Dante stumbled to the ground, exhausted. His body no longer had any energy left. The cultivator had pushed his spirit and physique to the limit in the last few days.

When Dante first met the lion leader, he thought that just training with a few more monsters would be enough. His body would adapt to the white fire, just as it did in other situations.

A grave mistake.

Even after fighting dozens of the lion-looking monsters, as well as absorbing enough white fire to burn a city, it still wasn't enough.

The times Dante tried to engage the leader of the monsters in combat, he met only defeat. The monster had a much greater speed than its peers, and an equally greater destructive force.

The problem did not stop there. Dante looked at his hand, thoughtfully. Phoenix Razor had been completely ineffective against the monster, not even being enough to scratch the beast's skin.

While pondering the matter, he assumed a lotus position and meditated. There was no time to waste. Dante felt he was getting stronger fighting the lions. Although he didn't move to the next level of cultivation, his core was becoming increasingly refined.

When he internalized the concentration in his core, Dante's eyes widened. Now, fire that was once as clear as the sun, possessed a hint of white, as if the lions' energy had changed his own.

Despite his surprise, Dante wasted no time and analyzed the balance of the Qi in his core. Isaac's pips made him manage the Qi well, but an external energy could put everything at risk. To the cultivator's relief, he found no defects. However, he also didn't know if this was beneficial or not.

After reaching the peak of his Qi, Dante left his cultivation position. He was at Silver VII. The advance to Gold had never been so close. Continuing to fight with the lions was a waste of time. The cultivator picked up the map, searching for a solution.

Summarizing what he had learned in the last few days, Dante pondered what to do. He knew that his body thrived at the contact with new kinds of Qi. So the logical choice would be to look for the other artifacts. Since Dante had the feeling that a beast would guard all the artifacts, he just hoped that the other beasts were not as strong as the lion. If he had known how difficult Zay's test would be...No. That wouldn't change anything. There was too much at stake, Dante couldn't afford to back down now.

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He located the artifact closer to his position. From what he had mapped so far, his goal was in the nature Qi region.

He sighed, relieved. At least against those trees, his Qi was very efficient. Maybe he should have followed this method from the beginning. Well, now it was too late. Better to deal with the situation, rather than dwelling on the past.

As he walked through the cave, he realized he had received no contact from Ikarus for some time. Since he had helped the cultivator, it seemed the monster was dormant. Perhaps physically influencing Dante had left the beast exhausted.

Determined to check that everything was all right, Dante focused his concentration on his core. He was startled when he heard some strange dreams, as if something was not right. Driven by fear, he deepened his concentration even more, until the noise became faintly discernible.

Striking? Stricken? Dante's heart leapt. Was the monster warning him of some incoming attack?

"No, stupid disciple, CHICKEN. I WANT GOOD FOOD."

The monster's voice was deep enough to stun the cultivator. Dante sighed, relieved. Nothing out of the ordinary, just the old tantrum of a legendary bird.

As Dante turned his concentration to the outside world, he realized at the last moment that there was something different on the ground ahead. A brief purple aura delivered a thread at knee height.

"A to the right, B to the left. Don't be afraid to kill him. The boss said he has regenerative powers," a voice sounded from the depths of the cave.

By the time Dante processed the words, it was too late. He saw a spear of blue Qi coming from the right, quickly making its way to his heart.

With the speed of someone disciplined, Dante ignited his Qi. The life energy quickly coursed through his meridians, serving as fuel for his body.

Just as the spear was about to reach him, Dante deflected it to the right. The weapon left a blue echo behind it, which crackled small thunderclaps. Thunder Qi.

To the bad luck of his opponents, Dante was no longer the same. Days of fighting in that godforsaken cave had shaped him by combat. He lunged toward his opponents, his hands burning into the shape of claws.

The enemies, however, were not mildly sentient creatures. The cultivators wore black robes with a purple symbol. A chill ran down Dante's spine. The Draco had found him.

As Dante was approaching the cultivator, he felt the hairs on his neck rise. The thunder Qi spear was returning at full speed. Dante dodged the spear, but the cultivator took the moment to pull himself together.

There was no time to waste. Dante jumped again, attacking the cultivator with his claw. In mid-air, thunder Qi met rocket Qi, causing an explosion. Disoriented by the explosion, Dante rolled on the ground in time to escape another coming attack.

As the dust settled, Dante looked at his opponents. His heart raced. In front of him were three cultivators from the Draco clan. One of them was carrying the spear, while another was fighting unarmed. The one in the background, who seemed to give orders to the others, carried two scimitars.

Despite the imminent danger, Dante can't help but give a smile.

It was time to put all his progression into practice, and there would be no better target than those bastards.