Zhen Len used his control over fire to burn an isoted tree nearby and pced half of the lone wolf's corpse as close to his body as possible before using the Purple Demon Eye technique to absorb the first rays of sunlight. At the same time, he easily broke through the 100-year cultivation threshold.

  The change was immediate and brutal. His body began to tremble as a surge of power overflowed from deep within him, coursing through every corner of his body via his meridians like the current of a river, following the same path used by the Mysterious Heaven Skill technique.

  He felt a dull pain throughout his body, every fiber, every nerve, every bone twisted as if burning from within. It was as though his very body was adapting to the new power that pushed him to the limit of his natural capabilities. He could have let the process run its natural course, allowing the breakthrough to complete in just a couple of hours, as it did with most ordinary soul beasts. But he didn't. Zhen Len slowed down his breakthrough.

  He clenched his teeth so hard that one of his fangs chipped. His consciousness still felt very clear, and that wasn't enough, he had to surpass the limits his body and mind could endure. That's why this self-imposed resistance to the natural breakthrough was exactly what he sought.

  He knew that if he prolonged the process and forced it to stabilize slowly using the cultivation techniques from his past life, his foundation would be more solid, and his power more refined.

  He closed his eyes, channeling part of his spiritual energy into the elemental fire meditation technique, while the Eye of Truth, which seemed to have the Purple Demon Eye technique imprinted into it, began to cultivate it separately, without Zhen Len's direct involvement.The process, however, was significantly slower.

  The fire particles around him, coming from the still-burning tree, moved in sync toward his body with every breath, while it trembled violently, forcing more elemental energy inside him every second.

  After a few minutes, he switched to the Mysterious Heaven Skill , breathing rhythmically as he had practiced thousands of times, focusing on not letting the energy surge overwhelm him.

  He kept each technique active only for brief moments, just enough to avoid mental colpse. He rotated between them with surgical precision, like a bcksmith hammering red-hot metal without letting it cool or melt.

  This intense cultivation process only ended at dawn the next day, when he used the Purple Demon Eye technique for the second time.His brothers, who had been nearby and witnessed the crazy things Zhen Len had done since the previous day, didn't dare approach, fearing he might attack them in his current state. So, they simply turned a blind eye to his strange behavior.

  They were already used to him doing inexplicable things for no apparent reason.

  After quickly devouring the remaining half of the lone wolf's corpse and absorbing the energy from the first rays of sunlight, he activated the first level of the Body Forging technique for the first time.He began using his spiritual power to control his soul power, condensing it into tiny spikes that started drilling into his muscles, tendons, veins, organs, bones… Every part of his body felt as if needles were piercing him from inside and out, making him frown and clench his teeth as his cws and pads, covered in a soft, milky jade glow, pierced the stone he sat on with extreme ease.

  Zhen Len did not scream, despite all the pain he felt. He couldn't afford to waste the momentum he had built with a scream, so he held back.His skin cracked, and cuts opened all over his body, bleeding rapidly, giving him a grim appearance, as if he had been tortured for hours.His fur began falling off in clumps.Even so, he didn't stop the process.

  He could feel his body slowly beginning to recover, but the speed at which it did was incomparably slower than the damage it was taking. Still, he persevered with the same intensity for minutes that turned into hours. Even his body started rejecting the evolution and breakthrough in cultivation in order to preserve life. But Zhen Len, who had great control over his body, prevented that from happening. He continued like this for many more hours, until they turned into days.

  He didn't even try to absorb the first rays of the sun anymore, because the Eye of Truth did it on its own to replenish his spiritual power. Meanwhile, the Mysterious Heaven Skill was being used entirely automatically and instinctively by his body, trying to nourish it with nutrients and soul power using the meat that Zhen Len had not fully digested earlier. All that suffering ended when the blood essence core began to form.

  A small blood vortex manifested inside his body until it slowly took a more spherical and compact form.

  When it was finally complete, a blood core had formed near his abdomen. This core began to aid in Zhen Len's recovery, healing his ever-emerging wounds. Little by little, his recovery became faster than the rate at which new wounds appeared.

  The wounds began to expel a sticky and foul-smelling substance.After a few more hours, Zhen Len finally stopped.

  His body quickly began to stabilize.

  The fur he had lost began to grow back, much stronger than before.Many other changes became evident. His cws grew longer, harder, and sharper, while his pads became much tougher, taking on a milky white tone, just like his cws.

  His teeth and fangs sharpened even more, his size nearly doubled, and a red-and-white mark resembling a colr appeared on his neck.

  The Eye of Truth also showed visible changes. The color of the gem outer edges turned purple, with a much more refined and exquisite design, while the center took on a bright ruby red, different from Zhen Len's intense red hair and eyes.

  Cuando todo esto terminó, Zhen Len yacía sobre roca, empapado en sangre, jadeando. Pero lo había logrado.

  No sólo había alcanzado los 100 a?os de cultivo, sino que había reforzado cada parte de su ser.

  Su cuerpo se había fortalecido, e incluso su poder espiritual había alcanzado el Reino del Mar Espiritual. Su control sobre el elemento fuego también había mejorado considerablemente gracias a su avance espiritual. No solo eso, sino que había vuelto a dominar el corazón elemental del fuego. A este ritmo, dominaría el fuego supremo tras 1000 o incluso 10 000 a?os de cultivo, y lo más importante, se había convertido con éxito en un Rey Zorro Espiritual de Fuego.

  ?Qué cse de bestia del alma logra potenciar su linaje sin haber nacido con él, ni haberlo heredado de sus padres o de algún antepasado?

  A pesar de lo emocionado que estaba Zhen Len por examinar todos los cambios que había experimentado, fatiga por haber gastado tanta energía curando sus heridas, solo para volver a lesionarse repetidamente, combinado con tensión extrema mantenida durante tanto tiempo, le pasó factura.

  En cuestión de segundos, sintió que toda energía abandonaba su cuerpo y se desmayó sobre roca.

  Sus hermanos, que habían presenciado todo el espectáculo, se acercaron lentamente y, después de confirmar que todavía estaba vivo, lo arrastraron de regreso a guarida. Después de todo, desde su perspectiva, él era quien siempre los protegía cuando aparecían bestias del alma mucho más fuertes.

  Si no fuera por él, no tendrían más remedio que abandonar el territorio… y posiblemente convertirse en cena de otra bestia del alma. Y por alguna razón, desde lo más profundo de su ser, sentían que tenían que ayudarlo y obedecerlo.

  Si antes lo hacían simplemente por miedo a que se enojara, por su protección y por s ocasionales recompensas que les daba, ahora le obedecerían porque sentían que debían respetarle desde lo más profundo de su alma.