Chapter 3: This World, this damned world that knows not mercy (2)
Although Shen Wushang had the guidance of a map, this was still the first time that he'd left the vicinity of the Duke's Mansion. Nonetheless, common sense was carried over with his 50+ year-old soul.
He was fidgeting with Nuada's spear, That he nicknamed after the original Silverlance. Where did he get it? From himself of course. It awakened at birth, yes, he had it even before his spirit eyes.
It didn't follow conventional martial souls as he had it from birth, yet it didn't affect him awakening his spirit eyes at the age of 6. Those six years of waiting were absolutely horrible thanks to his spear, there was always the chance that it would be his only martial soul, he went to bed scared every night but thankfully his worries were soothed when he awakened his Spirit eyes at the age of 6. His spear didn't disappear when he awakened his second martial soul either.
But it was unlike an ordinary martial soul, not in a good way either. Unfortunately, he'd have to come in contact with an average martial soul of the tool category to compare. Due to his rebirth and some incomprehensible soul things, he had gotten this second martial soul, great right. Not really.
His spear was obviously from his original self from earth, but how exactly did his modern soul come to produce another martial soul? He had thought about it extensively but the only cause that made sense to him was that when he fused with the infant soul of Huo Yuhao, it had somehow resulted in this added martial soul.
However, despite being a martial soul, it was a never before seen legendary level 0, inferior to the trashiest trash of martial souls. It was a rank 0 innate spirit, which was only found in ordinary folk without essence of soulforce, in normal cases he shouldn't be able to cultivate but his spirit eyes met the basic requirements to cultivate so he achieved the soul scholar rank. His was truly an odd case with such martial souls.
It seemed that his spear truly wasn't a conventional martial soul otherwise it would have affected his innate soulforce talent at the very least but it had remained unchanged.
It was odd he had two martial souls yet still had a innate soulforce rank of 1. The only possibility was the spear having to do with his past life. It was the only way it made sense to him.
"I've been walking for six days, I should get there soon, or was it seven , seven days sound right that's what I read right, agh let's check the map." Shen Wushang carefully inspected the paper map in his hands, and then looked in the direction where the trees by the roadside pointed to. He determined that he was already very close to the Great Star Dou Forest.
Shen Wushang wiped the sweat off of his forehead as he walked into the woods by the roadside. As soon as he sat down in the shade of a tree, intending to meditate and recover his spirit power, the sound of flowing water suddenly began to reverberate through the air. This sound immediately caused Shen Wushang's ears to perk up.
The presence of water signified that he could improve his lifestyle!
Shen Wushang quickly shut his eyes, and quietly listened for the source of the water. As someone who possessed a spiritual-type martial spirit, his six senses were much stronger than an ordinary person's. This was especially true when he shut his eyes. When he shut his eyes, his other five senses would increase in strength by a margin.
He felt like a sage every time he did it, closing his eyes and sensing the world.
He found his target without walking more than two hundred metres, which turned out to be a small brook approximately three metres wide. The cold water within was so clear that you could see straight to the bottom, and it created both a relaxing and a refreshing feeling.
Shen Wushang let out a relaxed breath, slowly took his shirt and jacket-like coat off, and then instantly jumped into the stream, which wasn't even two feet deep. The last time he'd had a bath was two days ago. The past two days of travelling had covered his body in sweat, and taking a bath in this cold and clear water was simply a pleasure that couldn't be any more relaxing.
After thoroughly bathing, a brilliant feeling was suffused throughout his whole body when he walked out of the stream.
He changed into a clean set of clothes, proceeded to washed his dirty clothes in the stream as well, and then hung them on a nearby tree branch. He then snapped off a tree branch that was approximately three and a half feet long.
He used his right hand to pull a dagger from its sheath at his waist. The dagger was roughly forty centimetres long, and its scabbard was dark green in colour. The scabbard was made of tough leather, though he didn't know whether it was leather from an animal, or from a spirit beast. It was a gift from the duke to his mother, he had half a mind to leave it but he wanted to do things as close as possible to the way they were originally done in this timeline.
