Martin was able to wake up at dusk. He found out that his saviour did not take the spoils of his effort. No one else came by as the herb and wolf were still there, which let him sigh in relief.
The ginseng had yet to ripen, but he was not going to wait for it to ripen since it could attract the attention of another monster beast. So he carefully dug it up, making sure not to harm it in any way, then directly stuffed the herb in his clothes.
Taking a deep breath, he turned his gaze to the dead wolf. He dug out its monster core with a smile, then wearily dragged it to the nearest water stream to process the meat as he said,
''Although I can't bring back this wolf to sell, as I would draw attention and possibly have it robbed. Sigh. I can make a meal out of it. Monster beast meat should be quite spiritual. If I eat it along with the ginseng, the effect should be good''.
...
Later at night, under a moonless star-filled night. Marin sat in front of his small wood cabin he had stayed in for the last three months whilst practising from mortal to his current stage 9 body tempering.
"I have been roasting meat in this forest for a few months now. How could I possibly still be this bad?" Martin asked with a dark expression looking at the half-burnt half-raw meat on skewers emitting a foul smell. He also took note of the fact that all spirituality was lost.
"Could it be the stories that Marco told me of, where someone could eat the meat of a high-level monster beast and breakthrough several levels were lies?"
"Forget it," he said as he threw the thoughts at the back of his mind and prepared the wild fruits and vegetables in his cabin to eat.
...
While gorging himself, he started thinking about his dream, goal, the reason he left the comfort of his village and decided to go on this adventure.
During the time he spent with Marco, Martin learnt about all kinds of legends, heard about all types of experts, sects, kingdoms and even bandits. But there was only one thing that left the biggest impression on him that he often thinks about to this day. That is a legendary man by the name 'Steven Winchester', history's strongest rogue cultivator.
In a time where people must join sects to become experts, in a time where sects monopolized resources such as spirit stone mines, secret realms, alchemists, e.t.c. Steven Winchester became someone that could rival powerful factions as an individual. There are countless tales of him destroying powerful sects, him being pursued by numerous experts from the three most powerful human sects in the world yet managing to escape. And in his escape, a large number of the experts died.
According to legend, when the race wars nearly razed half of the planet in their wake, he was the one that forcibly stopped the fighting and made all the major races sign an agreement. He then arrogantly said
"Whichever race breaks this agreement, I will exterminate!"
Famous for his quote, "If you are a real man, then you must live free and unfettered. "
It just makes Martin's blood boil in excitement, and he sprouts goosebumps when he thinks about this man's life. And that's his life's goal, to live his life with his fate in his own hands, free and unfettered. To go on an adventure across the world, see all the sceneries it has to offer, the mountains, seas, valleys, rivers, and even the cities. To see what's in the sky to what's in the depths of the sea. And to eat all delicacies he can.
To pursue his dreams, he first needs strength! Otherwise, he'd die way before accomplishing anything. Forget about his dreams of being adventuring. Martin doesn't even know how he survived the clutches of the wolf he fought earlier.
...
After having his fill, he decided to try for a breakthrough.
With his cultivation of 9th stage body tempering, he could vaguely sense the surrounding spiritual qi but was just unable to absorb it into his body. Only by reaching the initial element foundation stage could he absorb spiritual qi and use it to refine his body further and purge impurities.
Martin took out the ginseng then ate it as if a carrot. He couldn't ask an alchemist to make it into pills as he wasn't from a sect, which could get the most out of the herb. But all he could do now was to eat it as is.
After he ate, he could feel his blood qi increase, and his physic enhance. He quickly got up and executed his mortal body refining technique <
Fifteen minutes later, he felt a tingling sensation all over his body. What followed by rapid expansion and contraction of his muscles. It made him feel as if power was being compressed and stored in his muscles. Then finally, impurities were excreated through his pours.
With soot-like impurities covering his body, he passed out with a smile on his face.