Finally...
Jade had reached Shadow Heart
He sensed something.
His expression immediately changed.
An aura.
Powerful.
Wild.
Close.
Jade's Beast Sense spread outward.
The surrounding forest entered his perception.
Every tree.
Every rock.
Every movement.
Then he found it.
An Awakened Beast.
Jade narrowed his eyes.
"Another one..."
He wasn't surprised anymore.
The Spiritual Realm seemed determined to throw another monster at him every time he tried to rest.
Without hesitation, Jade summoned the Obsidian Vine Shadow.
Black crystalline vines erupted from his body.
They wrapped around his arms.
His chest.
His legs.
His back.
Then—
His entire body began changing.
His bones shifted.
His muscles compressed.
The obsidian vines spread across his body before forming enormous wings.
His human figure gradually transformed into a gigantic black bird.
Dark feathers covered his body.
His crimson eyes remained unchanged.
Even in this form, the aura surrounding him remained savage.
Jade beat his wings once.
BOOM!
A powerful gust swept through the surrounding trees.
He rose into the sky.
Below him, Ant Demon moved calmly through the forest.
Little Black stood comfortably on her shoulder.
The tiny black cat looked completely uninterested in the situation.
Ever since his awakening, Little Black had done almost nothing except sleep.
Sleep.
Wake up.
Eat.
Sleep again.
Jade glanced downward.
"Little Black."
One eye opened.
"Hm?"
"Are you going to help?"
Little Black yawned.
"I'll help if something interesting happens."
Jade's eyebrow twitched.
"You're unbelievable."
Little Black closed his eyes again.
Within seconds...
He was asleep.
Jade sighed.
"Forget it."
He turned his attention forward.
Something was approaching.
The trees ahead suddenly shook.
BOOM!
A gigantic black figure burst through the forest.
Jade's eyes widened.
The creature was enormous.
Its body was completely covered in black fur.
Its arms were thick enough to crush stone.
Its shoulders were broad.
Its hands were enormous.
Its legs were powerful.
It looked like a gigantic gorilla.
But its appearance wasn't the strangest thing.
Its entire body was pure black.
Not dark gray.
Not brown.
Black.
Even its eyes seemed almost swallowed by the darkness covering its face.
The moment it sensed Jade—
It roared.
ROOOOOAR!
The sound shook the forest.
Birds fled from the trees.
Branches snapped.
The ground trembled.
Then the gorilla crouched.
Its muscles tightened.
Jade's Beast Sense screamed.
Danger.
The creature disappeared.
BOOM!
The ground exploded beneath it.
It had launched itself into the air.
Its gigantic fist came directly toward Jade.
Jade's eyes narrowed.
"So fast!"
The fist tore through the air.
Jade twisted his enormous bird body sideways.
The punch passed beneath his wing by barely a few inches.
The wind generated by the attack alone sent him spinning.
Jade immediately stabilized himself.
The gorilla had already landed.
BOOM!
The impact created a crater.
It didn't stop.
It rushed toward him again.
Jade's expression became serious.
If the creature wanted a fight—
he would give it one.
He circulated his essence.
A massive amount of energy flooded through his transformed body.
The black feathers covering him began glowing with crimson light.
Then—
Destructive Blood Flames erupted.
WHOOSH!
Blood-red fire wrapped around his wings.
His claws.
His chest.
His entire body.
The flames carried terrifying destructive intent.
The air around Jade distorted from the heat.
Then Ling moved.
The little shadow shot from beneath Jade.
It wrapped itself around his body like a layer of darkness.
Instantly—
Jade's speed exploded.
His wings beat once.
BOOM!
He vanished.
The world seemed to slow.
The trees.
The wind.
The falling leaves.
Everything.
His Beast Sense had already found the gorilla's weakness.
A small point beneath its ribs.
Hidden beneath layers of muscle.
Jade's eyes locked onto it.
"There."
He folded his wings.
Then—
He accelerated.
The gorilla raised its fist.
Its punch was already moving toward the place Jade should have been.
But Jade was faster.
Much faster.
He crossed the distance in an instant.
His body became a black-and-crimson streak.
Then—
BOOM!
Jade crashed directly into the gorilla's weak point.
The impact was monstrous.
His body punched through its flesh.
The gorilla's eyes widened.
But Jade didn't stop.
He continued forward.
BOOM!
Another impact.
Another opening.
BOOM!
Another.
The destructive Blood Flames burned through the creature from the inside.
Jade kept moving.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
Until his body had completely passed through the monster.
Several enormous holes had been carved through the gorilla's body.
Jade emerged on the other side.
His wings spread wide.
He stopped in midair.
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
The gorilla remained standing.
Its gigantic fist was still raised.
Its body was frozen in the middle of its attack.
Jade slowly turned his head.
Silence.
Then—
It felt as though time suddenly started moving again.
The gorilla's raised fist trembled.
Its knees buckled.
Its enormous body swayed.
Then—
BOOM!
The creature collapsed.
Its gigantic body slammed into the ground.
