The forest was unusually quiet after the battle
The massive corpse of the Stonefang Alpha lay motionless on the ground
its once terrifying presence now nothing more than a lifeless body slowly cooling beneath the afternoon sun
Kael leaned against a tree, breathing heavily.
Every muscle in his body screamed in exhaustion
"That fight… nearly killed me"
But despite the pain, his eyes shone with excitement
He had won
Not by luck
Not by trickery
But by strength
The system interface appeared again
Host: Kael Veyron
Realm: Mortal Body Stage 6 (68%)
Skills:
• Origin Sense
• Origin Strike
• Origin Rush
Inventory:
• Storage Ring
• 5 Spirit Stones
Kael studied the screen carefully
"So this is where I stand…"
Even though he had defeated the alpha wolf, Kael could feel something strange inside his body
The flow of Origin Energy had become heavier
Denser
Almost like it was reaching some kind of limit
"Is this the limit of the Mortal Body Realm?"
He remembered stories from hunters
Cultivators often described the Mortal Body Realm as the stage where the human body was strengthened to its maximum
Only after reaching the peak could one awaken true energy
Aether.
But Kael did not possess Aether
He possessed something far more mysterious
Origin Energy.
"Maybe my path is different."
Kael stood up slowly
He walked toward the Stonefang Alpha's corpse
A sudden idea appeared in his mind
"Can Origin Energy absorb things?"
The system flickered
New Function Detected
Beast Essence Absorption
Absorb residual energy from defeated beasts.
Kael's eyes widened.
"Seriously?"
He placed his palm against the wolf's chest
"Absorb"
A faint blue glow spread from his hand
Immediately, a dark crimson energy began flowing from the wolf's corpse into Kael's body
It felt like drinking fire
Warm
Wild
Violent
But the Origin Energy inside him quickly devoured it
The system displayed new messages
Beast Essence Absorbed
Strength +5
Stamina +4
Progress Increased
Mortal Body Stage 6 → 7
Kael stepped back in shock.
"That was fast…"
Normally, cultivators spent months advancing between stages
But with the system…
He had just jumped an entire stage in minutes.
Kael looked at the forest around him
Suddenly, the wilderness felt completely different
Before today, it had been dangerous
Now?
It looked like a treasure field
Every beast was potential power
Kael smiled slightly
"If this keeps working…"
He clenched his fist
"I might reach the peak of Mortal Body much sooner than expected"
Just as he was about to leave
Origin Sense suddenly activated
A faint presence appeared far away
Not a beast
A human
Kael immediately hid behind a tree.
Moments later, two figures appeared on the forest path
Both wore red robes with a flame emblem
Kael recognized it instantly
Iron Flame Sect disciples
One of them spoke
"Strange… I sensed a powerful beast aura around here"
The other nodded
"Yeah. Something big died recently"
Kael held his breath
If they discovered him…
Things could become very complicated.