Chapter 3: Egg of the Beginning

Kyle was squatting within a small bush, and he couldn't help but sigh in relief when the sand wolf reverted its attention back to boars.

It was almost as if it could tell that Kyle was an existence it could neglect, and take care of later, once it was bored.

His heart was beating wildly and Kyle tried to hide his insignificant self while watching the fight between the long-tusk boars and the sand wolf.

The sand wolf had a huge advantage, but Kyle noticed that its injury was still fresh and had barely healed.

Unfortunately, that didn't make a difference in the predator's eyes that had granted him just a moment of its attention before deeming him unworthy of the same.

Finishing off the long-tusk boars was much more important for the sand wolf, than an existence like a cultivation-less and petrified being that tried hiding in a bush.

In the end, the sand wolf had been forced to twist its body to evade the boars' long tusks, and its wound tore open again!

Blood gushed out of the sand wolf's wound and its energy began to decrease as a faint blue shining membrane enveloped the wolf's injury.

It allowed the healing procedure to be accelerated by a small margin and Kyle assumed that the sand wolf had used some of its mana to stop the bleeding.

Circulating mana through the body could enhance one's speed and strength but when the wolf used it to tend to its injury, it decreased the amount of mana left to utilize!

Because of that, the long-tusk boars' speed which had increased owing to their physical enhancement had become almost at par with the wolf's speed!

He became excited when he saw how the sand wolf's hind leg got pierced by one of the tusks of the boars while it was busy inflicting severe injuries on two of its brethren.

Now, there were only four long-tusk boars left alive while the sand wolf was severely injured.

Even though the boars were barely at the Fortification stage and their intelligence was shallow, their chances to win this fight were high.

Yet, before they could utilize their high physical strength to overwhelm the sand wolf, Kyle saw how its wounded leg began to shine in a faint light.

Sand manifested inside the wound and the sand wolf trembled in pain before it seemed to have gathered its senses as it growled menacingly at the four long-tusk boars.

Afterward, the sand wolf charged ahead, completely ignoring its hind leg injury.

As if it was uninjured, it launched a surprise attack on two long-tusk boars.

However, this move only worsened its injury to a far more lethal level.

Aggrieved by its injury, the wolf slashed one of the boars with its claws, while biting the other boar, ripping out a large chunk of its flesh.

Kyle, who saw all of this, couldn't help but gulp down his saliva nervously as his body began to shiver lightly.

He knew that it would be extremely dangerous to fight beasts that had already accumulated strength by absorbing energy, but he had never expected it to be this bloody!

His hands shivered in excitement and fright and his hands turned sweaty. This made it difficult for him to maintain his firm grasp on the long branch that trembled in his hand.

'Will this branch be enough to pierce through the wolf's hide?'

Kyle was unsure if he would be able to awaken his Spirit Soul because it seemed as if he was unable to kill a single beast without anyone's help!

Would he die before his journey had even started?

No!!

In the end, his worry had been groundless because the remaining two long-tusk boards made their move.

They had already charged at the sand wolf that had killed their brethren!

Their long tusks tore through the sand wolf's thin fur, skin, and flesh without much resistance.

Just a moment later, the sand wolf's anguished cries reverberated through the air.

Yet, despite being heavily injured, the sand wolf hadn't given up on its life yet.

It was desperately trying to free itself of the tusks that had punctured and stabbed its body creating numerous wounds.

It conjured sand needles and shot them at the long-tusk boars while trying to claw at them.

However, despite inflicting severe wounds, the last two boars were unwilling to allow the sand wolf to escape out of their clutches alive!

They wanted to take down the sand wolf by all means, even if it meant that they had to sacrifice their own life!

Watching the life and death battle between the wild beasts, Kyle realized that it was the perfect opportunity to seize and he jumped up.

He rushed out of the small bush he had been hiding in and pulled back the long stick that was in his hand.

Both the sand wolf and the two long-tusk boars were barely holding on to the last threads of their life as they were slowly succumbing to their injuries.

At that moment, they saw Kyle rushing towards them at a slow pace.

However, even after seeing him, they weren't able to move a single inch.

It was an undeniable fact that both the beasts were on the verge of death but of the two opponents, the sand wolf was the worst hit.

At this moment, it had given up on its life.

Having used up its entire mana pool and energy reserves, it closed its eyes, awaiting the final moments of its life.

Meanwhile, the long-tusk boars were unwilling to accept their deaths!

They tried to retaliate against their fate and squirmed on the ground only to see that an unknown being had already appeared behind the first boar.

It was Kyle, who struck out with the long branch, targeting the area that had already been injured by the sand wolf, ramming it deep inside the wound.

As he pushed the branch in order to deepen the wound, Kyle began to realize how vast the difference in strength between a cultivating beast and himself, who had yet to start cultivating, was!

The long-tusk boar's flesh was so thick and resistant that Kyle could barely push the branch's tip into it!

Not only was the weapon of his choice way too weak, and dull, but his strength was almost negligible!

It felt almost non-existent and if Kyle were to forcefully exert his whole strength, he might be able to pierce the branch even deeper into the boar's tough hide.

If he were to do this Kyle would have to strain his muscles so much that he was unsure whether they would tear apart before the boar would be killed.

As such, driven by frustration, Kyle loosened his grasp around the branch as he kicked the branch with his naked feet.

At the same time, the injured boar he attacked led out a painful squeal, which Kyle tried to ignore as he thought of ways to kill it.

"Is there nothing else I could use?" He mumbled, trying to calm down his mind and body that was overflowing with adrenaline.

However, suddenly as he looked at the other boars that had already died, Kyle saw something bright, a mysterious bulb of light, ascending from the carcass.

"I don't have to kill them by myself to see their souls? Does that mean I can devour souls from beings I didn't even kill?"

If this was true, he wouldn't even have to risk his life in order to kill other beasts!

Unfortunately, when Kyle saw that the first bright, shining wisp he assumed to be the boar's soul, was about to ascend, he discarded the thought that had just emerged in his mind.

"The period between a beast's death and its soul's ascension is way too short…"

Nevertheless, what he saw was still beneficial for his future plans!

As such, instead of finishing off the two remaining, half-dead boars, Kyle rushed towards the boar that had died first.

The last two boars' long tusks were still stuck in the sand wolf's body.

While looking at the boars he saw that their previous vigor was depleting rapidly, which made him realize that they wouldn't be able to harm him anymore!

He could have acted differently, but his strength was not even comparable to that of a well-nourished teenager!

As such, he decided to focus on the ascending souls which he desired to devour!

From the knowledge he had acquired in his past life, only someone with a Spirit Soul should be able to see souls, and it was one indicator of having the talent of a Spirit Soul cultivator, but Kyle had never believed it.

That was until now!

It was a relief that he did not have to kill a beast in order to see its soul and he hoped that devouring it was possible without any issues.

Only moments passed before Kyle had reached the first bright shining wisp, that was, in fact, the boar's translucent soul.

At that moment his instincts took over and Kyle subconsciously raised his arm and reached for the ascending soul, closing his fingers around it.

He thought that it was not possible to touch the translucent soul but against his expectations, his hand felt something soft!

Warmth spread through his fingers and Kyle's eyes widened as he pulled his hand closer to his chest.

Before he would press his hand against his chest to devour the soul, he peered inside his closed fist curiosity got the better of him.

Through the gaps in his fingers, he saw the tiny wisp-like soul that was struggling to escape by all means.

It had sensed that something about Kyle was different and that he was dangerous!

When he led the hand that held the boar's soul tightly towards the center of his chest, it couldn't resist the unknown suction force that had suddenly emerged from within Kyle.

At that moment, Kyle was able to perceive that something was changing within him.

The center of his chest began to itch as he pressed the boar's soul into it.

While the boar's soul was absorbed, he was able to perceive something unknown inside him.

'Is that a marble?' Kyle wondered, however, before he could figure out more about the change within his body, he looked at the other dead boars and their souls that were slowly ascending too!

Instead of wasting time, he hurried towards the other souls and collected them without hesitation before repeating the process of merging them with his body, which they disappeared into

He had no idea whether he did everything correctly or not.

There was nobody around to explain what he had to pay attention to, but he felt fine.

As such, he hoped that the technique he used on a pure whim, was fine.

Based on what he could feel inside him, a small egg was about to be constructed within his chest's core!

This would have been weird, had he been entirely clueless about Spirit Souls, which was fortunately not the case!

Before awakening, Spirit Souls would have to be nurtured by souls, which was said to happen after the [Egg of the beginning] was formed around one's soul.

Kyle was unable to perceive his soul right now, but from what he sensed within him, his chest's core area seemed to be the place his soul was located!

It was uncertain whether this was because he had reincarnated, which led to his body getting constructed around his soul, or if this was normal, but Kyle found that this location was perfect!

Others might think of it as a disadvantage but once he increased his cultivation stage, it would become an advantageous location as the center of everything!

While the Egg of the beginning and the Spirit Soul within it were created, one was said to be in the Origin stage, the 0th Cultivation realm!

This meant Kyle had just entered the Origin stage by absorbing the boars' souls!

Yet instead of being overjoyed, Kyle's gaze was drawn to the Sand wolf that had died at this exact moment.

A slightly larger soul emerged from the wolf's body and a faint smile appeared on Kyle's face that was soiled and dirtied due to the mud in his surroundings!

"I should reap everything I can, right?"