Chapter 21: chapter 21 Training buddy
Time went by peacefully for me, as all I did was finish using the gu Initel gave me. Gain new variant human strength, and nurture my aperture. I also want to reach peak stage soon, once I do I can attempt to breakthrough to rank 3.
Initially my cultivation speed had slowed down a bit. Since I've been using my primeval essence stones like crazy. From getting new gu to see if they'll work with my variant selfs, to having my hairyman self continuously refine gu. I've been having him refine the other strength gu. From the recipes Initel gave me, the main one I have him focusing on is jab gu. It's best to know your gu set since it can help you understand the great dao.
With my primeval essence stones so low I had to complete missions for the clan. Initel was fine with it as long as I didn't take any that would be far or take to long. After a few days of work I was able to complete most missions that required me capture beasts alive. Thanks to stealth scale gu it was pretty easy, and I was able to gain a good amount of primeval essence stones but I found a problem while I was out hunting.
With the addition of eggman strength and dragonman strength. I now had seven phantoms appear when I used gu or weapons, it would have been eight if I didn't have my hairyman self at home refining. My strength once again soared while using them but my strength grew by too much. It was difficult to control myself when i wanted to stop myself when using jab gu, even when I threw my net the strength phantoms would appear and have me throw the net farther and faster then I intended.
I sparred with myself at home so my fighting instincts wouldn't dull, but when I was home I usually had three to four variant selfs out. I have to learn how to control myself and my actions at full strength before I fight other gu masters. Something like this could get myself killed if I don't learn to control it while in battle.
I tried my best to get a handle on it at home while hitting dummies, but all that would do is destroy them after my first strike. I don't want to fight a gu master just yet, since most used mid to long range attacks and I was trying to control my physical capabilities. It would be best to fight a opponent up close, strength gu masters are out sadly. Most stay at rank 2 those who do reach rank 3 would rather use a different path thats already paved for them.
I could spar with a strong transformation path gu master, but again it'll have to be a gu master who transforms into beast that I can have a physical one on one fight. Sadly I don't have any connections with such a person. The only person I know that fights up close would be Ji... we'll it's times like this that I'm glad I became Initel's disciple. Since I can ask for her help on such things. So I made my way to Initel's will
Shu[ lady Initel I need to work on controlling and adjusting myself to my strength. Do you know any gu master that excels at strength path or a transformation path gu master that has a physically strong transformation. So that I can spar with them.]
Initel's will looked at me for a bit and finally responded after a few seconds.
Initel's will[ my main body has informed me that it's best you don't show to much of your strength, at least until after the competition, but it's true you do need to work on controlling your strength. So I accepted a mission for you on your behalf. This mission was made for a rank 3 gu master minimum. It's a capture mission you like those. Head to the swamps east of the clan and capture the hundred beast king there. It's a armored crab with at least three hundred armored crabs under it, but who knows if it could control more. With it's hard shell even you couldn't kill it in one hit, so besides capturing it use it to get used to your strength.]
Hundred beast king armored crab... sounds good. I made sure well stored gu was refilled with supplies and then set out. East of the clan are humid hot swamps, our clansmen go there from time to time to gather materials, but other than that most don't go there. Not much can grow there for human consumption and it's impossible to build there by normal means. I'm sure through the use of gu that their could be a way, but the swamps belong to Hu clan. Going there and trying to set any type of refuge would incur our wrath.
Before I left I took back the self-being will that was inside of my hairyman self. So long as I don't use him he'll continue to have his experience in refinement, but this way I can have all eight strength phantoms at my disposal. As I made my way to the swamps I was tempted to just bring out my featherman self and have him fly me all the way to the swamps that took about four days by foot, but the whole point of this trip was to Control my strength.
So instead of flying I activated jab gu to sprint in the direction of the swamps. Once I activated jab gu all eight phantoms appeared behind me boosting my strength and thus increasing the effect of using jab gu. I felt the ground shatter underneath my foot that I kicked off of. Looks like I have to more aware of where I use jab gu. The terrain could a hundred percent effect my use of jab gu as a movement gu. I guess using it in the swamps is a no go then.
A single kick off the ground sent me launching off. It took a few seconds till my foot connected back to the ground since I went airbound. My body also felt completely fine with no strain at all, I could probably do this atleast thirty times before I begin to feel any strain at all.
I could easily force myself to go even further beyond that though. Even if I greatly injure myself by relying on the strength phantoms, with self-reliance gu I don't have to worry much.
