Chapter 1125: Part 2: Tier-4, 2nd Rank - Early Stage

Wilderness (Special Base)

Jeremy Night, who was practicing his blade moves, suddenly felt a change in his body. He was stunned. He stopped swinging the blade for a second and focused on his body.

He couldn’t tell what was going on, but the cells in his body were going crazy for some reason. He immediately thought of Stella; he felt something was happening to her.

When the realization dawned on him, he sheathed his blade and started heading toward the wilderness.

He had a strong connection with his bonded lifeline beast, allowing him to sense her location through the contract. He began following the sensation.

"Feathered Steps."

In the blink of an eye, he executed the footwork technique to cover the vast distance. He could clearly spot the obstacles ahead and bypass them with rapid movements.

However, he did not use his speed ability. He was unaware of her current situation; if a dire need arose to save her, he would use it then.

As time passed, he drew closer to her. He sensed that his cells were growing far hungrier, a sensation he experienced only during a breakthrough.

He wondered whether Stella had found an opportunity for a breakthrough. Rushing toward the location, he encountered several corrupted beasts along the way, but he ignored them.

An hour later,

He reached his destination, but it turned out to be the border of the wilderness. He had not expected to end up here. Activating his visual technique, he scanned his entire surroundings.

He found no trace of her. His gaze then shifted toward the horizon across the border. He closed his eyes to feel the connection, then raised his head and looked ahead.

A serious expression settled on his face.

He sensed her connection originating from the unknown lands, and from a great distance away. He had not expected her to travel so deep. Left with no choice, he made up his mind and crossed the border.

Swoosh!

Using his movement technique, he dashed toward the location.

Meanwhile,

Stella was digesting the remaining golden energy. Her peak stage had stabilized, yet her strength continued to climb beyond it. She was surprised by her own condition.

If she seized this opportunity, she could achieve another breakthrough. She activated her speed ability to harvest the remaining fruit on the tree.

These fruits contained a lower concentration of natural energy compared to the golden fruit, but they held enough energy for her to make a final push.

She left some fruit behind for Jeremy Night and consumed the rest.

Soon, the energy surged through her body, merging with the residual power to help her shatter the peak-stage bottleneck.

Her body began radiating a multicolored glow. Stella could sense through their bond that Jeremy Night was approaching, which brought her relief.

It didn’t take long for the rush of energy to shatter the peak-stage barrier. Her strength broke into the 2nd Rank, a major breakthrough from the 1st Rank to the 2nd Rank.

Tier-4, 2nd Rank — Early Stage

She had officially stepped into the 2nd Rank. Her body underwent further transformation, and her strength grew significantly, far exceeding that of the 1st Rank.

Because it was a major breakthrough, she could not rely on the fruits’ energy alone. She began drawing in the natural energy from her surroundings.

Boom!

The sudden absorption created a vortex. Natural energy from the vicinity drifted toward her and vanished noiselessly into her body.

As her 2nd Rank power steadily stabilized, Stella felt she was finally out of danger.

However, she did not realize that her current location was perilous. The environmental disturbance had been sensed by several resting high-tier beasts.

Most paid it no heed at first, but a Tier-8 beast showed interest. Unlike the others, this beast ruled the skies.

It was an avian high-tier beast that had detected the fluctuations on the ground. Far from an ordinary beast, it was a genuine Tier-8 monster. The avian beast darted toward the source.

Driven by curiosity, it sought to inspect the area. If any beast were undergoing a breakthrough, it wanted to investigate.

Boom!

The flying beast streaked toward the coordinates.

As time ticked away,

Stella managed to stabilize her 2nd Rank power just in time. Right then, she sensed a looming threat closing in.

The next second, she released her mental sense to scan the area, extending her perception over 500 meters out.

She spotted an approaching silhouette in the distance, her vision resolving the creature’s appearance clearly.

It was a flying Tier-8 beast closing in on her location. It would only be a matter of time before it reached her.

She had to prepare. Unaware of Jeremy Night’s exact state, she still needed to send feedback energy to him through the bond.

Through their connection, she could tell he was getting closer.

Boom!

The next second, she made her decision. Vanishing from the spot, she soared high into the sky to confront the incoming Tier-8 beast.

Any other lifeline beast would have been terrified at the sight of a Tier-8 beast, but she remained confident in her strength.

Swoosh!

In the blink of an eye, the massive beast, over five meters in size, dominated the sky, its giant wings spanning more than three meters across.

Her six-winged butterfly form appeared minuscule before the gargantuan hybrid avian beast.

Yet Stella showed no fear. Flapping her wings steadily, her compound eyes locked onto the hybrid bird’s face.

The avian beast possessed a massive beak, capable of launching a devastating strike at will. Yet, having been curious from the start, it hesitated.

It was taken aback. It wondered how such a small beast possessed the nerve to face it head-on, confronting it eye-to-eye.

Nevertheless, the Tier-8 beast could easily see through the butterfly’s strength, she was weaker even than typical mid-tier beasts.

Meanwhile,

Jeremy Night continued speeding through the unknown land. The last time he had ventured here, things had ended poorly.

Now, he has returned. He realized his lifeline beast must have achieved a breakthrough, yet an ominous sense of crisis weighed heavily on his mind.