The air was still, thick with the scent of blood and burnt foliage from earlier hunts. The setting sun painted the canopy crimson, casting everything in a faint golden-red glow.
Then—
BOOM!
A distant explosion tore through the calm.
The sound rolled across the forest like thunder, followed by an ear-splitting roar that sent flocks of birds fleeing into the sky.
The roar wasn't just sound — it was pressure, raw and tangible. A shockwave of mental energy blasted through the trees, flattening everything in its path.
In the distance, massive trees snapped like twigs. The ground trembled violently — and then, through the haze of dust and fire, it appeared.
A beast resembling a tiger, yet far more terrifying.
It stood a full six meters tall, nearly ten meters long. Every movement of its body radiated explosive power. Its mane blazed like molten fire, each strand of fur burning with crimson heat. Two glowing eyes, red as molten rubies, locked onto human figure in front of him.
Amethyst Flame Lion King.
The name surfaced in his mind from the inherited memories of the Lin Family archives — a mid-level eighth-rank monster, king of fire-type beasts.
It roared again. The air rippled from the sound, and a sea of fire erupted from beneath its claws, turning the forest floor into a molten pit.
Even Lin Zhan felt his skin sting from the intense heat.
"Tch," he smirked. "Such arrogance."
Space around him distorted slightly — and then, dozens of black crescent blades burst from the void, spinning around him like orbiting stars.
"Spatial Blades!"
They shot forward with a sharp whizz, tearing through the air.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Each blade left a black trail as it cut through the beast's flames. Crimson fire split apart like shattered glass, scattering embers through the air. A few blades struck deep, slicing across the lion's shoulders and hind legs.
The beast roared furiously, blood sizzling into vapor the moment it touched the ground.
"Still alive?" Lin Zhan raised an eyebrow, his tone calm yet mocking.
The Amethyst Lion King's flames suddenly surged even higher, cloaking its massive body in searing energy. The ground beneath it cracked and melted, lava-like magma oozing out as it charged straight at him.
But the figure it lunged toward shimmered — and disappeared.
"Too slow."
A faint voice came from behind.
Lin Zhan stepped out of a spatial ripple behind the beast, his finger raised slightly. A tiny black dot shimmered at the tip — condensed, silent, and deadly.
"Eighth-rank mid-level beast… Amethyst Flame Lion King," he said with a smirk, "is just so-so."
His eyes glowed faintly, and the black dot pulsed.
"Void Star Beam."
A thin beam of black light shot out like a bullet, faster than sound.
It tore through the space between them, leaving a jagged spatial crack in its wake. The beam pierced straight through the lion's skull.
BOOM!
The enormous body froze mid-charge. The crimson flames dimmed instantly.
A second later, it collapsed heavily, sending shockwaves through the ground.
Blood gushed from the hole in its head — but the energy inside had already been obliterated.
[Killed: Eighth-Rank Mid-Level Beast — Amethyst Flame Lion King]
[Reward: +13,000 Experience Points]
Lin Zhan exhaled softly, lowering his hand. "Only thirteen thousand for that much trouble? You're stingy, system."
Still, a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. The fight had been clean — efficient.
He floated above the corpse, looking at the fading embers of the beast's mane. The flames reflected faintly in his black eyes.
"Power like this…" he murmured, "is only the beginning."
With a wave of his hand, the carcass vanished into his storage space. The jungle fell silent once more, save for the faint crackling of cooling magma.
-----------------------------------
The forest was quiet again. Only the faint crackle of cooling magma lingered, a ghostly reminder of the Amethyst Flame Lion King's final moments.
The air was heavy with the metallic tang of blood, so thick it almost shimmered under the dim light.
But Lin Zhan knew silence in the wilderness never lasted long.
The blood of a high-rank beast was like a beacon. It didn't take long before the sound of movement began to echo through the trees—growls, claws scraping bark, the low hiss of predators drawn by instinct.
A faint smile touched his lips. "Here they come."
Out from the shadows emerged a few shapes.
A Steel-Backed Boar, its tusks glowing faintly with iron-light; a Flame-Scaled Wolf, fur flickering like cinders; two Rock-Horned Rhinos, each snorting hot air; and a Wind-Shadow Leopard, eyes glinting pale green.
And those were just the first. Soon, the forest floor trembled with dozens of smaller beasts rushing closer—blood-mad and hungry.
Lin Zhan didn't retreat. He didn't even raise his sword. Instead, he murmured softly,"Space Domain."
The words fell like a command from heaven.
A faint hum filled the air, and then color itself began to drain away. The world twisted. Space distorted.
From beneath his feet, a black ripple spread outward, smooth and silent, until it swallowed nearly three kilometers of land. The forest warped inside it—trees bending unnaturally, air folding like glass. Within this space, Lin Zhan was god.
Then came the storm, Space storm.
A deep rumbling sound, as though the heavens cracked open, filled the domain.Invisible pressure swept through like an ocean wave, followed by slicing gales of warped space. The beasts inside screamed as they were torn apart by unseen edges.
The Steel-Backed Boar was the first to collapse, its body splitting cleanly into fragments. The Flame-Scaled Wolf howled once before it disintegrated in mid-air. The Rock-Horned Rhinos charged forward in confusion but were shredded before they could even reach him.
The Wind-Shadow Leopard tried to escape—but space folded over it, crushing it into mist.
And after that… countless lesser beasts followed.
Within moments, more than fifty creatures had perished inside that distorted void. The ground was drenched with the traces of annihilation. There was no blood—only fragments of matter dissolving into thin air.
Lin Zhan stood calmly at the center, silver light gleaming faintly in his eyes.To him, this was normal. Power and slaughter had become part of his daily routine.
The system's cold tone echoed in his head:
[Killed: 53 Beasts — Total EXP + 8,900]
He exhaled and let the domain fade. The black shimmer receded, revealing the devastated land beneath—a silent graveyard of beasts.
"Efficient," he murmured, brushing some dust from his sleeve. "But exhausting."
It had been one month since he entered this secret realm. Two days ago, he had finally broken through to Peak Seventh Rank, but the advancement had drained most of his stored points.