These two factors, added to the five hours he had just lost, would normally have made it impossible to enter the demonic beast territories in time. But fortunately, the very cause of his injuries was also the reason why he still had a chance to make it.

The extremely powerful storm that had appeared in the sky had the side effect of ‘immobilizing’ demonic beasts, delaying by several days the time by which these currently empty—due to the demonic beast tide—territories would begin to repopulate.

Knowing that he still had a chance, Mikael focused all of his energy on recovery, and in this way, time passed quickly—hour after hour, he didn’t move, remaining completely still in his meditative position.

Midway through his meditation, Mikael’s thoughts suddenly drifted. ‘I wonder how the Ferocity-type cultivation technique I created is classified by the Records?’

The moment the thought surfaced, he decided to take a couple of seconds from his meditation to check—perhaps it could count as his version of a ‘break’ during this long and boring meditation.

[User Mikael Angelini has created a Ferocity conceptually based Cultivation Technique. What does the user want to name it?]

‘A name huh? I need to name this technique…’ Instinctively, he wanted to caress his chin while thinking, but he stopped himself—he still wanted to maintain his meditative state, even if thinking while meditating was far less efficient than being fully concentrated.

A glint flashed in his eyes. ‘If I were a true and proper cultivator, I should probably name it something like Crimson Vitality Overload Art, or if I were a real dignified one, I could go with a long-ass name like… Path of Crimson Reversal Ferocious Cultivation Technique.’

His lips twitched before he shook his head, ignoring the pain it caused. ‘Yeah… no. I won’t name it something like that. It doesn’t resonate with me, and it’s honestly too long to name or remember, while also being kinda pretentious, arrogant, and needlessly complicated…’

‘Considering this, what should I name it?’ he thought about it for a ‘while’ before getting an idea. ‘Why don’t I name it something like… Ferocity Art Mark I? It wouldn’t be a Path of Crimson Reversal Ferocious Cultivation Technique, that’s for sure—but the name is far simpler and basic, and honestly, it’s far better suited to my taste than a long-ass name.’

His eyes lit up. ‘Yeah, a name like that is far better—at least to me. And bonus, because I named it Mark I, when I refine the technique further, I can just change the name to Ferocity Art Mark II without needing to break my brain trying to find a more awe-inspiring Cultivation Technique name just because the technique got a little better!’

A mischievous sparkle flashed through his eyes. ‘And wouldn’t it be kinda funny if one day Ferocity Art Mark I gets refined all the way to, let’s say, Ferocity Art Mark XX—and I use it to one-shot someone using a big, flashy name like… Heavenly Destroying Supreme Burst Art?’

A small smirk appeared at the corner of his lips. ‘I don’t know why, but that really amuses me, so… no reason why I shouldn’t name it like that!’

With that, his decision was made, and he didn’t hesitate before mentally declaring, “Records, I will name this Cultivation Technique: Ferocity Art Mark I, with the ‘Mark’ increasing each time I refine it further—going from Ferocity Art Mark I to Ferocity Art Mark II

, then III, and beyond.”

“Afterward, show me the next ‘sections’ of notifications that appeared during my Partial Enlightenment and afterward that I missed.”

[Preference noted]

[Ferocity Art Mark I

Type: Cultivation Technique / Secret Technique

Definition: A Cultivation Technique based on the concept of Ferocity. To learn and eventually master it, one needs to become attuned to the concept of Ferocity itself and truly grasp its meaning. Without a sufficient understanding of Ferocity, learning this technique is impossible.

This Cultivation Art is separated into two stages:

1: The first stage is currently unnamed (temporary name: Turning Injuries into Power). This effect activates passively for those who have learned the Cultivation Technique and triggers automatically when the user receives an injury.

The more one gets injured after having learned this technique, the more all of one’s parameters will rise—there’s no theoretical upper limit to this increase, but in practice, it’s capped by how much punishment the body can endure before permanently breaking down.

2: The second stage is also unnamed (temporary name: Blood Ignition). Contrary to the first, this one doesn’t activate passively and must be manually triggered. Once someone activates the second stage, they ignite their own blood, multiplying their physical stats in exchange for placing an extremely heavy strain on their body.

This strain can be temporarily offset by ingesting vitality-based herbs, which counter the negative effects of Blood Ignition—but this isn’t without consequence, as the user’s condition afterward will be far worse than if they had simply endured the backlash with their own body.

The multiplying effects that Blood Ignition provides to one’s physical parameters work in tandem with the first stage in such a way that both can amplify each other.

[During Mikael Angelini’s battle against the demonic beasts, he deepened his understanding of Ferocity and further refined Ferocity Art Mark I, leading to the emergence of Ferocity Art Mark II, as noted in preference.]

[Ferocity Mark II

Difference compared to Mark I: 

First Stage: No Difference

Second Stage: 

* Strain on the body reduced by 20%, 

* Efficiency of ingesting vitality based herbs effects in protecting one body against the Blood Ignition increased by 30%.

* Negative effects caused by the ingestions of vitality based herbs on the body reduced by 25%]

[Probationary Chosen One Advice: In the future, when user Mikael Angelini seeks to refine his Ferocity Art Mark II further, it is extremely recommended to focus on developing Stage 2.

Reasoning: At present, Stage 1 is rated as acceptable to excellent—even by the standards of a Probationary Chosen One within Mikael Angelini’s current realm—as it boosts every parameter without exclusion, allowing one to temporarily grow stronger in all aspects, almost as if their cultivation level had been raised.

On the other hand, Stage 2 ranks from poor to below average when judged by the same standard. It only multiplies one’s physical stats without affecting any other factors, which does provide an increase in battle power—but at its core, the mechanism remains fundamentally flawed.

