Chapter 6 - Foundation Body First Stage

He felt the pill release natural qi into his body, which was absorbed into his dantian. He began to circulate the natural qi through his meridians, as he felt himself open up to the world of cultivation. As the qi washed over his meridians, they felt refreshed, as though they were a dehydrated person finding an oasis in the desert. More and more natural qi was absorbed into his dantian as he circulated it through his meridians.

After ten minutes, a fifth of his meridians were washed in the natural qi as it grew in quantity. After thirty minutes, as he became familiar with the process of circulating the qi, half of his meridians were being washed in the natural qi. An hour went by and all his meridians were being washed in the natural qi. Still refining the pill, the natural qi in his body continued to grow in quantity as he felt the previous locks on his body being opened.

Another hour passed, with the natural qi in his body steadily growing. He could feel the pill starting to disintegrate as he fully refined it into his body. After it fully disintegrated, he continued to circulate his natural qi throughout his meridians for another hour before concentrating it all into his dantian. As the final drop of natural qi returned to his dantian he felt a surge of power through his body signifying his advancement to the Foundation Body first stage. Opening his eyes, he discovered it was mid-afternoon, and decided to head back to the contribution hall.

With his advancement into the Foundation Body first stage, he felt confident in taking on a Foundation Body third stage monster beast. Looking at the tasks, he took the one to hunt the Sky Concealing Giant Squirrel. With the size of a bull, the squirrel jumped onto its victims to crush them under its weight. Taking the task, the clerk congratulated him on his advancement and wished him luck.

Tracking down the squirrel, Aster Wen waited in ambush for its own ambush on its prey. A wild boar scurried by, and the squirrel jumped down onto it, squishing it as it squealed. As the squirrel would wait until it lost its breath, Aster Wen snuck up onto it, stabbing his dagger into the squirrel's testicles, causing it to scream in immense pain. He then stabbed one of its hind legs to limit its movements, but it seemed that didn't matter much, as its mind was foggy with pain. Walking to its head, he stabbed the dagger into its eye to the hilt, twisting it around to kill it.

Dragging the monster beast back to the contribution hall, a few workers helped him lift it onto the processing station. Gathering the blood and core of the monster, he gained another thirty contribution points from killing the squirrel. As he used cheap tactics to kill the squirrel, not much time had passed, so he decided to take another task. He took the task to hunt the Four-Faced Elk. This elk had high intelligence among the Foundation Body third stage monster beasts, and would be a difficult beast to take down, even going for fifty contribution points.

Traveling back out into the mountain, the home of the elk was in a forest near the base of the mountain. Entering the forest, there was a Four-Faced Elk drinking water from a lake near the base of the mountain. He made sure to sneak the best he could towards the elk. Using the same tactics he used on the squirrel, he slashed at the elk, this time cutting up as well. All four mouths of the elk screamed in agony as it fell down on its knees. It turned to look at its attacker with eyes full of hatred. Aster Wen carefully took hold of the elk's antlers and stab through its eyes into each four of its brains.

The elk weighed even more than the giant squirrel and needed to be hauled even further. By the time he arrived back at the contribution hall, it was already nighttime. Once again, the workers helped lift the monster beast onto the processing station. Collecting the blood, core, and contribution points, he back up to two hundred fifteen contribution points. The next step was to buy a martial technique to practice, so he didn't always need to rely on weapons.

Looking at the catalogue of martial techniques, one name drew his eye, which was Looming Blossom Martial Technique. Looking at how many contribution points needed to be exchanged for it, he saw the price was two hundred. As it was already night, he decided to exchange for it in the morning and went back to his room.

Lying down on his cot, he realized he was probably the only disciple chosen this year to have advanced to the Foundation Body first stage already. He began to wonder if he could even take over those disciples who had been chosen last year. Could he cultivate that fast? Would it be good or bad if he could? The more he thought about it, the more he thought that the cons outweighed the pros. He needed a solid foundation to continue to cultivate, he could not rush things. If he did, only bad things awaited him.

As he drifted off to rest, he wondered what his future held, and how far he could go. He thought of his brother, and he now held in his heart the burden to protect him instead of the other way around. Would he be proud of him?

Sleep overtook him, and he fell into another dreamless night. Though the future was plagued with uncertainty, it seemed bright, and for right now, that was enough.