Beside the stream, the mountain brook’s water gurgled and chimed. The sound of clear flowing water, paired with the girl’s gentle, sorrowful singing, created a sweet yet incongruous atmosphere that felt completely immersive.

On a rock by the brook, a girl who looked about ten years old crouched by the water’s edge, toiling diligently.

She was small in stature, holding a sharpened machete, deftly processing a buck she had just hunted.

A scene of labor was the most heartwarming.

Crimson blood flowed into the mountain brook, winding and crashing with the stream, gurgling downstream, dragging a ribbon of blood red…

Bai Sui’s mood was stable, even a bit chirpy. She hummed the once wildly popular “Girl Don’t Cry” from the internet of her previous life, then grabbed the buck’s hind neck meat with both hands and plunged it into the water with a splash… a large piece of plump, crimson neck meat was rinsed clean.

After that, she cast a Wind Brushing Technique to lift the neck meat into the air, then used the Fireball Technique to roast and cook it. Finally, she found cumin and fine salt from her spice box, pinched a bit with her thumb, index, and middle fingers, gently rubbed them, and sprinkled just the right amount.

“Mm mm, so fragrant!!”

Bai Sui returned to her shelter, eating the golden roasted venison, her mouth covered in oil, utterly satisfied.

This was the fifteenth day since she had entered the mountains. The first day she spent mainly traveling, and in the following days, she began to enter a state of cultivation. Whether hunting or battling wild beasts that suddenly attacked her, she didn’t dare let her guard down for a single moment these past days, always maintaining a state of high alertness.

In her spare time, she took out the Compendium of Yiyue Techniques and practiced various offensive techniques.

When a “crisis” arose, she engaged in real combat.

This method of learning and practicing at the same time made her feel very fulfilled.

Effort and reward are often proportional. Compared to when she first entered the mountains, Bai Sui was now much more composed in dealing with all kinds of unexpected situations!

Of course, the wild beasts that tried to attack her along the way suffered misfortune; without exception, they were all sacrificed.

She summoned the attribute panel:

[Character: Bai Sui / Bai Sui]

[Lifespan: 10/90 years]

[Cultivation: Qi Refining Third Layer: 19/100]

[Cultivation Art: Qi Drawing Art 'Ordinary': 12/100]

[Skills: Wind Brushing Technique 'Proficient', Fireball Technique 'Proficient', Blazing Fireball 'Initiation', Fire Dragon Shield 'Initiation', Golden Body Technique 'Initiation', Golden Bind 'Initiation', Planting Technique 'Ordinary']

[Talents: Pure Ice Jade Body 'Cultivation Talent, Calm Amidst Collapse']

Looking at her panel, she was even more satisfied.

Now, Bai Sui was already a cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refining.

Compared to the second layer, her lifespan had “increased” by another ten years, and the spiritual power in her body had more than doubled.

At this moment, three clusters of spiritual energy in her dantian intertwined and spiraled, each thick and powerful, blazing white in color, like rolling waves, converging into three roaring spirit dragons, rapidly spinning around the center.

As for her cultivation art, the Qi Drawing Art had officially advanced from the 'Initiation' stage to the 'Ordinary' stage.

Now, every cultivation session drew in spiritual energy from the outside world faster and on a larger scale!

In terms of skills, both the Wind Brushing Technique and the Fireball Technique had reached the 'Proficient' level. The difference was that now, the Wind Brushing Technique could manipulate objects weighing about one ton; and the Fireball Technique had further strengthened—when used at full power, the fireball was the size of a ping-pong ball, dense and blazing white, and upon explosion, could easily destroy a small mound.

Strictly speaking, Bai Sui’s Fireball Technique could no longer be simply called a Fireball Technique, because its power had far surpassed that of other cultivators.

In addition to these two techniques she already mastered, Bai Sui had also learned four new techniques from the Compendium of Techniques: Blazing Fireball, Fire Dragon Shield, Golden Body Technique, and Golden Bind.

