In the darkness, Biluo spoke softly, a hint of timidity in her voice, "I... I still have some rabbit meat."

Under the faint firelight, Biluo pulled several chunks of fist-sized rabbit meat from her magic robe and carefully offered them to Qian Jin.

Qian Jin looked at the meat in Biluo’s hand and forced a wry smile. "No wonder you're weighing in a bit heavier than I initially estimated."

Shuilian Ying'er gazed enviously at Biluo's robe. Rumor had it that magic robes were oversized to allow mages to easily carry spell scrolls for immediate combat readiness. Who knew they could also be used to secretly hoard food?

These few pieces of rabbit meat averted the embarrassing situation of the three going hungry overnight and suffering further physical exhaustion.

Biluo then produced the last three pieces, setting them aside as food for the next morning.

Qian Jin gripped his Zhanmadao, gathered some wooden scraps, weeds, and stones to crudely block the cave entrance against the biting wind. He then settled down to rest near the opening, close enough to feel the warmth of the small fire, leaning against the dry grass. He pulled the fourth-grade Battle Stone from his bosom, clutching it tightly, and began adjusting and circulating the Battle Qi within his body.

Fine wisps of pure Battle Energy flowed from the fourth-grade Battle Stone into Qian Jin's palm. Following the foundational Battle Qi cultivation method of the Qian family warriors, he cycled this energy through his body again and again.

His nearly depleted Battle Acupoints were once again nourished by the incoming Battle Energy, quickly becoming active. The energy converted into Battle Qi, surging rapidly through his system in repeated cycles. His somewhat pale complexion gradually regained a touch of color.

The Battle Stone flickered in Qian Jin’s grasp, its stored Battle Energy rapidly being drawn out.

Time slipped by quickly. Qian Jin's ninth-level Battle Qi had fully restored to its peak condition, yet he realized the Battle Qi within his Acupoints was still not entirely full; it seemed as if the reservoir itself had expanded.

This was...? Qian Jin’s mind raced, and he instantly understood the reason. The recent string of battles—first expending full power to slay three ninth-level assassins, then carrying two companions while fleeing desperately, and finally being buried under the avalanche—had further widened his Battle Acupoints. The Battle Qi residing in his various Acupoints, as he regulated it, behaved like individual, complete water droplets, each operating without touching the others.

Today, within these almost-full Acupoints, these Battle Qi droplets began to leak a sliver—finer than a strand of hair by tenfold—of Battle Qi, which slowly, deliberately flowed toward the other droplets, beginning to weave together like a spider's web.

This was...? Qian Jin’s mind, usually as still as a placid lake, stirred violently, and an overwhelming sense of ecstasy surged through him.

This was the crucial sign of breaking through the ninth level to become a tenth-level warrior! The texts detailing the transition from ninth to tenth level explicitly stated that when the Battle Qi in the ten Acupoints ceased to be isolated entities and began to connect, their mutual resonance would vastly amplify the power of the Battle Qi, thus elevating one to the tenth level—the echelon closest to the Demon-Slaying Warriors!

The joy instantly affected the circulating Battle Qi. The slender tendrils that had branched out from one Acupoint toward another abruptly halted and began to retreat.

Sensing the reversal, Qian Jin quickly stabilized his focus, carefully controlling the ten filaments, finer than hair, to flow outward bit by bit, slowly.

Shuilian Ying'er watched Qian Jin under the dim light with a trace of anxiety, mentally tracking the time. There was a usage limit for Battle Stones for martial practitioners each day.

If used merely to replenish Battle Qi, Battle Stones had no time restriction; they simply extracted energy to quickly restore existing strength.

However, using a Battle Stone to assist in cultivating Battle Qi was strictly limited to three hours per day! Exceeding this limit brought only harm to a warrior, potentially damaging their Battle Acupoints.

Shuilian Ying'er confirmed that Qian Jin had immediately entered a state of cultivation after absorbing the Battle Energy, estimating he had already been at it for about an hour. If he pushed past the time limit in pursuit of rapid advancement, he risked severely injuring himself.

Suddenly! The muscles around Qian Jin's eyes twitched sharply, and his face broke into an expression of sheer rapture. The ten fine streams of Battle Qi flowing out from his ten Acupoints were suddenly connected, as if by a single straight line!

The opening of the connection between the ten Acupoints instantly made them feel alive! Through this long, unified connection, they surged and resonated, an unprecedented tidal wave of Battle Qi crashing through his body.

Qian Jin could no longer suppress his excitement. He threw his head back and let out a long roar that echoed piercingly through the cave, causing both Biluo and Shuilian Ying'er to clap their hands over their ears.

