After recovering from the shock, Zi Hue came back to his senses and began to search for the stranger in the fox mask.
Zi Hue's hawk had been killed, but he had also mastered the Flying Sword technique. He flew through various parts of the forest, saw some cultivators trying to think of a way through the wooden wall, but there was no sign of that young man.
The fox-masked stranger's aura was very weak, he didn't even seem to be a cultivator. If he hadn't seen the stranger fighting so skillfully, Zi Hue would have said that he hadn't even reached Qi Condensation I Stage yet.
But that stranger in the fox mask was terrifying, he had used unknown techniques to kill the Albino Wooden Claw Hawk, and he had armor that made him stronger... that person was dangerous.
Zi Hue tried his best to focus on finding the young man.
***
Su Login knew that Zi Hue would search for him tirelessly, but the forest was too big for a cultivator with such an insignificant presence to be found, not to mention that it was always changing its layout.
At the moment, Su Login was hiding inside a tree trunk.
The place was dark and the young man could feel small animals walking around his body, but he didn't bother and focused on looking through his inventory.
While flying in search of a place to take refuge, Su Login completed his Side Quest, and as a reward received something called a 'Pair of Flying Daggers'.
As the name of the item suggested, they were two daggers the size of Su Login's foot. They had the same function as the Flying Sword, but were useful in places with less space and allowed him to perform more complex maneuvers.
When he had time, Su Login was going to practice a few moves with the new weapons. What's more, he could control the blades like the Flying Sword, so they would also be useful in combat – throwable objects were perfect for his fighting style.
At the moment, Su Login had urgent business to attend to.
After defeating Zi Hue's Magical Beast, he had obtained enough Qi Points to advance a Realm. The problem was that he didn't know exactly how the process for reaching the next Realm worked.
There was a checkmark (*) on the Status screen that he could interact with, but what if there was too much light the moment he entered the next Stage? That would attract the attention of people like Dong Bai or Zi Hue.
It would also be problematic if he ended up sleeping for too long and his aura increased, it was too dangerous to do that now... but he didn't have many options.
People like Zi Hue were at a very high level, capable of killing Su Login with a single blow. Even a weak cultivator was hard to kill when he was a few Stages ahead of him, he learned that when he killed Jing Ding.
Well, I can only risk it this time, if I see that it's something too flashy, I'll have to flee the forest.
Su Login made up his mind and interacted with the Status screen marker. A message appeared in her field of vision:
[Do you wish to advance to the 'Qi Condensation I' Stage?]
Yes.
The moment he answered, his body automatically adjusted its posture. The trunk he was standing on was small, but there was enough room for him to sit cross-legged. It was so dark that Su Login couldn't tell if his eyes were open or closed.
Su Login felt a gentle breeze passing across his face... it was refreshing, he was like a tree and his hair was like leaves receiving the gentle touch of the heavens. Even with his legs crossed, he felt as if he were rooted to the ground.
At that moment, Su Login was a tree. He felt harmony with the soil in which he was rooted, and with the wind that sometimes made him sway.
After a while, questions arose about the nature of the soil and the trees. Why did the trees allow humans to exploit them? Why was the soil exploited until it was barren, just to satisfy man's hunger?
The wind... why did the wind give the air of life to living beings?
A whirlwind of questions arose, Su Login felt that if he couldn't answer them, he wasn't worthy of reaching the next level, he needed to prove the value of his life, of the life of a mere human who enjoyed the resources of nature, in order to advance.
He understood that in order to seek his Dao, he needed to prove his worth.
Only the worthy could advance, because only they could repay what nature gave their race.
Then the System appeared and helped Su Login answer the various questions. This was different from learning a spell, the questions were more complex, and he felt he would have problems if he relied solely on his System.
***
Whispeeeeeeeeeer.
The wind continued to blow at Su Login.
He didn't know how long he had been there, but he didn't care, he continued to understand the knowledge coming into his mind. He already understood the relationship between the soil and the plants and trees.
He spent a long time there, until...
[You have reached the 'Qi Condensation I' Stage.]
[Main Quest completed.]
[You have received 500 XP.]
[You have reached Level 11.]
[You have reached Level 12.]
[The Analysis skill has reached level 3.]
Su Login's body felt lighter and there was no worry in his mind. He let out a long sigh and opened his Status screen:
-----------------------------------------
[Su Login, 14 Years Old]
[Level: 12]
[XP: 70 / 330]
[Qi: 0 / 5,500]
[Race: Human | Cultivation: Celestial]
[Realm: Qi Condensation I]
[Strength: 128 | Defense: 113]
[Agility: 110 | Qi Gain: 101]
[Intelligence: 108 | Technique: 112]
-----------------------------------------
He had made good progress after reaching the new Realm. At this point, his attributes had already improved, especially his strength. Having his current strength multiplied by 1.28 already made a big difference.
Before, Su Login was as strong as an ordinary human, but now it was different, he had taken his first step on the road to immortality, he was no longer an ordinary person, although he was still weak and had no talent for cultivation.
Carefully, he moved and got off the log. The sun high in the sky showed that it was morning, but he didn't know exactly how long he had been there, and even after so long, his body wasn't stiff.
He stretched and remembered to collect his Daily Prize.
[You can get better Prizes by accumulating days without using the Daily Login System.]
For a second, he didn't know exactly how to react, it was the first time the System had communicated without him having done anything.
Apparently, arriving in another Realm had increased his awareness of the System.