With my rate of speed I'd say I'll probably reach the swamps by the end of the day. My movement might have be faster than my featherman self flying, but since I was running on land I had to be wary of trees and dead ends. If I was flying it'd be a straight path to the swamps, the only down side to flying would be any dangerous beasts that'll attack. Still I'm glad I ran instead of flying, I've already started to get a hang of running like this. Though it's still hard to avoid obstacles, but worst case scenario I could always breakthrough forcefully. Though if I'm going to do that I have to atleast wear my brass knuckles if I wasn't going to use bone scale gu, because now I've got some splinters in my fist after punching through a tree.
Near the end of the day I started to notice signs of the surrounding becoming like a swamp. I even had to stop using jab gu since my foot started to sink into the ground. I let out my featherman self to take a quick look around us and I was right it became a true swamp in about 1 and half miles, but it was already to late to continue.
So I set up camp, I made a large campfire by sending out my variant selfs to get firewood. I then took out some of my supplies and made dinner. It turned dark very quick, after I finished my meal I took out a sealed book and read it. I've been trying to find gu that could be useful to me, but even with the vast knowledge of gu the clan had it was hard for me to find good gu.
Most handy strength gu were either super rare or heavily manipulated by certain people. Even if I did get them the problem would be how I could rank them up. Sure I could have someone in the clan refine it for me or have Initel do it, but I realized that if I truly want to grow my understanding of the great dao then I should know and understand my gu set. By refining my gu I can learn its origin, as for human path gu that was an even more difficult gu to find. I can only assume that their just that rare or that my understanding is just to low to realize what truly is a human path gu.
Well no matter what I'll continue looking for gu that'll truly work with my gu set. Right now all I have as my main gu set would be jab gu, bone scale gu, self-reliance gu, self-being gu, and drop of strength gu. As for the rest I only have them because I have no other suitable replacements. Even bone scale gu could hardly be considered part of my main gu set, if it wasn't for the fact that bone path does have a connection with human path I wouldn't have considered it part of my main gu set.
Before I went to sleep I brought out my human self, featherman self, and my dragonman self out to guard me as I slept. With my featherman self equipped with beggar moth, thermal vision gu, and my rank 2 strengthening gu. I could sleep with some assurance of safety.
The next day I sent my featherman self to look for the armored crab as I ate breakfast. After two hours he returned and I learned that the crabs had a territory that they claimed by a river. After I refilled beggar moth gu and my own primeval sea essence, I recalled my variant selfs and made my way to the crabs.
After twenty minutes I arrived to where my featherman self found them. Most of the swamp was covered with dark green crabs the size of a golden retriever, but in the river there appeared to be a large blue stone obstructing most of the water flowing. That must be the beast king, now I can finally let loose. I started to walk up but before I could even step foot into its territory one of the normal armored crabs blocked my path. It stuck out its larger arm and snapped it at me as if warning me not to step further.
I grabbed it by its claw lifting it up as I turned my whole body while holding on to it and released it towards the other crabs. It knocked down several other crabs and that seemed to alarm all the others of my presence. Soon they all started to swarm me but all I did was grab the closest one to me and spun around knocking all the crabs that got to close with one of their own.
I kept doing that over and over just smacking one crab with another. All it did was tire me out a bit, but if I need a break I could always swap places with a variant self for a bit. Pretty quickly I had managed to greatly injure all the normal crabs here. Just as I was thinking about tossing one of the crabs to the beast king. I heard the sounds of a large amount of water being moved.
I looked over to see a gaint blue crab emerge out from the river as if it were a sence from a video game and he was a boss you were about to fight. Finally he shows himself, I activated jab gu kicking of a crab and launched myself towards the beast king. I readied my fist armed with brass knuckles and punched out. The beast king raised its gaint claw hand to block and my fist connected with all eight strength phantoms boosting my attack.
My punch started to shatter the crabs shell on its arm as it then pushed me away from it. That's not good if I had used jab gu or any weapon with a edge I could easily kill it if I hit a vital. How am I suppose to train myself with it if it can only take a few hits.
Just as I was thinking so the aura of a rank 2 gu appeared on the beast king. Next to its eye was a barnacle that must have been the gu that just activated. Then the whole exoskeleton of the crab grew a bit. It even repaired the shattered part on its large claw. Looks like this beast king really is my best sparring partner, no punching bag. Initel must have known that about this guy. Well time to start training.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone