Author note; Not really a finished draft, got a writers block while writing, and kind-of just forgot about it.
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Hang Fen, unlike others, who tried to scour the land and make a plan, he started to track down a monster.
By pure luck instead of the monster he was hunting, some other monster that was wounded rushed up. Of course Hang Fen knew that someone else had done that, with all the sword wounds, but he didn't care and kill-stealed.
He quickly made a sword and went back to tracking the beast, it was of the 4th realm, since only with that could the body be strengthened, the previous beast was of the third realm.
It was a wolf, due to not even trying to hide, it quickly found Hang Fen. It was the size of a human male, it was careful for a few seconds and sensed Hang Fen's cultivation.
The wolf was pretty hungry, the deer it was going to eat had escaped and it wasn't against eating a human.
The monster leaped at Hang Fen while Hang Fen drew his sword and slashed, but the wolf dodged. Hang Fen said with arrogance "You're pretty good wolf, I remember that in ancient times dogs were considered man's best friend instead of alien slaves, be my pet and I spare you."
"Grrrr." The wolf growled if it wasn't obvious, not accepting Hang Fen's mercy.
"You dare!" Hang Fen was outraged "Die mortalé!
The wolf leapt forward as well, strangely. Instead of feeling a blade or a body in it's mouth or touching it's claws, it was nothing but air. As Hang Fen had suddenly redirected and turned 90 degrees, then 360 degrees as he slashed downwards and cut off the wolf's head.
This was that dao-energy, that's what Hang Fen was calling it. It was used up a bit, about 25%. It was slowly regenerating, and after looking at the blood flowing out, the dao seed grew slightly.
Hang Fen happily skined the wolf and used the pelt, after he got rid of the fur, for his plate armor. Though it was partial for now.
In another mountain powerful men and women were sitting around a table looked into the air "Have any of you taken an interest in a child?" The most powerful asked "I've taken intrest in a boy using a weird sword technique and a sneaky foot work called Xia Heng."
Another elder said "I've taken an intrest in a girl with a demoneering spear technique silently waiting out a 2nd realm beast with a wooden spear."
Another said "There's one setting up a camp on a copper vein, he's already starting to create something from clay. No clue what."
"There's one that's trying to tame a bear."
"There's one starting to make a stronghold."
"There's one making a home inside a giant tree."
"There's one which is currently using the skull of a human as a drinking cup, which I find funny."
"There's one that told a 4th realm wolf that it would be his servant or would die. He's using it's pelt as armor right now, right now he's killing any monster he encounters."
"Ohhh~ Where's that?"
"it's in sector B section 5 sub-section 88 at the end of a trail of bodies it is."
"Oh, he's kind of cute fighting with such a lively face, what's up with his clothes?"
"Seems to be some kind of technique that makes armor of some kind."
"Ahhhh, why did he hide his face with it too?"
"It just isn't the same, right?"
"Yea, previously it was something more heroic, but now he seems like a villain."
"Hm, to be honest it looks a lot like that mortal kindom in the west's armor for ceremony, is he from there?"
"Maybe."
"His name is Changsheng Baquan, I've never heard of the Changsheng family."
"It's probably a fake name, who would call their child 'Longevity Hegemony'?"
"Someone who hated their child?"
"Not the point!"
"Then why did you ask!?"
"Read the room!"
"You know I can't do that!"
"How?!"
"Mental disease!"
"Really?! wait. Sorry, that was uncool."
"It's good that you realize."
The elders started to bicker about the morality of shaming the mentally disabled, completely forgetting the test.
They were good friends, and bickered often. Not all, but most.
-Written in the 27th of october, 2022.