The journey home passed without incident—wilderness cooperation between predators had ended with the territorial disruption's conclusion.
Resource Investment Strategy
The morning after his return, Ye Tian liquidated nearly his entire financial reserves in Wu Pavilion's underground market. Ten million yuan converted to intermediate-grade fierce beast blood vials—enough enhancement fuel for months of intensive cultivation.
Loan repayment would have been the conservative choice, but strategic analysis demanded resource maximization over debt reduction. Advanced cultivation required premium materials, and his current development window was irreplaceable.
The ten high-grade beast blood vials from Yue Ling were priceless, but insufficient for sustained Elite advancement. Mixing premium enhancement with intermediate-grade supplements would optimize both effectiveness and duration.
Villa Courtyard - Cultivation Revolution
Standing in his private courtyard's center, Ye Tian initiated the Intermediate Yuan Force Forging Body Method for the first time.
Nine movements, but each sequence possessed complexity that dwarfed elementary techniques. Mysterious principles guided every gesture as vitality absorption reached unprecedented levels.
"Triple enhancement over elementary methods!"
Raw cultivation speed had increased threefold through technique upgrade alone. Combined with beast blood supplementation, the mathematical implications staggered his imagination.
"Test high-grade beast blood effects immediately."
The first sip hit his system like controlled detonation.
BOOM!
Power exploded through his circulatory system—energy so concentrated that cellular damage seemed inevitable. His entire body felt ready to tear apart under pressure that exceeded his current physical limits.
"Massive underestimation of high-grade potency!"
Desperate cultivation cycles consumed the excess energy before permanent harm could manifest. The Intermediate Yuan Force Forging Body Method barely managed absorption rates that elementary techniques couldn't have handled.
"Yue Ling planned this combination perfectly. High-grade blood requires intermediate methods for safe utilization."
Mathematical analysis revealed extraordinary enhancement ratios.
High-grade beast blood: 6x cultivation acceleration
Intermediate cultivation method: 3x base improvement
Combined effect: 18x normal advancement speed
Advanced cultivation talent: Additional 3x genetic advantage
Total multiplication: 54x faster than ordinary intermediate talents.
"One month of my cultivation equals nearly two years for conventional geniuses."
Even accounting for intermediate talents using their own beast blood supplements—perhaps 2-3x acceleration—his advancement still exceeded theirs by twentyfold margins.
Such mathematical dominance was almost unfair.
Three-Month Transformation
Intensive cultivation with unlimited premium resources produced results that redefined his understanding of martial advancement.
Skin, muscle, and bone tempering reached completion through systematic enhancement. Raw strength shattered the ten-thousand-pound barrier that separated Martial Artist from Elite classification.
Thirteen thousand pounds of physical force.
But true Elite Martial Artist status demanded additional evolution—blood refinement.
The process involved removing impurities from his circulatory system repeatedly, purifying remaining blood until it could support higher-tier physiological functions. Dangerous work that could literally drain someone to death if nutrition couldn't maintain regeneration rates.
"Evolution through controlled destruction and reconstruction."
Beast blood supplementation was mandatory—using fierce creature vitality to replace human limitations with supernatural enhancement. Elite warriors consumed ninety percent of available beast blood specifically for this process.
Three additional days of careful blood tempering established genuine early-stage Elite Martial Artist status.
Thirteen thousand pounds of strength with purified circulatory enhancement.
During the three-month period, he'd also maximized his copying opportunities. Several intermediate cultivation talents had been acquired and fused, strengthening his advanced grade toward its next evolutionary threshold.
"Advanced cultivation talent approaching peak saturation. One more high-grade talent fusion might trigger transformation to legendary classification."
Return to Lake of Death
Evening approached as Ye Tian reached the familiar lakeside geography. Three months of advancement had multiplied his capabilities exponentially, but the location's dangers remained essentially unchanged.
Top-level fierce beasts still meant instant death. Caution was survival.
Night provided tactical advantages—shadow talent functionality peaked in absolute darkness, while most aquatic predators relied on non-visual hunting methods that his concealment could potentially fool.
As darkness settled over Lake of Death's ominous waters, the atmosphere transformed. Bestial auras permeated the air with pressure that could paralyze ordinary humans through pure supernatural intimidation.
"Shadow Talent activation."
He melted into liquid darkness, supernatural concealment rendering him invisible to most detection methods. The water's surface accepted his entry without disturbance as Elite Martial Artist lung capacity provided roughly one hour of submersion time.
Sixty minutes to locate lighthouse jellyfish colonies before oxygen limitations forced surface exposure.
Underwater Infiltration
Absolute darkness surrounded him like a living entity. Visual navigation was impossible, but his copying talent functioned as supernatural radar—detecting life forms within scanning range regardless of visibility conditions.
"Perfect synergy. Copying ability eliminates navigation problems that would cripple normal hunters."
The first aquatic creature entered his detection radius within minutes.
Species: Tiger Clawfish
Bloodline Talent: Intermediate
Predatory specimens with respectable genetic advantages, but not his target. The lighthouse jellyfish possessed unique regenerative capabilities that intermediate-grade creatures couldn't match.
He continued deeper into Lake of Death's lightless depths, shadow talent maintaining perfect concealment while his advanced scanning searched for the legendary survivors that even Elite Martial Artists feared to engage.
Somewhere in this aquatic maze, immortal jellyfish waited with their secrets of endless regeneration.
The hunt had officially resumed.
[End of Chapter 24]