Sohan left the Sanctuary without hesitation. Back in the real world, his body felt heavier, anchored by the gravity of Earth, but his mind remained as sharp as a razor. He didn't waste a single hour.
He enrolled in a private martial arena, stripping his ego away to start with the absolute basics: stance, balance, and footwork. At first, his new body was slow and unrefined, his movements lacking the stability required for high level combat. But Sohan possessed a weapon more powerful than raw strength persistence. He repeated every drill until his muscles burned, then he did them again.
Days bled into weeks. His stance stabilized. His balance became an unshakable foundation. His body finally began to respond to his will.
Then came the daggers. He summoned the Two Horn Rhino Daggers, testing their weight and adjusting his grip. His first strikes were rough the angles were off, and his timing was sluggish. He corrected them with surgical focus. Cut. Withdraw. Step. Repeat. Mistakes vanished; control took their place.
At night, he retreated into himself, guiding the flow of energy within his marrow without the reckless force of his early days. Simultaneously, he entered the combat servers, fighting endless virtual battles. He lost repeatedly, but he learned constantly. His positioning narrowed, his timing peaked, and his reactions sharpened until they were almost instinctual.
Two months passed in a blur of sweat and iron.
Then, one night, inside the silent expanse of his Soul Sea, the cocoon finally cracked. A surge of pure, white energy erupted outward as the shell shattered.
From the ruins emerged the armor.
"Sacred-Blood Beast Soul Ant Armor."
Sohan opened his eyes. He felt a profound sense of calm. The training was complete. It was time to return.
The Desert of Trials
Sohan moved alone now. He had no need for a group, no desire for reliance. After hours of silent tracking in the wasteland, he found a Primary Bee fast, alert, and erratic. He didn't rush. He observed its flight pattern until he saw the stutter in its wings. One precise strike, perfectly controlled, and he captured it alive.
Back at the shelter, he placed the creature in a cage and activated the Gene Stone. He watched as energy flowed into the bee, beginning a silent upgrade process he refused to interfere with.
Next, he turned his gaze toward the horizon. Destination: the Devil Desert.
Endless dunes of scorching sand stretched in every direction, and harsh winds cut across the land like knives. He searched for days, then weeks. While he searched, he hunted. Primary creatures fell by the dozen; Mutant creatures provided the real challenge.
But Sohan was a different man now. His movements were a symphony of efficiency. Cut. Step. Kill. No wasted motion. He took down two Mutant-class beasts, absorbing their essence with a cold focus.
"Mutant Gene +13."
No beast soul was obtained, but he didn't react. He simply wiped his blades and continued forward. By the end of the third month, he checked his status:
Ordinary Genes: 100 / 100
Primitive Genes: 100 / 100
Mutant Genes: 13 / 100
He had built a complete foundation.
The Hidden Truth
Finally, he found it: a hidden cave tucked away in a ravine. At the entrance, translucent blue butterflies floated silently ethereal, beautiful, and lethal. Sohan didn't fight them. He stayed downwind, observed their patterns, and waited for the moment they drifted apart. He slipped past them like a ghost.
Inside, the cave was a tomb of darkness and silence. At its deepest point, a weathered body lay on the ground, long since claimed by time. Beside it sat the legendary Dongxuan Sutra.
Sohan stepped forward and picked it up. He read every line, every word, memorizing the flow of energy and the philosophy of the technique until it was etched into his mind. When he finished, he placed it back exactly as he had found it. He left no trace of his presence.
He avoided the butterflies once more and trekked back through the heat of the desert.
Back at the Steel Armor Shelter, Sohan stood still amidst the crowd. On the surface, he looked like any other lone scavenger. But inside, everything had changed. His genes were maxing out, his armor had reached the Sacred-Blood level, and he possessed knowledge that could tilt the world on its axis.
He looked ahead, his eyes calm and focused.
"Now," he whispered, "the real growth begins."