Compared to the low-grade crystal cores, these were twice as effective, but John still didn’t think much of them.
He led the group as they wandered through the mountains and forests.
In one day, they had killed over two hundred beasts, mostly Demon Wolves and Razorback Boars.
Among them, there were also three Saber-toothed Tigers and one Earth Bear.
Saber-toothed Tigers were high-tier beasts, while Earth Bears were already low-tier Spirit
Beasts.
Above beasts were Spirit Beasts.
However, the Spirit Beasts of this world were quite different from those of Shadow Star; their strength was far weaker. They were roughly ranked between tier 4 and tier 6.
Above Spirit Beasts were Demon Beasts, ranked from tier 1 to tier 9.
A tier 1 Demon Beast was equivalent to the strength of a tier 7 creature, and so on.
Demon Beasts dwelled deep in the forests, and John wasn’t strong enough to face them yet, so he didn’t venture further.
“Let’s go,” he said, as the sky began to darken. The group made their way back to the village. At the forest’s edge, they killed two Giant-Horned Deer and one Green Bull Monster.
These creatures were the village’s food source.
The Giant-Horned Deer and Green Bull Monsters weren’t even considered beasts, so they didn’t require John’s intervention, and the group easily handled them.
Carrying the carcasses of their prey, their faces were filled with smiles as they returned.
Their haul far greater than in any half-month period-no, perhaps even more than in six months.
When they arrived back at the village, night had fully fallen, and several figures were waiting at the village entrance.
Among them were the village chief, Jackey, and Spoorate.
“Big Brother!” Spoorate called out, recognizing John, running toward him with excitement. “Eh, you’re covered in blood. Are you injured?” she asked, concerned.
“It’s fine, it’s just the blood of the beasts,” John explained with a smile.
“Hmph, you’re so concerned about your man. Little girl, looks like you’re in heat,” a woman sneered from the side.
Smack!
A sharp slap rang out, and a man stepped forward from behind John, slapping the woman across the face.
“You… you dare slap me?” The woman, holding her reddening cheek, was stunned. Her eyes widened in fury as she glared at the man before her.
“Shut your mouth. If you dare disrespect the lord again, I’ll tear that mouth of yours apart!” the man growled, his anger flaring. His woman had been far too ungrateful. He had seen John’s terrifying power.
Offending someone like him? Even if they were torn apart by a Demon Wolf, it would be a pointless death.
Jackey frowned, noticing the drastic change in the group’s attitude toward John.
There was awe, admiration, even a hint of fear.
He couldn’t help but be curious about what had happened that day.
“Eh? What’s wrong with Cena?” He finally noticed Cena, who was standing aside, and asked in confusion.
One person quickly explained, “Village Chief, this guy tried to secretly harm Lord John. Thankfully, Lord John is powerful; otherwise, we would all be dead by now.”
Thud!
Cena, his hands bound by ropes, collapsed to the ground and begged, “Village Chief, I know I was wrong. Please spare my life and don’t exile me.”
He knelt there, his backside sticking up comically as he struggled but couldn’t rise again. “Shut up. The fact that you’re still alive is already a huge mercy from the lord. And you still dare to beg for mercy!” One person angrily kicked him in the rear.
“That’s right! He must be exiled!” Several others were furious, with no room for debate. Jackey frowned. He didn’t want to exile Cena.
He was the strongest in the village, and John’s strength was likely formidable as well, but John couldn’t stay here forever.
If Cena were exiled, the village might not be able to deliver its tribute on time in the future, and it could even cease to exist.
However, everyone’s attitude was so unified. It seemed Cena had really incurred the wrath of the people.
After a moment of thought, Jackey spoke, “John, I think Cena was just confused for a moment. How about sparing him this time?”
He didn’t like Cena, but as the village chief, he had to consider the village’s future.
“Yes, yes! I was wrong, Lord! Please spare me, I promise I’ll never do it again!” Cena, seeing a glimmer of hope, struggled and crawled towards John.
“Do as you wish.” John frowned and didn’t say much more.
Cena was a resident of Apricot Village, and John didn’t want to get involved in their internal affairs.
The others were dissatisfied, but since both John and the Village Chief had spoken, they didn’t say anything further.
“Cena,” Jackey said, “Though I won’t exile you, there will still be a punishment. You’ll be on patrol for a month.”
“Yes, yes!” Cena eagerly agreed, but no one noticed the flicker of resentment that flashed across his dirt-smeared face.
“Big Brother, I’ll go boil some water for your bath,” Spoorate called out, then ran back
toward the village.
Sigh Jackey watched this scene with a helpless sigh. The little girl was clearly developing
feelings for John.
But he could sense that they were from different worlds.
John would leave Apricot Village sooner or later.
“Village Chief, here are the spoils from this trip,” John said, taking out the Beast Crystals he
had collected and handing them to Jackey.
“Th-this many?” Jackey exclaimed in shock.
There were more than two hundred crystals, most of them mid-grade.
