Chapter 8 Absorbing The Demon Core And Leveling up
The three-eyed demon bear’s giant claw came crashing down toward Ren Ji’s head; the fierce wind from the attack alone was enough to tear up the ground around him. A direct hit would surely kill him.
However, just as the claw was about to touch him, Ren Ji’s eyes suddenly caught something—the third eye on the bear’s forehead.
Just as the monster was about to strike, the red light in that eye dimmed for just a moment—but it was enough to spot its weakness.
“Now, Ren Ji!” barked the Dragon Emperor.
Ren Ji’s body reacted instinctively; he stomped his foot on the ground and charged forward instead of retreating.
The bear was taken aback—no sane human would approach a monster while it was attacking. “What?”
Yet Ren Ji did just that. He smiled faintly, having successfully evaded the monster so that its claw struck only empty air.
The giant claw swept past his body; the tip of the claw even grazed Ren Ji’s back. Blood spurted, but he didn’t stop.
Ren Ji kept advancing closer and closer, until he was finally right in front of the bear’s head.
The monster’s eyes widened. “You madman!”
Ren Ji raised his right hand, and a black vortex immediately appeared. The Sky-Devouring Technique spun at full power.
“Devour!” Ren Ji’s palm struck the bear’s third eye.
A terrifying roar instantly shook the entire forest; the red eye cracked, and at the same moment, black and red energy burst out like a flood.
Ren Ji immediately activated the Sky-Devouring Technique to its fullest; in that very instant, all that energy was absorbed into his body. Now it was his turn to scream, as the energy of the high-level monster was simply too overwhelming.
His meridians felt as if they were about to burst, and blood vessels bulged all over his body. Yet he did not let go. Instead, he absorbed even more.
The bear raged, its gigantic body smashing into the surrounding trees. The ground cracked, and rocks shattered. Yet, energy continued to flow out of its third eye and into the young man’s body.
“Stop, you bastard! You’ll die if you absorb that much,” roared the monster.
Ren Ji gritted his teeth, his jaw clenching tight. “I’d rather die than become your prey!”
The crack in the third eye grew larger, and the bear’s aura began to weaken.
Meanwhile, Ren Ji’s aura rose rapidly—through the first and second levels—until finally a massive wave of energy erupted from his body.
The ground around him instantly caved in, and his eyes snapped open. His spiritual Qi swirled far more powerfully than before.
“The fourth level of the Body Refinement Realm,” the Dragon Emperor’s voice sounded satisfied.
However, the battle wasn’t over yet; the bear was still alive, though now weak and severely wounded. The monster was still extremely dangerous. Its red eyes were filled with hatred.
“Human… I’ll drag you to your death with me!” Suddenly, the bear’s body began to swell. A wild aura erupted uncontrollably.
The Dragon Emperor’s voice changed immediately. “This isn’t good—that monster is going to detonate its demon core!”
“Then what should I do?” Ren Ji asked in a panic.
Amid Ren Ji’s panic, not far from them, Master Mo and several core disciples of the Black Cloud Sect had just arrived.
The foul stench was even stronger than before. Master Mo raised his right hand to signal the elite disciples to stop within a 300-meter radius. From there, they saw a giant bear and Ren Ji, who looked tiny in comparison.
“Isn’t that the worthless servant, Master Mo?” asked one of the elite disciples.
Master Mo watched Ren Ji from a distance. It seemed impossible for the servant to have survived that monster.
“Look at that servant’s eyes and forehead!” exclaimed one of the elite disciples in a fluster, as Ren Ji’s eyes were glowing red and there was a dragon symbol on his forehead.
Master Mo was startled by the sight, but he quickly appeared more composed than the elite disciples. Now the old man understood why Zhao Feng had lost to Ren Ji.
“Are we going to save him?” asked another elite disciple.
Mr. Mo shook his head; to be honest, he was also curious about how Ren Ji had obtained that power. It was hard to believe, since the servant didn’t possess a spirit.
“How could Ren Ji kill Senior Zhao Feng?” asked one of the disciples.
“Be quiet. Let’s see what happens up ahead!” said Master Mo in a cold tone.
A thought briefly crossed his mind: had Ren Ji been hiding his power all this time? However, he had often been bullied by the other elite disciples because he was the only one without a spirit.
Meanwhile, not far from them, Ren Ji was trying to figure out what to do.
“Sir, maybe we should just leave,” said Ren Ji, panicking as the monster’s body continued to grow larger.
“No, quickly get inside its body! And devour that demon core before it explodes!” ordered the Dragon Emperor.
Ren Ji almost thought he’d misheard—enter the monster’s body? But there wasn’t much time left; the bear’s body was swelling even more.
Cracks began to appear in the monster’s skin, and a destructive aura spread in all directions. Without a moment’s hesitation, Ren Ji darted forward. He leaped onto the bear’s head, then slammed his fist directly into the cracked third eye.
The monster’s skull shattered, and Ren Ji immediately entered the bear’s skull cavity, where he saw something.
A blood-red orb the size of a fist—it was the demon’s core. However, just as Ren Ji was about to use the Sky-Devouring Technique, he froze.
Inside that core, he could see the silhouette of a small black dragon sleeping. Ren Ji’s eyes widened. “That’s….”
The Dragon Emperor’s voice sounded very soft for the first time; since they’d met, there had been a note of surprise in his voice. “Impossible… How could traces of dragon blood be inside this monster?”
