Chapter 37: The Final Strike, Double Breakthrough

  ROOOOAR!

  The Berserk Bear roared in pure rage, furious at being pushed back again and again by a small human. Its eyes turned blood-red as violent energy erupted from its massive body, surrounding it in an intimidating crimson glow. Its original three-meter height swelled to an imposing four meters. Its obsidian claws lengthened like black sabers, its fangs extended into piercing daggers, and thick saliva dripped between them. A truly horrifying sight.

  'The bear has gone berserk,' Su Tianhao thought grimly, his grip tightening on the tree trunk.

  This was the ability that made the Berserk Bear so feared even among grade three beasts. In its berserk state, it grew larger, more powerful, and gained enough raw force to overwhelm opponents an entire minor realm above it.

  The white-clothed girl's expression turned deadly serious. She no longer held anything back—her aura exploded outward in a brilliant display of power, a faint spiritual glow surrounding her that made her look almost otherworldly. Her sword gleamed with bright light as she settled into her fighting stance.

  Su Tianhao narrowed his eyes. He knew the combat style of Martial Adept Realm practitioners well. They could manifest spiritual energy throughout their bodies, amplifying their physical strikes far beyond their natural limits—though true external spiritual energy attacks remained beyond their reach.

  But something else caught his attention.

  'She's only at the 1st level of the Martial Adept Realm,' he realized, 'This Berserk Bear is at the third level. Yet she's held her ground this entire time.'

  "Fighting someone two full levels above her," he murmured, eyes widening. "And now that the bear has gone berserk, its effective strength is equivalent to a 4th level Martial Adept. Will she still be able to win?"

  ROOOOAR!

  The bear's earth-shaking roar pulled him back. He forced himself to focus entirely on the battle—there was nothing he could do from here. A creature at this level would kill him before he could take a single step into that clearing.

  The girl's eyes turned ice cold. She tightened her grip on her sword, then her voice rang out clearly—

  "Radiant Petal Blade—First Form: Petal Drift Slash!"

  Her figure blurred, arriving before the raging beast with effortless grace despite her growing fatigue.

  Slash! Slash! Slash!

  Multiple rapid strikes rang out in quick succession, each one sharp and precisely placed. Her sword found its marks, opening deep wounds across the bear's body and sending dark blood spraying into the air.

  The berserk creature didn't even flinch, its eyes consumed by madness. Pain had ceased to exist for it.

  ROOOOAR!

  It slashed a massive claw toward her with relentless momentum, the attack carrying visible shockwaves through the air—slamming toward her like a falling mountain.

  Su Tianhao's eyes went wide. The movement was so fast it seemed almost impossible to evade.

  "Petal Drift Step!"

  She vanished from the path of the strike a breath before the bear's claw slammed into the earth where she had been standing.

  BOOM!

  The ground shook violently. Nearby trees trembled. The earth cracked open like shattered glass, deep claw marks carved into the soil from the sheer force of the blow.

  ROOOOAR!

  The beast roared with pure insanity—its blood-red eyes showing nothing but madness as its chaotic energy grew even more unstable.

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  It stomped the earth in fury, each impact sending tremors through the clearing and leaving small craters in the ground.

  'Those techniques... it's at least high-grade Spirit rank,' Su Tianhao thought, watching the scene intently. His inherited memories gave him a solid grasp of technique quality—enough to judge a method's grade just by observation alone.

  Just then—

  "Ahrk!"

  The girl vomited a mouthful of blood. Her face went deathly pale, her legs shaking as she struggled to remain standing.

  'She didn't escape completely unharmed,' Su Tianhao realized, eyes narrowing. 'The shockwave must have caught her.'

  The Berserk Bear continued its rampage—tearing down trees, destroying everything within reach. After a long, destructive outburst, it finally began to settle. The massive beast rose onto its hind legs, then crashed back down with a resonant bang that echoed through the forest.

  Grrrgh.

  It fixed its burning gaze on the injured girl, mouth dripping, body covered in bleeding wounds. Every part of it radiated killing intent.

  The girl looked back at the beast with cold, unflinching eyes. Not a trace of fear. Her crystalline gaze held a terrifying calm as she slowly raised her sword toward the sky.

  Su Tianhao's heart raced with anticipation, its beating clearly audible. 'She's preparing something.'

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  The beast charged—faster than before, more precise, more desperate. It wasn't going to let this troublesome human escape again.

  And the girl... had no intention of running!

  She closed her eyes, her grip tightened around her sword until it seemed she might shatter the handle.

  BOOM!

  Her aura surged outward and upward like an unsheathed blade reaching for the sky. For a moment, Su Tianhao had the profound impression of watching someone who had ceased to be separate from their weapon entirely—as if the sword and the girl were one thing. Her aura grew impossibly sharp yet held that same terrifying calm. Her white robes fluttered gently in the spiritual pressure, while the sword emitted a soft, radiant glow that seemed to push back the darkening forest.

