In the distance stretched the endless sea, its rippling waves gently soaking into the gray canvas of the sky.
"So it really is…the ocean."
"Am I…on an island?!"
At the mouth of a cave atop a mountain, Yoriichi Tsugikuni stood wearing only a tattered pair of hemp shorts and a crude, sleeveless animal-hide vest. He stood on the rocky ledge outside the cave, gazing out across the horizon.
This world's climate was bizarre. Only last night, the cold wind outside the cave had been bone-chilling, yet as soon as morning arrived, the temperature had warmed dramatically. The strange, abrupt changes left Yoriichi momentarily bewildered.
"First things first…I should check out the surrounding area."
Taking a few deep breaths of fresh morning air, Yoriichi stepped back into the cave. Not long after, he emerged once more, sword in hand, casting watchful glances around him as he followed the only narrow path leading down from the cave.
It was clear the cave's previous occupant had lived there for quite some time. Around the cave entrance were obvious signs of human activity and cleared space.
Before long, Yoriichi's figure disappeared into the dense forest.
It was a primeval forest, filled with towering ancient trees reaching high into the heavens.
Branches intertwined above, and a canopy of lush, green leaves spread like a jade cloud, entirely obscuring the blue sky. As the sea breeze blew through, the leaves rustled with a sound like the sigh of a great dragon.
As he made his way forward, Yoriichi encountered many bizarre plants he'd never seen before. He was often drawn to these strange specimens, pausing here and there to examine them not merely out of curiosity, but because he was searching for any familiar fruits he might use to stave off hunger.
Yoriichi hadn't forgotten the scene in the cave the previous night. Apart from that bowl of unappetizing mush, there was virtually nothing in there that could be called food. If he had any other choice, he definitely didn't want to resort to eating that paste.
Unfortunately, despite his careful search, he saw no trees bearing edible-looking fruit.
"ROAR!!!"
Suddenly, a fierce roar split the silence of the forest. In the next instant, a foul wind gusted toward Yoriichi.
On instinct, Yoriichi sprang backward, the tips of his toes brushing the ground as he leapt several meters away. The moment he left his original spot, a massive claw slammed down, smashing the earth into a web of deep cracks.
"What the hell is that?!"
Peering intently through the foliage, he saw a colossal tiger emerge before him, nearly ten meters in length.
But this tiger was far beyond anything Yoriichi knew. Its monstrous size was astonishing enough, but even more shocking were the two huge fangs protruding from either side of its maw, each nearly half a meter long, glinting as they swayed in the air.
Staring into the tiger's ferocious eyes, Yoriichi felt the hair on his body stand on end despite himself. Almost without realizing it, he had already drawn his sword from its scabbard, his expression deadly serious as he faced this enormous creature.
"ROAR!!!"
The tiger roared again. Having missed with its first strike, it lunged forward, closing the distance in a heartbeat. Its massive forepaws slashed down at Yoriichi, claws cleaving the air like blades, accompanied by a pungent, fishy stench so strong it made Yoriichi momentarily catch his breath.
Who knew how many animals had fallen victim to those deadly claws?
Yet in the critical instant, Yoriichi's mind became perfectly clear. His breathing unconsciously shifted into a precise rhythm.
Suddenly, the tiger's movements seemed to slow before his eyes, and the entire world around him transformed utterly.
Transparent World.
By focusing and suppressing unnecessary senses, the bodies of living beings appeared nearly translucent. Movement speed, predictions of attacks, and evasive maneuvers all became far sharper. Even the flow of blood through an enemy's lungs and the contractions of their muscles became vividly clear. When needed, even his battle aura could be suppressed at will. To Yoriichi, the enemy's actions seemed to move in slow motion.
In this new world, Yoriichi had awakened a terrifying talent that felt almost as though he had been born with it. In his perception, every organ in the tiger's body became visible in intricate detail. Its massive heart throbbed with immense vitality, expanding and contracting with powerful force.
If he had to compare it to anything, Yoriichi thought the tiger's heart pulsed with a vitality nearly on par with that of the Lower Moon demon he had once slain in his previous life.
