The morning after slaying the Green Pattern Giant Serpent, Lin Tian woke in the cave to find the rising sun filtering through gaps in the vines, casting mottled golden light across the ground outside. Feeling the replenished and even more refined magical power and battle qi within him, Lin Tian suddenly understood—true training had never been about defeating a single magic beast, but about constantly pushing beyond one's limits at the edge of life and death.
Over the following month, Lin Tian underwent even more frenzied training in the Magic Beast Mountain Range. He no longer deliberately chose his targets, instead following the aura of magic beasts and taking the initiative to attack. From level-six Iron-armored Rhinoceroses to level-seven Shadow Leopards, his footprints covered every dense forest and gorge in the mountain range's middle region.
His battle with the Iron-armored Rhinoceros was a clash of pure brute force. The giant beast stood nearly three zhang tall, its hide so thick that it could withstand fifth-level magic head-on. Lin Tian's Fireballs struck its back and did little more than leave charred marks. After three hours of deadlock, Lin Tian used the rhinoceros's momentum as it charged, concentrating the intense heat of Flame Spear at his spear tip and driving it into the gap at its front leg joint—the iron beast's only weakness. By the time the rhinoceros crashed to the ground, Lin Tian's arm had been dislocated by the recoil. Yet after roughly setting it back into place, he immediately began extracting the magic core.
Encountering the Shadow Leopard was another extreme trial. Its entire body was pitch-black, allowing it to melt into shadows and move at high speed, while its claws carried a paralyzing toxin. Lin Tian was toyed with by it for two whole days and gained seventeen claw wounds before he finally figured out its movement pattern. Only then did he use Gun Cannon's chained Fireballs to seal off every possible foothold, ultimately piercing its heart with Spear Blade. Slumped beside the Shadow Leopard's corpse, he looked at his left arm, faintly darkened by poison, and for the first time felt that the word "caution" mattered more than talent.
Beyond magic beasts, the threat of raiders had never disappeared. In a valley rich with Nether Grass, Lin Tian had just dealt with a level-six Demon Bear and was crouching down to carefully gather his spoils when three poisoned crossbow bolts suddenly shot from the bushes behind him at an angle. They tore through the air with sharp whistles, aimed straight for his heart. Lin Tian reacted instantly, flooding his legs with battle qi and twisting into an almost impossible sideways roll. The bolts grazed his waist and buried themselves in the mud, their arrowheads gleaming faint blue—a clear sign of deadly poison.
"You're a clever one, kid." A burly man in tight black clothing stepped out from behind a tree. He stood a full head taller than Lin Tian, broad-shouldered and thick-backed, with a serrated blade in his right hand. Fresh blood still clung to its edge, and his aura was as deep and heavy as an abyss—he was actually a level-seven warrior. No one else stood behind him; he was clearly a lone raider. "A brat your age daring to enter the middle region of the Magic Beast Mountain Range must have plenty of good things on him."
Lin Tian slowly straightened, spinning his spear in his palm and pointing its tip directly at the burly man. "Robbing me? Are you tired of living?"
The burly man sneered, twirling the serrated blade and producing a harsh metallic scrape. "A level-six runt, yet you've got quite a mouth. Today, I'll teach you that the rules of these mountains are made by us." Before his words had even faded, he lunged forward. The serrated blade screamed through the air as it hacked toward Lin Tian's neck, the force behind it heavy and savage. Clearly, he was a ruthless veteran who had fought through countless brushes with death.
Instead of retreating, Lin Tian advanced. He suddenly lowered himself, and the intense heat of Flame Spear instantly ignited the dry grass beneath him. Using the thick smoke as cover, his spear darted out like a nimble serpent, accurately stabbing toward the man's joints—the blind spots in his armor's defense. With a wet sound, the spear tip sank half an inch in. The burly man cried out and twisted aside, sweeping his serrated blade horizontally as he did so. Lin Tian had no choice but to leap backward, but the blade wind still struck his lower back, leaving it burning with pain.
"Fast reactions." The burly man licked his lips, his gaze growing fiercer. "But the gap between level seven and level six isn't just a little thing." His footwork was steady, and every swing of his blade carried tremendous force, each strike aimed at a vital point. He clearly intended to end the battle quickly. Lin Tian, meanwhile, relied on his agility to keep moving, alternating between Fireball and spear techniques. At times, he used Gun Cannon's chained Fireballs to obstruct his opponent's vision; at others, he used Spear Blade's piercing power to search for openings.
After nearly half an hour of fighting, Lin Tian's left arm had been sliced open by the blade wind, leaving a wound deep enough to expose bone. Poison spread through his blood, making his vision swim with darkness. The burly man was not faring much better. His right leg had been scorched by Fireballs, and his movements had noticeably slowed. Lin Tian knew he could not drag this out any longer. He suddenly feigned exhaustion, staggering backward and deliberately exposing an opening. The burly man took the bait, roaring as he swung his blade down with all his strength. Just as the edge was about to strike him, Lin Tian bit through his tongue and used the sharp pain to clear his mind. He poured magical power and battle qi into the spear at once, and the spear tip erupted with blinding red light—the limit of Flame Spear's heat.
