After leveling up to Level 7, us felt a massive surge of power. His spiritual qi pool had grown several timesrger, filling him with more than ough ergy to unleash his attacks. He''d only just started tapping into the ice elemt, mainly because us had always had a thing for ice.


    Ever since he was a kid, he was fascinated by anything rted to ice, so it was only natural that he instinctively started using it as soon as he awaked. Now, his Moon sh skill was on a whole new level. us wt on a rampage, taking down Tier  monsters left and right.


    He needed 38,400 points to hit Level 8, so he knew he had to go all out. The stronger he got, the better his chances of taking on Tier 3 monsters. Last time, he got lucky and caught a Tier 3 monster off guard, but he wasn''t sure he''d get that same stroke of luck again.


    Ev if he did get lucky again, it would only work once. But to make 40 million gold in three days, he''d need that kind of luck hundreds of times over. This time, he nned on staying out in the field for a few days before heading back.


    Ev though he''d awaked, us knew almost nothing about cultivating. To really get a grip on the intricacies of the cultivation world, he knew he''d have to move to the city, where he could gather the knowledge he needed to navigate this new life.


    Right now, us''s top priority was getting several times stronger so he could gather the funds needed to move his small family to the city.


    sh!


    A sword light shed, sding a sharp ice arc slicing through the air. The arc struck a Tier  Hound, killing it instantly.


    "I still don''t have that sharpness and effortlessness I crave," us muttered, staring at his sword with a puzzled expression. For the past five hours, he''d be hunting and honing his sword skills, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn''t break through to the next level.


    Sure, he could take down a Tier  monster with a single strike now, but it still didn''t have that razor-sharp precision he wanted. There was always some dullness to his attacks. It was frustrating. With a sacred ss like his, he couldn''t help but get a little obsessed, hoping to fix it before moving forward.


    "I guess I''ll have to keep killing more monsters—maybe I''ll figure it out," us sighed as he stored the body and continued his rampage.


    "A zombie," us muttered, stopping in his tracks. He narrowed his gaze at the figure standing over a monster''s lifeless body, its mouth smeared with blood and chunks of meat. It was clear the zombie had killed the creature and was now devouring it.


    The zombie''s head jerked up as it caught sight of us. Its eyes, empty and lifeless, locked onto him. The creature growled a low, macing sound that st a chill down us''s spine. His grip tighted a the hilt of his sword, his focus sharping as he prepared for the fight.


    us didn''t flinch. He took a deep breath, ctering himself. He wasn''t going to use any fancy skills or elemts this time. This was about pure speed and precision. His agility had be honed to the point where he could strike before most emies ev realized he''d moved.


    The zombie lunged at him with surprising speed, but us was faster. In a single fluid motion, he sidestepped the attack and swung his sword in a wide arc. The de cut through the air with a sharp hiss, aimed directly at the zombie''s neck.


    The strike was clean and precise. us''s sword sliced through the zombie''s neck with one swift sh, beheading it instantly. The creature''s body crumpled to the g, lifeless, while its head rolled away, the dead eyes still staring nkly.


    "Slower than I thought," us muttered as he stared at the Tier  Zombie lying on the g. His sword shed again, slicing cleanly through the monster''s head, cutting it in half. As the pieces fell apart, a small stone, about the size of a grape, tumbled out. It was  in color.


    "Low-Grade Zombie Stone. I''m emotional, y''all. Who would''ve thought my first kill would produce a stone?" us grinned as he picked up the small  stone, turning it over in his hand.


    "It''s just a Tier  low grade, meaning this Zombie was one of the weakest. But hey, this little thing is worth about ,000 gold coins—that''s more than ough." us tucked the stone away in his space ring and began moving deeper into the forest.


    He had finally tered the part of the forest where the Zombies roamed. As he walked, he noticed several Zombie corpses along the path, indicating that others had already be through here.


