Bab 3: Chapter - 2

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Chapter - 2: A Hungry Wolf

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After her little encounter with Guts, Xia Qingyue immediately returned to her room. "Master, what do you think?" She suddenly asked out loud even though she was the only one in the room.

Suddenly, a young woman appeared out of nowhere and answered her. She was so beautiful that she could easily destroy an entire country, and her body could make even the most holy cultivators drool.

She had an extraordinary snow-white complexion, vermilion lips, and black hair. She had an incomparable elegance and pure holiness, like a fairy descended from the Moon Palace. She looked like a fairy, dreamy and absolutely beautiful.

[Picture ---> Chu Yueli ]

"What about his strength?" asked Xia Qingyue. "I could sense that he was not hiding it, but I still felt a very dangerous feeling as if a blade was pointed at my throat..."

Qingyue did not seem to be convinced of her personal reasons, but she let it go and asked her master's opinion on the matter, as the idea of a mere mercenary having a higher cultivation level than hers seemed even more unbelievable to her.

"That... was really only the first layer of the True Profound Realm, but unless he had an artifact that allowed him to partially hide his true strength, I don't know what to make of his bloody atmosphere." She explained, completely rejecting the idea that he had a cultivation superior to hers.

"Is the master trying to say that he might actually be a hidden expert?" Qingyue asked in a doubtful tone.

"It's one of many possibilities," She shook her head slightly and remained silent for a few seconds at the thought of her disciple. "And the best thing is to watch him, but don't focus too much of your attention on him, and just a small bystander of your climb to the top of this continent, he's not worth your time."

The black-haired beauty frowned, but did not dare to answer. "Qingyue, I will follow your advice, Master..."

[Interlude]

Meanwhile, in the forest near Cyan Forest City, a black-haired, red-eyed man could be seen walking with a huge broadsword on his shoulder, a heavy and bloody atmosphere that kept the weaker Profound beasts away.

The man in question was surrounded by trees and long grass, with no human civilization in sight, but he did not seem worried at all, or at least his face did not show the slightest sense of concern for himself.

Suddenly, the man stopped his steps and blinked confusedly before suddenly jumping to his feet and dodging a direct attack on his neck by taking a small step to the side, grabbing the broadsword on his shoulders with all his might and swinging it from the top to the bottom with all the strength of his body.

*Boom!* *Clack!*

The body of the beast of was completely torn in two as its entrails and blood scorched the surrounding ground like a painting created by a painter who had seen the true essence of the world.

Sweat trickled down the man in black's cheek and his heartbeat quickened. He opened his mouth and muttered absentmindedly, "You bastard, you came close," before a smile appeared on his face as he looked at the corpse before him.

"I'm less hungry now, though..." He could only say as he felt a feeling of satisfaction permeate his entire body. Not only that, he also felt much stronger because after killing the beast, his gluttony ability had activated and devoured his soul, increasing both his physical strength and his cultivation.

Stage 2 of the True Profound Realm was reached

"And it's good to be back, I missed this forest..." He affirmed before stomping hard on the body of the Profound beast, ripping out all of its insides in a sight quite gruesome and frightening to anyone who saw it.

But he seemed to ignore this detail as he continued his journey into the deepest part of the forest, cutting down every single beast that tried to stop him. At the same time, he tied the bodies of the various beasts together with a small rope to carry them with him for food and, of course, to sell when he returned to the city.

As he continued into the depths of the forest, he noticed a silence that grew more frightening with each step he took to advance his path, as if the Profound Beasts had finally understood the danger he posed.

Stage 3th of the True Profound Realm was reached

Stage 4th of the True Profound Realm was reached

Stage 5th of the True Profound Realm was reached

....

When you realize that you have been reborn into a death-trap world where only the favor of the Ancestral God or the blood of some long-dead ancient god allows you to live without worry, and you have neither.

When you realize that you need all the resources around you to survive in this world.

Especially from the beginning, living in a world with Chinese beliefs is quite strange and stressful at the same time. A simple mistake can cost you a lot in this world if you are not careful and do not have enough strength to feel safe.

Guts did not know the reason for his arrival in this world, nor did he know the mysterious system that had appeared before his eyes after his death.

He had awakened in this forest several months earlier, where he had spent much time training with the advantages he had chosen from the system so that he would not be found unprepared for any action he chose to take.

The months passed quickly. During this time, he devoted himself to cultivation and physical skills, deciding to start with the old man from his former world doing push-ups and sit-ups to help him adapt to his new body, which he had to admit was truly magnificent.