He'd ditch it somewhere when the time was right. He didn't want anything from the old sick cat duke. Thank heavens he didn't have a sick cat spirit.
The handle of the dagger was about seventeen centimetres long, and didn't have any gorgeous decorations on it at all—it gave people a simple and unadorned feeling. Not only did it feel natural to hold, it also felt exceptionally comfortable.
It also didn't make any noise when it was unsheathed. The twenty-three centimetre long blade was just like limpid autumn water, and seemed to be transparent.
The 'White Tiger Dagger'. This was the dagger's name, which his mother had told him, it was truly a cool weapon. Too bad about its origins, he had an inexplicable dislike for all things white tiger.
Holding the branch that he'd just snapped off in one hand, Shen Wushang used the White Tiger Dagger to shave the front of it. When the blade, which was releasing a faint blue light, cut into the tree branch, it felt like cutting through tofu. After two or three cuts, the front of the tree branch had been sharpened.
He sheathed the White Tiger Dagger at his waist, and walked back towards the stream with the sharpened branch in hand.
After taking a deep breath, his eyes immediately lit up. All of the minute details in the clear water were magnified within his eyes. He was now able to see the minute changes in the water's ripples—even the small shrimps that lay in-between the cracks in the ground at the bottom of the river couldn't escape the notice of his Spirit Eyes.
Furthermore, everything seemed to slow down as he looked at it.
Suddenly, Shen Wushang made a lightning-fast move, and stabbed the sharpened branch he was holding into the stream.
"Pu—" When he raised his hand back up, and turned the tree branch upwards, a half-feet long mackerel had appeared on the tip of it.
To ordinary people, stabbing a fish was definitely something that required technique.
However, this was something extremely easy for Shen Wushang, who had the aid of the Spirit Eyes to help him accurately determine the position of the fish.
A single small fish was naturally not enough for him. After a few moments of casual labour, he'd stabbed ten mackerels that varied from seventeen centimetres in length, to thirty-three centimetres in length.
"I've intentionally not deviated too much from the original huo yuhao but who knows, if a variable might still occur by my just being here." Naturally, Shen Wushang had enough life experience to plan ahead. He wasn't just taking things on the moment they came.
It was not that he didn't want to deviate from the timeline, but it was too early.
He used the White Tiger Dagger to gut the mackerels. The sharp White Tiger Dagger easily managed to cut through the fish, no matter if it was its scales, chest, or belly. This was no problem at all to Shen Wushang, who'd been doing manual labor with his mother since he was young. The ten fish were all gutted after fifteen minutes.
He looked for some big leaves in the forest and rinsed them off in the river. Then, he placed the gutted fishes on the wet leaves. After that, he found some dry twigs to use as firewood, and started a fire next to the stream after a moment of work.
Shen Wushang only had salt available as a seasoning, but that was enough for something like roasted fish. He stuck the clean mackerels onto a thin branch, and rubbed some salt into their bellies. Then he took some leaves known as Purple Basil out of his bag, which he'd gotten in the forest a few days ago. He washed and separated the Purple Basil before pushing it into the bellies of the fish. Only after this did he start to roast the fish on the grill that he'd created using some thick branches.
Shen Wushang was extremely focused in the process like he was defusing a bomb. Even without his spirit eyes, he'd obsess over every detail, but with them, he obsessed even more. It was the food going in his stomach after all. He had perfected his skill in this world, ever since he was old enough 4 years ago. At first his obsession made him take 3 hours for something that could be done in 30 minutes but eventually he got so proficient, he did it in 30 minutes.
It didn't take long for an unusual smell to spread from the fire that he'd created. The smell was very heavy, and it contained a certain attraction that belonged solely to it. As Shen Wushang slowly rotated the mackerels, they gradually turned golden. This, accompanied with that heavy aroma, was exceptionally enticing.
At first, he only roasted two of the fish and set aside the others. If he had roasted too many of the fish in one go, it would've been quite easy for problems to occur while he was controlling the fire.
"How fragrant!"
A happy and delicate cry echoed out at that moment. The cry sounded both clear and pure, but it still startled Shen Wushang, despite having expected this, it was just too sudden.
