"Still not enough, this is still not enough. I can clearly feel that I only have raw strength, while my combat techniques are completely unrefined. If I encounter someone of the same level, I'm afraid I wouldn't stand a chance!"
Ye Hun thought to himself, though in truth, even he had no idea just how immense his strength had become.
Having no point of comparison, he naturally didn't realize that although he was currently at Spirit Awakening Stage 9, his physical strength far exceeded that of ordinary cultivators at the same stage.
To hone his combat skills, Ye Hun decided to properly temper himself within these mountains. With countless ferocious beasts roaming about, it was the ideal training ground.
And so, braving the wind and dew, sleeping in the open, Ye Hun began his trial in the Myriad Mountains, training day and night entirely on his own.
When thirsty, he drank mountain spring water; when hungry, he ate the meat of fierce beasts!
Not only that, but he also began to comprehend the Heaven-tier Martial Skill left behind by Old Village Chief Grandpa, the *Kongmie Spear Technique*, using the Hunyuan Token to materialize a silver spear.
One man, one spear, he scoured the mountains in search of beasts. At first, Ye Hun didn't use a weapon, relying solely on his physical body to slay the beasts.
Naturally, he didn't dare venture into the depths of the mountains; he wasn't arrogant enough to be fearless of everything.
Instead, he searched the outer fringes for Spirit Awakening Realm beasts, specifically targeting the higher-tier ones.
Yet he soon discovered that Spirit Awakening Realm beasts posed virtually no threat to him. Even when he encountered a pack of exceptionally cunning demonic wolves—creatures that were highly intelligent, yet topped out at Spirit Awakening Stage 7—they were simply no match for Ye Hun's assaults.
Even when faced with a war of attrition, Ye Hun easily took them down with a single punch each. Aside from one or two that managed to escape, this dozen-plus pack of demonic wolves was completely slaughtered by Ye Hun.
Since he hadn't even used a weapon, this could hardly be considered effective training. Therefore, two days later, Ye Hun cautiously ventured deeper into the Myriad Mountains.
The further he went, the stronger the beasts became. During this time, Ye Hun even encountered beasts of the Spirit-Entering Realm.
A beast's cultivation realm was categorized the same way as a human's. According to Grandpa, the realms were divided into the Spirit Awakening Realm, the Spirit-Entering Realm, and the Spirit Transformation Realm... with even higher realms beyond that, but Grandpa hadn't elaborated further.
Perhaps Grandpa felt that such realms were entirely beyond his reach!
The Spirit-Entering Realm beast that Ye Hun encountered was a male lion with a coat as crimson as fire, its mane fluttering in the wind as though ablaze.
It gazed down at Ye Hun from a position of superiority, a pair of proud, blood-red eyes filled with disdain.
The next instant, it lunged straight at him. Its speed far surpassed that of the Spirit Awakening Realm beasts, catching Ye Hun off guard. Left with no choice but to meet force with force, he thrust his hands out to lock with the lion's claws, and a fierce contest of strength began!
In the end, Ye Hun proved superior, gradually pushing the beast back. Struck with terror, the lion lost all its prior contempt and used the recoil to leap backward. It shot Ye Hun a deep, lingering look, and then simply turned and fled.
Ye Hun stood there dumbfounded. Shouldn't beast fight him to the bitter death?
Could it be that higher-tier beasts possessed higher intelligence, and knowing they couldn't match his raw power, simply chose to retreat?
Ye Hun didn't pursue it. Instead, he crossed his legs and sat down to recover his spiritual energy. Through his cultivation over the past few days, he had come to realize that this cultivation method absorbed spiritual energy at an astonishingly fast rate, and the energy was incomparably pure. Yet his own body felt like a bottomless pit that could never be filled.
When he first came here, he had imagined that once he walked out of these mountains, he would possess the strength to exact vengeance. Events had proven him wrong.
The spiritual energy he was absorbing now simply could not compare to that first time—that overwhelming surge of energy that had propelled him straight to Spirit Awakening Stage 9, a Spirit Awakening Stage 9 capable of contending with the Spirit-Entering Realm.
*Sigh...* In the end, Ye Hun sighed. He was simply being too greedy. To possess such a cultivation technique was already defying the heavens; yet here he was, harboring regrets—he truly didn't know how lucky he was.
Soon, his spiritual energy was fully restored. Ye Hun decided not to push any further inward; Spirit-Entering Realm beasts were already appearing here, which fully satisfied his need for training.
And so, Ye Hun continued his grueling regimen, training day after day for a full week. During this time, he mostly encountered low-tier Spirit-Entering Realm beasts, which he could still handle.
Later on, he even encountered a Spirit-Entering Stage 4 beast—a massive cyan serpent with scales of extraordinary toughness. From this battle, Ye Hun learned a great deal, ultimately summoning his silver spear to nail the cyan serpent firmly to the ground.
Over these seven days, Ye Hun had not only acquired numerous combat techniques, but had also gained insights into the first form of the *Kongmie Spear Technique*, "Jinglong", even if it was only scratching the surface.
Yet it was precisely with this move that Ye Hun had pinned down the giant cyan serpent.
He also had a rough idea of where his strength stood: without the Hunyuan Token, he was roughly at Spirit-Entering Stage 4; with the Hunyuan Token, it was hard to estimate, as the strongest beast he had encountered was only that Spirit-Entering Stage 4 cyan serpent.
Over the past seven days, Ye Hun had transformed from someone who possessed nothing but brute strength into someone with rich combat experience, having endured a great deal of hardship.
He dared not rest for even a moment. Aside from sleeping, he spent his time cultivating, slaughtering beasts, and then meditating to recover his spiritual energy.
"I cannot stay here forever. I still need to investigate who exactly is responsible for murdering Grandpa. It is time to leave," Ye Hun murmured softly.
He stood tall and straight atop a mountain peak, a silver spear strapped across his back, the youth's black hair fluttering freely in the wind, giving him an air of unrestrained elegance.
His silver eyes in particular were as calm as a whirlpool yet contained boundless churning waves within, adding a touch of mysterious allure that truly made one's heart tremble!
The hardship of braving the elements over these past days had not weathered the youth's appearance; instead, it had forged an inner resilience.
His already handsome face, paired with those mysterious, special silver eyes, was like adding embroidery to a brocade, making the youth appear even more extraordinary and enigmatic.
Even Ye Hun himself didn't know when his eyes had turned silver; he had only discovered it while drinking by a mountain spring, and he guessed it might be related to the Hunyuan Token.
Since it caused no physical discomfort and actually allowed him to see much more clearly than before, Ye Hun hadn't paid it much mind.
Standing atop the peak, he looked down at the dense forest below and decided it was time to head out.
Just as Ye Hun was considering whether he should leave, the sounds of battle suddenly erupted from the forest below!
"Beasts fighting?"
"Oh well, I might as well kill these two beasts before heading out!"
Ye Hun had seen plenty of such clashes between beasts over the past few days, and usually he ended up slaying both of them.
Although he couldn't see what kind of beasts were fighting from where he stood, it didn't matter to him. If he couldn't beat them, he could just run—though he hadn't yet encountered a beast that forced him to run in all these days!
Wave after wave of combat tremors startled flocks of birds into the air. Gripping his silver spear tightly, Ye Hun sped rapidly toward the source of the battle.