My Infinite Cultivation System-Chapter 65: Hunting saint level creatures

Five days had passed since Alex began hunting. For five days, he had been moving through the shadows, striking swiftly and disappearing before anything stronger could notice his presence.

Alex had become like a ghost within this mountain range.

Beast Monarchs had been falling one after another. A horned serpent had died here. A stone-armored bear had fallen there. A pack of silver-fanged wolves had required three separate engagements before he had managed to wipe them out completely.

With every kill, a faint stream of life essence had flowed into his body. The progress bar had been creeping upward steadily—2000, 4000, 6000.

On the third day, he had nearly been caught by a Saint-level predator. A massive spider had dropped from the canopy without warning. He had teleported away with only milliseconds to spare, and the creature’s fangs had closed on empty air where his head had been moments before.

After that incident, he had become far more cautious. Spirit animals had been constantly patrolling ahead of him. His teleportation ability had always remained primed and ready.

By the evening of the fifth day, the long-awaited notification had finally appeared.

[Ding. Life essence threshold has been reached. Ultimate Physique is evolving.]

Alex had found a sheltered spot between two massive boulders and had waited patiently. Twenty minutes later, the process had been completed.

He opened the panel.

[Ultimate Physique: Level 5]

[Gene Strength: 5x]

[Life Essence: 0/10000]

Five times normal human genetic strength meant that his 8.5-gigaton base output effectively reached 42.5 gigatons in combat. That amount of power was enough to surpass a high-level Martial Monarch.

However, the next threshold gave him pause.

Ten thousand life essence points were required which was two thousand more than the previous level had demanded.

Beast Monarchs were already becoming scarce. He had scoured this entire section of the mountain range. He had killed everything at that level that had not traveled in packs too large for him to handle. The remaining Monarchs were either too well hidden or too well protected.

He leaned back against the rock and began to consider his options.

In two more days, the system would forcibly raise his cultivation to level 47. That increase would add roughly ten gigatons to his base strength. With the 5× multiplier applied, his effective output would reach approximately 92.5 gigatons.

That level of strength would bring him close to that of a low-level Saint.

He lifted his gaze toward the peaks surrounding him. Somewhere among those heights, Saint-level beasts were roaming in far greater numbers than the Monarchs below.

"This place truly is backwards," he muttered. "There are more high-level beasts than low-level ones. What kind of ecosystem could function like this?"

The answer was obvious. The Prime Sanctuary did not follow normal rules. The strong devoured the weak, and the weak were consumed so thoroughly that they barely existed as a category.

If he wished to continue growing stronger, he would have to climb further up the food chain.

"In two days," he decided. "Then I will begin hunting Saints."

He closed his eyes and allowed himself to rest. The next phase would begin soon enough.

Back on Earth, the situation could not have been more different.

Elizabeth had been standing in front of Alex’s door for the tenth time that day. For the entire day she had been knocking and waiting, yet she had received no response.

"Alex, I am coming in."

She used the key and slowly pushed the door open.

The room was empty.

For a moment, her mind refused to process what she was seeing. The bedsheets had been neatly folded. The desk had been clean. The window had been closed. There had been no sign of struggle and no indication that anything had happened.

There had only been emptiness.

"He might be in the washroom," she whispered to herself.

She checked the washroom as well, but it had been empty.

She pulled out her communicator and dialed his number.

The automated voice responded immediately. "The person you are trying to reach is outside the coverage area."

Elizabeth’s hand began to tremble.

"Alex?"

The word came out small—almost fragile.

Then her voice grew louder.

"Alex!"

She stumbled backward, struck the doorframe, and slid down to the floor. Her communicator clattered away from her hand.

Lina and Rena heard the commotion and came running. They found their mistress seated on the floor, staring into nothingness as tears streamed down her face.

"Madam? What has happened?"

"He is gone," Elizabeth replied, her voice cracking. "Alex is gone."

Thirty minutes later, the villa’s living room had filled with people.

Julius stood near the window with his arms crossed, his face grim. Arthur leaned against the wall. Elyndros sat in an armchair with his fingers steepled. Nolan paced slowly back and forth.

Elizabeth’s parents had arrived as well. Her mother sat beside her, holding her hand. Her father stood behind them, appearing older than he had looked a week earlier.