He looked towards the source of the sound, and saw two people walking along the side of the stream. The person walking in front was a girl who looked to be around fifteen or sixteen, and had long black hair that was tied into a ponytail behind her. She wore a set of light purple, form-fitting warrior's stylish robes that ended at her knees, which seemed to outline her budding and delicate body that was filled with youth.
She had phoenix-like eyes, which were both big and bright. She also had a raised nose, an almost perfect oval face, and a pretty and delicate face that was slightly happy as she fixed her gaze on Shen Wushang's roasted fish.
The person following behind her was a youth that seemed to be of the same age as her. His slender body was tall and straight, whilst his short, deep blue hair shone with a jade-like luster under the sunlight. Although he wasn't old, he gave people a sort of scholarly feeling. His handsome face had a lazy yet warm smile on it, and his hands were rested on the back of his head. He also gazed in Shen Wushang's direction with an interested look. However, he wasn't looking at the roasted fish, but at Shen Wushang himself.
The girl ran towards Shen Wushang in high spirits. A greedy, hungry look appeared on her face as she said, "Little brother, are you selling this roasted fish? It smells so good! How did you make it?"
He observed her with indifferent eyes, there were more characters that he disliked than he liked within this world, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he disliked 90 percent of the main story's characters, he only kept at it because of the unique cultivation system and well-delivered plot armor.
Tang Ya happened to be on his blacklist because of her personality and he words that stuck with him, she had hated soul beasts that attacked 'first'. What were they supposed to do wait for you to attack them and then retaliate?
Of course, all his biases and prejudices were irrelevant now, after 10 years in this world and a few years in his previous life, he had forgotten most of the emotions he had for these characters, perhaps the word 'forgotten' wasn't right but time had washed away his care. He could act normally now, he judged her with an open mind.
She wasn't an absolute beauty that was perfectly flawless, but she had a sort of outstanding temperament was what she was described as but he had to admit she was even prettier than she was in the manhwa, he had expected things to be different as he was now on the other side of the screen but the artists hadn't drawn any of the characters at a 100%, Tang Ya for instance was 50% better looking in his opinion not to mention he was seeing her in the flesh right now.
He could hear her take breaths as her chest moved up and down, he could feel the energy she gesticulated with as she swung about happily.
'She is quite pretty but she's too young' Shen Wushang's eyes didn't have so much as a ripple as he looked at her appearance, he closed his eyes and munched on his fish.
Seeing Shen Wushang's less than lively reaction to her presence. Tang Ya's momentum stopped. She had figured it would be alright acting friendly with this young boy as he looked pure and immature but upon getting close to him he gave off a different vibe. Serious yet nonchalant, he didn't seem like a person you could kid around with upon your first meeting.
"Can I help you with something?"
Not hearing a response Shen Wushang finally opened his eyes with a slight annoyance.
"Ah!..yes" Tang Ya was still unsure how to deal with this strange kid she had just met. Her response was delayed by a few breaths.
"Are you selling those fish?" She asked with expectant eyes.
"Not for sale, please don't bother me. I'm enjoying the peace and quiet" Shen Wushang answered indifferently as he got up from the log he was sitting on and then sat down on the grass with his back against and a tree that was a few steps away from his original seat.
He took deep breaths ever so often as the smell of nature invigorated him yet flooded him with a sense of peacefulness and bliss. He couldn't help but enjoy the view of the forest like shrubbery as he took his lunch break.
"Are you sure that-" Tang Ya's eyes couldn't leave the mackerel as her nostrils flared as the scent of the fish filled her entire thought process right now, 'With a scent like that it must taste heavenly!'
"Now Now Tang Ya, let's not disturb this young noble while he takes his rest" Before Tang Ya could plead her case for the fish she was stopped by Bei Bei who placed himself between her and Shen Wushang.
Bei Bei was quite observant as he noticed that Shen Wushang carried himself with the slight bearing of a noble. 'It's slight but it's probably not that obvious due to his youth.'
"Hm, noble?" Shen Wushang started laughing.
