Merin takes out a bloody heart from his bag.

Today, he too joined the battlefield when fighting resumed at dawn between the three forces.

He noticed that many observers, previously idle, now rushed in to join the chaos, especially to kill beasts.

Some half-Yao chose the beasts’ side, while others fought alongside the human factions.

For Merin, getting the Soul Lotus was out of the question.

Remaining here served no purpose other than keeping watch on the Sky Sword Sect.

But he couldn’t practice in peace either.

Last night, while absorbing natural energy, someone had noticed him.

Had he not hidden himself in time, he would have died.

So, to continue cultivating and raising his realm, he needed another source of strength—resources.

And on the battlefield, beasts meant flesh and blood—exactly what he needed.

That’s why Merin had joined the fight.

Now, he has over a dozen beast hearts.

He only brought back the hearts.

Bringing back entire bodies is nearly impossible amidst such carnage, especially since the humans are allied to kill the beasts.

But once the fighting ends, that alliance breaks down.

They’ll turn on each other for the beast remains.

And those who stayed out of the battle wait for the chance to snatch resources from the wounded.

Merin personally killed over ten middle-rank beasts and two high-rank ones.

Only twelve hearts were worth bringing back, each still holding over thirty per cent of the beast’s original energy.

He takes another bloodied heart in his left palm, now holding two.

Then begins refining the dense energy within both hearts using his inner energy.

The next time Merin opens his eyes, struggle fills his gaze.

He’s torn—should he charge forward without regard for the consequences and break through to High-Ranking Samurai?

Anyone watching would be confused because just a few hours ago, he was still a late middle-ranking samurai.

Even with a breakthrough, logic says he should only reach the peak of the middle rank, not cross into the next realm entirely.

But now, in these short hours, he has done just that—rising from late to peak middle rank, with only two obstacles keeping him from stepping into high rank.

His speed is staggering, but the truth is he was already on the verge.

He had been one step away from High-Ranking Samurai.

That one step required opening the acupoint at the centre of his chest.

The two high-ranking beast hearts gave him just the push he needed to open that acupoint.

The rest of the beast energy stabilised his cultivation and helped him surge forward, now just two obstacles from his next realm.

One of those is mastering the Life Qi technique—necessary to transform his inner energy and complete the breakthrough.

But that doesn’t worry him.

With his talent, he knows he’ll master the technique in under a month.

What holds him back, what causes the hesitation and strain in his expression, is the final obstacle—the acupoint at the centre of his forehead.

It is a dangerous gate.

One mistake in opening it, and his cultivation path would end completely.

Worse, the damage to his brain might render him a fool, lost in his own mind.

So, he sits caught in the decision: attempt to open it now or prepare more carefully and wait.

After much thought, one certainty remains—he will break through to High-Ranking Samurai, if not now, then in the coming days.

But he fears opening the acupoint at the centre of his forehead without careful preparation, without ensuring a breakthrough that causes no harm.

To guarantee that, he needs to refine a golden potion.

This book’s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Ready-made ones are rare, and even with money, he might not be able to buy it—he lacks the background and connections.

Though he is a healer, refining the potion himself is nearly impossible; the required materials are rare and hoarded by powerful forces for their own people.

He could try creating an alternate potion, but that would take years, and he lacks the knowledge of how the golden potion truly works or the experience with its materials to find viable substitutes.

There are other potions, but none offer a full guarantee—none ensure a 100% safe breakthrough to the High-Ranking realm.

So in the end, he must take the risk.

And why not now?

He knows if he doesn’t attempt it now, he’ll keep waiting, always finding excuses, telling himself there’s a safer way just beyond reach.

But his situation gives him no luxury to waste time.

Even if his enemies don’t act against him, others might—those with no ties or reason, only greed.

This world respects only strength—the biggest fist is always right.

He hasn’t forgotten how simply absorbing natural energy last night nearly led to his death.

So there will never be a moment truly free of risk.

Even if he finds a safe method and advances, he might still be killed the next moment by a Great Samurai.

So the only path forward is to increase his strength quickly, to strike before enemies reach his door.

With that thought, he moves, heading away from the lotus lake.

He will need to absorb natural energy for the breakthrough into High-Ranking Samurai.

An hour later, he comes across a wide river still flowing in the heart of winter.

He crosses it and enters a forest, then digs out a cave on a hill and sits cross-legged to begin opening the acupoint on his forehead.

Upon finding the acupoint barrier, he doesn’t crash into it like the others; instead, he rubs gently against it to weaken it slowly, applying soft pressure to break it open.

As he does this, he absorbs natural energy to replenish the inner energy lost during the process.

While Merin cultivates, Xialing, in a hidden location, also cultivates—more to pass time than for progress.

Her father and uncle are cultivating too, seemingly waiting for something, so she follows suit with no other option.

