Beneath the suffocating canopy of towering trees, a shadow darted through the woods like a sudden gust of wind.
The figure decelerated seamlessly, halting to reveal a man clad in a golden-brown hooded cloak.
This was Asterius, scouring the treacherous fringes of the Darkwood Forest for low-level prey.
He found them.
His targets: Obsidian Ants.
Spotting a cluster of four scuttling through the dense undergrowth, Asterius slipped behind a thick trunk.
He completely masked his presence, his breathing dropping to a whisper as he studied the massive insects.
They were monstrous, stretching nearly three meters in length and standing a meter-and-a-half tall.
While they relied on their mandibles like normal ants, these beasts could shroud their jaws in a razor-sharp cutting aura to maximize their lethality.
The higher the creature’s grade, the deadlier the edge.
Compounding the threat, their solid obsidian carapaces granted a near-impenetrable defense—a notorious headache for hunters, who rarely engaged them since they traveled in tight, cooperative packs.
Worse yet, ambushing a single target was tantamount to declaring war on the entire colony due to their innate skill: [Hive Mind].
The moment one was struck, it would broadcast a distress signal through its antennae to every ally in the vicinity.
It was a massive pain in the ass.
“Now, now…
how should I handle this?
My options are pretty limited here,” Asterius muttered, assessing the threat.
One of the ants belonged to a Rare grade, clearly commanding the three Extraordinary-grade variants flanking it.
“How am I going to pull this off?”
“Lets split these guys up.”
As Asterius formulated his strategy, the individual ants began to scatter, scurrying directly toward his general vicinity.
“Well, well.
It looks like I won’t have to rack my brain to divide and conquer them after all.
I’ll just use “that.”
To guarantee the creature moved exactly where he wanted, he pulled out a cherry-like fruit—a Deadly Nightshade Fruit.
He would lure it into position, perfectly mimicking a patient hunter stalking his prey.
Right on cue, the ant veered toward the bait Asterius had tossed.
This was his moment.
Five meters…
four meters…
three meters…
one meter.
The moment it closed the final distance—whoosh!—a razor-thin ray of transparent light pierced through its skull.
The ant froze instantly, then collapsed limply into the grass.
It was dead before it hit the ground.
• Extraordinary Beast Slain: Obsidian Ant
• No ‘Life Prominence’ acquired
.
• Consume flesh to extract Extraordinary Life Essence.
“Nice.
One down, three to go,” Asterius muttered.
“Ants are social creatures.
The rest will definitely come looking for their companion when they notice its absence.
That is when I will make my move, right as they split up to search for their buddy.” Asterius planned to kill them using one of his signature techniques: [Killing Ray].
Condensing his sword intent into a single, razor-sharp point, he fired it like a bullet directly at his opponents.
That was the essence of the Killing Ray.
Even though it was not as strong and potent as it once was—due to the current limitations of his body and cultivation—its piercing effect remained as deadly as ever.
Sneaking the corpse away to a hidden spot, he went into hiding.
He waited for the perfect moment to strike, resembling a venomous snake lurking silently in the shadows while insidiously observing its prey.
Five to seven minutes later, the ants assembled.
Noticing that one of their own was missing, the big-headed obsidian ant—a rare grade creature—made strange, squeaky sounds while its antennae twitched frantically.
It seemed to be communicating with the other ants.
Soon after, they split up in search of their missing companion.
Asterius’s predictions had come to pass.
He lay silently in wait, eyeing his prey like a hungry wolf, his lips curling into a slight grin.
Hiding his presence, he sneaked up behind one of the ants and then…
whoosh!
Poke!
Slump!
• Extraordinary Creature: Obsidian Ant killed.
• No Life Prominence gained.
• Consume its flesh to obtain 1-10 Extraordinary Life Essence
Employing the same brutal efficiency, he dispatched the final ordinary beast.
Now, only the rare-grade, large-headed entity remained.
Asterius masked his presence entirely, stalking his quarry with silent, calculated precision.
Yet, as befitted a rare-grade specimen, the creature sensed an anomaly.
An eerie, unnatural silence gripped the surroundings; it was completely isolated.
The chilling realization suddenly struck: its pack mates had vanished into thin air.
Panic surged.
