Somewhere in the [Steel Fang] region, on a small meadow of peculiar rainbow-colored grass surrounded by even more bizarre trees, what looked like a young man floated a few feet above a circle of charred earth, surrounded by a rainbow-colored, mist-like essence that came from beneath.

Long black hair, only blemished by a single streak of white, slowly drifted around him, as if water and not what appeared to be mist surrounded him.

His naked body showed not a single blemish, but in turn, his skin was pink as the one of a baby.

Adding to this image, wisps of a strange black flame floated around, above, and even under him. And the fire was strange indeed, as not only did it give neither smoke nor heat, but it did not even make a single sound.

Suddenly, the young man's eyes opened. But his ebony irises and even the white of his eyes were visible only a single second before they blazed in an even darker hue, turning into an image of the flame wisps that surrounded him.

A few moments later, the eyes returned to normal, and as they closed, the young man clamored, "The fire consumes, the life ends. The fire offers, and life abounds!"

As he finished, the wisps of black flame that surrounded him abruptly expanded, growing in both size and power. But as the fire touched the man, the mist-like substance around him, the earth, and the rainbow-colored grass... Nothing occurred. Or no, it was as if the fire gently caressed without burning!

The sudden engraving inspiration that Bai Qi had obtained as he sparred with Zhua was one that he was grateful to the heavens for.

Bai Qi was sure about managing to create an Earth-tier treasure by refining, but he resented the need to use the respective materials to create something that would have no use except for making his breakthrough. After all, neither his skill nor cauldron were adequate for such creation. And so, both quality and efficacy would suffer.

But the unexpected blessing, one that allowed him to turn into a Rune path Grandmaster, had solved the issue. And just taking enough time to prepare himself, Bai Qi had immediately attempted to break through to the 7th level of the Sage realm.

Thus next morning, when Zhua arrived to continue their stopped fighting, she encountered an exhausted Bai Qi, but one that was no intermediate Sage anymore, but an advanced level one.

Still, that had been not the thing that made Zhua look at Bai Qi with strange eyes and ask what was going up with him, but the strangely jovial mood he was. Granted, he had advanced in his cultivation, but considering that it was neither his first nor last advancement, why was he so joyful as to joke and laugh without stopping?

Bai Qi did forcefully calm himself after his strange conduct was pointed out and even provided a couple of excuses. Still, he had no way to explain it, at least not without revealing his cultivation method. After all, the real reason was the unexpected conditions for the 7th, 8th, and 9th level breakthroughs.

It wasn't the first time that Bai Qi wondered if the cultivation method from the [Master of Everything, Ruler of Nothing] set had its ideas about his needs at a determined moment. After all, no matter how crazy or impossible they could be seen at a determined moment, it was as if the set itself knew that Bai Qi would find a way to complete them. And when he could not, he somehow obtained an insight, inspiration, or another heavens-sent blessing to do so.

He asked himself and instantly agreed that it could not, as on the contrary, that meant that apart from a Demon and whatever else, he had another sentient being inside!

Still, the constant coincidences and the matter that every crazy requirement ended up being beneficial to him later, or even saved his life as the Soul realm ones, was something to dwell upon indeed.

***

It took Bai Qi half a month to achieve the 3rd Step of the first weapon path and breakthrough to the 8th level of the Sage realm. Probably it could have taken less time, but Bai Qi had selected the spear as a way to slow down his progress and get slowly accustomed to his new cultivation level.

The matter of him opening himself to commissions from the pack also affected his pace, as he spent half of the days and nights refining [Storage] bracelets and pendants, weapons and armors, or concocting different Spirit-tier pills that the Beastmen and Beasts required.

And while he never planned to step down from the Martial Path, nevertheless, he enjoyed having the ability to help and, or in some way, improve someone's life. Not to mention that the number of cores, rare herbs, materials, and even beast parts that he was provided both as payment and as raw materials did coax him into accepting a lot more commissions than he first thought initially.

***

As soon as his qi and aura recovered, Bai Qi searched for Zhua, who had been so helpful to him. He planned to challenge her in earnest and to fight until, at last, the winner was made clear.

With his cultivation on the 8th level of the Sage realm and having reached the same spear mastery as her, Bai Qi felt confident. But he found that he wasn't the only one that had improved, as Zhua's core had developed enough, and during the fight, she smoothly entered the 3rd level. Even a normal Saint Beast of such level was somewhere close to the 8th level of the Warrior Lord realm in strength. As for her, she probably could contend with a peak Warrior Lord without losing.

"It seems that I waited for too long!" Bai Qi could only exclaim as it took her only a couple of attacks to send Bai Qi's weapon flying away. And then, send him to follow his spear.

"Rrrr! Pray that for the next time you are ready, I am still on the same level!" She happily roared as Bai Qi conceded, and for the first time, he did not find a way to rebuke her words.

***

During the next two weeks, Bai Qi managed to get his mastery with swords and throwing weapons to the same level, thus completing the requisites for both entering and breaking through the 9th level of the Sage realm. And while he did the former, he stopped himself from the latter. After all, he would not allow himself to miss the Heavens Lost level for the Sage realm.

As he found himself looking forward to it, he could not help but think,

While a non-cultivator would not understand why sensing and connecting to something that supposedly was present everywhere could be so challenging, any cultivator would cross Bai Qi as someone insane without a second thought. After all, how can one even notice the Dao if the actual Dao Sense is unlocked only at the Saint realm?!

But Bai Qi had started planning for it since he restarted his cultivation as a 0th level Body Realm cultivator almost two years ago. A risky plan, as he would directly attempt to cheat and defy the Dao laws themselves, it was still the only way for a Sage to feel the same that a Saint would. Others would point to the [Saint Mind] pills first thought, as they were something meant for Warrior Emperors to break through their realm. So they could be considered a devastating poison for someone below that level, simply because neither the body nor the mind of a lower realm cultivator would resist such strain. The same experts would also mention that the pills would not be effective anyway. After all, their only effect was to allow a Warrior Emperor scarcely sense the same things that a Saint would, and for a very brief time.

Still, Bai Qi did not worry about the pill part.

For the body, it was perfectly possible to reinforce it as to resist the intake of the pill, it would be painful, but still, it was manageable.

For the mind, his consciousness was close to a peak Warrior Emperor anyway. He could not use it in combat because of the strain but like this? He should be able to resist it.

As for the pill's effect, there was even less to worry about. Bai Qi had almost reached the Divine Realm before being assaulted and, almost, killed. Thus, how could he fail to sense something he had before for hundreds of years?

Obviously, there were several hurdles even in what looked like a prepared strategy. But thankfully, neither Bai Rui, Bai Ze, nor any other Beastmen would stop him from doing something to get stronger. They did worry as they felt, even without knowing all the details, that Bai Qi planned something dangerous. But even so, they would do everything possible to help him.

Bai Qi found the perfect place after conveying with the elders and Huo Laohu. Even more, the location not only had the required qi flow but would also help him with what he intended to do. A meadow filled up with the extremely rare [Qi Shengzhang], a Spirit-tier herb that improved both concentration, flow, and elemental exchange in its surroundings.

Then, in exchange for several dozens of requests, Beastmen from the pack scoured the region and uncovered all the ingredients he required.

It took a few days for him to prepare and refine the [Saint Mind] pill, an advanced Earth-tier pill. He also failed twice before the quality reached the 5th level, which was the lowest he was ready to use.

And then, slightly over two months since his arrival, under the escort of Heise Zhao, Zhua, and the always present Bai sisters, he left the camp, promising to return after he finished, although it would be only to say his farewells...