The last three days had been something. After trading all of the birds since he had no way of storing them, a little income came his way. Eating his fill after overworking his body and giving the Old Tiger some from the excess birds he went back out to grab after a few weakened ones were left for dead, Leroy was glad the Hamlet Leader needed some books copied over.
The majority of the early part of the day had been spent reading and transcribing into larger letters so the learning Hamlet members could read better. It was quite odd the material he came across was in several different languages from Earth. One book was even in Portuguese and he could not do that one remotely effectively translation-wise.
He decided not to take in any Qi with the methods picked up from the material read. According to what was read he was already starting late on the path to Cultivation but he was an adult in a teenager's body and that could not pass his mental state. Luckily they didn't probe to much when he said he was older and only looked like this due to a small medical condition and hereditary.
Inside the pages of a few books was a method to spend one's life force, basically aging oneself for power. But it also contained a way to improve later cultivation attainments through this.
A few notes mentioned that parents did this to make better for their heirs by actually giving their life force to infants. So Leroy made the preparations and was going to implement it now.
*Fwoosh!* The drawn circles lit up as the Qi in the area sucked into them. Lines along his body started to appear as they wrapped around him in an almost dance. Leroy's eyes rolled over in his skull but the old tiger watched all of this without blinking somewhat amused.
'Why is this human burning away his longevity?' It's tail swished a little in the air before settling back down after a scent passed over. 'What is so peculiar about this one?'
The lines flashed in different patterns with ancient texts on them. If Leroy would have seen the texts shrunken down he would have known where he saw them. They belonged to that of Aspects he earned in his original life. As well as a few symbols in the home he was raised in before shit went crazy.
Despite not coming further in the path to use them now because of the Afterlife Backdoor Terminal, he was still developing them without realizing it. Also was slowly bringing a Deity that was looking for him closer to this Dimension.
Blue and White flames left off Leroy's body with a slight spark. The Old Tiger open its mouth and swallowed it quickly before it got away. Power radiated in its eyes as it made the decision to stay by the human even longer. Staring at the passed-out cultivator, it took in that he was indeed older-looking and no longer looked young by bearing.
'Hmm, something strange is happening within him.' Mustering some power, the Old Tiger sent a piece of its soul into Leroy. It was only able to gain a peek before getting pushed back out. A piece of it was severed but strangely it did not hurt. 'This human has so many tricks... what is that terrifying feeling of pressure within!?'
The Old Tiger cowered as it felt an intense suffocating pressure that not only suppressed it but also nourished the piece of its soul inside Leroy. It was quite in the small Hut besides the beating of hearts.
"Haa, done." Leaning back on the floor, Leroy gave a stretch waking up fully. "Well have a way to cultivate better now in the future if the texts are corrected. Should be safe enough with just Body Tempering here."
Several half methods were in those books and scrolls that could only be patched together in something unusual. Enough information combined with the way things went back in shows he pathed out a process of cultivation and a few occupations that he definitely could show a decent bit of knowledge in.
"To have a better chance at surviving, it is best to have sterile tools to prevent infection. I should be able to make decent money as a doctor and surgeon. I mean they like beauty maintenance and stuff here but I can do a facelift and sag reduction. After they use whatever way to heal any scars it should be a worthwhile endeavor."
"Rawwr." The Old Tiger just growled the way it usually did when he talked toward it. It then put its head back down to rest. Able to communicate with the piece inside Leroy with no issue, the stress from having a piece of its soul taken away went down. 'Infection of what? This human grows stranger every time I look at him not to mention when he speaks. Maybe I should rip his Soul out and bring him to be reborn a Demon Beast Tiger?'
With the clothes not really fitting before afterward, Leroy needed to do some alterations to compensate for his growth and overall maturity. Luckily he was not hungry like before after the process.
Leroy set the books outside in a box for the Hamlet Leader to pick up later. Still so much to do like a taste test a few seeds and vegetables dug up.
.
Talks-
.
The Hamlet Leader Vokly as he called himself came to Leroy with a small request. He asked him to tutor a few of the Hamlet kids. Word had got around that he killed a few Ant mounds and a few birds he traded off were of good enough quality. That and these Hamlet kids were in the process of training hard to be sent off to the local Akademy or to a Town and join the various Occupations.
Thanks to the Body Tempering done already and Leroy's cultivation pushed by constantly using all of his Blood Qi to recover from working out, his build was better than most. Unable to tell him his real age, the Champion told him he was 21 as a good estimate of the life force burned away.
