Body Cultivation Hurts - Chapter 35

Yuma watched as her grandfather Takao Jun approached the northern region boss with Elder Ma Mencius. Jun’s katana was held at ready to the side as he rounded his approach. Mencius did the same with his spear drawn as he circled around the massive bear in the opposite direction. They both stayed clear of the lake so they’d have an opportunity to retreat if they must.

Her grandfather wore the traditional Kendo Gi with a blue jacket and silver pants. Mencius wore the traditional Chinese Tang Suit with a red shirt and black pants. It was a clash of two ancient martial arts while simultaneously a joining of the two.

She wore a Gi with the same colors that her family was adopting. If things went well, they were about to go viral and become famous.

The size of the bear was unreal even from two hundred meters away where she stood with the elders from her family and a few allies. They were ready to join the fray if things went badly but were to wait until that was clear.

Yuma felt the pommel of her sheathed katana as she rubbed the middle of her palm against in small circles. There were very few people in the training camp that had chosen Soul Cultivation as a Path, but she wasn’t alone. Nathanial-san had sent her a lot of information to improve her use of soul techniques and improve her soul’s power before the training camp even started. She had been diligent to follow his instruction to the fullest.

In the last week, he’d pulled her aside personally. It made her uncomfortable knowing that his true age was ten years her senior, but her grandfather had made her befriend several foreigners including Americans. She knew he wouldn’t have asked her to call him by his name if he didn’t desire it. It must have also been strange for him since he’d known the future her. The respect he showed her was currently unearned, so she paid special attention to his advice.

Nathanial hadn’t hidden what could’ve been discouraging. Soul Cultivators, even in the Blood Realm, were the weakest of cultivators. Their techniques just couldn’t compare. However, there was one thing her soul sword could do that the techniques of just about any other Path could not. She could stun even the most powerful of creatures in her same realm. It wasn’t a long stun, but it should work even on this region boss.

The region boss lazily came to its feet. On all fours, it was over three meters tall, or around ten feet. It shouldn’t be possible for two humans to fight such a monster. It was at least one and a half tons. Their weapons shouldn’t even do any damage.

The boss monster looked back and forth between the two men, then unceremoniously charged the closest which happened to be Elder Ma.

She’d been in the training camp. She’d seen the superhuman feats that had happened there and even accomplished many of them herself. But until Ma Mencius darted to the side with the speed coordination that would make the mightiest male lion jealous, she hadn’t believed it.

Her own Patriarch flashed forward with matching speed. His cultivation method Lineage of the Heartland Blade activated. A slight red aura covered her grandfather. What covered his sword was much more visible. Just as he was about to slash into the monster’s side, a pulse of qi, like that of a beating heart, shone from his blade. He’d remained low, slicing into the beast’s ribs just behind its front shoulder. The sword proved to be far more lethal than she could possibly imagine.

Its fur parted and a deep gash more than a meter long opened up. Blood seeped out. Some flew from his blade.

Just as the beast spun back to address what had injured it, Elder Ma seemingly flew in from ten meters away. It was like the air had scooped him up and surged toward the beast. The man’s spear was driven into its uninjured ribs.

Unlike the first attack where the bear remained silent, a deafening roar sounded as the thing stood to its feet.

The color went out of Yuma’s face. It was over six meters or twenty feet tall.

Both of them retreated to its rear and made some distance between them and the boss monsters.

It fell back to its front feet she could feel vibrations through the ground. This thing was not one and a half tons. It was maybe two or even three.

This time the boss chased her grandfather.

Ma Mencius circled behind it only for the air to once against rise up and carry him toward the creature’s rear. Something started to happen to his spear before he landed. It was like a reverse whirlwind was forming on its point.

Just as the massive creature was about to reach her grandfather, the man jumped to the side while slashing back. The katana pulsed red again as a hard to discern sword arc smacked into the side of its face.

It rose up only partially to get away from the man’s sword only for Elder Mencius to drive the whirlwind covered spear into the back of its neck with all of his bodyweight behind it.

As the man leapt off the creature and another sword arc struck it from the opposite direction, Yuma consciously closed her mouth and visualized what it might look like for her to join the fight.

She’d found a few of the demons after her breakthrough to the Blood Realm. They were many times easier than they’d been, but she still doubted. Yet here she was. How could she deny her own eyes?

There was one thing Nathanial Kane had said so often he’d turned it into a mantra. “You are not the same.”

It was true. Her grandfather, Elder Ma, and Nathanial Kane could no longer be considered just human. Either that or the word human would adopt a new meaning. It wasn’t just the three of them that had changed. So had she.

As the fight continued, the two men and the massive beast seemed to only get faster. Damage was being done to the boss monsters, but it was giving no signs of slowing down.

***

“Get back!” Nathan cried after Leroy the Undead Paladin finished the last Naga he’d knocked over. It was the last of the elites in the ruins. There had been about two hundred of them spread out over an area as large as a small town. “Out of the ruins, now!”

“You want us to just leave you?” Zera objected.

“Yeah, I don’t know—” Wolfgang began before the ground beneath them started to shake.

He couldn’t help but snicker. Then he gave Wolfgang a pointed look and said, “Go.”

The Spell Goblin gave him a nod then grabbed Leroy by the arm and pulled him away. Zera might have objected, but she didn’t hesitate to go with them.

The tremors weren’t just from the hidden boss monster’s size. Nathan backed up as the bricks of the ancient street swelled upward with the ground. The nearest fallen building rose with it, crumbling as it did.

As if rising from a deep slumber, the Queen Naga burst from below. Straightening to her full height, she was at least twice as tall as Nathan. Her tail twice as long as that and four feet wide at its thickest. Her face was a mix between humanoid and serpent. She was incredibly feminine except her mouth opened all the way to her jaw which painted her as something from a horror movie.

Clearing his throat, he spit a giant loogy across the gap between them. It landed right before her.

Nathan was a good forty yards away and just standing there glaring at her. His endurance in the Blood Realm was at a level that the battle he’d just finished was a decent warm up. Not only could he still take in qi from his surroundings with each breath, but it was now a part of him, swimming through his bloodstream.

Bending down, he picked up a large stone about the size of the average brick. The Nava Queen tilted her head as if curious. With qi-empowered speed, he pitched it at her.

The hidden floor boss swayed sideways, watching the brick speed by. When she turned back, her two upper fangs, like those of a viper, dripped with venom as she scowled.

Nathan was already sprinting right for her. The distance was almost nothing. He was there in an instant. His fist technique could be used at distance, but it was especially destructive up close when his qi and fist impacted as one.

He wasn’t sure if she had a solar plexus like a human, but he aimed above her bellybutton and just below her ribs. His fist battered into the massive, serpentine torso. That segment of her body was tossed back.

Then she slithered her vital, human-like form back and placed its body between us. Then her tail flew in like a flexible battering ram that was half as thick as I was tall.

Jumping up and back, he dodged its attack. As soon as he landed, he surged forward.

She tried to knock him back with her tail before he reached her, but he leaped over it, soaring at her nearly as fast as the brick he’d thrown. He’d drawn his fist back, readying to smack her upside the head, but she swayed to the side, and raked at him with her claws.

Instead of blocking, he let them tear at his chest as he unleashed a qi-powered superman punch a yard from her face.

She scurried away as he flew over her. Landing in a skid before he came to a jerking stop against a large block of stone, he watched as she distanced herself while studying him.

He dared to glance down at what was left of his t-shirt. Grabbing it by the collar, he ripped it from his back and tossed it. Her claws weren’t as impressive as a large cat’s, but she’d left five deep gouges in his chest and upper abs.

His blood was already coagulating. It itched something fierce, and he saw why. His flesh was visibly knitting itself back together. It wasn’t abnormal in the Blood Realm, but his regeneration was rather extreme. There were several reasons for that including the synergy between Organ Bolstering, Sinew Reinforcement, and Nervous System Fortification. However, the primary reason was obvious. He’d taken the Blood Essence Enhancement. It allowed him to heal that much faster.

Not only did he feel his flesh repairing itself, but he could feel his cultivation strengthening. It wasn’t a breakthrough, but he still needed to consolidate his breakthrough to the Blood Realm. There were two ways to speed up the process. One was to push your body to the extreme. The other was to get injured and to recover from it. This allowed the blood to do its job, which would allow the body to adapt to what it was now capable of.

He stretched his chest and flexed to make sure there were no muscle impingements. Seeing that there weren’t, he remembered the state he’d been in when he was dying. One arm had been torn off and one of his legs had been devoured.

Up until now, he hadn’t really been in a good fight since regressing. The western region boss called the Putrid Undead Cannibal had been alright, but it was more a hassle than a real challenge. Death was unlikely. The Naga Queen was different. A single swipe of her claws had sliced into his toughened flesh. And she was fast. Fast enough to dodge and counter. Fast enough to kill him.

He hurtled over the Queen’s tail as it flashed under him. He surged toward her body. Her tail appeared between them like a defensive formation. He jumped against, except this time he slammed his fist down, sending a burst of qi into its torso. The creature’s body’ shivered, but he wasn’t finished.

Darting around to her flank, he lunged toward her head, his fist was back.

This time, she swiped with her claws, but instead of his chest, she aimed to parry his attack.

As soon as he saw his feint had worked, he spun. Did she really think he could only attack with his fists? With all his momentum and weight backing it, his foot slammed into the Queen’s chest. It threw her back half a dozen yards.

At first, he thought he’d stunned her. A shadow proceeded the Naga’s tail as he was swatted out of the air and sent tumbling.

He rolled some distance before pulling his body into a four-point stance as if he was a linebacker reading to blitz. As he came to a stop, he tasted the blood in his mouth. She’d just given him a full body bruise. He was the ball, and she was the bat. Everything hurt.

Then he felt the sudden intake of qi. The damage was enough to force his Blood Essence Enhancement to work in hyperdrive. He rocketed right passed consolidation to the top of the first small realm.

