Time flies by, and the crimson sun has hung back up in the dark red sky.
[Ding!]
[Host: Xu Xiong]
[Age: 17]
[Yesterdays evaluation: C-]
[Rewards: 250% increase of yesterday's cultivation insights. 175% improvement of yesterday's cultivation refinements. 25% increase to your spiritual power.]
[Reasons: Successfully broken through the scarce realm, avoided danger and kidnapped the village chief of Ashen Village and learnt some unsettling news. Retreated when in danger and successfully nabbed a copper coin.]
A smile forced its way onto Xu Xiong, as he couldn't suppress the growing joy in his heart.
A total of 400% boost to his stats! He didn't expect the reward to be so generous, even increasing his spiritual power by 25%!
This stacked on top of his previous 30%!
Making his spiritual power much stronger than others in the same realm.
Though lacks offensive means in the early stages, he'll take any benefits he can get.
Now for the other rewards, surprisingly, it helped out a lot.
His amateurish use of Qi yesterday had a huge boost.
Considering it was his first time using it, the 250% boosted his current understanding by more than three times.
Even his actions against the village chief became a lot clearer and his mistakes became a lot more noticeable.
"Judging by the current rate of things, it will only take me three weeks to break through the second realm of the scarce realm. A lot of this is because of the artifact that Jin Dong had." Xu Xiong muttered, touching the earring on his right ear.
He only has it on while practicing, once he enters Ashen Village, he'll take it off and only use it to find some life forms.
He had a hunch that he'll be able to find that underground base the village chief mentioned with the earring.
Xu Xiong left his base and only took his sword and earring with him.
As for the rest? He decided to keep them here just in case something happens.
Taking copper with him also wouldn't be the smartest decision, as Fallen Birds have a keen sense for it.
With that planned, he climbed the mountain for one last look at the village.
When he reached the top and began to check the village, his eyebrows raised.
'Although I knew the villagers would figure out the village chief is missing, I didn't expect them to come out and roam the streets.'
He'd assumed that they still had some food left over for them to eat, and since it was only the village chief going house to house, he assumed he told them to stay inside; though this guess is obviously wrong.
'Strange, what did he do then?' Xu Xiong thought, and regretted killing him too early.
He was the caution yet greedy type, and didn't want the village chief to suddenly escape and foil his plans.
But god is there so much more information he's missing, and it's giving him a headache.
'Well, time to go into the village.'
Xu Xiong didn't hesitate anymore, and made his way down the mountain and into the village.
After entering, he kept himself hidden and listened in on their conversations.
"Do you think the village chief vanished because of them?" A boy who only looked thirteen asked.
"Ssh! Don't say that out loud." Another boy said, and covered the other boy's mouth.
"From what I heard, it might be because of those people."
"Those people?" The boy muttered, a flick of fear appearing on his face.
Xu Xiong's face fell when he heard their words.
Clearly the village chief wasn't telling the full truth.
The treasure he gave him was merely a ploy for him to be silenced faster.
The village chief also seemed incredibly smart, since he could immediately identify that he knew little about the village, even while facing certain death.
Perhaps he was quite used to it.
"Umm hmm, those people." The boy said, his face turning serious.
"Who will be the next village chief? I heard that they pick one who's shown great talent to be the next leader."
"Don't know, but being picked might not be a good thing, but it's our only way out." The boy said, clenching his fist.
His eyes turned to a pretty girl who was chatting with others, causing it to flicker with determination.
"I'll save you." The boy said under his breath, causing the other boy next to him to look at him in confusion.
As the boy's words started to trail off, Xu Xiong started to head towards Jin Dong's house.
Considering all the bullshit he told him, maybe 10 percent of his words are true, but even then, he feels like he can't trust this information.
'At least I gained an artifact.' Xu Xiong comforted himself.
It didn't take long for him to arrive at the village chief's house, and he scanned the area just to make sure no one was living inside the house.
Xu Xiong didn't know if he had a wife and children, but he presumed that he did.
After all, which village chief doesn't wish to pass down their lineage?
After confirming that there wasn't anyone inside, Xu Xiong entered through the front door.
When entering, his ears were on alert, trying to hear any breathing or footsteps nearby.
As he slowly walked through the house, he looked at the many chairs around the table and empty food bowls.
'So he does have a family? Or is it set up?' Xu Xiong thought to himself, and a strange feeling came over him.
He felt like this house was merely ruse for the villagers, or perhaps 'Them.'
Nevertheless, Xu Xiong still walked around the place, but once he entered the main bedroom, his footsteps stopped.
Xu Xiong tapped on the ground a few times, and his eyes lit up with interest.
'Not bad, old man. Hiding a secret under the door? If it weren't for my incredible hearing, I would've thought that sound was just because of the poorly made door.' Xu Xiong chuckled in his heart.
Everything about this place was perfect, except this door that has been used for a little too long.
But the problem he faced is that if breaks the hard black wood on the ground, people will definitely hear.
Or if someone comes in the house later, they'll see the huge hole in the ground.
'Well, that cultivator should know the village chief was killed by an outsider, so I guess there is no need to hide my existence from them.' Xu Xiong made a quick decision, and broke the floor board beneath him.
With a thud, Xu Xiong's hand pierced straight through the ground and into a small little square hole.
In the square hole was a book with a few copper coins, causing Xu Xiong pupils to shake.
'Wait, there's gold?'
Xu Xiong's eyes darted to the shining golden nugget on the ground.
'Did he use this to hide the scent of copper? But how did the village chief know these things?' Xu Xiong wondered, but quietly left the house.
'This book should be his diary, hopefully it's a lot more helpful.'