After placing the Sky-Rending Tiger's corpse into his storage ring, Wu Tian immediately left the area to rest. He traveled some distance until he found a place he deemed sufficiently safe.
There, Wu Tian took out the tent he had rented from Huang Pao. In an instant, a four-meter-wide tent materialized and stood firmly upon the ground. Wu Tian stepped inside without hesitation.
The moment he entered, his body collapsed, and he lost consciousness, falling heavily to the ground.
Time passed.
Eventually, Wu Tian slowly opened his eyes. His entire body ached intensely. Breathing heavily, he propped himself up and struggled to sit upright.
"How long was I unconscious?" Wu Tian asked.
"You slept for a full day," Soul Reaver replied.
Wu Tian wasn't particularly surprised. After a brief pause, he asked again, a trace of concern in his voice, "Are there any side effects from using Qi Reaver before it has fully merged with my body?"
"There are no side effects," Soul Reaver answered flatly. "You'll only suffer extreme pain—just like what you experienced."
Wu Tian nodded lightly. He immediately stuffed all the healing herbs he possessed into his mouth. Once he felt slightly better, he sat down in a cultivation posture and began attempting to break through to Qi Condensation Level Three.
Within just a few breaths, Wu Tian successfully broke through to the peak of Qi Condensation Level Three. Even so, dissatisfaction was clearly written on his face.
"Still too slow… I must reach the peak of Qi Condensation within the next few months," Wu Tian muttered, fully aware of how urgent his situation was.
Not long after, Wu Tian returned to the Sky-Rending Tiger's cave, intending to loot whatever treasures remained inside.
The moment he stepped in, his footsteps came to a halt.
Inside the cave, he saw a small tiger cub curled up in fear, sleeping. Its fur was snow-white, adorned with faint blue stripes. The sight caused Wu Tian to smile gently—the tiny creature looked irresistibly adorable.
However, that smile quickly faded, replaced by a cold expression.
Wu Tian stepped closer and placed his hand atop the Sky-Rending Tiger cub's head, intending to erase its memories. But just as he was about to channel his spiritual power, a sudden surge of awareness struck his mind, forcing him to stop.
At first, Wu Tian had indeed planned to brainwash the cub. Yet doubt crept in. What if one day it uncovered the truth? Even if it never did, Wu Tian still felt that what he was about to do was fundamentally wrong.
"I don't want to kill it… and I don't want to erase its memories either. But I'm afraid that one day, it could become—or bring—a threat to me," Wu Tian sighed, caught in a dilemma.
"Why make something simple so troublesome?" Soul Reaver scoffed. "Sell the cub for a few spirit stones. Or if you're that worried, kill it and sell the corpse."
Wu Tian ignored Soul Reaver entirely.
With a light wave of his hand, he formed a spiritual barrier around the cub, preventing it from waking. After ensuring the cave had been completely emptied, Wu Tian lifted the Sky-Rending Tiger cub into his arms and flew away, heading toward Sky Cloud City.
Upon reaching the forest's entrance, Wu Tian was immediately greeted by Huang Paoyang, who flew toward him with a broad smile.
Huang Pao's gaze first landed on the cub in Wu Tian's arms before shifting back to Wu Tian's face."Brother Wu, how was today's hunt?"
"Quite good. I had a bountiful harvest," Wu Tian replied amicably.
Huang Pao's expression subtly changed. With a hint of concern, he asked,"Brother Wu… if I'm not mistaken, the tiger in your arms is the offspring of a fourth-rank Sky-Rending Tiger, isn't it?"
"You're right," Wu Tian answered casually.
Huang Pao took a deep breath."I know you possess certain abilities that allow you to bring such a cub out alive. Still, I strongly advise you not to enter this forest again until you reach the Golden Core Realm."
"Thank you for the advice, Brother Huang," Wu Tian said with a nod. "By the way, I have several demon beast corpses to sell. I'm in a bit of a hurry—could I trouble you to deliver them to the Hunter Association for me?"
Huang Pao let out a small sigh of relief, glad that Wu Tian was willing to heed advice."Very well. Where's your hunting storage ring? I'll take it there and return it to you afterward."
"Sorry, Brother Huang, but I don't have a special hunting storage ring," Wu Tian replied. "I'll release the corpse here and hand it directly to you."
Wu Tian descended to the ground and released the Sky-Rending Tiger's corpse from his storage ring.
"This was my only catch today," he said calmly. "You can find me later at the Cloud Medicine Pavilion. Farewell."
With that, Wu Tian departed toward the Cloud Medicine Pavilion within Sky Cloud City.
Huang Pao stepped closer to the corpse, his expression frozen in shock. He reached out, touching the thick fur of the demon beast, his eyes widening dramatically.
"THIS… THIS IS REALLY A SKY-RENDING TIGER CORPSE!!!" he shouted in disbelief.
