SKREEECH...

Unfortunately, the Phantom Gale Leopard’s claws missed Mu Chen and scraped against a large tree instead, instantly carving out a huge, claw-shaped gash. The moment the Phantom Gale Leopard moved, Mu Chen moved as well. In terms of speed, Mu Chen’s half-baked Deceptive Step was no match for the Phantom Gale Leopard. But when it came to unpredictable movements, his Deceptive Step had the clear advantage.

"ROAR!"

The Phantom Gale Leopard roared in fury, spun around, and charged at Mu Chen again. Its sharp claws whistled through the air, aiming straight for his chest. But Mu Chen simply dodged to the side at a bizarre angle, evading the attack the beast was sure would land. After its strike missed, the Phantom Gale Leopard dragged its claws across the ground, leaving a long, narrow gash, before lunging for another attack.

The sharp claws swiped out again and again. Each time, the strike seemed certain to hit, but at the moment of impact, Mu Chen would cleverly evade it.

"ROAR!"

The Phantom Gale Leopard was renowned for its fearsome reputation; when had it ever encountered a situation like this? It let out a furious bellow, and its figure transformed into a ghostly blur, streaking past Mu Chen in an instant.

SQUELCH...

"Hmph..."

With a dull thud, Mu Chen failed to dodge in time and received a deep gash across his chest. Though the wound wasn’t too deep, the sight of his torn flesh made the corner of his mouth twitch.

"You beast."

His expression hardened. With a sharp tug of his left hand, Mu Chen whipped the Black Iron Lock Chain toward the Phantom Gale Leopard like a giant black whip.

BOOM!

As he lashed out, the forty-kilogram Black Iron Block at the end of the Black Iron Lock Chain smashed into the ground like a meteor hammer, kicking up a cloud of dust and leaving a half-meter-deep crater.

Forced back by the chain’s sharp advance, the Phantom Gale Leopard naturally leaped into the air.

However, just as its figure appeared mid-air, a dark silhouette with a cruel smile suddenly materialized before it. With a loud BANG, a fist sent its descending body flying back into the sky.

Mu Chen let out a sly grin. He had calculated that the Phantom Gale Leopard would be forced into the air by the Black Iron Lock Chain. Once it was airborne, its speed advantage would be completely nullified, as there were no footholds for it to push off from.

Watching the Phantom Gale Leopard in the air, Mu Chen infused his left hand with Furious Thunder Force. Using the Thunderous Fist Technique, he decisively swung the Black Iron Lock Chain toward the airborne beast.

The Black Iron Lock Chain rattled as the Black Iron Block at its end shot up from the ground like a meteor. Trailing specks of dust and accompanied by a clap of thunder, it slammed violently onto the Phantom Gale Leopard’s head.

BOOM!

CRUNCH... CRUNCH...

The immense impact instantly shattered the Phantom Gale Leopard’s head. A rain of blood and white brain matter fell from the sky. After the dust and stones settled, the headless body of the leopard crashed to the ground with a thud. Splattered with blood and gore, Mu Chen felt a wave of nausea. He was just about to leave and find a stream to wash himself off when an irregular, dark green crystal caught his eye. The crystal lay quietly in the center of where the bloody rain had erupted. It didn’t look particularly special, but he could feel an astonishing fluctuation of Primordial Power from within it.

He walked over and picked it up. It was cool to the touch. As he turned it over in his hand and felt the pure Primordial Power inside, Mu Chen’s heart skipped a beat.

’It’s a Demon Crystal.’

A Demon Crystal, much like a human’s Dantian, is where a Magical Beast stores its Primordial Power. Ordinary Magical Beasts do not possess them; only those that have reached the realm of a Level 1 Magical Beast have a chance of forming one. Furthermore, a Level 1 Magical Beast that has formed a Level 1 Magic Crystal is considerably stronger than one that has not.

As for the effects of a Demon Crystal, there was much to say. First, they were extremely expensive consumables. They are natural storage devices for pure Primordial Qi, filled with the refined energy the Magical Beast accumulated in its lifetime. A Martial Artist could absorb the Primordial Qi within to rapidly advance their cultivation realm.

They also served as a form of currency. Take the Level 1 Magic Crystal Mu Chen had just obtained, for example. In any city, it could be sold for at least five Purple Elemental Crystals. The prices for Level 2 and Level 3 Demon Crystals were even more staggering. However, people were generally unwilling to sell Demon Crystals of a higher level, as anyone capable of killing a Level 3 Magical Beast or stronger would have a great need for such consumables themselves.

Although Mu Chen had never used a Demon Crystal before, he had seen many of them. Luofeng City was a supply hub, and Mercenaries would bring their Magical Beast kills there to sell as soon as possible. You could even find Fourth-level Magic Crystals for sale, but the prices were always driven to exorbitant heights.

After wiping the bloodstains off the Demon Crystal, Mu Chen casually placed it into his Storage Ring. He couldn’t use it yet, but once he broke through to the Martial Artist realm, he would need a large number of them. Besides, there would definitely be no shortage of situations where he’d need money in the future. He hadn’t brought a single coin with him when he left home.

He scanned his surroundings one more time. Seeing nothing else had been dropped, Mu Chen unhurriedly left the area to search for a stream. The metallic scent of blood on his body didn’t bother him too much.

The sky gradually darkened. Fortunately, after walking for nearly an hour, Mu Chen came across a river. The water was clear, and by the light of the moon, he could even see fish swimming within.

