When Leon finally opened his eyes, he was surrounded by complete darkness.
For a second, his mind went blank. Then the terrifying memories rushed back — the giant Abyssal Blight-Scale Serpent, the desperate leap into the Mirrorwater rift, and the painful fall. He was still inside the shallow grave he had dug for himself.
Leon raised his hands and pushed against the heavy white marble slab above him. He expected it to be extremely heavy, just like when he dragged it over the hole earlier. But to his shock, the massive stone moved easily with just a light shove. He flipped it aside.
Dust fell on his face as the dim purple light of the Sunken Expanse poured into the pit. Leon slowly climbed out and stood up. The first thing he did was check his own body.
His clothes were still stiff with dried blood, but underneath them, something miraculous had happened.
All the deep cuts, ugly bruises, and torn muscles were completely gone. His skin was smooth and perfect again. Heart pounding with excitement, Leon quickly raised his hand to the left side of his head.
His fingers touched warm, smooth skin.
His left ear had grown back!
The Mystillin Maple Herb was so powerful that it had fully regenerated his missing ear. It looked completely normal and he could hear every small sound clearly once more.
A powerful wave of strength and joy rushed through his body. He felt a steady, rhythmic thrumming inside his chest. His profound veins, which used to feel weak and blocked, were now overflowing with vibrant, lively energy.
He closed his eyes and looked inside his meridians.
His eyes snapped open in pure shock.
He had broken through!
He was no longer at the Elementary Profound Realm. The pure vitality from the Mystillin Maple Herb had violently pushed him into a whole new stage.
He had reached the **Middle Level of the Nascent Profound Realm**!
In this realm, a cultivator's body went through a major transformation. The profound energy no longer just made the body tougher — it started to flow automatically inside the meridians without needing constant control. It felt like a gentle river of power that moved on its own, constantly nourishing every muscle, bone, and organ. At this level Leon could finally menifest spells and magic .
Steady ,sharper, and a warm, steady stream of energy circulated through him naturally. Even his blood seemed richer and more alive. This was the true beginning of becoming a real cultivator. From now on, profound energy would protect and strengthen him even when he wasn't actively using it.
Because the first herb felt so good, Leon reached into his bag and took out a second Mystillin Maple Herb. He chewed it quickly, hoping to get even stronger. The warm healing energy spread through his body again, making him feel completely awake and refreshed. But this time… his cultivation did not rise any further. He stayed at the Middle Level of the Nascent Profound Realm.
Leon realized something important. The Mystillin Maple Herb could only push a person's cultivation up once. Eating more would only heal and refresh the body, but it would not give extra breakthroughs. Still, having these powerful healing herbs was an amazing treasure to have.
He sat down on the marble slab and let out a long, tired sigh.
The last few days had been the hardest of his entire life. He thought back to his past. He wasn't just some random boy. He was the abandoned Prince of the Chromewell Empire. His own father and siblings had thrown him away like trash and sent him to the barren Fittora Barony. People in the palace used to mock him endlessly, calling him the "crippled trash prince." He used to think those cruel words were the worst pain in the world.
But words were nothing compared to this.
The physical torment he had suffered recently — the crushing pressure, the tearing pain, the feeling of death breathing down his neck — was true nightmare fuel. And he knew the truth: he was now deep inside the Mid Region of the Tortoise Wetlands. The days ahead would be even more brutal. He had to be ready for anything.
Leon looked up at the bruised purple sky, picked a random direction, and started walking.
He needed to find a way out of this dead place. When he returned to Fittora, he would sell the extra Mystillin Maple Herbs. After seeing their miraculous effects with his own eyes, he knew they would fetch an enormous amount of money — far more than enough to pay off the Dark Horses bandits. That money could definitely elevate the conditions of fittora .
Leon walked for a full day.
Slowly, the glowing red pillars of High-Grade Spirit Stones faded into the distance behind him until they disappeared completely.
As the crystals vanished, the scenery around him changed dramatically.
He had entered the true heart of the Sunken Expanse.
It was a breathtaking yet terrifying sight — the remains of a once-mighty civilization slowly eaten away by time. Massive collapsed domes the size of small mountains lay broken on the ground. Giant half-destroyed statues stood everywhere, but they were not of humans. They were demi-humans with animal ears, tails, scales, and fierce expressions. Their faces had been completely worn blank by thousands of years of wind and dust. The ground beneath his boots changed from dirt to large cracked paving stones made of black jade.
