*Name:* Kaelan
*Species:* Crow (Void Monster)
*Life:* Immortal
*Essence:* 9.37 (0)
*Energy:* 1.02 (1)
*Spirit:* 4.01 (2)
Kaelan's Energy had finally entered Tier One Transcendence.
However, he had not advanced through any established Transcendent Path.
In this world, beasts could naturally absorb and refine Transcendent Energy.
He had merely accelerated that process through his own understanding.
Had he advanced through a true Transcendent Path, he would have gained unique abilities tied to that path.
Transcendent Paths were similar to Laws.
Two body cultivation paths might both strengthen the physical body, yet a path based on the Law of Blood and another based on the Law of Particles would produce entirely different results.
Each path carried its own strengths, weaknesses, and special abilities.
After reaching Tier One, Kaelan did not continue cultivating.
Instead, he stretched his wings and muttered,
"Let's celebrate with a meal."
He stepped out of the cave and emerged onto the hillside.
Standing beneath the open sky, he gazed across the endless forest.
Judging by the position of the sun, it was around noon.
He spread his wings.
Without a single flap, he launched himself into the air.
Energy erupted beneath him.
The force propelled him skyward like a rocket.
Only after gaining altitude did he begin beating his wings.
As he soared through the sky, he searched for prey.
This time, he intended to hunt something larger.
Small animals were no longer worth his effort.
Now that he possessed a basic understanding of the surrounding region, he headed south, deeper into demon territory.
Several hours later, his energy perception detected a Tier Two aura in the distance.
Without hesitation, he altered his course.
Although his Spirit could contend with a Tier Two Demon, he had no interest in a battle that offered no benefit.
As he searched for prey, another thought surfaced.
I need spells.
His cultivation had advanced, yet he possessed no true combat techniques.
A short while later, he noticed a herd of beasts moving through the forest below.
His gaze immediately settled upon their leader.
The creature stood nearly seven feet tall.
Its energy signature had reached the peak of the Apprentice Tier.
At first glance, it resembled a deer.
However, two pairs of antlers grew from its head, and scales covered its body instead of fur.
Kaelan locked onto his target.
Then he folded his wings and plunged from the sky.
Energy surged around his body.
His form became a spinning black projectile.
The wind screamed around him as he descended.
At the final moment, he spread his wings and extended his claws.
His talons clamped onto the back of the deer's neck.
Using the momentum of his dive, he drove the beast toward the ground.
Before impact, Kaelan heard the unmistakable sound of bones shattering.
The combination of his speed and strength had snapped the creature's neck instantly.
Boom!
The earth trembled.
Dust exploded outward.
The herd scattered in panic.
When the dust finally settled, their leader lay motionless within a crater.
Perched upon its body was a small black crow.
The crow had already begun eating.
The beasts froze briefly before turning and fleeing.
They were not ordinary animals.
Each possessed traces of Transcendent Energy and a degree of intelligence.
They immediately understood a simple truth.
They were no match for the crow.
Running was their only chance of survival.
Kaelan did not spare them a glance.
His attention remained fixed on his meal.
Piece by piece, he tore flesh from the carcass and swallowed it.
Warm blood stained his beak.
The rich life force contained within the beast flowed into his body.
He could clearly feel his Essence improving.
This was one of the benefits of advancing his Energy to Tier One.
Essence and Spirit stood at opposite ends of existence.
The stronger one's Spirit became, the more difficult it became to improve Essence.
Between those extremes stood Energy.
That was why so many cultivation systems began with Energy cultivation.
Energy served as a bridge connecting body and soul.
Kaelan intended to create his own cultivation path around that principle.
As his Energy advanced, both Essence and Spirit would naturally improve alongside it.
The reason he sensed almost no growth in Spirit was simple.
His Spirit had already reached Tier Two, while his Energy had only recently entered Tier One.
Until his Energy caught up, any increase in Spirit would remain insignificant.
Furthermore, pursuing any path unrelated to Void Energy felt fundamentally wrong.
He was a Void Monster.
His path should naturally lead toward the Void.
Halfway through the carcass, Kaelan suddenly stopped eating.
He raised his head and looked toward the sky.
A Tier One flying beast had entered his perception range and was rapidly approaching.
Moments later, he spotted it.
A crow nearly four feet tall descended from above.
Its metallic feathers gleamed beneath the afternoon sun like polished steel.
The newcomer circled overhead before diving toward the ground.
Kaelan concealed the strength of his Spirit and revealed only the aura of a Tier One Energy cultivator.
The metallic crow landed several meters away.
It opened its beak and spoke.
The language was unfamiliar.
Kaelan immediately recognised it as the Demon Language.
When no response came, the metallic crow tilted its head.
Francis silently considered the situation.
Perhaps this fellow crow only understood Human Language.
Many demon beasts raised near human settlements learned Human Language before Demon Language.
Switching languages, Francis spoke again.
"Brother, where are you from? I have never seen you before."
Kaelan tore another piece of meat from the carcass and swallowed it before replying.
"What does that have to do with you?"
Francis was not offended.
Instead, he became even more convinced of his theory.
In his mind, this crow had clearly experienced a tragic past.
Perhaps he had been born within human territory and suffered at the hands of cruel humans.
That would explain his hostility and caution.
