The day-night simulator on the ceiling of the 6th floor began its transition, depicting a sunset as the moon rose, shifting the bright yellow lights to a soft, dim white glow. A cool breeze swept across the floor, enhancing the sense of nightfall within the police headquarters.
In the training area behind one of the buildings, Damian and Sky stood face to face, preparing to spar. Two others stood nearby as spectators, watching the anticipation build between them.
Sky charged at Damian, her sword gleaming as it clashed against his armoured body. Damian raised his armoured hand to meet each strike, sparks flying with every impact. As the fight continued, Sky's relentless speed kept Damian on the defensive, her swift movements preventing him from mounting an attack. Though her sword strikes were precise and forceful, they couldn't pierce the dense armor protecting Damian. In turn, the weight of his armor slowed him, making it difficult to match Sky's agility.
Sky stepped back from Damian. "I've learned a new technique. Since I'm still mastering it, it'll take a moment to prepare."
Damian nodded, understanding the warning. He adjusted his armor to form a shield in front of him, bracing himself for the unknown power of Sky's attack.
As Sky prepared her move, cold air swirled around her, and the ground began to freeze. Observing from a distance, Lily noticed a faint white tiger phantom materializing behind Sky. Gradually, the chilling air seemed to flow from Sky into the phantom, making it appear more solid.
Curious, Lily whispered to Siobhan, "But Sky hasn't broken through to C-rank yet—how is her genetic beast evolving?"
Siobhan replied, "It's not an evolution; it's a C-rank combat technique, 'Ice Tiger Sword.'"
"But I don't see any sword," Lily replied. Just as she finished, Sky's twin swords began to glow intensely. Blinding light emanated from the blades, merging with the tiger phantom. Lily squinted, feeling a sting in her eyes even from a distance, as the sharp radiance from Sky's swords intensified.
Watching Sky prepare her move, Damian felt a surge of nervousness, momentarily wondering if she might actually be aiming to take him down. In response, he let his genetic energy pour into the shield, expanding it into a massive, door-like barrier, three meters tall and ten inches thick, creating a solid, reinforced defense.
Sky's preparation complete, she felt the strain of maintaining the technique as it continued to drain her genetic energy. She launched the attack with a command, "Go." At her word, the white tiger phantom roared fiercely, the sound contained within an energy shield that formed around the training field, trapping the impact inside. The tiger leaped toward Damian's metal door-shield. For a split second, nothing happened. Then, with an intense flash, an explosion of energy erupted. Although the attack looked physical, it was formed entirely of genetic energy, resulting in an energy burst rather than debris. The surrounding shield contained the blast, but the shockwave sent both Damian and Sky flying backward, colliding against the energy shield.
Lily and Siobhan had closed their eyes against the intense burst of light. When they reopened them, they saw the training ground in disarray from the impact. The area was slowly repairing itself thanks to its memory material. Their attention turned to Sky and Damian, who were both leaning against the shield, catching their breath. Sky managed to stand, but when she tried to take a step, she winced and stumbled back to the ground. The others walked over to Damian.
Sky asked, "Are you okay?"
Damian replied, "Strained thigh muscles and a fracture in my left hand."
Lily raised an eyebrow, "You were way too close to that explosion."
Sky offered a sheepish smile, "Sorry." She extended a hand to Damian.
Damian nodded, "It's okay. In two to three hours, the injury should be healed." He took Sky's hand to help himself up.
Sky asked, "Can you walk on your own, or do you need support? Let's head back inside."
"I can walk," Damian replied, wincing slightly as they made their way back to their seats inside the building and sat down.
After a moment, Lily asked, "What mystery are you planning to comprehend for the rest of the True Body realm?"
Damian replied thoughtfully, "During the fight, I realized a weakness. When I'm fully armored, my speed slows down due to the rigidity in my joints. So, I'm debating between focusing on the Elastic or Lightweight rule first."
Sky nodded in understanding. "Try to work on both initially, see which one you understand faster, and then focus on that."
Damian agreed, "Yeah, that's a good idea." They continued discussing, waiting patiently for Rain to return.
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While in the Radiation World, the main Rain focused on breaking through to Middle D-rank, the Clone Rain was experiencing a very different scene in the Star Immortal World. As the sun rose, filling the forest with the sounds of birds and animals, a new day dawned with a sense of peace. However, in the forest's depths, Clone Rain stood alert, sword drawn, scanning his surroundings. Only a few hours earlier, he had broken through to a new realm, opening what he thought might be a path for the warriors of this world—though he couldn't be certain.
Rain's objective was clear: he needed to cross the forest to reach the capital city of the Xia Dynasty, where his clone was a resident. His breakthrough had also heightened his senses, a change he noticed as he walked. As he approached the forest's center, an inner alarm rang within him, putting him instantly on guard. A low growl sounded to his left, emanating from the top of a small hill.