His Battle Qi continued to surge upward, but what thrilled Qian Jin even more was that now, because the energy was connected, its explosive release would be several times greater than before! If he encountered those three ninth-level assassins again, he could certainly eliminate all three before even feeling fatigued. Qian Jin opened his copper eyes, looking toward the cave entrance, a new confidence settling within him for surviving in the Four Seasons Valley...

"You—" Shuilian Ying'er asked softly, unable to process what she saw. "You just now..."

Qian Jin smiled happily in the darkness. Becoming a tenth-level warrior meant he was just one step away from being a Demon-Slaying Warrior. He couldn't resist sharing his joy and stated without concealment, "I just broke through. I am now a tenth-level warrior!"

Tenth level! The cave fell into a profound silence. Shuilian Ying'er's eyes were wide with disbelief. How old was this man? A first-year academy warrior student, already a tenth-level warrior, only one step from the Demon-Slaying rank?

Shuilian Ying'er stared at Qian Jin in astonishment, secretly wondering if this young man was a lineage warrior who had awakened the power of his bloodline from some powerful warrior family.

If not for the danger of the Four Seasons Valley, Qian Jin would have loved to enter the Endless World immediately to test his new tenth-level strength.

Qian Jin forcefully suppressed his excitement, looking at the fourth-grade Battle Stone in his hand with a quiet sigh. It was a pity this stone only had four days of use left. If only he had another batch of stones...

Four days? The thought that he was now a tenth-level warrior brought a bitter smile to Qian Jin’s face. "I almost forgot. I'm a tenth-level warrior now. A full, fist-sized fourth-grade Battle Stone... I can only use it for one day. I think that’s right, isn't it?"

Qian Jin sat back down on the ground, seriously recalling the book descriptions of Battle Stones. A fist-sized first-grade stone, if used by a first-level warrior solely to cultivate and enhance Battle Qi (rather than replenish Battle Energy), could theoretically last for a month. However, a single first-grade stone wasn't guaranteed to advance a first-level warrior to the second, as it depended on natural talent.

If a second-level warrior used one, it would last twenty-five days; a third-level warrior, twenty days; a fourth-level warrior, fifteen days; a fifth-level warrior, ten days; and for a seventh-level warrior, one day was the absolute limit.

A second-grade stone could be used for one day by an eighth-level warrior. A third-grade stone could serve a ninth-level warrior for one day. Therefore, a fourth-grade stone naturally served a tenth-level warrior for one day.

Battle Stones? Qian Jin shook his head with a wry smile. They weren't that easy to find. If he could locate a tenth-grade stone, he could use it for three hours every day for a full thirty days! Alas, he only had one fourth-grade stone.

Silence returned to the cave. Shuilian Ying'er awoke from her shock and began focusing on recovering her own Battle Qi and continuing her cultivation practice.

Biluo, as always, sat cross-legged in the hay, engaging in the meditation required of all mages. Qian Jin followed suit, beginning his own meditation, which he never skipped, even on the most difficult nights.

An hour later, Qian Jin opened his eyes, showing little disappointment. This scene had played out almost every night recently; today was just a repeat of past routines.

The moon hung high overhead. Qian Jin’s closed eyes snapped open suddenly, and he stared toward Biluo in the cave with surprise mixed with wariness. A vast surge of mental power was erupting from her body!

Staring at Biluo’s abnormally powerful mental energy, Qian Jin privately calculated that even the mage professors instructing students at the academy would be ashamed enough to dig a hole and bury themselves in the face of the current Biluo. Her mental power was so strong it was almost transforming into magical energy! How could this be the same Biluo who usually teetered on the verge of expulsion due to her poor magical talent? If she were to be expelled now, wouldn't the Auckland Academy of Magic and Warfare have to shut down its magic classes entirely?

"Hello. Thank you for looking after my sister. I should introduce myself first." In the darkness of the cave, the torch Biluo had lit allowed Qian Jin to see her cold eyes beneath her magic hood. Her petite frame unexpectedly exuded an aura that put her on an equal footing with Qian Jin. "My name is Huang Quan."

The icy voice echoed lightly in the dark cavern, carrying an indescribable pride—a pride that, strangely, was not at all off-putting.

"Your sister? Your name is Huang Quan?"

Qian Jin frowned, looking at Biluo, who possessed the exact same body but radiated an aura entirely different from before. He couldn't help but question himself—what on earth had just happened? She was clearly Biluo, yet in the blink of an eye, her demeanor and presence had shifted, and she addressed him as Huang Quan?

"You... you!" Qian Jin suddenly recalled stories told by wandering bards. Though they had always seemed far-fetched, at this moment, he couldn't find any more reasonable explanation. "You are an Undead?!"

Undead! Legend claimed that if a person died with an extremely strong lingering attachment, a soul might manifest after death. Certain mages who studied forbidden arts could even guide that soul into a living or recently deceased body, creating an existence that was neither truly alive nor completely dead.