The abyss didn't stay quiet after Ren's victory.
The moment the crystal beast fell, the mana currents shifted unnaturally, like a massive organism adjusting its breathing.
Ren could feel it now.
Not just mana.
Intent.
"This place is alive," Ren muttered.
Lyra nodded. "High-density mana zones often develop instinctual defense responses. The stronger the intruder, the stronger the reaction."
"So basically," Ren said calmly, "the abyss just marked me as a threat."
Ignivar's tail slowly scraped against the stone.
"And as prey that refuses to die."
Ren smiled faintly.
"Then let it try harder."
They didn't wait long.
The mana lines Ren could now perceive twisted violently.
Pressure spiked across the cavern.
A deep, grinding sound echoed from below.
Stone cracked.
The ground split open several meters away.
From the fissure, something massive rose.
A creature that barely resembled the earlier beasts.
Its body was a fusion of crystal, bone, and dark flesh, layered like living armor.
Multiple glowing cores pulsed inside its torso.
Its claws were long enough to slice towers in half.
And its eyes—
They weren't wild.
They were calculating.
Lyra inhaled sharply.
"That's an Abyss Guardian-class predator."
Ignivar's wings flared.
"A creature formed to kill high-tier beings."
Ren's heartbeat quickened.
Not in fear.
In anticipation.
The guardian moved.
Not fast.
Instant.
The air shattered where it passed.
Ren barely twisted aside as its claw sliced through stone like paper.
The shockwave hurled him backward.
He slammed into a crystal pillar, cracking it deeply.
Pain surged through his back.
But he rolled instantly to his feet.
Too slow. Its speed is higher than before.
The guardian struck again.
Ren blocked with his forearm instinctively.
Bad move.
The impact crushed him into the ground.
Stone exploded outward.
Agony shot through his arm.
But his bones didn't shatter.
Adaptation working.
Ren kicked upward with everything he had.
His heel connected with the guardian's jaw.
Mana surged cleanly.
The creature's head snapped back violently.
Ren leapt away before its counterstrike landed.
Breathing hard.
"This one's serious."
Lyra shouted, "Target the cores! That's its power source!"
Ren nodded.
He focused.
Mana gathered along his arms in tight controlled currents.
Not explosive.
Compressed.
The guardian lunged.
Ren sprinted forward instead of retreating.
At the last moment, he slid beneath its claws and drove his fist upward into one glowing core.
The impact detonated the crystal armor outward.
The guardian shrieked in pain.
But it didn't fall.
Instead—
Its remaining cores flared brighter.
Its power surged.
Ignivar growled.
"It is entering overload state!"
"So it goes berserk," Ren muttered.
"Great."
The guardian unleashed a violent shockwave of corrupted mana.
Ren was thrown across the cavern like a ragdoll.
He crashed hard, coughing blood.
His chest burned fiercely.
Lyra shouted his name.
The world spun.
Too much damage.
Too fast.
Ren forced himself upright.
Blood dripped from his lips.
But his eyes burned with focus.
"This thing… is perfect."
Perfect training.
Perfect evolution pressure.
He steadied his breathing.
Forced circulation to compensate.
Mana surged smoothly.
His pain dulled slightly.
Not gone.
But manageable.
Body Adaptation: 9% → 10.5%
Ren grinned despite the blood.
"It's working."
The guardian charged again.
This time Ren didn't dodge wildly.
He predicted.
He stepped precisely between its movements.
Twisted.
Struck two cores in rapid succession.
Crack—BOOM!
The guardian screamed as its armor shattered.
Before it could recover—
Ren leapt upward and drove his elbow straight into its final core.
The explosion was massive.
Crystal shards flew like bullets.
The guardian collapsed into lifeless rubble.
Silence returned.
Ren dropped to one knee, breathing hard.
His body shook.
But he wasn't broken.
He was stronger.
Faster.
Sharper.
The abyss calmed slightly after the guardian's death.
Mana pressure decreased.
Almost like acknowledgment.
Lyra approached slowly.
"You just defeated something that normally requires high-tier cultivators or dragon lords."
Ren wiped blood from his mouth.
"Good benchmark."
Ignivar stared at him with new intensity.
"You grow at an unnatural pace."
Ren smiled faintly.
"I'm built for systems."
But before they could rest—
A massive surge of energy rippled through the entire abyss.
Far deeper below, something ancient shifted.
Not a beast.
Not a guardian.
Something intelligent.
Something powerful.
Ignivar stiffened completely.
His voice dropped low.
"A dragon lord has sensed you."
Ren felt it too.
A presence pressing down like a mountain.
Not hostile.
Not friendly.
Curious.
Judging.
"So," Ren said quietly, "the politics are starting."