'Now, all that remains is to find a sufficiently strong magical beast and kill it.'
Saya had informed him that one of the Aqualisks he had killed earlier was already at the 9th stage of the Qi Gathering realm, the highest stage before Foundation Establishment.
'If I have to kill a Foundation Establishment beast to level up, then this is mission impossible,' Caelum thought.
He had already tried that once. It ended very, very poorly.
His lack of Qi was a real problem. Although he had gained numerous Dao Techniques through Devouring, he couldn't use them. Once he could channel Qi, his combat strength would increase explosively.
Without an exact plan for this final stretch, Caelum wandered with Saya through a region inhabited by high-level Qi Gathering and low-level Foundation Establishment beasts.
Over the course of several hours, many beasts fell to the pair. Saya handled the Foundation Establishment ones while Caelum dispatched the Qi Gathering beasts, gaining valuable combat experience along the way.
Eventually, Caelum stumbled upon a peculiar beast.
It looked like a cross between a monkey and a human, muscular and almost as tall as Caelum.
At first, Caelum found its appearance interesting but didn't pay it much mind. He unsheathed his sword, ready to fight.
However, the monkey simply ran away, stopping at a distance to stare at him.
Whenever Caelum sheathed his sword, the beast would approach again, raising its arms as if challenging him to a boxing match.
This cycle repeated three times. Each time Caelum drew his sword, the monkey fled. Each time he sheathed it, the monkey returned.
'Does it want me to fight it barehanded?' Caelum wondered.
This time, he kept his sword sheathed and adopted a barehanded fighting stance.
Subconsciously, he found it hard to take the monkey seriously, though its behavior intrigued him.
Making the first move, Caelum closed the gap and threw a punch.
The monkey didn't run away this time. Instead, it met Caelum's punch with its own!
Bang!
Though its punch was empowered by Qi, the monkey was the one pushed back several feet from the impact.
The result surprised Saya. The beast was at the peak of the Qi Gathering realm!
Caelum didn't escape unscathed either; a dull ache spread through his fist.
The monkey wasn't discouraged by the first exchange. It rushed toward Caelum again. A similar scene played out as man and beast threw punches at each other.
However, this time, the outcome was different. The monkey had done something Caelum could not sense due to his inability to perceive Qi—it had used an ability.
This time, Caelum was forced back several feet. Pain surged through his entire right arm.
Caelum and the monkey locked eyes seriously. This was definitely the most expressive magical beast Caelum had fought so far.
'I don't recall seeing this beast in the encyclopedia,' he thought, slightly frustrated.
He had no idea about its strengths or weaknesses. Still, he trusted his instincts and Saya's watchful presence as he engaged in a fierce battle with the half-monkey magical beast.
At first, they traded punches, incorporating dodges. But it soon became clear that Caelum was at a disadvantage in these exchanges. He began incorporating kicks into his attacks. To his surprise, the monkey revealed it could kick too!
Saya watched, half amused and half amazed, at what resembled an MMA fight in this minor realm. Both fighters had superhuman physiques, and the fight dragged on far longer than a normal duel.
At some point, Caelum deduced that the beast was using an ability to empower its body with Qi. This was the first time he had encountered such a technique.
There's a massive difference between simply infusing attacks with Qi and using a proper ability to enhance one's physical body.
Realizing this, Caelum reverted to a tried-and-true strategy: 'Let them deplete their Qi.'
His fighting style became far more defensive, focusing on evasion. Because, damn, that thing's attacks hurt!
While this strategy allowed him to hold out longer, it wasn't enough. Unlike many of the larger enemies he had faced, this beast was incredibly agile and gave him no breathing room.
Its tail, strong enough to support its entire weight, allowed it to execute all sorts of unpredictable combos. Caelum felt like he was fighting a powerful human with five limbs.
Slowly but surely, the number of injuries Caelum sustained increased. Pain wracked his entire body. Several times, he considered giving up and letting Saya finish the fight.
But something stopped him. He couldn't pinpoint the reason, but Caelum felt an intense desire not to lose this battle.
Throughout the fight, he was trying—trying to improve.
Every hit he took became a lesson, allowing his technique to evolve mid-fight.
And then, it happened. In a moment of enlightenment, all his experiences from this battle and the past three days of hunting coalesced into something new.
[Ding! The ability [Beginner Combat Mastery] has been acquired.]
As the monkey threw another punch, Caelum dodged. But this time, something was different. His movement was more efficient, more fluid. He followed up with a counter, not to injure the beast but to restrict its movement, limiting its options for retaliation.
The nature of the fight shifted. The monkey, though still the aggressor, began attacking in ways Caelum seemed to anticipate. It was no longer dictating the tempo of the battle.
Despite its stronger body, enhanced by its Dao Ability, the fight started to feel equal.
And then, the moment Caelum had been waiting for arrived.
The monkey could no longer sustain its Qi enhancement. After sending a final kick toward Caelum, it backflipped using its tail and other leg, then turned and bolted!
Caelum was surprised by the sudden maneuver but refused to let his prey escape. He gave chase with everything he had. Unfortunately, his battered body didn't seem like it could keep up. The monkey even turned around to mock him once before continuing its retreat.
And that's when it happened. As the monkey turned its back after mocking him, Caelum unsheathed his sword and hurled it with all his strength.
The blade found its mark, lodging deep into the beast's back. The monkey collapsed, turning its gaze toward Caelum with a hint of betrayal, as if to say, 'How could you do this to me?'
Caelum didn't care. He approached and snuffed out its life.
'Devour.'
This was undeniably the toughest enemy Caelum had defeated so far. If this didn't push him past his bottleneck, he didn't know what would.
Fortunately, his prayers were answered. Finally, the notification he had long been waiting for appeared in his system interface.