Chapter 2

After arriving at the Capital's gate Shao Jingyi had to make some documentations and create an elaborate story on his background. He just said that he was raised by his grandma from a young age in the woods but she died recently so he had ventured to the Central Capital to start a new life. It was a pretty believable story so they gave him documentation and let him set off.

Walking through the capital Shao Jingyi saw many shops and resources of different varieties. People were talking and yelling left and right, shoulders were tapping one another every few steps. This was indeed a very bustling enviornment. It was already the evening and it was getting dark. The city lights started to shown through the night. It was a very beautiful spectacle to see. Worthy of the name, Central Capital.

After sightseeing around the city, shopping for clothes, and gathering information, Shao Jingyi settled at an inn. He wasn't going to sleep since he wasn't feeling tired but he just needed somewhere to stay. After checking into his room Shao Jingyi went to the court yard to temper his body and train. When he got to the courtyard he sat down. He processed his battle from earlier in the day and pondered about his and the bandits fighting techniques. He refined everything he had experienced in his mind and got up after meditating. It was then, Shao Jingyi got into a stance. Although he could not use qi yet, his body was already brimming with it. He was constantly using his concealment technique to hide any lingering qi emanating off his body. Even still, a fierce aura started to linger off of him. As he started to training, his aura grew. His movements were strong but compact, agile but smooth. He looked slow but accurate. He still had amazing power behind each attack. He had already noticed his lingering aura. This was his battle intent. Smiling to himself he concealed it. This world was amazing and would get even better.

- Unknown: This kid, who is he?

Unknown: I don't know sir. He hasn't been seen around the Capital before, he must be new here.

Unknown: Check his background, status, and relations thoroughly. Report back to me when you're done.

Unknown: Yes sir. -

Shao Jingyi continued practicing nonstop all night. At first his attacks and movements were loud and fierce. But now, he was elegant and quiet. Every movement was not wasted and his energy was channeled harmoniously. After Shao Jingyi finished he meditated again for another hour to evaluate and refine himself. After meditating he went to clean himself and sat in his room after.

During his nightly exercise Shao Jingyi had made 5 more breakthroughs reaching the peak of the Tempered Body realm. These advancements brought new insights to Shao Jingyi. After he had broken to the fourth stage of Tempered Body he had initially been able to feel the worlds ambient energy. This was the reason he was able to notice the bandit Ye Zong's movement from the day before. But now the ambient Yuan Qi started entering his body which felt different to the already present qi in his body. The previous energy within Shao Jingyi's body wasn't Yuan Qi but just plain qi all mortals are born with at birth. Now that Yuan Qi had entered his body, his qi gradually converted into Yuan Qi.

With such aptitude Shao Jingyi could become a core disciple of any First-Rate Sect or Land. But he didn't have any plans on joining any such affiliations. He wanted to be free. Of course he would definitely visit and build up connections.

Shao Jingyi left his room and went out to probe for information. He would ask questions about the masters around the world, the various sects, families and more. Information was very important.

While eating in a restaurant Shao Jingyi overheard a group of people discussing about a mission they were assigned. Apparently this group of four were hunting a fourth order monster beast. A fourth order monster was comparable to cultivators in the True Element Realm. That was not rare but not common. These four must have been strong considering their age. Three of them were men while one was a woman. The women look led in her late 20s. Two of the men looked like they were in their 30s and the other look like he was in his 40s. This was an opportunity that Shao Jingyi wouldn't let pass.

"Sorry for my disrespect seniors, my name is Shao Jingyi. I couldn't help overhearing your discussion. I am interested in this fourth order monster beast. May I join your party?", Shao Jingyi walked over and said.

Two of the younger looking men laughed at Shao Jingyi. "Boy, you are young and frail. What makes you think you can join our party to hunt this monster beast. At best you'll be a liability. Judging from your aura, you're only in the Tempered Body stage. You're not even considered a cultivator yet.", said one of them.

"Shut up", the burly man in his 40s spoke. "You, boy, you aren't qualified. Even if you were, we don't easily accept strangers, who knows what sinister intentions they may hold."

"Sorry for my offense seniors.", Shao Jingyi said before going back to eat his food. As he was eating the group finished and left. Immediately after they exited the restaurant Shao Jingyi got up and followed.

In the wilderness, about two hours away from the Central Capital, a group of cultivators were walking.

"Stay on guard, we don't know when something will come from around the trees and attack us.", said the burly man. He was obviously the leader.

"Yes" - "You got it" - "No problem", his companions replied.

After traversing the wilderness for a while the burly man noticed something and shouted, "Everyone, SPREAD OUT!"

As he shouted the ground caved in a few feet as a monster jumped out of the group. It was a Spider Mole. It looked hideous. It had features of a Mole but had dominant Spider features.

All four cultivators jumped away in time and surrounded the Spider Mole.

