Song Qi stares at the spear in Lui Kui's hand, its flames now extinguished. Around him, the crowd erupts in cheers for Lui Kui's victory, voices rising in awe and uproar at the sight of an intermediate spiritual weapon.
His mind spins in turmoil. Chen Jing may have lost, but her sword was still a low-level spiritual weapon. That alone speaks volumes—most of the senior menial disciples already possess at least low-level spiritual weapons.
A low-level spiritual weapon boosts strength by at least 20%, Song Qi calculates, and an intermediate one gives 40% or more.
With his mastery of the Bull Boxing technique, he could have ranked within the top twenty. But now that feels distant. Facing opponents wielding spiritual weapons would erase his advantage entirely. If he truly wants a strong placement in the upcoming competition, he must achieve at least a minor accomplishment in the Blood Bull Boxing technique.
His thoughts heavy, Song Qi leans toward Qin Bo and whispers, "I'm leaving." Without waiting for a response, he threads his way through the excited, shouting crowd, heading back toward his room.
What Song Qi doesn't notice is a pair of female eyes quietly following his every movement.
Elsewhere, two girls walk side by side—one in a grey robe, the other in black. The girl in grey is none other than Chen Jing. Both wear serious expressions as they approach a mountain trail, ascending its stairs in silence.
Eventually, they stop before a gated residence—one among many scattered across the mountain slope. The girl in black pushes open the wooden gate, following the red stone path leading to the house.
Later, in a quiet, incense-lit room, Chen Jing bows low before another girl dressed in a light blue robe. Crystal ornaments—bracelet, earrings, and necklace—adorn her with elegant brilliance, but the spiritual aura radiating from them speaks of more than beauty. These are spiritual weapons—and not ordinary ones.
They form a matching spiritual weapon set. Even a low-level set can grant strength equal to a high-level spiritual weapon. But what truly sets a weapon set apart is the intricate magical engravings carved into it that can form a formation to release a powerful spell ahead of its realm in the hand of a spiritualist or a martial artist.
Someone in the first realm of the Mortal Realm, equipped with a low-level weapon set, can wield magic spells with the might of a cultivator in the third realm.
Chen Jing lowers her gaze, envy flickering in her eyes. Lan Yue…
In normal conditions, Lan Yue's strength would be below her own. But the aura radiating from those crystal weapons—sharp, refined, commanding—tells another story. They're at least a high-level spiritual weapon set.
That means Lan Yue could fight on even footing with a cultivator in the fourth realm of the Mortal Realm. And if that set is among the best of its kind...
Then in the Mortal Realm, no one can rival her unless they're equally equipped.
Chen Jing hears, "I know it's not your fault. So stand up." She straightens her waist and looks at Lan Yue.
"I didn't discover all of his cards before challenging him, so it was my fault," she says.
Lan Yue is staring at a small rose plant with budding roses, but if one looks closely, the plant is entirely made of wood.
Most ordinary people wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
Lan Yue shifts her gaze from the rose plant to Chen Jing and says, "Take this and give it to Tan Ming. He'll give you an intermediate spiritual weapon of your choice," motioning for her to take the potted plant. Chen Jing steps forward and picks up the pot.
With the pot in her hand, Chen Jing says, "I'm leaving."
Lan Yue waves her hand, signalling her to go.
Chen Jing exits the room and walks some distance away.
The girl in the black robe, who remained silent the entire time, finally speaks as Chen Jing moves farther away. "Miss, I checked on the menial disciple you mentioned—Song Qi."
Lan Yue's expression softens at the mention of his name. In the sect, only Song Qi connects her to the life she had before arriving here. It's only been a few days out of the three weeks since they arrived, yet the place has already changed her. Now, she uses outer and menial disciples to pursue her goals.
Lan Yue shakes her head to dispel the thought. She never wanted to become like this, but the prize pushed her in this direction. Calming herself, she asks, "How is he?"
The girl replies, "He's fine now and has gained some recognition among the menial disciples." Lan Yue catches the wording and asks seriously, "You said 'now' he's fine—so before, he wasn't?"
Zilan explains, "Nothing major. Some senior menial disciples were robbing new ones like Song Qi of the spiritual fragments they earned." She then recounts what happened to Song Qi after joining the sect and how he stood up to the bullying.
Lan Yue mutters in frustration, "I shouldn't have brought him with me."
