The heavy, humid air of the Black Wolf Mountain Range clung to Su Han like a second skin.
Here, under the ancient, twisted canopies, the world felt primordial and unforgiving.
He moved through the undergrowth with the silent focus of a predator, though his current targets were far from glorious.
[DING! You have slain a Mountain Goat. Gained 2 Experience Points!]
[DING! You have slain a Wild Duck. Gained 2 Experience Points!]
Su Han wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, his lips curling into a cold, determined thin line.
To the outside world, a cultivator hunting common livestock would look pathetic, but Su Han knew better.
In this brutal new reality, every scrap of power was paid for in blood and effort.
He spared nothing—not even a stray chicken escaped his reach if it meant getting closer to his goal.
"Nine down," he whispered, his voice barely audible over the rustle of leaves.
"Just one more. One more kill and I break through to the 2nd Level of the Body Refining Realm."
As he rounded a jagged, moss-covered limestone outcrop, his senses spiked.
A dark, heavy shadow flickered behind a cluster of boulders.
A surge of predatory instinct washed over him; he knew his final stepping stone was right in front of him.
Without a second thought, Su Han lunged forward, his body coiling and releasing like a spring.
He invoked the "Tiger's Claw" technique, his fingers hooking into lethal talons.
Since acquiring this martial skill, he had alternated between his bare hands and the small fruit knife he carried.
He was trying to fuse his physical movements with the system's power.
But as his strike whistled through the air, the shadow blurred.
The target didn't just move; it evaded with a calculated, unnatural speed.
Su Han skidded to a halt, his heart hammering against his ribs.
Standing before him was a creature that defied the logic of common pests.
It was a rat—but a monstrosity of one.
Nearly half the size of a grown man, its fur was a coarse, oily black.
Two jagged, yellowish incisors protruded from its mouth like miniature ivory spears.
His eyes narrowed as the system's interface flickered into life.
This wasn't just a large rodent; it was a Rank 1 Low-Grade Beast: The Dual-Tusked Black Rat.
Its raw power was equivalent to a human cultivator at the 1st to 3rd Level of the Body Refining Realm.
Instead of fear, a chilling thrill raced through Su Han's veins.
"A worthy opponent," he thought, his grip tightening.
"The system says my Tiger's Claw mastery is only at 70%."
"I can't truly own this technique until I forge it in the heat of a real battle."
He glanced briefly at his other skill, "Tear Apart with Teeth," and felt a flash of disgust.
"What a joke. Does the system really expect me to bite these filthy things to death?"
The rat gave a high-pitched, grating screech and launched itself at him.
Its speed was staggering. Su Han threw his body to the side, but he was a fraction of a second too slow.
The rat's razor-sharp teeth tore through his sleeve, leaving a burning red gash across his forearm.
"Dammit!" he hissed, his teeth gritted against the stinging pain.
"If only I had a Movement-type Martial Art, this vermin wouldn't have touched me."
He realized then that the system didn't have a built-in store available yet, or at least he hadn't unlocked it.
He was on his own.
The rat circled back, its red eyes glowing with a primitive, ugly intelligence.
Su Han pulled out his fruit knife, waiting for the perfect window.
When the beast lunged again, he pivoted and drove the blade into its side.
Clang!
The sound was sickening.
The knife hit the rat's hide, but instead of sinking into flesh, the cheap metal buckled and bent.
The rat's skin was as tough as cured leather.
To make matters worse, the force of the impact caused the Steel Armor Su Han was wearing to groan.
The armor, already strained from previous skirmishes, finally gave way.
A spiderweb of cracks appeared across the chest plate before it shattered, the metal shards digging into his skin.
He was now unprotected, bleeding, and facing a beast that seemed to be laughing at him.
"You think you've won?" Su Han's gaze turned murderous.
"You're just a 3rd-level beast. If I can push my Tiger's Claw to 100%, your hide won't mean a thing."
For the next five minutes, the forest floor became a dance of desperation.
Su Han dodged and parried, his clothes being shredded into rags as he focused entirely on the flow of his technique.
With every strike he landed, the system chimed in his mind.
Mastery: 80%... 85%... 90%...
His muscles screamed with fatigue, and his breath came in ragged gasps.
