Reon was far from satisfied after severing both arms of the Shadow Cw Bear. A grim desire smoldered within him, urging him to tear the beast apart piece by pietil it could no longer move.

  But he knew he couldn't afford to draw this fight out any longer. If a more formidable beast—a Demonieral Rank her—appeared, even his newfound Sword Aura wil not be enough to guarantee his survival.

  Aill had to cross the Shadowed Thicket of the Mystic Evergreen Forest, a task made more daunting by the toll his aura would soon take on him.

  The Sword Aura thrumming through him was no ordinary Awakening Stage aura; he khat much.

  Its potency surpassed all his expectations. Though it wouldn't kill him, the strain would soon take its toll, delivering pain as relentless as the power was intoxig.

  Reon stepped closer to the bear, his gaze cold and unyielding. Sensing the shift in its odds, the wounded beast turo flee, stumbling forward despite its maate, desperate to escape.

  Demonic Beasts were known for their powerful regeive abilities; given a week, its severed limbs would heal pletely.

  But Reon had no iion of letting it live. His voice was barely a whisper as he watched the creature lurch away.

  "Run. Run as fast as you ," he murmured. "Let me see how far your resolve to live will take you."

  Before the beast could disappear from his sight, Reon swung his sword once more, this time with a deadly, unwavering ssh.

  The beast's massive body tio stagger forward, but in a surreal twist, its head froze mid-motion, almost as if time itself had fractured.

  Its bewildered eyes widened in fusion, the sery around it seeming to reverse and blur, dist as it tried to prehend what had happened.

  Slowly, its gaze drifted downward. Where it expected to see powerful limbs surging forward, there was oy air—its own headless body still running blindly, driven by the st pulses of its life, ignorant of its own doom.

  Finally, the body halted, swaying as if grasping for bance, before colpsing with a resounding crash that shook the grouh it.

  The impact was so forceful that dust and fragments of groued skyward, and the surrounding trees shivered as if bowing to the power that had felled such a mighty beast.

  Reon's expression remained cold as he watched the final tremors of the falleure subside.

  The dark aura still radiated fiercely from his sword, casting ominous shadows around him, while the forest held its breath in reverence, silenced by the raw, violent mastery that had just been unleashed.

  With a wave of his hand, Reon stored the massive body of the Shadow Cw Bear within his spatial ring. His gaze then fell on Cloudia, lying battered on the ground, her skin mottled with bruises.

  He k beside her, retrieving another Healing Pill from his ring, and carefully guided it to her lips, watg as its gentle warmth began to soothe her wounds.

  Just as he thought he might finally catch a moment's rest, a searing pain ignited within him, a sensation unlike anything he'd ever felt.

  It was as though every bone in his body was being crushed, ground intments. The agony eclipsed even the blows dealt by the Shadow Cw Bear, surpassing the pain of fractured bones by leagues.

  The iy of it was overwhelming. Uo bear it even for a heartbeat, he colpsed to the ground, his body hitting the ground with a heavy thud, almost lifeless.

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  .

  In a hall of the Sect, a young man sat upon a throne-like chair, draped in vish silks, with a golden goblet of grapes in his hand. His posture was regal, exuding an effortless fidence as he ehe indulgence of his surroundings.

  Oher side of him, two young women waved rge, feathered fans, their every motion delicate and precise, as though they served a young king in his opulent court.

  Suddenly, the heavy footsteps of another young man echoed from outside the chamber, quid urgent.

  He approached the hall with a determiride, but as he he entrawo guards blocked his way, crossing their spears to bar his path.

  "What do you think you're doing, rushing in like this?" one of the guards demanded, his eyes narrowing with disdain. "Do you realize whose abode this is?"

  "Yes, how dare you approach Young Master Niu Ling's quarters without permission? Where is your Follower Token?" the uard demanded coldly. "Do you not fear losing your limbs for susolence?"

  The young man took a steady breath. "I am not yet Young Master Niu Ling's follower, but I wish to bee one. I have urgent news for him. Please, allow me to pass."

  The guards exged a skeptical ghen one of them relented, nodding curtly. "Wait here," he anded before disappearing through the grand doors.

  A few tense minutes passed before the guard returned, giving a sharp nod. "You may enter. But watanners; we won't hesitate to show you the price of disrespect."

  The young maered the hall, bowing low as he approached the throne.

  "This humble servant greets Young Master Niu Ling. He wishes to bee your follower and brings precious news you may find valuable," he said respectfully, though the tremor in his voice hi his urgency.

  "Raise your head and speak. What news did y?" Niu Ling anded, his tone calm but ced with authority.

  The young man straightened, his gaze cautious. "Young Master, I've received word that your former follower, the one who betrayed you, has left the Outer Sect. He was st seen heading toward the Mystic Evergreen Forest."

  A slow, malicious smile spread across Niu Ling's face, his eyes gleaming with cruel delight. "This is good news. You may bey follower. Ning Ning, give him a Follower Token."

  "Yes, Young Master," a maid cealed in the shadows behind Niu Ling responded with quiet deference.