Magical Beast Mountain Range

July, 9995 of the Yulan Calendar.

The first summer vacation after the end of fourth grade.

Akes stood outside the eastern gate of Fenlai City, gazing at the faint outline of the Magical Beast Mountain Range in the distance. He took a deep breath.

He had wanted to come here two years ago, but back then, he had not been strong enough. Entering the mountain range at the early stage of the fourth rank would have been nothing but suicide.

"One month," he calculated. "That should be enough."

He turned to look at the people seeing him off—Yale, George, and Reynolds had all come. Linley stood a little farther away, with Bebe perched on his shoulder.

"Third Brother, are you sure you don't need me to send a few people with you?" Yale was unusually serious. "The Magical Beast Mountain Range is no joke."

"No." Akes shook his head. "More people would only make things troublesome."

George nodded. "Then be careful. See you when school starts."

"See you then." Reynolds waved. "Don't come back missing an arm or a leg."

Akes laughed. "Don't worry. If anyone's missing something, it'll be them."

Linley said nothing and merely nodded at him.

Akes nodded back.

That was how the few of them got along—they reminded each other when needed and cared when needed, but never fussed excessively. Everyone had their own path to walk. Brothers were not meant to bind each other down, but to trust each other.

He turned, took a step forward, and headed toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Yale's booming voice came from behind him. "Come back alive! I'll treat you when school starts!"

Akes did not turn around. He merely raised a hand and waved.

The outer region of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, the next day.

Akes crouched behind a massive boulder, watching the magical beast thirty meters away.

A Bloodthirsty War Boar, a fifth-rank magical beast with a fire attribute. Its hide was thick, its flesh tough, and its temper violent. A blood-red horn protruded from its snout, and it was currently rooting through the ground, searching for something.

"Fifth rank." Akes calculated silently. "Perfect for testing myself."

He raised his right hand and began chanting.

The Fallen Heart Flame pulsed faintly within him as the surrounding fire elements rapidly gathered. He did not use the Five Spirit Wheel to absorb them at full force; that would cause too much commotion and alert his target.

A fire serpent shot from his palm and flew straight toward the Bloodthirsty War Boar's back.

"Roar—!"

The Bloodthirsty War Boar cried out in pain and spun around sharply, its blood-red eyes fixed on Akes's direction. With an enraged roar, it pushed off with all four limbs and charged toward him like a heavy war chariot.

Akes did not dodge.

He was waiting.

Thirty meters, twenty meters, ten meters—

Just as the Bloodthirsty War Boar's horn was about to pierce him, he moved.

He sidestepped and slid aside, slamming his right palm into the Bloodthirsty War Boar's flank at the same time.

The Fallen Heart Flame surged with full force.

Milky-white flames instantly invaded the Bloodthirsty War Boar's body. The inside of a fifth-rank magical beast was far more vulnerable than its exterior. The flames spread through its blood, charging straight for its heart.

"Roar—!"

The Bloodthirsty War Boar let out a miserable scream. After rushing forward more than ten meters, it crashed to the ground. Its limbs twitched a few times before it went still.

Akes walked over and looked at the magical beast's corpse.

"Fifth rank. Not bad."

He took out a short blade, skillfully cut open the magical beast's skull, and dug out a fiery-red Magic Core. A fifth-rank Magic Core was worth at least two hundred gold coins on the market.

"A good start."

After putting away the Magic Core, he continued deeper into the mountain range.

The fifth day.

Akes encountered his first target of the day—a sixth-rank magical beast, a Blazing Lion.

This magical beast was not particularly large, around two meters long. Its entire body was covered in crimson mane, and it could breathe scorching flames. Among sixth-rank magical beasts, it was considered difficult to deal with: fast, fierce, and cunning.

At the moment, the Blazing Lion was lying atop a rock, basking in the sun with its eyes half-closed, looking utterly relaxed.

Akes observed it for a while. After confirming there were no other magical beasts nearby, he began to move.

He chose to approach from the side.

He restrained the Fallen Heart Flame to the utmost limit, softened his footsteps, and slowly drew within twenty meters under the cover of trees and rocks.

This distance was enough.

He raised his right hand and began chanting.

The fire elements around him began to stir.

The Blazing Lion abruptly raised its head, its crimson eyes sweeping toward Akes.

"Roar—!"

