Magical Beasts Mountain Range
The Magical Beasts Mountain Range was an adventurers' Asura arena, recognized as such across the Yulan Continent.
Mountains stretching for thousands of miles sprawled across the land. Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky, their dense foliage shutting out the sunlight completely.
The forest was dark and damp all year round. The air carried the musty smell of decaying leaves, the earthy scent of soil, and the savage, bloody aura left behind by magical beasts.
This vast, boundless mountain range was home to more magical beasts than anywhere else on the continent.
From the weakest first-level magical beasts to supreme Saint-level magical beasts capable of slaughtering Saint-level experts, their ranks were clearly defined, and deadly danger lurked everywhere.
Countless adventurers entered in pursuit of wealth and opportunities. Some returned laden with magic cores and treasures, achieving fame and fortune. Many more were buried in the forest forever, their remains never to be found.
At the entrance to the outer mountains.
Haoyue stood alone, looking up at the deep, overlapping layers of forest that stretched beyond sight.
After five years of arduous cultivation in a sheltered environment, he was finally entering a true place of training.
"The real tempering begins now."
He took a deep breath of the bracing forest air, gripped the hilt of the miao saber on his back, and stepped resolutely into the outskirts of the Magical Beasts Mountain Range.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
In a secluded valley, the sounds of battle had long since died away.
The corpses of several fifth-level magic wolves lay scattered across the ground.
Every wolf had a clean, deep, long saber wound across its neck, each killed in a single strike.
Traces of water were still visible on the ground, left by the melted Water Element ice spikes that had frozen the wolves earlier.
Haoyue stood with his saber in one hand, the other resting lightly on a shallow wound at his waist.
The wound left by a wolf's claw grazing him during the fight was healing and scabbing over at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The Water Dragon Soul's continuous health recovery and rapid healing had shown their full effect in the life-and-death struggle.
In moments, the stinging vanished completely, and the wound had almost healed.
"So that's all a Fifth-Level Magical Beast can do."
Haoyue's lips curled up, and he grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.
In three days of fighting, he had personally slain more than twenty magical beasts of various levels.
Ordinary magical beasts below the fifth level simply could not keep up with the pace of his attacks and defenses.
At range, he wore them down with magic from three elements, disrupting their lunges. Up close, his miao saber slashed with deadly precision, every strike aimed at a vital point.
Even when a wolf pack surrounded him and claws grazed him, the Mountain Dragon Soul's shield blocked the damage first.
Any minor injuries that remained healed in moments thanks to the Water Dragon Soul's heaven-defying recovery.
The magical beast-infested mountains and forests, where others faced near-certain death, were like a private training ground for Haoyue now.
From Mind to Matter, combined with Dragonheart's absurd toughness, endurance, and resistances, had turned him into an unkillable cockroach.
He feared neither being surrounded nor worn down. Minor injuries healed in seconds, and he could withstand serious ones.
"The advantage of a full-tank battle mage really is unbeatable."
Haoyue looked down at his completely healed skin, without a single scar, and marveled inwardly.
An ordinary adventurer would need ten days to half a month to recover from a flesh wound, and it would still leave a permanent scar.
He, on the other hand, needed two hours at most for every trace of injury to disappear and his condition to return to its peak.
He was ridiculously tanky, and his damage wasn't low either. Wouldn't that piss you off?
After days of fierce fighting, he had pressed deeper into the mountains, approaching the middle region.
A deep boom suddenly rang through the valley.
An enormous Iron-Armored Rhinoceros strode forward, each step making the ground tremble.
Heavy black scales covered its entire body, as hard as if they had been cast from refined iron. Its hide was thick, and its defense was terrifying.
This was a sixth-level magical beast, an Iron-Armored Rhinoceros.
Its defense surpassed every beast of the same level. Ordinary magic struck its scales like a tickle, unable to breach its defenses in the slightest. Although it was a sixth-level magical beast, its defense had already reached the level of an average seventh-level magical beast.
Even Haoyue's refined-iron miao saber, wielded with his full strength, could leave only a faint white mark on the rhinoceros's armored hide.
Conventional attacks and defenses were completely ineffective!
"I've finally met an opponent who can force me to make a move."
A sharp light flashed in Haoyue's eyes. Instead of retreating, he advanced.
The vortex in his dantian suddenly spun at breakneck speed!
Boom!
The power of the Tiger-Striped Warrior hidden deep within his bloodline awakened in an instant!
A deep, distant white tiger's roar erupted from within him!
All the blood in his body boiled and surged, and his strength skyrocketed!
His short black hair bristled into silver-white spikes, their tips dyed a clear, pale blue.
His ears rose and transformed into fierce, cold tiger ears.
His gentle eyes abruptly narrowed into bloodthirsty, sharp crimson slits.
White tiger fur grew over his face, neck, and arms, swiftly covered by pale blue tiger stripes wreathed in flowing light, regal and fierce.
Hard white tiger-claw armor formed on his shoulders, and sharp claws an inch long sprang from his fingertips.
A long blue-and-white striped tail emerged behind him, its tip bearing black barbs. It swung with an overwhelming wildness.
Half human, half tiger-Tiger-Striped True Form, activated!
Tiger-Striped Warrior transformation!
His combat power leaped two whole ranks!
From a peak fifth-level warrior in his normal state, he instantly soared to the level of a peak seventh-level warrior!
Vast power filled every limb and bone. His muscles trembled slightly, and every inch of sinew and bone burst with unprecedented explosive strength.
"That's the stuff!"
