A Breakthrough Before Leaving (Please Keep Reading)

Snow fell, blanketing the entire Magical Beast Mountain Range in silver.

In a valley, Linley stood with armor made of crystal jade covering his body, a greatsword in hand.

A Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape stood upright nearby, towering over twenty meters tall. Its entire body was covered in golden fur, and only its eyes were purple. It faced off against Linley.

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

The Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape sounded rather helpless.

For almost a month now, this human had come to fight it nearly every day.

He was clearly only at the eighth rank, yet he wielded a power the ape couldn't understand at all.

Though the ape had always had the upper hand in their fights, it couldn't kill its opponent.

Most importantly, whenever he was injured too badly, the human would simply run away.

At first, the ape had chased after him relentlessly.

But after several times, it had given up.

This human was simply too fast when he ran.

And it seemed that when he fled, he used that same power the ape couldn't understand.

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

In the end, the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape decided to abandon its territory.

But what it found even harder to understand was that this human had caught up to it again just three days after it left.

"Big guy," Linley said with a smile. "It's simple. Just keep fighting me. When I leave, I'll give you a present."

Before the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape could answer, Linley charged forward.

His figure became a blur in midair, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared above the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape.

"Profound Mystery of Earth Pulse: Triple Waves!"

The next moment, the heavy sword in Linley's hand came crashing down.

The Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape didn't dare to be careless.

It had seen this move before.

When the heavy sword struck its body, a strange ripple would travel through it and damage its internal organs.

Saint-level Magical Beasts had stronger bodies than humans.

But that only meant their bodies were stronger, not their internal organs.

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

"Pfft!"

The heavy sword struck the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape's palm.

There was nothing unusual about it, as if Linley had simply swung his sword casually.

But three invisible ripples traveled through the greatsword and entered the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape's body.

"Pfft!"

The Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape suddenly spat out blood, its face changing dramatically.

"Three waves? You broke through again?"

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

In the blink of an eye, it seemed to teleport hundreds of meters away, appearing at the entrance to the valley.

"Huh?"

Seeing this, a flicker of surprise crossed Linley's eyes. "You've got some talent, big guy. You actually comprehended the Profound Mystery of Earth Walking?"

"Profound mystery?" Blood still lingered at the corner of the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape's mouth. "You mean that strange power you use? I comprehended it while running away these past few days."

The Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape's words left Linley speechless with amusement.

Generally speaking, Magical Beasts had far less aptitude for comprehension than humans.

After a Magical Beast became a Saint-level being, it was at least Saint-level Peak, but that was purely because of its powerful body.

Humans, on the other hand, were only at the initial Saint-level unless they comprehended a law.

But most Magical Beasts found it difficult to comprehend the laws, even after becoming Saint-level beings.

Among the Saint-level beings Linley had fought, only the Spiked Back Iron Armored Dragon had managed it.

Although it had only just become a Saint-level being, it had already comprehended a trace of a law.

Linley had chosen the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape as his opponent for a reason.

The main reason was that the ape had never comprehended a law before, making it a suitable opponent for him while he couldn't use Dragon Transformation.

He hadn't expected that repeatedly beating the ape would accidentally lead it to comprehend the Profound Mystery of Earth Walking.

Of the six Profound Mysteries of the Laws of the Earth, Earth Elemental and Earth Walking were both basic profound mysteries.

But even a basic profound mystery, combined with the physical strength of a Saint-level Magical Beast, made the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape one of the rare powerhouses among Magical Beasts.

"That's right. The Laws of the Earth have six profound mysteries. The Profound Mystery of Earth Pulse that I use to attack you is one of them, and the Profound Mystery of Earth Walking you're using now is another."

Over the past month, Linley had come to feel that he and the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape got along fairly well, so he hadn't kept anything from it.

Besides, Linley hadn't been lying when he said he would give it a present before he left.

"What good is that?" The Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape was puzzled. "It only makes me faster when I run away. It's no use in a fight."

Linley couldn't help rolling his eyes at the ape's words.

This guy had poor comprehension, and he wasn't much of a fighter, either.

"If you're faster, won't you be able to hit your enemy sooner?"

"That makes sense!"

The Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape's eyes lit up.

The next moment, it disappeared from the entrance to the valley and reappeared in front of Linley.

Its enormous golden fist came crashing down toward him.

Linley wasn't nervous at all. Instead, he smiled. "Good! Bring it on!"

"Boom!"

The greatsword swept upward, moving so slowly it seemed to crawl. But the next moment, it struck the golden fist.

"Crack!"

"Arrrgh!"

The sound of breaking bone rang out. The Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape cried out in pain and flew backward.

"I lose, I lose!" The Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape fell to the ground and quickly waved its hands. "I'm no match for you. I surrender."

Hearing the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape surrender, Linley didn't continue attacking.

As Linley grew stronger, the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape could no longer satisfy his need for a sparring partner.

"Big guy." Linley put away his greatsword and stepped forward. "I'm leaving the Magical Beast Mountain Range in three days. I won't forget the present I promised you before I go."

With that, Linley left the valley without lingering.

"He's finally leaving." Watching Linley walk away, the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape let out a long breath. "Once he's gone, I'm going to get a good sleep. Three years—no, five years—no, ten years! I'm going to sleep for ten years."

Linley had no idea about the Purple-Eyed Golden Fur Ape's grand dream.

After leaving the valley, Linley ran over a hundred miles before arriving at a cave.

Linley had barely stopped in front of the cave when a black shadow darted out.

"Squeak!"

"Boss, you're finally back! I missed you so much."

Bebe stood on Linley's shoulder, looking rather excited.

Looking at Bebe on his shoulder, Linley couldn't help smiling. "I think you just miss me roasting meat for you."

"Both, both!" Bebe wasn't the least bit embarrassed. "Come on, boss. It's almost dark."

Linley nodded and went into the cave. "All right. Wait a moment, and I'll roast some meat for you."

"Linley." Doehring emerged from the Coiling Dragon Ring. "It's been half a year. The Ernst Magic Institute is about to start a new term."

"Yeah!" Linley threaded the cut-up bear paws onto a branch. "I'm leaving in three days. Grandfather Doehring, I'm planning to make one more breakthrough tonight."

Linley's words made Doehring's already reflective expression freeze.

"Linley." As a Soul Form, Doehring felt his mouth go dry for the first time in ages. "You mean your elders?"

"That's right, Grandfather Doehring." Linley didn't deny it. "Once we've eaten, I'll make another breakthrough. This time, I'll reach the ninth rank."