Currently, Stage 2 can only be considered a type of Secret Art that boosts the body alone, increasing combat strength but without touching the more critical element—most notably, Energy Quality, which remains completely unaffected.

It is strongly recommended to prioritize resolving the flaws of Stage 2 during any future refinement, as it will be significantly easier than attempting to refine Stage 1, which already exists at a far higher level.]

“Interesting,” he mumbled as he saw how the Records classified the Cultivation Technique he had created. He’d already formed a general impression of it, of course—after all, he was the one who made it—but still, seeing how the Records evaluated it was a curious experience… and one that quickly made him notice something.

“Records, what is my level of comprehension in Ferocity Art Mark I and Mark II?” he asked mentally, though deep down, he already had a strong hunch.

[User Mikael, in the various levels of comprehension—Entry, Small Success, Great Success, and Mastery—is currently at Mastery for both Ferocity Art Mark I and Ferocity Art Mark II.]

A “just as I thought” expression appeared on Mikael’s face. “It’s because I’m the creator and, consequently, know it perfectly… otherwise, creating this Cultivation Technique in the first place would’ve been impossible. Is that why I started straight at Mastery?” he inquired—but inwardly, he already knew the answer.

[User Mikael Angelini is correct.]

‘As expected,’ his attention then returned to Ferocity Art Mark II, and more specifically, the Probationary Chosen One Advice. ‘If this came from what is essentially a “Multiversal List whose goal is to guide talent,” then I think it’d be a good idea to follow that advice… and now that I think about it—’

His gaze shifted between Stage 1 and Stage 2 as he compared them. ‘Yeah, I can clearly see how Stage 1 is far superior to Stage 2… so refining Stage 2 is definitely on the table—but not now. Right now, I need to return to my recovery. I’ve already wasted a whole ten seconds just thinking, so I really shouldn’t delay any longer!’

With that thought, he stopped thinking entirely and redirected all of his focus into meditation.

In this way, amidst the passing time, Mikael’s condition continued to improve, incense stick after incense stick, his injuries healing ‘rapidly’, and by the time two full days had passed—

Hop.

He jumped to his feet with a light movement, then clenched his right fist, feeling the power coursing through him. A small smile appeared on his face. “Not fully recovered, but compared to before… it’s the difference ‘between heaven and earth,’ I’d say, if I wanted to stay in the theme.”

He declared it in a joyous tone, the smile on his face and the lightness in his voice making it obvious that he was genuinely pleased to have recovered before it was too late.

Step, step, step.

His footsteps echoed through the cave as he reached the entrance, his gaze fixed on the horizon, eyeing the deceptively calm mountain range that stretched as far as the eye could see.

A ray of the rising sun illuminated the entrance, casting its light on Mikael’s figure—revealing his still bare upper body and the missing left arm.

For an instant, Mikael closed his eyes, feeling the sun’s warmth settle over him… but as with all good things, it had to end. He opened his eyes and, with a quick infusion of Qi, repaired his Core Disciple Taoist Robes of the Wandering Sword Sect.

In an instant, his upper body was clothed once more, and with a swift motion, Sangrelia was placed on his back in her usual resting place.

Vrmmmm…

He heard her vibrate—with what he could swear was joy—but aside from the faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, he didn’t react. Without wasting any more of his limited time, he stepped out of the cave and entered the devastated forest.

Ready for an adventure he hoped would be smooth and filled with high-quality cultivation resources, he pushed forward. Whether things would unfold that way—he didn’t know. All he could do was hope for the best… and give it everything he had.

With that mentality, he entered the forest while limiting his presence as much as possible, the ‘double’ training of presence suppression and energy control working together seamlessly—proving its worth, as in the following hour, during which he cautiously made his way deeper into the Savagefang Mountain Range, he wasn’t attacked even once!

Of course, there were close calls. One of them, in particular, was very close—he stumbled right into the resting place of an Early-stage centipede, and the demonic beast immediately reacted to his presence.

At that moment, his heart spiked.

Fortunately, he managed to slip away just before the centipede fully locked onto him. Aside from that one instance, he was able to spot the demonic beasts in advance and adjust his path each time, allowing him to avoid confrontation entirely.

In this fashion, he continued heading deeper into the mountain range, gradually moving out of the territory dominated by Early-stage Spiritual Foundation Realm demonic beasts and into one where Mid-stage beasts were becoming increasingly common.

At that point, Mikael grew even more cautious, slowing his pace noticeably—as he knew better than anyone that getting into a fight in his current condition was something he couldn’t afford. But while this new region of the forest was undeniably more dangerous, it also held greater opportunity.

💬Got Thoughts? I read every comment, and your words genuinely shape Mikael’s path.

———

A/N:

Back with another chapter! I finally managed to include the Ferocity Technique description. I originally wanted to insert it right after Mikael finished analyzing what happened during his Partial Enlightenment by checking his notifications, but sadly—

I couldn’t. It would’ve turned into an info dump, and because of that, it got delayed until now. Hopefully, you already had a general idea of what the technique was about, because if not… that probably means the aftermath of the Partial Enlightenment—when he destroyed the demonic beasts—was too blurry.

At the same time, Mikael is finally healed! (Well, not really, but at least he can somewhat fight at a ‘high’ level now—compared to before, where he couldn’t even run…) The recovery phase definitely lasted quite a few chapters, but I hope it didn’t feel too slow-paced, and that even the ‘recovery arc’ had enough interest to keep things engaging.

———

📚 Chapters ahead await on Patreon: www./SDASLUMMY

⭐ A single rating or follow helps more than you’d expect. 

Glad you’re walking this path with me.

— End of Chapter —