Chapter 34: The Hunt I
After paying his well-spent coppers, Luo Ling took a detour to the stall that sells Xiao Ru’s favorite dumplings on his way to the orphanage. He briefly considered visiting the local smithy to buy a bladed weapon, but after a thorough consideration, he changed his mind.
Metal does not come cheap in the Five Fragrance Village. Even a small kitchen knife made crudely out of low-quality iron costs as much as a hundred iron rings, equivalent to one bronze marble. To put it into perspective, Luo Ling only got three bronze marbles for the semi-demonized carcass.
Expecting a major secret, he did some inquiry, but the real reason for the inflated price was much simpler than expected. It turned out that there was a bandit nest somewhere near the village, nestled in the depths of the Hundred Beast Forest’s outer periphery.
Whenever the village merchants transported shipments of iron and other metals, they fell prey to ruthless ambushes. Many lost not just their goods but also their lives. The only road to the nearest city wound through this perilous stretch of forest, making the merchants easy prey for bandits. These brigands were like hyenas, drawn by the scent of opportunity, striking swiftly before vanishing without a trace.
The merchants had their own guards, but they stood no chance against the skilled looters, often overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. In most cases, they abandoned their clients, fleeing to save their own lives.
The village leader eventually took matters into his own hands, hiring a specialized delivery service staffed with cultivators. This move guaranteed the safe transport of metals but came at a steep cost, driving their prices up severalfold.
Luo Ling still had a couple of iron-tipped arrows left in his quiver, and the few throwing knives he took from Li Kai were doing nothing but collecting dust under his bed. It was time he put them to use.
As for when he’d begin his operation, Luo Ling decided that the night would be the best time for a murder.
-~X~-
Luo Ling didn’t train for the remainder of the day, opting to remain in peak health before going for the hunt.
That afternoon, he could be found sitting cross-legged on the ground, eyeing all his weapons with an intense glare. The doors of his room were locked from the inside so no one would barge in unannounced—especially the children.
Ten arrows and three knives—Luo Ling reckoned they would suffice to take down a man whose training focused solely on external martial arts. With the edge his Inner Breath provided, he felt confident he could finish the job. Ideally, he would have prepared more tools, but his limited funds and the scarce availability of resources forced him to make do.
His eyes narrowed into a determined glare.
Li Kai has to die.
He would not feel at ease otherwise.
Exhaling a long breath, Luo Ling straightened his back and assumed a meditation stance. Rhythmic breathing circulated fresh air into his lungs, and proficiency points for the [Meditation] began to soar at a steady rate of 5 points every cycle.
He could have focused on accumulating points for [Archery], which was already on the verge of an upgrade. Instead, Luo Ling opted for a more energy-efficient and leisurely approach.
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Archery’s progression gauge still required nearly five hundred throws to fill, making it a daunting task. By the time he completed it, his shoulder blades would likely ache from the strain. After the upgrade, at most, there would be a rank increase for either the Penetration or Weakness.
Li Kai was only an ordinary man with some strength, so he didn’t need much to finish him off. The upgrades [Archery] would obtain were completely unnecessary for the time being. He’d rather meditate and regulate his emotions.
As his mind calmed down, Luo Ling’s thoughts delved into his martial training.
Now that he awakened Inner Breath, he could be counted among the ranks of Martial Master.
True martial cultivation begins from here.
The three stages before this, from 3rd-rate to 1st-rate martial warriors, were merely preparatory stages where martial path practitioners lay their foundation for the future realms.
After breaking through the martial warrior stages, further training involved methods of using Inner Breath to refine, control, and strengthen the body's basic attributes.
The human body has its limits. Once those limits were reached, further growth became nearly impossible through conventional training methods. To surpass this barrier, one would first need to shatter the natural limiter within their body. The Inner Breath served the purpose of a catalyst that a practitioner could use to shatter their natural limiter and unlock the potential for further growth.
That was the essence of martial cultivation—shattering the body’s natural limits to unlock its true potential.
The training manuals for the martial warrior stages were designed to guide practitioners to the absolute physical limit of their bodies in the shortest time possible. Only upon reaching this pinnacle could they begin to explore the secrets of unlocking their mental force.
Although he had yet to master all three stages of the martial warrior realm, leveraging his prior experience in the martial path, he successfully awakened mental force and bypassed the need to master the 3rd-stage of the body forging exercise.
In fact, he could even start training for Martial Master stages without worrying too much. But Luo Ling would not do so. Rather than ‘would,’ it was more accurate to say, he could not.
The realm of the martial master had three sub-levels. Each such level, or Stages, as the martial artists in Murim called them, discussed the refinement of specific body parts with Inner Breath.
During Stage One of the Martial Master realm, practitioners must accumulate inner breath to temper the flesh and bones of their limbs, specifically their hands and legs, with concentrated mental force.
The benefits of this refinement extended beyond merely strengthening the bones and muscles; it also enhanced the coordination between mind and body. Furthermore, once a martial artist saturated their limbs with inner breath, they could channel mental force through them, amplifying their attacks when executing martial skills.
The inner breath’s potential only unlocks after the practitioner finishes refining their limbs and masters the first stage of the Martial Master realm.
For Luo Ling, refining his hands or legs in a short time was out of the question. Besides, it was simply unattainable with only 11 drops of mental force at his disposal.
Time crept by as Luo Ling meditated. The drowning sun gave way to the gentle but colder moon as night descended upon the Five Fragrance Village.
After enjoying a hearty meal at the orphanage canteen, Luo Ling retreated to his room, his mind already focusing on preparations for the impending nighttime hunt.
Luo Ling donned his usual hunting gear—a pair of dark brown pants and a snug-fitting shirt of the same hue, tailored specifically to fit his smaller physique. To complete his preparation, he tightly secured cloth bands around his sleeves and leg hems. In the forest, while wild animals posed a threat, the danger from poisonous insects was even greater. He wasn’t about to risk one slipping through an unguarded opening.
Even though he had inner breath and could easily detect any danger coming too close, he still preferred to make extra preparations.
Next, Luo Ling carefully slid the arrows into his quiver and strapped it securely to his back. Two of the three knives fit neatly into the grooves on the quiver’s belt. These grooves had been there since the quiver was purchased, but until now, he had never owned knives to make use of them. After nearly half a year, they were finally serving their purpose.
“I’m all set.” Luo Ling mumbled under his breath as if reminding himself.
In the dim moonlight that spilled into the room, his gaze shifted. The usual veil of indifferent maturity gave way to a piercing coldness.
The eyes of a warrior. A killer.
On the face of a nine-year-old child, this gaze took on an unsettling, almost otherworldly air.
