Returning From The First Mission!

Looking around, Drog saw trees that were so high that it was impossible to see their peak, grass which was fairly short but slightly wet due to the morning dew, and many different plants that grew both in the grass and by the trees.

"Time to search for the dawn wolves," Drog thought. "They return to their dens when the noon comes but I still have time before then. Not that I would have trouble finding them, even if they did return to their homes." He closed his eyes and focused on his surroundings. He sensed the world Qi: in the air, the trees, the grass, the plants, the ground, the lake, the animals that inhabited the forest and of only one species of magical beasts – the dawn wolves. "Since I broke through and reached rank 4 martial mortal, my range has increased significantly and it's just enough to cover this entire forest. There are quite a lot of dawn wolves inside this forest."

Drog opened his eyes. He walked towards one of the dawn wolves that he found and stopped once he saw it. It was a wolf of average size with a wet brown fur. "Since my cultivation base is higher, I could just absorb its Qi from where I am," he thought. "But that would turn its core into a simple rock. I will have to kill them by hand."

Drog infused spatial Qi into his feet as he used his movement technique – the white tiger god's divine movement. He appeared behind the dawn wolf and before it could show even a faintest of reactions, he punched without holding back any of his strength.

Drog's fist collided with the dawn wolf's back. It died instantly, but his fist didn't stop. It penetrated its skin, broke through the spine and carved through the flesh. Only stopping when half of his arm was inside of the magical beast.

Drog smiled. He pushed his arm which was already inside of the dawn wolf deeper as he began searching for its core. Finding it, he grabbed it and pulled it out. He looked at it. It was a small blue bloody rock. He stored it inside of his pendant.

Drog looked at the dawn wolf's corpse and closed his eyes. He focused on it. "There is still some Qi inside it," he thought before devouring all the Qi that was still in its body. He focused on his surroundings and sensed another dawn wolf. He opened his eyes and walked towards it.

…

Drog searched for the dawn wolves, killed them, harvested their cores and devoured their remaining Qi from their bodies, until he had harvested ten cores. When that was done, he walked over to the lake and washed off the blood off his arm. He closed his eyes, focused on his surroundings and sensing the Qi – devoured it all. The forest died and the lake dried out, but his cultivation rose from a rank 4 martial mortal to a rank 6 martial mortal.

"Time to return," Drog thought. He pulled out the return talisman from his pendant and poured his Qi inside it. His surroundings changed and he now stood in the teleport formation of the elder's peak.

"You have already done your task?" the elder which teleported Drog to the forest inhabited by the dawn wolves, said.

Drog nodded his head. "Yeah. It was a fairly easy mission. But, I fear that I ended the dawn wolf population."

The elder frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"I barely found ten dawn wolves in that dead forest," Drog shook his head as he finished his words.

"Dead forest?" The elder said in a confused voice.

"Yes," Drog said as he nodded his head.

"I will look into it. Go and report your success."

"Yes, elder." Drog walked out of the teleport formation and made his way back to the main peak's mission building. Reaching it, he walked inside and approached the elder from whom he took the mission. He pulled out the sheet of paper and ten cores of the magical beast dawn wolf. "I have completed the mission," he said.

The elder nodded his head. "Well done." He pulled out fifty copper coins from behind the counter and placed them on the counter. "Your payment."

Drog took the copper coins and stored them inside of his pendant. "I will come back later." He left the mission building. He made his way to the alchemy peak. When he got there, he walked to the largest building and entered it. Behind the counter, he saw the same man from the last time.

"It's you," the man said.

Drog approached the counter and placed 49 copper coins on it. "Three Tchi herbs and Yi grasses. Also one alchemy room."

The man nodded his head. "Sure." He first walked over to one shelf and then to another. He returned to the counter and placed six items on the counter. He pulled out a jade with a number 1 written on it. "Insert this jade into a door that already doesn't have a jade inserted in it."

Drog took all the items and stored them inside of his pendant. "I will return."

"See you later," the man said and Drog walked out of the building.

Drog looked around and approached the closest building that he saw. In that building's door there was a jade slot, but no jade. He pulled out the jade with number 1 written on it and inserted it into the door. The door opened and he walked inside. He closed the door and looked around. There was only one room and in that room there was only a cauldron and a table.

Drog walked up to the table and pulled out one Tchi herb and one Yi grass. "Let's begin," he thought.