Chapter 73 - Wasted Effort

"Who knows if you will be able to land a hit on the beast" said Jason.

"Don't worry kid, the day your spiritual energy will be abundant, I am going to show you what I can do" replied the bracelet with a chuckle.

"Whatever, now tell me what part of the spirit frog should I take" asked Jason while looking at the spirit frog.

"Those spikes are very useful in making a defensive weapon, the skin can be used in making robes and as for the liquid it spat out previously, you can keep it for yourself since we will be facing a more powerful beast" replied the bracelet.

'I guess not everything can be used to make things, what a waste this beast seems to be" said Jason as he began to forcefully pull out the spikes from the spiky body.

After removing the spikes, Jason brought out the storage ring that was given to him by the dwarf as he began to store the spike away. Moving to the next item to store was the skin which was no problem for him since the spikes have already been removed making it easy for him to cut. Looking at the blood of the spiky frog painting the whole ground, Jason couldn't help but let out a sigh as he said to himself.

"Why does it have to be a low realm beast".

"You can try and battle with a beast with a higher realm or a stage ahead of you if you plan to refine your body but you can forget about that and continue to fight weaker beast for resources since you are scared of death" commented the bracelet.

"What do you know, you annoying spirit, even if I can't use their blood there is still the core for me to absorb" replied Jason with a smile.

"Whatever, let's see how long you will be able to use the beast core for advancement" said the bracelet.

Taking the beast's core, Jason took a closer look at it before keeping it in his storage ring and left the place before a beast will be drawn to the scent of blood. Now walking in the lonely night all by himself in search of a beast that is weaker in realm for him to battle with. It didn't take him much time for him to locate a beast that is sleeping in a hole without knowing that it was in danger as Jason brought the halberd down on the head of the beast taking its life in the process.

Using the method of attacking a beast that is already fast asleep and weaker in realm, it didn't take him too long to gather twenty beast cores. Taking the life of another beast before the sun begins to set.

"Just spending the night hurting, I was able to gather this much beast core and I thought that it is going to be a lot harder to have five beast cores, '' said Jason feeling proud of himself.

"If it wasn't for my help do you think you would have made it this far" asked the bracelet.

"Hey I am not taking all the credit here okay, so stop acting like a child" replied Jason.

"So when do you plan to absorb the energy stored inside, or do you plan to do that when you get back" asked the bracelet.

"I don't plan on going back anytime soon so I will be absorbing them all here in the beast territory. All that I need right now is a good spot to absorb them" replied Jason.

"Have you forgotten where you and Austin fought the horned leopard, you can always go there since the lower beast doesn't dare go near that place" suggested the bracelet.

"Are you crazy, do you want the mother to take revenge on me for killing her child" replied Jason with a frown.

"Stop being a scary cat for once, as long as there is no sign of the beast's blood in the surroundings, there is no way its mother will know about its death" said the bracelet.

Taking a deep breath, Jason made his way towards the area with intense spiritual energy while the bracelet warned him whenever he was about to go to a place that is occupied with a beast. After walking for some minutes, Jason was able to get to the place. Looking around to see if there is a horned leopard nearby before looking for a place that is more hidden and sat on the grass.

"Okay then I will have to trouble you to keep a watchful eye while I absorb the energy inside" said Jason as he brought out the twenty beast core.

"With the way you are saying it, it looks like it is going to take you hours for you to absorb them all" replied the bracelet.

"You mean it is not going to take that long for me to absorb the energy stored inside" asked Jason.

"These beasts are weak and the same could be said about their core which is why I advised earlier that you should go for a more powerful beast if you ever want to make it to the foundation realm in a year" reply the bracelet.

"But it won't be an easy task to kill a beast that is in the same realm as I not to talk about others" said Jason with a conflicted look. 

"It doesn't have to be a realm higher than yours. You can start by facing a beast that is in the same realm as you for now until you are strong enough to face another realm" suggest the bracelet.

"I guess that's what I will do but before then I will have to absorb the energy from these cores, '' replied Jason with a sigh before bringing the beast core out of the storage ring.

After bringing the beast core out, Jason placed them together and closed his eyes before opening his pores as he began to absorb the energy from the core, and just as the bracelet has said it didn't take long before the twenty bright beast cores lost their shine and began to crack before bursting into pieces.

"It couldn't even push my cultivation to forty percent before running dry" complained Jason as he opened his eyes. 

"Haha, please continue with your plan of going after weaker beast for your growth maybe five years later you will be able to make it into the foundation realm" said the bracelet while laughing.

"Then I won't be able to go into the ruin with the others" replied Jason with a frown.

"Hey don't look at me like that, you are the one who said you will be able to make it as long as you have the beast core" said the bracelet with a chuckle.

"Please don't bring that up now if you don't want to see my bad side" replied Jason before resting his back on the grass.

"So what do you plan to do now" asked the bracelet.

"First of all, I am going to take a rest before thinking of what to do" replied Jason before closing his eyes as he fell asleep.

Nighttime….

Waking up in the middle of the night, Jason did a little stretch before picking up the halberd that was beside him.

"It took you long enough to wake up boy" said the bracelet after Jason woke up.

"It would have taken a bit longer if there was a bed here. I can't believe this area could be this safe for one to even sleep without worry" replied Jason.

"Just like you humans have rules so also do the beast and breaking them could lead to death. Now that you have taken your rest, what do you plan to do" asked the bracelet.

Instead of answering the bracelet question, Jason turns his gaze to the sky for a moment before speaking up.

"Now that it is this late l believe most of the beast should be asleep making it easy for me to hunt".

"You must be crazy if you are thinking of hunting weaker beast again" said the bracelet.

"Who told Yuh that I am going for the weaker ones" replied Jason.

"Wait a minute, have you finally made up your mind to go for a stronger beast" asked the bracelet in delight.

"I will need more than what the beast core of those weak beasts can give me if I ever want to achieve a breakthrough into the foundation realm" replied Jason.

"Now you are beginning to act as my master but I must warn you that it won't be easy to kill those beasts even if they are far asleep" said the bracelet.

"I know that they would be alarmed if I were to set foot in their resting place" replied Jason.

"For you to make up your mind to attack at night, I believe you have a plan ready" said the bracelet, and Jason just replied with a smile.