The creature scrambled to broadcast a distress signal, but before the transmission could clear, a crushing pressure plummeted from above.
The sheer gravity of the aura paralyzed it.
That fleeting second of paralysis was all the opening Asterius needed to drive his palm directly into its skull.
…{Insidious Yin Palm!!}…
Boom!!
The impact sent the beast hurtling headfirst into the dirt.
Remarkably, the blow was not fatal.
It dragged itself up onto six spindly, trembling legs, struggling to maintain its balance.
It reeled unsteadily as viscous green blood, mangled with cerebral matter, leaked heavily from the fractured fissures splitting the side of its head.
Just how monstrous were this entity’s defenses and vitality to survive a direct hit from the [Insidious Yin Palm]?
Even with its skull shattered and its body in ruins, it refused to fall.
The {Insidious Yin Palm} was an intricate technique Ceres had attempted to master; however, due to his lack of proficiency, he couldn’t execute
It in the heat of battle, as his unfamiliarity made the execution far too slow.
Now, backed by Asterius’s millennia of martial prowess and combat experience, he could unleash it in a heartbeat with absolute perfection.
Refusing to grant the ant a single moment to recover, Asterius lunged forward, single-mindedly intent on putting the creature out of its misery.
He thrust his left hand out, palm bared, propelling it forward with the explosive force of a mechanical piston.
Forcing the initiative, he executed the [Insidious Yin Palm] once more, driving straight for the lethal blow.
Fifteen meters…
twelve meters…
twenty centimeters…
Just as his palm was inches away from crushing its shattered head, a volatile surge of energy erupted from the beast.
“Empowered Mode!!”
With a violent jerk, the ant snapped its head aside.
Asterius’s palm grazed past, missing the mark by mere inches.
“Dammit…!”
Reinvigorated by a torrent of raw energy, the ant unhinged its massive mandibles.
They gleamed a malicious, razor-sharp crimson, saturated by its boiling aura.
Lunging ferociously at Asterius’s midsection, the beast moved with blinding speed, entirely consumed by the drive to slaughter its attacker.
In a fraction of a millisecond, it materialized directly in front of him, effortlessly cleaving his body in two.
Slump!
…
Splash!
Asterius’s “corpse” collapsed heavily onto the earth, blood erupting from the severed torso like a burst pipe, soaking into the damp grass.
With the threat eliminated, “Big Head” deactivated its empowered state.
The abrupt shift plunged the creature into a profoundly weakened state—the brutal toll of overtaxing its body.
It let out a heavily exhausted, human-like sigh of relief, deeply grateful that it survived the ambush.
Yet, before it could transmit a distress signal, a bizarre spectacle unfolded: the supposed “corpse” of its assailant suddenly erupted into cascading sparks of light.
The sight instantly spiked its apprehension, forcing it onto high alert.
A dark premonition gripped its mind.
But before its broken, weakened body could drag itself to safety, a ghostly whisper sliced through the silence: [Falling Hammer Kick].
That chilly command was the final sound to register before its head was shattered into smithereens, plunging its consciousness into eternal darkness.
• Target Slain: (Rare Creature) Obsidian Ant
• Soul armament Acquired: Life Prominence – Obsidian Ant Armor
• DevourRequirement: Consume the flesh to extract 1–10 units of Rare Life Essence.
“Whew…
Now that was a close call.
The bastard almost had me.”
Fortunately, my instincts had kicked in just in time to execute the [Nine Serenities Cloning Technique]—a heaven-defying cosmic skill capable of manifesting nine “True Clones.” These entities were deemed ‘True’ because they were entirely permanent, capable of wielding a staggering 70% of the original body’s total power and techniques.
Unfortunately, severe cultivation bottlenecks and restrictions barred him from unleashing its full potential.
Yet, this setback did not deter him.
Innovation born of necessity led him to forge a stripped-down, simplified variant tailored strictly to his current realm.
He dubbed it the [Pseudo Nine Cloning Technique].
While it lacked the overwhelming efficacy and absolute power of its parent technique, it still granted him the invaluable ability to summon nine temporary phantoms.
Though their individual strength was a negligible 20% of his current baseline, they remained highly effective tools for battlefield deception, serving as perfect diversions and sacrificial bait.