As usual, when Wu Tian entered the Cloud Medicine Pavilion, he was warmly greeted by the smiling attendants. Over the past few days, his relationship with them had grown quite close, given how often he visited to see Lu Qingyao.
"Wu Tian, where did you get such an adorable little creature?" one attendant asked as she ran toward him.
Another hurried over, eyes sparkling as she gently stroked the cub in Wu Tian's arms."Wu Tian, I didn't know you liked animals too!"
"How many times must I say it? Don't address customers by their names so casually!" Lu Qingyao's voice rang out from behind them—more weary than angry.
Wu Tian laughed at the scene."It's fine. We know each other well enough by now," he said lightly. "Anyway, I'm here to purchase a pill that can help me break through to mid-stage Qi Condensation."
The room instantly fell silent.
Recovering from her shock, Lu Qingyao stepped forward and grasped Wu Tian's wrist. A gentle stream of spiritual energy flowed into his body as she examined him carefully.
"His cultivation is stable… no traces of demonic arts," she murmured. Then she coughed lightly, her face flushing faintly. "And… the Yang Qi within your body is still intact."
"WHAT?!"
Wu Tian and the attendants exclaimed in unison.
Every gaze in the room instantly locked onto him, filled with shock and curiosity.
"I mean—why would you think I practice demonic arts?" Wu Tian laughed stiffly, trying to ease the atmosphere.
"That's right!" one attendant chimed in. "How could you advance from early Foundation Establishment to mid Qi Condensation in just a few weeks?"
"And you haven't used demonic techniques or dual cultivation either," another added.
'I don't know either, ladies. I thought this bastard had lived quite a colorful life before I took over his body, Wu Tian muttered inwardly.'
Wu Tian himself was stunned. He had assumed the previous owner of this body was experienced. Yet the truth was… that man had also been a virgin—just like him.
'His memories of that night are blurry. Could alcohol have erased everything? So what—did he hire courtesans and not even touch them?'
Wu Tian quickly pushed those ridiculous thoughts aside and refocused.
"I was simply fortunate enough to obtain some items that aided my cultivation," he said calmly. "Besides, as I've mentioned before, I spent years tempering my foundation before choosing to break through."
The attendants nodded, clearly uninterested in probing further. At Wu Tian's subtle glance, the two attendants immediately understood and withdrew, leaving him alone with Lu Qingyao.
"Miss Lu," Wu Tian said softly, lifting the tiger cub in his arms, "I wish to entrust this cub to you. Please… accept it."
He extended the Sky-Rending Tiger cub toward her.
Lu Qingyao hesitated. Her expression was conflicted, her hand stopping midair as if she wanted to refuse.
"I'm sorry, Wu Tian, but—"
"The fact is," Wu Tian interrupted, his voice heavy, "I was the one who killed this cub's parents." He lowered his head slightly. "I feel guilty. I want to adopt it, but… I couldn't bear its reaction if it ever learned that I was the one who killed its parents."
Lu Qingyao fell silent.
She looked at the cub. Its breathing was steady, its body warm, showing not the slightest trace of ferocity. A tiny life that had lost everything before it could even understand the world.
Slowly, Lu Qingyao reached out and accepted the cub into her arms.
"…You're right," she said softly. "If it stayed with you, hatred might one day take root."
She lifted her gaze to Wu Tian, her eyes gentle yet resolute. "I'll take good care of it. It will grow up without knowing hatred… at least for now."
The cub stirred slightly, nuzzling its head against Lu Qingyao's chest, as if sensing a newfound peace.
Lu Qingyao froze for a moment, then smiled faintly. "It seems… it likes me."
Wu Tian let out a relieved breath."Thank you, Miss Lu."
He smiled at the scene before him. They chatted lightly for a few minutes, until suddenly—
BOOM!
Which bastard dares to set up a barrier here?!" Huang Pao roared, his fury blazing. However, his steps abruptly halted when his eyes caught sight of Wu Tian.
The servants who had been hiding hurried out after hearing the commotion. Huang Pao walked up with a broad smile and handed a storage ring to Wu Tian.
"This is the profit from selling that tiger's corpse. While I was at it, I also bought you a storage ring specially made for hunting."
Wu Tian accepted the ring, a satisfied smile on his face. "I didn't expect the process to be this fast."
"You know how it is," Huang Pao replied with a chuckle. "I have connections with the Hunters' Association. Every time I bring in a client, I get a three-percent commission."
Wu Tian gave a light nod. He then turned around, took a storage pouch from a servant's hands, and withdrew 1,000 low-grade Spirit Stones from his own storage ring.
"Keep the change. This is for you all," he said flatly.
Without waiting for any reaction, Wu Tian immediately walked out of the Cloud Medicine Pavilion.
But suddenly—
"Don't do that again next time."Lu Qingyao's voice sounded from behind.
Wu Tian stopped and turned around with a gentle smile on his face. "Of course, Miss Lu. Don't worry"
With that, Wu Tian departed at once, leaving the Cloud Medicine Pavilion behind.