Zilan responds, "If he were still back home, he wouldn't have advanced to the inner energy realm so quickly."
Lan Yue asks, "Are there any other menial disciples who would work for me?"
Zilan says, "All of them are already under one inner disciple or another."
Lan Yue murmurs, "So I only have Chen Jing."
Zilan counters, "What about Song Qi?"
Lan Yue replies, "No, I don't want him to be involved in this."
Zilan says, "Even if he doesn't want to be involved, now that he's reached the inner energy realm, he's caught in it. And he joined the sect using your quota. Whether you like it or not, he's marked by your name. The other inner disciples will target him before the competition."
Lan Yue knows she's right. She sighs. "You're right. Go and call him tomorrow."
--
Song Qi opens his eyes, looks at the familiar faces around him, and asks, "How was everyone's day today?"
The Serpent replies, "Wait for Ivy to enter, then we can talk about our day."
Song Qi doesn't respond, simply hums in agreement, and waits for Ivy to fall asleep and arrive. They don't have to wait long—within minutes, Ivy appears beside them.
Seeing her, Talun speaks first. "Nothing much happened today. I joined the hunt for a devil fish, but tomorrow I'll have more to share. I'm going to Ink Town with the chief and some hunters to trade supplies."
Sulla says, "I'm still learning about the tribe."
Omar asks, "The shaman can speak to your mind. Can't he help with mind spells to learn the language faster?"
Sulla replies, "I asked. He doesn't have one. So I spent the day learning the new language."
When he finishes, the Serpent says, "I have nothing new—today was the same as yesterday."
Omar adds, "Mine too. I stayed home to cultivate or went hunting."
Then Song Qi shares his day. At the end, he says, "Without training the Blood Bull Boxing technique to minor accomplishment, I likely wouldn't even rank in the top 30."
Sulla asks, "I thought only the first rank gets a reward. Would you gain anything from being in the top 30?"
Song Qi answers, "Those in the top 30 get rewarded with pills and spirit fragments."
He finishes and looks toward Ivy.
Ivy says, "My past few days were the same—going to class, cultivating, and training the two spells. Today was no different."
Merin watches their conversation about how they spent their day. Then he pulls his consciousness back to his spiritual space. He thinks more people need to be introduced into his dream domain to better understand the world and increase his energy reserve. Currently, the black energy absorbs all the energy he produces except the dream energy stored in the dream domain.
Since the recent change in the black energy, he's started absorbing more dream energy to generate additional dream keys.
Now, he sees two ways to increase his energy: either introduce more people into the dream domain or help the current six improve their cultivation. Among them, he believes Song Qi has the best chance to grow stronger quickly.
If Song Qi can reach the top 30 in the upcoming sect competition, the rewards would allow him to advance in cultivation. But for that, he either needs to obtain a spiritual weapon or push the Blood Bull Boxing technique to a minor accomplishment.
Among these, Merin can only assist with the technique. So his consciousness returns to the dream domain to observe Song Qi training. He finds Song Qi teaching the technique to Omar, allowing them to train together.
Merin listens to the explanation, then begins practising the Blood Bull Boxing technique outside the black building he created.
27th - Dream Domain
Omar
Omar opens his eyes as sunlight streams in. He quickly gets up, completes his morning duties, and heads out—not to hunt, but toward the open ground inside the city. The sun has just risen, and the ground is mostly empty. He walks to a far corner, the spot furthest from the entrance, and begins by stretching before training in the Blood Bull Boxing technique.
His warrior path and Song Qi's martial artist path share the same foundation, so he can practice the technique without adjustments. Hours pass. Slowly, people begin to arrive at the ground—not all come to cultivate. Only a few like Omar train their cultivation methods or fighting techniques.
Eventually, Omar stops. He feels hungry, and his inner energy is reduced to just ten per cent. As he walks back, he observes the others before heading home.
Inside, he's surprised to find his two younger brothers still there. He thought they would have already left for the warrior training school he enrolled them in.
"Why are you both at home?" he asks.
His second brother, Omur, answers, "Training starts at noon today."
"Why?" Omar asks.
His third brother, Omuk, says, "There's a competition match today."
Omur adds, "The school asked guardians to come and watch us perform. Father has work, and mother doesn't want to go. Will you come with us?"
Omuk pleads, "Yes, brother, come with us."
They both look at him with hopeful eyes.
