Sealed: Breaking Destiny

Breakthrough

Although Luke certainly had no desire to fight a Magical Beast on the threshold between the First Rank and Second Rank, especially considering that cultivators at the same level were weaker due to a natural issue, he had no choice.

He had to kill this Three Eyed Fire Rat no matter what. If he failed, he would have to gather spirit stones again to buy the teeth, which would take perhaps how long.

'I have to kill it no matter what. It'll be harder than I thought, but I should be able to do it with the World Energy I have available.'

Focusing his gaze on the Three Eyed Fire Rat and making the World Energy in his Core spin at the fastest speed for the best possible effect, Luke suddenly disappeared from the tree branch he was on and reappeared a couple of meters away from his target using Living Shadow.

The Three Eyed Fire Rat was surprised by the sudden appearance but wasted no time and reacted immediately. Its tail instantly grew and burst into flames, using it to attack Luke.

Boom!

Luke blocked the attack with his dagger, and immediately used Fire Blast to send it flying a few meters away. Once the Three Eyed Fire Rat hit the ground, he immediately used Shadow Extinguish, hoping to land a fatal blow.

However, his enemy was too agile and dodged the spikes by propelling himself into the air.

These were Luke's most hated opponents. Although it had no outstanding defensive attributes, it had a good close-range fighting ability and a high ability to dodge his attacks thanks to its agility.

'Tch, I already have only 50% World Energy available in my Core. There shouldn't be others of his kind around for a few minutes, so I'll take a more passive stance.' Thinking about this, Luke frowned and concentrated on following his opponent's movements.

Since his attack with Shadow Extinguish had missed, the best option was to switch to a passive defense and wait for him to show any weak spots.

Boom! Clash! Boom!

Luke concentrated all his efforts on blocking the Three Eyed Fire Rat's flaming tail and the fireballs it was throwing at him with his dagger. When he felt it was close to breaking through his defenses, he would use Fire Blast again to take a short rest.

'I can't go on like this. His attacks aren't very strong, but I can't use my strengthening spells either. At this rate I'll end up losing, I'll have to take drastic measures.'

Knowing that his World Energy reserves were at 40%, Luke made the decision to attack in the next round no matter what. The Three Eyed Fire Rat once again closed the distance and continued with its attack.

'Now.' At one point, the attacks slowed down, and a smile appeared on Luke's face. This was the opportunity he had been desperately waiting for.

Luke immediately used Water Prison, a Common Grade spell that created chains around the target. At the same time, he moved behind his opponent's back with Living Shadow.

'This is it.' As the Three Eyed Fire Rat tried to break free from the chains, Luke brought his hand close to his opponent's head to use Fire Blast at point blank range, hoping to land a fatal blow.

BOOM! BOOM!

Contrary to his expectations, an invisible barrier got in his way, sending him flying until he crashed into a thick tree trunk.

Luke opened his eyes, and they were filled with anxiety. The barrier wasn't part of his opponent's defensive mechanisms but was the result of an unexpected breakthrough to the Second Rank.

'Why is this happening to me? Not only did a Three Eyed Fire Rat at the intermediate level of the First Rank failed to appear, but the one I faced managed to advance to the Second Rank in the middle of our fight. What did I do to deserve this?' Luke could not help but cry silently in his heart. Destiny seemed to be putting obstacles in the way of anything he did.

Despite this, Luke made a drastic decision in a matter of milliseconds. Fighting on in this place was no longer feasible.

The fight had been going on for a few minutes, and the Magical Beasts would soon surround the place. Right now, he had no choice but to move into the deeper parts of the Rotten Valley to buy time.

The Three Eyed Fire Rat was now in a frenzy state, so fighting against it wasn't wise. Its breakthrough was most likely a forceful one, so the aftereffects will appear soon. That would be when the opportunity to strike would present itself.

He desperately needed its blood to produce the poison, so he had to kill it no matter what the cost. Although escaping was possible, he couldn't afford to waste another week.

Taking advantage of the seconds that the Three Eyed Fire Rat had to remain motionless, Luke picked himself up off the ground and ran at full speed into the depths of Rotten Valley. To do so, he channeled 10% of his World Energy into the wind element to move as fast as possible. In this way he managed to create a decent distance with his opponent.

After fifteen minutes of pursuit, the distance between the two was reduced to a measly ten meters. Luke would be overtaken in the next minute.

Knowing this, he abruptly changed direction towards a sector with many trees. His idea was to restrict his opponent's movements as much as possible.

Thus, he managed to persist for another two minutes until the distance between them was reduced to only three meters. Despite this, the turbulence in the Three Eyed Fire Rat's aura was palpable. The side effects were beginning to show.

Sensing this, Luke suddenly stopped his movements and threw himself in a free fall from the trees while conjuring Fire Rain.

In order to save as much World Energy as possible, he reduced the power to the minimum possible. He knew it would only tickle it, but that was not his goal. He used Fire Rain to force his opponent to move in a certain path.

As he fell, he was finally caught. The Three Eyed Fire Rat attacked without much thought with its tail, aiming it at Luke's heart. There, just before it pierced his flesh, Luke slightly turned his body while a slight smile appeared on his face.

The tail struck a few inches away from his heart, avoiding instant death. At that moment, the Three Eyed Fire Rat sensed something was wrong, but it was too late.

"Death Slash!" Luke spent almost all his World Energy to carry out this attack, leaving only 5%. Death Slash was an Advanced Grade spell, which enveloped the dagger in a black mist that screamed death.

The length of the dagger had increased to almost 1 meter thanks to this, allowing him to insert it into his opponent's stomach, then slash upwards, opening his stomach and cutting his brain in half....

Thud!

Luke fell next to the Three Eyed Fire Rat's body onto the ground, dislocating his shoulder in the process. Disregarding his wounds, he pulled two one-liter bottles from his bag and began collecting the blood.

The moment he filled them; he immediately left the scene. But not before extracting the Beast Core.

Crack.

'I have to find some medicinal herbs. I'm losing a lot of blood.' Luke put his shoulder back in place and began his search to close the wound he had on his chest. After an hour, he got enough medicinal herbs and applied them to stop the bleeding.

Just as he planned to start his journey back home, he felt a strong current of World Energy that triggered a reaction in the smallest seal in his body....