Bei Bei looked at him and was puzzled by his reaction.
"I'm flattered but I'm afraid you're mistaken, I'm no noble." Shen Wushang met Bei Bei's eyes as he explained the reason behind his laughter.
"I see." Bei Bei wasn't convinced but of course, he had no way of knowing that he was just seeing the faint hints of Shen Wushang when he was a billionaire in his previous.
Shen Wushang had reasoned that this was how he made his conjecture. 'He's quite sharp, it's been ten years and I'm in a new body, i'd thought I had erased that part of myself when I decided to live in this world but it seems it's not completely gone. But to think he'd catch that with just a small clue. I wasn't wrong to be strict and paranoid whilst making 'that' .'
"We'll get out of your way now young brother." Bei Bei smiled as he tugged on Tang Ya making their way further along the path.
"Aw , but I wanted some of those fish." Tang Ya pouted as she placed a finger near her lips as her eyes were glued to the roast fish even while walking away.
Seeing her Shen Wushang was tempted to say 'wait' and throw her a fish due to her pitiful look but he restrained himself in the end, he had a tendency to cook only for his loved ones, it was a habit developed after years in the business world, most acquaintances liked the food made by the world-class chefs he had in his employment. It wasn't some iron rule but going against some of your most natural habits were quite uncomfortable. He wouldn't typically go against his habits unless he had a good reason.
A few metres away,
"Do you really think he was a noble?" Tang Ya looked to the side as she asked Bei Bei who was next to her.
"Yes, but I'm not sure due to his response. His clothes are also a noteworthy point, they are made of different types of fabric, all high quality but most nobles wouldn't patch such obviously mismatched clothes together. While his clothes do look good but nobles would opt for a more refined look. Yet his demeanor was definitely not that of a commoner. Why do you ask?" Bei Bei placed his hand on his chin as contemplated out loud.
"No reason, I just thought I might ask him to join our sect but....maybe not" She shrugged as her eyes wandered to the sky.
"Ah yes, he didn't seem like the type to join us.....you're still thinking about the fish aren't you?" Bei Bei smirked as he saw her dazed expression.
"N-no, I'm not." She blushed as she retorted. Bei Bei laughed in response.
******************
After eating the meal, Shen Wushang had already recovered from his prior exhaustion. He marked the position of the small stream on his map.
After walking forward for a short time, a wooden signboard on the roadside caught his attention.
"You will enter the territory of the Great Star Dou Forest in 50 metres. There are soul beasts roaming around, so please be careful."
Sure enough, he hadn't gotten lost. He was finally about to reach his destination. Hearing of something and experiencing it were two different things, his hands were shaking from the anticipation, excitement and also nervousness.
There was always "What if" him being here already changed things, subtly as he hadn't acted out to this day.
His heart thumped loudly within his chest as he acted just like an eleven-year-old would in his situation. His mental age helped with his decisions but this body was honest, it hadn't been tempered by time and able to hide his emotions perfectly like he could have in his past life.
No stray thoughts, Baboon, Win, Accept, Persevere , Activate Plan S.T.D..
The air gradually turned cool and refreshing, and an extraordinarily serious feeling seemed to exist within it. The Great Star Dou Forest was the first step of his path that was written down in the annals of history.
"Who made this anyway?" He ran his fingers across the wooden sign feeling its uneven surface and even sniffing it. Finding nothing amiss he continued his journey with his legs carrying further inwards.
**************
After cautiously advancing a short while, it happened. His spirit eyes were activated a long time ago and he closed his eyes to walk, focusing on his other senses, his hearing caught the sound and his nose caught the slight smell. He was hugging himself like a scared little girl and shaking while walking. He was half-as he was scared ish. He felt like he was in a horror movie heading towards the danger.
When the figure appeared in his senses he instantly acted and inserted his minuscule soul force in the White tiger dagger, in the instant he turned around his spirit eyes saw a weakness it could exploit and he knelt down and swung the dagger upwards. He felt the dagger come intact with something, the dagger was quite sharp so he didn't feel it roughly ripping the creature's flesh.
