Seeing this, Long Huang's expression changed, and he quickly used the trees to dodge and evade the Metal Pecking Eagle's talons. He then escaped toward the heart of the Sky Cloud Forest.
'Shit! Shit! Shit! shit!'
Although Long Huang had hit his target, it did not strike any vital parts, as the eagle's flying speed and defense far surpassed those of normal wild beasts, nearly rivaling even demon beasts.
Consequently, the branch itself did not cause any life-threatening damage.
"Fuck! Just my lucky day."
Long Huang exclaimed, feeling the pressure of the situation.
Long Huang moved like an agile cat as he flew through the forest amidst the trees, his eyes locked onto the eagle.
Swoo—— sh!!
Soon, another branch shot out. This time, it hit the eagle in the eye, but it continued to chase him.
"Mr. Eagle, do you think you can let me go?"
Screeeee—ch
"I'll take that as a 'no' then."
"Hey bastard, why don't you go fight someone your own size?"
He then threw out another branch.
Boom!
The branch had finally struck the eagle, breaking its defenses, hitting a vital point.
The branch had pierced its throat but failed to pierce through, as the eagle's feathers absorbed most of the force.
"The throat is usually the weakness of any normal beast. The fact that it did not pierce right through shows just how insane the defenses of this eagle are."
"Fuck why isn't it working?"
Boom!
He dodged the eagle's attacks as he stalled for a bit, as if waiting for something to happen, and then saw the Metal Pecking Eagle fall toward the ground.
"That's what you get, you overgrown chicken!"
Thud!
"Finally, that took forever to kick in! I almost died," he thought as he dropped to his knees, sweat dripping down his face.
Hhh...haah...huff..
Chest rising, a deep breath of relief, revealing happiness on his face. The branch he had shot contained poison, which had just now spread through the eagle's body, ultimately killing it. The Metal Pecking Eagle was worth eighty gold notes, equivalent to 8,000 silver coins.
However, the poison from the golden striped snake would affect the price of the eagle a bitbut adding in the golden striped snake, Long Huang's wealth now exceeded 100 gold notes. He had never encountered such wealth in his life.
"I'm rich, baby!"
"Hell yeah"
Though excited, Long Huang quickly regained his composure.
"However, the gold notes I'll get from selling these beats are still not enough for me to buy a good weapon and some pills."
With that thought, Long Huang continued his journey of finding the Red Tiger.
Night began to set in as the stars started to paint the sky. Noticing he was close to the heart of the forest, he checked the area for wild beasts or demon beasts but found nothing. So, he decided to camp there for the night.
After setting up the tent from his camping kit, he sprinkled beast-repelling powder around it and went out to gather twigs for a fire to keep warm.
He made the fire inside the tent, where there was a section with a cutout and a vent nearby to help pull the smoke out, minimizing the smell and smoke to avoid attracting beasts.
"This kit shows its worth; money well spent," he remarked.
Gurrr!!
"Fuck, I'm so hungry, but I don't have anything to eat."
"Wait a second, I do"
Reaching into his storage pouch, he took out the corpse of the golden striped snake to cook some of the meat, seasoning it with salt and some spices from his kit.
"Mmm, this one is delicious, snake!" he said as he took a hearty bite.
As he savored the snake meat, a sizzling sound beneath his skin signaled that he had broken through to the 7th stage of the Skin Tempering Realm due to the spiritual energy in the snake meat.
"Damn, was it so easy cultivating that I broke through from just eating? And speaking of cultivating, I haven't actively done that in a while, hmm."
Realizing his cultivation had been neglected due to other distractions, Long Huang resolved to cultivate throughout the night.
As the sun rose the next day, Long Huang was still sitting cross-legged, with the shadow of a miniature, child-like version of the Massive Ancient Chaos Battle Dragon he had seen in his soul realm casting over him.
Using the Chaos Battle Dragon breathing technique, the spiritual energy of the world was absorbed into Long Huang's body like a black hole swallowing matter.
This alarmed the nearby beasts, but they dared not approach; to them, something that absorbed so much spiritual energy must be powerful.
Boom!
He had broken through to the 9th stage of the Skin Tempering Realm.
"From the dragon's legacy, I've learned that most cultivators stop at the 9th stage of each realm, whether due to limited resources, cultivation techniques, or talent."
"This is usually the limit. However, there's a layer above that called the Extreme Realm, which adds three stages to most realms."
"But for the Meridian Tempering Realm, which depends on how much pain you can endure, most stop at the 9th level. For it was no longer a competition of just talent and resources but also willpower."
"The Chaos Battle Dragon breathing technique introduces a 13th stage called the Flawless Realm at each realm. Flawless Realm, what is its significance?"
"Why am I talking to myself? Am I going mad?"
"Nah"
"Being alone really is boring." Long Huang mused.
Afterward, he got up and emerged from the tent, beginning to practice the Wind Deer Steps and Ocean Wave Fists.
For the next three days, Long Huang's body could be seen moving swiftly through the Sky Cloud Forest. Wherever he went, a scream of pain soon followed, along with a fallen beast.
Cra..ck!
The snap of a twig underfoot was the only warning. Long Huang froze, his senses screaming. From the dense foliage of the forest, a Green Flame Deer emerged. It was a juvenile, its horns little more than nubs, but its hide shimmered with an emerald light, and flames licked at its hooves.
Swish!
There was no time for strategy. The deer lowered its head and charged, a blur of green and ember.
Instinct took over. Long Huang sidestepped, the heat of the passing flames searing his arm. The smell of his own singed robes filled his nostrils. He knew he couldn't match its fortified skin or its speed. So, he had to be smarter.
As the deer skidded to a halt and pivoted, Long Huang didn't retreat. He lunged forward, inside the arc of its next charge. A hoof caught him in the ribs, and a sickening crack echoed in the small clearing. Pain, white-hot and blinding, flared through his side.
But it was the opening he needed.
Ignoring the agony, he wrapped his arms around the deer's neck, not to choke, but to unbalance. He threw his weight to the side, using the creature's own momentum against it. They tumbled together in a tangle of limbs and flickering green fire.
The deer thrashed, its sharp hooves scraping against his legs, but Long Huang held on, his grip like a vice. With a final, desperate heave, he slammed the deer's head against a protruding rock at the base of a nearby tree.
THWUD
The creature went limp, the emerald light on its hide flickering and dying out. The phantom green flames vanished, leaving only the scent of ozone and blood.
Hhhh.... hhhaah
Gasping, Long Huang rolled onto his back, clutching his broken ribs. He had won. But as he stared at the unconscious beast, this minor victory against a mere deer had nearly broken him. He felt no triumph, only the cold, hard reality of his lack of strength in this dangerous forest.
"Green flame Deer strength around the peak of the Meridian Tempering Realm. Worth 90 gold notes…"
In the following few days, he had gained a lot. He had killed another two Metal Pecking Eagles, as well as seven to eight other different beasts.
"Seven Treasure Poison Centipede is extremely poisonous. It can be used to make wine and strengthen one's body. Worth 100 gold notes…"
"Red-Spotted Wild Boar strength approaching the mid-stage Meridian Tempering Realm. Tusks can be used to make weapons. Worth 400 gold notes…"
To maximize his efficiency when hunting beasts, Long Huang utilized his Wind Deer Steps and Ocean Wave Fist Art to their fullest in every hunt, though this left him drained after each hunt, it was worth it.
Through these efforts, both techniques were honed to minor completion.
Long Huang could not help but think that he was a born hunter. Now, if he were to face the Metal Pecking Eagle again, he would only need one hit to kill it.
"The beasts I now have are, in total, worth around 1500 gold notes."
"Now I'm a second-gen young master."
Long Huang had a satisfied expression on his face as he organized his storage pouch. On the way back, he still used his eyes and tall trees to hunt prey instead of fighting them head-on while on the ground.
This was because his vision was blocked by trees, so he could not guarantee that there weren't any targets that he would miss when searching for them on the ground.
Just then.