  Just when the bear was only meters away, her eyes snapped open—glowing with a sharpness that seemed to cut through the air itself.

  "Radiant Petal Blade—Second Form: Petal Bloom!"

  Her voice rang out like an icy whisper carried on winter wind. Her sword moved in rapid succession, each strike releasing petal-like sword Qi that spiraled through the air with deadly beauty.

  Chi! Chi! Chi!

  Multiple streams of sword Qi tore through the clearing, converging on the Berserk Bear from every angle—each one aimed at a vital point with surgical precision.

  The massive beast froze. Its pupils contracted to pinpoints as pure instinct screamed at every level of its being. But before it could react, the sword energy carved through its enormous body—deep gashes opening across its head, its neck, its chest, its stomach. Killing it almost instantly.

  BAM!

  The Berserk Bear collapsed with a dull, final thud. It's eyes—completely lifeless.

  "Impossible!" Su Tianhao gasped, his caution forgotten entirely. "She's only at Martial Adept Realm—how can she use spiritual energy attacks?"

  It was common knowledge throughout the cultivation world that external spiritual energy attacks required a Martial Core. Without forming a Martial Core to store sufficient reserves, practitioners could only circulate spiritual energy within their own bodies. Even Martial Adepts were no exception—their manifested energy amplified physical strength, nothing more.

  'She's at the 1st level of Martial Adept Realm and she's already projecting external sword Qi,' he thought, brows deeply furrowed. 'How does this make any sense?'

  Had he searched more thoroughly through his inherited memories at that moment, he would have found an answer—certain rare constitution types and unique cultivation methods could allow for such phenomena, though they were extraordinarily uncommon. But that discovery would have to wait for another day.

  The white-clothed girl was entirely unaware of Su Tianhao's bewilderment. She looked at the fallen bear with a faint smile of satisfaction—then vomited another mouthful of blood, the crimson staining her pristine white robes.

  Her legs finally gave out and she collapsed forward, unconscious before she even hit the ground. But even then, her hand remained locked around the hilt of her sword, refusing to let go even in the dark.

  A true swordswoman to the very end.

  The clearing fell into eerie silence—broken only by the gentle rustle of leaves and Su Tianhao's rapid breathing as he processed everything he had just witnessed.

  After a moment of hesitation, he carefully stepped out from behind the tree trunk and walked into the clearing. The sharp metallic scent of blood and the thick smell of lingering dust hit him immediately.

  He approached the unconscious girl with curiosity burning in his eyes. Taking a closer look, he couldn't help but murmur, "What a beauty..."

  Even with a deathly pale face, her appearance was entirely undiminished. Long black hair lay loose around her, her skin still gleaming like polished jade, her figure perfectly proportioned. At that moment, she looked like an injured fairy who had fallen into the mortal world.

  He shook his head, pushing the thought aside. "So young, yet so powerful..."

  He paused. "Ling Ling once told me that appearances can be deceiving in the cultivation world. Could it be that she's actually much older and just appears this way through some special technique?"

  He had seen the evidence himself—Madam Niu appeared middle-aged despite her relatively old age. And from his inherited memories, he knew it wasn't just cultivation that maintained youth. There were also exceedingly rare techniques specifically designed to preserve a youthful appearance.

  'Which is it?' he wondered. 'A genuine genius, or a senior in disguise?'

  He studied her for a moment longer, then shook his head. "I have a strong feeling it's the former. And if so, her background must be anything but simple."

  That much was already evident from her techniques alone. High-grade Spirit rank martial arts—and two of them. The Su family didn't possess a single high-grade Spirit rank technique. Their finest were mid-grade Spirit rank, and there were only two of those in the entire family vault.

  Su Tianhao smiled bitterly. 'Best not to think too deeply about this right now. I need to leave before the blood draws predators.'

  'This is the inner region. Any beast around here could easily make a meal of me.' He shuddered—then a thought struck him.

  'It would be a complete waste to leave the bear's body for scavengers.'

  His golden eyes gleamed. "If I devour the bear's blood essence, how much would my cultivation improve?"

  He walked toward the massive corpse with gleaming eyes, shinning with barely contained excitement.

  "Devour."

  The moment he spoke the command, his bloodline responded instantly. A powerful suction force surged outward, enveloping the bear's body completely.

  Swoosh!

  Dense wisps of blood-red energy rose from the corpse and flooded into his body. The vortex in his dantian activated automatically, refining and absorbing each wave without conscious effort.

  Purified energy surged through his meridians in steady, powerful pulses, as profound changes rippled through his body with each passing minute, pushing his strength and physique to entirely new heights.

  Then—

  BOOM!

  An explosion resonated within his dantian, followed by a phantom dragon roar from deep within his being. A refreshing, almost addictive rush swept over him.