Suddenly, she feels a stirring in the natural energy and opens her eyes to see it gather and form a figure.

The figure glances at her, and at that glance, her thoughts freeze.

A wave of fear washes over her as the figure speaks, “Fellow Goldenwood and Silverwood, tomorrow the plan begins.”

She sees her uncle frown.

“Why so soon? Three days still remain before the planned start.”

The figure responds, “Fellow Silverwood, the Earth Horse has been spotted heading toward us.”

Both her father and uncle are shocked.

“What?” her father asks.

“And the others?”

The figure answers, “Iron Monkey and Fire Lizard are near their own homes. But Wind Bird and Thunder Snake have not been seen for several days.”

Her father looks grim.

“Then we must assume those two are coming here as well.”

The figure nods.

“So we’ve decided to begin the plan tomorrow.”

Her father and uncle nod in agreement, and the figure disperses.

She understands now that the figure must be a Spiritual Master, capable of manipulating natural energy to form a clone while the real body stays hidden.

But what troubles her more is not the figure’s power—it’s the names.

She’s sure the beasts mentioned aren’t literal but coded references, just like how some Dryads call their wooden ancestor “Wood Tree” to avoid drawing her attention.

Her eyes widen as she turns toward her father and uncle, frightened by the possibility that her guess is right.

But she’s too afraid to ask, knowing that even mentioning those names might draw their attention.

She closes her eyes and returns to her practice.

Merin’s face shows relief as he finally opens the last acupoint required in the middle-ranking samurai stage.

His eyes widen in surprise, then shift to joy as his soul power—what he calls mental energy, known by this world as the same—leaves his body.

The seal on his soul lifts, and he controls a huge rock with his mental energy, lifting it into the air and throwing it far away.

He conjures a wind blade, leaves the cave, and unleashes every wind spell he knows or can think of.

Hours pass, and by dawn, his mind feels drained to the limit.

So, he stops.

Looking north, he wonders if the war has begun.

He asks himself if he should return to the battlefield.

With his soul strength recovered, he feels confident he can now fight even a Great Samurai and claim the soul lotus.

But after long thought, he finds his answer—no.

Why return to the battlefield?

He doesn’t need the soul lotus.

He doesn’t need beast flesh or blood right now either, not until he advances to High-Ranking Samurai.

And as for extracting information from the Sky Sword Sect member, he can do that anytime now.

He no longer fears any of them.

Instead, he should take the next step toward the goal that brought him to this world.

So, he returns to the cave, sits cross-legged, and begins comprehending his own inner energy.

His inner energy, cultivated through the Life Qi technique, holds fluctuations that reveal the artistic conception of the technique itself.

Within an hour, natural energy swarms toward his body, and his inner energy transforms from white to vibrant green, pulsing with the vitality of plants.

Even after stepping into the High-Ranking Samurai realm, he doesn’t stop.

He isn’t even aware he has broken through.

His mind sinks deeper into the artistic conception of the Life Qi technique.

As he comprehends its essence, the once-invisible field of the technique becomes visible—a green energy field forming around him.

Within minutes, grass begins sprouting from the rocky cave floor, spreading rapidly.

The cave turns lush, overtaken by grass.

The grass grows taller, dies, then sprouts anew from the remains, each new cycle darker and richer in colour.

This cycle repeats until the grass becomes crystal green, absorbing natural energy on its own.

Time passes.

The energy field expands, and the pressure radiating from Merin’s body intensifies.

From his back, his inner energy flows out, forming a spinning ball of green energy.

The ball contracts and expands rhythmically, absorbing natural energy like a living thing.

Slowly, the energy solidifies.

Merin opens his eyes.

Far from the battlefield, three men and a woman stand on a flying ship, hidden inside a cloud, watching below.

At noon, the silver light from beneath the lake intensifies.

Its brightness grows as an old man kills an old woman, then that old man is torn apart by a dying wolf.

Before dying, that old man conjures a black flaming spear that pierces the beast.

The old wolf doesn’t die but is gravely wounded.

In the next moment, the injured Great Beast is swarmed by red-eyed high-ranking humans from both sides and killed.

The humans then turn on one another.

The ice groans and cracks.

Beasts and humans with Great Samurai strength sense the danger and flee the frozen lake.

The ice shatters—those too slow fall into freezing water and perish.

The silver light flares as water erupts skyward.

Twenty massive silver lotuses burst forth from below.

As everyone stares at the lotuses, a voice echoes—“Wonderful.”

They look up.

A massive sphere of blood appears in the sky.

From it, blood-red snakes emerge and rush toward the survivors.

At the same time, a thin white line shoots out from each lotus, interconnecting to form a massive array encircling the lake.

Countless silver chains burst forth, racing to bind the figure within the blood sphere.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep