The return journey toward the frontier outpost was noticeably lighter than the march that had brought them into the forest. The oppressive tension of survival had faded, replaced by quiet satisfaction. Their packs were heavier with harvested materials, their movements more confident, and within each of them rested a fully formed Ancient Spirit Blood. It had taken ten compatible Grade Zero beast essences. Ten hunts. Ten victories.
Now, the tiny spirit blood seed sleeping within each of their hearts had finally completed its transformation. It no longer resembled the tranquil essence of the Sleep-Weaver Larva that had begun the process. The ten essences had merged into a single, unified whole—a true Ancient Spirit Blood. It pulsed softly within their hearts, subtly sharpening their perception of Qi and quietly nourishing their bloodlines every moment they remained alive. Nobody had become stronger overnight, but everyone could feel that something fundamental had changed. The foundation had been laid. Only the awakening remained.
Lyra walked several paces ahead of the group, her sharp eyes continuously sweeping the forest. "The veterans split from you tomorrow," she reminded them. "After that, every guide will be responsible for a single recruit team as an advisor in the base."
Davis stretched his shoulders. "Feels weird."
"It should," Lyra replied. "Large hunting parties are inefficient. They consume too many resources. You would have to ask your guide about advice at the base but they won't be coming along with you anymore. The guide on duty changes as they rotate between desk duty and frontline duty."
Leon nodded. "Our compatibility is already diverging."
Lyra looked back. "You noticed?"
"We all formed our spirit bloods from different combinations of beasts. Even Ethan and I matched only because our spirit bloods happened to develop the same preferences."
Ethan grinned. "The legendary Ethan and Leon."
Leon corrected him automatically. "The legendary Leon and Ethan."
"No."
"Yes."
"Ethan and Leon."
"Leon and Ethan."
Maya sighed. "...Are we seriously doing this again?"
"They started yesterday," Davis answered. "I still don't understand the joke."
"You wouldn't get it," Ethan said proudly.
"They won't," Leon agreed.
"...You're both hopeless."
The forest echoed with quiet laughter.
✦ ✦ ✦
The laughter died first. Then the birds. Then the wind itself.
Lyra stopped so abruptly that everyone behind her nearly collided, her silver feather flaring tightly against her back. "...Nobody move."
Every instinct Leon possessed screamed danger. A pressure unlike anything he had experienced settled across the forest—heavy, ancient, and predatory. Several hundred meters ahead, something enormous emerged from between the trees. It resembled an enormous panther covered in overlapping obsidian scales. Every step sank several centimeters into the earth as thin currents of crimson Qi flowed naturally beneath its scales like molten veins. The surrounding forest instinctively bent away from its presence.
Lyra's voice became deathly serious. "Grade Two."
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Everyone froze. Even Davis instinctively tightened his grip on his shield.
"So..." Ethan whispered, "...we're not fighting that."
"No." Lyra slowly drew her sword. "You stay behind me." She stepped forward alone.
Leon watched the beast as his thoughts accelerated. Grade Zero beasts had taken one strike every single time. Boost Mode was stronger now, Bitter Strength was available if something went wrong, and Yin-Yang Strike ignored external defenses. Head—always the head.
His body moved. Only after his foot had already left the ground did the rational part of his mind finally catch up, realizing this was a massive mistake. Too late.
He was already accelerating as purple energy exploded through his muscles in Boost Mode. The world slowed. He crossed twenty meters before anyone could react.
"LEON!" Lyra shouted.
He didn't hear her—or rather, he did, but his body had simply already committed. The panther turned fast, far faster than any Grade Zero beast, its claw sweeping horizontally. Leon dropped low, sliding beneath it by mere centimeters as his shoulder brushed the dirt. He planted one hand, twisted, and kicked upward, using the sudden momentum to clear the beast's tail. The tail whipped back instantly, but he backflipped away as the razor-sharp scales missed his chest by less than an inch.
Landing on a nearby tree trunk, his feet kept moving. He sprinted three steps vertically up the bark before launching himself high into the air, spinning upside down directly above the beast. His right hand glowed white and black as the familiar spiral of Yin and Yang condensed around his fist.
"This ends here."
His fist struck directly between the creature's eyes. The white energy surged forward, but for the first time, it didn't pass through. It met a violent wall of resistance as the beast's flowing Qi pushed back, shattering the white current harmlessly across its forehead. The black energy exploded against the scales right behind it, letting loose a dull crack and nothing more.
Leon's pupils contracted. "...What?"
The panther looked mildly annoyed. Its paw moved almost lazily, a heavy blur that detonated against his ribs and shattered his posture. The force launched his body like a projectile, crashing him through one tree and then another until he rolled to a stop in a cloud of shattered bark.
Pain flooded his senses. Green Qi immediately surged in Self-Reliance Mode, while orange simultaneously flooded his muscles through Bitter Strength. The agony remained—his ribs were broken, his lungs burned, and his left arm refused to cooperate—but despite standing on death's doorstep, strength poured back into his limbs. Normally an injury robbed someone of the power to stand, but instead, every ounce of damage became fuel. The more broken his body became, the harder it fought to keep moving. That strength boosted self reliance to the highest effect it had ever reached.
Leon coughed blood. "...how?"
"Stay down."
Lyra blurred past him, her saber flashing. Unlike Leon, she didn't rely on elaborate movements; in one fluid motion, she took a single step, drew her weapon, and delivered an impossibly clean slash. The Grade Two beast's head slid cleanly from its shoulders, and deep silence returned to the crater.
She sheathed her blade, turning toward him with crossed arms. "...You absolute idiot."
Leon tried to sit up with a wince. "...Fair."
"What exactly were you trying to prove?"
"I wasn't."
She blinked.
"I wanted data."
"...Of course you did." Lyra crouched beside him. "You understand what Qi is now."
Leon nodded. "A living being doesn't just possess a body. It possesses existence."
She picked up a fallen branch and snapped it in half. "You can phase through dead matter because dead matter doesn't resist. But once a living creature reaches Grade One, Qi naturally circulates throughout its body. Your technique isn't trying to bypass flesh; it's trying to violate another living being's domain. To ignore that resistance, your authority must exceed theirs."
"By how much?"
"Around three major grades."
Leon analyzed the numbers. "So against stronger opponents or equals... it won't work. And against weaker ones?"
"It works."
He nodded slowly. "...Then it's useless."
Lyra smiled. "Exactly. If you're already three grades stronger, why waste extra Qi bypassing defenses? You could simply punch them. That's why techniques like yours don't exist. It's not because they're impossible, but because they're more or less a party trick."
Leon stared at his own hand. His expression remained entirely calm. "So... my model was incomplete." He flexed his fingers experimentally. "Good."
Lyra raised an eyebrow. "...Good?"
"I learned where the limit is. Now I know where to improve."
Lyra couldn't help smiling. "...You're impossible."
Davis carried Leon on his back as usual. "This is happening so frequently now that I might start calling you damsel in distress."
"Mark my words Davis. There will come a day where you will be injured and you need someone to carry you. When that time comes I will tell you not to worry princess. Your knight has arrived."
As they resumed walking toward the frontier fortress, Ethan fell into step beside him. "So...The legend of Ethan and Leon suffered its first defeat."
Leon glanced sideways. "I suffered. You watched."
Ethan considered that. "...I suffered emotionally; seeing you being folded like a shrimp triggered my back pain trauma." A moment later he grinned. "Still counts."
Leon shook his head, unable to suppress the faintest smile. "...The legend of Leon and Ethan isn't over yet."