Omar agrees. "Yes." He has nothing else planned besides training, and since returning from the war, he hasn't spent much time with his little brothers.
At noon, Omar and his brothers arrive at the warrior training school. A senior disciple greets him and tells the younger two to go inside. Then he leads Omar to the back of the school, where an open ground with a fighting ring awaits. The senior disciple leaves him among the other guardians.
Most are around his parents' age, so Omar doesn't speak much. A few minutes later, another guardian is led in—someone his age. They exchange greetings and make small talk.
When Omar says he's a warrior, the man, named Buan, responds, "I'm a witch."
Omar knows of the witch path—a secretive cultivation path practised in the city and surrounding areas. Witches usually wear full robes and masks to conceal their identities.
So he asks, "Why are you dressed like this?"
Buan smiles and says, "Because I started only a month ago."
Before they can continue, the competition begins. After it ends, Omar realises Buan has vanished. He heads home with his brothers, offering advice along the way about the mistakes they made during their matches.
Omar steps inside his home with his two younger brothers following behind. He's surprised to see his unit captain, Jamal, sitting inside.
Noticing him, Jamal stands and sighs in relief. "You've arrived. I was about to leave."
Omar walks toward him and asks, "Why are you here? Is the war starting again?"
His mother, alarmed, exclaims, "War? Is war going to start again?"
She looks at Omar with fear, not for herself, but for him.
Jamal, caught off guard by the sudden turn in the conversation, quickly waves his hand. "No, no. The war isn't starting." He takes a breath and adds, "I came to invite Omar."
Omar asks with curiosity, "Invite me for what?"
Jamal replies, "Our city is sending a convoy to Baghandar City for trade."
Omar thinks for a moment. He only knows that Baghandar lies by the coast of the Green Sea and the journey takes a week. The path cuts through the Red Forest and crosses the Red Hill, making it dangerous. Still, he wants to accept—travelling would broaden his perspective. Baghandar is a large city, and he might find information about his cultivation realm. Unlike the others, he still knows little about it.
He nods. "Can I go?"
Jamal smiles. "Yes. Why else would I come here to invite you?"
Omar asks, "When does the journey begin?"
Jamal answers, "At sunset. Come to the city lord's house before that."
Omar nods. After a few more minutes, Jamal leaves. Omar closes the door behind him.
When he turns, he sees his mother's tear-filled eyes fixed on him.
He steps forward and hugs her. "It'll be fine. When I return, I'll buy a bigger house for you and get some slaves to serve you."
His mother responds, "I don't need any of that—just come back safely."
Patting her back, Omar says, "Don't worry."
She returns to her work, and Omar spends a few minutes advising his younger brothers before heading to his room to prepare for the journey.
The Shadow Serpent
After waking from sleep, he slithers off to quench his thirst. Reaching a large lake, he dips his head into the water, swallowing mouthfuls. After each sip, he lifts his head and flicks his tongue to sense the surroundings, but nothing stirs nearby.
Once satisfied, he begins practising shadow magic by the lake bank. Shadows coat his tail, shaping it like a blade as he strikes at a tree. Each blow leaves shallow cuts in the trunk. His goal is to cleave a tree in a single strike—if he achieves this before next year's competition, he might secure first place.
Next year, he'll face the fourth-ranked competitor from this year for the top spot. The top three ranks from past competitions have all broken through to the intermediate demon realm shortly after emerging from the Shadow Lake. He's already heard that the first and second-ranked have achieved that breakthrough.
As he trains, ordinary beasts and low-level demon beasts gather to drink from the lake. But this area falls within his clan's territory, and the demon beasts—knowing their place—dare not approach him. Those of the higher realm are driven away by other clan members.
After several hours, he stops and begins slithering back toward the tree hole that's been his home these past weeks. But he halts. His tongue catches a scent—one that shouldn't be here. It belongs to the only demon clan that dares challenge his kind in their own territory: the Grey Wolf Clan.
Their territories border each other, and conflicts often arise. Among the scents, one stands out—a low-level grey wolf demon who had once escaped him right before the clan competition.
He braces himself. Moments later, ordinary grey wolves burst into view and lunged at him.
They charge in from all directions, snarling and baring their teeth, their claws digging into the ground as they leap. The shadow serpent slithers low, his movements calm and precise. He doesn't waste energy. His tail, wrapped in a thin veil of shadow, snaps sideways—one strike, one wolf down. The wolf crashes to the ground, groaning, unable to rise.
