The cold air inside the cave had grown still.
Outside, snow continued to fall; the forest looked more silver than green.
A fire crackled in the bonfire, with the bones of dead beasts thrown to the side.
But Michael stood there shirtless, sword in hand, his focus intense.
He took a deep breath.
Energy surged through his body with every heartbeat, resonating with the rhythm of his soul. His foundation was far stronger now, and it was time to test his physical control.
With a flicker of inner energy, Michael's body shot forward. His feet struck the ground with precise force, propelling him a few meters in a blur.
"Too much power… I need to synchronize my breath and step."
He exhaled slowly and tried again.
As Michael repeated the motion, each step echoed faintly off the cave walls like distant thunderclaps.
It took him forty hours to stabilize the first stage of the Nine-Stage Thunder Sword Body, which also increased his strength—the first stage doubled his brute force when using the sword with burst movement.
Michael checked the time and was surprised. It had taken him three months to comprehend the first stage in his last life, but now it took only six hours, likely due to his deeper understanding of martial arts.
He considered starting the second layer of the Nine-Stage Thunder Sword Body but realized the energy required was beyond his current level. When he had learned this martial art in his previous life, he was already at the peak of the Warlord realm, and even then, he needed to break through to the Planetary Realm to comprehend the second stage.
Now, having just reached the middle stage of the Warlord realm, the spiritual energy required for the second stage was simply beyond him.
According to the inheritance spirit, comprehending the ninth stage could allow him to form his own domain, but that would require profound understanding—something still far beyond his reach.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. Just go with the flow."
Michael took a deep breath and began to plan his next steps. He still had a few hours before he needed to leave.
Thinking of the Ape demon, he took out his watch and checked for any activity in the human base.
"So, what are they after? The map, or something else?"
According to human spies, there had been movement at the alien base. A few powerful Warlords had been spotted the previous week.
They seemed to be searching for something, and five days ago, they had retrieved a dead body and brought it to their base camp, but there had been no further movement.
Seeing this, he wasn't surprised. He guessed the body must have belonged to someone important and contained something valuable—hence their pursuit.
The most likely valuable item was the map; even a 10,000-year Willow Heart wouldn't typically draw this much attention from Warlord-level warriors.
But thinking that someone else had benefited from their conflict probably left them feeling humiliated.
Michael smiled wryly. "At least they don't know a General realm warrior took their prize."
At the same time, he began looking into Ravine City, where the inheritance space was located.
To his surprise, the city fell under the authority of Starlight Superbase—something he had forgotten.
"So, I have to go to that city," Michael murmured.
Ravine City was far from his current location; it would take several days to reach. The thought of activating his bloodline made him eager to get there.
Another piece of information caught his eye: an auction was to be held in Starlight City. According to an article, the Golden Stalk Auction House would be displaying treasures from newly discovered relics, found by warriors above the Warlord realm.
"Looks like it might take more time than I expected," Michael said as he scanned the screen.
The auction was scheduled for a month from now—a short time, given that he didn't have enough money to attend. But now he could hunt a few Warlord-level wild beasts, which would be a good way to earn money, provided he could find them.
Otherwise, he would have to target more War General-level beasts, whose materials were always in high demand for crafting body armor, weapons, and other defensive gear.
Even beast blood was valuable, used in medical research to develop serums for body tempering or bloodline awakening.
Michael looked outside the cave.
"Now, let's reach the destination early."
He began packing his things to move out. He needed to reach the location and also hunt a few beasts to earn money for the auction.
Michael put on body armor. Though it looked bulky, it didn't hinder his movement.
It was already morning, which would make travel toward the area less dangerous.
He moved toward the location marked by the system, which was deep in the opposite direction from his previous destination.
As he traveled, he spotted a few General-level beasts but chose not to engage. A small confrontation could alert the Warlord-level beast, which might eat the fruit before it ripened.
Warlord-level beasts were generally intelligent and could quickly assess danger.
As he drew closer, he slowed his approach, moving with caution to avoid attracting other beasts.
Michael reached a point about two hundred meters from the tree. At its base, an early-stage Warlord tiger beast lay resting.
Seeing the tiger, he felt a thrill. Fighting a beast of the same realm would not be easy, but that was not his concern here.
His eyes shifted to the Bloomberry fruit, which would ripen in about an hour. Fortunately, there were at least five pieces on the tree—enough to aid his breakthrough, depending on their energy.
As Michael waited for the fruit to ripen, a tense silence fell over the area. This was a Warlord's territory, and few beasts dared to roam freely at the same time.
Michael readied his sword. It was time to strike.
He would exert his full strength to take down the beast quickly, avoiding attention from other Warlord-level creatures in the inner circle.
"It's time to finish this."
Michael channeled his full strength, activating the Nine-Stage Thunder Sword Art.
With a flash of his blade, he appeared in front of the tiger.
Swish…
The tiger, which had been waiting for the fruit, was startled by the human's sudden appearance.