Ryven's peaceful training session was interrupted by spiritual fluctuations that made the air itself tremble. The disturbances weren't coming from another wandering Spirit Beast—these energy signatures carried the distinctive pressure that marked genuine Soul Realm entities engaged in serious combat.
"Well, that's either very good news or spectacularly bad news," he muttered, pausing his primordial sword form practice to assess the situation. His enhanced senses could detect the battle occurring roughly five miles to the northeast, and the power levels involved were definitely beyond anything he'd encountered so far.
Activating his Chaos Shroud concealment technique, Ryven began moving toward the conflict with careful stealth. His three-percent mastery of the primordial concealment method should keep him hidden from any detection technique the combatants might possess, while his enhanced spiritual senses would allow him to observe the battle from a safe distance.
The terrain grew more dramatic as he approached the combat zone—crystalline formations jutted from the ground at impossible angles, while the vegetation had evolved into forms that seemed to defy basic biology. Trees with transparent trunks allowed their internal energy circulation to be visible, while flowers the size of houses tracked his movement with what appeared to be genuine awareness.
But it was the garden clearing ahead that captured his complete attention.
In the center of a perfectly circular grove, five stalks of the most beautiful flowers he'd ever seen were growing from soil that glowed with concentrated spiritual energy. Each stalk was roughly ten feet tall, supporting blooms that hadn't yet opened but already radiated power that made his cultivation base resonate with anticipation.
More importantly, the flowers carried distinctive yin and yang energy signatures that suggested incredible cultivation value. These weren't just rare spirit herbs—they were Soul Spirit Flowers of the highest grade, treasures that could enhance comprehension of fundamental universal principles.
"Holy shit," Ryven whispered, recognizing the implications immediately. Those flowers could help him comprehend yin and yang intents, possibly even life and death intents if he was fortunate. More practically, they would provide perfect supplementary materials for the Foundation Compacting Art—another technique his bloodline had recently revealed that could further condense and strengthen his cultivation base.
Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one who recognized their value.
Two massive Soul Beasts were engaged in a territorial dispute that was reshaping the local geography. The first was a Crimson Flame Tiger whose spiritual pressure indicated early Soul Realm cultivation. Its roars created sonic booms that shattered nearby crystal formations, while its claws left molten gouges in the reinforced ground.
The second combatant was equally impressive—a Void Shadow Serpent whose dark scales seemed to absorb light itself. Its movements created spatial distortions that made tracking its position nearly impossible, while its breath attacks launched concentrated darkness that simply deleted whatever they touched.
"You think you can claim the Soul Spirit Flowers just because you arrived first, striped fool?" the serpent hissed, its voice carrying enough spiritual pressure to make nearby trees wither. "I've been waiting three years for these treasures to reach maturity!"
"Three years?" the tiger roared back, its flames intensifying until the surrounding air began to plasma. "I've been guarding this grove for a decade, you oversized worm! Find your own cultivation resources!"
"Big words from someone who can't even maintain consistent flame temperature," the serpent replied with obvious disdain. "When I consume these flowers, my breakthrough to mid Soul Realm will make your pathetic fire techniques irrelevant."
Ryven watched the verbal sparring with fascination. Soul Beasts possessed human-level intelligence, making their conflicts as much psychological warfare as physical combat. Both creatures were clearly experienced fighters who understood that intimidation could be as effective as direct violence.
But it was the serpent's casual mention of breakthrough timing that caught his attention. If one of these beasts was planning to use the flowers for advancement, they might attempt to harvest them before optimal maturity—significantly reducing their cultivation value.
Using his enhanced spiritual senses to examine the flowers more carefully, Ryven realized they hadn't bloomed yet. According to his inherited knowledge of rare spirit herbs, Soul Spirit Flowers needed to reach full bloom before harvesting, or they would lose more than sixty percent of their expected potency. Based on their current development stage, he estimated they would need approximately three more days to reach optimal maturity.
"Perfect," he whispered, settling into a concealed observation position. "I just need to wait for these two to exhaust each other, then claim the flowers when they're too tired to stop me. Simple and efficient."
His plan lasted exactly thirty seconds before the tiger did something that made him question the fundamental fairness of existence.
