I Hate Systems

Kheeee!

Reddish-brown skin, greyish-yellow fur that resembled a mane, the body of a boar, and the head of a bull. As for its size, each of it spanned a height of two metres and a length of four metres.

The steps from each thumped the ground as hundreds of such Origin Beasts scaled towards them, forming a stampede. The horns on their head had grown in such a fashion that they formed helmets protecting the head and neck of the Origin Beasts.

Mane Bull!

It was an Origin Beast only located in the deeper regions of the Misty Gorge Ruins and rarely encountered by the cultivators. Its horns were one of the most desired materials to forge weapons and armours out of due to its toughness and great conductivity to Origin Essence.

It was the most sought-after material to create weapons that very much were considered heirlooms by even great Clans.

As for its mane, it too was a luxury, turned into overcoats that women preferred to flaunt with. Men too of a great enough standing preferred to wear coats made out of the mane of a Mane Bull.

There were also many organs in the Mane Bull with beneficial properties. All in all, each Mane Bull could be considered as a walking treasure of resources.

But now, a horde of them came charging at the Claw Wolf Bandits, alarming them. After all, the Mane Bulls specialised in charging attacks. They practically rowed through any obstacle. And in a stampede, death was guaranteed.

"Retreat! Retreat!" Helk bellowed as his Claw Wolf howled in response before sprinting at its maximum speed. It was a lot faster than the Mane Bulls as Helk soon escaped from the vicinity.

As for the rest of the bandits, they weren't entirely lucky as some of them that didn't manage to react as quickly were trampled down by the Mane Bulls.

The rest somehow managed to escape through the skin of their teeth as they watched countless trees collapsing as a result of the maniacal charge by the Mane Bulls.

Roar!

Roars of Origin Beasts resounded from various habitats that had been invaded by the Mane Bull stampede, causing the entire Misty Gorge Ruins to turn chaotic all of a sudden.

"Dammit, tricky bastard." Helk grunted in anger, noticing that he had lost track of Ranze, shouting as he looked through the bandits that had survived, sighing in relief upon seeing one of them, "Start tracking him once again."

This bandit wore a bunch of equipment on himself, constantly seeping his Origin Essence into them as he caused them to glow. Soon after, he pointed in a certain direction, "He's proceeding deeper."

"We'll wait until the stampede finishes before chasing after him. I refuse to believe that I'm unable to capture a brat without any cultivation." Helk snorted in anger. They were now down to six bandits, including himself.

The bandits had taken a major hit in their power. But, Helk wasn't concerned about their lives. He could casually recruit more commoners in the future. There were plenty out there that were dissatisfied with their lives, having to live as servants to the higher Tier Martial Spirit cultivators.

As long as he survived and obtained that storage pouch, he'll be able to attain his objective, 'Even if the rest of these men die, it's of no concern. With my abilities, the Claw Wolf pack under my control is my true strength.'

At present, he was only at the First Layer of the Martial Origin Stage. But, he didn't plan on remaining as weak in the future. He aimed to reach the Martial Providence Stage and turn into a powerhouse.

That way, he would truly be able to lord over an area and exercise full authority. 'Besides, if I'm able to turn into my choker, the power I could garner would be tremendous. After that, I only need to chance upon an injured Martial Providence Stage cultivator…'

He quickly stopped his daydreaming, beginning to move immediately after the stampede ended.

…

"Huff…puff…shit!" Ranze cursed in response, now no longer disillusioned, "Turning me into a powerhouse, good riddance. To think I believed you, Elder Galda."

He snorted in anger, clearly understanding that Elder Galda was acting on behalf of the Giant Whale Sect Leader's orders to dispatch Ranze to his death.

'They didn't want to dirty their own hands. So instead, they hired these bastards to kill me. Such hypocrites.' He thought, muttering, "I see, it's because they want Xuer, huh. Right, with her talent, she'll definitely become the Sect Master. And if she marries me, the power of the Giant Whale Sect would no longer be with the Giant Whale Clan. So, their goal is to marry her into their Clan. And for that to happen, I'm an obstacle."

"Getting rid of an obstacle under the guise of a mission. How cliché." He grunted before sighing as he looked at his brick, "This is all because they think my Martial Spirit is Trash."

He then thought of something, gazing at it as he muttered, "How am I able to manifest you physically? That's impossible unless I reached the Martial Origin Stage."

"Divine Martial Spirits have an innate form." The brick replied immediately, "So, you can use me even now. And, once you reach the Martial Origin Stage, you can even stand on me to fly in the air."

"I can do all that?" Ranze was surprised.

"That's not all. Once you absorb enough Trash Martial Spirits, you'll be unstoppable." The brick replied.

"By the way, how are you able to talk? Even Human Martial Spirits don't have any semblance of intelligence even though they resemble beasts." Ranze frowned.

"That's because Divine Spirits share the intelligence of the cultivator that awakens them." The brick said, "So, I'm only as smart as you."

"…dammit." The brick cursed subtly.

"Hey, I'm the smartest you can probably find in the entire Gaider Realm. None my age is even half as smart as me." Ranze shouted as he grabbed hold of the brick.

"Anyway," He sighed, "Since you're showing me this map, then it means that something is here, right?"

"Yes…probably." The brick replied, "Just focus on me and you'll understand everything. You don't need to talk with me. I'm just an extension of your consciousness."

Surprised at its words, Ranze focused on the brick, immediately obtaining all the information that had been present in the map as he sighed, "You're right."