Chương 20: First Blood

The fortress gates opened with a deep, grinding groan. Cold morning air poured through the widening gap as dozens of newly enlisted recruits assembled into orderly ranks. Veteran soldiers performed final equipment inspections while supply officers distributed standardized gear. Leon accepted the offered spear, weighing it in his hand for barely a second before handing it back.

"I'll pass." The quartermaster frowned.

"You don't know spear arts?"

"I don't."

"Then you definitely need one." Leon smiled politely.

"I'd be worse with it than without it." The quartermaster stared for a moment before shrugging and moving on. Davis eagerly grabbed a heavy spear, spinning it once before almost smacking Ethan in the face.

"... Careful," Ethan sighed.

"I'm calibrating."

"You nearly calibrated my skull." Maya accepted a long dagger, Adrian chose a spear after carefully inspecting its balance, Miller reluctantly took a shield almost as large as his torso, while Ethan settled on a sturdy hand axe that felt surprisingly natural in his grip. General Kaelen walked to the front of the formation.

"Today's objective is simple. You are not here to become heroes. You are not here to prove yourselves. You are here to survive." His gaze swept across the recruits.

"Veterans will engage first. You will assist. If an opportunity presents itself, finish the beast yourselves." He paused.

"Remember: the Blood Essence only submits to the one who lands the killing blow." The hunting party departed. Nearly eighty soldiers crossed the fortress bridge before disappearing into the surrounding wilderness. Unlike the frozen wasteland Leon's group had crossed days earlier, this territory was alive. Ancient trees stretched toward the twin moons still faintly visible in the morning sky. Soft green moss blanketed the ground, and birds with shimmering emerald feathers darted between branches.

The Qi itself felt different. It was gentler and warmer. Instead of the violent currents of the Frost Expanse, the forest breathed with calm, steady waves of life. Leon observed everything. Every gust of wind, every rustling leaf, and every subtle fluctuation of Qi. His newly awakened perception was already beginning to distinguish patterns. Some currents flowed naturally, while others moved with intent.

"There," Leon quietly pointed toward a patch of bushes nearly forty meters away. Kaelen glanced over.

"... Good eyes." A veteran nodded before signaling three scouts. Seconds later, a shrill squeal echoed through the forest as a rabbit-like creature twice the size of a wolf burst from the undergrowth. Its fur shimmered silver beneath the morning light, and its front teeth resembled polished daggers. The veterans intercepted it immediately, and the beast barely lasted ten seconds. Leon frowned.

"So that's considered weak..." Kaelen overheard him.

"It is. You'll think differently once you're standing in front of one." The expedition continued deeper into the forest. Along the way, Kaelen pointed out different tracks, claw marks, nests, and territorial signs.

"Body Refiners don't just cultivate. They hunt. A hunter who can't read the forest dies long before he reaches higher realms." The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Leon memorized everything—the spacing between footprints, broken branches, scattered feathers, and the faint scent left behind by different beasts. His Universal Vessel silently absorbed every observation. After another hour of travel, the column halted.

Ahead stood a small clearing where dozens of creatures grazed peacefully among waist-high grass. They resembled deer, if deer possessed six legs, black crystal antlers, and glowing amber eyes.

"Stonehorn Fawns," Kaelen explained.

"Stage 0 beasts. Excellent opponents for beginners. They're fast and cautious, but they aren't naturally aggressive." He turned toward the recruits.

"This is your chance." The veterans spread outward, surrounding the clearing. The beasts immediately sensed danger, and the herd exploded into motion.

"Move!" Kaelen shouted. Chaos erupted as the Stonehorns scattered in every direction. Recruits charged after whichever target happened to be nearest. Davis let out a battle cry that probably scared his own teammates more than the beasts. Miller chased one for three steps before tripping over a root, while Adrian calmly adjusted his angle before thrusting his spear with textbook precision. Ethan pursued another without saying a word. Leon didn't move. Instead, he watched.

Stonehorns never ran randomly; every escape route followed subtle openings in the terrain, and each animal adjusted according to the movements of its neighbors. He tracked the patterns, probability, and flow.

"There," Leon smiled. One young Stonehorn broke away from the herd exactly where he'd predicted. Rather than chase it, Leon walked, calmly intercepting the route it hadn't yet realized it would choose. The beast rounded a large tree, its glowing eyes widening at the sight of a human. It instinctively tried changing direction, but it was too late. Leon stepped forward, his right hand flashing as a white-coated fist carrying hidden black energy struck the creature's neck.

"Yin Yang Strike." The white layer slipped through flesh, and the black energy bloomed inside. The Stonehorn collapsed instantly, its body skidded another few meters before becoming completely still. Leon exhaled slowly.

"... Much better." The technique had activated far more smoothly than it had against the Frost beasts. It wasn't exactly stronger but it was definitely cleaner and more efficient. Naming it really had improved its expression. A warm sensation emerged from the dead beast, and Leon immediately noticed it. Unlike ordinary Qi, this energy carried identity. It rose from the corpse like crimson mist before drifting toward him. Without anyone needing to explain what to do, his Spirit Blood Seed reacted.

The tiny sleeping presence resting around his heart stirred, and the crimson mist flowed into his chest. For a brief moment, Leon felt another heartbeat—not his own, but wild, untamed, and ancient. The sensation lasted less than a second before disappearing into silence.

"... Interesting." Nothing else happened; there was just one memory added to the Seed, bringing him one step closer. After absorbing the blood essence, the corpse had no origin energy left. It appeared that origin energy would exist in a neutral state when unprompted but would change depending on the type of extraction. Nearby, Davis had finally cornered his own Stonehorn.

"COME HERE!" The beast ignored his request.

"I'm trying to kill you politely!" It continued running.

"STOP RUNNING!" Ethan casually walked past.

"You know they're prey animals, right? They're supposed to run."

"... They're being very inconsiderate." A second later, Davis tripped over another exposed root, rolled twice down a hill, accidentally tackled the fleeing beast, and somehow managed to drive his spear through its chest during the tumble. Silence fell over the slope as Davis blinked.

"... Calculated." Ethan stared.

"... Sure." Elsewhere, Adrian calmly withdrew his spear from a fallen Stonehorn—clean, efficient, and achieved in one strike. Maya had needed help pinning hers before delivering the final blow herself. Miller looked pale after his first kill but managed to finish it without assistance; even he couldn't suppress a small smile afterward. Kaelen watched the recruits from a distance. They were not bad, far from polished, but they were capable and talented. Then his gaze landed on Leon.

The young man wasn't celebrating or admiring his kill. Instead, he was crouching beside the corpse, quietly studying it, running observations, and testing hypotheses as though the beast itself were a research paper. Kaelen smiled. He was a strange one, but the frontier has always favored strange people. Far above the forest canopy, unseen by everyone below, a tiny pair of crimson eyes silently watched the hunting party. Without making a sound, they disappeared into the trees.