"I can see it. Just like before… I can see everything!"
"Sun Breathing First Form Dance of the Fire God!"
At the sight of this familiar vision, all tension drained from Yoriichi's body. In an instant, he swung his blade three times. The tiger's enormous claws, which moments earlier had been slashing toward him like runaway beasts, now swished harmlessly past on either side.
In the next heartbeat, a spray of blood erupted, splattering across the forest floor, filling the air with the sharp scent of iron.
Thud!
The tiger collapsed to the ground with a heavy crash, blood soaking the soil beneath it.
Its massive body lay motionless. Both of its forelegs had been severed cleanly at the base, leaving smooth, even cuts. Blood poured from the wounds in torrents. At the same time, a long, gaping gash split the great beast's head, dark blood oozing out like syrup.
Given wounds like these, it was no wonder even such a monstrous tiger had died instantly.
Yoriichi was about to sheath his sword and step forward for a closer look when he suddenly paused, sensing something overhead. He tilted his head back and looked upward.
WHOOSH!
A tremendous noise burst from the canopy above.
A monstrous bird tore through the dense branches and dove downward. In the blink of an eye, a shadow swept past Yoriichi. The creature's talons clamped onto the tiger's corpse. With a powerful beat of its wings, it lifted the tiger's body into the sky, vanishing from Yoriichi's sight in an instant.
"What kind of world… is this?"
Yoriichi stood frozen, stunned by the bizarre turn of events. If he wasn't mistaken, the bird that had just swooped down had a wingspan easily approaching twenty meters. Such a creature was utterly unlike anything he had ever seen before. The vitality of its massive heart surpassed even that of the tiger he had just fought.
It even rivaled the level of a mid-tier Lower Moon demon, at least in terms of sheer life force.
Of course, vitality alone didn't necessarily equate to actual combat strength.
Encountering two such extraordinary creatures in rapid succession left Yoriichi burning with curiosity about the world in which he had landed. Just what kind of world could give rise to beasts so strange and powerful?
Moreover, his current body seemed perfectly capable of sustaining Total Concentration Breathing at all times, without the slightest strain. The flow of his sword strikes felt even smoother than it ever had before.
His earlier dodge to escape the tiger's attack had been purely instinctive.
Without a doubt, this body of his in this new world was even stronger than the one he had possessed in his previous life!
All these clues began piecing themselves together in Yoriichi's mind, leading him to a tentative suspicion.
"Could it be… is this a cultivation world?"
With that thought circling in his head, Yoriichi wandered over to the place where the tiger's severed limbs lay. Although calling them "paws" hardly seemed accurate, since he had sliced them off at the very base. Perhaps "tiger legs" was a better description.
Each of the tiger's legs measured three or four meters long, and by weight, they were undoubtedly immense.
"They… should be edible, right?"
"At the very least, I've gotten some spoils out of this. I won't have to try eating that paste again."
"If this really is a cultivation world, this thing probably counts as a spirit beast, doesn't it? Especially given its size."
"I wonder if spirit beast meat is truly as miraculous as the stories say. Eat a single meal and become strong enough to run up five flights of stairs without even getting winded…"
Muttering to himself, Yoriichi prepared to slice some meat from one of the tiger's legs. But as he stepped closer, an absurd idea suddenly popped into his mind.
Instead of using his sword, he slid it back into its scabbard, then bent down and wrapped his arms around one of the tiger's legs, gripping it as if to lift it.
Originally, he hadn't expected much. He'd only intended to test it out.
But as he heaved upward, Yoriichi was astonished to find the tiger's massive leg completely lifted off the ground. Even more incredibly, he felt no strain at all.
"What is this monstrous strength?!"
Yoriichi was utterly baffled by the tremendous power in his own body. He had no idea where it came from. But after a moment, he simply shrugged it off. After all, he'd already been through two reincarnations. Compared to transmigrating across worlds, having superhuman strength hardly seemed unusual.
Yoriichi chalked it up to the blessings of the heavens. Perhaps, he mused, heaven's favorite child wasn't necessarily that brat who liked drinking beast milk…