Ten Shadow Soldiers split away from the sides. Staying low, they moved quietly through the bushes like trained hunters.
They didn’t disappear. Instead, they used the trees around them and the movement techniques of the Shadow Kill Secret Canon to silently surround the boars.
Snap.
A dried root broke beneath the foot of an advancing soldier.
The largest boar’s ears twitched.
Its bloodshot eyes locked onto the dark figure creeping toward the perimeter. With an angry squeal, it kicked up frozen dirt, lowered its tusked head, and charged at the nearest soldier with terrifying speed.
The other five boars roared and followed, turning the clearing into a devastating stampede.
The targeted Shadow Soldier didn’t flinch.
He planted his heel, lowered his center of gravity, and drew his blade.
When the charging boar was only three yards away, the soldier stepped diagonally inside the sweep of its tusks. His left hand pressed down on the boar’s snout, redirecting its momentum, while his right hand drove the shadow saber downward in a reverse grip.
Shink!
The dark steel bit deep behind the boar’s ear, slicing through its cervical vertebrae.
The beast’s legs gave out instantly. Its massive body skidded several meters across the frozen dirt before crashing into a tree.
Before the remaining boars could react to the death of their alpha, Shadow One moved.
The ground shuddered beneath his boots as he charged forward like an armored battering ram. His greatsword swept horizontally, cutting through the fog with the brutal killing intent of the Blood Battle Saber Technique.
CRACK!
The blade struck a boar mid-charge.
The immense force behind the attack shattered its iron-like skull. Its neck snapped backward, sending its lifeless body flying several meters before crashing to the ground.
The remaining four boars panicked and tried to turn.
"Close the circle," Shadow One ordered in a low, gravelly voice.
The ninety soldiers behind them drew their weapons simultaneously.
It wasn’t a battle. It was an execution.
Three soldiers surrounded each beast, deflecting panicked tusk strikes with their bucklers before delivering precise thrusts into their lungs, eyes, and spinal cords.
In less than twenty seconds, the clearing fell completely silent.
Six massive corpses lay steaming in the cold mud, black blood pooling across the dead leaves.
Shadow One sheathed his greatsword and walked toward the alpha boar’s carcass. He knelt on one knee and pressed an armored palm against the beast’s forehead.
"Devour."
A faint shadowy resonance spread through his gauntlet.
The corpse’s shadow suddenly churned like boiling tar. Wisps of dark-purple essence peeled away from the carcass, flowing across the ground and directly into Shadow One’s armor.
The change was instantaneous.
The boar’s thick, muscular body visibly shrank as its moisture and vital marrow were drained away, leaving behind only dry skin and brittle white bones.
At the same time, the one hundred soldiers knelt beside the remaining corpses, placing their palms against the bodies and activating Shadow Devour in unison.
...
Thirty kilometers away, in the quiet, lavish bedroom of the Sterling Grand Courtyard, Lucian sat cross-legged on his meditation mat.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
His breath caught.
A warm pulse of pure vitality surged through his dantian, as if a cup of rich, boiling broth had been poured directly into his lower abdomen.
The obsidian Spiritual Seed within his Soul Sea began spinning faster, greedily absorbing the incoming essence. The dark spiritual energy flowing through his 1,080 refined meridians grew noticeably thicker.
At the same time, the Floating Pagoda Mysterious Skill activated on its own, channeling the refined essence into his muscles, bones, and internal organs.
Crack, crack.
The muscles in his arms tightened as a thin layer of impurities was forced out through his pores and instantly vaporized by his body heat.
Lucian looked down at his palms, feeling the sudden increase in his physical strength.
"They’ve started," he murmured, a sharp grin appearing on his lips.
Through the soul tether, he could clearly sense the hunt taking place on Black Crow Ridge. He could see through Shadow One’s eyes, feel the impact of each strike, and sense the steady influx of devoured vitality.
