The Mystical universe

"Oh no, you're not stealing my find. Whatever that is—it's mine!" 

Without hesitation, Raizel lunged forward, his figure streaking through the air like a bolt of golden-purple lightning, rushing straight toward the mysterious five-colored glow. 

Everyone on the ground only heard a sizzling noise, followed by a crack of thunder shortly after. 

As he neared the mysterious luminescence, Raizel carefully threaded his way forward, scanning his surroundings for any surprises. 

In this wilderness, anything could attack you—even the plants were just as alive as humans. 

Brushing past the thick masses of leaves concealing the glow, he noticed that with each push of his hands, the light intensified. 

Finally, after removing the last layer of foliage, an oddly shaped object was revealed. The glow was so intense that Raizel was forced to squint. 

"Heh..." Confusion painted Raizel's face. Taken aback by what lay before him, he murmured to himself, 

"Is this... a medicinal plant?" 

Pursing his lips, he reached out and grabbed the object. 

It wasn't very big—just small enough to fit in his palm—but the five-colored glow it emitted was overwhelming. 

"Hmm, this is a bit similar to a demonic core, but... it doesn't exude the usual bestiality." He turned the object in his hand, studying it closely. "Could it be the core of a special beast? No... even heavenly cores from ranked beasts in the Heavenly and Earthly Beast Scroll still retain a trace of their beastly nature, albeit more refined. But this—this is completely devoid of any bestial aura." 

Raizel played around with the core-like object, musing over its origins. 

"Found something?" 

A voice interrupted his thoughts, and a slovenly young man appeared behind him. 

It was Yun Che, his tired eyes filled with curiosity as he studied the core in Raizel's hand. 

Raizel swiftly turned around, a triumphant look on his face, and held up the glowing object. 

"Ah, looks like I found the best treasure after all! Ahahaha!" He laughed, immensely pleased with himself. 

Yun Che, however, wasn't amused. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at the strange object. 

"Odd... I sense medicinal energy from this, but it's not a plant or anything of the sort. Instead... could it be a beast core?" Stroking his chin, Yun Che stared pensively at the treasure, unsure if it even fell within the category of their mission's objective. 

Seeing Raizel so overjoyed, heavy lines appeared on Yun Che's forehead. 'Does he not realize this isn't even a medicinal plant? Why is he so happy?' 

Not wanting to crush the poor boy's excitement, Yun Che sighed and shook his head. 

"Well, since you found it and it seems unique, you can keep it." He waved his hand dismissively, walking away like a generous father indulging his child. 

Raizel shot him a glance before storing the core in his interspatial ring. 

'I'll check it out later with Kaeln.' 

Though he pretended it was a medicinal treasure, Raizel knew this was something entirely different. Still, it was valuable, and that was enough to keep him smug. 

"Indeed, my misery has been accounted for," he thought, nodding joyfully as he jogged back toward the group. 

Back with the Group 

When Kaeln and the others saw Raizel returning with a bright grin, they couldn't hold back their laughter. 

"Why so happy? Did you actually find something good?" Kaeln was the first to ask. 

Raizel arrived with his hands behind his head, his usual laid-back pose. "Yep! I'll show it to you guys later—it's a bit weird." 

'I hope they don't ask to see it now… it's not even a medicinal plant. If they find out, I won't be able to keep pretending.' 

Inside, Raizel was sweating bullets as he hurriedly brushed off the idea of showing his "find." 

Kaeln gave him a weird glance before nodding and returning his focus to treasure-hunting. 

Xue Qing, however, was not convinced. She fiercely stared at Raizel's face, searching for the slightest hint of weakness. 

Feeling her intense glare, Raizel grew annoyed. 

'Tch. Trying to ruin my good mood, huh?' 

"What? Mesmerized by my handsome face?" he teased with a smirk. 

"Pft, you wish." Xue Qing scoffed, rolling her eyes, but she didn't stop scrutinizing him. 

A long, tense moment passed. 

Then, sweat actually started forming on Raizel's forehead. 

Now, Xue Qing was certain something was off. 

Just as she was about to interrogate him, a massive explosion shook the area. 

Dust and leaves blasted through the air, accompanied by a powerful gust of wind. 

'Saved by the bell!' Raizel inwardly thanked the heavens as he turned toward the source of the commotion. 

Xue Qing pursed her cherry lips, huffed in irritation, and gave Raizel one last sharp glance before dashing toward the explosion. 

A New Threat 

Soon, everyone gathered, facing an enormous beast, hundreds of meters tall. 

It had the body of a bear but the ferocious features of a tiger—a terrifying genetic hybrid. 

The pressure it exuded was at least ten times stronger than the berserk gorilla they had fought weeks prior. 

A similar thought ran through everyone's minds. 

'Grade 6 Monstrous Beast.' 

In the beast classification system, "Monstrous" referred to beasts born from crossbreeding between species, while "Variant" referred to those that evolved due to environmental factors. 

For example, a normal demonic tiger living near a volcanic region could, over generations, develop a high affinity for fire, though such occurrences were extremely rare. 

The group watched in awe as Creed stepped forward to face the beast. 

Despite being nearly two meters tall, he was still dwarfed by the monstrous tiger-bear hybrid. 