    A rustling sound caught his atttion. us nced to the side and spotted another Zombie stumbling out from behind a tree. Without hesitation, he drew his sword and lunged forward. The de sliced through the air, and with one clean strike, the Zombie''s head separated from its body, copsing in a heap. No stone this time.


    us continued onward, his sses on high alert. It wasn''t long before he countered a pair of Zombies, shambling toward him with slow, unsteady steps. He didn''t waste any time. With two quick shes, both Zombies were down, their heads rolling on the g. This time, one of them dropped a small gray stone.


    "Another one," us said, pocketing the stone. "This one''s worth a bit less, but it all adds up." Zombie stonese in differt grades. There is the Low Grade which is . Th there is the Medium grade whiches in brown. Th there is the ck high grade.


    However, aside from these three, there is a grey zombie stone which is less than the low grade but also valuable. It''s mostly dropped from zombies that have just advanced to Tier . But although its worth is less, it''s still better than .


    As he moved deeper into the forest, the number of Zombies began to increase. Some came at him in small groups, others alone. But it didn''t matter; us cut them down with ease, his movemts quick and precise.


    Every so oft, a Zombie would drop a stone, either  or gray. us collected each one, stashing them in his space ring. The thrill of finding these stones kept him going, pushing him to take down as many Zombies as possible.


    After dispatching another small group, us found himself standing in a clearing. He took a momt to catch his breath, looking a at the fall bodies. "Not bad," he thought, "but I need more if I want to buy a house," us said with a small smile.


    A sudd noise behind him made us spin a, sword at the ready. Arger Zombie, clearly stronger than the others, was lumbering toward him. Its eyes glowed with a dull, eerie light, and it moved with more purpose than the weaker ones.


    us tighted his grip on his sword. This one might be more of a challge, however, he quickly dismissed that though wh he saw the Zombie move. The Zombie lunged at him, but us was quicker. He sidestepped the attack and brought his sword down in a powerful arc, severing the creature''s head in a single blow.


    As the body fell, a bright  stone rolled out. us picked it up, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. "Low grade but worth more than the in , I guess there is some luck following be after all."


    He pocketed the stone and pressed on, his confidce growing with each kill. The deeper he wt, the more Zombies he countered. But  of them could stand up to his speed and skill.


    In a few hours, us had gathered several more stones, but he wasn''t satisfied yet. He wanted more. In fact, he wanted so many that ev if he took a break from hunting for a while, he''d still be in good shape financially.


    "This ce is good," us thought to himself. "The deeper I go, the stronger the zombies I counter. If I can manage to get a few Medium-grade stones, that would be great."


    He wasn''t aiming for the Higher-grade stones—those were found in Tier 3 Zombies, and he knew he wasn''t ready for that yet. He still had to sure he had the strgth to take them on. But now wasn''t the time to push his limits recklessly.


    us continued to press forward, his eyes sharp and his sword ready. He countered another group of Tier  Zombies, slightly stronger than the ones he had fought before. They moved with a bit more coordination, their growls louder and more macing. us didn''t hesitate. With swift, precise movemts, he cut them down one by one, his sword shing in the dim light of the forest.


    Wh thest Zombie fell, us quickly searched the bodies, hoping for a Medium-grade stone. His heart skipped a beat wh he found one—a dull blue stone,rger than the others he had collected. It wasn''t a High-grade, but it was better than the Low-grade stones he had be gathering.


    "Perfect," us murmured, storing the stone in his space ring. "Just a few more like this, and I''ll be set. But these Zombies are bing stronger, I have to test my limit and distribute the points ordingly."


    He continued his hunt, ughtering more Zombies along the way. The deeper he vtured, the stronger the Zombies became. Their numbers grew, but so did his determination. us was reltless, cutting them down with precision, collecting stones, and moving on without hesitation.


    Finally, after heading ev deeper into the forest, us countered a differt kind of Zombie. This one was unlike the others. It still had the rotting appearance of a Zombie, but its eyes were sharp, not dull and lifeless like the rest. In its hands, it held a bone sword, gripped tightly as if it knew how to use it.