Chapter 2: Routine

"Burn, burn, burn…" Zhen Len hummed in his mind, happily focused as he held a piece of rabbit meat between his fangs. His teeth glowed faintly, wrapped in a reddish heat. Although his innate ability Fire Bite wasn't strong enough yet to fully roast the meat, it was sufficient to slowly cook it while he held it in his mouth.

Despite how difficult it was to control the temperature, Zhen Len refused to eat it raw. This was the first time he had tasted meat since his reincarnation, and he intended to savor it properly. Until now, his diet had been limited to his mother's milk, since only his father hunted and they rarely shared prey with the pups. But today, finally, after six months of life, his mother had given each of the siblings a small piece.

Though still a pup, barely larger than his brothers, his cultivation had already reached the equivalent of three and a half years. Unfortunately, his species didn't grow according to cultivation, but by biological age. Fire Spirit Foxes didn't reach the juvenile stage until ten years old, and they weren't considered adults until after fifty.

Zhen Len longed to mature quickly. Even if it meant having to hunt on his own and losing some cultivation time, it would also give him the freedom to explore and refine other skills. For now, he had to be content with what he had which was a lot of free time to cultivate and live without other worries besides improving his strength. Occasionally, he relaxed, as they spent most of their time inside the den. They only came out at midday, when there were fewer predatory soul beasts, since most were nocturnal and those that hunted during the day were generally much weaker.

He dedicated most of the day to cultivating Mysterious Heaven Skill, a technique focused on establishing a solid foundation. The ideal time to practice it was when the user was still weak and had not developed their cultivation much, that's why Tang San claimed it couldn't be practiced unless all cultivation was abolished, when in fact that was just an excuse, since he wasn't about to reveal the secrets of the Tang Sect to outsiders, even sworn brothers. Zhen Len only stopped cultivating when physical and spiritual exhaustion forced him to sleep and recover.

His mother didn't care what her children did, so she simply ignored Zhen Len, who didn't even play with his siblings and spent most of his time with his eyes closed and still as a statue, though he didn't even appear to be asleep. His mind wasn't even fully developed, and she seemed to believe he had been born strange.

However, Zhen Len didn't mind. He had already established a strict routine.

At dawn, he practiced the Purple Demon Eye, another Tang Sect technique that enhanced sight and spiritual power. He knew that, being a soul beast with fire and mental attributes, he would naturally develop fire affinity upon reaching 100 years of cultivation. However, he aimed to awaken that affinity by age ten, taking advantage of the fact that the key milestones for a soul beast were 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, and 100,000 years, moments when transformations or mutations could occur.

If he managed to develop a strong foundation of spiritual energy early on, his bloodline could evolve. Soul beasts valued lineage greatly, and Zhen Len hoped to become, at the very least, a Fire Spirit Fox Emperor by the time he reached 10,000 years, just remain a Fire Spirit Fox King. To achieve that, he needed to strengthen his spiritual power as he had done in his past life, which would also enhance his elemental power and bring him closer to the heart of the fire element. When he was human, he had only managed to refine his fire into ultimate fire after reaching Titled Douluo rank and thanks to a fire-attribute immortal herb he had bought at an auction with much of his savings. Now, he hoped to reach ultimate fire before hitting 100,000 years and transforming into a human. He wasn't worried about being discovered, as he planned to develop a spiritual tool to help disguise his soul beast status while in human form.

But those were long-term goals. Right now, what mattered was the meat slowly cooking between his fangs, as a gentle breeze rustled the nearby bushes. Zhen Len narrowed his eyes and allowed the warm steam of the half-cooked meat to fill his nostrils.

His mother was watching him and his siblings from a safe distance, lying on a sun-warmed rock. The four pups were nearby, nibbling each other, jumping around, or chasing butterflies. Though they were siblings, at that age soul beasts were still developing, so they hadn't yet begun to display the instincts that would eventually drive them apart. Foxes, in particular, were solitary animals and only gathered during mating or rearing seasons. Once that ended, even siblings could turn hostile to protect their territory or prey.