"Seven Tier First Stage 1 and Stage 2 beasts... and the feedback is already this strong?" His grin widened.
In such a short time, his cultivation had already advanced by nearly five percent.
"If they keep this up all night..."
His grin widened.
Lucian closed his eyes and focused his consciousness on the Eternal Night Demon Codex, calmly processing the incoming tide of energy.
Back in the Thousand Mountain Forest,
Shadow One wiped his dark blade against the pelt of a dead boar. The violet flames behind his visor burned with renewed intensity.
"Advance."
Te humanoid army instantly reformed its ranks and moved deeper into the misty ridgeline.
As they entered a rocky gorge known as Viper’s Throat, the hunt grew more intense.
Hiss!!!
From the damp rock faces and hanging moss above, several three-meter-long serpents with crimson scales suddenly dropped toward the soldiers.
Blood-Claw Vipers : Stage-3 Martial Warrior beasts.
Their venom could liquefy a human’s organs within ten breaths, while their powerful tails could strike with the force of an iron club.
Yet the Shadow Soldiers remained completely calm.
Without breaking stride, the front-rank soldiers raised their left arms and caught the descending vipers by the throat.
The serpents coiled violently around their armor, trying to crush their bodies with immense force.
The soldiers didn’t even flinch.
With a punching strength of three thousand kilograms, their gauntlets slowly tightened around the vipers’ throats.
Crunch!
The one hundred Shadow Soldiers, who had initially appeared slightly pale and translucent around the edges, now looked almost solid. Their dark armor carried a faint metallic sheen, while the cold aura radiating from their bodies had grown noticeably stronger.
At the front, Shadow One stood atop a shattered boulder.
His two-and-a-half-meter frame was surrounded by a faint, roiling dark aura. After absorbing the largest share of the devoured essence, his strength had reached the absolute peak of the Martial Warrior tier.
Meanwhile, thirty kilometers away, inside the Sterling Manor, Lucian’s cultivation was undergoing an even greater change.
Boom!
A deep tremor shook his Soul Sea.
The energy accumulated within his body suddenly surged, breaking through the invisible barrier that had held him back.
Martial Warrior Stage 2!
Lucian slowly opened his eyes.
A sharp glint flashed through them.
He could clearly feel the difference.
His cultivation had successfully broken through Stage 1, and his overall combat power had increased by another 5,000 points.
His physical strength had also risen considerably. Every muscle in his body felt denser and more powerful, while the spiritual energy circulating through his 1,080 refined meridians had become noticeably stronger.
"So this is Martial Warrior Stage 2..."
Lucian slowly clenched his fist.
A faint crack echoed from his knuckles.
His current strength was now comparable to those who had just brokethough the Martial Master realm.
And this was only the beginning.
With the Shadow Legion continuing to hunt, his cultivation would keep rising as long as the devoured essence continued flowing back to him.
"This speed is insane," Lucian murmured, a faint smile appearing on his face.
However, in the Thousand Mountain Forest, nature’s balance had already been pushed too far.
More than eighty Martial Warrior-grade beasts had been killed and drained within twelve hours.
The stench of blood and the lingering chill of Shadow Devour hung heavily over Black Crow Ridge. Even the nocturnal insects had fallen silent.
Shadow One suddenly stopped atop the boulder.
His visor turned toward the north, toward the deepest valleys of the Thousand Mountain Forest.
Thump.
The ground beneath his boots trembled faintly.
Thump... Thump...
It wasn’t an earthquake.
Heavy footsteps were approaching.
Each step carried an aura so dense and tyrannical that the surrounding trees began shedding their leaves.
Shadow One tightened his grip around his greatsword.
Through the shadow tether, his voice reached Lucian.
"Master."
Lucian’s eyes narrowed.
"What is it?"
"Something powerful is approaching."
From the dark, fog-covered depths of the mountains, two enormous, lantern-sized amber eyes slowly opened.