He needed one perfect opening. If he missed, there wouldn't be a second chance.
Suddenly, the Dual-Tusked Rat's eyes turned a deep, blood-red. It had lost its patience.
The air around the beast seemed to grow heavy as it prepared for a final, lethal charge.
"Now or never," Su Han growled, throwing himself forward into the storm.
The air grew thick with the smell of ozone and blood.
As the Dual-Tusked Rat lunged, Su Han didn't retreat.
He stood his ground, every nerve ending in his body focused on the lethal trajectory of those ivory tusks.
The beast struck with the force of a battering ram.
Its jagged teeth sank deep into Su Han's thigh, and a spray of crimson painted the dark soil.
The pain was white-hot, a jagged lightning bolt that threatened to black out his vision.
But in that moment of agony, Su Han's own hand found its mark.
His fingers, now glowing with a faint, predatory light, slammed into the rat's skull.
[DING! Congratulations to the Host! You have mastered the Low-Level, Low-Grade Martial Technique: "Tiger's Claw" to 100%!]
[DING! The power of "Tiger's Claw" has doubled!]
A cruel, triumphant smile broke through Su Han's mask of pain.
He didn't wait for the beast to pull its teeth out of his flesh.
Instead, he channeled every ounce of his new power into his palm and struck again.
He went straight into the center of the rat's head, where the bone was thinnest.
CRACK.
The sound of shattering bone echoed through the trees.
Blood and brain matter sprayed as the rat's skull imploded under the doubled force of the strike.
Su Han didn't stop. He struck a third time, and then a fourth.
His movements were a blur of savage efficiency until the massive rodent finally went limp.
[DING! Congratulations to the Host for slaying a Rank 1 Low-Grade Dual-Tusked Black Rat!]
[DING! Gained 50 Experience Points and 100 Silver Coins!]
[DING! Host has obtained: Black Rat Pelt!]
[DING! Host has obtained: Dual-Tusked Incisors!]
[DING! Congratulations! Host has successfully reached Level 2 of the Body Refining Realm!]
[Current Status: Experience 48 / 200]
Su Han collapsed against a nearby rock, clutching his bleeding leg.
He could feel the warmth of the breakthrough washing through his meridians, but the physical wounds remained.
"Damn it," he hissed, looking at the tattered rags that used to be his clothes.
"Level 2 is a start, but this system is stingy. Not even a single healing pill for a breakthrough?"
He scanned his mental interface, searching desperately for a way to use his coins.
He needed medicine. His eyes fell upon an icon that was greyed out and hazy.
It was labeled: SYSTEM STORE.
He tried to force his consciousness into the icon, but a cold, mechanical voice resonated in his mind.
[DING! Host's cultivation is too weak. You have not reached the required level to access the System Store.]
[Please reach Level 4 Body Refining Realm to unlock this feature.]
Su Han let out a long, weary sigh. "Level 4... it's always a climb."
He tore strips of cloth from his ruined tunic and bound his wounds tightly to stop the bleeding.
He looked deeper into the Black Wolf Mountain Range.
The shadows there were darker, the silence more ominous.
Without healing pills or a proper weapon, going deeper now would be suicide.
But then, a flicker of a memory surfaced—fragments of the original soul's past.
He remembered that this mountain range wasn't just home to beasts; it was a gold mine for mercenaries.
Near the outskirts, these rough men had established a makeshift Mercenary Market.
It was a lawless hub where items were bartered, sold, and traded away from the prying eyes of the Great Clans.
He looked at the bent fruit knife in his hand.
"This piece of junk is only good for peeling fruit. I need a real blade."
He knew he had a Divine Artifact in his system space—the Dragon Sword.
But the system had already warned him: his current strength was too pathetic to even lift it.
And even if he could, showing such a treasure would be like a child carrying a gold bar through a den of thieves.
"I have 150 silver coins and these rat materials," he muttered, standing up with a grimace of pain.
"The pelt and the tusks should be worth something to a blacksmith."
"It's time to see what the market has to offer."
With a final glance at the dark forest, Su Han turned and began the slow, limping trek.
He moved toward the mercenary camp, his eyes burning with the cold light of a man who was just beginning his reign.
"Enjoying Su Han's rise to power? Make sure to add this to your collection so you never miss a breakthrough!"