Zhen Len didn't seek to dominate them and keep them under his command, since it was likely they would only reach 10,000 years when he was nearing 100,000, so they wouldn't be of much help in the future. But since they were his family, he would help them however he could. He simply remained steady, a bit apart, fully devoted to cultivation.

He finished chewing the last piece with effort. The taste was rough but delicious. Although it had no salt or spices, the simple fact that it had been cooked gave it a special flavor. It was his first real bite in this life, and for a few moments, he allowed himself to just enjoy it.

He was still savoring his culinary success when, suddenly, he felt a chill that was all too familiar. A sensation he knew well from his past life. Killing intent.

Although his senses weren't as refined as they had been when he was human, his instincts were still sharp.

Then he felt it. A faint vibration in the ground, rhythmic… something slithering through the underbrush.

From the bushes emerged a long, sinuous silhouette, mostly covered in green scales. The creature raised itself slightly, revealing a triangular head with a vibrant bony crest.

It was a Red-Crowned Green Snake, a soul beast clearly over a hundred years of cultivation. Zhen Len identified it by the reddish markings on its belly and the spines running along its back, like a crown of bone atop its mostly green body.

The creature looked hungry, and it had him in its sights. Given his size, he was an easy target to swallow. However, it didn't seem to notice his mother, who stood up at once, muscles tensed. Her eyes turned crimson, and her fur bristled like a living flame. Her entire body glowed, ignited by the heat of her internal energy.

Zhen Len didn't move abruptly. He locked eyes on the snake, watching its every move.

He knew the snake was fast at short distances. That beast relied on speed and venom. Its forked tongue flicked like a sensor, locating its prey.

The snake didn't roar. It simply let out a low, cold, deadly hiss.

It struck in a flash, but Zhen Len leapt backward. His mother was already in motion. She moved like a living blaze, leaving behind a trail of embers and smoldering leaves. The snake, surprised by the appearance of another soul beast of similar size, twisted in midair to bite and coil around her, but was met with an explosion of fire.

Flames engulfed its body, instantly causing burns.

Zhen Len's mother didn't stop. She leapt right onto the snake's head. Her claws gleamed like blades of fire and drove with surgical precision into the base of the reptile's skull.

The snake shrieked, its body writhing in spasms. It tried to strike her with its tail, but it did no damage, many of its thrashes couldn't even reach her due to her position.

Zhen Len didn't even flinch. He didn't need to have lived another life to know the outcome was already decided.

His mother pounced again. This time, her jaws closed around the junction between the skull and spine. A dry crack sounded, followed by silence.

The scaly body dropped to the ground with a dull thud, stirring dust and scorched leaves. A few seconds later, a yellow soul ring appeared, indicating the snake had over 100 years of cultivation.

The vixen sniffed the remains, flipped them with a paw, ensured it was no longer a threat, and calmly began dragging the corpse toward the den.

Zhen Len watched her in silence. His siblings also stared, not fully understanding what had just happened.

A hundred-year-old snake, eliminated efficiently. For his mother to defeat it that quickly, she had to have at least 900 years of cultivation, perhaps a little more. She hadn't yet developed the gem on her forehead that would appear after surpassing 1,000 years, but her power was clearly high, as long as she didn't face soul beasts over 1,000 years.

Zhen Len stopped thinking about his mother's age when the snake's body was thrown into the den. Its flesh still smoked, and its evaporated venom hung in the air. Without a word, his mother lay calmly by the entrance.

He approached the corpse, curious. He took a big bite, though it was hard to tear off a piece of meat and skin. When he finally managed it, he swallowed it instantly.

To his surprise, he felt his cultivation speed increase slightly. It wasn't much, maybe between 3% and 8%, but the discovery was important. It indicated that Mysterious Heaven Skill granted a kind of devour attribute though more as a temporary passive boost, similar to consuming light herbs, rather than the instant gain some soul beasts specialized in.

He looked at the corpse with bright eyes. It was about two meters long and would probably last at least a week before it was entirely devoured.