Jihoon's introspection ended after a couple of minutes. His smile, however, did not leave his face. He quickly went outside to check whether the sun had risen, but the night was as young as before.
Looks like I can get another couple of hours of sleep.
Jihoon thought as he moved back to his sleeping spot.
His eyelids once again fluttered away as they grew heavier with each deep breath he took. Once his heartbeat slowed down he arrived in his little dream.
This time, instead of a dying world he arrived in a lush forest, surrounded by flowers of every kind and trees that topped skyscrapers. He looked around wondering why he was back again.
Is sister back?
He slowly walked around the forest but he did not hurry. There was no need to, if she was here she would find him, if not he could get to enjoy a little nature.
Suddenly the bodies of the bandits materialized in front of him. This time however they were translucent, their eyes gained sentience again. Finally they also showed a different emotion other than hatred and pain.
Their cries did not hurt his ears but they were unpleasant as his frown deepened slowly. He imagined a sword appearing from thin air and to his surprise, it materialized. He looked at it and noticed that it was still the same silver sword he was using.
Jihoon raised his sword and quickly swung it multiple times beheading all bandits with a small tug across his lips. He looked around anticipating the world changing again. But nothing happened.
So Jihoon spent the next couple of hours exploring the never-ending forest as he enjoyed walking across nature. Slowly darkness creeped up across the world and his eyes closed.
Rays of sunshine swept into the opening of the cave as his eyes slowly fluttered open. Jihoon woke up as the smell of fresh air met his nostrils. It reminded him of the smell inside his dream.
Am I still there?
His groggy mind had to double-check whether he was still in the dream or not. It took him a couple of seconds to register everything as he slowly stood up. His body felt light as he slowly stretched his muscles.
A big yawn resounded through the cave as he gathered himself. Jihoon woke up peacefully. There were no signs of yesterday's escapade, his smile was light.
Peaceful.
His eyes shone with deep pride that contained a certain darkness.
I will train the Ironblood Breath technique but I don't think it will help me much. I should probably find better Martial Arts first.
He wondered just as his stomach rumbled.
Looks like I also need to hunt. That's perfect. I will try my new Martial Art!
With this Jihoon took out the Ironblood Breath technique and started following the movements. He quickly mastered the first three in a couple of minutes since he already trained them yesterday.
Then for the next couple of hours, he kept his mind focused on the technique. He mastered movement after movement. He got each breathing rhythm right without fail. Each transition was mastered to perfection.
After all, Jihoon was a firm believer that the transition between techniques and strikes is as important, if not more important than mastering the move itself.
After a couple of hours, he finished and stood there examining his body. His body was covered in sweat one more time. It brimmed with power as he seemed leaner and stronger as before.
He had mastered the technique up to the tenth movement leaving only two to master. However, there was a slight problem. Looks can be deceiving.
My power barely grew.
Even after mastering more than three-fourths of the technique his body only grew stronger by another half percent.
However it made sense after all his body was already at the level of an Innate Grandmaster, maybe he would be even stronger using Mana. Yet here he was training in Third Grade Martial Techniques.
The only reason why his body even got stronger is because of his body's immaturity. After all, he was only 18 years old. No matter how many times he swung his sword his body would not reach its full potential and there were bound to be injuries, especially for someone who had no money for elixirs or potions.
Jihoon theorized that nothing under the Innate realm technique would help him to increase his raw power. At least not to the extent that he would notice it strongly. And even then these techniques would only help him, and not change his power completely. After all, he had already the body of an Innate Grandmaster.
The only reason Martial Arts helped him now is because of his previous injuries and it minimally strengthened his previous weak spots like endurance.
This was also only considering breathing techniques. His fighting techniques should help him through the whole F-Rank, but he would need to test it.
So Jihoon packed his things. His F-Rank sword on which he spent all his money. His bag which he took from the bandits and his techniques.
Walking outside he quickly tested the Iron Wind Draw to make sure it worked and made his way across the forest in search of animals and monsters.