Another leaps from behind. The serpent coils slightly, pivots, and the shadow-bladed tail arcs upward. The wolf is thrown back with a sharp yelp, a clean gash across its side, its will to fight already gone.
He continues moving with lethal restraint. Each strike disables but does not kill. Each shadow-coated blow hits with just enough force to silence the frenzy of another charging beast. In minutes, five wolves lie sprawled in the dirt, conscious but broken, unable to stand.
The pack falters. They begin to circle rather than rush. But then, he feels it—a stronger presence nearby. He flicks his tongue.
Three.
Three low-level demon wolves.
They step from the shadows of the trees, larger than the others, their auras simmering with unstable energy. They snarl, but unlike the ordinary wolves, they don't charge recklessly. They're testing him, watching him. The ordinary wolves, emboldened by their leaders, surge forward again.
The serpent allows a few to get close. He lets them see him breathe heavier. He lets his next strike drag a beat longer. The wolves believe he's tiring. That he's spent too much strength.
He isn't.
He's baiting them.
He knocks two more wolves down with a single sweep, but his tail retracts more slowly this time. The three demon wolves narrow their eyes. One of them growls low, signalling the others.
They're about to attack. And this time, it won't be a test.
They're about to attack. And this time, it won't be a test.
The three low-level demon grey wolves dart forward, moving in a formation that speaks of practice and instinct. Their claws shimmer faintly with wind magic—edges honed by pressure and speed. The lead wolf circles left, the second moves right, and the third charges head-on, snarling, eyes locked on the shadow serpent's coiled body.
The serpent doesn't retreat. His body lowers, tensing like a spring, muscles shifting beneath his scales. When the first wolf lunges, he spins with sudden force, his tail crashing into its ribs. The wolf yelps and rolls away, bruised but not broken.
The second wolf slashes with claws wreathed in compressed wind, catching the serpent's side. Thin lines open along his scales, a trace of blood trailing down. He hisses but doesn't slow. Instead, he uses the momentum to launch himself into the air and slam down between the wolves, scattering their positions.
He fights without shadow magic. Only strength, speed, and control.
The forest echoes with the sound of snapping jaws and crashing bodies. The wolves press harder, sensing exhaustion—or so they believe. Their strikes grow bolder, faster, and more reckless. Claws shimmer with sharper wind, leaving trails in the air as they swipe. The serpent counters with his body, tail, and sheer agility, weaving between strikes, using the terrain—tree trunks, rocks, the slope of the land—to redirect or deflect their momentum.
The wolves begin to believe they're winning. The serpent breathes heavier. He staggers after a feint from the second wolf, lands a grazing blow on his back.
They see it.
They believe it.
The third wolf, the most aggressive, growls and leaps, wind magic swirling around its claws as it goes for the serpent's exposed neck.
That's the moment he's been waiting for.
Without hesitation, the serpent's tail snaps up, cloaked in thick shadow. No flare, no warning—just a clean, fluid motion.
The shadow blade cuts upward.
It slices through the wolf's neck mid-lunge, so cleanly the body continues forward even as the head falls behind. The carcass crashes into the forest floor with a heavy thud, blood spreading around it in widening arcs. The remaining two wolves freeze, eyes wide, the scent of death thick in the air.
The forest goes silent.
The serpent doesn't move. His tail hangs in the air for a moment longer, shadows still swirling faintly around it, before the magic fades. His tongue flickers once. The two remaining wolves step back, ears lowered, and then vanish into the trees.
The battle is over.
Talun
Talun, as he comes out of the coral forest, notices the ocean ahead glowing brightly in the distance. He hears Izye say, "Talun, in an hour we'll reach Ink Town. Follow me—I'll show you the interesting places there." Izye, known as the troublemaker of their tribe, always finds a way to stir something up.
Then comes the Chief's stern voice, "Izye, we have an important task. Don't create a problem for us."
Talun smiles inwardly. He understands why, despite being called a troublemaker, Izye is always brought along whenever the chief leaves the tribe. Izye is the third strongest in their tribe and the youngest to reach the late stage of the second realm of the mortal realm. Among all, he holds the greatest potential to break through to the third realm—the same realm as the Chief. So Talun believes the Chief indulges him because, if anything ever happens to him, Izye would likely become the next leader.
