us stumbled backward, struggling to keep his bnce. The fear and pain were almost too much to bear. His sword was barely staying in his grasp, and his breaths came in ragged gasps. The snake''s reltless attacks were pushing him to his limits.


    "This is not how I fall, I refuse to believe this is how I fall" us shouted lifting his own spirit as he faced off against the lighting snake.


    Just wh it seemed like us might copse, something inside him began to change. A surge of ergy started to build within him, and his vision cleared. The pain was still there, but it was now apanied by a fierce determination.


    us''s grip on his sword tighted. His bloodied hands gripped the hilt with rewed strgth. He felt a strange, powerful force flowing through him as if his very soul was igniting with a new power.


    The snake lunged again, but this time us was ready. He roared defiantly, his voice echoing through the area. With a powerful swing, he unleashed another ice arc, but this one was differt. It was sharper, faster, and coated with a faint gold ergy.


    The ice arc met the lightning snake with a resounding crash. The creature''s roar was cut off as the arc sliced through its body, freezing parts of it solid. The lightning snake convulsed and writhed, its attacks faltering.


    us was delighted so he pressed the advantage, unleashing ev more terrifying attacks. His strikes were precise, and the snake''s movemts became sluggish. The ice arc continued to cut through the creature, reducing its lightning power and weaking it.


    "My turn now, you monsters" us''s confidce surged as he began to regain his footing. His attacks grew more intse and erratic. The ice arc emanating from his sword became significantly stronger and more lethal.


    "Is this what it means to understand the will of the sword?" us muttered, clearly relishing the battle. If he could defeat the lightning snake, he would pass the tribtion. Determined, he spared no effort in his assault.


    -


    -


    -


    Away from the tribtion zone, thedy watched in awe as us unleashed devastating attacks on the monster.


    "Heavs, to think he is on the track to awak sword aura this early. This kid is a monster," she eximed, astonished by us''s power.


    "This kid must be protected before the great families get their hands on him. I need to report this to the higher-ups," she thought, scanning the battlefield. But th, she frowned.


    "He clearly needed privacy, which is why he came here. Reporting this will only draw more atttion. I''ll just keep an eye on him for now," she decided. Despite her resolution, she was deeply unsettled by what she had witnessed.


    Back in the tribtion zone, us had finally managed to destroy half the lightning snake. Now that he was in control, he made sure to inflict great damage knowing that the Snake was not alive. But to release stress, he made sure to torture it.


    "You can die now," us muttered. With a fierce roar, he delivered a decisive blow. His sword cleaved through the lightning snake, slicing it in two. The monster dispersed into runes and merged with us.


    As the clouds parted, revealing a clear sky, us copsed. Exhausted, he fell onto the g, his body battered with brok bones and wounds.


    As fatigue set in, us felt a surge of ergy erupts from within him. Everything wt ck. As he lost consciousness, a  icy mist burst from his body, cocooning him in a dome of ice.


    Not far away, thedy in  appeared, her gaze fixed curiously on the ice dome.


    "This is unusual," she murmured. "Aside from the tribtion, he''s also undergoing aplete evolution. This kid is full of surprises. I can''t afford to lose sight of him."


    After observing the cocoon for a while without noticing anything else of interest, she decided to retreat and conceal her presce.


    The ice cocoon remained undisturbed for  hours before it began to crack. The cracks started siltly, but soon they wided, more fractures appearing across the surface. Suddly, the cocoon burst op, sding shards flying. A  mist rose from within.


    As the mist dissipated, a young man with  hair appeared, sitting in a lotus position. us''s hair had transformed from ck to  and had grown slightly longer. His eyes were now gold with a hint of . His cheekbones seemed restructured, making him look more handsome and refined.


    The currt him is ough to raise mor wh he appears in public. His  natural hair and gold eyes made both his appearance and gaze chanting. In short, he has be a charmer, one who doesn''t have to op his mouth to get what he wants.


    His biceps were well-developed, showcasing a finely cut six-pack. His muscles had also developed, giving him a more fit and athletic physique.


    Suddly, a burst of icy ergy erupted from us''s body, sding mist swirling into the air. He slowly stood up and retrieved arge ck shirt from his storage ring.


    "Good thing I bought more clothesst time," us muttered to himself. As he was about to examine his newly transformed body, he suddly turned his gaze in a specific direction, his eyes narrowing. He stared at the spot for a few breaths before looking away.


