Blood sprayed across the forest floor, and the Ironhide Earth Wolf collapsed heavily onto the ground.
Li Yan exhaled slowly while regulating his breathing. Even with his increased cultivation, the fight had still been somewhat difficult.
But compared to the first two battles before entering the Fire Mine—
The difference was obvious.
The efficiency had improved drastically.
Less wasted movement.
Less panic.
Less unnecessary Qi consumption.
His confidence rose steadily afterward.
The second fight came later against a scaled, horned boar hidden in dense forest.
The third battle occurred near a waterfall against a massive serpent-like Magical Beast that attacked from underground ambushes.
With every battle—
Li Yan adapted further.
His sword strikes became cleaner.
His movements became calmer.
He learned to anticipate aggression before it fully erupted and instinctively adjusted his position during combat.
The Tier-3 Hunting Ground slowly became his training ground instead of merely a dangerous wilderness.
Still—
One major problem remained.
Qi consumption.
Although Li Yan could now defeat Tier-3 Magical Beasts more consistently, every battle still consumed a considerable amount of Qi. Especially during prolonged fights, the burden on his reserves became increasingly obvious.
As a result, he was forced to stop frequently and meditate in hidden areas to replenish his Qi.
This significantly slowed the pace of his hunt.
By the second day, however, Li Yan had already adapted considerably to fighting Tier-3 Magical Beasts.
Even without relying on Mortal-Tier Mid-Level techniques, he could now defeat Tier-3 Magical Beasts in one-on-one combat through pure combat skill, movement control, and accumulated battle experience.
That alone marked enormous progress.
Of course, he still avoided the deeper regions of the Hunting Ground. Those areas contained beast packs, and that made them far more dangerous. At his current level, fighting multiple Tier-3 beasts simultaneously was still extremely risky.
So Li Yan remained patient.
One battle at a time.
One improvement at a time.
The days passed quickly afterward, and his combat ability continued to rise steadily.
Battle after battle refined his instincts.
Every wound-sharpened experience.
Every victory strengthened confidence.
His combat style gradually evolved into something colder, calmer, and more efficient.
The Training Rings continued weighing down his limbs constantly throughout every battle, forcing his body to adapt under pressure without pause.
Even his swordsmanship improved rapidly through continuous real combat.
By the afternoon of the ninth day—
Li Yan finally concluded his first extended hunt within the Tier-3 Hunting Ground. The results surprised even him slightly.
Seven hundred and fifty Tier-3 beast cores.
Obtained through hunting over fifteen hundred Tier-3 Magical Beasts.
Almost exactly a fifty percent drop rate.
His storage ring now contained enormous quantities of beast corpses and valuable resources of alchemy gathered throughout the long hunt.
Most importantly—
His strength had noticeably transformed since he first entered. Satisfied with the progress, Li Yan finally returned to the sect.
After arriving back at his residence, exhaustion crashed over him almost immediately. He slept deeply throughout the night until the following morning.
Then—
With the very first ray of sunrise illuminating the sect—
Li Yan began his alchemy practice once more.
For an entire week, he isolated himself within his alchemy chamber while refining Tier-2 pills repeatedly without interruption. Flames danced endlessly beneath the furnace while medicinal fragrances filled the room day and night.
Only refining.
Practicing.
Improving.
Then, after completing another week of alchemy practice—
Li Yan once again returned toward the Tier-3 Hunting Ground to continue his hunt.
*****
One of the days during Li Yan's hunt, the golden morning light filtered through the cliffs and ancient trees, casting long shadows across the forest floor.
Li Yan stood calmly within a clearing surrounded by massive broken rocks and claw-marked trees. The ground beneath his feet was uneven, scattered with cracked stone and dried blood from previous battles.
In front of him—
Three Tier-3 Magical Beasts stared at him with open killing intent.
A Crimson-Tusked Boar pawed violently at the ground, its massive tusks glowing faintly with Fire Qi.
Beside it prowled a Shadowscale Panther, its dark body blending unnaturally well with the surrounding shadows.
Above them, a Windclaw Eagle circled slowly through the air, sharp eyes locked onto Li Yan like a predator waiting for weakness.