For this battle, the youngsters were completely outmatched, so they could only watch and learn. 

With a flick of his wrist, a heavy, bronze spear appeared in Creed's hand. 

The weapon radiated an overwhelming bloodthirsty aura, its black glow forming a spear intent so dense it coalesced into solid light. 

"An ancient treasure weapon!" 

Everyone exclaimed in shock, their eyes gleaming with admiration. 

Of course, none of them had thoughts of stealing it—that would be courting death. 

Paying no attention to them, Creed focused solely on his opponent. 

Suddenly, a massive, black-light warrior effigy emerged behind him, matching the beast in size. 

The air crackled as their auras clashed, sending shockwaves rippling across the sky, shaking the land for miles. 

Dark clouds rolled in, blanketing the battlefield in an ominous gloom. 

The titanic battle was about to begin. 

With a powerful leap, Creed valiantly thrusts his heavy spear forward, unleashing a terrifying spear light toward the beast. 

The hundred-meter-tall bear-tiger hybrid retaliated instantly. Though unarmed, its massive claws were just as deadly as any weapon. 

"Clang!!" 

The first clash erupted with a deafening metallic collision. 

From this exchange alone, it was clear that Creed was significantly stronger than the beast. A single, casual spear strike forced the monstrous hybrid several steps back. 

"Again!" Creed shouted, his battle-thirst flaring, eager for another bout. 

Explosions rang out, one after another, as the battle intensified. With each strike, the beast staggered back, struggling to match Creed's overwhelming power. 

Sensing its momentum slipping, Creed erupted with an even greater surge of power. He decided to end it. 

"Death God Spear Art—Soul Sealing Thrust!" 

The colossal warrior effigy behind him overflowed with dark energy, rapidly shrinking until it merged into his body. Though his frame appeared smaller, the pressure he exuded multiplied drastically. 

Gripping the heavy bronze spear tightly, he took a firm step forward—his figure vanishing into a black streak. 

"!!!" 

What followed was a thunderclap so deafening it seemed to silence the world itself. 

The onlookers stood in stunned admiration. 

Near the center of the beast's left chest, a gaping hole had appeared. 

With its heart destroyed, the beast's eyes dimmed, its massive body crumbling lifelessly to the ground. 

The entire battle had lasted only a few minutes. 

Creed had easily defeated a Grade 6 Monstrous Beast—a hybrid, no less. He was a true veteran of battle. 

The Geniuses' Reactions 

Kaeln and the others watched attentively, but the battle was too short to provide much insight. 

Especially for Kaeln, who also wielded a spear—he had hoped to observe and learn from Creed's spear techniques. 

"Since it was a monstrous beast, I thought it would've lasted longer... Too bad it didn't," Kaeln muttered, pursing his lips in disappointment. 

"We'll have more opportunities to see him in action as we go deeper. But we also need to get stronger—so no slacking off." Thorin, standing beside him, reminded firmly. 

Kaeln nodded in agreement. 

After storing his spear, Creed swept his gaze across the Yun Clan members, before finally resting his eyes on Kaeln's group. 

After a brief moment of thought, he finally spoke. 

"At our current pace, we have one—maybe two months—before it becomes too dangerous for you all, and I won't be able to protect everyone. That means we have a month left to explore before we turn back. The return journey will take another month." 

His words were directed especially toward Yun Che. 

The latter let out an exasperated sigh, gazing regretfully at the beast's corpse. 

"Fine. We'll search for another month, then head back." He finally relented. 

Creed nodded. "Let's not linger. The battle may have been short, but it will still attract unwanted attention." 

With that, he led the group deeper into the wilderness. 

As they traveled, they encountered many powerful beasts. 

Some were as strong as the monstrous hybrid—Creed handled those alone. 

Others were around the level of the berserk gorilla—which meant the Yun Clan members and the squad of geniuses fought them together. 

Time passed. 

Four weeks later, they had traveled hundreds of miles deeper from their meeting point. 

Kaeln and the others faced countless battles, many just as intense as their fight against the berserk gorilla. 

After all, the deeper one ventured into the wilderness, the stronger the beasts became. 

The environment itself grew more ancient and untamed, as most humans rarely set foot so deep without sufficient strength. 

The True Martial Ancient Great World was so vast that most of its surface remained uncharted territory. 

Of course, for the truly powerful, only the hidden danger zones posed a real threat. 

Nonetheless, four months had now passed since the group left the sect. 

During this last month, everyone had grown even stronger. 

Su Yao and Xue Qing had both reached half-step Intent Materialization. 

At 15 years old, this was already a remarkable feat—but breaking into the next level required careful accumulation, something that could not be rushed in a mere month. 

The path of cultivation is divided into distinct stages: The Three Foundational Stages, these are known as the beginner levels. The Three Middle Stages were Innate Spirit Realm: At this level, cultivators can use divine sense in wondrous ways and fly. Intent Materialization Realm: This is where cultivators merge elemental Qi and divine sense to create Divine Ability Visions. Unlike previous stages, Intent Materialization isn't separated by smaller stages—instead, progress is determined by the number of Divine Ability Visions one creates up to maximum of seven. Currently, Su Yao and Xue Qing were in the process of forming their first Divine Ability Vision. This was the true gateway to becoming an advanced cultivator.