Black Onyx - Phoenix Resurrection

Body Cultivation.

According to what Senior Ren said, there are two main paths a Cultivator can take. Size, or density. Strength, or defense. But, knowing this didn’t help me make a decision at all. I needed to know more, but the knowledge was difficult to acquire since many things were just speculations anyway.

Every Cultivator was different, and they didn’t like sharing their secrets if they were from different Sects, so… I could only use what the Myriad Beasts Sect had in store. Unfortunately, that was knowledge for Inner Disciples and above. I couldn’t access it.

But, a smart man once said to think from the bottom up. To think from first principles. Physics, biomechanics, chemistry, and other such things…

So, if a person increases in size, that would mean they would have to eat more. Obviously. But! That would also mean they could eat more beast meat, growing stronger even faster, and with their consumption, their defense would naturally go up as well, right?

Next, they would have bigger organs. Bigger heart, bigger liver, bigger lungs…

That would imply they would have great stamina as well as poison resistance. It’s the dose that makes the poison, after all. A bigger body would require more poison to kill. The same went for alcohol. A bigger liver would allow a person to drink more. Natural detoxifying capabilities of the body would go way up.

A bigger body would of course present a larger target, but at the same time, the wounds would be relatively smaller. What about healing, would it be slower or faster? I knew being bigger was good against cancer, Peto’s paradox or something, but did Cultivators even get cancer? Another thing I did not know.

If I had to bet I would say no, but I could be wrong. Let’s leave it as inconclusive together with healing speed.

And while we are on the topic of strength and combat… What is combat anyway?

Combat is a fight between individuals or groups, usually an aggressive way to resolve a conflict, oftentimes leading to injury or death.

So, if one wants to be successful in combat, weapons and armor would be a good choice. Weapons are simple force multipliers, it doesn’t matter if it’s a club, a sword, or a gun. They all work on pretty much the same principle; delivering a blow to the opponent. It could be either slow or fast, but the goal was the same: just do damage, break things, maim…

And if I was a big strong man, I would want heavy armor to protect me, but also to give me more inertia. I could punch someone with my entire weight behind it, but if I was too light, what would be the point?

Two guys punching at the same speed, but one of them is twice as heavy, there’s going to be a massive force transfer difference. I used this tactic many times, increasing my weight drastically with gravity manipulation. There was no difference to me if I was 80 kilograms, or 300. My top speed remained the same.

And then there were weapons. Since we got heavy armor, why not take a big heavy weapon as well? As long as it can be comfortably wielded, I say do it! Bigger hands can grip larger things, and a wider stance allows for greater balance and stability. Also, when the weight is spread out over a large area due to larger feet, you wouldn’t sink into the ground as quickly.

It would be the same with impacts. Forces spread out over a larger area wouldn’t be as destructive. Concentrated attacks are the problem that thick armor can help solve. A five-meter giant can easily carry twenty-centimeter armor plates while a two-meter guy would have difficulties moving.

And let’s not even talk about speed. Large strides would equate to…

I recorded every single of my thoughts in my notebook, not willing to lose a single one of them. However, all that thinking made me hungry, so I left my home and went to get a bite.

I had plenty of money. After we successfully returned to the Sect, we went straight to the Trade Hall and sold off our stuff. Each of us got about 80 SSS for the bear, it was a lot more than I was expecting, and that was with the pelt being in a terrible condition, losing about 60% of its value.

With all the herbs we had gathered, that came to another 20 or so Sprit Shards for each of us, which was again on the low side since we were selling in bulk. Still a great haul for two days. It allowed me to focus on exploring Cultivation instead of constantly worrying about money like some broke ass.

I was just about to enter the Inner Sect when a group of guys approached me. They were all first-year Disciples, like me, and I didn’t think much of it until they addressed me.