Any ordinary disciple would have retreated immediately.
But Li Yan remained perfectly still, his sword resting loosely in his hand.
His breathing stayed slow and controlled while his purple eyes moved calmly between the three beasts. Weeks of constant battle had sharpened him tremendously. The pressure of facing multiple Tier-3 beasts no longer shook his composure.
At the same time, his Spiritual Sense detected another presence nearby. Li Yan's attention shifted slightly toward the ridge beyond the clearing.
After focusing briefly, he recognized the familiar aura instantly.
"So it's her…" Li Yan's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly, he relaxed slightly.
Since it was someone familiar, Li Yan no longer needed to restrain himself unnecessarily during the upcoming fight. If there were anyone else, Li Yan would try to hide his strength, but not now.
Meanwhile—
On the nearby ridge, Ji Xin—Granddaughter of Ji Hong—stepped quietly through the undergrowth, her azure sect robes swaying lightly behind her. Her long hair had been tied into a practical braid suited for combat, while a sword rested at her waist.
Originally, she had been searching for prey deeper within the outer region of the Hunting Ground.
But the moment her eyes landed upon the clearing below—
Ji Xin froze instantly.
"Li Yan Tian…?" she whispered unconsciously, yet in disbelief.
Shock flashed visibly across her face. "What is he doing here in the Tier-3 Hunting Ground?"
Her gaze immediately swept across the battlefield before narrowing sharply upon the three beasts surrounding him.
A Crimson-Tusked Boar. A Shadowscale Panther. And a Windclaw Eagle.
Three Tier-3 Magical Beasts.
The moment she sensed Li Yan's cultivation, Qi Refining Realm (Stage-6).
Ji Xin's expression changed immediately, eyes widened slightly. "Why isn't he running away?"
Even she, a Qi Channeling Realm (Stage-4) cultivator, would never recklessly face three Tier-3 beasts simultaneously without preparation, traps, or support artifacts.
Especially not beasts with completely different combat styles.
One close-range brute.
One assassin-type predator.
One aerial hunter.
It was an extremely dangerous combination.
"This is suicide…" Her first instinct was to intervene immediately before Li Yan got himself killed.
Qi surged through her meridians as she prepared to move—
Then stopped suddenly.
Because Li Yan suddenly tossed his sword aside.
Ji Xin blinked in confusion. "What is he doing?"
The sword spun once through the air before embedding itself into the ground several meters away.
Then—
Li Yan raised his right hand calmly.
A pulse of blue light flickered outward.
Deep blue gauntlets materialized around both his fists instantly, black flame-like runes spreading across their surfaces while dense Qi pulsed through the artifact.
Ji Xin stared blankly. "Gauntlets…?"
Before she could fully process what she was seeing, Darkness Qi suddenly erupted around Li Yan's fists.
He activated Mortal-Tier Mid-Level Technique.
Shattering Void Fist.
First Move—
Breaking Fist.
Darkness Qi condensed violently around his gauntlets, forming compressed waves of destructive force that distorted the surrounding air as Li Yan lowered his stance slightly.
Then—
He moved.
No—
He vanished.
BOOM!
The ground beneath him shattered instantly.
A faint afterimage lingered behind for only a fraction of a second before dispersing into darkness.
Even Ji Xin's eyes almost failed to follow him clearly. Her breathing halted. "So fast…"
The Crimson-Tusked Boar barely reacted before Li Yan appeared directly beside its neck.
His fist struck the beast's neck directly.
CRACK!
A horrifying sound of breaking bone echoed throughout the clearing.
The beast's neck visibly twisted sideways from the impact as several bones shattered instantly.
The boar released a furious scream—
But it never finished.
Li Yan's second punch descended immediately afterward like a falling meteor, smashing directly into the creature's skull.
BOOOOM!
The massive beast collapsed heavily onto the ground, lifeless.
Ji Xin's pupils contracted violently. "What kind of physical strength is that…?"
The Shadowscale Panther attacked immediately afterward.
