With a loud thud, the huge body of the Terra Bear fell to the ground. It finally trembled twice and took its last breath.
Li Jiye took a deep breath, his body now exhausted from repeated use of Shadow Wind Steps and Falling Leaves Deadly Knives. He could no longer bear the emptiness in his body caused by the lack of energy and the tearing of his abdomen wound. Gritting his teeth and enduring the excruciating pain, his legs turned limp, and he fell to the ground.
"Heh… Against all odds… I was actually able to defeat the Terra Bear while in an injured state…"
Li Jiye chuckled inwardly, extremely pleased with himself. He maintained his consciousness and climbed closer to the Terra Bear and only heaved a sigh of relief when he felt its sturdy dead body.
He exhausted a lot of energy cutting the skin of the Terra Bear with a hunting knife. The fur of the Terra Bear was extremely tough and was considered a rare material from amongst the demonic beasts. If this fur was sewn into a leather armor, it could be auctioned off for, at least, thousands of gold coins.
Having been in the Demonic Beast Mountain Range for a long time, Li Jiye was extremely familiar with how to strip the demonic beasts' materials. He skillfully peeled off all of the Terra Bear's fur with the hunting knife, folded it neatly, and placed it inside the space storage bag.
"What a pity that the Terra Bear's meat isn't very delicious. According to the books, Terra Bears walk around all year round, resulting in unusually developed muscles. It's said that ordinary people simply can't stand the texture of their cooked meat…"
While cursing inwardly, he dissected the Terra Bear's belly. Not long after, a crystal-clear yellow core appeared, and he quickly grabbed it.
"It really is a Tier 3 magic core!"
This magic core wasn't the same level as the Tiers 1 and 2 cores that he had hunted earlier. Even by holding it in his hand, he could feel the richness of the Earth Element seeping through far and wide. That power spread out from it, and he was filled with joy as he stuffed it into his storage bag.
"The fight with the Terra Bear just now caused my recuperating wounds to open up again… If I don't quickly find a place to heal, the bleeding alone will make me collapse…"
He struggled to stand upright and was about to leave when he turned around to look at the Terra Bear again and was suddenly taken aback.
"Wait… This tor is the Terra Bear's territory. There are usually no demonic beasts around this area. As a healing spot, which place could be safer than this?"
A glimmer came into his eyes, and he turned around to look at the tor pillar that bulged upward.
That was where the Terra Bear had jumped down from.
He tentatively lifted himself with a force of energy and floated down cross-legged on the towering stone pillar. Waves of Wind Element circulated around him, but his injuries seemed stable now.
In the early morning of the next day, a cool wind blew through the extremely quiet tor valley. Sand and gravel blew with the wind and finally stopped at his feet.
He had managed to regain his strength from the overnight recuperation. Although his chest and abdomen wounds weren't fully recovered yet, he was being supplemented sufficiently by the healing potion. As long as he didn't engage in overly intense exercise, his wounds wouldn't be affected.
"Tsk. Yesterday, I was just having a desperate life and death fight with the Terra Bear. Who knew that today, the Wind Element vitality in my body seemed to have made a breakthrough…"
Li Jiye knew that although he was still a Tier 2 martial artist, he only needed a final push to make a breakthrough to Tier 3. As long as he stabilized his mind and the new vitality in him, he could make a natural progression to Tier 3 with a little bit of practice.
"Since fighting can enhance my strength… I can continue going deeper into Demonic Beast Mountain Range, and the progression to Tier 3 might be just around the corner…"
He abruptly shook his head at this thought.
"The Terra Bear is Tier 3, but not many demonic beasts have such obvious shortcomings. I'm now injured. If I encounter a beast with balanced abilities, can I really hold my ground? I need to put this idea on hold first and wait five days to recuperate before making further plans…"
He patted his storage bag and walked towards the outskirts of Demonic Beast Mountain Range.
He was extremely cautious on this trip out for fear that he would encounter the Tauren warriors again. Fortunately, he didn't catch a glimpse of them all the way back to Glimmer City. They must have left first to complete some other mission.
In this way, for several days, Li Jiye hunted low-level demonic beasts while consolidating the improved strength from the battle with the Terra Bear. Four days later, his aura was restrained, and he had completely digested the breakthrough from the battle a few days ago.
There was only one day left till the renewal of the replication skill. He squeezed his fists and came to a decision. Today, he would go deep into the Demonic Beast Mountain Range and look to replicate the skill of a higher-level demonic beast. The reason why he hadn't been able to completely break through to Tier 3 was that his C-level Wind Element was too weak. As long as he could find another skill, even if it was only B-level, he could still completely progress to a Tier 3 martial artist instantly.
He hesitated no further and set off for the depths of Demonic Beast Mountain Range.
…
In a slightly dim stone cave, following the sound of an explosion, a beautiful woman jumped out, dressed lightly in a white silk dress. At the same time, the fiery-red shadow of a wolf closely pursued her.
"You stole my Crimson Flame Lucidem when I was asleep. You'll pay for it with your life!"
The fiery-red wolf shadow lunged forward and spewed out several red-golden flames from its mouth and nose towards the white shadow ahead. However, the white shadow seemed to anticipate this move and managed to avoid the flames at the critical moment.
"The Crimson Flame Lucidem is worthless in your hands! Now that it's in my hands, I can use it to heal countless people. Excuse me while I leave!"
As soon as her voice fell, the dark yellow scroll had already been torn apart. Along with the flow of a turquoise glow, her figure suddenly accelerated, and in a flash, she had already left the Flaming Wolf a hundred miles behind.
"'The agility potion can only speed you up temporarily. I've remembered your scent. Don't think you can escape!"
…
Li Jiye was still completely unaware of what was happening. He just happened to march into a deserted woodland when a shadow mixed with turquoise light suddenly appeared in front of him.
In a flash, he saw a woman with the title "Pharmacist" hanging in front of his eyes sitting down among the wilted trees.
"Pharmacist? The legendary pharmacist who could refine cheap medicinal potions into rare potions?"