“Hey there, you must be Gerald, right?” The guy at the front spoke first. There wasn’t much to differentiate between them. He had a clean-shaven average-looking face, dark-brown hair down to his shoulders, and appeared overall quite elegant if we ignore the Outer Disciple clothing he was wearing.

[Who’s asking?]

“Oh, of course, let me introduce myself…” He did one of those cupped fist gestures and lowered his head slightly. “My name is Su Ker, and these are my… friends.” He gestured to the five people behind him, also sporting the same look. I didn’t bother remembering their faces. “We are part of the Silver Pack hunting group. You were suggested as a possible candidate by... by… What was his name again?”

The guys behind him were just as clueless as he was, but I could guess who he was referring to.

[Was it Senior Bao Taon?]

“Yes! Yes, that’s right, it was him! Thank you.”

[Aha… And so you are here for…?]

“To invite you to join, of course! Or, actually, to see if you are up to par as a possible candidate.” Suk Ker quickly said, appearing nervous. It was an interesting proposition and I was slightly interested, but on the outside, I just lifted one eyebrow as I felt my Soul tingle.

[You said you were a part of the Silver Pack hunters? I thought you needed to be at least in the Spirit Accumulation Realm to join. Didn’t you just join the Sect a couple of months ago?]

“Ah? No, no! I mean, yes! We haven’t officially joined yet. We are just the current candidates for it and our task was to find other promising individuals, like yourself!”

Ah. Having the newbies do the hard work, huh? Makes sense, I would do the same. However…

[Sorry, maybe later. I am interested, but I’m also really hungry and I was just about to…] I pointed toward one of the restaurants in the distance.

“Food?” Su Ker frowned for a split second, but then his expression brightened immediately after. “That’s perfect! We have plenty of fresh meat back at the base. Just come with us, we have a great cook.”

[Really? Are you sure? Won’t there be any problems?] Why was my Soul suddenly feeling itchy?

“Yeah, yeah! Don’t worry, it’s on us. It’s the least we can do!” Sun Ker insisted, and I wasn’t the one to turn down a free meal.

[Well, don’t mind if I do then!]

“Alright! Let’s go, follow me!”

He went first and I followed after him. We went at a light jogging pace, and I looked one last time at the food stalls and restaurants getting smaller in the distance. Oh well, I had a free meal waiting for me, so it was fine.

We ran for a few minutes and I noticed we were leaving the Sect. [Where are we going?]

“Oh, the headquarters are in the forest up ahead. Since we are the hunting group and all…” Su Ker explained mid-stride.

[Oh.] That made sense. I felt stupid for asking. We just kept running, and soon left the cobblestone road of the Sect and went on a dirt forest path.

We kept running for a while, and I began getting slightly concerned. The path became narrower and less traveled, and any signs of human habitation have long since disappeared.

[Are you sure we are going the right way?]

“Yeah, yeah! We are nearly there!” Su Ker answered, but I noticed something in his voice that gave me pause. He was running next to me, and his buddies surrounded us on all sides. A good formation for keeping an important person in the middle safe, but it could be just as well be used for escorting a criminal.

“We are here!” I heard them suddenly announce. And we stopped immediately afterward.

I nearly wanted to curse. There was a small broken-down wooden shack in front of us. It didn’t look like some headquarters to me at all!

Su Ker turned to me with a smile, and I noticed his guys form a tight circle around me. “So, here we are! What do you think?”

[What do I think?] I thought about many things, like how I wanted to punch someone for tricking me. But just to be sure… [You don’t really belong to Silver Pack hunters, do you? If they even exist…]

“Nope!” Su Ker grinned at me. It seemed he thought he had everything under control, but I was slowly getting pissed.

[And there is no food?] It was what bothered me the most. They tricked me, wasted my time, and then...

“Food?” The rest of the guys burst out laughing and Su Ker just kept staring at me with a smirk. It didn’t help that he was half a head taller than me and could look down when staring into my eyes. And that confirmed it. There was no food!