There were even three high-grade crystals and one low-grade one.
This many crystals would be enough to supply their village for half a year.
“Did you hunt all of these?” Jackey couldn’t help but swallow, realizing why everyone showed
such reverence toward John.
He knew the strength of the village’s hunters well enough-none of them could even deal with the Blood Fiend Wolves, let alone hunt high-level beasts or spirit beasts.
His gaze involuntarily shifted to Cena, wondering if the punishment had been too light for
him.
The words had already been said, and there was no turning back.
“Village Chief, Lord John is truly powerful,” several of the villagers eagerly chimed in,
excitedly recounting John’s feats that day.
Two arrows to kill the Fang Boars, a punch to kill a Blood Fiend Wolf, tearing a Blood Fiend Wolf apart with his bare hands, and single-handedly killing a Saber-Tooth Tiger…
Everyone was stunned, feeling as if they were in a dream.
John quietly slipped away. Most of what they said was true, but there were definitely some
exaggerations.
Though, even with their exaggeration, he could have done it-all of it-once. But that was in
the past.
“Big Brother, I’ve prepared hot water for you,” Spoorate eagerly said as she offered John the bath water, even wanting to help him bathe.
John was startled and quickly sent the little girl out, settling into the warm water, his face
relaxing in comfort.
He hadn’t properly bathed in a long time. After his cultivation improved, if he got dirty, a simple water-washing spell was enough to clean him.
“I wonder where Sini and the others are…” he thought with concern, deciding that once he obtained an identity, he would leave and search for Sini and the others.
…
In the village square, a bonfire was lit, and a group of people gathered around, cheering. Today’s hunt had been a great success, so they had started a bonfire party.
John didn’t want to participate, but since he was the guest of honor, and Spoorate insisted, he
reluctantly agreed.
The group danced around the fire, performing what seemed to be a traditional dance from
their tribe.
Unable to resist Spoorate’s persistence, John reluctantly joined in for a dance.
Laughter and music filled the air, but in the dark corner of the village, Cena watched the festivities with a grim expression, resentment beginning to fester in his heart. “Damn it, I’ve never been so humiliated. I will have my revenge!” he gritted his teeth.
Though he wasn’t a match for John, he could seek help from others. Some villages were
notorious for their brutality, burning, killing, and pillaging for tribute.
If he could find those people, revenge would be his.
“Just wait. All of you will die!” He took a deep breath, preparing his weapons and equipment,
then quietly left the village while no one was paying attention.
The celebration lasted well into the night, and people slowly began to disperse.
Cena’s disappearance wasn’t noticed until the next morning.
“Cena is gone?” Jackey furrowed his brow as he listened to the villagers’ report. “Forget it.
Let him go. He was supposed to be exiled anyway.”
He couldn’t be bothered to send anyone to search for him.
…
In the following days, John didn’t stay idle. He went into the mountains and forests, hunting beasts to restore his strength.
After Spoorate learned of John’s strength, she insisted on following him, and even Old Village
Chief Jackey couldn’t stop her.
Having witnessed John’s power firsthand, Jackey no longer tried to stop her. He allowed the
little girl to do as she pleased.
In four days, John had hunted over a thousand beasts, and his four main attributes had all risen to several hundred thousand.
His strength attribute had reached 170,000, while his mental attribute had also risen to
140,000. However, his comprehension of the laws had not yet recovered, so he couldn’t use any skills. The boost from his mental attribute wasn’t of much help.
At this point, John’s strength was barely enough to fight a first-tier magical beast. As long as
he was cautious in the wilderness, he wouldn’t be in any danger.
“Big Brother, do you really not need these crystal cores?” Spoorate, with a pile of crystal cores
in her arms, trotted after John and asked once again.
“I don’t need them.” John dismissed them with a wave.
Even powerful high-grade crystal cores only raised his attributes by 0.5 points.
He could casually kill a beast and recover a thousand points in each of his four main
attributes.
John glanced at the little girl and said, “Aren’t you trying to improve your strength? You can refine these crystal cores yourself, or give them to the old village chief.” “Well, I think I’ll give them to Grandpa instead.” Spoorate hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to hand them over to the old village chief.
John thought the little girl was a bit naive and advised, “You could refine them yourself. If your strength improves, you can hunt more beasts and better protect the village.” “Mmm… I still want to give them to Grandpa.” Spoorate blinked her eyes, clearly having her
own plans.
She already knew that John was going to leave, and she wanted to go with him. If she left the crystal cores with the old village chief, it would ease some of the village’s burdens. “Suit yourself. These crystal cores are yours, you can decide how to use them.” John didn’t
know what the little girl was planning, so he didn’t press the matter further.
As the sun set, the two of them made their way back to the village.
The harvest from the past few days of hunting had been plentiful, and the villagers were
enjoying better days. They celebrated with song and dance nearly every night. John didn’t participate, instead asking the old village chief about the situation on the Continent of Chaos.