Like a River

𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘦𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴.

𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘻𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘲𝘪 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦'𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦.

--Unknown Cultivator on The Lifespan of "Immortals"

Months passed swiftly as Cain familiarized himself with his new world. In the past 2 years Cain gained much, the most important of all was information. His lessons with Old Luo filled in the gaps that were left this bodies original memory. The more Cain learned the more astonished he became. This world was full of Cultivators, Gyen the Hunter, being among the weakest of them!

Gatherings of Cultivators called sects spread themselves all over the continent, each with their own unique techniques. Wilderness still overran much of the land were powerful beasts roamed and treasures lay waiting, the thought of being able to explore such places greatly excited Cain!

The only problem was that Cain was located in what could only be considered as the countryside. Zhenqi was sparse and Cultivation rare, as such to this day Cain had yet to get his hands on a method to begin absorbing qi into his body. The most Cain could do was improve his physique and brush up on his martial arts.

Cain could now be considered quite handsome, the stick-like youth from before nowhere to be found. His once disheveled black hair was now neatly tied behind his head, and his clear blue eyes hid a sharpness that was not present before.

Cain had gained a bit of reputation as Gyen's apprentice hunter. He often ventured out to hunt on his own nowadays, of course only on the outskirts of the wilderness, so he had sold quite a few quality animal parts to the tradesmen around town.

As Cain's reputation increased Ren seemed to become more and more agitated, puzzling him. What had he done to incur this treatment anyway? 𝘖𝘩 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘺.

Cain was currently headed too Old Luo's apothecary as his teacher had mentioned having something important to inform him of. The relationship between the student and teacher could be said to have gotten close after spending so much time with each other.

Cain walked straight through the door, as if it was natural, and greeted Old Luo.

The Old Man broke into a smile before beginning, "I have great news for you, for the whole Village of Porth really!"

Pausing slightly before continuing he explained, "The overlord of this region, Thunder Palace, has decided to supplement their number of disciples with the most talented seedlings in the surrounding area."

Cain was interested immediately! This was an opportunity to join the world of cultivators. It was unlikely he would find another chance like this in the short term. Before Cain could get to ahead of himself Old Luo could be heard again, "But a small village such as ours has only been given a single slot from the sect. Thunder Palace has called for a tournament in 6 months to determine who shall enter as an outer disciple."

These words doused Cain with a bucket of cold water. He was currently quite confident in himself, but there were some youths in the village that Cain wasn't sure he could contend with. Martial Arts were considered necessary to survive in this world and as such, many practiced since young. For Cain most of these Martial Artists would not be a challenge, after all he still had 10 years' experience from his first life.

He was worried about the son of the village head Ren however, as he had been undergoing rigorous training from his father, the strongest Cultivator in the Village of Porth, his entire life. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦. Cain had to win this competition no matter what! Thinking it over he could only think of one person. Coincidentally Old Luo instructed him to visit the Hunter as well.

Gyen's hut was the same as usual, pelts hanging about and meats drying on racks. Gyen was standing outside as if waiting for someone. When Cain arrived Gyen looked at him before saying, "I owe that Old Man a debt from saving my life in the past, now listen close, I'll only say this once. The Myriad Beast Refinement Manual in its initial stages involve..."

After listening to Gyen's explanation Cain couldn't believe his ears! 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘥! 𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘻𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘲𝘪. 𝘍𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥. One had to be careful of this method, however. If beasts of a different type of qi were consumed, then the energies in one's body would clash with itself. One also had to take care to temper their will, or they might become a beast themselves.

After the explanation Gyen directly gifted Cain with a dual pair of short swords and a bow. The short swords although made of simple materials were crafted finely. The weight of the two blades were balanced almost perfectly. The bow seemed to be made out of a dark, flexible wood. Its bowstring seemed to be the tendon of some unidentified beast. Looking at the two weapons Gyen let loose a deep sigh.

"These weapons served me well before I was injured by those fiends." At the mention of these "fiends" his face soured. "I now give them to you in hope that they carry you through your upcoming trial."

"Trial?" Cain was confused, no one said anything about a trial.

"Yes trial! You have inherited my technique and as such you have to prove your worthy to carry on its legacy!" Gyen's eyes bored into Cain.

"You have 6 months to complete this trial! Go into the wild and refine your first beast, then temper yourself in combat."

Cain was panicking in his mind 𝘐𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺! 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦. . . 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘍*𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘵! 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦!

Cain sucked in through gritted teeth and replied, "I accept!"

Gyen replied, "Good! Now go!"

Cain only hesitated slightly before advancing into the forest, dead set on finding a good beast to build his foundation upon. He could just first refine a normal beast, but Cain refused to settle for mediocrity in this life! He would go for the best possible option. The thing on the forefront Cain's mind right now though was food, water, and shelter. Only with these three essentials would he be able to survive 6 months in the wilderness.

The first issue, food, was easily solved. He could just kill wild beasts for meat, and there was no shortage of them in the lush forest he was in. Shelter was a bit trickier. Cain needed a place hidden enough to where he could sleep at night without worry of ambush, and preferably it should be near a water source. Cain spent the entire first day and a half looking for a suitable location, not daring to sleep at all.

On the side of a cliff face there was a cave that was covered by dense vines. The cave was only big enough to fit around two adult males and a boy was sleeping in the center. Soon stirring cold be heard and the young man opened his eyes. The previous fatigue gone from his features. Luckily, he found suitable shelter in time, and he could start searching for the beast he would like to refine. The best place to start was the freshwater basin nor far from this location, beasts would naturally flock to this location.

Cain headed off towards the basin immediately, planning to observe the beasts for quite a while. After traveling a distance Cain arrived at the basin and positioned himself at a safe distance for surveillance.

It didn't take long for Cain to start noticing some menacing looking beasts. There was a giant bear on one side of the basin, its fur looked like rock and its muscles could be seen rippling throughout its body. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. Cain immediately discarded this beast, could he even harm it if he tried?

Other notable creatures included what seemed to be much Purer Silver wolves, less numerous than the wolves where tigers whose stripes resembled lightning that snaked throughout their body. There were even giant fish in the basin that did not look like they were to be trifled with.

Soon a Lion that resembled a small hill came into view near the basin, just its presence alone caused the temperature to rise several degrees. Its eyes were vicious violet, and its mane resembled the sun. When the beast got close enough it issued a direct challenge to the bear that was still languidly drinking from the basin.

Hearing the roar from the Blazing Lion the Tyrant Bear let loose a bellow of its own. The other creatures moved away upon sensing the incoming danger. Soon both creatures rushed towards each other, the Lion leaving a trail of destructive fire in its wake, and the bear that rumbled the earth with every step. Soon these two creatures would clash directly!

This was a good opportunity to see the strength of some of the strongest beasts Cain had ever seen!