Two souls stood against a horde of beasts while engaging in an unsaid competition.
Although the woman never mentioned to Atlas about competing, his thoughts weren't much different than hers.
Besides that Leon and Helia who he briefly met in the tutorial, this woman was the first person he'd met in his own generation since he began this life.
This woman didn't look any older than 20, yet her cultivation seemed to far surpass Atlas's. She was at least midway through the Core Formation Realm.
With Atlas's recent cultivation speed, this achievement might not have seemed like much, but it was truly insane talent.
It had to be said that in the past, Atlas took around ten years to reach the peak of Core Formation. Compared to this woman's 4 years, it was truly trash.
Atlas put away thoughts of the past and reactivated [Intrinsic Foresight]. Now that he was in competition with a genius, he couldn't hold back anymore.
His chain sickles exited his inventory and coiled around his wrists. He gripped the sickles' hilts tightly and moved his qi, coating the blades in flames.
His body turned into a blur thereafter. Burning sickles flew through the beast horde wildly, cutting down any beast they met. Occasionally, [Flame Wheel] would raze a line of beasts, clearing space for Atlas to move.
On the other side, the woman fought as if she was a beast herself. Her fists were like dual hammers, the beasts they impacted finding their bones crushed into powder.
Her rambunctious laughter filled the air as they fought, unintentionally lightening the mood. Atlas couldn't stop himself from smiling either. He was enjoying himself to the fullest.
Close to 4 hours later, the two combatants finally cleared the last beasts within the tide. Their bodies were soaked in blood, whether theirs or of beasts. And for Atlas specifically, his clothing was torn to shreds.
The mortal clothing he had simply couldn't hold out. Luckily, he had the armor piece he received as a Tutorial reward, but unfortunately, that armor only covered his torso.
His bare lower body and proudly hung dragon were fully exposed to the world.
But, as if they'd planned beforehand, neither Atlas nor the woman acknowledged this fact. While she turned away awkwardly with a red face, Atlas quickly went into the Tower Shop and purchased a set of temporary robes.
It wasn't a strange thing for clothing to be damaged during battle. When a cultivator reached a high enough boundary, they'd simply form clothes from the elements themselves, ridding themselves of this problem.
But until then, everyone except for those rich young masters and misses who had the background to wear robes made from vicious beast materials had to endure at least this small amount of shame.
After wearing his new clothes, Atlas awkwardly cleared his throat.
"Kuhum…this has certainly been entertaining. Now tell me, girl, what is your kill count?" He asked.
"Hiding behind a mask and pretending to be an expert? Don't joke with me. You're clearly a kid, probably younger than me," the woman harrumphed. She didn't like Atlas's unintentionally condescending form of address.
Atlas tilted his head in confusion.
"What are you on about? Quickly tell me your count."
The woman rolled her eyes.
"Hah! 216. Can you really beat that?"
Atlas smirked under his mask. It was fortunate that the woman couldn't see this smirk, as she certainly would've fought him if she did.
"233," Atlas commented casually.
"233 what?" The woman asked stupidly, her eyes widening a second later.
"You don't mean…"
Atlas shrugged.
"If you do not believe me, then you may check yourself. I am sure I tallied properly."
The woman scrutinized him with suspicious eyes, trying to unravel all of his secrets.
"You…what's your name?" She asked suddenly.
The taste of defeat was still fresh in her mouth. Even if she wanted to deny it, the number she counted with her spiritual sense was indeed the exact number he uttered.
It was a new sensation for her. When was the last time she had a rival who could properly keep up with her? Yet, in this strange coincidence of fate, she found a rival who already surpassed her.
Even though he was just a Qi Seed Realm cultivator, he was able to kill more Core Formation Realm beasts than even her, who was an expert at that very realm.
More than bitterness, her feelings were more accurately described as curiosity and rivalry.
And naturally, she desired to know her new rival's name.
Atlas thought over it for a moment, but decided there was no harm in making a connection with this woman.
Even if she was brazen and crass, she was honest. Simple-minded people like her were always the most trustworthy.
"Atlas Vaun," he said directly.
"And you?"
The woman grinned and held her hand out.
"Well met, Atlas Vaun! My name is Artemia Tatsuya."
"Mm, quite the long name. From now on I shall call you Aria instead. Aside from that, Tatsuya? What an interesting name."
Artemia wanted to argue about the strange way he shortened her name, but in the short time they were together, she could already understand how stubborn this boy was. She had no desire to pointlessly argue with him.
Instead, she was more curious about the latter half of his words.
"You don't know the Tatsuya name?" She questioned
"Should I?" Atlas questioned back.
Artemia shrugged with a smile.
"Not necessarily. I was just curious about your reaction."
"I have not heard a name of similar cadence before. A great deal of things have changed."
The two continued talking idly as they walked through the forest. As for their destination, naturally, it was the deeper regions of the forest.
An unexpected friendship was born that day. A man of few words and a crass fairy, this odd duo continued their adventures within the nameless forest.
The months passed quickly. With Atlas gaining a competitor without warning, his days passed faster than they previously did.
The number and strength of beasts he fought steadily increased, and his power continued to grow as his physical body was strengthened and his qi compacted.
Naturally, Artemia experienced tremendous growth as well. With her talent, even keeping up with Atlas's insane speed wouldn't be a problem if she put her mind to it.
And on a certain day in the final month of his stay in the forest…
Atlas found himself on the verge of a breakthrough.
Artemia had already left to go search for some lucky change in the forest's central area. Using this time when he was alone, he found a secluded cave and began preparing for his breakthrough.
Unlike the Dantian Establishment Realm, the process of breaking through the Qi Seed Realm and beyond was more complicated than just accumulating spiritual energy.
The Qi Seed was formed the second one broke through. But to reach completion in this realm, one must feed this Qi Seed and allow it to bloom. The size to which it grew before blooming had a direct correlation to a cultivator's talent.
For normal people, the Qi Seed would reach 1 foot in diameter before blooming. 2 feet could be considered having some talent, 3 feet could be considered a genius, 4 feet was for those blessed by the heavens,
As for a diameter of 5 feet…
That was reserved for those untouchable stars that shone above even the most talented holy sons and daughters of heaven.
Atlas's Qi Seed, however, didn't quite fit into this categorization.
He didn't notice it before since he was cultivating during combat more than while meditating, but when he finally took the time to check his dantian, what he found confused him endlessly.
Instead of growing, his qi seed shrunk as it gathered energy. It turned a strange grey color when it reached the size of a pebble, and after it became fingernail-sized, it stopped shrinking anymore.
Now, Atlas was feeling the sensation of a breakthrough amidst his confusion.
The size of a Qi Seed was important. After it bloomed, it needed to be compressed into a core during the Core Formation Realm. If there wasn't enough seed, the compression rate would suffer as well.
But Atlas's Qi Seed was now fingernail size. And even then, he could clearly feel that it was filled with an unruly amount of energy.
Without being able to understand his situation, Atlas could only be curious.
How was his Qi Seed going to bloom?