Breakthrough Before Departure (Seeking Follows)

Heavy snow fell, and the entire Magical Beast Mountain Range was blanketed in silver.

In a valley, Linley stood tall, his body covered in armor made of crystalline jade, holding a greatsword.

A Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape, standing fully twenty meters tall with golden fur all over its body and only its eyes appearing purple, stood not far away, confronting Linley.

"Human," the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape's voice rumbled, "it has been nearly a month. What exactly are you trying to do?"

The tone of the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape seemed somewhat helpless.

For the past month, this human in front of it had sought it out to fight almost every single day.

Clearly, he only possessed eighth-rank strength, yet he had mastered a power that it could not understand at all.

Although it had held the upper hand during every fight, it simply could not kill the opponent.

The most critical point was that every time the human was slightly seriously injured, he would immediately flee.

At first, it would pursue him relentlessly.

But after several times in a row, it chose to give up.

The escape speed of this human was simply too fast.

Moreover, it seemed that when he was fleeing, that same power it couldn't understand was at work.

It couldn't kill him, and it couldn't catch him.

Consequently, the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape finally decided to abandon its territory.

But what made it even harder to understand was that only three days after leaving its territory, this human had caught up again.

"Big guy," Linley said with a smile, "it's very simple. Just keep sparring with me, and after I leave, I will give you a gift."

As soon as Linley finished speaking, he didn't wait for the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape to reply and charged out first.

His figure turned into a blur in the air, appearing above the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape in the blink of an eye.

"Profound Mystery of Earth Pulse: Triple Waves!"

The next moment, the heavy sword in Linley's hand descended.

Seeing this, the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape dared not be careless.

It had seen this move before.

When the heavy sword struck its body, a strange vibration would transmit into its internal organs, causing damage.

The physical body of a Saint-level magical beast was stronger than that of a human.

But that was only the physical body; the internal organs were not as resilient.

The next moment, the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape hurriedly raised its arms to block.

"Pfft~"

The heavy sword landed on the palm of the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape.

There was nothing extraordinary about it, as if Linley had truly just swung his sword casually.

However, three invisible ripples had already traveled along the greatsword and into the body of the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape.

"Pfft~"

The Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, its entire face changing color.

"Three waves? You actually broke through again?"

Feeling the injuries inside its body, the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape instantly put distance between itself and Linley.

In the blink of an eye, the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape appeared at the entrance of the valley hundreds of meters away, as if it had teleported.

"Oh?"

Seeing this, a flash of surprise appeared in Linley's eyes. "Big guy, your talent is quite good. You actually comprehended the Profound Mystery of Earth Walking?"

"Profound Mystery?" The Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape still had blood on the corner of its mouth. "Is that the strange power you use? I realized this while fleeing these past few days."

The words of the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape made Linley chuckle involuntarily.

Generally speaking, the comprehension of magical beasts is much lower than that of humans.

After a magical beast breaks through to the Saint-level, although they are at least at the peak of the Saint-level, that is purely relying on their powerful physical bodies to reach that point.

Humans, on the other hand, are considered early-stage Saint-level unless they comprehend the Laws.

However, most magical beasts, even after breaking through to the Saint-level, find it very difficult to gain any insight into the Laws.

Among the Saint-level beings Linley had fought, only the Spiked Back Iron Armored Dragon from before had been different.

Although it had just broken through to the Saint-level, it had already comprehended a trace of the Laws.

The reason Linley chose this Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape as his opponent was mainly because this guy hadn't comprehended any Laws yet, making it perfectly suited for him while he couldn't use Dragon Transformation.

But he hadn't expected that by chasing this guy and fighting him, he would accidentally help it comprehend the Profound Mystery of Earth Walking.

Among the six Profound Mysteries of the Laws of the Earth, both Earth Elemental and Earth Walking were elementary Profound Mysteries.

Yet even for a low-level profound mystery, when combined with the physical strength of a Saint-level Magical Beast and an understanding of the laws, it was formidable.

This Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape could already be considered a rare powerhouse among Magical Beasts.

"That's right, there are six profound mysteries in the Laws of the Earth. The Profound Mystery of Earth Pulse I used to attack you is one, and the Profound Mystery of Earth Walking you are using now is another."

Over this past month, Linley felt that his relationship with the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape was quite good, so he didn't hide anything.

Moreover, Linley wasn't lying when he said he would give it a gift before he left.

"What's the use of that?" The Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape looked puzzled. "It only makes me run faster when I'm escaping; it's useless in a fight."

The Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape's words made Linley roll his eyes.

This guy not only had poor comprehension but also lacked any talent for combat.

"If your speed is faster, doesn't that mean you can hit your enemy faster?"

"That makes sense!"

Hearing this, the eyes of the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape lit up.

The next moment, the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape, which had been at the entrance of the valley, suddenly appeared right in front of Linley.

A massive golden fist smashed down toward Linley.

Linley wasn't nervous at all; instead, a smile appeared on his face. "Well done!"

"Boom!"

He swung his greatsword upward, the speed appearing slow to the extreme, yet the next instant it struck the golden fist directly.

"Crack!"

"Ahhh!"

The sound of bones cracking echoed out, and the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape let out a miserable shriek as it was sent flying backward.

"I lose, I lose!" Collapsed on the ground, the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape waved its hands frantically. "I'm no match for you, I surrender."

Hearing the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape concede, Linley didn't continue his attack.

With the improvement of his own strength, the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape could no longer meet Linley's requirements as a sparring partner.

"Big guy." Putting away his greatsword, Linley stepped forward and said, "In three days, I will be leaving the Magical Beast Mountain Range. I won't forget the gift I promised you before I leave."

After saying this, Linley didn't linger and walked straight out of the valley.

"Finally leaving." Watching Linley's retreating back, the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape let out a long sigh. "Once this guy is gone, I'm going to have a good sleep. I'll sleep for three years—no, five years—no, ten years. I'm going to sleep for ten years."

Linley was unaware of the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape's grand dream.

Leaving the valley, Linley sprinted for over a hundred miles until he arrived at a cave.

Just as Linley stopped in front of the cave, a black shadow darted out from within.

"Squeak, squeak!"

"Boss, you're finally back! I've missed you to death."

Beibei stood on Linley's shoulder, looking quite excited.

Looking at Beibei on his shoulder, Linley couldn't help but smile. "I think you just want me to roast meat for you, right?"

"Both, both!" Beibei didn't feel embarrassed at all. "Hurry up, Boss, it's almost dark."

Linley nodded and entered the cave. "Alright, wait a moment, I'll roast the meat for you right away."

"Linley." Doehring manifested from the Coiling Dragon Ring. "It's been half a year; the Ernst Magic Institute will be starting soon."

"That's right!" Linley casually skewered the prepared bear paw onto a branch. "I'm leaving in three days. Grandpa Doehring, I plan to make another breakthrough tonight."

Linley's words caused Doehring, who had been feeling somewhat sentimental, to stiffen.

"Linley." As a soul entity, Doehring felt a long-lost sensation of his throat going dry. "Are you talking about your... elder?"

"That's right, Grandpa Doehring." Linley didn't deny it. "After I finish eating, I'm going to break through again. This breakthrough will be to the ninth rank."