Izye responds dramatically, "Chief, how can you say that? Did I cause any trouble the last time you brought me?"
Sish, another hunter at the peak of the first realm of the mortal realm, replies, "Because last time, we beat the Red Coral tribe's chief's son to the brink of death."
Talun repeats the name 'Red Coral tribe' in his mind, then remembers—they're one of the nearby tribes. Their hunting paths often clash at Yellow Vines Mountain, located between both tribes' spheres of influence.
Izye defends himself, "He challenged me and couldn't defeat me. I told him to surrender repeatedly. The rule of the arena is that the fight can't stop unless someone surrenders or falls unconscious. So, to make him unconscious, I kept beating him."
As they approach Ink Town, Talun sees more and more people coming and going in its direction. Izye talks about the arena there. Fights happen daily, and if someone defeats ten opponents of the same realm, they earn the title of 'champion' and gain the right to participate in the yearly official tournament held by the arena. The reward is ten blood stones.
In the ocean world, blood stones function like coins and spirit fragments in the human world. A single blood stone can be refined into a hundred blood coins by mixing with other metals. Only spent or energy-depleted blood stones are converted this way. The arena, however, gives out blood stones filled with energy, enough to help Talun break through to the second realm in a short time.
But for that, Talun must first participate in the arena fights before he can win the ten blood stones, which are only awarded after ten consecutive victories. Thinking this through, Talun asks, "Brother Izye, can I also participate in the fighting at the arena?"
Sish says, "Are you thinking of winning the prize—ten blood stones? If that's your aim, I should tell you it's impossible. You only broke through to the hunter realm three weeks ago. It would be hard for you to even win a single fight."
The Chief adds, "I think Talun and the others who have only recently reached the hunter realm should fight in the arena. It will hone their combat skills. There's no danger if they surrender when they realise they're no match for their opponent."
The Chief then turns to Izye and says, "While I'm doing the trade with the Wave Naga tribe, take them and help them participate in the fights in the arena."
Izye nods. "Ok, Chief."
After that, they remain mostly silent as Ink Town comes into view—a settlement on the ocean floor encased in a glowing blue magical barrier. This barrier prevents ocean water from flooding the town. As they pass through it, the water vanishes, and their tails slither over dry ocean sand.
Talun follows the group into an inn. They rest and clean themselves for a while before heading out again. The Chief and the other tribe members, carrying trade goods, go in one direction, while Talun follows Izye, along with others who also recently broke through to the first realm.
Izye leads them toward a large building echoing with the loud shouts of names. Inside, Izye takes them to a counter, where their names are registered for the fighting matches. Then he guides them to a section reserved for participants—spectators here can only be fighters waiting for their turn.
After a while, the name of one of their tribe members is called. He faces an opponent who has already won three consecutive matches. Their tribe member is clearly outmatched and quickly surrenders. That opponent later loses to his sixth challenger.
Next, Talun's name is called. He steps into the arena to fight against an opponent with two consecutive wins. Talun defeats him swiftly. He stays in the ring, taking on one challenger after another, until he is finally defeated by his fifth opponent.
Ivy
Ivy leaves the mansion after her lessons for the day finish. She walks toward the dock of the island, and as she nears it, she hears, "Ivy, come quickly." She spots Cathy waving from a ship. Ivy nods and quickly walks over, climbing up to the deck.
As she steps onto the ship, Samay shouts, "Jaques, start the ship." Ivy feels a magical energy surge through the vessel, and the ship pulls away from the dock, heading toward their destination—Black Island.
Cathy says, "Ivy, I thought the teachers wouldn't let you come."
Ivy shrugs. "I don't know why they agreed."
Black Island is large, but due to its chaotic spiritual energy, humans find it difficult to reside there. Demonic beasts, however, thrive in it, making it a hunting ground. That's the purpose of their trip—hunting demonic beasts. Ivy had assumed the teachers wouldn't allow her to come, especially since it's only been a few days since she arrived at the mansion.
After a few hours, their ship docks at one of the many docks built around the island for hunting parties. No one knows who built these docks; hunters just find empty ones and use them.
The group climbs down from the ship and steps onto the island. A dense jungle covers the entire land, its canopy so thick that sunlight struggles to reach the forest floor.
In their group, Rhine leads. His cultivation is already at the intermediate stage of the Low-level Mage Apprentice realm, and his talent is among the highest. He assigns positions to everyone and then tells Ivy, "You stay in the centre and support whoever needs help the most."