Feeling sympathetic, Francis smiled.
"Brother, my name is Francis. I came to invite you to join my clan."
Kaelan stared at him for a moment.
Then he lowered his head and resumed eating.
"No."
He took another bite.
"And get lost. Don't disturb me while I'm eating."
Francis blinked.
The rejection was so direct that even he felt awkward.
Still, he did not become angry.
Powerful demon beasts often possessed strange temperaments.
Perhaps this crow simply needed time.
Francis spread his metallic wings and rose into the air.
As dust swirled beneath him, he called out one final sentence.
"Brother, I will visit you again."
Then he flew away.
Kaelan watched him disappear into the distance.
A strange expression appeared in his eyes.
He doesn't even know where I live.
How exactly does he plan to visit me again?
Shrugging the matter aside, he lowered his head and continued eating.
Before long, only bones remained.
Satisfied, he returned to his cave.
The journey passed quietly.
Once inside, he settled near the centre of the cavern.
His thoughts shifted toward a problem that had occupied his mind for some time.
Combat techniques.
His Energy cultivation had reached Tier One, yet he possessed no methods of properly utilising it.
A cultivator without techniques was like a soldier carrying a weapon without knowing how to use it.
Dark streams of Energy slowly flowed from his body.
They floated around him like ribbons of violet mist.
Kaelan concentrated and began shaping them.
First into lines.
Then into spheres.
Then into blades.
Again and again, the forms collapsed.
Again and again, he rebuilt them.
The cave remained silent except for the faint hum of energy.
For the first time since entering Tier One, Kaelan began taking the first steps toward creating spells of his own.
He opened his beak.
A small violet pellet of Energy condensed before his tongue.
The pellet was no larger than a marble.
Under the moonlight, it emitted a faint glow.
Kaelan locked onto a distant tree with his Spirit and released it.
The projectile streaked through the air and struck the bark.
Pop.
The pellet burst apart upon impact.
A shallow dent appeared on the trunk.
The damage was insignificant.
It would not have seriously injured an ordinary human.
Yet Kaelan felt satisfied.
It was a beginning.
Every spell started as a crude prototype.
The next step was refinement.
He carefully examined the pellet's structure.
The spherical shape wasted momentum.
A streamlined form would travel faster and strike harder.
He began reshaping the energy.
Gradually, the pellet transformed into a bullet-like projectile.
Then another problem emerged.
A bullet alone was not enough.
In his previous life, a bullet's destructive power came from the explosive force behind it.
The same principle could be applied to Energy.
He controlled energy particles and forced them to collide.
The collisions released bursts of power.
His idea was simple.
Create an energy bullet.
Generate an explosion behind it.
Use the resulting force to propel the projectile at tremendous speed.
The theory was sound.
The execution was not.
Kaelan formed the bullet within his beak.
The moment he triggered the explosion, disaster struck.
Bang!
The bullet detonated before it could leave his mouth.
The structure collapsed into scattered energy.
The explosion echoed throughout the cave.
Had his body been weaker, he might have injured himself.
Kaelan remained motionless.
Then he calmly analysed the failure.
The explosion itself had not been the problem.
The structure of the bullet had been too fragile.
The sudden force had shattered it before launch.
He needed a stronger framework.
A harder shell.
A more stable internal structure.
So he started over.
Again and again, he rebuilt the spell.
Each failure taught him something.
Each improvement increased the bullet's stability.
Eventually, sunlight poured through the cave entrance.
Kaelan stepped outside and prepared another test.
A violet bullet condensed before his beak.
This version appeared far denser than the previous attempts.
The energy inside flowed in carefully ordered layers.
An explosion erupted behind the bullet.
This time, the structure held.
The projectile shot forward like a streak of violet light.
Boom!
The bullet struck a tree.
The moment it made contact, the compressed energy destabilised and exploded.
Wood fragments scattered through the air.
A large section of bark and timber vanished from the trunk.
Kaelan carefully observed the results.
An ordinary creature would die instantly from such an attack.
Even weaker Apprentice Transcendents would struggle to survive a direct hit.
The spell had finally become practical.
Yet Kaelan remained dissatisfied.
The projectile was still too weak.
Its speed could be improved.
Its penetration could be improved.
Its explosive force could be improved.
Most importantly, its energy consumption could be reduced.
A spell suitable for Tier One and Tier Two cultivators required efficiency as much as power.
Satisfied with the test, Kaelan returned to his cave.
He travelled deep into its interior until all traces of outside light disappeared.
There, he settled comfortably upon the stone floor.
His eyes slowly closed.
Within his mind, countless possibilities emerged.
Should the bullet rotate to increase penetration?
Should multiple layers of compressed energy be added?
Should the projectile remain stable until impact before releasing its explosive force?
Should a single bullet split into several smaller projectiles?
One idea followed another.
One possibility after another underwent calculation.
The cave fell silent.
Only the faint glow of Energy illuminated the darkness.
Kaelan devoted himself entirely to deduction.
He had no intention of creating a spell capable of threatening higher realms.
That was unrealistic.
A Tier One spell should be used against Tier One opponents.
A Tier Two spell should be refined to challenge Tier Two opponents.
Anything beyond that could wait until his cultivation advanced further.
For now, his goal was simple.
To create the strongest Energy Bullet possible for his current realm.