Zhu Huaishan smiled faintly and explained, "When it comes to martial arts, what’s more important: breaking through to a new realm, or improving your practical combat skills?"

Fearing Zhao Lin wouldn’t understand, he offered an example. "Suppose you have a martial artist who only cares about his cultivation realm. He focuses all his energy on training his skin, bones, and sinews, then breaks through to the Qi Realm, spending very little time and effort practicing his fists, feet, or weapons."

"Then you have another person who only spends half the day advancing his realm, using the rest of his time to practice all sorts of practical combat techniques."

"Which one do you think is correct?"

’Is he testing me?’ Zhao Lin thought. ’This feels a bit like the old debate between the Qi Sect and the Sword Sect.’

Following that line of thought, he reasoned that the Sword Sect also had to cultivate their qi, and the Qi Sect also had to practice their swordsmanship. It was just a matter of different emphasis.

Zhao Lin mulled it over for a moment before replying, "Actually, I don’t believe it’s a matter of having to choose between the fish and the Bear’s Paw. One should pursue both realm advancement and practical combat. You need to tackle both, and master both."

"Well said." A smile spread across Zhu Huaishan’s face. He was clearly very pleased with Zhao Lin’s answer.

"I’ve spoken with your First Senior Brother, Gao Yuan. From now on, he’ll leave a bowl of Qi Replenishing Soup for you every evening."

"This medicinal soup won’t accelerate your cultivation in the Power Realm, but it will help you build a solid foundation. It will give you a boost when you break through to the Qi Realm."

"Thank you, Sect Leader."

Zhao Lin thanked him profusely, knowing the Sect Leader was deliberately cultivating his talents.

...

The mountains were high and the forests thick, a canopy of green trees casting deep shade.

Zhao Lin trod on the soft grass, as light-footed as a leopard cat, making almost no sound.

Then, SNAP! His foot landed on a dry twig, startling a bird from its perch. He froze, vigilantly scanning his surroundings.

He was close to the heartland of Baitou Mountain. Although no large exotic beasts frequented the area, small and medium-sized ones occasionally came out to forage.

Aside from his martial arts training, Zhao Lin’s favorite pastime on his days off was hunting in the mountains. It provided not only free meat but also a way to support his family.

Ever since he absorbed the Essence Soul of the Black-horned Antelope, the second slot on the scroll had been continuously releasing a white mist that reforged his body.

His explosive power had grown, for one, but his flexibility was also steadily improving.

For instance, he had never practiced stretching, but now he could do a full split with ease. He could even casually perform some of the difficult moves he remembered ballet dancers doing in his past life.

He had become an excellent hunter. Possessing speed that surpassed most wild animals, he didn’t need any tools. He could simply run down his prey and club it to death.

To avoid any bandits, Zhao Lin deliberately entered the deep mountains from the other side of Baitou Mountain.

CHIRP CHIRP...

A series of urgent chirps caught Zhao Lin’s attention.

’Normally, a bird would fly away immediately if it sensed danger. A call like that usually means one of two things: it’s either warning its flock, or it’s a cry of terror.’

Zhao Lin followed the sound, moving slowly. He saw a grayish-green lizard, over seven feet long, climbing high up a large tree.

Looking up past the lizard’s head, he saw a nest. A bird with brilliant plumage was circling near it.

The lizard’s coloration was a perfect match for the tree trunk, making it almost impossible to spot without looking closely.

’Iron Spike Lizard!’

Zhao Lin’s eyelid twitched. He recalled an exotic beast that Head Zhou Pao had mentioned.

Ever since he learned that exotic beasts existed, Zhao Lin had spent a great deal of time gathering information and consulting with knowledgeable people, but everyone he asked had a different story.

Some said exotic beasts had always existed naturally, while others claimed they were crossbreeds of different creatures.

Take this Iron Spike Lizard, for example. It was said to be a fierce beast born from the crossbreeding of a giant venomous lizard and a crocodile. It had a lizard’s camouflage ability, highly venomous fangs, and skin as tough as a crocodile’s.

