'Forget it, let's see the rest of the notifications,' Theo shook his head vigorously to clean his mind from useless thoughts. There were some older notifications he had missed.
There were three notifications about leveling up his cultivation talent. Two have given him a cultivation manual while the third was a priceless reward, a basic knowledge pack of the four main occupations of the cultivation world – Talisman Making, Formation Master, Alchemy, and Blacksmithing.
[You have taken your first step in your cultivation journey and entered the first stage. Congratulations!]
[System Shard earned.]
This was the last notification. Theo still had no idea what's the role of a system shard and he got no answer from the system when he asked, thus he kept it alongside the other one he obtained in the unclaimed prizes.
He felt it would be an unnecessary risk to claim it. What if it was the size of a bus, impossible to hide? What if it was small, but had a strong aura, making him a target for theft? It was better to let the system store it for him for the time being.
"Theo? Five minutes passed. We should resume our exploration if we want to go back before nightfall. By the way, didn't we come here for ferocious beast meat? Those three gorillas should do the trick, right?"
Oh, true, his excuse for coming here was ferocious meat, saying he needed it to stabilize his realm and break through faster. However, his real goal was to slay beasts and earn cultivation years, he couldn't go back yet.
"Gorilla meat? Junior Sister, are your taste buds still working? We should search for a beast with tender meat, not something as muscular as a gorilla!" Theo scolded his silly junior sister.
"Oh, right," Lilia played with her hair awkwardly. She felt like all ferocious beasts had big muscles, but she wouldn't tell that to her senior brother.
Theo sighed and got up from his seat. While he was tempted to check out his manuals now, he preferred to do it while Veronica's butt was pressing firmly against his dick so he could keep teasing her later. Hence, he chose to set out for now.
The four lingered around the area for the next few hours, hunting down weak beasts of the first rank one after the other. The girls were perplexed as to why their senior brother refused to grab the meat and leave even when they finally met with a group of five sheep, but they could only oblige and keep fighting.
"Senior Brother, it's getting dark, and it seems like we have killed everything in the mountain's proximity. We should go back to pick up our last prey and return to the sect," Lilia eventually commented. They have been searching for no avail.
There weren't many beasts living near the mountain, but they were all weak and came there since they couldn't secure a spot for themselves deeper in the beasts' territory. However, going further than that would be a gamble; they might meet with second-rank beasts.
The girls had to combine forces to resist a single one of those and they still might have to retreat. It would be dangerous to bring a first-stage cultivator like Theo to such a fight.
"Junior Sisters, wouldn't we find powerful treasures if we go deeper into the mountain range?" Theo asked them in curiosity. In all the novels he had read, there were many opportunities for growth in those settings.
"You haven't attended the survival lessons, Senior Brother. Treasures are guarded by beasts and consumed upon reaching maturity. The only treasures that don't have a distinct time of maturity are flowers, but they have to be refined by Alchemy to be consumed by humans, and we have no alchemists in our sect…"
"Oh, I see. Okay, let's go back to the sheep, we can take the meat and go home," Theo agreed. He believed he could easily defeat most second-rank beasts, but his gains for the day weren't bad. He had gained seventy years of cultivation and some knowledge about treading in the forest.
The girls nodded and they quickly walked toward that area.
"Senior Brother, I didn't expect you to be so fearsome, you beheaded that ox in a single sword swing, when did you learn to fight so well?" Shia hopped to the spot next to him and asked.
Theo laughed in response, "Aiya, Junior Sister, you think I have no experience in combat, but that's not true. Didn't I engage in a life-or-death battle with the sect leader all night? Such experience gives more power than you can imagine," he nodded solemnly as he quickly wrapped his arm around her slim waist and pulled her close to him.
"That amazing? Senior Brother, you must fight me tonight, I want to grow strong," Shia played with his fingers flirtatiously.
"Senior Brother, don't play favorites," Lora didn't waste time on dignity and took the empty spot on his left, leaving Lilia to reel in regret. One must act properly when everyone has self-respect, but that attitude would only make you lose if your companions are all shameless!
"What favorites? You girls are my favorite," Theo smirked and pulled Lora into his embrace. That's the life a real man should aspire to. Two beauties in his arms, and dead sheep on his back.
"Senior Sister Lilia, take those sheep from us, they ruin our hug," Shia turned to the lonely girl left behind.
"…" Lilia gave her a murderous gaze, making the rude girl quickly cough and turn back, pretending she saw nothing.
*Slap!*
"Haha, don't be naughty, Shia," Theo laughed and spanked the girl, making her giggle happily. She didn't even rub the sore spot, wanting to let her senior brother's touch linger behind on her skin for longer.
Theo felt a little tug on his other sleeve, feeling a bit helpless when he saw Lora's jealous eyes.
*Slap!*
"Here's a spank for you, too," he appeased the girl. He already put his eyes on Shia as the next target, that was why he called her by her first name. Her bouncy attitude and fat buttocks tempted him a lot. Theodor was a man with a soft heart to soft things.
"Senior Brother, I think we attracted trouble," Lilia warned the group with a bit of gloating concealed in her voice. If there's a battle, she could reshuffle later.
Indeed, behind them, a hungry beast rushed in their direction without trying to stay hidden. It was a large scorpion, about a meter long, two and a half if you include its tail, and its legs made it hover half a meter above the ground. While it wasn't a huge monster, Theo found it big compared to the scorpions he knew.
"Wait, it's a poisonous second-rank beast, leave the sheep and run!" Lilia paled and dropped her spoils of war. She escaped without hesitation. Without an alchemist or a poison master in their sect, a sting from this beast could easily lead to death.
Lora and Shia were experienced cultivators who had ventured into the beasts' territory before, they acted fast and copied their senior sister's actions. "Senior Brother, hurry!"
Theo felt exasperated. Although he didn't care much about the meat, he wanted to use it to let the girls in the sect feast. Surely, they would shower him with praise and eagerly warm his bed for his generosity? This stupid scorpion ruined his ingenious plan!
Nevertheless, Theo still threw his sheep off his back. He couldn't fight with it.
'My junior sisters know their swords can't pierce through its tough exoskeleton unless they hack at its weaker joints a few times. But my sword is different, it can cut through its shield directly!'
Knowing that made Theo fearless. Not only was his sword sharper than the girls', but he also mastered sword intent, making his attacks sharp and lethal. His superior swordplay would allow him to hold his ground against a stronger beast.
The scorpion clicked its pincers, seemingly mocking the weak human for standing in its way. It ignored the abandoned meat for the time being and rushed toward its enemy.
"Senior Brother, run!" Lilia shouted in anxiety. When she realized Theo hadn't followed, she sprinted back toward him, yet the few steps separating them seemed infinite with the scorpion nearly upon her senior brother.
Shia and Lora turned around to look when they heard Lilia's scream, and their heart almost jumped out through their throats in panic. They were even slower than Lilia!
But Theo ignored his scared junior sisters and kept his gaze on the scorpion. He didn't know much about zoology, but scorpions were an obvious opponent. True, their poison made them bothersome and scary, but they were very predictable.
It was going to attack with its stinger!
Knowing that much allowed Theo to cope with the lightning speed of the incoming attack. He stepped back as though he could see the future and swung down his sword diagonally, meeting the attack head on.
*Clash!*