Three days passed, and today was the fourth day of the festival.
We had already explored most of what the festival had to offer, so from today onward, we decided to start training to improve our coordination.
Our team was divided into two parts — offense and support.
The offense team consisted of me, Long Wei, and Feng Chen since our techniques were mostly attack-oriented.
The support team consisted of Wei Han, Ye Fei, Ye Xiu, and Hei Ming. They focused on long-range attacks and healing techniques.
We went to a nearby forest to fight spirit beasts.
At first, we hunted weaker ones, but after a while, Hei Ming found a beast with the cultivation of 80% Star 3.
The offense team took their stances while the support team began preparing their techniques.
I used Frozen Wind Blade and launched it toward the beast.
Feng Chen used his sword technique, creating ten swords that surrounded and attacked the beast, while Long Wei used his speed to distract it.
Even though we dealt significant damage, the beast still didn't die.
It began learning our attack patterns and started dodging or countering them.
Meanwhile, the support team activated their own attacks.
They weren't strong since their cultivations were lower, but they managed to stun the beast for a short time.
That gave us an opening.
We immediately attacked its vital points.
I aimed for its eyes — my attack landed, and the beast roared in pain before going wild.
It swung its limbs in every direction.
One of its attacks hit me directly, sending me flying into the distance.
Before it could attack again, Feng Chen used his sword technique and cleanly beheaded the beast.
We had defeated an 80% Star 3 beast on our first try.
It was a hard battle — and I couldn't help but wonder, if we were this beaten up by just one beast, how strong must Gu Chaun be to have killed multiple ones like this?
Everyone ran toward me and started healing my injuries.
Fortunately, I wasn't seriously hurt.
After about fifteen minutes, I fully recovered.
It was decided that we would divide the loot equally at the end of each day.
So, we continued hunting more beasts — mostly Star 1 and Star 2, with the occasional Star 3.
By the end of the day, I received the Star 3 beast core, while the others divided the rest among themselves.
That's how the next two days went.
We woke up, talked a bit, headed to the forest, spent the whole day hunting, and then returned to the inn at night.
Day after day, our teamwork improved, and our coordination became smooth.
Soon, we could defeat an 80% Star 3 beast without taking any serious injuries.
By now, I had collected four Star 3 beast cores and five each of Star 1 and Star 2.
I kept all of them for Gu Chaun.
The others, however, used theirs to improve their own cultivation.
Feng Chen remained at the same realm.
Long Wei caught up to me.
Ye Fei and Ye Xiu both advanced to Core Formation Middle Stage, while Hei Ming and Wei Han reached Core Formation Early Stage.
We were confident now.
Confident enough to take on a 100% Star 3 beast.
Even though the perfection realm in human cultivation was hidden behind the Ancient Cultivation Path, spirit beasts had no such restriction since their strength came directly from Qi itself.
So, we went deeper into the forest…
And there — we found it.
A spirit beast equal to perfection in Core Formation stood before us.