With an angry roar, the Blazing Lion leaped down from the rock and pounced at him.

Akes remained unhurried and continued chanting.

Just as the Blazing Lion came within ten meters, the spell was complete.

"Flame Storm!"

Milky-white flames erupted outward from Akes in every direction. The Blazing Lion collided head-on with the flames, let out a cry of pain, and was blasted backward.

But it did not die.

A sixth-rank magical beast's defenses were far stronger than those of a fifth-rank one. That attack had merely wounded it, and instead enraged it further.

The Blazing Lion got back up and opened its mouth, spraying out a pillar of fire.

Akes dodged sideways and began chanting a second spell at the same time.

The fire pillar struck a tree behind him and instantly set it ablaze. The Blazing Lion pounced again, even faster this time, its claws slicing through the air as they went straight for his head.

Akes did not retreat.

He met it head-on. Just as they were about to collide, he sidestepped and slid aside, slamming his right palm into the Blazing Lion's flank.

The Fallen Heart Flame surged with full force.

Milky-white flames invaded its body. The Blazing Lion let out a miserable scream, convulsed violently, and collapsed onto the ground, rolling around.

Akes retreated several steps and watched it struggle.

A few breaths later, the Blazing Lion stopped moving.

He walked over and confirmed that it was thoroughly dead before collecting his spoils. The sixth-rank Magic Core was a full size larger than a fifth-rank one, and its color was deeper as well.

"Sixth rank. Not bad."

After putting away the Magic Core, he looked around. The battle just now had made quite a commotion and might draw other magical beasts over. He needed to leave quickly.

He turned and disappeared into the dense forest.

The evening of the eleventh day.

Akes sat at the entrance of a cave, tending to the wound on his left arm.

The wound was not deep. It had been left by a sixth-rank magical beast he had encountered yesterday—a Thunder Leopard. It had been too fast, and he had reacted a little too slowly, allowing it to claw him once.

"Fighting sixth-rank magical beasts one-on-one is still a little difficult," he muttered to himself as he rinsed the wound with clean water, applied herbs, and wrapped it with cloth strips.

After treating the wound, he leaned against the cave wall and let out a long breath.

His gains over the past eleven days had been quite good. He had killed seven fifth-rank magical beasts and three sixth-rank magical beasts. The Magic Cores alone were worth at least two thousand gold coins. He had several injuries as well, but none were serious enough to affect his movement.

"I'll wander around for a few more days tomorrow. It'll be about time to head back."

He closed his eyes, preparing to rest.

Just then—

[ Ding—Detected that the host has entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range for the first time. A special scene sign-in has been triggered. ]

[ Would you like to sign in? ]

Akes opened his eyes, momentarily stunned.

A special scene sign-in? There was such a good thing?

He silently said in his heart, Sign in.

[ Sign-in successful. ]

[ Reward obtained: Sword Immortal World · Fire Spirit Bead (Fragment)—one of the Five Spirit Pearls of heaven and earth, containing pure fire spirit power. It can be fused into the body, greatly increasing fire affinity, increasing the power of fire magic by 100%, and increasing fire element absorption speed by 200%. Current state: sealed. Requires gradual unsealing. ]

Before the notification had even finished, a scorching aura appeared out of thin air and rushed into Akes's body.

In that instant, he felt as though he had been plunged into magma.

The surrounding fire elements surged toward him like mad, countless times faster than usual. The Fallen Heart Flame throbbed violently, as though it had encountered something that excited it, intertwining with that scorching aura.

After an unknown amount of time, everything gradually settled.

Akes opened his eyes and discovered that his condition had changed.

The magic power in his body had not increased, but his perception of fire elements was completely different. When he closed his eyes, he could clearly "see" countless fiery-red motes floating around him. They happily circled him as though welcoming something.

"The Fire Spirit Bead..."

He raised his right hand. With a thought, a ball of flame appeared in his palm.

It was milky-white, but brighter than before and far hotter. He could feel that its power was more than double what it had been before.

"A 100% increase in power and a 200% increase in absorption speed..." Akes muttered. "And this is only its sealed state?"

He recalled the setting from the original work. The Fire Spirit Bead was one of the Five Spirit treasures from Sword Immortal World, containing the purest fire spirit power between heaven and earth. He did not dare imagine how powerful it would be once fully unsealed.

