Emerging from the single-story building, Mel was subjected to the mocking laughter of the mortals as he walked toward the door. Having heard Cantankerous Hanry's final words, these individuals treated the boy as though he were worthless.
"I can't stray from Grandpa's teachings; let them think I'm weak, what does it matter? I know how strong I am, and that's enough for me."
Because Mel had learned at a young age not to let the judgments of others cloud his mind, he remained unfazed by the demeanor of the settlement's denizens.
"But this is the first time I've heard of these cultivation realms. It would be smart to learn how their power ranks."
Having established his priority, Mel walked toward the massive gates leading beyond the towering walls; he intended to reach the dense forest visible in the distance, paying no heed to the descending dusk.
"Kid, where do you think you're going?"
Attempting to exit through the very gate he had arrived from, Mel was halted by one of the guards from that morning.
"I'm going into the forest."
Upon hearing the response, the guard with the coarse mustache raised a single brow and scrutinized Mel for a time.
"You're the boy from this morning who didn't have any beast cores. Were you able to register?"
Mel reached into his robes and presented the small jade stone; it was the sole artifact that would grant him seamless passage in and out of the settlement.
"Good. But like I warned you before, the absolute weakest beasts in that forest are creatures that have managed to circulate the power of nature through their flesh. You don't have a shred of spiritual power; how do you plan to survive?"
The man may have been stern, his duties preventing him from forming warm relations with others, but he took it upon himself to warn the boy a second time.
"Thank you, guard brother, but I'm going anyway. I was born in a mountain village, and I've lived in a forest for the past three years. If I realize I can't defend myself, I'll run back here right away!"
After listening to Mel's words, the man offered a faint smile. Gesturing to the other guard, he pulled the young boy he was trying to reason with aside.
"Listen to me, young man. You're full of excitement, thinking you can do anything, but the real world doesn't work the way you imagine. A year ago, my own son said the exact same things as you and went into that forest."
"He was ambitious, and as a body cultivator, he was way ahead of his peers. He wanted to join the academy, but we didn't have the money to buy a recommendation medallion. So, he tried to hunt beast cores to earn his way in."
"You probably don't know, but to enter the martial division, you either need a recommendation medallion from a powerful faction, or you have to bring back twenty beast cores from the forest surrounding the settlement!"
"My son had to choose the second path, and the day after he left, he collapsed into my arms right at this very gate, covered in his own blood!"
Mel listened to the tale without drawing a breath; the shifting expressions on the man's face convinced him this was no fabricated story.
"What happened to your son, guard brother?"
At this question, the man, built like a mountain, seemed to shrink. He clenched his fists so fiercely that the grinding of his bones could be heard.
"He's been bedridden since that day, suffering from wounds that normal medicines can't heal. And we don't have the money for high-tier elixirs. Every single day, I lie to him, telling him he'll heal and join the trials next year."
"I lie to my own son so he can live. I lie to my crippled son so he can hold on to life until he turns sixteen, the final age limit to join the academy!"
The man, who had restrained himself to the absolute limit, began to weep; he had poured out everything he had harbored for a year to a peasant boy he had only just met.
"Don't lose hope, guard brother; the darkest hour is just before the dawn. In two days, I'll be here at daybreak. Wait for me!"
Offering a few more words of solace to the grief-stricken man, Mel turned his gaze toward the verdant domain ruled by dense flora. Darkness had fallen completely, and many mortals were hurrying back toward the safety of the settlement.
"If they want beast cores from this specific forest for the academy trials, it means the cores of the creatures living inside can be easily recognized. If I can hunt a few, I can ask the guard to figure out their cultivation tiers for me!"
Having formulated his plan, Mel heightened his senses to their absolute limits and stepped onto the damp soil of the forest. The atmosphere was chilling enough to make one's flesh crawl; he walked with measured steps through a domain enveloped by towering trees.
"The plants here already see me as a threat; I can feel their unrest. Since the houses in the settlement are built from their kind, they aren't completely wrong. Trying to commune with them would be a fool's errand!"
Mel walked while assessing his situation. Meanwhile, subtle ridges began to form on the earth trailing behind him.
From the ridges extending in a long, slender line, a pale green light flickered intermittently. When it closed to within a few meters of the boy, a head bearing twin fangs launched toward its target like a loose arrow.
It was hurtling straight toward the nape of Mel's neck; a serpent as thick as a mortal's arm. The twin fangs dripping from its laterally hinged jaw were about to sink into the defenseless flesh, but there was a crucial detail the wild beast remained oblivious to.
Mel spun with the speed of lightning; his right hand, morphed into the Dragon Claw, snatched the serpent by the throat in an instant. Its forked tongue protruded from its maw, and as the dark green venom dripping from its fangs corroded the earth beneath, Mel fixed his piercing gaze upon it.
"So you're the first wild beast to step into the Killing Cycle; you're going to die by my hands!"
When he crushed with his right hand, an agonizing hiss resonated through the forest; the serpent's head and body were severed into two distinct pieces. Without bothering to extract its core, Mel stored the beast entirely within his Spatial Ring; the scent of blood permeating the air filled him with unease.
"That shriek it let out before dying wasn't from pain; it's calling for revenge. Combined with the smell of blood, I'll become a sitting duck. I have to leave this place right now!"
Mel had acquired profound wisdom within the forest his grandfather had prepared for him. Ever since the day he was forced to flee from the ambush of the wolves, finding salvation only through the aid of the tree rising within his refined cavern, his hunting prowess had ascended to new heights.
While repositioning, Mel touched the scar upon his face. He performed this gesture whenever he secured a victory; he had adopted this ritual to guard his spirit against the poison of arrogance.
His intuition proved correct. At the exact spot where the serpent he had caught and slain during its insidious ambush unleashed its final shriek, over twenty serpents converged. They could sense the scent of blood, yet there was not a single trace of their kin's lifeless body.
"Catching the serpent was easy, thanks to Grandpa's archives. The ancient texts had exact knowledge about creatures I'd never even seen; otherwise, I never would have noticed the wild beast coming from underground!"
Mel never neglected to evaluate his circumstances after concluding a battle. Regardless of victory or defeat, he scrutinized his every action, discerning the flawless from the flawed.
"The serpents moving around is going to alert the other creatures; they all know an intruder is in their forest. The real test starts now. We have two days; let's see what fate has in store!"