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Chapter - 4: Power Aspect Totem
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[Training Ground]
After leaving the class of warrior apprentices behind, I headed straight to the best place to train the fields. I also needed to stabilize my cultivation after advancing to the 5th rank of bronze.
But the main reason for my choice was to understand the true power of my first Totem Aspect; after all, a warrior's Totem typically manifests upon its appearance, but the appearance of the Totem Aspect could differ from the demonic beasts used to create it.
It could undergo bizarre changes, from its embryonic form, to its training state, and finally to its complete form, with the possibility of mutations and evolutions. No one ever knew what could happen when a Totem Aspect mutated.
There were no restrictions on the elemental attributes of demonic beasts to be killed or anything like that. The laws take various forms, and the Totem Aspect I was mastering had no specific form.
Its power and laws varied from person to person, offering endless possibilities. I had to admit I was fascinated by this particular cultivation technique and couldn't wait to see where it would take me.
"Time to hunt," I thought, with a bit of excitement reflected on my face as I continued on my way.
"What took you so long?" asked the blue-haired boy as he walked next to the brown-haired boy and Nie Li. He wore cheap armor and carried a pair of crossbows in his hand, while various thoughts crowded my mind.
I had encountered them just as I entered the path toward the training ground. However, I kept my distance, walking silently a little farther behind them, curious to see why they were heading there.
From what I knew, none of them were anywhere near the bronze one-star rank, which meant they didn't stand a chance, even against a horned sheep.
"Sorry, brother," Nie Li apologized, "I know of a paralytic poison that would have helped us catch the horned sheep, but for some reason, I couldn't find any Zoysia grass. I ended up searching much longer than expected."
Of course, they wouldn't have found it so easily; it would take a few weeks for most areas filled with Zoysia to grow back. After all, Zoysia grass was a key part of my plans; I had spent much of my time gathering and storing it in my space ring.
"Very surprising," I squinted, watching Nie Li's back as I followed them toward the gate.
I couldn't rule out that Nie Li and his family had discovered the formula on their own, but if that were the case, the Heaven's Mark Family would be much wealthier.
The only reason I had discovered it was thanks to my cultivation technique, and even then, I doubted that Nie Li was cultivating a similar technique. Could he have spied on me and seen me making the paralytic poison in the last few days?
"No," I muttered, such a thing was impossible. What nonsense! I wasn't so foolish or careless as to show my secrets to complete strangers.
That left only one possibility: Nie Li was in a situation similar to mine, or at least, recalling the recent events in class, this theory didn't seem far from the truth.
The three boys in front of me reached the massive stone gates that kept the demonic beasts imprisoned and opened them. I withdrew a little, staying out of sight, allowing them to disappear inside.
"It looks like I need to find a way out of Glory City sooner than expected," I reflected, crossing my arms and looking at myself with amazement. Nie Li was becoming much more interesting than I had anticipated.
"You better not disappoint me, Nie Li," I thought with obvious good humor, finally finding someone who might actually give me a challenge.
I couldn't be blamed for these words, because since I had been living in Glory City, no one from my generation had been at my level and capable of challenging me. And this was a big problem for me, as in the future, I wouldn't have worthy rivals to compete with.
My only fortune was that I still had time before reaching a level of cultivation that would be difficult to surpass. I took one last look at the trio before heading towards the open plains.
Horned sheep were very territorial, so they lived alone, except for the young and their companions. In contrast, the fanged pandas were much more sociable and gathered in large groups.
I jumped into the trees and traveled at high speed. A few minutes later, I landed on a large branch of an imposing tree overlooking the open plains and the rock formation to the south, where the tusked pandas lived.
"It looks like it's my lucky day." I smiled as I looked at the many, many dozens of tusked pandas grazing on the grass.
They were very large, almost three meters tall, with a thick and powerful build. It was almost incredible to think that, despite their size, they were physically stronger than the enormous hairy beasts.
They were extremely adorable. I almost felt sorry to have to slaughter such charming creatures. However, I knew that by their very nature, they despised humans as much as any other demonic beast and would attack anyone on sight.
Perhaps in the future, I could do something about it…
I observed the group of demonic beasts for a few minutes, noting that there were no isolated specimens and that all were clustered in small groups of three or more, which made it all the more interesting for me.
"A very clever move on their part," I reflected; they were the favorite prey of silver tigers, so they grouped together to make life more difficult for the predators that hunted them.
All except one. A fanged panda, much larger than the others, was sitting atop a massive rocky outcropping that jutted out above the rock formation where they all lived together.
"Demonic spirit!" I thought with obvious surprise in my eyes.
Who would have thought I'd find a second demonic spirit on the same day I discovered one from the horned sheep? What luck! Perhaps forming another Beast Death Mark before reaching the gold rank wouldn't just be a pipe dream.
"It might be a bit difficult, though," I sighed, looking away. If I attacked it, no doubt all the others would rush to its aid. And, as far as I could count, there were over three hundred in total, including the spiritual rank one.
"It looks like I'll also have to train my physique today, and I who wanted to wait until at least the silver rank. After all, I had finally chosen a technique that was perfect for me," I joked, licking my lips as I felt my Totem Aspect burning for the impending battle.