With a faint smile, he stripped off all his clothes and quickly jumped into the water. The moment he was submerged, a cool sensation washed over him, allowing his weary nerves to finally relax. Once he was clean, he floated gently on the surface, quietly gazing at the moon in the sky.

’It’s been two and a half months since I left home,’ he thought. ’I wonder if Mom and Dad are alright. My sister should have arrived at the Imperial Academy long ago. I wonder what realm she’s reached now. The last time, Master said she had already become a Martial Artist. She must have made even more progress by now.’

As he murmured to himself, a captivating figure suddenly appeared in his mind’s eye. Dressed in a snow-white gown, she danced gracefully before him like a Spirit Butterfly. Her breathtaking face broke into a sweet smile, like a blooming Ice Lotus.

"Mu Chen, remember, if anyone bullies you, just tell me. I’ll take care of them for you."

"You little brat! How dare you splash water on me! Just you wait, I’m telling Mom!"

"Haha, look at your face! You look like a grubby little kitten."

"Silly, how could you be useless? You’re the most important person in the whole world."

"Mu Chen, even if everyone else abandons you, I will stay with you. I will never leave you, never forsake you."

"Because... I’m your big sister."

Scene after scene from the past slowly surfaced in Mu Chen’s mind. There were tears and laughter, joy and happiness, as well as sorrow. But through it all, the image of this girl had been deeply etched into his heart. She wasn’t his biological sister, yet she doted on him more than any real sister could. The thought of her was indelible.

’Get stronger. I have to get stronger,’ he resolved. ’If what Master said is true, my sister’s background must be extraordinary. I can’t let her suffer even the slightest harm. I must become powerful.’ Clenching his fists, Mu Chen slowly sank beneath the water, letting the cold river flow over him. A moment later, he resurfaced, shaking the water droplets from his hair. He leaped out of the river, changed into a set of clean clothes, and murmured to the moon, "Sister, wait for Chen’Er."

With that, he activated Deceptive Step. The Black Iron Lock Chain clanged and scraped behind him, leaving a long trail in its wake—proof that a stubborn and resolute young man had passed this way...

「One month passed in the blink of an eye. That night, deep within the Demon Beast Forest...」

"RAWR..."

RUMBLE...

Following a loud crash, an unusually large rhinoceros collapsed to the ground, sending stones flying.

At the same time, after a series of sharp clangs, a lean, shirtless figure with shoulder-length hair descended from the sky, landing beside the rhinoceros’s corpse. With a practiced motion, he plunged a dagger into the rhino’s skull. With a flick of his wrist and a twist of the blade, an earth-yellow crystal flew out.

"Number 103."

The corner of the lean figure’s mouth curled up as he casually tossed the yellow crystal into his Storage Ring. As the sunlight hit his face, the figure’s features were revealed. Who else could it be but Mu Chen?

The Mu Chen of today looked less boyish and more mature. His bare torso was covered in a web of startling scars. He didn’t look particularly muscular, but he exuded an air of exceptional competence.

This Iron Rhinoceros was just one of the countless Level 1 Magical Beasts Mu Chen had killed. For the past month, he had been fighting almost every day. Sometimes the Magical Beasts came to him, and other times he sought them out. He had gone through innumerable battles, honing his skills until they were as polished as those of a veteran Mercenary, continuously harvesting the lives of one Magical Beast after another.

Tying his long hair back, Mu Chen sat down on the spot and began circulating the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique again. But after just a few moments, he shook his head with a wry smile.

’It’s been five days.’

Mu Chen was completely exasperated. Ever since he reached the Peak of Nine-Ring Martial Disciple five days ago, he hadn’t been able to advance a single step. The Black Iron Block attached to his left arm had increased from fifty catties to five hundred, and a casual tug on the Black Iron Lock Chain showed that it was tattered and looked like it could snap at any moment.

"Mmm... that was a good nap. Huh? Peak of Nine-Ring Martial Disciple!"

The sound of a lazy stretch came from beside Mu Chen. He turned to see the transparent body of the Profound Old Ghost materializing. Seeing the Profound Old Ghost’s drowsy expression, Mu Chen lost any will to be angry. For the past month, he had been fighting all by himself, with no one to talk to or even to relieve his boredom.

Thankfully, he had the two Combat Skills, Deceptive Step and Thunderous Fist, to keep him company. Otherwise, he really would have gone mad.

"Yeah, but I’ve been stuck at this realm for five days. I still haven’t found a way to break through."

Mu Chen sighed. In truth, going from a nobody who wasn’t even a Martial Disciple to a practitioner at the Peak of Nine-Ring Martial Disciple in just three and a half months was already an astonishing feat. If word of this got out in the Xuanling Empire, it would undoubtedly cause a massive uproar.

The Profound Old Ghost grunted in agreement. "That’s nothing to worry about. There is indeed a bottleneck between a Peak Ninth-Ring Martial Disciple and a Martial Artist. It’s not that you can’t break through, but that the time isn’t right. Some people may never break through in their entire lives, while others might do so on the spot. But most people break through quietly after experiencing certain events. So don’t worry, you might just break through on your own in a few days."

"I hope so."

Hearing this, Mu Chen let out a breath and began circulating the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique in his mind once more. This time, he was using it to recover his stamina and Spiritual Power.

ROAR... ROAR...

Just then, a tremendous roar suddenly echoed through the otherwise tranquil forest. Mu Chen immediately stopped circulating the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique, sprang to his feet, and looked toward the source of the sound.