That made me excited. I decided to go back to the river and try to catch more fish.
Fish were the only type of meat I could gather consistently. Facing another beast—especially a spirit beast—was out of the question. Impossible.
So the smart move was to focus on fishing. I got there fast and kept casting, using worms and my simple rod.
This time, luck was on my side. By sunset, I'd caught four fish. A solid haul.
I returned to the cave and decided to give three of them to my spirit beast, saving the last one for myself.
I cooked that one right away for dinner.
The hatching time dropped by more than two hours. Apparently, frequent feeding increased the reduction—like some kind of feeding streak.
In total, I cut 10 hours off the countdown. That was great.
Then the System gave me another message:
[You cannot feed again for the next 48 hours. Please wait.]
So there was a limit. I couldn't just feed endlessly and rush the growth. Not that the timeline wasn't already insanely fast. One week to grow a spirit beast? That was unheard of. If anyone saw this thing hatch from a plant, they'd lose their minds.
Sitting there, warming myself by the fire, I realized my System was far better than I had imagined.
Cultivators often spent insane amounts of money to buy strong spirit beasts as mounts or battle companions. It was a thriving market.
But spirit beasts reproduced at incredibly low rates.
And I… I could plant them?
That basically meant I had an infinite supply. And my System even hinted I could mutate the beasts.
I started picturing a future with an endless source of income. Maybe a comfortable life wasn't so far off after all.
Once again, I slept on the cold, hard ground. Not pleasant—but it was all I had.
The routine stayed the same. I kept going to the river to fetch water, bathe, and fish—for myself and for my planted beast.
And after several days following that rhythm… the creature finally hatched.
The plant had grown far bigger—around six meters tall.
Inside that transparent, slimy cocoon, the baby spirit beast looked almost alien.
Then, without me doing anything, the cocoon cracked—and the creature emerged.
It felt like we were connected from the very first moment. I could sense it. Strange, honestly.
Definitely because of my System.
The creature looked feline. Not overly muscular, but fairly large—slim limbs, agile movements, fluid and graceful.
Even as a newborn, it was roughly the size of a full-grown tiger.
Terrifying. How big would it be when it matured?
But I wouldn't get to see this one grow. I could feel my body calling out to absorb it. That was the core purpose of my System. I couldn't fight that urge.
The System confirmed it:
[As this is your first cultivated spirit beast, you must absorb it while it's still a cub.]
[Future beasts may mature before absorption, allowing for greater power increases.]
[You can maintain up to 3 active beasts at a time. This number may increase in the future.]
[Active beasts are stored in your dantian, and you may use techniques linked to their attributes. Changing active beasts requires a meditation ritual, which may take significant time.]
From what I understood, I could absorb an unlimited number of spirit beasts into my dantian—and that would raise my cultivation level.
While other cultivators drew Qi from the environment through meditation, I would absorb Qi directly from the beasts I cultivated.
On top of that, I'd gain access to techniques linked to the beasts I absorbed. But there was a catch: I could only maintain three active beasts at any given time—meaning I'd only have access to techniques from those three. That number could increase in the future, but for now, I was limited.
Another important point: I still needed to practice those techniques to refine them.
Even though the techniques were embedded in my brain—almost instinctive—it still required effort to execute them with full potential.
That made sense. These weren't spells performed by the beast itself—they were adapted for a cultivator's physiology.
Not too hard to grasp. With time, I'd learn more about the mysterious powers I'd awakened.
And with no better option, I decided to absorb the spirit beast I had cultivated. I was curious—wondering if this might finally heal my damaged spiritual roots.
The moment I touched the creature, I felt Qi surge into my body.
It was the first time I'd ever felt anything like it.
The Qi seemed to focus directly on my spiritual roots—like it was doing everything it could to repair the damage.
Most of the energy was consumed in the healing process. The rest flowed into me and was converted into raw power.
By the time it was over, I felt incredible. It was a sensation I couldn't even begin to describe.
[First Layer of Qi Condensation achieved]
With just that small fraction of remaining energy, I had reached the first layer of Qi Condensation. Not much—not overwhelming or powerful. But it was a beginning.
For someone who'd believed they'd never be able to cultivate… I was beyond proud of myself. And I did it in just one week. That alone felt like an achievement.
On top of that, I gained several enhancements from absorbing my spirit beast.
First, my senses were sharper. I could see and hear more clearly—and now, I could see in the dark too.
My body felt lighter, more agile. I could transform my nails into claws, and leap terrifyingly high.
Climbing trees had never felt so effortless.
Most of the perks leaned toward physical attributes, which made sense. That spirit beast was weak—born from a random bone I'd found in the region.
More powerful beasts came with elemental affinities like fire, water, or lightning. Absorbing one of those would unlock far stronger techniques.
For now, I only had basic ones. But that was already a huge step up from having nothing.
"Time to move on," I said out loud.
That cave had been my home for days. But now it was time to move forward—and reach the nearest city.
I even considered going back to my family and showing them I'd become a cultivator.
But why? How could I explain that my spiritual roots had been repaired?
How could I live with people who had treated me like garbage?
No. Better to go somewhere far away and chase a new life.