Fucking animals! I should skin them all alive and slat them!

Not to eat them, of course, but just to express my frustrations.

[So... Now what?] I really wanted to know what was all this about and what I did to deserve this nonsense. A group of nobodies luring me out of the Sect…

“Well, first we are probably going to have to roughen you up a bit, and then we will see…” Su Ker said, not even trying to hide his intentions. In the meantime, his goods pulled out some wooden sticks, clearly confirming his words.

[Can I at least ask why? Why are you doing all this?]

“Sure!” Su Ker laughed. “In fact, I have to tell you! You have to learn your lesson, what would be the point otherwise?”

His goons burst out laughing again and he let them finish before continuing. “It’s because you didn’t pay your protection money, it’s as simple as that!”

[Protection money?] I was so confused. Was there an underground cartel in the Sect? But I didn’t remember anyone… Oh, wait no… There was someone. Nearly forgot about him.

[Liam?]

That one word was enough. It was the piece that tied it all together.

“Ah, so you do remember! Well, good for you! Makes this entire situation much easier if I don’t have to explain everything…”

[But wait… This is all just because I didn’t pay him a few Spirit Shards?! Seriously?!] This was absurd! And stupid! Absurdly stupid! And I didn't like it!

“Everybody has to pay the fee like the rest of us newcomers. And those that don’t, sometimes need a little encouragement.”

[Everybody? I didn’t hear any of my friends having to pay…]

Su Ker rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but they have jobs, don’t they? Nobody is stupid enough to try and extor- I mean offer protection to those that have Seniors that can give them a hand. But you are alone. All alone in this big scary world. It’s only right for you to be protected. Protected by us, the White Minks. For a small fee, of course.”

He almost sounded righteous saying that if it wasn’t for his goons that were itching to beat me up at any moment. But since they didn’t do it yet, there was probably a reason behind it. Maybe they were expecting me to cave.

[So, if I pay now you are going to let me go?]

“Hah, well… maybe. But it would have to be worth our time…” Figures. They just wanted to extort money from me. “How about five Spirit Shards for each of us, eh?”

[Five?! That’s way more than Liam wanted!]

“Well, Liam isn’t here, is he? And that’s what you will pay, one way or another, or you are not leaving!”

[But I already told Liam I was poor! I didn’t have a single Spirit Shard to my name!] I felt disgusting nearly crying like this, but I promised myself I would try to find an alternative to violence. I couldn’t always be stronger than my opponents. It was just a matter of time.

“Yeah, yeah… But that was then, and this is now. You got quite a big haul recently, isn’t that right? About 80 Spirit Shards if I’m not mistaken. We are going to need some of that.”

It was more than that, but Su Ker didn’t need to know. But there was something more serious!

[How… How did you know that?!] I made the most realistic and surprised expression I could muster. My eyes nearly fell out of their sockets as I opened them so wide.

“Haha, people talk… People always talk…”

Great… They had observers everywhere most likely. And a good information network if I had to guess. This was going to be such a pain in my ass, I could already feel it.

[And now what? You are going to beat me up and steal my money?] Su Ker looked at me funny as I said so.

“You could just hand it over willingly too. There is no reason to resort to violence unless absolutely necessary. Which is not to say we aren’t willing to, quite the opposite, but the higher-ups would like to keep things civil if possible.”

Piss off, man! Civility my ass! It seemed like there really was no way out. I could either willingly pay a third of my money to them, which was never going to happen, or…

[Can I just ask you one last question?]

“Sure, go ahead. It’s not like that is going to change anything. You have no choice in this matter, I’m afraid.”

I had to admit, Su Ker was surprisingly reasonable for someone trying to extort me. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was low-key threatening me, he would probably be a good person to chat with. But that fact wasn’t going to change anything.

[Tell me, were you ever punched in the face?]

“In the face? Sure, it happened quite a few times. But I don’t know what this has to do with-”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence.