The battle soon ended, and the group joined forces to slay the three Shadow Leopards.
Xiao Han stood beside the cheetahs' corpses, seemingly examining the spoils, but secretly using [Shadow Devour].
After the three Shadow Leopards died, the negative energy and residual soul fragments they released turned into three wisps of black vapor, as if drawn by an invisible force. They silently entered Xiao Han's body and were greedily absorbed by the Eternal Night King Martial Soul.
A pleasant sensation spread through his body, and the Eternal Night Monarch's aura grew a little stronger.
Fine nourishment indeed, Xiao Han thought with satisfaction.
Similar encounters continued throughout the rest of their journey.
The Black Mist Forest lived up to its name. Most of the exotic beasts that lived there had negative attributes such as darkness, deadly poison, and corrosion. There were Rotten Bone Lizards that traveled in packs, Ghost-Faced Poison Spiders that could spew poisonous mist, Soul-Devouring Mud Monsters lurking in the swamps...
These exotic beasts caused the other students considerable trouble. They had to deal with them carefully and expended quite a bit of spiritual power.
But to Xiao Han, this place was paradise!
The Eternal Night King Martial Soul possessed tremendous resistance to and suppression over these negative energy attributes.
The poisonous mists, curses, and mental attacks that gave others headaches were much less effective against him, and some were even absorbed and transformed directly by his Martial Soul.
His attacks, whether his fists imbued with Destruction Intent or ordinary strikes occasionally empowered by a trace of the Eternal Night Monarch's power, inflicted terrifying damage on these exotic beasts far beyond what his realm should have allowed!
Often, while the other squads were still locked in fierce combat, Xiao Han had already dealt with the trouble on his side with effortless ease. Then he would stroll over to the corpses, take a moment to "examine" them, and devour all the energy they had released while he was at it.
Along the way, the number of exotic beasts he had killed nearly matched an entire squad's combined total!
More importantly, with this constant "nourishment," the aura of his Eternal Night King Martial Soul continued to grow at an astonishing rate, drawing ever closer to the limit he could withstand at the Sixth Level of the Warrior Realm!
Even his skill at blending into shadows with A Step to the Ends of the Earth became increasingly effortless.
Although Xiao Han deliberately kept these changes under wraps, they still attracted the attention of those who were watching.
The scrutiny in Luo Bing's gaze when he looked at Xiao Han had turned into deep wariness and puzzlement.
He simply could not understand how someone at the Sixth Level of the Warrior Realm could hunt these exotic beasts so effortlessly when even he had to take them seriously.
Had he hidden his strength? Or was his Martial Soul... exceptionally unusual?
The other Zero Class students, who had initially ignored Xiao Han, now regarded him with awe and curiosity. No one dared treat him like an ordinary Warrior Realm cultivator anymore.
This transfer student was shrouded in mystery!
Xiao Han was well aware of the change in those around him, but he could not be bothered to pay it any attention.
He immersed himself in the exhilaration of his rapidly growing strength, while steadily familiarizing himself with and adapting to the secret realm's environment.
Just after they had traveled roughly a hundred li into the Black Mist Forest, the Eternal Night King Martial Soul, which had been happily absorbing energy inside Xiao Han, suddenly trembled!
It was no longer the general affinity for the surrounding dark energy that it had shown before, but a more distinct and intense stirring!
It was as though something far ahead was resonating with it!
This feeling of resonance...
Xiao Han's pupils abruptly contracted!
It was so much like the feeling he had experienced when he sensed the Shadow Demon Lotus in that mysterious valley outside Beihai City!
Though faint, that distinctive fluctuation, imbued with the dual properties of space and shadow, could not be mistaken!
Could a treasure like the Shadow Demon Lotus be hidden deep within this trial secret realm? Or... could it be a clue about the Shadow Demon Lotus?!
The system's notification about the quest reward flashed into his mind!
Xiao Han's heart began to race beyond his control.
He forcibly suppressed his excitement and calmly raised his head, looking in the direction from which the sensation came—deeper into the Black Mist Forest, toward an area shrouded in dense black fog that was difficult even for his perception to penetrate.
It seemed it was time to leave the main group and act alone.
The secret realm's true secrets might be waiting for him up ahead.
Xiao Han's eyes flickered, and his lips curved into an expectant smile.
This trial was becoming more and more interesting.
The distinctive fluctuation from deep within the Black Mist Forest held Xiao Han's senses fast like a magnet.
The stirring of the Eternal Night King Martial Soul grew clearer, accompanied by an instinctive yearning.
He glanced back at the Zero Class group, which was gradually falling behind. Luo Bing's cold, scrutinizing gaze still seemed to cling to his back.
The corner of Xiao Han's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, but he said nothing more.
The Zero Class squad stopped to deal with several Corrosive Worms they had just killed. A pungent, sour stench still lingered in the air.
During that brief lull, Xiao Han slipped into the deep shadow cast by a giant tree beside him.
Almost instantly, his figure blurred, then vanished completely.
When he reappeared, he was already a hundred meters away. After a few leaps, he vanished entirely into the thick fog and dense forest.
Free of the group, Xiao Han no longer held back, pushing A Step to the Ends of the Earth to its limits.
Rather than simply running, he seemed to be making short spatial jumps between different shadows, silently and at astonishing speed.
The deeper he went into the forest, the more oppressive his surroundings became.
The sky overhead was completely swallowed by thick fog, and the light had grown so dim that everything around him was pitch-black. He could barely see a thing.
The air had changed. Rather than pure spiritual energy, it was filled with a special energy that was cold and deathly still, with a faint sense of decay.
An ordinary martial artist who reached this place would probably find even breathing difficult, and the circulation of spiritual power would also be severely affected.
But Xiao Han felt comfortable all over.
The Eternal Night King Martial Soul trembled joyfully inside him, and [Shadow Devour] was more active than ever. Without even needing him to activate it, the ability spontaneously swallowed the surrounding special dark energy in great gulps.
The energy surged into his body without causing him any discomfort. Instead, it swiftly transformed into the purest source power, nourishing his Martial Soul.
The monarch's illusory figure, which had been somewhat indistinct, was becoming solid at a perceptible rate, and its oppressive might was growing heavier.
At the same time, Xiao Han felt his understanding of A Step to the Ends of the Earth deepening rapidly. In particular, techniques like Shadow Fusion and Shadow Step came increasingly at will, as if they were instinct.
"Roar!"
A deep roar erupted from the thick fog ahead.
Three pairs of scarlet lights appeared in the darkness, flickering unsteadily.
Immediately afterward, three exotic beasts lunged out!
They were a size larger than the Shadow Leopards he had encountered earlier, and their bodies were covered in dark scales that reflected a faint, cold light in the gloom and looked exceptionally hard.
Black-Scaled Demon Leopards, at the Martial Master Realm Fourth Level!
The three demon leopards moved with extreme speed, producing piercing whistles as they cut through the air. Their claws sprang out, flashing coldly as they surrounded and pounced on Xiao Han from three directions in a triangular formation!
The pounce was swift and vicious. Any student at the Sixth Level of the Warrior Realm would probably have been torn apart in an instant, without even time to react.
Yet Xiao Han did not even break stride.
An instant before the claws touched his body, his figure suddenly turned indistinct and distorted. Then, with a puff, it dissolved on the spot into a few nearly imperceptible wisps of black smoke that blended into the surrounding darkness.
All three Black-Scaled Demon Leopards' attacks struck empty air!