Siddharth had just stepped beyond the gates of Ayodhya Gurukul when a familiar voice stopped him.
"Siddharth!"
He turned.
Shraddha stood there, her hands clenched tightly at her sides. Worry was written plainly across her face.
"Are you really going?" she asked. "The Forbidden Valley… I heard people saying there are even Acharya-rank monsters inside."
Siddharth raised an eyebrow slightly. "Listening to other people's conversations isn't a good habit," he said calmly. Then his expression softened. "But I know you mean well, so I'll let it slide."
Shraddha bit her lip, clearly unconvinced.
Siddharth looked at her seriously. "I appreciate that you care about me. Truly." He paused, then continued honestly, "But right now, I'm still weak."
Her eyes trembled.
"One day," Siddharth said quietly, "when I become the strongest cultivator in Kosala Desh… I will marry you."
For a moment, Shraddha froze.
Then her face turned bright red.
"Y-You—!" she stammered, then spun around and ran away, shouting over her shoulder, "That's a promise! You're not allowed to back down!"
Siddharth watched her go, then smiled faintly.
"Don't worry," he murmured. "What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger."
Before heading to the Forbidden Valley, Siddharth went to the market district.
From his storage ring, he took out all the monster materials he had collected during his time in the Forbidden Beast Mountain. Claws, bones, hides—everything was sold.
Just as he was about to leave, his gaze paused on a strange stone.
It was something he had casually picked up from the corpse of a Nether Cat.
At the time, it had seemed worthless.
Now, information flowed silently into his mind.
Mutated Nether Core Fragment.
If crushed into fine powder and mixed with Nether Cat blood it enhances leg muscle density.
Siddharth's eyes narrowed.
Further analysis revealed the effect clearly.
A 20% increase in leg strength.
A 20% increase in movement speed.
With this—
Anyone no more than two ranks higher than him would be unable to catch him.
His heartbeat quickened.
Speed meant survival.
Speed meant control.
Siddharth immediately left the city and found a secluded cave, far from any paths or beasts. There, he crushed the stone into a fine powder, mixed it with Nether Cat blood, and carefully refined it into an elixir.
Then he drank it.
The pain was instant.
His legs felt as if they were being torn apart from the inside, muscle fibers shredding and reforming again and again. He clenched his teeth and endured.
One day passed.
Then two.
By the third day, his consciousness flickered countless times under the unbearable agony.
Finally—
The pain subsided.
Siddharth collapsed, breathing heavily.
When he stood again and took a single step, his body felt lighter—faster.
Testing his movement, he smiled.
At the same cultivation rank, his speed was now 20% faster than anyone else.
Without hesitation, Siddharth stepped into the depths of the Forbidden Valley.
Days turned into weeks.
Monster after monster fell.
He hunted carefully, refined their blood, and continued practising the Beast Transformation Art—never recklessly, never greedily.
His cultivation climbed steadily.
Shishya Rank 5.
Then—
Shishya Rank 6.
But when he tried to advance further, something changed.
No matter how much prana he circulated, no matter how refined his foundation was, he felt it clearly.
A wall.
Invisible. Solid.
A barrier stopping him from stepping into Shishya Rank 7.
Siddharth opened his eyes slowly.
"So this is it…" he murmured.
A bottleneck.
And breaking through it would require something more.
The Forbidden Valley grew silent around him—
As if waiting for his next move.