She was no longer interested in observing him. Rapidly slithering at him, he gave her the widest, bloodiest grin he could manage. He erupted from all fours, heading straight for the boss monster. This time she was too angry to hesitate.

Instead of lunging right at her, he jumped to the side, landing on a toppled over building, then shot toward her midsection from the flank.

She turned in time to face him, but he was already mid-front flip.

His heel wheeled over his body, striking her hard in the ribs. He used the impact and his other foot to jump back.

Her tail flew in. He barrel rolled as her tail clipped him. It sent him off trajectory, but he landed on his feet.

“Ha, you missed,” he taunted. “Mostly.”

When she rushed toward him, he bounded back and let her chase him. That was until he reached another toppled over building and used it to change directions and leap for her head.

***

“What is he doing?” Goo Gee hissed. “He’s letting it hit him.”

“I’m not certain,” Isacara replied in a somber tone. “Battle is one of the best ways to consolidate your cultivation…”

“Battle? He’s exchanging blows with a monster seven small realms higher than his own. And he isn’t causing it any damage.”

The Divine Lord glanced in the merchant’s direction.

Seeing it, Goo Gee closed her eyes and bowed her head. “Sorry.”

“I know you’re not upset with me, sister. I have the same concerns. He fights more like a beast than a cultivator. He’s barbaric…” Her eyes narrowed.

“What is it?” Goo Gee asked.

She gave the woman a tight grin. “It’s as Father Wei said. He must become a brute, and so he is.”

They continued to watch as the battle raged on. There was barely an exchange where Nathanial Kane didn’t get injured.

His wasn’t the only battle. The one against the northern gate region boss was well underway. To the west, the first monster spawn had been spotted. An army of cultivators, and, to a lesser degree, people from other paths, were joining forces to clear the area. In the east, the region boss had been spotted. People were coming together before the assault. And to the south, the conglomerate of strength athletes already had the Naga King on his back leg.

The reason for the southern group’s success was because they didn’t try to face it as a small group. Whoever dealt it the finishing blow would be considered the winner. So a hundred of what this world called strong men and body builders piled up on top of it as they beat the life out of it. It helped that many of them were around the level of the region boss.

In actuality, it was exactly how a region boss was supposed to be fought. Except they forgot to plan any strategy. A few men had gotten bitten by the King, and were in dangerous territory, but they had plenty of healers following behind with nothing better to do. If they faced the Queen, most of them would’ve been able to retreat, but its venom wasn’t so easy to manage. And its size. It was still too early for them to be facing the Queen. If they insisted, they would all die.

Isacara turned back to see Nathanial driven hard into the ground beneath the Queen’s massive tail. Not only did she leave it on top of him, but she slithered over to put most of her weight over his body to encourage him to suffocate if he wasn’t already dead.

Closing her eyes, she still sensed him. His life energy was strong.

The Queen streaked, slithering away to reveal a bloody mouthed Nathanial. This time, the blood wasn’t his.

“Is there something wrong with him?” Goo Gee asked suddenly.

She found the merchant grinning. They were soon sharing a laugh.

“I just hope he doesn’t get himself killed,” Isacara muttered.

The man had another brick in his hand which he tossed at the Queen’s face. Then he took off in a run in the opposite direction.

“He’s finally retreating?” Goo Gee asked.

“Perhaps…”

She observed him closely over the next thirty seconds as the Queen chased him. He was certainly running, but not to get away from it. He was buying time, but for what?

They both watched closely. It made little sense. The anticipation was palpable. The Queen almost snagged him out of the air with her first strike with her fangs from the fight but missed.

Only then did he jump from one building to the next before rebounding back and striking the Queen on the side of the head. The next moment, he was running again.

Then it happened. Isacara stiffened as all the qi in the area collapsed on the shirtless man with countless scrapes and bruises. He was breaking through to the second level of the Blood Realm.

“Already?” Goo Gee said in unbelief.

“He does have Rank S Talent…” she replied, pulling up the system to get a full breakdown of the tower’s assessment of the young man. “I see.”

Before her guest could ask, Isacara made the panel visible.

Blood Essence Enhancement

This upgrade increases your blood essence, giving you greater vitality and a longer life. You will heal quicker, and your blood will absorb qi much faster.

Note: This will speed cultivation during the Blood Realm. It will have no effect on your cultivation while you’re still in the Body Realm.

“This Blood Essence Enhancement allows for quicker qi blood absorption on top of his already extreme talent,” she explained. “It shouldn’t be possible, but he’s taking advantage of the damage the Naga Queen is doing to his body and using it to accelerate his cultivation to an extreme I’m not sure I’ve ever witnessed.”

“He planned this.”

“No,” Isacara objected. “Blood Essence Enhancement isn’t common, but it’s taken often enough that it’s limits are known.”

“Then how?”

“Instinct. He likely felt his body’s absorption improve when he first got injured.”

“But that means he doesn’t know his limits.”

The Divine Lord nodded. “That’s exactly what it means.”

The elven merchant’s brow creased in concern. “He’s not going to stop.”

It wasn’t a question. Nathanial Kane would break, or he wouldn’t. And they had front row seats to watch the whole thing.