Dust erupted into the air.
Jade slowly descended.
The destructive Blood Flames disappeared from his body.
Ling slipped away and returned to his shadow.
Jade landed several meters from the fallen monster.
He stared at the corpse.
His Beast Sense confirmed it.
Dead.
Then the System's voice echoed through his mind.
"You have slain an Awakened Beast, Tough Monster."
Jade raised an eyebrow.
"Tough Monster?"
He shook his head.
"The System really has strange names."
Another notification appeared.
"You have received a Data."
A translucent screen appeared before him.
Data Name: Return Sword
Data Type: Weapon
Data Rank: Awakened
Data Class: Monster
Jade stared at the information.
"A sword?"
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Not bad."
He stored the Data before turning toward the corpse.
The shard remained inside the fallen creature.
Jade reached toward it.
The shard floated into his hand.
Then—
He absorbed it.
Warm energy immediately flowed through his body.
The familiar sensation of strengthening spread throughout his essence pathways.
Then the System spoke again.
"You have received 15 Shadow Fragments."
Shadow Fragments: 15 / 1,000
Jade froze.
Another notification appeared.
"Congratulations."
"You have completed your shard count."
Jade's eyes widened.
Finally.
After all that hunting...
He had done it.
The System continued.
"Receive your boon."
"Boon: Shard — 500 / 500."
A strange energy suddenly swept through Jade's entire body.
He felt it immediately.
His muscles.
His bones.
His skin.
Everything felt slightly different.
Because most of the creatures he had hunted were beasts, the accumulated fragments had begun strengthening his body.
His skin became slightly tougher.
His physical foundation became stronger.
Then another sensation appeared.
Light essence.
Jade had absorbed a small amount of Light Shard.
Immediately, he noticed a difference.
His body felt lighter.
His movements felt quicker.
His reflexes seemed slightly sharper.
Light Shards normally provided the ability to see through darkness.
But Jade already possessed that ability.
He didn't need it.
So the additional speed was far more useful.
Jade clenched his fist.
Then moved his arm.
Faster.
He smiled.
"Not bad."
His soul army had also continued growing.
Not only had its numbers increased—
Most of the creatures within it had already reached the Awakened rank.
Jade looked toward the distant horizon.
The strange feeling inside his chest returned.
His legacy.
So far, he had only received the Beast God's Legacy Practice.
But every time he obtained another Bloody Shadow, that strange sensation of incompleteness became stronger.
It felt as though each new shadow was filling a missing piece inside him.
As though...
Soon...
Something would finally become complete.
Jade didn't know what his true legacy practice would be.
But he could feel it getting closer.
"My real legacy..."
He looked down at his hands.
"I wonder what it is."
A distant roar interrupted his thoughts.
Jade immediately looked up.
More monsters were approaching.
He sighed.
"Of course."
He summoned Titan Devourer.
Dark essence gathered beside him.
The powerful humanoid beast appeared with his massive bow already in hand.
Jade then summoned his mount.
He climbed onto it and settled comfortably.
"Keep them away from me."
Titan Devora silently raised his bow.
A black arrow formed.
WHOOSH!
The arrow flew.
BOOM!
A distant monster exploded.
Another arrow.
BOOM!
Another creature fell.
Jade smiled.
"Good."
With Titan Devourer protecting him, Jade finally had time to rest and continue absorbing the remaining energy from the shard.
He also looked toward the corpse of the black gorilla.
The meat was valuable.
He wasn't going to waste it.
Jade stored the useful portions inside his storage space.
Later, when he returned to the Human World, he could sell the meat for coins.
Those coins could eventually be exchanged for cash.
The Spiritual Realm had several strange advantages.
One of the most interesting was its connection to currency.
If Jade obtained actual coins inside the Spiritual Realm, he could place them inside his Soul Sea and carry them back to the Human World.
But other objects were different.
Weapons.
Shards.
Monster materials.
Many of them couldn't simply be placed inside the Soul Sea.
Jade had already experienced the difficulty himself.
That raised an interesting question.
He frowned.
"How did Aviana manage to put a shard inside the Soul Sea?"
He still didn't understand it.
There was clearly something about Aviana's abilities that he hadn't discovered yet.
Before he could think any further—
BOOOOOOM!
A deafening crash shook the entire area.
Jade's expression changed instantly.
The ground trembled beneath him.
Titan Devourer was suddenly blasted away.
His massive body flew through the air before crashing into the ground several dozen meters away.
Jade immediately stood.
"What?!"
Dust filled the surrounding area.
His instincts screamed.
Danger.
Something had attacked Titan Devo.
Something powerful enough to send an Awakened Demon flying with a single strike.
Jade's hand tightened.
The crimson greatsword appeared instantly.
Its familiar weight settled into his palm.
His eyes narrowed.
The dust slowly began to clear.
A figure stood in the distance.
Jade stared.
His heartbeat stopped for a moment.
His expression changed completely.
"...What?"
He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
For the first time in a long while—
Jade was genuinely shocked.