"Bah!" Kael opened his eyes.He was on the verge of breaking through. Just days ago, he had broken through the seventh realm and just around a day later, he was attempting the eighth stage. If a normal cultivator saw this, they would be stunned. For an average martial artist, it would take months and lots of resources to achieve this in two months. A deep silence filled the cave and for several seconds, he didn't move. Then—BOOM!A surge of Qi erupted from his body. The spiritual energy inside his dantian surged like a raging tide, pouring through his meridians and washing over every inch of his body.Kael's eyes sharpened. The bottleneck that had resisted him for so long... shattered.His cultivation climbed another step.Eighth Stage of Qi Gathering Realm! Kael slowly clenched his fists.Only one petal of the Bloodheart Vine had been enough.One petal.That was all it had taken to push him through the bottleneck.He had originally expected to spend days consolidating his cultiva

The sword descended. BOOM! Guardian Energy exploded from the blade as it struck the Dragon-Scaled Snake's head. Yet— CLANG! The sword failed to split its skull. Instead, the blade struck between two overlapping scales. Kael's eyes narrowed. From his previous fights with the beasts earlier he had figured out his weak point. using his sword technique and with it's now weak defenses it wanted to sever it in one strike. Most of his strike earlier had been in that particular spot just after it's head, in it's neck region and the previous battle had already damaged that section of the snake's body. The scales had been weakened, and his earlier strike had cut deeply into the flesh beneath them. Blood sprayed everywhere but the snake wasn't dead yet. It twisted violently, its enormous body smashing against the cavern walls still fighting for it's life. It had already realized that it would die if it didn't escape. it crashed into the walls trying to find an escape route but

Lucy stood outside her parents' house with Nova in her arms.Her mother gently reached out and took the little girl from her.“Don't worry,” she said with a warm smile. “We'll take care of her.”Lucy looked at Nova and smiled.“Be a good girl for Grandma and Grandpa.”Nova nodded obediently.“I will.”Lucy leaned forward and kissed her forehead.“Goodbye, sweetheart.”“Goodbye, Mama.”Lucy hugged her parents before stepping back.“Take good care of her.”Her father chuckled.“You don't have to worry. She's our granddaughter. We'll spoil her properly.”Lucy smiled.“I know.”She glanced toward Kael, who was standing nearby.They were supposed to attend the Decennial Trade Fair in the Central City. However, with Nova still so young, they had decided that Lucy would remain behind with her parents while Kael went ahead to handle the trip.Kael walked over and gently touched Nova's head.“I'll be back soon.”Nova looked at him.“Bring me something.”Kael laughed.“Something from the trade

Kael stepped out of the shop with a smile on his face.The old shopkeeper had looked completely different by the time their transaction was finished.Kael, on the other hand, felt rather satisfied.He had exchanged only one of the three piles of beast cores, yet the amount of spirit stones he had received was already substantial.He was rich and that was only the beginning.Kael walked down the street, casually observing the shops around him.The Central City truly deserved its reputation. Almost everything a cultivator could need was being sold here. After walking for a while, Kael entered another shop.Unlike the larger establishments along the main streets, this one was tucked away in a quiet corner.Perfect. He repeated the process. Another pile of beast cores appeared.The shopkeeper's expression changed immediately.By the time the transaction was complete, Kael's collection of spirit stones had increased considerably once again.He walked out of the shop feeling even more satis

The auction continued and one item after another was brought onto the stage.A long sword, a set of defensive armor, several cultivation techniques, a bottle of pills, collection of formation manuals there were a lot of things being brought out one after the other. Kael sat quietly in his private cubicle, occasionally taking a sip of tea he was served, none of the items interested him yetHis cultivation techniques were already far beyond what was being offered here, and ordinary weapons were practically useless to him. As for pills and other cultivation resources, he had enough to last for a long time.Then the auctioneer announced the next item.“Ladies and gentlemen, the next item is something rather special.”Two attendants carried a large sealed box onto the stage. The auctioneer opened it. Inside was a massive beast core, radiating an oppressive aura. “This is the core of a Ninth-Tier Beast.”The entire auction hall immediately became quiet. Even the cultivators in the private c