Among them, Blazing Fireball was a fire-attribute technique even more offensive than the Fireball Technique. During its execution, the fireball was first compressed, then violently exploded at high speed to achieve area-of-effect damage.

If the Fireball Technique was a point attack, tracing a trajectory and finally exploding to strike the enemy, then Blazing Fireball was an area attack; the killing range of the latter was at least ten times greater, especially suitable for group annihilation.

Of course, there was something Bai Sui actually didn’t know: her Fireball Technique was no longer an ordinary Fireball Technique—it was a mutated version, its power already equivalent to the Blazing Fireball effect of other cultivators, its main feature being its element of surprise.

The new technique “Fire Dragon Shield” was a defensive technique, conjuring a long dragon from flames to form a shield, thereby providing protection.

Golden Body Technique was a metal-attribute passive defensive skill. In case the Fire Dragon Shield failed and the opponent’s attack landed directly on her body, Golden Body Technique could strengthen the body’s resistance to a certain degree—in layman’s terms, it made her more able to take a beating.

The last one, “Golden Bind,” was somewhat similar to the Wind Brushing Technique, also possessing the ability to manipulate objects, but it was more domineering than the Wind Brushing Technique. Like binding with steel and iron bones, it could firmly “bind” the opponent. It was a fairly good restraining-type technique among the metal attribute.

Thus, after adding these four new techniques, Bai Sui could advance to attack and retreat to defend. Her main offensive options were Fireball Technique and Blazing Fireball, her defensive options were Fire Dragon Shield and Golden Body Technique, and she also had Wind Brushing Technique and Golden Bind to restrain opponents.

She could be considered well-equipped in both offense and defense!

Therefore, when faced with wild beasts suddenly bursting out of the forest, she appeared even more at ease and unruffled.

Considering that biting off more than one can chew is unwise, after mastering these four new techniques, she did not extend to other techniques. Instead, she was determined to first thoroughly master the techniques she already had, then integrate them with real combat, completely incorporating them into battle.

Ultimately, no matter how many techniques one knows, they all serve actual combat.

And what she lacked was an efficient real-combat skill.

Thus, Bai Sui’s current goal was very clear: through a method of sustaining combat with combat, rapidly explore and develop a fighting style with her own characteristics.

Once this goal was achieved, her cultivation would be completely transformed into effective combat power; then it wouldn’t be too late to slowly delve into other techniques.

Of course, this couldn’t be accomplished overnight.

* * *

After the meal, she rested briefly, then began practicing the control of various techniques again.

Mastery of work comes from diligence, waste from play; action is achieved through thought, ruined by carelessness.

At any time, slackness leads to regression. Only by cultivating a rigorous and hardworking style can one restrain oneself and constantly remain in an upward trajectory of progress.

Bai Sui deeply understood this principle, so she dared not be lazy.

Just as she was practicing with great enthusiasm, a sharp, piercing cry suddenly came from afar, interrupting her training.

It was the alarm call of an unfamiliar bird, followed by a low tiger’s roar.

Bai Sui froze for a moment, then immediately became highly alert, because just now, from that roar, she faintly sensed an aura of coercion!

And possessing coercion was a characteristic unique to demonic beasts. In other words, there was a demonic beast nearby?!

A jolt of horror shot through her heart, and the fine hairs all over her body stood on end reflexively! Immediately, she leaped onto a large tree and stood on a branch to gaze into the distance.

In her field of view, within the forest sea several hundred meters away, there was indeed some commotion.

Bai Sui saw the treetops shaking over there. Amidst the tiger’s roar and bird’s cry, a cloud of dust rolled up, and the snapping and cracking of tree trunks breaking could be heard continuously.

“The battle is fierce!” she exclaimed, gently pursing her lips, intending to watch a good show. But gradually, she noticed that the distant commotion seemed to be heading her way?

No, it really was coming this way!

She was instantly caught between laughter and tears.

So, just watching a show could bring trouble.