This was a few years older than the former Leroy in any documentation in case those who killed him found a way to track the body down. The Hamlet Leader started prying subtly for information on who he was and where he came from after probing by a few other Hamlet Leaders he traded with brought it up.
With enough half-answers Leroy let the man come to the conclusion he was from a Southern Tribe from deep in the wilds and learn what he knew from traveling and studying with everyone he came across.
The conclusion was also drummed up that the other was unfortunate in cultivation the same as a lot of the Hamlet dwellers.
"So you are a Doctor, how rare for someone so free. Your name as well is quite unusual, especially that surname. Your position in your Southern Tribe must have been pretty big," Fixing his pipe, the old man was only at the Body Tempering Realm Peak.
The area of the Peak is after the 9th Ranlk of a Realm and is the transitioning period and final steps to breakthrough to the next Realm. Which in this case would be the Qi Refining Realm after this one.
Despite how accomplished several people and Demon Beasts are or how long they spend time in certain Realms they don't break through all the time. The Hamlet Leader and several others have that really bad as they haven't been able to. Like most who lived on the outskirts of Towns, he was unable to cross the threshold into the Qi Condensation Realm. Unless he purchased a condensed Qi Stone or any of the various Concentrated Qi Pills to breakthrough it was hopeless.
"What methods can you treat with out resources Witch Doctor?"
"Not much since all of my equipment is gone." He let slide the man referred to him as a Witch Doctor. "I focus on .. reconstruction of the body. However, I don't have enough medicine to continue work on how to help with recovery safely." Leroy had a bowl in hand as he ground up some plants in the area that were useable. "I found a few plants that are large in abundance that can be used to help stimulate blood flow in the cold period."
Winter was not for a few months he gathered but the Fall period in the Hamlets tended to get cold and there was snowfall. Neither Leroy was looking forward to being a part of it as he was now.
"Oh, that is most good! The Amp Flower does get one agitated enough." He gave a nod agreeing it does get the blood flowing but it was used to wake people up mostly. "We tend to lose too many during that time! So much money wasted on ways to keep warm that it usually turns too late from frost touch-setting in."
"Hmm, oh Frostbite, I understand now." It took a few seconds for him to put it with that, but the books he transcribed mentioned all the same as Frostbite when referencing Frosttouch. "Anyway, it is written down here how to make it and use it. Just hope the gathering is done well enough."
The two exchanged a few tricks of the trade. Leroy's recipes were a hell of a lot lower compared to the others in the Capital but his methods of skinning and animal separation went a long way.
During this Leroy picked up that the Hamlet Leader was more than just a Hunter and may have been a Soldier or something at one point.
As a Doctor, it helped to explain what parts of the organs were able to be eaten without causing trouble. Even though there were cultivators here that processed that as type of evolution that came later from hard work.
Not until they made it to the Foundation Establishment Realm, which came after the Qi Condensation Realm were Cultivators able to ignore common diseases that developed from food. But then they had to worry about other Qi-rich food and various different types of Qi screwing them over. Not to mention what happens when they cultivate something wrong and their bodies get wrecked.
Leroy took as a note with Allergies and they were not paying attention due to thinking they were invincible.
The Hamlet Leader information helped confirmed a lot for Leroy about Cultivation with Medicine. The fact they relied on Pills and Elixers to forcefully treat wounds it was no wonder there were so many issues in various people.
Especially those who did not live in the city or more robust towns.
"Improper treatment... oh boy." Reaching to chew some jerky he traded for, Leroy was surprised the Old Tiger came out of the small hut. It sat next to him and then looked out to the forest area. "Hmm?" Turning to look was not a boring sight.
Out of the forest, the trio watched a few people come out wounded. Full of cuts and stab wounds were not the problem but the creature that came behind them running on threes left Leroy slightly shocked.
"It is a running plant... no freaking way..." Doesn't matter what you see in books, once it is in person that is when the mind deals with the shock. "It is such a big thing!"
The plant that ran after the people on threes had a head shaped like that of a squid. The vines had suction pads on them that contained little sharp teeth. The stem looked very vibrant and eye-catching at first look.
The man had some insignia on as well as Noble attire that Leroy recognized from the previous body owner's memory. Not that it matter if the other dies but the attire really caused the Hamlet Leader to start fretting.