He recognized the growl instantly and understood why his senses were on high alert. Tales of the Devil Tiger had circulated for generations, woven into horror stories parents would tell their children to keep them from wandering into the forest. From Yun Ting's memories, Rain recalled his mother's warnings. Although he'd dismissed the tale as he grew older, the story resurfaced during his training years. The owner of Spring Pavilion had confirmed the legend was real: the Devil Tiger existed, and the government had repeatedly sent warriors of Strength Realm to eliminate it—none returned. Eventually, the authorities abandoned their efforts since the Devil Tiger never ventured beyond the forest's borders.
Now, in front of him, the creature of legend stood atop the hill, watching him with fierce, blood-red eyes. Rain could see why it had earned its infamous name. Its fur was pitch black with streaks of deep red, a nightmarish vision. As the tiger crouched, muscles tense, a low growl rumbled through the air. Rain steadied himself in anticipation, adrenaline spiking. He sensed danger, but not death; it was a perfect test of his newfound strength, and he was ready to face it.
The tiger leapt toward him, but Rain swiftly moved back, narrowly avoiding the impact as the beast landed where he'd stood seconds before. Reacting instantly, Rain swung his sword at the tiger's face, but the beast pulled back just in time and countered with a swipe of its massive claw. Rain dodged, leaping backward, noting that despite its size—easily twice that of a normal tiger—the Devil Tiger moved with shocking speed and agility.
They began to circle each other, each watching intently, anticipating the other's next move. Rain's eyes were locked on the tiger, but then his senses blared in warning. He took a quick step back, just as an energy claw, red and fierce, extended from the tiger's paw, slashing through the air. Though Rain dodged, the claw grazed his arm, tearing his skin and drawing blood. Ignited by the scent, the tiger charged, and Rain steeled himself, meeting the beast head-on in a fierce engagement.
During the fight, Rain noticed his wound was still bleeding, not healing as it should. Realizing this body lacked the regenerative abilities of his main body, he quickly channeled his true energy to halt the bleeding. As the tiger lunged at him again, Rain executed one of the moves from the Spring Rain Sword technique, leaving a shallow cut on the beast's paw. The Spring Rain Sword technique didn't just generate a single energy blade but scattered numerous small energy swords, creating a wider injury. The tiger roared in pain, its blood-red eyes glaring at Rain with renewed fury.
Sensing the lingering true energy within the wound, Rain instinctively drove it deeper into the tiger's paw, intensifying the injury and drawing even more blood. Enraged, the tiger let out a powerful roar, its claws glowing ominously with a crimson light. It struck with its uninjured paw, and as one of its claws connected with Rain's sword, the force sent Rain stumbling backward, his sword shattering into pieces under the impact.
Rain quickly rolled to avoid the tiger's next attack, focusing on evasion as the relentless tiger gave him no chance to counter. After a few intense minutes of dodging, he noticed the tiger's movements stop, and it seemed to be limping. Curious, Rain glanced around the battlefield and saw it was littered with blood, yet his own bleeding had stopped. His eyes landed on the tiger's wounded paw, still seeping blood. Realizing his earlier attack had likely severed a major vein, he understood that the blood loss was draining the tiger's strength.
Rain kept his distance, watching the tiger intently as it lay on the ground, seemingly lifeless. He focused on his own injury, which still hadn't fully closed due to the lingering energy left behind by the tiger's attack. Channeling his true energy carefully, he worked to clear the foreign energy from the wound, mindful that his genetic energy, fused with soul energy, could only maintain its effectiveness outside his body for a few fleeting seconds before dispersing.
Once he successfully removed the tiger's energy from his wound, he looked over to see that the tiger had stopped breathing, its chest unmoving. Staying cautious, he broke off a sturdy branch from a nearby tree and poked the tiger, gradually applying more pressure to ensure there was no response. Only after repeated prods with no reaction did Rain step closer, convinced the tiger was truly dead, to check and confirm the kill.
Rain took a moment to admire the tiger's unusual appearance, wondering what set it apart from ordinary tigers. Thinking he could make some money from its valuable pelt, he formed an energy claw around the fingers of his right hand and carefully started skinning the tiger. After setting aside the pelt, he dissected the body and discovered a small, red crystal nestled near the tiger's navel. He inspected it closely, noting the intricate markings along its surface. Sensing it with his energy, he realized the crystal was brimming with powerful energy.
With the pelt and some tiger meat in hand, Rain found a small river nearby where he washed himself, the fur, and the meat. Sitting by the water, he started a fire and roasted the meat, savoring a hard-earned meal to replenish the energy he had expended in battle. As the sun climbed higher, he prepared to continue his journey, feeling a renewed sense of purpose and strength.