The sun rose slowly, bringing the forest out of the dark and warming it with its rays of light.
Among the trees, a silhouette could be seen holding two daggers in reverse grip position, and doing some movements with them: stabbing, slashing, thrusting, slicing…
This silhouette belonged to Li Jing. He was currently practicing the movements described in the Foundation Daggers Manual.
Li Jing continued to perform some movements: horizontal slash, double downward strike, diagonal downward strike… Each of his movements possessed strength and elegance.
It was said in the manual that, to master a weapon, one had to practice the basic movements more than a thousand times, until the weapon became an extension of the arm of its wielder.
Li Jing has been practicing with his daggers for more than an hour and now that he saw that the sun had risen, he decided to stop his training and continue to walk towards the territory of the Four-eyed Jade Monkeys.
He stored his daggers inside his inventory and sighed. He just started to understand how to properly use his daggers while Teng Fen was already a master with his sword.
Teng Fen could use the Sword Qi, Sword Aura, and Sword Domain. He was pretty much unbeatable with a sword in his hands… Reaching such a level required a huge comprehension capacity as well as hundreds of years of training!
However, Li Jing was not demoralized by it. He knew that one day he too would reach this level. He believed that as long as he put his mind to something, anything was possible.
Li Jing started to walk towards the north. If he didn't drag along the way, he thought that he could reach the territory of the Four-eyed Jade Monkeys before nightfall…
"GHHAAA!!"
Not even half an hour after he left his cave, Li Jing was already attacked by a Demonic Black Bear.
Tier-1 Demonic Beasts had very low intelligence. If someone penetrated their territory, they would immediately attack him, without caring if they were weaker or stronger than him.
Li Jing didn't even need to dodge the bear's charge. He just waited for it to get closer to him and powerfully punched its head, killing it instantly.
[Host has killed a tier-1 Demonic Beast: XP + 15.]
He was walking towards the body of the beast when he heard someone behind him.
"Wow, you're very strong!" Exclaimed a female voice.
Li Jing turned his head towards the direction of the voice and saw a young woman of about twenty years. She was wearing a white and blue dress with beautiful flowers embroidered on it. Her body was svelte and perfectly proportioned. She had long black hair and a very cute face with a rose-colored tint to her cheeks. Her small black eyes were lively, warm, and gave her an innocent look.
"Who are you?" He asked.
She didn't seem to have bad intentions but he preferred to be careful.
"My name is Li Yuan Yuan, I'm a 1-star Alchemist! And you, who are you? How can you be so strong while being so young?" She said.
Being a 1-star Alchemist at the age of twenty was considered a feat in this continent. Li Yuan Yuan was proud of that and liked to be complimented on it. So, every time she met someone she would tell him "I'm a 1-star Alchemist".
Li Jing never heard of her, neither in the web novel nor in the memories of the original owner of his body. But hearing her name, he wondered if she was part of his clan.
"Are you from the Li clan?" He asked.
"So, you've heard of me! Yes, I'm the most talented alchemist of the Li clan."
Li Jing frowned. If what she said was true then why the original owner of his body never heard of her? The youngest and most talented alchemist of the Li clan was supposed to be a guy named Li Shan… She probably exaggerated her status.
"Are you really the most talented alchemist of the Li clan?" He asked, smirking.
"What do you mean? Of course, I am… Hey, you still haven't told me who you are!" She answered.
"I'm Li Jing." He said, turning his body towards her and revealing the name 'Li' embroidered in gold on his clothing.
"Hehe, we have the same surname. It must be fate that we met… Wait… Are you THE Li Jing? The young master of the Li clan?" She asked, astonished.
"Well, yes I am… Did you come to the Dark Forest alone?" Said Li Jing, looking around her.
The Dark Forest was a very dangerous place and even experienced Beast Hunters preferred to venture there as a group.
Li Jing didn't know her cultivation realm but she didn't look that strong… It was only when cultivators reached the Foundation Establishment realm that they unlocked their Divine Sense and gained the ability to scan other cultivators' cultivation realm.
However, before Li Yuan Yuan could answer, they heard a growl coming from the right.
"GHHAAA!!" A Demonic Black Bear was charging them at full speed!
"Let me take care of it." She said.
Li Yuan Yuan took out a needle from her pouch and elegantly threw it towards the bear.
When the needle reached the beast and stuck between its two eyes, it immediately collapsed to the ground!
Seeing this, Li Jing widened his eyes. He clearly underestimated this girl!
"Was that a poisoned needle?" He asked.
He has read in the web novel about poison master that used needles as their main weapon.
"Yes, I'm a poison specialist. I often come to the Dark Forest to collect alchemy ingredients." She answered, smiling.