These activities that would have made him weak in the past were now ridiculously easy, and he slowly incorporated the martial arts of Guts and the fighting techniques he had acquired from his new memories.

Through the rigorous practice of martial arts and, of course, warfare, he had managed to fight many deep beasts that were many times stronger. He had fought them before he even thought of going to the Xia Mansion. Of course, at the same time, he had also done his best to assimilate the 'Guts' template as quickly as possible.

However, things were going well for him now. He no longer needed to fight several Profound Beasts to increase his assimilation rate just because he was afraid of facing an arrogant young master with several experts at his side.

"To be kind to your enemies is to be cruel to yourself. It seems that I have to become even more terrifying to my enemies so that they will think twice before fighting me..." A rather disturbing line of thought that could have been left for the future.

The world he was in was damned annoying. People here could slap you to death for looking at them funny, and without violence, you would end up as someone's dog.

However, ignoring this absolute truth, he walked slowly to one of the many caves nearby and discovered that there was a giant rock that covered the entire opening and blocked virtually all the sun's rays from entering. "Hmm, that's why the cave is so deep, maybe it belongs to some beast?"

Deciding not to think too much about it, he slowly crossed the dark curtain and squinted his eyes into slits as a bright light hit his face. And with slow steps, he walked toward one of the many pools of water nearby.

Eventually he reached the edge of the pool, his bare toes digging into the soft earth of the shallow bank, his eyes fixed on the swivels as he admired the new but familiar surroundings. Then he crouched at the edge and finally looked down to drink.

At the same time, he removed his broadsword from his shoulders and laid it on the ground as he left the bodies of several dead beasts in the corner and began to sit cross-legged and light a small fire for some food.

'Let's see if we can make some progress,' He thought to himself as he took a deep breath and slowly began to feel the Profound Qi in the air and began to open his Profound Entrances and absorb the Qi in the air. He exhaled slowly and began to absorb the energy around him.

Stage 6th of the True Profound Realm was reached

Stage 7th of the True Profound Realm was reached

Stage 8th of the True Profound Realm was reached

There was another extremely uncomfortable feeling of something destroying his body, but at the same time it was a beautiful feeling as he could feel his body becoming stronger and also more energetic.

After only a moment, he stopped distancing himself and it was done. He now felt that he had a fairly basic understanding of the energy around him, basic in the sense that he knew how high he could go with practice alone.

'Who says it is not easy to cultivate? This talent must be a combination of all my advantages, from my body to the two abilities,' he thought with a small smile that could only appear on his lips.

Actually, he was quite shocked by the result, as he had already cultivated to the eighth level of the True Profound Realm after only a few hours. It was quite good, to say the least, but he tried to slowly circulate his Qi again.

He slowly tried to circulate his Qi and push it around his body to activate his berserker armour, and a large wolf-headed shadow could be seen behind him.

He slowly approached the river beside him and looked at his reflection. He saw deep red pupils, not human at all, staring at him with an eerie smile.

"..."

"Don't worry too much, I won't need you, at least not until I'm in danger," he said in a cold tone, while his attention was focused on the cave entrance, he had heard something dangerous approaching.

*ROOAAAAR*

A loud roar of undisguised defiance in the distance snapped him to attention. Guts turned to his left and his black eyes met the muddy yellow of a bear-like creature that looked as if it had just crawled from the deepest pits of hell; it stood fearless, nearly ten feet tall, with red and black obsidian fur.

It had the appearance of thin needles, with inch-long, brutal-looking claws that seemed made for tearing flesh and bone. At the end of its snout was a gaping maw full of serrated teeth, dripping thick saliva, and its slitted eyes reflected obvious hunger.

A primal calm bubbled up from deep within as he pushed the fear from his mind and assumed a fighting stance, as if this situation was second nature to him. He had already decided to fight and it was as if his whole being was natural. Guts turned completely towards the beast and assumed a relaxed stance.

He crouched slightly, his knees bent, one foot in front of the other. His arms were low, ready to counter at the slightest movement. His hands were shoulder width apart, fingers flexed and spread. A low, almost inhuman growl came from his throat and the beast responded in kind.

The beast's fur stiffened as its hind legs tensed and a much louder growl echoed through the otherwise silent forest. This standoff lasted barely a second as both man and beast moved towards each other at the same time.

Time seemed to slow down for him as he watched the bear close the distance between them at a speed that was truly incredible. "Fast, I can't entirely avoid it..."

As the beast approached, he moved as well. His feet dug into the ground beneath him with inhuman strength and he raised his hands as the bear leapt high into the air, aiming for his throat.

