CHAPTER 43: THE FIEND (2)

Believing that Ray had fled, the young Fiend turned his attention toward the Celestial Grass.

Unlike Ray, who approached with caution and respect for the dangers surrounding heaven and earth treasures, the Fiend carried himself with arrogance, striding toward it confidently, as if it was already his.

To him, nothing in this place could possibly threaten his existence!

Just as he crouched down, reaching out his pale, jewel-adorned fingers to pluck the herb, the ground beneath his feet trembled violently, then exploded with a thunderous crack.

The earth split apart as a monstrous figure surged out.

It was massive well over ten feet in length with a body ten times thicker than a grown man’s torso.

Its form was segmented into dozens of chitinous rings, each glistening like polished obsidian, giving it the horrifying appearance of an armored leviathan that had clawed its way out of the abyss itself. And its wide-open maw revealed a nightmare.

Its circular mouth was lined with rings of razor-sharp teeth, hundreds of them, thin and needle-like, every ring contracted and expanded in sickening harmony, a living meat grinder ready to shred anything that dared to fall within its mouth.

It was a Deep Dark Earthworm!

Among the bronze rank beasts, this creature was counted in the top ten most terrifying.

Its infamy stemmed from two things. The first was its power that could break through the defenses of even silver rank tamers. The second was its method of attack.

It could slither and tunnel through the earth completely undetected, waiting for its prey to lower its guard before striking from beneath the ground. Many dreaded such ambushes, because no matter how powerful you were, if you failed to react in time, the Deep Dark Earthworm’s ambush would devour you whole.

And now, this infamous predator had caught the young fiend off guard.

The young Fiend’s eyes widened in horror, but before he could leap away, the colossal mouth of the Deep Dark Esrthworm engulfed him whole.

Hundreds of teeth clamped down, piercing through his pale flesh. Blood sprayed from the holes that instantly riddled his body as the worm’s teeth tore into him like spears. His scream echoed from within the creature’s maw as his blood splattered across its teeth.

"Lowly beast! How dare you!" An enraged roar thundered from inside the Deep Dark Earthworm. "Die!"

A red light flashed out from within the Deep Dark Earthworm.

In the very next moment, the monstrous predator ceased to exist.

In a desperate act of survival, the Young Fiend had unleashed his reality-erasing power, wiping the Deep Dark Earthworm from existence itself. Its massive body turned to nothing, vanishing like a snuffed-out candle. Yet this act of desperation proved to be his undoing, for someone had been waiting for this exact moment to take him out!

Whoosh!

The moment the earthworm disappeared, leaving the Young Fiend exposed, a fireball slammed into the back of his head.

BOOM!

The fiery blast engulfed the Fiend, flames roaring like a dragon’s breath, cutting his life short.

When the smoke and ash cleared, only two mangled legs and a glowing crimson core remained on the scorched earth. The rest of his body had been reduced to molten slag.

A crisp notification rang in Ray’s ears.

♦️ You have killed a Young Fiend. You have gained +25,000 EXP.

♦️ You have gained additional EXP for killing a being an entire major realm above you.

Ray emerged nearby, a grin tugging at the corners of his lips.

He had never left.

He had simply hidden himself, biding his time, waiting for an opportunity. His disappearance had been nothing but a feint, a trick to make the Fiend drop his guard. The arrogant demonic creature had mistaken his absence for cowardice and paid the ultimate price for the grave misjudgment with his life.

Now, Ray not only secured the Celestial Grass, a rank-9 heaven-and-earth treasure of immense value, but also obtained the core of a Young Fiend, an item even rarer and more precious than a rank-9 heaven and earth treasure. Furthermore, killing him had pulled him close to another level up.

Worth explaining,

Before reaching the Gold Rank, humans could only rely on external means to strengthen their bodies

After all, once a person advances to Gold Rank, their soul becomes so strong that it begins influencing and tempering their body naturally. Their very flesh grows stronger in proportion to their soul’s might. It is exactly as Ray’s Tyrant’s Soul Cultivation Method states—the strength of one’s soul starts to strengthen their body once it has been improved to a certain point.

But as for the Silver Rank and below... things were completely different.

Unless a tamer had access to unique resources, their physical body remained fragile, brittle, and weak.

Those who were born into powerful backgrounds could consume heaven-and-earth treasures, they could practice unique techniques inherited from the birthplace of tamers, aka the Tower of Enlightenment, or they could even devour Fiend cores to force their bodies to evolve.

Those without such backgrounds had only one path: they had to risk their lives in the wilderness to strengthen their bodies, to seize opportunities, and to grow stronger step by step.

But the harsh truth was that most tamers never did that.

After becoming knights, beast tamers were granted fiefs, titles, estates, and luxuries. They could live out their lives as nobles, surrounded by servants and courtiers, enjoying privileges that commoners could only dream about. Why would they risk their necks in the dangerous wilderness for uncertain gains, when safety, power, and wealth were already secured for them for awakening as a beast tamer?

Only those who truly desired continuous improvement would be like Ray, heading into the wilderness day after day to try their luck and quickly grow stronger.

Anyways, fiend cores were considered the greatest resource when it came to refining the physique.

He devoured the Celestial Grass and the fiend’s core one after another.

♦️ You have devoured the Celestial Grass.

♦️ You have experienced a minor improvement in your physique and Niwan Palace.

♦️ Your Strength has increased to 8.

♦️ Your Stamina has increased to 9.

♦️ Your Magic Power Capacity has increased to 2500!

♦️ You have devoured a Low-Level Fiend Core.

The Fiend core melted in his stomach as soon as it came in contact with his bile, merging with his very being. His body trembled as the immense energy from the fiend’s core rampaged through him, refining his flesh, bones, and marrow with terrifying efficiency and speed.

♦️ Your Agility has increased to 12.

♦️ Your Strength has increased to 9.

♦️ Your Stamina has increased to 10.

♦️ Trait Unlocked: Passive Stamina Recovery.

♦️ Effect: Automatically recover 1 point of stamina every hour.

"This is huge—no, this is beyond huge!"

Ray’s eyes widened, and excitement burst out of his chest like a tidal wave.

"With the passive stamina recovery state, my body will always be recovering, always replenishing itself. In battle, I’ll last longer, fight harder, and recover faster. It’s like..." Out of sheer exhilaration, he clenched his fist. "I’ve taken the first step toward becoming an unstoppable fighting force!"