    "Strange, I felt like something was watching me from there. Maybe I''ve just be too ssitive after leveling up," us remarked, brushing off the feeling.


    Meanwhile, thedy''s eyes wided in shock in a concealed area. She was clearly surprised by us''s sudd awaress.


    "This kid is interesting," she murmured with a smile. "He almost discovered me." Instead of being scared, a slightly mischievous smile appeared on her lips and she continued to observe us.


    us now d in an oversized ck shirt stood there with his sword in his grip, his gaze on the scre showing his stats.


    Name: us Hanson


    Age: 6


    Talt: Celestial Elemtal Overlord


    ss: Weapons Overlord


    Bloodline: Dormant


    Physique: Nine Reincarnation Divine Body


    Realm: Ascded - Lvl: /


    Strgth: 330 | Agility: 370 |Stamina: 340 |Defse:00 | Intelligce: 00| Health:


    Spiritual Qi: ,7,800


    Stat Points: 700


    "Looks like I''ve gained 0 points in every attribute, plus an additional 00 after breaking through to the Ascded stage. This is good, really good," us murmured, smiling slightly as he observed his stats. His strgth had increased several times over.


    "Tier 4 monsters won''t pose much of a threat to me, ev if theye in hordes," us said to himself. "Maybe I should find a team and join temporarily so I can start tering the Forbidd Zones."


    The Forbidd Zones were areas off-limits to most people, especially those like us whocked significant backing. These ces were home to stronger and more dangerous monsters. It was said that these monsters possessed a Core, which, once obtained, could be used to hance one''s strgth.


    Experts imed that the spiritual qi in the Forbidd Zones was much dser than in normal forests. Because of this, the monsters there were able to form cores. This also meant that a Tier  monster in a Forbidd Zone could be as powerful as a Tier 4 monster in an ordinary forest.


    But these ces are off-limits to ordinary people. To ter a Forbidd Zone, one must be part of a registered team, and that team must gain permission under strict regtions. If us wanted to vture into these zones, he would need to join a team first.


    "I guess I''ll have to go see Uncle Ziggy and see if he can hook me up," us decided. With that in mind, he checked his progress board.


    [Next Level Up: ,000/,8,800 ]


    [Remark: After each level up, ,000,000 will be added to the next EXP requiremt.]


    "Fuck, This is cheating!" us cursed in frustration. "If the heavs want me stronger, why are they making it so hard?"


    But hisints were heard by only two people—himself and thedy who had be secretly watching him.


    "Adding a million points after each level-up is just cruel. But I guess it''s better than the previous times wh it doubles after each level," he muttered to himself. Normally, after ascding, the EXP requiremt only increases by 0,000 to 500,000 with each level. For us, though, it was a staggering  million.


    "Huh, strange. Why isn''t there a new skill added to my list?" us muttered with a frown. During his battle with the lightning snake, he had ssed a new skill awaking within him. But strangely, it wasn''t showing up on his skills list.


    "I can remember the feeling of the skill, but it''s not here. Where did ite from?" us wondered aloud, but with no answer in sight, he turned away, gripping his sword ev tighter. "Maybe it''ll show up once I truly learn it," he decided.


    us took a deep breath and focused his mind. He closed his eyes, recalling the ssation he felt during the fight—the surge of power, the connection with his sword, the intse focus.


    Suddly, us''s sword began to glow red, and the temperature a him started to rise rapidly. He could feel the intse heat surging from the de. "This feeling... it''s the Moon sh, but differt," us muttered.


    As the sword continued to glow, us''s spiritual qi surged, amplifying the heat ev further. The power within the sword was growing by leaps and bounds, far beyond what he had ever expericed before.


    "Huh, what is this gold ergy in the me?" us wondered as he noticed a distinct gold ergy swirling within the mes that veloped his sword. It seemed to be hancing the strgth of the attack, making it ev more pott. Excited by this newfound power, us grinned. "Let''s see what you''re made of."


    He turned his gaze toward a cluster of towering trees in the distance. They were thick and sturdy, their bark nearly impervious to normal attacks. But us was confidt that this new power would cut through them like butter.


    He took a deep breath, feeling the power build within him, th shed his sword diagonally. With a loud boom, a powerful arc of pure red mes, coated in that strange gold ergy, shot out from the sword.


    The arc of mes tore through the trees, slicing through them as if they were nothing more than paper.


    "So, this is the true power of the Moon sh," us muttered and th burst into a resoundingughter.