And at the last moment, Gut's torso moved and his hands managed to grab the jaws of the beast, which had turned its attack towards his left shoulder, where it immediately froze and tried to maim him violently.

He ignored the pain he felt, which was not there before it flashed through his now completely blood red eyes. His hands rose to grab the bear's upper and lower jaws as he was pushed back several metres, his feet leaving furrows in the ground.

They both stopped just as Guts managed to get the jaws off the shoulder and he tensed all his muscles like a coiled spring, becoming even more noticeable as he twisted his torso and threw the beast onto his back in one swift motion.

Guts hands never left the bear's jaws as he crashed into it, forcing all the air out of his lungs. He straddled its midsection, his knees closing around it like an unbreakable grip.

The beast slammed his head down and clawed desperately at his forearms, trying to fight back somehow. A furious scream came from his throat.

*CRAAAACK*

Sounds could be heard coming from the bear below as it opened its jaws with all the force it could muster... Then it was over, the bear went limp and the life quickly drained from its eyes, not before it let out one last painful groan.

Guts rolled onto the cool forest floor, gasping for breath as the adrenaline began to wear off. He felt incredibly tired and his shoulder began to swell.

Strangely, there was no visible wound there, and only a few small bleeding holes along his forearms from his claws remained as evidence of his struggle.

"So this is what it feels like be in mortal combat? "He could only comment as a satisfied smile appeared on his lips without him noticing.

Stage 9th of the True Profound Realm was reached

Stage 10th of the True Profound Realm was reached

Stage 1 Spirit Profound Realm was reached

Guts could see his wounds beginning to heal very quickly, and most importantly, he could feel the power flowing through his body like a raging river, just waiting to overflow and destroy everything in its path.

[Interlude]

Guts walked the last two kilometres to the city gates with several corpses of various deep beasts strapped to his shoulders and his unrestrained aura in full view. This time, the city guards immediately recognised him and retreated to let him pass, not wanting to provoke him in any way, knowing the fickleness of cultivators.

A recruit from the Profund Elemental Realm, who was late in following the order of his superiors, could only watch the mysterious man pass by and managed to greet him respectfully with his legs shaking before watching him walk away before falling to the ground, breathing a sigh of relief that he was still alive.

Walking casually through the streets, dressed as he was and with his unrestrained aura, he attracted a lot of attention as usual, especially given his identity as the new guard of the Xia Mansion.

He was stared at by all sorts of people, some in awe of his cultivation even though most could not see it, some jealous of his appearance, and some women even invited him with their eyes for his wild strength.

Once, Guts even felt some hostility from a group of young men, but their murderous intent was so pathetic that it made him smile mockingly. Later, though, he would give them a look by voluntarily releasing enough pressure to make them run away in fear.

To most around him, he may have appeared to have a strong background, but it was mostly an act. Inside, he was alert, his senses constantly scanning his surroundings, unaware that there was an expert lurking in his vicinity.

Eventually he decided it was time to rest and continued on his way, only to hear a commotion just down the road. A group of young men had surrounded another and pushed him to the ground.

He paused for a few seconds, not knowing whether to intervene or let things take their course. But this was his life now, and he would live it as he saw fit. After all, he was the protagonist of his life.

As he approached, the insults from the young men became clearer and were very precise and clearly aimed at embarrassing and ridiculing him, trying to bring down his reputation.

"It will taint the number one beauty in town! You should call off the engagement now instead of losing what little pride you have left".

"Yes, you are garbage that cannot grow, you cannot be compared to Fairy Xia"

"Worthless trash deserves to stay with trash"

"You're just a little toad lusting after the beautiful white swan"

"As destiny would have it, Fairy Xia was destined to stay at Young Master Yulong's side!"

Was it more important to make fun of a cripple than to try to increase one's personal strength? Was it just the way the world was set up to torment the future protagonist? The desire for strength was strengthened in his heart when he saw that scene.

For a moment, the toad line amused him, but what the last young man had said irritated him more than he cared to admit, and so he intervened with a rather annoyed tone. "What's going on here?"

One of the young men in the group, one of the first Profound Nascents realm, wearing dark blue robes and looking like a bad cliché, turned to him angrily. "We are disciples of the mighty Xiao Clan!"- But he stopped before saying it, feeling Guts superior cultivation.

"S-s-senior! S-sorry, I had eyes, but I couldn't see. N-nothing is happening here, we were just leaving!"

Halfway through his speech, the young man paled in fear as he felt the pressure of Guts' unbridled cultivation and quickly excused himself, but not before casting a menacing glance at the boy on the ground.

