The old skull looked me over from head to toe before giving a small nod, as though confirming something to himself.
"That's enough."
"Get out."
I stared at him for a few seconds before scratching my head in confusion.
"...That's it? I mean... after everything that happened this past week, you're just throwing me out?"
"What?" He snorted. "You expect me to hold your claw and walk you around the mountain?"
"If you've already forgotten everything I drilled into that thick skull of yours during the past week, then you deserve to become some beast's breakfast."
The corners of my mouth twitched.
A whole week... I still couldn't decide whether the old skull had been teaching me or simply finding new ways to torture me.
The moment I regained consciousness, he was already staring at me with those blue flames burning inside his empty eye sockets. Before I could even ask what had happened, he bombarded me with questions about the rewritten technique, then immediately ordered me to use it.
From that moment onward, peace became nothing more than a distant memory. Every day followed the same routine: circulate Beast Qi through every part of my body, use the technique again and again, control every strand of Qi, then repeat the entire process. Over and over, until my head felt ready to explode.
The slightest mistake earned me another lecture followed by a brand-new insult. Sometimes I honestly wondered if inventing ways to call me an idiot was one of his greatest talents.
I let out a helpless sigh.
"...At least it's finally over."
"Hmph."
Before I could say anything else, something suddenly flew toward me. I instinctively snapped my neck forward and caught it with my mouth before it even touched the ground.
Heh... at least something about this body was impressive.
Lowering it onto the ground, I finally got a good look at it. It was a worn gray pouch whose original color had long since faded. Several rough stitches ran across its surface, making it obvious that it had been repaired more times than I could count.
"Take that with you," the old skull said casually.
"It's called a storage pouch. It can expand to store far more than its size suggests, then shrink back once closed. More than enough to carry those fifty Beast Cores."
I looked down at the pouch before raising my head.
"...Senior, how am I supposed to carry it?"
The old skull clicked his tongue.
"Hopeless brat."
A thin strand of Beast Qi extended from his fingertip, wrapped around the pouch, lifted it into the air, and secured it firmly against the side of my shell. After looping around it twice, the Qi slowly faded, leaving the pouch tightly fastened.
"There."
He folded his bony arms.
"And don't get the wrong idea. I'm only lending it to you. That pouch has been with me for thousands of years."
His blue flames flickered faintly.
"I don't care if you lose a few Beast Cores... but if you lose my pouch..."
A faint, chilling smile appeared on his skull.
"...I'll throw you into a pot, add a few herbs, and make tortoise soup out of you myself."
The corners of my mouth twitched.
"I won't lose it, Senior."
"See that you don't."
He lifted a finger, and another thin strand of Beast Qi drifted into the air before floating toward the depths of the cave.
"Follow it. It'll take you through the fastest route out of this mountain. If you survive, it'll guide you back here as well."
I lowered my head respectfully.
"Thank you, Senior. I won't disappoint you. I'll return with all fifty Beast Cores."
The old skull waved me away as though I were nothing more than an annoying fly.
"Enough talking."
"Go."
Although he sounded completely uninterested, I couldn't help but smile. He kept pretending he didn't care, yet he had spent an entire week drilling everything into my head, lent me the storage pouch, and even prepared a Qi strand to lead me back after the trial.
Heh... that stubborn old skull definitely wanted me to return. He just refused to admit it.
Without saying another word, I followed the floating strand of Beast Qi. As I walked, I instinctively circulated the rewritten foundation technique. Beast Qi flowed naturally through my body, making each step lighter than before. I still wasn't fast by any means, but compared to the miserable sight from a week ago, I had improved enough that even I could feel the difference.
The deeper I ventured, the more I realized how enormous the cave actually was. Some tunnels were so narrow I could barely squeeze through, while others were wide enough to swallow dozens of beasts. They branched in every direction, twisting into a giant maze beneath the mountain. If the Qi strand hadn't been leading the way, I was certain I would've gotten lost before taking a hundred steps.
After what felt like a long time, the floating strand finally stopped.
"...We're here?"
I looked around in confusion, expecting to see an exit.
There wasn't one.
The only thing before me was a violent underground current crashing through a narrow opening with enough force to shake the surrounding rocks.
A bad feeling suddenly crept into my heart.
"...Don't tell me..."
Before I could finish speaking, the Qi strand abruptly wrapped itself around my body.
"Wait... wait, wait, wait!
What are you doi—"
Whoosh!
"AHHHHHHH!"
Without giving me the slightest chance to react, it shoved me straight into the raging current.
The moment the freezing water swallowed me whole, I instantly remembered the meticulous smile that had been hanging on the old skull's face before I left.
"You crazy old skull!"
"Why couldn't you warn me first?!"
My angry shout vanished beneath the deafening roar of the current as the rushing water swept me away at a terrifying speed.
For a split second, panic gripped me. I instinctively flailed around, Ghk... ghk... struggling as though I were about to drown.
...
Why am I panicking?
I'm a tortoise.
"...Hehe."
The water didn't bother me nearly as much as I had expected. Breathing wasn't comfortable, but I wasn't suffocating either.
Just as I began relaxing, the current beneath me suddenly grew far more violent.
"...Huh?"
Before I could react, my body shot forward at a ridiculous speed.
It felt exactly like someone had spat out a melon seed with all their strength.
I was the melon seed.
Whoosh!
Thud! Thud! Bang! Crash!
I bounced off the ground, rolled across the grass a few more times, and finally slid to a stop.
"Ouch..."
"...That hurts."
I slowly climbed to my feet and shook the dizziness from my head.
"...That old timer really enjoys messing with me, doesn't he?"
Grumbling under my breath, I finally opened my eyes.
For a moment...
I simply froze.
Endless green grass stretched before me, gently swaying beneath a warm breeze.
Towering ancient trees rose toward the sky, their leaves dancing as golden sunlight filtered through the branches. Birds chirped somewhere in the distance, while the scent of fresh earth and wild plants filled the air.
Warm sunlight fell across my shell. Before I knew it, my eyes had drifted shut. I hadn't felt sunlight... or seen greenery... for ten whole years.
Compared to that cold, lifeless cave, this place felt like another world.
I slowly took a deep breath.
"So this..."
"...is the outside world."
As I breathed in, I noticed something different.
The Qi here felt completely different from the Chaotic Qi inside the cave.
It was calm... pure... and flowed naturally through the air.
Natural Qi...
The old skull had explained it during the past week.
Heaven and earth naturally produced this kind of Qi. Beasts absorbed Natural Qi and refined it inside their bodies, turning it into Beast Qi.
The cave was different. It was filled with Chaotic Qi—violent, unstable, and far more difficult to refine. No wonder training there had been so brutal.
As I finally took my first step into the forest, a strange vibration spread through the ground beneath me.
I froze.
...
Earth Sense.
The skill had activated on its own.
Something had entered its hundred-meter range—a faint vibration, Qi fluctuations, and a trace of killing intent.
"...A beast?"
Before I could think any further, something suddenly clicked.
"...Wait."
My Beast Qi.
It was still leaking.
I hurriedly circulated the rewritten foundation technique, and the aura around my shell gradually disappeared.
"...That old timer..."
He definitely noticed and still chose not to remind me.