Lu Yuan didn't know what the Shadow Serpent was thinking before its death, but even if he knew, he wouldn't have had the time nor the will to answer its doubts.
The moment the Shadow Serpent's head fell to the ground, the strange state that he had unknowingly entered disappeared, and his surroundings turned back to normal.
The leaves' whistling became normal, his grip on the saber relaxed, and his right arm became tense again.
Moreover, Lu Yuan felt that his entire body was in pain as if he had overdrawn his own potential.
"What was that just now?", he couldn't help but wonder, and recalled the previous feeling.
He tried to find a reason for his sudden outburst but was unable to, no matter how much he thought about it.
"Is it because of the Everchanging Inner Cosmos Art?", Lu Yuan guessed, and in the end, he shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
His attention turned back to reality, and he soon made a surprising discovery. A warm current was flowing out of the acupoints he had previously opened and traveling through his body, relieving the discomfort he was feeling in the process.
This time, he could be certain that this was the effect of the Everchanging Inner Cosmos Art.
"Sure enough, a never-heard-of Cultivation Technique that defies the power system of this world has many secrets. They are just waiting for me to dig through."
Lu Yuan estimated that as a result of this current, his current recovery speed was many times faster than that of other cultivators, and injuries that required other cultivators an hour to heal would only take him half that time, if not even less.
"This battle with the Shadow Serpent was quite helpful. I killed for the first time, entered a strange, seemingly very powerful state, and even found a hidden effect of the Everchanging Inner Cosmos Art."
Not to mention, Lu Yuan had yet to take note of the other gains.
"Just like human cultivators possess a Dantian, a Monster Core will form inside a monster's body when it absorbs spiritual energy for the first time. These Monster Cores are very valuable and can be sold in Meteor City or exchanged for Merit in the Academy."
With that in mind, Lu Yuan knelt down and touched the Shadow Serpent's corpse with his left hand, trying to sense its Monster Core.
A few seconds later, his eyes lit up and he swung the saber, cutting into the Shadow Serpent's abdomen.
Leaning forward, Lu Yuan extended his hand into the cut and grabbed something inside before pulling it out.
Soon, the object that he had just picked up was revealed. It was a small red sphere that sparkled with brilliance, within which Lu Yuan could sense large amounts of spiritual energy.
"I've heard that monsters can devour each other's Monster Cores in order to improve their strength. Unfortunately, humans can not."
It was not that humans hadn't tried before, but all those who experimented either exploded as a result of the violent spiritual energy or went crazy.
Secretly thanking those cultivators for their sacrifices, Lu Yuan put the Monster Core in his pocket and glanced at the Shadow Serpent's corpse with some reluctance.
If possible, he wanted to take it with him and sell it in Meteor City. Unfortunately, he didn't have a space ring, and carrying it with him was impossible.
Not only would it slow him down, but it would also attract other monsters. Lu Yuan wasn't planning to be besieged by monsters for the time being.
With that in mind, Lu Yuan cleaned up the remaining traces of the battle, and after destroying the Shadow Serpent's corpse, he hurriedly left this place.
This time, his destination was clear- Meteor City.
**
The Meteor City used to be a small village located in the northern part of the continent, formed near the place where a meteor had fallen in the past. However, since the village shared borders with the Blackthorn Forest, it soon attracted cultivators, merchants, and all kinds of people who were hoping to earn some money.
It was under these conditions that the originally small village gradually grew until it turned into a prosperous city with a population in the hundreds of thousands.
Lu Yuan subconsciously recalled this information as he walked through the entrance and entered this prosperous city.
The sun had just risen, and the city's residents had yet to wake up, causing the city to look deserted.
Ignoring this, Lu Yuan followed his memories and navigated through the city's complicated streets. Before long, he had arrived at the center of the city, where his destination existed.
Azure Cloud Academy. One of the four major forces in Meteor City, together with the Yang and Chen families and the Heavenly Treasury Pavilion.
The Azure Cloud Academy was unique among them in that, unlike the stringent conditions of the other three forces, this Academy would regularly open its doors to receive people. As long as someone was judged to have some talent and was less than 18 years old, they could enroll as students.
It was exactly because of the Azure Cloud Academy that Lu Yuan, an orphan with no background, was able to embark on cultivation.
At the Academy's entrance, there was a guard team responsible for ensuring that no one entered, but when they spotted Lu Yuan, they moved to the side and allowed him to walk past them, obviously recognizing him.
"Isn't this kid one of the three top students in this batch?", a guard stared at Lu Yuan's back and whispered to his companion, who nodded in response.
"It's him. I've seen him before."
"I heard from the Fourth Elder that this year's Trial will happen in a few weeks.", a third guard who overheard them added, and his words immediately attracted the attention of the rest of his companions.
"Really? I wonder how this batch of students is going to perform."
"Hey, I remember when I was their age..."
**
Back at his residence, Lu Yuan remained clueless about the fact that a team of guards had nothing better to do and was busy gossiping about him.
Having arrived in what could be said to be a familiar environment, his tense nerves finally relaxed, and he sprang to a chair.
Finally, he had some time to think about what had happened.
From his transmigration to his breakthrough, his fight with the Shadow Serpent, and his return to the Academy- everything that happened before played again inside his mind.
He chose to ignore the absurdity of transmigration and the appearance of the Celestial Stele for the time being, knowing that investigating that at this point in time was meaningless.
Rather, it would be better to think about the future.
Soon, Lu Yuan found something amiss.
"Throughout my time in the Blackthorn Forest, I didn't sense, much less meet, a single monster at the 3rd Level of the Spirit Gathering apart from the Shadow Serpent. Moreover, I remember that when the Shadow Serpent first attacked 'me', it seemed distracted, as if it was searching for something."
These two things were not strange by themselves, but when he thought that he had only visited the outskirts of the Blackthorn Forest and yet encountered a monster that should have stayed deeper, he couldn't help but become suspicious.
"Was 'my' death really an accident? Or was it planned by someone?", Lu Yuan questioned, and although he possessed no evidence, he was more inclined to the latter.
"Assuming that there is indeed someone trying to kill me, who could it be? How did they know that the Shadow Serpent would attack me?"
Lu Yuan thought and was soon able to identify a few suspects that might want him dead, but he couldn't think of how they would go about it. With only suspicions and no evidence or leads, he could only choose to rest the case for now.
"Rather than spending my time trying to find an answer to a question that is impossible to answer, I should instead try to improve my strength."
Thinking of ways to improve his strength, Lu Yuan closed his eyes and concentrated his mind, trying to summon the Celestial Stele he had seen before.
Unfortunately, no matter how much he called, the Celestial Stele showed no reaction. It was as if the stele was a mere figment of his imagination. Lu Yuan wasn't surprised by this result.
He had already attempted to call the Celestial Stele while on the way, and just like now, he had received no response.
"It seems that the only thing that I can rely on to improve my strength is myself.", Lu Yuan thought, and remembering how he might be in danger, he no longer wasted time.
Still having his eyes closed, he concentrated his mind and followed the instructions of the Everchanging Inner Cosmos Art. Soon, the spiritual energy of the outside world poured into his body and flowed into his 83rd acupoint.
The progress of the acupoint's opening was many times slower than before, but Lu Yuan noticed that he was getting stronger, albeit slowly.
This feeling made him addicted, and soon, he forgot about the danger and became fully immersed in his practice.