At the same moment Human Rock broke through into its third stage, Overlord, the woman beneath Marcus began to change as well.

Every time Anya reached her limit and trembled in his arms, she could feel it clearly. More of his energy poured into her body, wave after wave, blending with her own power until the red Phoenix Cry energy inside her began to heat up violently. It grew hotter with every release, denser with every pulse, building layer upon layer inside her.

Soon, her entire body was overflowing with Marcus’s Human Rock energy and her own Phoenix Cry energy. A faint red glow seeped from her skin and wrapped around her like mist. Combined with her already striking beauty and noble presence, the effect was almost unreal. She looked as though she had been touched by living fire itself, and Marcus found it impossible to look away from her.

Marcus could actually feel the heat coming from her skin now. It wasn’t painful, but warm and strangely comforting, like standing beside a fire during winter. Even her breathing had changed. Every soft breath against his neck carried traces of that burning energy, making his own blood react instinctively.

But this was only the beginning of Human Rock’s dual cultivation process.

When Anya climaxed for the sixth time and Marcus finally reached his own peak, an immense surge of pure solar essence burst from him and rushed deep into her body along with a powerful flood of energy.

"Marcus..."

Anya cried softly and held onto him tighter, the overwhelming force nearly making her lose consciousness.

Then, deep inside her body, the solar essence exploded into brilliant golden light.

A violent surge followed immediately after.

The golden energy spread through her body like a river breaking through a collapsed dam, unstoppable as it flooded every part of her. In moments, the golden Human Rock energy completely overwhelmed the red Phoenix Cry energy.

But the red energy did not disappear. Instead, it reacted.

With a sudden burst, the crimson energy flared brighter than before, as though Marcus’s power had ignited it completely. Then it began devouring the golden energy surrounding it.

Marcus’s Human Rock energy became nourishment. The Phoenix Cry energy absorbed it greedily, growing stronger with every passing second.

Anya could feel the change happening inside her in real time. The Phoenix Cry energy that had once felt difficult to control now moved eagerly through her body, as though it had finally found the missing piece it had always been searching for. Instead of resisting Marcus’s energy, it welcomed it completely

Soon, supported by the accumulated energy from before and strengthened further by Marcus’s powerful essence, the Phoenix Cry energy inside Anya finally reached its limit.

The burning red power began circulating through her body according to the Phoenix Cry technique. It completed one cycle after another before gradually gathering inside her lower core, condensing tighter and tighter until it finally took shape.

A fiery red phoenix appeared within her core.

Phoenix rebirth.

Anya’s heart trembled. This was exactly what her father had once described to her. The sign that Phoenix Cry had entered its initial mastery stage.

Earlier, when the red energy inside her suddenly began burning during their dual cultivation, she had already felt suspicious. The signs matched the descriptions perfectly. Phoenix Cry was supposed to ignite and accumulate energy before reaching rebirth.

But according to her family’s estimates, she should have needed at least another five years before reaching this stage. More importantly, losing her virginity was supposed to destroy the technique completely and cripple her cultivation forever.

That was why she had not dared to hope. She had convinced herself that what she was feeling was impossible.

Yet now, inside her core, a phoenix formed from burning crimson energy existed clearly before her senses. Marcus had taken her virginity, but instead of destroying Phoenix Cry, his power had pushed it directly into rebirth.

In a single night.

"Marcus..."

Anya wrapped herself around him more tightly, her feelings for him deepening again.

Along with that love came pride.

The man she had chosen possessed strength beyond anything she had imagined. No one in her family would ever be able to look down on him.

She wanted badly to know what kind of cultivation technique Marcus practiced. What sort of power could completely overturn the rules surrounding Phoenix Cry?

But at that moment, she was too exhausted and too comfortable to think deeply about it. Marcus still remained inside her, and through their connection, warm waves of energy continued flowing between them. Golden Human Rock energy mixed with her burning phoenix power as both continued strengthening each other.

Especially the phoenix within her core.

It continuously absorbed the golden energy around it, becoming brighter and more lifelike with every passing moment. The fire energy inside it grew deeper and purer.

Anya relaxed against Marcus’s chest and closed her eyes comfortably. She did not want to move or even speak. She simply enjoyed the warmth between them and the steady circulation of their energies.

"Marcus... I’m finally your woman now. I can stay by your side forever."

The angelically beautiful woman wrapped her arms around his waist, looked up at him with gentle affection, then buried herself against his chest. Before long, the two of them drifted into a peaceful sleep together.

Not long after they fell asleep, however, their dual cultivation reached its final stage.

A brilliant golden light suddenly erupted from Marcus’s body. At the same time, the red glow surrounding Anya condensed outside her body and slowly took shape.

A fiery phoenix appeared in the air above her. Even more shocking, the phoenix seemed alive.

As though drawn toward Marcus’s golden light, it circled around him happily and moved through the golden radiance with clear affection, almost like a living creature celebrating his presence.

The strange phenomenon continued for more than two hours before slowly fading away.

Unfortunately, Marcus and Anya remained fast asleep through all of it, completely unaware of what had happened.