"Even though I saw the sword skills on the pillar, I have no plan to study it. After all swordsmanship is a path that thrives on fame. Swordsmen like to show off their skills, I have no plans for this, I can learn something else later in the Central library. Better focus on boxing skills." Li Jun thought silently.
Actually he was not really feeling bad about his choice. The difficulty that comes with practicing boxing also means that the outcome should be interesting. It is not like he cannot try out the other paths when he is free.
But the truth is nobody will take their time to focus on other areas that do not necessarily improve their survivability or combat power. Li Jun for instance did not have the freedom to waste time.
He always has this fear that something is watching him from beyond the skies. If he has enough time it is better to focus on becoming stronger rather than being an all-rounder.
The time wasted on certain parts could be used better to improve what is best at on that is what he plans to do. Surviving as a side character is already hard, why would he go ahead and bring himself in trouble?
The side character thing was more like a persona for his current weak state; once he has the ability to protect himself, I doubt he would be willing to maintain it at all.
This is not just him; anyone with enough capabilities will usually want to show off, even if it is not for their ego's sake, it is for their legacy. In one way or another, even if they have to hide their name or use another title, this has always been his plan.
Making the assumption that try to stand out is a big joke. Li Jun has always been someone that wants to show off; this is perhaps why the moment he gained some strength, a voice deep inside him was already rising and trying to conflate his ego.
He clearly knew that the feeling that he could crush massive boulders with a wave of his arm was wrong. That rationality did not do anything to stop his thoughts from developing in that direction.
He ended up looking at this situation, as his will was not being tempered enough. The best way out was intense training, but this would require years. The second means was going into battle and most likely facing life-and-death situations more often; it would slowly transform him. This would go on until he was no longer swayed by the voices in his head.
When he rested, it was already close to a day and the moment he started to practice, his previous thoughts had vanished completely. But it did not mean he could practice and strengthen himself in peace from this point onward, because the illusion of being in control was still there and probably going to become big with the passage of time.
"No this won't work. I have to find a way that is more efficient in dealing with this situation otherwise the long-term consequences are not what I want to bear. " Form someone whose intelligence level was at 60. Way, high for a mortal, but not necessarily impossible to achieve, he could see through his issue in a snap.
It would not matter if it was just a small issue, but Li Jun had remembered something that made him even more determined to deal with the situation.
From the memories, when he was taking the immortal path, impossible to suppress the impulse to be the best among his peers. It was also at this moment that he started to suspect his bad ending might have been avoided if he learned to put a chain on his arrogance and hunger for attention at the expense of what mattered.
"Well! It is accurate to say that is just one version of me that messed up! It is also accurate to say, it is in my nature to drown in power. Since both are true, the best way is to find something demeaning to my ego to do from now onwards." When this thought appeared in his head, his eyes lit up.
He had found himself a way out, as long as one had some kind of realization that grounded him, as well as goal, though not grand, it could do the job.
"In my case, it is best to find something, either farm work, fishing, or even cooking. Simply put, a hobby that has nothing to do with increasing my strength." The moment this conclusion was reached, his eyes became brighter and he decided to focus on the Blood Refinement Dharfa. He was determined to attain the second stage.
*****
In the region where Emily was located, it was already difficult for her to make any progress. As such, she started to look for an out,but just ended up in the same location.
"How is this possible? I thought that this place was easy to locate before; why is this happening?" Indeed, she discovered she was moving in circles. She was able to reach this place by hearing the sound of water dripping, but that was not able to help her back.
"It seems that I have been trapped in this place. Damn! Even with all this energy, there is no chance to initiate evolution. If I succeeded, it would give me a massive benefit in the long run, but better stop dreaming about this." She sat beside the massive pond, and streams of gas like vapor approached her before they where absorbed in her body, even though it did not increase her strength, she felt comfortable because of it.
She looked into the pond, her thoughts where on another issue altogether, but this could not stop ."My old man said that with the correct environment it is possible to break the biological lock, I wonder if this pool can be considered one of the environments?"
She was not as naive as one might think, to attempt breaking the biological lock without practicing any technique, in her case was no different from courting death.
She still seemed to be thinking about it, obviously considering doing something stupid, this was understandable, as she had failed to get the way out.
On the other side, Yu Tu was walking alone in a mountain region, the place was too cold, and he was shivering, while gnashing his teeth from time to time. "Damn man, I thought this was just a simple procedure to visit the Universe Hall and then the Central Library. If things went above board, we could run into some geniuses that look down on us, and that is it. What the hell is this man? How did it become jumping into a ruin? I have no ability, this is no different from a death game."
It was not surprising he had realized where he was, after all they learned extensively about Ruins and when one entered this place, it was not difficult to realize, this is due to the different number of suns and moons in the sky.
While complaining, his figure did not slow down in the slightly, he was sure that this mountains might be dangerous, but his figure soon paused when he saw a group of people.
Right!
He saw a group of people and they where dressed in animal hides, but that was not important, rather their abnormally muscular bodies stood out. In the cold they even exposed most of their muscles like it was nothing. He was dazed, thinking something was wrong with his eyes.
The thing that had him shocked even more was the massive buffalo like creature the group was carrying with them. It was likely they had just left from hunting, and this prompted him to shout, but his voice was not coming out at all.
"There actually people in this ruin? Wait! This is not normal, I remember that the information we have been given in all our lessons, mentioned that Ruins where a place of chance, but incapable of supporting development and growth of any living beings and the only exceptions are rogue monsters." He was indeed astounded on different levels.
He stopped moving, and this was also the same time the moment his legs gave in. Unlike Li Jun and Emily, the environment that Yu Tun found himself in was not so accommodating at all.
His discovery was also very significant, but I'm afraid not to some individuals. When he passed out, some of the muscular men in the distance had already noticed his presence.
"Fu Yi, did you see what I saw?" One of them asked as he looked in the back seriously.
"Not really, I just looked back when you did! But now just you mentioned it, that seems like a person." Fu Shi replied as he looked in the direction that Yu Tu had collapsed from.
Looking at the others, easily carrying the massive buffalo, Fu Yi said, "Let me confirm, if it is some child from the other villages, best save him, and send him off tomorrow, in the worse case scenario, his entire tribe has been vanquished."
He spoke with authority on this issue as though he had experienced it before, or it was a common situation in this place.
Fu Shi did not stop him, he had no fear of unexpected developments, from his understanding, nothing could threaten their village, after all Fu Zi in their village was considered a very strong man.
With this thoughts, his figure moved forward, only to reach a halt before the unconscious Yu Tu.
"Weird clothes! Skin too smooth!" Shaking his head, he lifted Yu Tu with one arm, before throwing him on his shoulder like some bag of potatoes. Nothing seemed wrong with his actions from his expression.
If Yu Tu were awake perhaps he might beg to differ, but the disparity in strength might have already been intimidating enough to force him to shut up.
Yu Tu was street smart and thus the chances of his survival in the tough of environments are high, if no beauty is present, otherwise he might make some irrational decisions.
Even though one might assume that this event should have made him more mature, it would be wrong. Yu Tu's nature is not that easy to change, and this can be said with absolute conviction.
When it comes to courage, he is even slightly better than Li Jun, the only reason that Li Jun was far calmer was the fact he received memories and this has had a huge impact on his personality as well as state of mind.
Perhaps if he could access all the memories, he might even become a completely different person, thankfully all of the memories are sealed, and he only gains a small glimpse once he experiences something similar.