Time slowly passed in the Blackthorn forest, and unbeknownst to everyone, a young man who had just arrived in this world had just been reborn.
"2nd Level of the Spirit Gathering Realm.", Lu Yuan murmured as he glanced at the 82 acupoints that had been lit up inside his body, unsure whether he should be happy.
The spiritual energy in his body had indeed helped him break through, but by now, it had completely dissipated.
"I thought that it would be enough to help me break through the 3rd Level or at least reach the peak of the 2nd Level, but it seems that I was wrong."
Lu Yuan couldn't pinpoint the reason, but he strongly suspected that this was because the Everchanging Inner Cosmos Art required more spiritual energy compared to the technique he had previously practiced.
Of course, not everything was bad.
"Even though I'm only at the 2nd Level of the Spirit Gathering Realm, I can sense that my strength is far beyond that."
In his perception, his thin body contained immense power. Compared to before he lost his cultivation, there was almost no difference.
Thinking of this, Lu Yuan, who had originally been a little unhappy, steadied himself.
He was considered lucky to have saved himself, and restoring his cultivation was an additional bonus. Asking for more would only make him look greedy.
Shaking his head, Lu Yuan stood up for the first time since he had arrived in this world, and after raising his head and looking at the rising sun, he estimated the time.
"Less than a quarter of an hour has passed since my arrival. I'm afraid that the monster that seriously injured me has yet to leave and is still near this place.", Lu Yuan analyzed and decided that if possible, he wanted to take revenge.
Although the person that the monster killed was not him, and in a way, it had helped him, Lu Yuan wasn't planning to let it go.
**
The Blackthorn Forest was home to all kinds of different monsters, ranging from weak rabbits that were lucky to absorb spiritual energy and become stronger, to powerful monsters that possessed the bloodline of Demon Saints and strength surpassing the Spirit Gathering Realm.
Of course, the more powerful monsters resided in the forest's core area and would seldom leave their nest.
At the moment, Lu Yuan was at the outskirts of the forest, where most of the monsters were relatively weak, equivalent to the 1st Level and 2nd Level of the Spirit Gathering Realm.
His strength was enough to make him feel safe, but Lu Yuan remembered the final fate of the previous owner of this body and remained cautious, carefully avoiding any monster that he met on the way.
Perhaps it was because of his caution, or perhaps he was simply lucky, but even until Lu Yuan arrived at his destination, he had yet to clash with a single monster.
Standing behind a tree and holding his breath, Lu Yuan leaned to the side and peeked around the trunk, looking at the place where he had previously fought with the monster.
Broken trees, jagged rocks, and deep holes in the ground. The aftermath of the fight appeared in Lu Yuan's eyes, but he didn't pay much attention to it.
His eyes were glued to the only living being within a radius of 50 meters beside himself- a twenty-meter-long snake coiled around a huge tree only ten meters away from him.
This snake was covered in dense black scales marked with uneven patterns that looked like a child's painting, and had cold, emotionless gray eyes.
The mere sight of such a gigantic snake would terrify most people, but if they were to take a closer look, they would notice that some of its scales were cracked and blood was flowing out of its wounds.
"Shadow Serpent...", Lu Yuan recognized the snake. It was the culprit responsible for "his" death.
Shadow Serpents were a race of monsters unique to the Blackthorn Forest, and they were infamous for their ability to blend into shadows and launch powerful sneak attacks. It was actually quite rare for a Shadow Serpent to show up in the open like this.
"It must be because of the previous fight. Although the previous owner of this body was ultimately defeated and had to flee, he still managed to injure the snake.", Lu Yuan judged, and his confidence in facing the Shadow Serpent surged.
He might have hesitated whether to fight or not if it was not injured, since a normal adult Shadow Serpent possessed power equivalent to the 3rd Level of Spirit Gathering Realm, but now, it would be hard for the Shadow Serpent to exert its full strength.
Still, he didn't let his guard down. He unsheathed the only weapon he had, a long saber that he had found earlier, and stepped forward while trying his best to not alert the Shadow Serpent.
Ten meters... Nine meters... Seven meters...
Lu Yuan slowly moved closer and closer to the snake, and it was only when he was five meters away that his footsteps paused.
"Just like cultivators, monsters have a strong intuition and can sense danger. If I get any closer, I'll be discovered.", Lu Yuan thought, but he knew that getting this close was more than enough.
Gripping the handle of the saber with his right hand, he stopped hiding and launched himself forward.
For a cultivator, a distance of five meters was nothing, and in a split second, he landed in front of the Shadow Serpent and swung the saber toward its neck with all his strength.
Just then, the Shadow Serpent seemed to sense the danger and turned its head around, its gray eyes reflecting Lu Yuan's figure.
Its animal instincts kicked in, and it twisted around, bringing its tail in front of its head and using it as a shield.
Bang! Crack!
The tree that held the Shadow Serpent exploded as soon as the saber and the tail collided, while the snake itself was knocked away, falling to the ground and creating a deep pit.
It looked like it had suffered, but when the dust settled and Lu Yuan took a look at it, he discovered that it looked fine, with only an extra small injury on its tail.
"What a powerful defense! A human would have been cut in half by this attack, but this snake was hardly injured.", Lu Yuan sighed, but his movements didn't pause.
Taking advantage of the time it took for the Shadow Serpent to recover from the fall, he swung the saber once again, targeting the exact same part as before- its neck.
Bang! Hisss!
Without its tail to hinder it, the scales on its neck were pierced, forcing the snake to let out a loud hiss in pain.
This pain seemed to have jolted it awake. A bloodthirsty light flashed in its emotionless eyes, and it raised its head and opened its mouth wide.
Lu Yuan had just rotated his wrist and was about to make another cut when alarm bells began ringing in his head.
The sight of the Shadow Serpent opening its mouth fell on his eyes, and he immediately sensed danger.
He raised his right foot and was about to dodge when, under the threat of life and death, he felt his mind become clear.
The muscles in his right hand relaxed, and his grip on the saber became firmer while he felt the world around him change.
Everything seemed to have slowed down, including the movements of the Shadow Serpent. Lu Yuan could clearly see a black mist rise from its neck and move to its mouth.
"Shadow Mist! The Shadow Serpent's signature ability!", Lu Yuan realized and knew that he would be seriously injured as long as a trace of it fell on him.
But even so, he didn't choose to retreat, but moved closer.
His eyes showed unexpected calmness despite the danger, and he moved his wrist before waving the saber upwards.
His movements were casual and unorthodox, but compared to his previous two strikes, this attack was many times faster.
Whoosh! Splash!
Before the black mist could leave the Shadow Serpent's mouth, the saber struck its neck and sliced through it cleanly, decapitating it in the process.
A trace of confusion flashed in the snake's eyes, and it was filled with doubts.
Why had the human, who had almost become its meal, return completely unharmed?
Why did it seem like this human had become a different person?
Why did this human's last attack become so powerful?
Unfortunately, until it took its final breath, no one stepped forward to answer its questions.