  "5th level Martial Apprentice Realm!" Su Tianhao exclaimed. "I broke through! I finally did!"

  But it wasn't over.

  The bear corpse still held substantial blood essence—less fresh than moments before, but still incredibly potent. The vortex spun faster, devouring and refining with growing speed and efficiency.

  Whoosh!

  Su Tianhao's face flushed red. His bones crackled as the potent energy flooded through him, tempering muscle, organ, and bone in ways he had never imagined possible.

  Fifteen minutes later—

  BOOM!

  A second breakthrough.

  And still the energy kept coming. This was the blood essence of a 3rd level grade three beast—in terms of raw potency, comparable to devouring the cultivation of a 3rd level Martial Adept. Two breakthroughs were nowhere near enough to exhaust that.

  "If I can fully devour this beast, I can break through to the 7th level in one go!" Su Tianhao exclaimed, his heart racing.

  "Devour! Cultivate!"

  He poured his will into the command. As if responding to his determination, the suction force surged even stronger, drawing greater wisps of energy from the corpse at an accelerated pace. His dantian vortex matched the intensity, refining the incoming energy with greater speed than before.

  Swoosh!

  Power coursed through his entire being like a raging river. His cultivation, which had only just broken through, was already stabilizing at an extraordinary rate. His foundation deepened. His vitality surged. His body grew noticeably more refined with every passing minute.

  'With the Heavenly Devouring Dragon bloodline, I don't have to worry about an unstable foundation from rapid breakthroughs,' he thought with deep satisfaction.

  'Just a few more minutes. One more step.'

  He could feel the barrier to the 7th level beginning to crack. He was close—so close he could almost touch it.

  But then—

  ROOOOAR!

  A roar thundered from deep within the forest. Louder than anything he had ever heard. So intense it struck him momentarily deaf, his ears ringing with sharp pain.

  "Damnit!" Su Tianhao cursed. "Something's coming... something terrifying."

  He looked at the unconscious girl lying on the ground. Then at the bear corpse, still slowly yielding its essence. Then back at her.

  'If I leave now, I miss this chance entirely, if I stay...'

  He smiled bitterly, the implications were clear. He didn't hesitate for long. "A breakthrough is valuable. Staying alive is more valuable."

  He cut the devouring ability off immediately, strode to the girl's side, and gently lifted her into his arms before dashing into the undergrowth at full speed.

  Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!

  He moved through the forest like a phantom, pushing hard toward the outer region. Carrying her was no real burden, upon entering 6th level Martial Apprentice Realm, his strength was now equivalent to 1,400 pounds—a girl his age was barely any burden at all.

  Several minutes after he fled, the bushes at the edge of the clearing erupted with violent rustling, followed by a thunderous roar that shook the surrounding trees.

  A massive beast stepped into the clearing with commanding presence. Its coat was thick and black, fiery red stripes running across its powerfully muscled body. It had the general build of a tiger—but far larger, far more imposing, with bright yellow eyes that blazed in the growing darkness.

  If Su Tianhao were still here, he would be absolutely shocked seeing this particular creature. This was a beast with a rare bloodline called the Black Spirit Tiger.

  Bloodlines among spirit beasts were ranked in ascending tiers—Common, Uncommon, and Rare and so on. The Berserk Bear had carried a Common bloodline, limiting its potential to peak grade three. A Rare bloodline beast however, was a different matter entirely—they possessed the potential to evolve all the way to grade six, rivaling Martial Masters in pure strength. Exceptional specimens had been known to reach grade seven, matching a Martial Grandmaster.

  This particular Black Spirit Tiger was still young—only a 7th level grade three beast, standing no taller than an average adult. But the moment it entered the clearing, every surrounding creature within range cowered and fled. Not merely from the weight of its aura, but from the natural superiority of its rare bloodline pressing down on their lesser ones.

  It walked forward with casual confidence, placed one heavy paw on the dead bear's skull, and began to feed—claiming what was left of its prize.

  Su Tianhao, moving swiftly through the outer forest with the girl in his arms, had no idea what was happening behind him. His immediate priority was shelter.

  He headed toward a rocky area he had passed earlier in the day—a stretch of hills and large boulders scattered through the region.

  "There should be a cave around here," Su Tianhao mumbled, his eyes narrowing.

  Luckily, there was.

  Tucked behind one of the hills, concealed by thick moss and hanging vines, was a small cave just large enough for a few people. The interior was rough and clearly uninhabited. The entrance was practically invisible to anything that wasn't actively searching for it.

  "Perfect," Su Tianhao murmured with relief.

  He entered carefully and set the girl down gently before settling against the opposite wall, back pressed to the stone. He took a slow breath, letting the tension of the last several minutes drain out of him.

  Then he looked at her—peaceful in unconsciousness, sword still gripped in her hand even now.

  "Just who are you?" he murmured quietly, golden eyes filled with quiet curiosity in the dim light.