Puff!
A black conspicuous air was let out from the mouth of the hermit-looking young man. He then cheered, "Finally! I reached Rank 1: Initial Stages—Tempering of muscles and nerves!"
[Congratulations, host! For Reaching Rank 1 in Cultivation with Initial Stages!]
[Cultivation phase/stage: Rank 1: Initial Stages—Recorded!]
A loud booming voice awakened him from his excitement. He didn't react, as he was already used to it. He still couldn't get over his exhilaration at reaching Rank 1. It only took him a night after the battle with the yellow-striped tiger.
Although he expected that it would still take him 3 days to reach while he adventures in the jungle. But he felt that maybe now was the time to do it, he had to since he encountered the yellow-striped tiger Rank 1 beast, doesn't mean it was already the strongest in the Jungle.
He doesn't believe in the word 'Strongest' but in the word 'Stronger'. There would always be someone above him, so he didn't let his pride get over his rationality from the fact that he managed to kill the yellow-striped tiger narrowly, and emerged as the winner.
If only the tiger didn't have the intelligence of the child, but a conceited personality of an elder, then the yellow-striped tiger wouldn't hesitate to kill him first before it died. Therefore, even if he won, he would always find a reason why he won of 'what if' that causes him to be still breathing.
"Ah! This sticky, disgusting smelly black substance again, it would always stick to my skin again and again whenever I cultivated." Clover groaned in dissatisfaction, his body was already sticky with sweat, to begin with, with this sticky black substance with a disgusting, nauseous smell only added to his awful condition.
"Thankfully, no one was with me. Aside from the system who was the only one who entertains me, there's no one to witness this." Standing up, he made his way to the river again, oh how he loved the river well.
"Hmm… Reaching the middle stages seems impossible for now. I still have to experience countless injuries from others and gain experience before going to torturous training in my inner body."
The middle stage was the tempering of bone. In this middle stage, there was a possibility to be crippled if it was halted midway through the middle of the cultivation. It needs to break the bone and then repair—process. It was a continuing process, so one has to have a courage, determination, dedication, and everything that could support your mentality from breaking on this process.
So Clover thought about this stage thoroughly since it was nothing to laugh at. And once more, as Clover was an optimistic person, the exposition of the middle stages provided by the peak cultivation manual didn't frighten him in the slightest.
However, just the thought of having your bone break and restore relentlessly to perfection caused him to break out in a cold sweat.
Splash!
Floating his body upwards from the river, he enjoyed the scenery brought by the tropical forest. The birds chirping, the air breezing towards him and his surroundings–even though cold; he was already used to it–and the sounds of the river caused by the water splashing on the rock.
The reason why he loves the river so much was because it brought him peace of mind. In the experienced he had in the sudden change in the world, was very stressful to him both physically and mentally. Even his emotions sometimes clouded his mentality to pessimistic, and that's why the river and a branch of a tree he always lean on, were what he loves the most.
"Hah! I love this feeling. I feel like my physical stress could be washed away from the river water, and the jungle itself brought me peace of mind." His muscles relaxed as his mind drifted to an unknown dimension.
This continued for almost five hours. No beast on the water nor the ground ever tried to disturb him. They could feel the dangerous existence radiating from the river, and the source was a young man who was relaxing peacefully in it.
Grumbles~
His rare time of rest was awakened by his stomach grumbling, demanding for the food to digest. Feeling helpless about the stomach behavior, he could only find some fish to satisfy it. He didn't use the meat of the yellow-striped tiger nor ever have a thought about that. He was already grateful enough that the tiger left him alive, and eating him was rather a disgraceful act to his benefactor, as it would only degrade the pride of the dead.
"Sigh, how can I find food in this situation, if no beasts around me for even a hundred meters could be seen? Not even a fish or a fungus was visible in my area." He walked towards his area, where his item was placed. He gave up trying to find food and tried to control the dangerous intent radiating inside him.
If he couldn't control it, then no food today. He finds a reason to train, and that was to control his killing intent. If he could control it then, he could be considered a wolf with sheep's clothing. It was the biggest advantage he could have, considering that he was alone and could be easy to gang up on by either beast or a human.
"Tomorrow, I should move now. To find a human settlement and maybe get information there regarding the previous quake that happened. I should use the river flow as a direction. Although this was also the direction where the epicenter of the quake happens, the distance is too much and it will take me eight hours to get there. Considering some unexpected events, then the max will be a day."
Going to the epicenter of the quake without information was rather a reckless thing to do, so he needed first to find a small human settlement and have to gather information about there. He has to be cautious and careful for now, since even the beast with an intellect of a child almost caused him to die.
What about the human who was known for its unpredictable, cunning minds, then? He would be good as dead.
Standing up from the river, he makes his way towards the riverside. The water level wasn't that high, as when he stands up—it was only on knee level.
His hair was so wet, and so were the leaves of his private parts. There was also a knot of leaves on his waist and the shoulders of both of his forelimbs to store his flying knives and one broken dagger.
With his curly disheveled hair and an imposing-looking face, anyone could bear witness to his growth. From the ignorant, frail-looking young man turned into a dangerous existence that no beast even thinks of eyeing him as prey. His menacing glare was already equal to a tiger, and his long jet-black disheveled hair was like the long thick hair that grows from the neck of a lion.
His body was filled with vigor, and no fats could be seen on the bulging muscles in every part of his torso. The Claw marks that covered his body only added his threatening presence, causing no beast to dare venture on his territory.
This was the birth of another king of the beast, and other beasts could only prostrate themselves whenever they feel him. It was born in their nature to respect the strongest, and even come to the point of serving themselves as their meal.
They don't have a choice, since this was the Law of the Jungle. Nothing changed even the New Age comes.