With that, they move into the forest in formation. After a while, they encounter a low-level demon beast—a stone boar. The boar charges at them, but halfway through, it stumbles and crashes to the ground, caught in Samay's spider web spell.
Before the boar can recover, the group unleashes their spells. Though the beast tries to summon stone armour to protect itself, the barrage of magic shatters the defence. The assault is so intense that half the boar's body vanishes from existence.
Samay looks at the remains and sighs. "All of us attacking a demonic beast like that—it wasn't necessary."
Rhine stores the half-boar in his space bag, and they continue searching for their next target, only to find themselves facing an Ironback Ape, which attacks without warning. Samay immediately casts his spider web spell, but the ape tears through it with brute strength.
Madelyn quickly uses a scroll etched with a grease spell. The Ironback Ape slips and crashes into a tree, momentarily stunned. Cathy follows up with her vine spell, binding the ape and trying to hold it down. But before anyone can launch an attack, the ape lets out a thunderous roar, shattering the vines and rising to its feet.
A grey light envelops the beast, forming a defensive aura. When the others launch their attack spells, every strike is blocked by the shimmering light.
"Plan C!" Rhine shouts.
Plan C is meant to exhaust the demon beast before striking a killing blow. The Ironback Ape charges straight at Rhine. Cathy tries to repeat the grease spell with another scroll, but the ape leaps into the air, roaring as it targets Rhine mid-air.
Everyone freezes, startled by the sudden leap. Ivy, acting instinctively, casts her magic shield spell. Though the shield isn't strong enough to stop the Ironback Ape completely, it buys just enough time for Rhine to dodge out of the way.
As the ape crashes to the ground, Madelyn slams her palms down and casts her stone spike spell. The sharpened stone juts up from the earth, piercing the ape's foot. For the first time, the Ironback Ape howls in pain, its blood splattering across the jungle floor.
The Ironback Ape roars again, thrashing in fury from the wound in its foot. Its eyes glow red with rage as it slams its fists into the ground, activating 'Ironbody'—the grey light flashes around it once more, deflecting another barrage of spells. Cathy's ice spear shatters harmlessly against its glowing hide. Samay's fireball bursts against the light without even singeing fur.
"We need to count the Ironbody uses!" Rhine shouts, raising a stone shield to block a swipe from the ape that sends him stumbling back. "That was the third!"
Jacques quickly follows with his ice spear, but it's again nullified by the Ironbody. The ape lunges toward Madelyn, who lashes out with a water whip, striking its arms and trying to entangle it. The ape tears free, surging with another blast of grey light.
"Four!" Ivy calls, her magic missiles bouncing off the shielded hide. She keeps moving, casting another shield for Jacques as he dodges the ape's furious charge.
Cathy fires another ice spear, but this time, Rhine throws a fireball at the ape's feet to force it into dodging. The ice spear strikes during a gap—no Ironbody activated this time. It tears through the ape's shoulder, drawing a sharp howl of pain.
"That's five. It's conserving now," Rhine growls, hurling another fireball. This time, the ape shields again. "Six!"
The Ironback Ape growls low and charges at Samay. He casts a spider web, and the ape crashes through it, slowed just enough for Rhine to hit it with a flaming blast, sending it stumbling back. Madelyn follows with stone spikes that scrape its thigh, drawing blood.
It flares its grey aura again. "Seven!" Ivy shouts.
The group spreads out, forcing the ape to turn in multiple directions. Cathy switches between vine and ice, keeping the beast entangled long enough for Rhine to launch another fireball—blocked. "Eight!"
Jacques covers Ivy with his magic shield as the ape lashes out at her. Ivy counters with magic missiles to its already injured leg, forcing it to reactivate 'Ironbody'. "Nine!" she says, panting.
It bellows again, energy flickering erratically around its body. Samay traps one arm with a well-placed spider web. Madelyn summons a spike beneath its chest—it activates 'Ironbody' for the tenth and final time, the light shimmering and cracking under the strain.
"Now!" Rhine shouts.
The next moment is a blur—Cathy's vines whip around the ape's arms and legs, Jacques strikes with a freezing ice spear to the chest, Samay fires a fireball into the same spot, melting flesh and fur. Ivy casts her magic missile, striking the exposed wound left by Jacques.