It instantly cut the figure in half, upon the dagger extending, the White Tiger Dagger was a spirit tool and could extend with soulforce. The baboons had superb instincts as a spirit beast. It had never seen this white bald twig creature with hair, but it looked tasty so it attacked, after all what could a 10 year baboon know about spirit masters, much less that they could kill him quite easily so if it did meet one, its fate was sealed.
A faint white light had appeared over the baboon. It slowly and gradually began to condense into a white halo above its body. The halo wasn't clear, and the light was also only faintly discernible.
He finally had a good look at the baboon, earlier he was mostly relying on his other senses and only used his eyes for an instant, he didn't have 360 vision after all.
It was a baboon that was roughly one metre tall. Its body was covered in light brown fur, and its eyes were brown in colour. It had two arms that were oddly long, and sharp fingernails on its claws. Its canine teeth were exposed from its lips, and a savage light was present in its eyes.
Truly, a savage creature but everything had a right to live nonetheless, this world does not know the meaning of mercy, this world was damned, as both humans and animals have 'killer instincts'.
Just thinking about it reminded of hollow Ichigo's speech on instinct which gave him chills.
"Sorry for cheating baboon but unfortunately I knew you were going to attack so the element of surprise was mine, it's the famous mantis stalks the cicada unaware of the Orioles behind oh no my mistake, it's pig eat tiger." He acted cool while if you looked closely he shaking in fear, his body was honest, he hadn't killed anything in his life save ants and mosquitos.
His whole body was tingly with fear and adrenaline. Talking cool and acting tough even when he wasn't was the de facto Shen Wushang response. It had developed to a reflex over the many decades though it was usually an internal monologue.
He added mentally, of course, I'm not actually sorry and I'm just saying that. Talking to himself helped calmed his nerves. It was a technique developed from being a part loner. All loners talked to themselves in their minds on a regular basis, while average people also talked to themselves it wasn't as frequent as loners. His wealth hadn't gotten him many friends and instead lost him some, so he was used to being alone.
"Tss-" He let out a slightly pained sound as he looked at his arm below his rolled up sleeves, he had predicted the movements of the baboon accurately but he misjudged the force due to his inexperience when he thrust the dagger into its flesh the force from its forward rush and the resistance of its flesh and muscles caused his hands to tremble and the dagger roughly ground against his palms, the imbalance caused him to be scraped by its claws, three 30 centimetre shallow blood-colored lines were now on his right arm signifying his scrapes.
He didn't even hit its chest where he intended, he sliced the wrong part but thankfully it still suffered a grave injury and died from losing such a large piece of its body.
He ignored the pain to focus on the mysterious scene happening before him, the formation of a soul ring.
"So that's the fabled Soul ring," Shen Wushang inspected the ring to find some faintly discernible patterns present but the halo was too strong for him to see it properly, even with his eyes. It was strange, like a pure white halo from the high noon that didn't burn your pupils. It had a gentle soft light.
However the halo dimmed after a few seconds, his spirit eyes saw that it was composed entirely of light but was that all that there was to it? It shouldn't be, right? Spirit rings were an important part of this world so how could they be just light? There must be more to it. The halo gave off slight strands of soulforce like a block of ice emanating chilly air.
Soul rings were necessary items for soul masters to advance in rank. However, not all soul rings were suitable for soul masters to absorb. Only a soul ring that had high compatibility with the soul master's martial soul could be absorbed, for the best results.
Shen Wushang's heartbeat was still erratic but it was beating loudly to a different tune from the nervousness and fear in the prior moments, his eyes shone as he felt the electricity of anticipation and wonder flood his senses as he experienced something else 'new'.
"Haha...." This is truly a fantasy world, even after spending ten years here its still hasn't really sunken in, so many wonders, so many new things! Shen Wushang clenched his fists in excitement while his facial muscles couldn't help but form a smile from the joy.
'When was the last time I was so frequently and genuinely carefree and happy, it's like reading or watching my favorite webtoon or anime for the first time again. The uncontrollable excitement and thirst for more mixed with the satisfaction!'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone