As Xuanyuan Zhen left the scene and returned to his hut, the first thing in his mind was cultivation. He decided to dedicate every single moment of his life to grow stronger. Everything he'd experienced, from being crippled by his two physiques, to being mocked and discarded by the Xuanyuan clan, to the the recent conflicts had taught him one thing. Power is the only currency in this world. His parents were missing and won't be there to protect him. He had to survive and grow stronger.
He sat cross-legged and began to circulate the Primordial Breath to temper his body. At Body Tempering realm, strength is determined by blood Qi. His golden–purple blood Qi were vastly stronger than others at the same level. He opened the bottle containing the pills he bought and began consuming them. With every pill consumed, the Primordial Breath in his blood became stronger, like an erupting volcano, his flesh strengthening like a weapon tempered to the limit until he broke through.
Body tempering 6th stage!
The atmosphere around him was heated up due to the overbearing blood Qi surging within his veins. He smirked at the speed of his breakthrough. According to his estimates, he should be comparable to at least, peak Qi Condensation realm.Or greater, as he's never fought with full strength. He looked at the container for the pills he consumed and let out a depressed sigh.
The Primordial Breath was a bottomless pit. Others would consume the same amount of pills to attain peak body tempering realm. But for him...
He quickly dismissed the thought. And went to bed to rest.
---
Within the house of the village Chief, Lin Dong sat with a black clothed guest. An assassin hired by him.
"You want me to kill a measly Body Tempering realm 5th stage child," asked the assassin," have you fallen so low?"
"It's called eliminating potential troubles," said Lin Dong flatly," It shouldn't be difficult for a man of your profession right?"
"Any target fortunate enough to escape my grasp hasn't been born yet," the assassin replied confidently. "I'll bring his head tomorrow, you bring my payment"
"Deal," Lin Dong confirmed, then both men shook hands.
"But tell me,"asked the assassin,"how does a Body Tempering 5th stage severely injure a peak Body Tempering and a Qi Condensation cultivators? If that spreads it'll be a massive joke."
"It doesn't matter what secrets are behind his abnormal strength," Lin Dong said coldly," he dies tomorrow."
The assassin left the residence of the Chief with an assignment in mind, while Lin Dong pondered upon the statement of the assassin.
For a trash to achieve such feat of combat prowess, there had to be a secret behind. A treasure perhaps. If such a treasure were his...
Greed surged in his mind as he thought of the outcomes possible should he obtain a fortuitous encounter as such.
---
The next day, in the red mist village, Xuanyuan Zhen woke up to continue the hunting work he began. It's the only way to obtain food and resources for cultivation. Unlike the previous day, his target this time were comparable to Qi Condensation cultivators, and maybe foundation realm beasts. He used it as an avenue to home his combat skills, given he has combat techniques to begin with.
First was a Red Furred Boar, comparable to Qi Condensation late stage, which wasn't much of an effort. Amplified by the purple-golden blood Qi he punched through the hide, destroying the internal organs, killing the beast almost instantly. Next was a Golden Striped Python comparable to peak Qi Condensation. It's main weapon was the poison mist which it spewed from its mouth. Unfortunately, Xuanyuan Zhen's physique was immune to poison which made him it's nemesis. He shattered the head with a single punch. Next target was a pack of Silver Back Wolves. He learned another use of the black ring along the way. It could also serve as a storage ring.
He placed the corpses of the pack of wolves in the black ring and was about to stand up to continue his work, only for him to feel a sharp, chilling pain on his back. This wasn't a beast, it was a human. He turned around to see the attacker, only to see a black clothed figure with a dagger in hand. He was different from those he killed the night before. This was an assassin.
"Courtesy of the village Chief," the assassin,"he finds your presence offensive. In your next life..."
"And you were stupid enough to send his message," Xuanyuan Zhen interrupted the assassin. He stood up and stared at the assassin before him. The chilling poison within his blood had been burnt out and the stab wound began to heal up almost instantly. The assassin stared back coldly, but deep within him was shock. No one survives that poison. His dagger on the other hand was a top grade mortal weapon.
'How is he still standing!!', the assassin thought to himself.
Zhen gave him no chance to gather his thoughts and rushed towards him. Seeing a body tempering cultivator charging towards him, the assassin who was a peak Qi Condensation, able to kill Foundation Establishment realm cultivators was disdainful. He channeled his Qi from within his dantian, through his meridians to unleash a fist attack to strike. Xuanyuan Zhen's purple-golden blood Qi surged within him as he threw a punch in return.
Both fists collided, the impact pushing both parties steps away from each other. The assassin stared at his hand in shock as he sustained a few fractures. Zhen on the other hand shrugged off the numb feeling. That was just 60 percent of his strength after his breakthrough. He increased his strength to 70 percent as he charged forward again. The assassin felt like fist force approaching him like a mountain.
He jumped backwards to evade, throwing a few pills that exploded, releasing a black fog of poison in the air shrouding Xuanyuan Zhen. He watched and let out a sigh of relief as the poison 'eroded' his target.