The ape swings wildly, but it's slow, tired, wounded, and drained of energy.
Rhine finishes it. He gathers his energy, channels it into a blazing fireball, and hurls it directly into the ape's face.
The fireball explodes.
The Ironback Ape staggers back, flames engulfing its head. It sways once, then crashes to the ground with a heavy thud, smoke rising from its body.
Silence hangs for a moment before Rhine exhales, stepping toward the corpse. "Well done," he says. "Everyone."
Madelyn drops to one knee, breathing hard. "That was… too close."
"But it's dead," Ivy whispers, staring at the smouldering body.
Rhine stores the corpse in his space bag.
And then, they look at each other and notice the same exhuastion in there face and Rhine says we should return and start their return to their ship.
Sulla
Sulla, waking up in the morning, steps out of his room and walks through the already-stirring Crystal Tribe—the bloodspirit race's people now used to his presence. He doesn't draw as many curious glances as he once did. His golden eyes and light complexion still contrast starkly with their blood-red eyes and deep-hued skin, but the novelty of his presence seems to be wearing off.
Though he still cannot fully grasp their language, he understands enough to catch that today the tribe's warriors will go hunting. He watches from a distance as the hunting party gathers. Then the old man appears, accompanied by several tribe members. Together, they begin to dance in a circle around the warriors.
Watching their rhythmic steps and solemn expressions, Sulla guesses that these dancers, like the old man, must be witch cultivators. The tempo increases, and a phantom wind seems to stir the dust around them. Slowly, a blood-colored light begins to rise from the dancers, forming a glowing circle at their feet. As they move, intricate patterns etch themselves under the hunters' feet and then crawl up their bodies like living tattoos.
The markings pulse with eerie light, and Sulla feels the weight of something unnatural pressing down on the air. The dance ends suddenly. All the dancers collapse in exhaustion—except the old man, who remains standing. The transformation is clear. The hunters, now marked and silent, radiate a violent aura. Their eyes seem darker, wilder. Sulla stares at them and realizes—he no longer sees people, but beasts in human form.
The hunting party leaves the tribe at a sprint, vanishing into the jungle.
Sulla returns to his room, thoughtful. After some time, a young tribesperson brings him breakfast. Later, the old man arrives to continue his language lessons. The day passes in relative calm, but by evening, chaos returns.
Only two warriors come back.
Bloodied, limping, their armour torn, one drags the other. The rest are gone. Sulla pieces together their words—they had encountered another tribe in the jungle. A battle. A massacre. Only two survived.
Silence falls over the tribe like a shroud. The old man says nothing at first. Then, after a long while, he turns to Sulla and speaks.
Tomorrow, he says, the training begins.
Sulla is to learn how to become a Shaman.
And he must prepare.
Song Qi
Song Qi practices at the same spot in the bamboo clearing. The difference between yesterday and today is stark—each punch he throws now creates an air burst, shaking the distant bamboo and making the gloves on his fists tremble from the force. His last practice in the dream domain helped him step into the threshold of the Blood Bull Boxing Technique. Now, with only a week left before the competition, he must push toward minor accomplishment.
But Song Qi no longer believes that without achieving a minor accomplishment, he won't make it into the top thirty. Because on his hands are not ordinary gloves—they are low-level spiritual weapons. A gift from Lan Yue.
Earlier today, after finishing his meal, a female outer disciple came to him with a message. She brought him to Lan Yue, and there, he finally understood the reason behind her support for Chen Jing's challenge against Liu Kui. The goal hadn't been about pride or vengeance—it was to seriously injure Liu Kui, but the attempt had failed.
This time, the top thirty menial disciples aren't just competing for rankings. They're competing for a place in the exploration of a new secret realm. The secret realm will open in three stages. First, thirty disciples from each sect will enter. A month later, fifty more will join them, and finally, twenty more will enter. His sect plans to send the top thirty menial disciples in the first wave—to establish a base for the outer disciples who will come next, and ultimately for the inner disciples.
The inner disciples want their subordinates to enter early because the initial group will harvest the untouched resources of the realm. Lan Yue has her own reasons. Her master told her of a spiritual plant within the realm—the Soul Lotus. If she can get it, she can awaken her spiritual body early, long before reaching the fourth realm of the mortal path.
Song Qi's fists pause in the air.
He hears footsteps approaching through the bamboo.
Qin Bo and others are coming for their lesson.