C3 Brother I Dont Sell Myself!

In the dead of night, Flatreach lay enveloped in silence, save for a faint light glowing from a small house in the city's southern quarter.

Liu Yangshuo was seated cross-legged on his bed, eyes shut tight. His head radiated waves of heat, betraying the intense pain etched across his face.

"Hah!"

Abruptly, Liu Yangshuo's eyes snapped open as he gasped for air.

"Damn it, this Myriad Beasts Mantra is brutally tough to master. Just this initial part, the physical cultivation, is this challenging. The latter half, the spiritual forging, might just be the death of me."

Glancing at the Myriad Beasts Mantra, barely two pages in, Liu Yangshuo couldn't help but grumble.

The first phase of the Myriad Beasts Mantra focused on body forging, similar to other cultivation techniques that draw spiritual force into the body to lay a solid foundation. Yet, the Myriad Beasts Mantra diverged by using spiritual force as a smith's hammer, relentlessly pounding the flesh to render it as formidable as that of a demonic beast, unbreakable.

The second phase, the spiritual forging, was still a distant goal for Liu Yangshuo.

The heat emanating from his head was the result of practicing the spiritual force circulation method detailed in the Myriad Beasts Mantra, tirelessly tempering his meridians.

"I never thought cultivating the Myriad Beasts Mantra would be this arduous. At this pace, reaching the Spirit Transformation Stage in six months is a pipe dream, let alone advancing to the late Dispersed Spirit Stage."

Clearly, Liu Yangshuo had underestimated the Myriad Beasts Mantra. How could a sect's treasured tome be anything but challenging to master?

"Ding! Your request has been received. We are now locating the nearest cultivation site for you."

The system's voice chimed in Liu Yangshuo's mind, impeccably timed.

"You should have mentioned this feature earlier! Find it, quick!"

Liu Yangshuo was ecstatic. With a superior cultivation site, his progress was bound to soar.

"We have identified the most spiritually enriched location within a hundred miles. Navigation is underway."

After the system's voice faded away, a milky-white flame burst into view before Liu Yangshuo, seemingly beckoning him onward.

Wasting no time, Liu Yangshuo quickly gathered his belongings, taking with him his entire fortune of three hundred blue spirit coins. Leveraging the network he'd built as a beast doctor over the years, he managed to rouse a horse breeder in the dead of night and, with a hundred blue spirit coins, purchased a towering steed.

Spending half his savings in one fell swoop stung Liu Yangshuo, but truth be told, the horse's speed was undeniable. By nightfall, they had covered eighty miles, bringing Liu Yangshuo to the gates of the next city: Lostbrook.

He reached Lostbrook by noon the following day. The city was nearly double the size of Flatreach and teemed with life; its streets thronged with bustling crowds.

Realizing he was only about twenty miles from his system-directed destination, and having rushed out without much food, Liu Yangshuo knew he needed to stock up in Lostbrook or face hunger later on.

Then, an irresistible scent of meat wafted his way. Drawn by the aroma, Liu Yangshuo found himself at a modest food stall.

"Sir, would you like some buns?" asked a man with an earnest face and a welcoming grin.

Liu Yangshuo nodded, "Owner, I'll take twenty buns! They smell incredible. What meat do you use?"

"You've got a keen palate, sir. The filling is made from Iron Boar from the Yilan Mine, ensuring the meat is both succulent and tender," the vendor said as he swiftly served up the buns, gesturing northward.

Following the man's indication, Liu Yangshuo realized it pointed exactly where he needed to go. 'Could this be more than mere chance?' he mused.

"Sir, you look travel-worn. Not from around here, are you? Where might you be headed?" The vendor, now chatty, struck up a conversation with Liu Yangshuo.

"Talk about serendipity—I might just be headed to that Yilan Mine you mentioned."

Liu Yangshuo said, scratching his head in an embarrassed manner.

The boss paused mid-motion, his hand frozen with a bun in its grasp.

"You plan to venture into the Yilan Mine by yourself?"

"Yep, is there an issue?"

Liu Yangshuo was confused, noting the boss's apparent fear of the infamous mine.

"The Yilan Mine isn't for the faint of heart. I'd strongly advise against seeking your own demise."

The boss's expression turned grim.

"Come on, boss, you're joking, right? You said yourself that your buns are stuffed with meat from demonic beasts over there."

Liu Yangshuo laughed lightly.

"No joke. The reason I can afford to use Iron Armored Pig meat is that every fortnight, Lostbrook's exploration team ventures into the Yilan Mine. Sure, they bring back plenty of resources, but at a steep cost—nearly half the team doesn't make it back, and those who do are always injured."

The boss finished wrapping up Liu Yangshuo's buns, speaking in a hushed tone as if the search team he mentioned was passing by right in front of them.

Liu Yangshuo gulped, suddenly realizing he might have been duped by the system into visiting such a perilous place—especially since he hadn't even reached the First Layer of the Dispersed Spirit Stage!

"If you're set on going, I suggest you check out the search team's recruitment point. They're heading into the mountains again in a couple of days and might still be looking for people."

The boss handed over the buns to Liu Yangshuo.

He had a point. Going alone was tantamount to suicide, but with a large group, the odds were better. Worst case scenario, he could always run with the crowd. Liu Yangshuo inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, thanks for the advice. How much do I owe you?"

"Ten blue spirit coins."

"What the—! Are you running some kind of extortion racket here?! Ten blue spirit coins for a few buns?!"

Liu Yangshuo nearly collapsed, his legs buckling as he blurted out his indignation.

"Quality ingredients come at a premium. No credit, I'm afraid. It's a thin profit margin as it is!"

Half an hour later, Liu Yangshuo was gnawing on a bun with a ferocity as if he were taking a bite out of the boss himself. Suddenly, a grand courtyard on the street side drew his attention, marked by a flag with the simple inscription "Recruitment Office."

"Excuse me, big brother, is this the search team's recruitment office?" Liu Yangshuo inquired, leading his horse up to a muscular man standing by the gate.

"Yes, indeed, this is the place. You're here to apply, aren't you? Please, come on in!" The burly man greeted Liu Yangshuo with the enthusiasm of someone reuniting with a long-lost friend. Without a moment's hesitation, he pulled both Liu Yangshuo and his horse into the courtyard and swiftly shut the gate behind them.

"Easy there, brother! I've come to join the search team, not to sell my soul!" Liu Yangshuo protested, hands defensively crossed over his chest, eyeing the advancing strongman with caution.

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