That night, he did not fall asleep.

After the Fire Spirit Bead fused into his body, the surrounding fire elements automatically gathered toward him. The sensation was too clear—so clear that he simply could not sleep.

So he sat up and cultivated instead.

The Five Spirit Wheel revolved, the Fallen Heart Flame pulsed, and with the Fire Spirit Bead's enhancement, his absorption speed became three or four times faster than usual. He could clearly feel the magic power in his middle dantian growing at a visible rate.

"At this rate, I'll reach the fifth rank within a month."

The fifteenth day.

Akes stood atop a slope, looking down at the valley below.

There was a group of magical beasts in the valley, around a dozen or so, all fourth- and fifth-rank fire-attributed magical beasts. In the past, he would never have dared provoke such a large group, but now—

He wanted to test it.

He raised his hand, activating the Fallen Heart Flame and the Fire Spirit Bead's enhancement.

A ball of milky-white flame condensed in his palm, growing larger and brighter. He did not chant any spell. He simply compressed the flame until it reached its limit.

Then he threw it into the valley.

The flames landed in the center of the valley and exploded with a deafening blast.

Milky-white waves of fire spread in every direction. More than a dozen magical beasts screamed at once. Four or five collapsed on the spot, while the rest scattered and fled.

Even Akes was stunned.

"So strong?"

He leaped down the slope and walked toward the valley.

There were five magical beast corpses—four fourth-rank beasts and one fifth-rank beast. After collecting their Magic Cores, he stood where he was and sensed the power within his body.

The Fire Spirit Bead's enhancement was indeed terrifying. The same spell had double the power while consuming roughly the same amount of magic power. That meant his current combat strength was more than twice what it had been when he first entered the mountain range.

The twenty-third day.

Akes prepared to return.

Over these twenty-odd days, he had killed more than twenty magical beasts, and his bag was more than half full of Magic Cores. There were fourth- and fifth-rank ones, as well as five sixth-rank ones. At market prices, they were worth at least five thousand gold coins.

He had several more injuries on his body, but none were serious.

"That's about enough." He packed his belongings and gave the depths of the Magical Beast Mountain Range one last look. "I'll come again next time."

He turned and headed toward Fenlai City.

Three days later, outside Fenlai City's eastern gate.

Akes spotted the people waiting at the gate from far away.

Yale, George, and Reynolds were all there, while Linley stood a little farther off.

"Third Brother!" Reynolds was the first to rush over. "You're finally back! We thought the magical beasts had eaten you!"

"Almost," Akes said with a smile. "But it wasn't me that got eaten. It was the magical beasts."

Yale looked him over. "You're thinner and darker, but you look energetic. How were the gains?"

"Not bad." Akes patted the pack on his back. "Enough to buy us a few good meals."

"Then let's go to Wald!" Yale waved a broad hand. "My treat!"

That evening, at the Wald Hotel.

The table was piled high with dishes as the five of them ate and chatted. Akes told them some of what he had seen in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, making Reynolds gasp in shock every few moments.

"More than twenty magical beasts? By yourself?"

"Who else would it be? It's not like they care about the rules of the martial world."

"That's incredible! When will I be able to be like you?"

"Cultivate properly. Give it a few more years."

George smiled as he poured Akes some wine. "Come on, let's celebrate Third Brother returning alive."

"Celebrate your head. I came back alive because I was alive to begin with."

"Then let's celebrate your abundant harvest."

"Now that's more like it."

Yale raised his cup. "Come on, cheers!"

The five of them clinked their cups together.

Even Linley drank a little for once. Though his brows were tightly furrowed, he still swallowed it down.

[ Ding—Detected that the host has completed his first trial in the Magical Beast Mountain Range and gained greatly. ]

[ Would you like to sign in? ]

Akes silently said in his heart, Sign in.

[ Sign-in successful. ]

[ Reward obtained: Azeroth Blink—instantly move ten meters forward. Cooldown: one incense stick's time. ]

A cool breath flowed into his body and soon settled into silence.

Akes's lips curled slightly.

"Third Brother, what are you smiling about?" Yale leaned closer.

"Nothing." He raised his wine cup. "Come on, let's have another toast."

"Cheers!"

Under the moonlight, the laughter of the five youths drifted out the window and into the distant night sky.