Haoyue let out a low shout and charged straight at the Iron-Armored Rhinoceros, miao saber in hand!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A rapid succession of grating metallic clashes rang out!
His miao saber slashed furiously at the vital points on the Iron-Armored Rhinoceros's head and back, scattering sparks and flashing with cold light.
The thick-skinned sixth-level Iron-Armored Rhinoceros was hacked back again and again, bellowing in rage and pain.
Its heavy scales could no longer withstand the terrifying force of the Tiger-Stripe Transformation, cracking apart layer by layer.
The Iron-Armored Rhinoceros's retaliatory charges and horn thrusts, by contrast, had no effect on Haoyue.
From Mind to Matter's bonus health and physique, the Mountain Dragon Soul's sustained defensive shield, and the physical boost from Tiger-Striped True Form-three layers of defense combined!
His physical resistance had already surpassed the seventh level!
The Iron-Armored Rhinoceros's attacks, delivered with all its strength, could not even scratch his skin. They were like a light tickle.
They could not break his defense at all!
The one-sided battle was a complete rout, its outcome beyond doubt.
Moments later, the sixth-level Iron-Armored Rhinoceros crashed to the ground and fell completely still.
Haoyue lowered his saber, casually wiped the blood from its blade, and grinned in satisfaction.
"Now that's a real breakthrough in battle!"
(Wasn't that still a complete rout?)
Over the next month, the Magical Beasts Mountain Range became Haoyue's proving ground of iron and blood.
He fought day and night, risking his life in battle.
His fighting techniques grew increasingly practiced and deadly.
His use of the three elements of magic became increasingly refined.
In close combat, his miao saber slashed and thrust, every move lethal.
When he encountered powerful enemies or found himself surrounded, he activated Tiger-Striped True Form and killed opponents above his level head-on.
He switched flexibly between the three fighting styles, combining offense and defense, advancing and retreating at will, and handling it all with growing ease.
The intense life-and-death battles brought rapid growth, but also left the scars unique to the strong, even though those scars had all healed.
He remembered every wound clearly.
The wound on his chest had come from a sixth-level magic bear's desperate counterattack. That fight had been grueling, and he had nearly been injured and defeated. He had originally wanted to see whether he could kill the bear outright in his normal state, but in the end, he had been forced to rely on his Tiger-Stripe Transformation to win.
The claw wound on his left arm had come from a seventh-level magic eagle of unmatched speed. Its movements had been swift and tricky, and that strike was one of the few he had failed to evade completely.
The small wounds crisscrossing his thighs bore witness to countless chaotic battles.
The Water Dragon Soul could heal wounds of the flesh, but it could not erase the memories of battle.
These wounds of varying depths were medals commemorating his growth in desperate straits and his rise in strength through bloody battle. (Wasn't he just holding a grudge?)
A month of continuous life-and-death tempering had made his foundation ever more solid.
His magic and warrior levels appeared to remain at the peak of the fifth level, but his combat experience, control over his body, and combat foundation had long since surpassed others of the same rank.
The bottleneck holding back his breakthrough was loosening more and more.
All I need is one final opportunity.
Haoyue brushed the skin on his chest, his eyes full of determination.
The threshold of the sixth level was within reach.
Just as he was calmly regulating his breathing and waiting for an opportunity to break through, a deadly surprise suddenly descended.
Dusk fell, and the setting sun shone through gaps in the forest, scattering flecks of light.
Haoyue sat beside a clear stream, washing blood from his blade and regulating his breathing to recover.
Rumble-!
Without warning, the earth suddenly shook violently!
Heavy, rapid footsteps, immensely oppressive, approached swiftly from deep within the forest.
Ancient trees snapped and crashed down one after another along the way, causing an utterly terrifying commotion!
Haoyue's entire body tensed. He sprang to his feet, his right hand gripping the hilt of his miao saber tightly, his gaze sharp as a blade.
He looked toward the source of the sound, and his pupils contracted sharply.
The forest parted, and an enormous figure slowly stepped out!
It was unmistakably a Velocidragon, its massive, slender, powerful body more than twice the size of an ordinary one.
Layers of thick black scales covered its body, gleaming with a cold metallic luster and unimaginably hard.
Its thick, long tail swept across the ground, and every step made the earth rumble and tremble.
This was a Mutant Velocidragon!
Unlike the chaotic savagery of ordinary wild beasts and magical beasts, a glimmer of utterly cold intelligence shone in the Mutant Velocidragon's vertical pupils.
Its intelligence far surpassed that of ordinary magical beasts, rivaling that of most humans!
A chill of extreme danger instantly swept over Haoyue.
"An early-stage eighth-level magical beast!"
Haoyue's heart shook as he instantly judged its true combat strength!
For the first time since setting out, he had encountered a terrifying beast at the eighth level!
Without the slightest hesitation, Haoyue immediately activated his bloodline power!
His tiger-striped power boiled and erupted. Blue-and-white stripes instantly covered his body, and tiger ears, claws, and a long tail all appeared!
His combat power soared two levels in an instant, reaching the peak of the seventh level!
But a real gap in level still separated the peak seventh level from an early-stage eighth-level mutated beast!
Suppression, difficulty, peril!
The Mutant Velocidragon opposite him had already locked onto the tiny human before it.
It let out a low roar, a fierce light blazing in its eyes, and struck first with a lethal attack!
A gale swept through the forest, the air pressure plunged, and the mountains' killing intent locked firmly onto Haoyue!
"Bring it on!"
Faced with this desperate situation, Haoyue showed no fear. Miao saber gleaming coldly in hand, he charged straight at it!
An eighth-level magical beast-so what!