"You want to see real power?" the tiger snarled, its spiritual pressure suddenly spiking as it began breakthrough procedures mid-combat. "I'll show you what happens when someone achieves mid Soul Realm advancement!"
"Are you kidding me right now?" Ryven muttered, watching in disbelief as the tiger's cultivation advanced in real-time while maintaining active combat techniques. "Who breaks through major realms during active battles? That's not normal behavior!"
But before his shock could fully register, the serpent responded in the most annoying way possible.
"You think you're the only one who can breakthrough mid-battle?" the serpent laughed, its own spiritual pressure beginning to spike as it initiated its own advancement process. "Two can play at this game, you oversized house cat!"
"Come on, seriously?" Ryven said aloud, his concealment techniques barely containing his exasperation. "Are all Soul Beasts in this forest complete geniuses? What kind of ridiculous talent density does this region have?"
The dual breakthrough process transformed the battle into something that defied conventional combat analysis. Both beasts were simultaneously fighting each other and managing complex cultivation advancement while maintaining territorial disputes over resources they couldn't harvest yet. The spiritual pressure they were generating was strong enough to affect weather patterns, while their combat techniques created permanent alterations to local geography.
The tiger's breakthrough completed first, its cultivation stabilizing at mid Soul Realm with power that made its previous capabilities seem trivial by comparison. Enhanced flames that had previously been mere fire became conceptual heat that could ignore conventional defenses, while its physical capabilities increased to levels that made the reinforced ground crack under its casual movements.
"Too slow, snake!" the tiger roared, launching an attack that combined its newly enhanced flames with genuine law manipulation rather than mere intent.
But the serpent's breakthrough finished moments later, its own advancement creating spatial distortions that made the tiger's law-enhanced attacks miss their target entirely.
"Too predictable, kitten!" the serpent replied, counterattacking with void techniques that operated on principles Ryven couldn't even understand.
The battle that followed was brief but decisive. The tiger's breakthrough had been slightly faster, giving it a crucial advantage in power stabilization that allowed more effective technique integration. Its final attack—a flame burst enhanced by fire laws rather than mere intent—overwhelmed the serpent's spatial defenses through sheer conceptual superiority.
The serpent's death throes created a localized spatial storm that temporarily opened rifts to other dimensions before its cultivation base finally collapsed entirely. The tiger, showing remarkable practical priorities, immediately began extracting valuable resources from its defeated opponent.
"Now that's efficient looting," Ryven observed with grudging admiration as the tiger extracted the serpent's beast core and what appeared to be an entire pocket dimension from its corpse. "It's not even bothering to stabilize its breakthrough properly—just collecting everything valuable and getting back to business."
More impressively, the tiger's spiritual senses apparently weren't sophisticated enough to detect Ryven's primordial concealment techniques. His position remained completely hidden despite being less than a hundred meters from a freshly advanced mid Soul Realm entity.
After securing its prizes, the tiger settled into cultivation position near the Soul Spirit Flowers, clearly intending to guard them until they reached optimal maturity. Its enhanced spiritual pressure created a protective barrier around the grove that would deter most potential thieves, while its recent advancement provided more than enough power to handle any conventional threats.
"Right," Ryven whispered, carefully withdrawing from his observation position, "time for strategic planning and serious preparation. That tiger just demonstrated power levels that could obliterate me if I approach this carelessly."
But as he analyzed the battle he'd witnessed, Ryven realized he might actually have a chance of success. The tiger's breakthrough had been rushed and its power wasn't fully stabilized yet. More importantly, its techniques were based on straightforward law manipulation rather than the conceptual complexity that his primordial methods could exploit.
If he could develop better chaos intent mastery by comprehending additional intent types, then combine that enhanced capability with Heaven's Opening and his partial understanding of primordial techniques, he might be able to overcome the raw power disadvantage through superior tactical complexity.
"Time to see if systematic preparation can overcome natural talent," Ryven decided, heading back toward his training area with renewed determination. Three days to develop capabilities that could challenge a mid Soul Realm opponent—it sounded impossible, but then again, so had most of his recent advancement.
The Soul Spirit Flowers represented an opportunity that might never come again, and he was determined to claim them regardless of the dangers involved. His cultivation journey had already taught him that the greatest rewards required the greatest risks, and this situation was definitely both.