Guts just watched, not wanting to interfere any more than necessary. The boy stood up, clenching his fists despite his bleeding lip, and bowed in gratitude. "Thank you for your kindness, Senior!"

"No need to thank me, I just happened to be here," he said in a cold tone. "What's your name, kid?" asked Guts, looking at the little one with a subtle smile, but inside he was thinking about how to deal with the protagonist in front of him.

"My name is Xiao Che. Senior, but you can call me Little Che, how should I address you?" The boy replied nervously, obviously not used to being in such an impetuous position.

"Hmm, my name is Guts, boy, if you want, I can accompany you to your mansion to avoid any more such acts. I don't like to see such scenes of people mistreating the weaker while hiding from the stronger," Guts reiterated as he took a few steps forward, showing off his taller and more muscular frame.

"S-Senior, there is no need, he has already helped me a lot!" Guts simply shrugged off the concern. "I just saw you in trouble, and I want to help you."

"B-Brother Guts. And really kind, if you have nowhere to go, you can stay in my clan's courtyard, but we should ask my grandfather first." Xiao That may have been kind and innocent, but he was no fool. The man next to him looked new and very strong, and could have helped his grandfather in the clan position.

Guts could see through the child and was slightly impressed. He thought about it for a moment and decided that this was the best scenario and declined. "Unfortunately, I have already found a place to stay," but he thanked his for the offer.

The two of them chatted as they walked through the city, Xiao Che showing him many different places, he really was a good guy.

Nothing like that absolutely crazy Yun Che....

Soon after, Xiao Che led him to a large secluded courtyard where a girl of about sixteen was sweeping the floor in a green dress. She was beautiful and pretty, with very rosy lips, a delicate nose, a kind face, and a pair of clear, transparent eyes. She also had a familiar air about her.

[Picture ---> Xiao Lingxi ]

When she saw Xiao Che, she dropped her broom and ran towards him, taking his hands in hers with obvious concern. "Little Che! What happened to you?" She had a particularly honeyed voice as she spoke to Xiao Che, and he smiled at her before answering.

"I just slipped in the city and hurt myself, and then I met Senior who helped me..." It was a pretty lame excuse, he knew that, but he didn't want to tell his little aunt the truth about what had happened.

Of course, such a deception would not work, but she decided don't to raise the issue because she was more concerned about him: "You need to be more careful, especially with a body like yours that has no Profound Energy," she said, scolding him slightly, but you could feel her clear concern.

And after a few seconds, she turned her eyes to the man next to her little nephew and could not help but be stunned when she saw him, after all, she was not used to standing in front of a person who exuded such ferocity and blood pressure.

"Thank you for helping Little Che, my name is Xiao Lingxir, I really don't know how to repay you," the beauty bowed, showing a respect that was very rare in this world.

"No need, I just did it on a whim," Guts replied as he started to leave, he had no reason to be here anymore.

"Thank you Brother Guts!" Seeing her aunt, Xiao Che thanked him as well.

He did not answer, simply raising his hand as he left for the Xia Mansion to rest and regain his strength to continue assimilating his template.

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A/N: I trust you'll find this chapter enjoyable, just as you always do <3

Within these pages, my aim was to infuse a sense of action, underscoring the significance this particular event holds for my character and his approach to the world that envelops him.

Of paramount importance is the aftermath of his presence, casting an enigmatic and oppressive shadow upon the formidable entities in the city. Simultaneously, the more vulnerable inhabitants regard him as a skilled and gifted warrior, adding an air of mystique to his persona.

The chapter delves into the exhibition of the Gluttony ability, spotlighting its utility and potency, particularly in a world teeming with formidable creatures.

While other abilities such as Gura Gura No Mi and Berserker Armor will be shown later in the story so as not to burden the narrative as we are still at the beginning.

As for the harem issue, I honestly don't know and it will be seen during the narrative as I have no future plans on that.

Also, it's very possible that I will add some Au elements in the next chapters, as I want to add some blood legacies for Mc for the future.

On the other hand, if you want to see something specific in the next chapters, or even just have some good advice for the story as a whole, I am always willing to read a comment if it is constructive criticism.

If you see any mistakes, I would be grateful if you would point them out to me, so that I can correct them when I have some spare time, and make the story as complete as possible for myself and especially for you.

To facilitate a clearer understanding, I've retained pictures of the respective characters. Your feedback is always valued, and if you have any suggestions for the upcoming chapter, please feel free to comment—I'll be sure to respond as usual.

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