“It seems fortune hasn’t abandoned me after all,” he mused.
At that thought, a brilliant beam of light erupted from his glabella, instantly enveloping his entire form.
A heartbeat later, the light faded to reveal a suit of obsidian armor encasing him from head to toe.
Its metallic surface cast a deep, polished sheen, which—when paired with his golden-brown cloak—lent him the ancient, solemn air of a medieval knight.
“Nice…”
The armor fit him flawlessly, contoured to his physique as if custom-crafted by a master smith.
Its sleek surface mirrored the iridescent carapace of the obsidian ants.
When he spoke, the helm distorted his voice, infusing it with a heavy, resonant depth that rendered him completely unrecognizable.
Dragging the fresh carcass behind him, he retreated to his hidden sanctuary—an abandoned cave he had stumbled upon days prior.
Once inside, he secured the perimeter by casting an illusionary seal, the [Pseudo-Phantasmic Barrier] (see page 14).
Safe from prying eyes, he summoned Little Black to prepare for the upcoming feast and quickly kindled a campfire.
Ten minutes later, a rich, savory aroma permeated the cavern air.
Asterius retrieved one of the roasted ant limbs from the embers.
Crack.
The charred shell split easily, exposing a glistening, gelatinous meat that released a mouth-watering fragrance.
He took a substantial bite, letting the rich flavors burst across his palate.
“Mmm…” he hummed, closing his eyes in pure contentment.
“An absolute delicacy.
The texture is identical to the Arctic Lobsters of the Endless Seas.”
[ +1 Rare Essence ]
[ +1 Rare-Essence!
]
A sharp, demanding meow cut through the quiet cave, instantly shattering his culinary trance.
“Oh, right.
Forgive me, Little Black—I almost forgot your share,” Asterius chuckled, tossing a prime cut of the meat across the cave.
Little Black sprang forward, intercepting the morsel mid-air with perfect agility.
Landing smoothly on its forelegs, the creature immediately buried its snout in the food, devouring it ravenously.
Twenty minutes later]
Asterius sat cross-legged, circulating the [Primordial Physique of Chaos] through his body.
Nearby, little Black lay flat on his back, his belly comically round and bulging.
By devouring three obsidian ants—one rare grade and two extraordinary grades—Asterius had successfully acquired 23 essence points.
Eight of these points belonged to the rare category, while the remaining fifteen were extraordinary.
A thought summoned his status window:
• Ceres Turner: [STATUS] [Unevolved]
• Ordinary Essence: 20/100
• Extraordinary Essence: 15/100
• Rare Essence: 12/100
• Epic Essence: 8/100
• Soul Armaments Gained: Tropical Cloak [Epic], Shadow Lynx [Rare], Obsidian Anteris Armor [Rare]
The feast had left his body bursting with energy, fueled by the gelatinous, essence-rich flesh of the ants.
Shifting into a meditative lotus position, he focused entirely on circulating the [Primordial Physique of Chaos] to refine the raw, unyielding energy pooling inside him.If one could peer into his body they would have been utterly shocked!
Energy rapidly deadened the pain receptors in his shins, knuckles, and forearms.
He then guided the torrent of energy to rapidly reinforce nand fortify the dense muscle fibers and layers of raw bone reinforcements in his limbs!This phase focused on tearing down and rebuilding muscle tissue at a microscopic level.
The standard chaotic arrangement of human muscle fibers is realigned into hyper-dense, parallel bundles.
This exponential structural efficiency drastically increases raw physical strength and endurance while eliminating the production of lactic acid, allowing for tireless physical exertion
Two hours passed…
Crack!
Snap!…
Pffft!
A sharp, fracturing sound echoed from within his bones.
The bottleneck shattered.
A violent surge of power rippled through his frame—a successful breakthrough!
He had finally reached the third stage of the Chaos Body.
This was the [Primordial Physique of Chaos] !
A brutal n complex cultivation method
My defenses are secure for now—at least against the lower-level beasts.
Rest is no longer optional; I have pushed this frail body to its absolute limit.”
With that final thought, he sank into a lotus position and closed his eyes to meditate.
Hours slipped by in silence.
The sun dipped below the horizon, darkness took over, and in what felt like a single breath, the first light of a new dawn broke.