Chapter 33: Battle

The Starry Beast that emerged from the darkness looked like a massive panther. Its body was covered in dark fur, with countless tiny points of light scattered across it like stars in the night sky.

Ben studied it for a moment.

"Hmm, I’d say it’s around the Second or Third Stage of the Bronze Realm."

He returned Star Stream to his storage ring and drew his Knight of Ruination Longsword.

Ben tightened his grip and stepped forward.

The Starry Panther immediately pounced at him.

Despite being several minor realms above Ben, the beast wasn’t strong enough to overwhelm him. It moved rapidly, attacking with its sharp claws while channeling star energy through its body.

Ben dodged each attack and countered with his longsword, coating the blade in White Ruination.

Every time the sword struck the panther, the White Ruination spread through its body, eroding its star energy and vitality.

Ben quickly began gaining the advantage.

"It’s doable," he muttered as he narrowly avoided another claw.

He immediately swung his sword.

A crescent-shaped wave of White Ruination shot forward and struck the Starry Panther, tearing through its defenses.

Before the beast could recover, Ben closed the distance and delivered another powerful slash.

After several more exchanges, the Starry Panther finally collapsed.

Ben stood over its body and watched as the White Ruination continued spreading through it.

Within moments, the entire corpse was eroded into white ash, while the remaining energy inside the beast was absorbed into Ben’s body.

A sudden surge of energy flowed through him.

Ben immediately felt his cultivation begin to rise.

The energy he had absorbed from the Starry Panther pushed his cultivation higher and higher until he finally reached the Peak Grey Realm.

Ben stood still for a moment as a strange feeling of fullness spread throughout his body.

"Hmm?"

He could clearly sense that he had reached the absolute limit of the Grey Realm.

His celestial energy had become so concentrated that it could no longer increase normally.

"I’ve reached the peak."

Ben clenched his fist.

"It feels like I need to break through to the Bronze Realm before I can get any stronger."

Morbius nodded.

"That’s exactly what happens when you reach the peak of a realm. Your foundation needs to undergo another transformation before your cultivation can continue advancing."

Ben nodded.

"I guess there’s no point in wasting time. We got what we came for."

He immediately took out the exit sphere and poured his celestial energy into it.

The sphere quickly activated, creating a portal that led directly outside the secret realm.

Ben stepped through it and soon found Maya waiting for him.

"Hmm, were you waiting for me?" he asked.

Maya smiled.

"Yes. Although, I have to admit, you were quite fast. It hasn’t even been half of the allotted time, and you’re already back."

Ben smiled.

"I got what I wanted, so there was no reason to waste time."

Maya nodded.

"Alright. Aunt Amanda asked me to bring you to her as soon as you came out."

Ben nodded, and the two of them left together.

They soon arrived at the private training area, where Amanda was already waiting.

"Did you get it?" she asked.

Ben nodded and took out the Starry Hearts.

"Yes."

Amanda’s eyes widened slightly when she saw the number of Starry Hearts he had collected.

"You got this many?"

Ben shrugged.

"I found a nest."

Amanda looked at the Starry Hearts and then back at him.

"A nest is usually heavily guarded. Judging by the number of Starry Hearts, there must have been at least five Starry Beasts protecting it. How did you manage to get them?"

"Morbius distracted the Starry Beasts while I collected the Starry Hearts," Ben replied.

Morbius simply nodded from the side.

Amanda nodded.

"Alright. You can give me the extra Starry Hearts. You only need one for your breakthrough."

She gestured toward the remaining Starry Hearts.

"After using one, the others won’t provide much benefit for your current breakthrough. Now sit down and prepare to enter the Bronze Realm."

Ben nodded.

He took one Starry Heart and sat down cross-legged.

Amanda raised her hand, and the entire room was soon filled with dense, pure celestial energy.

Ben placed the Starry Heart in front of him and began absorbing its energy.

The condensed star energy entered his body and gradually merged with his celestial energy. At the same time, the surrounding celestial energy began flowing toward him and was rapidly absorbed.

His foundation started transforming as the energy circulated throughout his body.

The barrier that had prevented him from advancing beyond the Grey Realm gradually weakened.

Ben’s body trembled slightly as his cultivation continued to rise.

Then, a powerful wave of energy spread from his body.

Ben slowly opened his eyes.

He had successfully entered the Bronze Realm.

[Congratulations on reaching the 1st Stage of the Bronze Realm.]

[You have gained one Sign-In Opportunity.]

[Current Sign-In Opportunities: 1 Monthly Sign-In, 1 Awakening Sign-In, 1 Major Realm Breakthrough Sign-In.]

[You have awakened a new Sub-Ability: Ruination Beast.]

[Ruination Beast: Molds your White Decay of Ruination into living creatures formed from the power of Ruination.]

[Currently Available: White Horn Rabbit, White Mist Dog.]

[White Horn Rabbit: Specializes in speed and evasion. Its attacks can inflict White Ruination upon its targets.]

[It can also release destructive waves of White Ruination from its horn.]

[White Mist Dog: Specializes in offensive power. It can release powerful slashes and energy blasts formed from White Ruination.]

[It can also transform its body into White Mist of Ruination, allowing it to create and control the mist to attack its enemies.]

[Note: The cultivation realm of a summoned Ruination Beast will be equal to its master’s current cultivation realm. Only one Ruination Beast can be summoned at a time.]

Ben stared at the new ability information for a few seconds.

"So this is the sub-ability I awakened."

He looked at the two available options.

"The White Horn Rabbit and the White Mist Dog."