He walked around for about half an hour before noticing a tiger in the distance.
Jihoon slowly walked up to it making sure does not make any noises. After reaching a distance of 50 meters he stopped and crouched. He was in a new world after all. So he had to make sure that that tiger was not suddenly a cultivator or something.
Jihoon observed him for another half an hour trying to figure out if the tiger was special or somehow had abnormal strength but after seeing it hunt normally he concluded that it just was a normal tiger and not an awakened one.
He tried using his Mana to figure out its strength and rank however that did nothing.
So at least no Mana...
If he was back on his planet there would be two conclusions. Either the tiger does not have Mana, it is just a normal animal or it was so strong that he could not sense its level.
However, Jihoon still had to be careful after all, could not know whether the tiger had Qi or something. Also, a tiger, even an unawakened one could mean trouble for him. After all, every being gets strengthened by Mana, even if it is passively. Maybe the same thing was true for Qi
However, he would take the bet, that it was a normal one. From his observation, the tiger should be as strong as the group of bandits, probably even stronger.
Once he was sure of his decision he started walking towards the tiger parallel to it. He was not actively looking at it but he could see it from his peripheral vision.
He did not only want to eat but also test his strength, so it would not make sense to ambush the animal. He also did not want to make it wary of him so he acted oblivious.
After all the tiger should see him as prey. Otherwise, it would not attack him. Tigers are hunters and not animals that fight for the sake of fighting.
He walked for a couple of meters not hiding anything before the tiger noticed him. It quickly hid itself in the vast forest yet Jihoon could see it from the corner of his eye.
He continued walking as the tiger slowly shuffled through the forest, closing in on Jihoon. Once they were side by side, with the tiger being only a couple of meters away it suddenly lunged its huger body forward, trying to bite off Jihoons neck.
He was however prepared, he quickly sidestepped and created some distance between them.
Faster than the bandits! So around First rate? But its strength should be superior.
Without any hesitation, the tiger launched another attack. This time, however, the tiger used its claw instead of trying to bite him.
Jihoon raised his sword and deflected the claw making his arm tremble.
Strong! It should have the strength of a Low-F Rank monster! However, without Mana it is not a threat. So it should be as strong as an Innate Grandmaster? Or could a First-rate Martial Artist defeat it with Martial Arts?
The tiger, now a little confused, looked at Jihoon more intensely. It could not understand how such a tiny creature could block its claws that killed creatures twice the size of Jihoon.
It was debating whether the hunt would be worth it but before it could decide Jihoon launched an attack. His sword stabbed towards the paw of the cat as his body brimmed with power.
He knew he could instantly defeat the tiger with Mana or Martial Arts however the tiger was not here to fight but to hunt. So the moment it sensed that he was not worth it or even dangerous it would flee.
It would be at that moment wherehe would use Martial Arts.
The tiger was able to dodge the stab but for the next couple of seconds, Jihoon continued slashing and stabbing the tiger's body as its body slowly began to be riddled with wounds.
Sensing that it was in danger the tiger decided to flee. It just wanted to eat and hunt and not fight to death.
However, Jihoon had another idea. The moment the tiger turned around to flee, Jihoon sheathed his sword and activated his Mana technique, his Mana stirred flowing towards the stars inside his legs as he shot forward.
He did not need Mana to catch up to the tiger but he would not needlessly waste his time. The moment he reached the tiger's side he gripped his sword. His blood boiled as his muscles contracted in a special way. Blood filled them to the brim as they trembled with power.
Iron Wind Draw!
Jihoon called out in his mind before his sword whispered through the air. It was just a little bit faster than usual but the power behind his sword draw was extraordinary.
The sword flew through the air and met the tiger's head. The moment Jihoon hit the tiger's head it widened its eyes in confusion before its head exploded into a thousand pieces.
Jihoon smiled with satisfaction at the brutal sight of his new Martial Art, indifferent to the tiger's demise.
Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed through his skull.
It was quick—barely a split second—but enough to make his vision blur.
What was that?