I had a thoughtful expression as I tried to come up with a plan to handle all the demonic beasts in front of me without sustaining serious injuries. There was no way to fight against more than three hundred tusked pandas alone, or at least doing so without sustaining severe damage was not an easy feat.
I could attempt a frontal attack and try to kill the demonic spirit before the other demonic beasts could react, but it would be a huge risk. I would likely need to use my weapons; otherwise, I wouldn't have enough attack power to create a favorable situation.
"In the end, the simplest option is the most optimal: the frontal attack," I reflected, stroking my chin thoughtfully.
Honestly, I could have tried to bypass them along the way and climb the rocky outcroppings to ambush them from above, but that area was usually occupied by silver tigers, and I wouldn't gain any experience that way.
The reason why fanged pandas were at best on par with horned sheep as a species, despite being much stronger and having more powerful abilities, was their lack of speed. Their thick and powerful muscles did not lend themselves well to agility and swiftness. They were slower even than the average one-star bronze fighter.
At that moment, I was already almost five times faster than one of them. And I could also double my speed and all other physical parameters with the power of my Totem Aspect.
Reaching out my hand in front of me, I retrieved two sabers of equal size from my space ring, their gleaming metal sparkling in the sunlight and their curved edges emitting a faint black light when illuminated.
"It looks to be about six hundred meters," I thought, observing the distance between myself and the Demonic Spirit.
Now that I was ready for action, I took a deep breath and invoked my Qi, connecting with my soul realm, and using one of the many powers I had obtained from my Totem Aspect. A crimson-red aura emerged from my pores and surrounded my body.
One of the most intriguing abilities of my Totem Cultivation Technique was that, when I managed to form a Beast Death Mark, I could use all the abilities of the beast I had formed; the only problem was that I didn't have a spiritual consciousness, so I was forced to activate all the abilities manually, wasting precious time in battle.
I felt my heart race as my mind sped up and my blood flowed through my veins at twice the speed. I crouched slowly and then, in the blink of an eye, launched myself into the air. A loud crash echoed behind me as the branch shattered into pieces and fell to the ground, testament to my newfound strength.
When I hit the ground, not even two seconds had passed, and I had already covered three hundred meters. Agilely, I slashed through every tusked panda I encountered, too quickly for their massive bodies to react.
Five fell to my blades, then ten, and after four seconds, I shot towards the demonic spirit, which rose with a roar much faster than any bronze rank could hope to match. Suddenly, a gigantic lightning-covered paw came crashing down on me with great force.
"Gravity!" I declared, as once again my Totem Aspect burned with intensity, indicating that a small domain had formed around me.
More than thirty-three fanged panda corpses fell around me, and to my surprise, my blades also found the neck of the Demonic Spirit, towering more than fifteen meters high.
"Damn, that was a stroke of luck. I still need to get used to my new abilities," I panted, letting my crimson-red aura dissipate as I turned and thrust the sabers into the beast's throat. Blood began to gush out abundantly, staining my clothes.
I could only stare straight ahead, seeing the paw hanging near my shoulder, small lightning sparks dancing around it as the beast died.
I certainly hadn't expected it to counterattack with a Thunder Strike while I was attacking. Its reflexes were at least three or four times faster than those of the beasts I had encountered so far.
Only my reflexes, enhanced by the Totem Aspect, had allowed me to dodge the counterattack at the last second. With one last deep breath, I withdrew the sabers from the gigantic demonic beast's throat and let its enormous carcass fall to the ground with a heavy, trembling thud.
Behind me, I heard the other members of its species start to roar in anger, realizing what had happened. Quickly, I used my space ring to absorb the demonic beast's carcass into it.
"Rampage," I exclaimed, summoning my crimson-red aura again and charging toward the group of demonic beasts with no hesitation on my face.
Seeing that I was approaching the massive group of demonic beasts, I used one of my most powerful abilities again, "Gravity," as a domain formed around me.
The demonic beasts about to attack me were suddenly forced to the ground by the sudden increase in gravity, and I certainly didn't miss the opportunity, as I could feel my Totem Aspect burning intensely.
I continued my relentless assault as my sabers moved with logical and precise movements, until more and more demonic beast corpses fell at my feet, until finally, I was the last one standing.
I stood amidst numerous claw and bite wounds scattered across my body, with a cold, indifferent expression as I looked at my blood-soaked sabers.
"I need to learn an art suitable for my sabers," I said, with a smile not remotely affected by my injuries, as I surveyed the bodies of the demonic beasts around me. They were worth almost two thousand coins, about sixty demonic spirit coins, if you included their demonic crystals.
But for now, the main prize was the demonic spirit I had just killed. Thanks to it, once I reached the silver rank, I would be able to advance my Totem Aspect, and my power would once again grow by giant leaps.
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Marvel: I'm Spider-Man in this Damn Reincarnation: 3 advanced chapters
Osmosian Sorcerer?: 3 advanced chapters
Son of Li Qiye?: 3 advanced chapters
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Chapter - 3: Home - Chapter - 4: Interlude - Chapter - 5: A Universe of My Own
Chapter - 14: Magix - Chapter - 15: Bloom - Chapter - 16: Demon Sorcerers
Chapter - 5: Xaoi Ning'er - Chapter - 6: Wind Lightning Emperor Inheritance - Chapter - 7:Hobby
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