"Die!"
The moment spear and blade collided, the terrifying heat actually melted a notch into the serrated blade. In the instant the burly man froze in shock, Lin Tian had already closed in. His spear slipped through the gap and pierced straight through the man's chest. The burly man's eyes filled with disbelief as his massive body crashed to the ground. Lin Tian leaned on his spear, gasping for breath. Looking down at his poison-darkened left arm, he suddenly remembered what Laun had said when he first entered the mountains: "Caution is not cowardice. It is the capital that lets you survive." Only now did he truly understand the weight of those words.
Over that month, Lin Tian's days passed in a cycle of battle, healing, and cultivation. He learned to meditate quickly during breaks in combat to restore magical power, mastered the technique of using battle qi to force poison back, and could even observe a magic beast's weaknesses and habits while fighting it. The techniques he had created grew increasingly refined. Flame Spear's temperature could be precisely controlled to burn rather than incinerate; Gun Cannon's Fireball density could be adjusted according to the number of enemies; and after constant refinement, Spear Blade's penetrating force could barely break through the physical defenses of a Rock Turtle—a level-seven magic beast with defenses comparable to those of level-eight beasts.
His Storage Ring gradually filled up: over a hundred magic cores of various levels, a pile of medicinal herbs for healing and recovery, and three Anonymous Magic Crystal Cards taken from the bodies of raiders. More importantly, his strength as a warrior quietly broke through to the late level-six stage. His spiritual power also stabilized at the late level-six stage, and the coordination between his magical power and battle qi grew increasingly seamless. Sometimes, while casting magic, he could even reinforce his body with battle qi to perform unbelievable evasive maneuvers.
That afternoon, Lin Tian had just killed a level-seven Rock-Armored Bear and was crouching by a stream, washing away the bloodstains, when he suddenly sensed a familiar aura descending from the sky. He looked up to see a fiery-red figure break through the clouds and dive down amid scorching waves of air—it was Laun's magic beast companion, Fire Phoenix.
Fire Phoenix landed in a clearing not far away. The gust unleashed as its wings folded sent the loose strands of hair on Lin Tian's forehead flying back. Laun leaped down from Fire Phoenix's back, his blue-gray robe snapping in the mountain wind. His gaze fell upon Lin Tian, carrying both scrutiny and satisfaction.
"Teacher." Lin Tian rose to his feet and instinctively straightened his back. After this period of training, his frame had become more upright, and his eyes were brighter and sharper than ever.
Laun approached at an unhurried pace. His eyes swept over Lin Tian's still-unhealed wounds, then glanced at the Rock-Armored Bear's corpse by the stream before finally settling on Lin Tian's clenched right fist, where traces of condensed battle qi still lingered. "Not bad." The old mage's voice held a smile. "After all these days of training, not only did you keep your life, but you've tempered your strength into something increasingly solid."
Lin Tian scratched his head. Remembering his inexperience when he had first entered the mountains, he could not help feeling a little embarrassed. "It's because of your excellent guidance, Teacher."
"You walked the road yourself. You shed the blood yourself. It only counts if you can put into practice what you've heard." Laun waved a hand, then pointed at Fire Phoenix. "Pack up. It's time to return. Your magical power and battle qi have both improved greatly through this training. It's time for you to go back and consolidate your gains."
Lin Tian's heart stirred. He quickly stored the Rock-Armored Bear's magic core and paws in his Storage Ring, then checked his belongings once more. As he carried his spear toward Fire Phoenix, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to look at the mountain range that had witnessed his struggles between life and death these past days. Magic beasts seemed to roar from deep within the forests, lingering smoke still drifted through distant gorges, and the air forever carried the fragrance of vegetation mixed with the faint scent of blood.
"Can't bear to leave?" Laun's voice came from behind him.
"A little," Lin Tian admitted.
At that, a rare gentleness appeared on Laun's aged face. "The path of cultivation is one forged through life and death. But shutting yourself away to build a cart behind closed doors and blindly pushing yourself to the limit will both take you nowhere. Go back and reflect. Once you've digested the insights from these days, you can return."
Lin Tian nodded heavily and followed Laun onto Fire Phoenix's broad back. As Fire Phoenix beat its wings and rose into the air, he looked down at the shrinking mountain range. The gorges where he had fought, the caves where he had healed, and the forests where he had gathered herbs all became burning marks in his memories.
The wind howled past his ears, carrying the chill and freedom of the high skies.
"Teacher, next time I come, I want to challenge a level-eight magic beast," he shouted into the wind.
Laun's laughter echoed through the air. "Break through to level seven first, then we'll talk!"
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