Three Years of Quiet Cultivation

He closed his eyes and rapidly worked out his next plan. He had over three hundred Blue Fruits, eighty-two Red Fruits, and enough metal materials to fill half a space ring. Those things were enough to support a long period of secluded cultivation.

"First, I'll push my original body's cultivation to its limit. Then I'll consider the clone and genetic level."

He opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through his vertical pupils. Searching through his inherited memories, he found several secret techniques suited to his current stage.

"Original Body Heaven and Earth," the most core secret technique of the Golden Horned Beast lineage, enhanced combat power by compressing the body. He had used it once in the secret realm, compressing his hundred-meter-tall original body to just over ten meters, but that had only been a crude attempt. It did not even count as getting started.

"Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending," an offensive secret technique specially meant to strengthen claw attacks, suited his original body's fighting style.

There was also the spatial secret technique "Absolute Space." It had been prepared for the Void Beast clone and was divided into three levels: Arc Light, Myriad Transformations, and teleportation. Void Beasts were born darlings of space, so cultivating this technique would yield twice the result with half the effort.

Golden Horn separately listed out the clone's cultivation plan, then calmed his mind and began a long period of secluded cultivation.

Cultivation began with devouring.

Golden Horn took out a piece of Black Iron Essence and swallowed it. Warm energy spread through his body, merging into his limbs and bones. At the same time, he circulated his body-tempering secret technique, fusing that energy into every muscle and every bone.

The courtyard was left with only deep breathing and the occasional crackle of exploding bones.

During the first month, he devoured ten tons of Black Iron Essence, steadily rising from Stellar level, fifth order to the sixth order. He also consumed thirty Blue Fruits. Each one brought surging, pure energy, making them more efficient than ore.

But Golden Horn was in no hurry to pile up his cultivation.

Recalling the secret technique formula for "Original Body Heaven and Earth" from his inherited memories, Golden Horn tried to compress his body. He controlled every muscle and bone within him, forcing them inward. His bones creaked, while the fascia beneath his scales tightened like twisted steel wires. Pain surged over him like a tide, but he did not stop.

A month later, he had compressed himself to twelve meters.

Three months later, ten meters.

Half a year later, eight meters.

With every bit of compression, his physical strength surged dramatically. One day, unable to resist the urge any longer, he slipped into the wilderness and swung a claw with all his strength. Boom! He smashed an entire mountain to pieces. Such destructive power was already terrifying among those at the Stellar level.

Meanwhile, the Void Beast clone sat cross-legged atop a stone platform in the courtyard, its eyes closed as it sensed the spatial fluctuations around it.

The Void Beast's talent was indeed frightening. On the first day, it caught the faint ripples flowing through space. On the seventh day, it tried synchronizing its body with those spatial fluctuations. Whoosh! Its figure vanished from the spot and appeared ten meters away.

Even Golden Horn's original body was stunned. According to his inherited memories, ordinary cultivators needed years to take this step.

In the days that followed, the clone constantly practiced "Arc Light." Its teleportation distance expanded from ten meters to a hundred meters, then a thousand meters. The number of consecutive teleports also rose from one to more than ten. Its sensing range expanded from several hundred meters to several kilometers, and it could even vaguely sense the energy fluctuations of other powerful Demon Race members on Myriad Monster Star.

In the third month, Golden Horn began consuming Red Fruits.

He did not dare eat too many at once, so he started by swallowing one. The warm energy was not as surging as that of a Blue Fruit. Instead, it seeped into every cell, slowly transforming him on the genetic level like a silent metamorphosis.

When his genetic level broke through twenty times, Golden Horn clearly felt his physical strength, recovery speed, and energy absorption efficiency improve greatly. He tried using "Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending," and the light from his claws actually carried a faint trace of golden law fluctuations.

The Law of Gold? Golden Horn's heart trembled.

Being able to touch upon laws at the Stellar level was the mark of a genius. He suppressed his excitement and continued devouring.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

Golden Horn rose from the stone bench, his joints crackling loudly. His original body had now compressed to five meters, twenty times smaller than its original hundred-meter size, yet its strength had multiplied several times over. His cultivation had steadily stopped at the Stellar level, ninth-order peak, only one step away from the Universe level.

The Blue Fruits had long since been used up, and the metal materials were also exhausted. Over the past three years, he had gone out several times to sell some useless odds and ends and buy more batches of metal, but there was now little left that he could sell for money.

All eighty-two Red Fruits had been consumed, and his genetic level had ultimately stabilized at a number that even surprised him—fifty times. He guessed it was because his original body's initial genetic level had been low, leaving more room for improvement.

The Void Beast clone had already mastered "Arc Light." Its teleportation distance could reach fifty kilometers, its sensing range covered half of Myriad Monster Star, and its comprehension of spatial laws had reached the first level.

The only regret was that "Original Body Heaven and Earth" had only reached the third level, still far from its thirty-sixfold limit. "Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending" had only reached minor mastery, while he still could not find the path into the second level of "Absolute Space," "Myriad Transformations."

"I need real combat." Golden Horn muttered to himself. He would never become a true powerhouse by meditating alone.

His money was also nearly gone. Living off his savings was not a long-term plan. It was time to leave seclusion.

Golden Horn activated his communication wristband and dialed Mouse Nine-Nine's number.

"Lord Golden Horn! You've finally contacted me!" Mouse Nine-Nine's voice was full of excitement.

"Come over."

Half an hour later, Mouse Nine-Nine stood on Golden Horn's shoulder, leading the way while explaining Myriad Monster Star's power structure. Over the past three years, Golden Horn had instructed him to gather a great deal of intelligence.

The greatest power on Myriad Monster Star was the government. The planetary lord was said to be at the peak of the Sector Lord level, with rumors claiming he had already broken through to become a World Lord. His teacher was a peak World Lord expert with a strong chance of breaking through to the Immortal level, so no one dared cause trouble on Myriad Monster Star.

Next came the branches of several imperial clans. The Sirius clan, Spacetime Nightmare Beasts, Nine Meng Beasts... all had Sector Lords stationed here, controlling many profitable businesses. Golden Horn narrowed his eyes when he heard the Sirius clan mentioned. The Universe-level spirit reader he had killed in self-defense had belonged to that clan.

The two Immortal ancestors were the pillars holding up the Demon Race. Shock Demon Ancestor governed physical bodies and the Beast God Legion, serving as the Demon Race's "shield." Dream Demon Ancestor governed souls, illusions, and the Dream Ancestor Secret Realm, serving as its "spear."

Golden Horn silently memorized this information.

"Lord Golden Horn, what are your plans next?" Mouse Nine-Nine asked curiously.

Golden Horn thought for a moment. "Does Myriad Monster Star have anywhere for real combat? Not life-and-death battles, just sparring to test one's strength."

Mouse Nine-Nine's eyes lit up. "Yes! The arena and the Monster Hunting Hall both allow battles!"

"The arena? I thought that was usually a place for settling private grudges?" Golden Horn became interested.

"That's true, but how can there be so many private grudges? So they also accept sparring matches between powerful cultivators. You can fight in the ring. Contestants pay a certain fee, and the winner can take the other party's money. Someone once won fifteen matches in a row and took home an enormous prize."

"Oh, interesting." Golden Horn lightly flicked his tail. "Lead the way."

Mouse Nine-Nine excitedly waved his little paw and pointed in the direction ahead.

Golden Horn nodded and started walking.

After three years of quiet cultivation, it was time to test the results.