Young felt like a little kid on his birthday, he couldn't wait to try out the Fern Spark Spear, but before that he needed to replenish his qi. It was dangerously low, between forging the new Spirit Weapon and trying the new technique he was wiped.
After a short five minute reprieve Young was ready to go. He decided to start by choosing the Cave Grub burrow with the least amount of creatures inside. He soon found one with just four creatures and took several deep breaths as he prepared himself mentally for what he needed to do. He made sure the spear would reach and then, after several practice thrusts he launched the spear forward hard and fast. The tip easily pierced the slick hide of the Cave Grub and the creature began to wriggle and writhe erratically. Much as he predicted, the creatures nearby did not stir and after ten seconds or so the creature stopped moving.
It seemed that piercing the area that Young imagined to be the "head" worked well. He continued from grub to grub until finally all of the creatures met their end. He collected the monster spirits and moved onto the next. Within thirty minutes he'd cleared five of the sixteen holes he'd found and collected 26 spirits. It wasn't until his sixth burrow that Young encountered a spot of trouble--but not in the way he expected.
This particular spot had the most grubs inside it, what's more he couldn't reach them all so he decided to make use of his new technique. He thrust the spear into the nearest grub he could reach and then activated the Spark Burst technique. Unlike the first time he used it, the lightning orb continued to grow with each grub it made contact with. It filled the hollow within an instant, killing all of the creatures within seconds -- the only problem was the orb continued to grow!
Young could only hold onto the spear with both hands and ride out the technique as the lightning shaved away at the hard cavern rock. The orb began to pulsate before finally exploding in one large explosion, the force of which sent Young flying across the cavern. He sailed backwards several meters and landed with a hard thud as the Fern Spark Spear went flying.
[-5 HP]
[-7 HP]
The large rocks from the crumbling wall flew outward and pelted Young Jade on the chest and arms before the commotion of the blast finally settled down.
"Ugh.." He grunted as he got to his feet slowly. He walked towards the wall which now had a massive fissure running its length where the hollow used to be. All that remained of the creatures within were their hovering monster spirits.
"I'm definitely never going to use that in a closed space again.." Young Jade whispered.
It would seem that the Spark Burst skill grew in power if it had a target to feed upon, who knew? Either way it was considerably more powerful than Arcing Lightning , perhaps due to the limited range.
After taking a moment to catch his breath and making sure that no other Grubs had begun to stir, Young recalled his weapon and went back to work. The remainder of his Grub Hunt was rather uneventful. He cleared all of the sixteen holes and also managed to find an additional one he'd overlooked in less than an hour.
All in all, he gathered a sum of 87 monster spirits. He waited until he reached the spring before he used the monster energy. It was habit, really, as the spring had become a location of comfort for him.
"1,038." Young remarked. This number was in reference to his new qi maximum.
"So close. I wonder if I can find any more Cave Grubs later tonight? It would be a little risky--but ultimately worth it, I think."
Young Jade was just considering his next move when he noticed a new alert in the lower right corner of his HUD.
[Cultivation has reached 99 / 99. Breakthrough available.]
"Already? Wow.." Young said happily as he pumped his fist heartily. He'd completely forgotten about the fact that his level rose simply from defeating monsters. Still he was a little puzzled, after all he knew what a breakthrough was -- he simply didn't know how to reach the next rank.
In cultivation there exist barriers to strength. They can be various things, external or internal forces of all types. Stigmas , the need to cultivate one's body or soul, or simply to learn some deeper understanding -- the problem with breakthroughs are that they may differ from person to person. Still, he understood enough to realize that a breakthrough for his very first rank most likely revolved around acquiring strength of some type.
"Help > Breakthrough." Young commanded, bring up helpful information on the topic.
"Breakthrough (1) : A breakthrough is the act of expanding one's soul sea and by extension removing limitations of the physical and mental world. Performing this action will reward the cultivator with a deeper understanding of new aspects of self. To effectively breakthrough, explore all possibilities."
"That's not….helpful at all! What the heck…" Young seemed disappointed by the information provided, but there was little else he could do.
"Well… if that's how it is, I guess I'll just continue training until dark." Young finally said as he sat up and assumed a meditative stance. He was only a few hundred qi away from his goal, there was no point getting distracted now!
With this in mind Young decided to look over the multitude of quests remaining in his Quest menu.
[Quest Added : Body Fortification (2)]
[Quest Added : Body Fortification (3)]
[Quest Added : Riding Lightning (1)]
[Quest Added : Affinity Awakening]
[Quest Added : Survive]
[Quest Added : Combat Ready (1)]
[Quest Added : Combat Ready (2)]
[Quest Added : Escape]
He decided to check out each of the quests he neglected thus far.
[Riding Lightning:
Lightning is a difficult, unpredictable power. Most seek to control it, but what is the true nature of lightning? Once you realize this, you're one step closer to true strength. Reward : 200% Knowledge.]
[Combat Ready (1)
Martial technique is very important, the ability to fight while unarmed and defeat your foe is unparalleled. Start down the path of unarmed combat by practicing. 3 / 100 %. Reward : Passive Skill.]
[Combat Ready (2)
The ability to crush your foes beneath your heel is admirable, but tools make the job effortless. Hone your weapon skill by practicing with one. 47 / 100 %. Reward : Passive Skill.]
[Survive
You're trapped in a place of death where the living do not belong. You must grow strong enough to escape! Reach Rank 2 in sixty days or less. Progress 0 / 2 .]
[Escape
A true cultivator moves heaven and earth to obtain their goals. To escape death and return to Golden Leaf academy you must master the power within.]
Considering the quests, he was closest to completing Combat Ready (2).
"Practice with a weapon hmm? I guess the sword should do." Young said as he called forth his Beast Spirit Short-sword and began to do practice swings. Approximately every ten to fifteen swings the quest progress increased by 1%. Extremely slow progress, so slow in fact that he wondered how he'd accumulated 47% progress already.
After an hour he abandoned this and decided to spend the remainder of his time improving his qi even further. He had just settled in to begin absorbing more lightning energy when a familiar voice echoed within his soul sea.
"Your form is terrible. And where is your cultivation technique? You'll injure yourself like that.."