Leaving the sec with a core sect token didn't pose any problems this time. Contrary to the borders withing the sect, if a core disciple was going to the training grounds, there was no reason to stop him at all! If there was any problem with his identification, he would be stopped at the inner gates after all!
In a short moment after crossing the gates, we arrived in the same place that was so utterly devastated by my attempt to figure out the windslord power. While this forest had miraculous ability to regenerate itself at an astonishing pace, the wounds that I created on its body were simply too severe to close up in a manner of just a few days.
As we continued into the forest, the lights of the sect swiftly disappeared behind our backs. In just a few moments more, the marks that I left on the forest hid from my eyes, under the cover of the woodlands.
While we disappeared from the sect direct proximity, that didn't mean we left the area influenced by the human hand. Not even a single demonic beast could be spotted here, with small animals without their blood altered by energy, using the lack of their natural predators to the fullest.
While the smile life thrived in this place, that only told us to guide our steps deeper and deeper. While we could try to hunt some of them to gift them to Tyrannical poetic penguin, it wouldn't even look at them.
As a demonic beast, the most important part about its meals came from the energetical value that they provided. As a beast without a real intellect and god's blessing, it was the only way for them to grow in strength. That's why the deeper one got into the training grounds, the fiercer animals could be met. In the short free time I had in the sect, I managed to hear about the theory that ancient societies used this fact to manipulate the energy level of certain areas before populating them with the magical beast.
This way, when the job was done, every beast settled in a place that could sustain it, while it could defend it from the potential aggressors. This way of populating the entire area from the very top, allowed them to create a stable environment for training, where one didn't need to fear to encounter strong monsters where they shouldn't appear!
While this theory sounded valid for some, the barriers existing in this particular forest that prevented the beast from leaving their designed breeding grounds weren't included in the presented explanation. While that didn't mean that this proposed solution was wrong, unless someone will be able to come up with a valid reason for their existence, the training grounds will remain a mystery for present-day people.
After travelling through the bushes for over an hour, we finally reached a place where the gyuarna lived. Recalling how happy the pengu was to feast on their hearts, I simply took out my windslord and ran to hunt.
Be it my energy level, sharing cultivation with Eve, who was much more proficient in using it to her desire or just thanks to me getting more used to my real strength, what took me a single hit from a surprise attack back then, I managed to accomplish my simply running head-on against those massive animals, only to slash them once in my run!
With the direction of the new enemy being transmitted right into my mind thanks to Eve's searching technique, I could just continue running at my full speed, relying more on the momentum than the range of the sword itself.
While hunting gyuarnas still brought me a fair bit of experience points, compared to what I got from the Pengu's blood, it was simply not enough! I don't know if raising my cultivation level caused the experience points to decrease from the greater difference between our strength or if this was caused by my higher level of strength overall.
Compared to my previous adventures, when just a few gyuarnas were enough to raise my level, killing more than fifteen of them only brought me to about 10% of my current requirement for the level up!
That only means that I really need to go into harder areas to level up effectively!
Stopping in my tracks, I pulled apologised to my sword in my heart, before using it to cut the heart of the beast out of its body. While it sounds easy, doing so with a sword that is sending wind waves with every move isn't that easy! By the time I managed to secure first of my offerings to the pengu, I was already fully covered in blood!
Shrugging a bit, I simply opened up my pores and prompted the system to absorb it and turn into even more attribute points, only to be left hanging with a distant feeling of helplessness appearing somewhere in my soul.
This Bonger! He can't even help me with such a simple thing!
Wiping my eyes down with my robe's sleeve, I proceeded to go back to the previous one of my prey. In the next half an hour, I kept going back and back all the way until I met with Eve, who looked like a proper hunter unlike me.
With her bloodied all over gloves hanging from her belt, she kept her perfectly clean appearance. I guess at least she thought about bringing some kind of knife to make use of the beast carcasses!
Seeing that all the hearts that we needed were already gathered, we kept them all in my storage ring, before setting off in the direction of Pengu area. This time, we managed to get there rather fast, in less than just ten minutes!
Running this distance seems a lot easier when you actually know your way!
As the surrounding forest turned into a site of the disaster, we knew that we arrived in the place that we needed. I was even lucky enough to find the spot where I gathered my guts to stand against him for the first time!
"You stay here. I can break free from its binding spell, but be ready to flee just in case!"