Its body blurred through the shadows before lunging toward Li Yan's exposed back with terrifying speed, claws gleaming beneath the sunlight.
But Li Yan reacted instantly.
But Li Yan twisted mid-motion, his body rotated with explosive force. A sweeping elbow strike slammed directly into the panther's ribs.
CRACK!
The panther's body bent unnaturally from the impact. Before it could recover, Li Yan stepped forward instantly.
One punch.
Then another.
BOOM! BOOM!
Both strikes landed directly against the beast's spine.
The ground beneath them cracked from the force alone. The Shadowscale Panther crashed against a massive boulder before sliding limply toward the ground.
At the same moment—
A sharp screech descended from above. The Windclaw Eagle finally attacked. Its wings sliced through the air like blades as it dived toward Li Yan at frightening speed.
Li Yan lowered his body slightly.
Then exploded upward.
The earth beneath him shattered from sheer force.
BOOM!
His fist collided directly against the eagle's underside mid-flight.
The impact stunned the beast instantly.
Before it could recover balance, Li Yan grabbed onto its body midair, flipped his body, and landed atop its back.
Darkness Qi surged violently around his gauntlet. Then, He punched downward.
CRACK!
The eagle's skull shattered instantly.
The next moment, both figures crashed heavily onto the forest floor. Dust exploded outward across the clearing.
Silence followed.
The entire battle had lasted less than a minute.
Ji Xin stood motionless atop the ridge, staring downward with widened eyes and completely frozen thoughts.
Her heart pounded violently. "What… did I just witness?"
Three Tier-3 Magical Beasts.
Dead.
And Li Yan…
Had defeated them with bare physical strength.
For several moments, she said nothing.
The morning wind swept through the broken rocks and claw-scarred trees, carrying the heavy scent of blood across the clearing. Dust and faint traces of Qi still lingered in the air from the violent clash that had ended only seconds ago.
Yet the scene below no longer resembled a battle.
It resembled a slaughter.
Ji Xin's lips slightly parted as disbelief lingered openly across her face. Her eyes remained fixed upon the three fallen beasts scattered throughout the clearing below.
"How…" Ji Xin murmured unconsciously. "How does he have that kind of strength?"
Her eyes lingered on the collapsed Crimson-Tusked Boar. Its skull had caved in completely. Not from a weapon. From a punch.
Then her gaze shifted toward the Shadowscale Panther, its spine twisted unnaturally beneath the force of Li Yan's strikes.
Finally—
The Windclaw Eagle. Its head had been shattered mid-fall.
Ji Xin's expression gradually became complicated.
She had heard the rumors spreading throughout the sect over the last several months.
About Li Yan entering the Tier-2 Hunting Ground while still only a White-ranked disciple.
About him completing impossible tasks given by Yao Fuhuo.
About his terrifying growth speed.
But hearing rumors and witnessing reality were entirely different things.
Especially now.
Because she had seen the entire fight herself.
Li Yan hadn't relied on tricks.
He hadn't escaped desperately.
He hadn't even used his sword seriously.
Instead—
He overwhelmed three Tier-3 Magical Beasts head-on through close combat alone.
And the most unbelievable part—He still looked calm afterward, as if the fight had merely required effort rather than desperation.
Then—
Li Yan slowly turned his head.
His gaze locked directly onto Ji Xin's position behind the massive boulder.
Ji Xin's heartbeat skipped instinctively. Not because she had been discovered—but because of the calm certainty within those purple eyes and terrifying precision behind that gaze.
She hadn't revealed her aura. She hadn't made a sound. Yet he had noticed her anyway.
Li Yan walked toward the ridge casually, brushing traces of beast blood from his gauntlets with a faint flicker of Qi. His expression remained calm and composed, completely unfazed by the battle that had just occurred.
His movements were steady and unhurried. As if sensing her presence was something completely ordinary.
As he approached, a faint smile appeared upon his face.
"Senior Ji Xin," he greeted politely, "nice to see you again." His tone remained respectful. Yet beneath that politeness, there was undeniable confidence.
Ji Xin blinked once before finally regaining part of her composure. "I…" she paused briefly, "how did you know I was here?"