Everywhere he looked, there were deep craters and long jagged scars in the earth, as if mighty cultivators had fought a devastating war here long ago. Thick glowing blue moss covered the broken buildings. The sheer depth of history in this place made Leon feel as small as an ant.
And it was no longer completely silent.
From the distant ruins, he could hear the chilling cries of unknown creatures. High-pitched screeches echoed through the broken archways, reminding him that this dead city was still very much alive with danger.
Leon kept his head low and continued walking for another half day.
Eventually, the broken black stone streets gave way to a dense, overgrown jungle. Giant twisted trees with thick green leaves had burst through the ancient roads, turning the ruins into a wild forest.
Suddenly, Leon's ears twitched.
**Clank! Clank! Swish!**
The sharp, clear sound of swords clashing against something hard rang through the air.
Leon quickly lowered his body and moved silently through the thick bushes toward the noise. He hid behind the massive moss-covered trunk of a fallen tree and carefully peeked over the top.
In a small clearing ahead, four young humans were locked in a fierce battle.
Leon's breath caught in his throat.
They were fighting a massive, terrifying monster. It looked like a dragon, but horribly wrong. It had the ugly scaly face of a giant lizard, two thick blue tails covered in sharp spikes, and two huge leathery bat wings on its back. The creature was furious. It roared loudly and breathed huge pillars of orange flames from its mouth. It also spat pools of acidic venom that melted the ancient stones on contact. Its two heavy blue tails lashed out, crushing everything in their path.
Leon tried to sense the lizard-dragon's cultivation level, but it was impossible. The monster's profound energy felt like a Humongous ocean — far beyond what he could measure.
Then he looked at the four humans. They all wore clean white and silver robes with soaring sword emblems on their chests. To his shock, they looked to be around the same age as him!
He focused his senses on them. He couldn't measure the tall leader's power at all — it was completely hidden. But he could sense the other three. Two of the swordsmen were at the Mid True Profound Realm . The third one was a beautiful girl radiating a sharp, powerful aura — she was at the Peak True Profound Realm.
Leon watched in complete awe.
The four youths fought with perfect teamwork.
The dragon-lizard roared and spat a massive fireball at them. The two Mid True Profound boys didn't even flinch. They crossed their shining silver swords and created a bright barrier of pure sword energy that completely blocked the flames.
While the beast was distracted, the girl in the Peak True Profound Realm made her move. She jumped off her teammates' shoulders, soared high into the air, and swung her glowing sword downward. A massive crescent wave of sword energy slashed straight into the beast's back.
**SLASH!**
One of the dragon-lizard's leathery wings was cleanly severed. Black blood sprayed everywhere.
The beast shrieked in pain and whipped its spiked blue tails toward the girl. But before the tails could reach her, the leader finally acted.
The calm young man didn't shout or show off. He simply vanished from his spot and reappeared right under the monster's ugly lizard face. Just as the beast opened its mouth to attack again, the leader thrust his sword upward.
The thin silver blade pierced straight through the bottom of the creature's jaw and sank deep into its brain.
The massive lizard-dragon froze. Its glowing eyes dimmed, and it collapsed to the ground with a heavy, earth-shaking thud. It was dead.
Leon's jaw dropped. The beast had been terrifying, yet these four people his own age had killed it in just a few minutes with flawless coordination.
Without wasting any time, the four cultivators pulled out small hunting knives and quickly harvested the valuable parts — the fangs, the spikes from the blue tails, and the profound energy core. As soon as they cut something off, they waved their hands and the pieces simply vanished into thin air.
Spatially Storage Rings… Leon thought with burning jealousy. They all have them!
Once the beast was fully harvested, the girl and the two boys started cleaning their swords, laughing and chatting like it was nothing special.
But the leader didn't clean his sword. Instead, he slowly wiped his hands on a cloth and turned his head.
He looked past his teammates.
He looked past the dead beast.
He looked directly at the giant moss-covered tree trunk where Leon was hiding.
Leon froze, his heart pounding wildly.
Did he see me?
The leader smiled gently. His calm voice echoed clearly across the jungle clearing.
"Little brother," he said softly but firmly, "you can come out now. I can feel your presence."