"Wei Feng(Male), you help me deal damage to the Spider Mole. Jiang Meixiu(Female), use your bow to deal damage from afar. Yu Shen(Male), you focus on grabbing its attention. Let's go!", the leader swiftly commanded.

The three shouted, "Yes", and got straight to doing their jobs. They worked in great unison against the monster beast attacking it at every chance they got while maintaining a proper defense. They struggled here and there against its attacks but were doing well.

As the battle continued both sides started to show signs of exhaustion. The leader, who radiated the aura of a first stage Immortal Ascension realm, seize an opportunity when Jiang Meixiu landed an arrow in between on of the Spider Moles legs hindering its mobility. The Leader landed a critical blow, chipping the whole legs off with his mace.

When the burly man succeeded in his attack the Spider Mole let out a deafening screech. The screech had a stunning affect on the cultivators for a couple seconds. Taking this moment, the Spider Mole's leg stabbed through the wind towards Wei Feng. Unable to fully avoid the attack in time, a large chunk of his abdomen had been slashed off. Wei Feng screamed in pain as he fell to the ground.

"Wei Feng!!", the leader shouted as he stabilized himself from the screech and reached his companions body.

The Spider Mole began to retreat knowing that if it continued to fight to the death with its current enemies, it would fall. While it started to retreat, rumbling could be felt from the earth. It felt like it came from the Spider Mole, but it didn't. This rumbling felt way to big to be from the Spider Mole. Sure enough, dozens of baby Spider Moles started appearing from out of the ground. They all differed in size but none were bigger than the fourth order Spider Mole.

The dozens of Spider Moles covered the mother Spider Mole's retreat. They all started attacking the cultivators. Although they were low in strength, they were high in numbers. Soon the group were at a disadvantage due to the need to protect their injured ally.

Wei Feng was losing lots of blood at an alarming rate. No matter what healing pills they had or anything they did, Wei Feng's death was inevitable. As much as they wanted to take down the mother Spider Mole, they now had to retreat.

The leader shouted to the other two allies, "let's go!", and picked Wei Feng up then flew away. Both of his companions followed shortly.

"They finally left", Shao Jingyi muttered. He had been following them ever since they left the capital. Now that they had left he could monopolize this opportunity. What Shao Jingyi lacked most right now was experience, this was just what he needed.

Shao Jingyi hopped out of the trees and caught the attention of the dozens of inferior Spider Moles. Almost every single Spider Mole spat webs at him. Unable to dodge so many attacks at once, Shao Jingyi was caught. He was stuck to the ground and tangled in the sticky webs. All of the Sipder Moles started crawling towards him.

Shao Jingyi eyes popped open as he shouted, "Eww get away from me, I hate spiders!", as he instantly broke free from his restraints and backed up to gain some distance. He summoned a sword that he gained from the bandit and started his rampage. He charged towards the hoard of monster beasts and started slashing left and right. Notifications from his system rang.

Second Order monster beast killed - Obtained 50 coins

Second Order monster beast killed - Obtained 50 coins

Second Order monster beast killed - Obtained 50 coins

...

Shao Jingyi ignored the notifications as he continued to slaughter the monster beasts. After a while he had successfully slayed all of them. He earned lots of coins. Shao Jingyi had fought off so many monster beasts but sustained no injuries. These creatures were far too weak to pierce his skin.

Shao Jingyi's killing intent was at an all time high and he wasn't going to let it go. He wanted to kill the fourth order Spider Mole. After inverting all the monster beasts bodies into coins, he set off to find the mother Spider Mole.

Traversing the tunnel network in the ground made by the Spider Moles, Shao Jingyi was able to find the mother Spider Mole's trail. Blood was splattered over the floor leading to many turns and paths. Shao Jingyi followed the trail closely and soon started hearing screeches in the distance. It was from the Spider Mole. He picked up his speed and soon arrived in the Spider Mole's lair. It immediately noticed him and gave off an immense aura. It screeched loudly and hissed at Shao Jingyi.

"Want me to leave?", Shao Jingy teased as he stepped one step forward. The Spider Mole continued to screech but Shao Jingyi turned a deaf ear to it and immediately pounced at it. The Spider Mole replied by spitting countless webs at him. Shao Jingyi continuously evaded the futile attacks and soon got into close proximity. As he closed in even closer he sent a punch forward. When his fist landed the Spider Mole took a couple steps back. It gave a shocked expression by the power behind Shao Jingyi's attack. The Spider Mole was previously thought to be a fourth order monster beast. But this information wasn't true anymore. It all made sense now since the cultivators that we're hunting it had a hard time trying to defeat it. It was now a fifth order monster beast. No one with such a low aura could have such strength. Not even the genius disciples of the strongest masters could display such monstrous raw physical strength in the Tempered Body realm. For this kid to push it back meant danger.