Anna was present too, perched on the edge of a chair, her eyes were red though no tears were falling now. Darion stood behind her with one hand resting on her shoulder.

No one spoke for a long moment.

Finally, Julius broke the silence.

"He can teleport," he said calmly and deliberately. "Has anyone considered that he might have left on his own?"

The words settled heavily over the room.

Everyone understood what that implied. Leaving the protection of the light domain meant stepping into a world tremendous danger.

"He should not have been that impulsive," Arthur said, though it sounded more like a question. It was as though he was attempting to convince himself.

Elizabeth herself had not spoken since she had explained what had happened. She simply sat there, staring at the floor while silent tears continued to fall.

Suddenly, Anna swayed.

Darion caught her just as her knees gave way. "Anna?"

Her eyes rolled back, and she went limp.

"Take her to a room," Elyndros said quickly as he rose. "She needs rest. The shock has been too much for her."

Rena hurried over and helped Darion carry Anna down the hall.

After they had gone, Julius spoke again.

"We should not jump to conclusions," he said, looking around the room. "Alex has more tricks up his sleeve than any of us realize. If anyone can survive out there, it would be him."

Arthur nodded slowly. Elyndros remained silent, but his expression suggested that he agreed.

The problem was that surviving was not the same as coming home.

And none of them could go searching for him. The world outside had become too dangerous and too chaotic. They did not even know where they would begin.

So they could only wait.

Deep within the Prime Sanctuary, Alex had just made a decision that would have terrified everyone gathered in that living room.

He was going to begin hunting Saints.

The opportunity presented itself sooner than he had expected.

Alex looked up and felt a chill run down his spine.

A massive hawk was circling above him, easily 20 meters wide from wingtip to wingtip. Lightning arced between its feathers, and its eyes locked onto him with unmistakable predatory focus.

Then it began to dive.

[Name: Lightning Hawk]

[Talent: Lightning Manipulation (SSS)]

[Rank: Mid-level Saint Beast]

[Note: It is a solitary hunter that preys on anything smaller than itself.]

A mid-level Saint.

Alex’s mind began calculating rapidly. A low-level Saint possessed roughly 300 gigatons of destructive power. A mid-level Saint would possess nearly triple that—approximately 900 gigatons of raw force.

His base strength was 8.5 gigatons. With his fivefold genetic enhancement, his effective output reached 42.5 gigatons—sufficient to contend with several high-level Monarchs.

Against a Saint?

He should have run.

But he did not.

A slow smile spread across his face.

"Dragon Transformation."

His body erupted into change.

Scales burst from his skin, golden and gleaming. His frame expanded as muscles swelled and bones lengthened. A tail tore through the back of his pants and lashed behind him. Two horns curved outward from his forehead.

Within three seconds, he had completed the transformation. He was not a true dragon, but he resembled one closely a dragonoid form, human in shape yet clad in dragon flesh.

Power surged through him.

The transformation granted a twentyfold boost. His base strength of 8.5 gigatons multiplied to 170. Then his genetic multiplier of five was applied on top of that.

Eight hundred fifty gigatons.

He raised one hand toward the diving hawk. Scales covered his arm, and claws tipped his fingers.

"Come."

The hawk’s eyes widened as it sensed the sudden shift. A moment earlier, this creature had seemed weak. Now it radiated undeniable danger.

Yet it had already committed to the dive. Pride would not allow it to retreat.

Lightning gathered around its body, condensing into a massive sphere of crackling energy. It released the blast just as it entered striking range.

Alex moved his other hand.

A sword manifested from his omni weave wrist band.

"Annihilation."

He swung.

The slash tore through the lightning sphere as though it had not existed. It continued forward through the air and struck the hawk across its chest.

The creature’s momentum carried it onward even as its body split in two. Blood and feathers sprayed across the mountainside.

It crashed behind Alex in two separate halves.

[Ding. You have gained 1000 life essence.]

Alex released the transformation and dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. The boost had taxed his body severely but it had been worth it.

He looked at the hawk’s corpse.

"A thousand points from a single Saint," he murmured with a returning grin. "That is the equivalent of ten Monarch kills in one fight."

"I do not need to wait for the breakthrough."