.

He stood up and walked away from the camp some. Even though he was away and couldn’t see the camp, his nature sense could still feel it vividly as if he was standing in the middle of it. He held his scythe in one hand as he spread his nature sense out trying to find other creatures.

‘I’ll first clear out this area to ensure that it is safe.’ His red robe swayed as he dashed off in a particular direction. Soon in front of him he could see a Fanged Monkey. ‘Cultivation level is at Docile Rank Grade 2. One hit one kill.’

His nature energy was soft and concealed his aura making him undetectable. When he got into range he quickly activated his Shadowfeet skill. His lower body became dark and blended in with his shadow, increasing his speed explosively. Just when he was right by the Fanged Monkey scythe in air his aura made an abrupt change, It became wild and ruthless and locked onto the Fanged Monkey. The Fanged Monkey became stiff from fear and couldn’t move anywhere, the next moment its head was chopped off from its shoulders.

As soon as the head was chopped Akata’s nature energy became calm again as if it was a flowing river on a peaceful day. Akata stood there and waved his hand collecting the blood of the Fanged Monkey. The blood converged and then shrunk into a ball the size of a palm where Akata absorbed it into his self.

‘It will take time to absorb so I should wait until I get back to camp that way I’ll be right by Peizhi Xiuying.’ He didn’t use his Paragon’s Blood technique but instead stored the blood in his soul region along with his runes in order to absorb later.

With that Akata moved in another direction and soon another head was chopped off. Then another and another. Every time Akata changed directions a head would surely be chopped off soon after. He would wave his hand to collect the blood and then move on to the next location. This was how Akata passed time until the area around the camp was clear and devoid of any creatures.

‘That should do it. The camp should be safe for a good amount of time. Without the smell of blood it will take longer for the other creatures to fill this place up again.’ With a look of satisfaction Akata headed back to the camp. Throughout the whole time his nature sense had been in use and had the camp in his view.

Soon he got there and sat next to Peizhi Xiuying cross legged. He took a deep breath and and opened his mouth where a ball of blood flew out. The ball of blood wasn’t that big, only about the size of a palm but the density of all the accumulated blood made it seem like a deep pool. A bloody aura spread out from the ball and Akata looked at it closely.

After looking it over Akata nodded his head. ‘Time to refine it.’ He thought to himself. He held a hand in the air towards the ball of blood and then made a closing gesture. The ball of blood started to shrink in on itself becoming smaller as Akata slowly made a fist. The aura of blood began to increase as it did which put a bright gleam in Akata’s eyes.

The ball of blood was now about half the size it had been when it stopped shrinking. Akata looked thoughtfully for a moment and breathed out. ‘That’s my limit, I can’t go any further.’

Refining blood was something Akata rarely did. That was because it was used to make a large accumulation of blood more effective and also decrease absorption speed. However Akata hadn’t really gone on any killing sprees to accumulate so much blood. This was actually his first time.

Even while he was in the secret place Second Elder sent him he couldn’t go on a killing spree. That was because the creatures that attacked him came at random times and also he was weak and didn’t feel safe absorbing blood in the middle of that place.

But now Akata could truly use Paragon’s Blood to some of its full extent and potential. The ball of blood flew to his forehead to be absorbed. The effect of the start of the absorption process was amazing and much more smoother than before.

Akata quickly absorbed the blood taking in everything it had to offer from immortal cultivation energy to memories. Since he had previously absorbed the blood of these creatures he had already unlocked the secrets in their blood and therefore knew the techniques of these creatures. It was in this fashion that Akata quietly broke through to Mortal Rank Grade 3.

When he broke through he could feel that his muscles and bones had hardened to an astounding degree. His senses were now twice as powerful as they had been. Impurities leaked out of his skin cleansing his body, mind, and soul. This type of feeling was blissful and soothing.

‘This works even better than expected!’ Akata was instantly surprised. ‘Even though I was at the peak of Grade 2, I didn’t expect to break through for a couple more days. And there is still some blood left over.’ Akata didn’t stop absorbing the blood or save it for later.

One reason was because he wasn’t able to absorb new blood until he was done with this one. And also he couldn’t refine new blood into old blood that was already refined. However he was still excited that he reached Mortal Rank Grade 3 so quickly.

After reaching Grade 3, fully absorbing the rest of the blood became much easier. He quickly absorbed it and then washed himself off. Some of the impurities in his body had been expelled causing a black gel-like liquid to ooze out of his skin.

After cleaning himself off he went straight to sleep.

The sun was just rising in the sky illuminating the forest below it. Even though the trees blocked most of the light, the sun’s rays were powerful enough to get past some of the leaves. A beam of light showed on Akata’s face disturbing him. He wrinkled his nose and opened his eyes then sat up.

He looked around, still drowsy from being woken up and then gave a big yawn. After rubbing his eyes he stood up and started walking towards Peizhi Xiuying.

She was in the middle of camp boiling some water in order to cook some meat. After seeing Akata wake up she smiled and yelled out to him, “Good morning sleepy head.” She tilted her head and gave a slight chuckle.

Akata’s face turned slightly red and he yelled back, “You’re up early aren’t you? Anyways what are you making?” He asked curiously. He rubbed the side of his face where a leaf fell down from. He noticed the leaf had a charred spot on it.

He looked at the fire Peizhi Xiuying had and then said, “Careful don’t want to burn down the forest haha.” He then walked over to sit beside her.

Peizhi Xiuying gave a “humph.” and continued to boil the water. After a while she tossed in some meat and a couple vegetables. “I’m making some stew for us. Since it’s going to be a long day I at least want us to have a full stomach.”

“Mn. I see. Well it smells really good. I bet it will taste even better.” He said with his mouth watering up. He licked the corner of his lips and stretched his hand out to the pot. Peizhi Xiuying also reached her hand out and smacked Akata’s hand. “No no you have to wait until it’s done.” She said and then proceeded to stir and cover it up.

After a little while she fixed their bowls and they both ate together. They spoke about the past and how Akata would try to protect her even though she was stronger than him. They talked about Akata becoming a ranked cabin disciple so quickly. They talked about pretty much everything they could.

“That’s enough about me, what about you. I’m sure you have been working hard to cultivate lately.” Akata said while making himself another bowl, this being his fourth.

“I… compared to you I’m terribly weak. I’m still at the 2nd Grade of the Mortal Rank. I can’t find anyway to advance any further than that. I guess this is just my limit haha.” Peizhi Xiuying laughed. “I wish I could become stronger but I don’t think I was meant to.”

Akata looked deeply at Peizhi Xiuying for a moment before nodding his head. He put down his fourth bowl and stood up. He looked at Peizhi Xiuying, who was rather confused right now, and said, “Then I shall get you to advance further in your training! Believe it or not this is the perfect place for training in cultivation. If I’m unable to get you to Grade 3 by the time we are done I’ll let you stay in my cabin.” He said this resolutely with determination.

Peizhi Xiuying looked back at him with surprise and immediately shook her head. “No no no! It’s alright you don’t have to do all that. I don’t want your cabin anyways and besides if I couldn’t get to Grade 3 there’s no need for someone else to worry about me getting there.” She spoke quickly trying to dissuade Akata.

“Nope I’ve already decided that I’m going to get you to Grade 3. However you will have to be put into some danger though, but don’t worry your life won’t be at risk. I’ll get you to Grade 3 if it’s the last thing that I do.