The Iron Spike Lizard was clearly after the nest. It flicked its long tongue, and greedy saliva dripped from its mouth. DRIP. DRIP.

Without hesitating, Zhao Lin crept toward the tree and drew a hatchet from his belt.

The Iron Spike Lizard might be venomous and armored, but Zhao Lin wasn’t afraid of it.

’To me, it’s just a living target.’

’With my speed, I can do as I please.’

Zhao Lin was targeting the exotic beast for its meat—or more precisely, its internal organs.

"The internal organs of exotic beasts are rich in Primordial Qi, but they are also inherently filled with Evil Qi, which makes it extremely difficult for the human body to absorb."

That was what Yuan Cheng had told him.

Zhao Lin had always wondered: with so many exotic beasts on Baitou Mountain, why didn’t martial artists hunt them for meat?

’Exotic beasts are much stronger than ordinary animals,’ he reasoned. ’Their meat should be perfect for a martial artist to consume.’

But Yuan Cheng had explained that while an exotic beast’s five major organs—the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—were indeed saturated with Primordial Qi, the human body struggled to absorb it. It wasn’t a lethal poison, but a kind of insidious Evil Qi.

"Generally speaking, the Primordial Qi you gain from eating exotic beast meat can’t offset the damage it does to your body. The harm outweighs the benefit."

"You can eat the rest of the meat, but it’s no different from that of an ordinary animal."

Yuan Cheng had concluded.

’Thinking it over, it did seem reasonable.’

’If martial artists could really increase their strength by eating exotic beast meat, the creatures would have been hunted to extinction long ago.’

’It was like the prions that prevent cannibalism—a form of protection for the exotic beasts, granted by the Celestial Dao.’

’Otherwise, no matter how powerful exotic beasts were, they would never be a match for the terrifying upright ape.’

But Zhao Lin wanted to test this theory. After all, he had the Spirit Beast Scroll.

’Since the Spirit Beast Scroll can absorb Primordial Qi from food, could it also filter out the poisonous qi and Evil Qi from the meat of an exotic beast?’

This was the very reason Zhao Lin had come to this remote, ancient forest.

Empowered by both his new strength and speed, Zhao Lin was desperate to rapidly improve his abilities. Otherwise, the benefits of his unique advantage would go to waste.

The Iron Spike Lizard crawled above the nest. Gulp. Gulp. In the blink of an eye, it had swallowed the nestlings. Then, with a satisfied flick of its tongue, it began to swagger down the tree.

It was descending backward, so its pace was slow.

Zhao Lin aimed his hatchet for a long moment. When the Iron Spike Lizard was less than five feet from the ground, the weapon left his hand, whistling through the air.

The Iron Spike Lizard sensed the danger and turned its head just in time to see the hatchet growing larger and larger as it flew toward it, striking the joint where its neck met its shoulders.

With a fleshy THWACK, the Iron Spike Lizard fell to the ground, landing on its back with its limbs splayed out.

Immediately, it let out a long hiss, flipped itself over, and scrambled on its four legs, charging madly at Zhao Lin.

The exotic beast’s body was incredibly tough. Even after such a heavy blow, with a hatchet buried in its neck and blood gushing out, it was somehow still able to give chase.

Surprised, Zhao Lin had no intention of fighting it head-on. He quickly fell back and began circling the large tree.

Fierce as it was, the Iron Spike Lizard was still a creature of flesh and blood. Its pursuit slowed, leaving a trail of blood on the ground, until finally, it collapsed and lay still.

Zhao Lin remained unmoved. As long as he didn’t see an Essence Soul emerge, he judged it to be faking its death.

’Being able to see the Essence Souls of beasts is a nice perk. At least I can tell if an animal is truly dead and won’t rush forward only to get bitten.’

Seeing its "enemy" meet a violent end, the grieving bird let out a cheerful cry.