Li Yuan opened his eyes slowly, and stared at the jagged stone ceiling of the cave. He got up from the makeshift bed and let out a yawn. Then, he looked outside and saw that it was already dawn.

  He sniffed himself and grimaced. Seems like sleeping in the Shadow Leopard's lair had its upsides and downsides. Upside being that thanks to its lingering aura, weaker spirit beasts kept their distance. Downside being that he now smelled like shit. Literally.

  He rolled onto his side and sat up, flexing his fingers.

  This was the third day since he arrived in this forest. During that time, he had saved a few other participants, gathered a few low level opportunities, and hunted spirit beasts. So, so many spirit beasts.

  He stepped outside the cave and inhaled the cool morning air. No beasts nearby. No disciples either. Good.

  He ate some spirit beast meat he'd cooked over a fire, rinsed his face in a nearby stream, and gathered the bundle resting beside the cave wall.

  A bundle that was filled with spirit herbs, rare crystal, the beast core of the Shadow Leopard and other such valuables that he'd found within the forest.

  The bundle itself was something that he'd made from the robes of another outer sect disciple. An older boy that he hadn't been able to save.

  By the time he'd arrived, that disciple had already died from the ambush of a pair of Spirit Beasts. He'd killed those spirit beasts in turn, and had taken the robes of the Outer Sect disciple for his own use.

  He tied the bundle to his back, unwilling to leave it behind in case some disciple stumbled onto this place and found it by chance. The beast core of the shadow leopard alone was worth at least fifty thousand spirit stones. Likely more.

  Once prepared, he covered his body with Veil of Borrowed Heaven, and began moving.

  He had already taken many of the low level opportunities within the forest. And saved many of the disciples that needed to be saved. Only one person remained, after which he could go and deal with his primary focus for this expedition. A Green Halo treasure.

  He adjusted course slightly and reached the base of a waterfall an hour later. The roar of descending water masked most other sounds in the vicinity. Mist sprayed into the air as he stepped through the waterfall. Beneath the curtain of water, wedged between dark stones, something shimmered faintly.

  He crouched and pried loose a translucent crystal embedded in the rock. It pulsed softly with condensed Qi, a water spirit crystal likely formed over decades of mineral saturation beneath the waterfall's pressure.

  Worth a few thousand spirit stones in the market.

  He turned it once in his hand before storing it carefully. Another addition to his growing cache.

  When he emerged from the water, he caught the scene of blood in the air. He slowed and changed his direction immediately.

  He arrived at a clearing that was littered with the corpses of Early Stage First Grade Ground Mole Rats. Cut open by a sharp blade, their right ears taken for the exam.

  Some distance away from them, sat a pair of Two-Tailed Fox. Happily munching on the corpse of the cultivator who had killed those Ground Mole Rats.

  He could already see a picture forming in his mind. The disciple had lured the Ground Mole Rats to this place by some method and slaughtered them. Afterward, as he was collecting the trophies, the scent of the blood drew in a pair of Two-tailed Foxes. And they ambushed and killed the man.

  Worst part was that he remembered this guy. He was one of those disciples that he'd managed to save by killing one of the other disciple. Alas, it seemed that doing still wasn't enough to save him.

  He sighed. It was not like he knew them or anything. He would try to save them because of his own mortality. But if they died regardless, then that's on them. It's not as if they don't know how dangerous this tournament could be.

  That didn't mean he won't take advantage of this guy's demise.

  With his Veil on, the pair of Two-Tailed Foxes never even sensed him coming before he swung his sword and sent an arc of Sword energy that cut both of them in half. The spirit beasts died without even knowing what killed them.

  He immediately summoned his Stele and started feeding it all the corpses in the clearing. Be it the Ground Mole Rats, the Two-tailed foxes, or the human cultivator. The guy was already dead, so it's not like he'll protest him making use of his corpse like this.

  Then, finally looked at the points he'd gathered thus far: 4213.

  'Noice!' He thought, before he opened the Stele's interface.

  The Heavenly Star Refining Sutra required 4000 points to reach the realm of Perfection. But… his gaze slid downward to the Veil of Borrowed Heave and Spirit Reside Following Technique, both of which were already at the realm of Perfection. And he made his decision, transferring points to both those techniques till they reached Complete Perfection.

  His end Status looked like this:

  NAME: Li Yuan

  AGE: 14

  CULTIVATION: 7th Stage Qi Condensation

  SKILLS

  Heavenly Star Refining Sutra — 1/4000 (Major Accomplishment)

  Mountain-Splitting Stillness Sword – 600/600 (Complete Perfection)

  Shadow-Cloud Steps – 800/800 (Complete Perfection)

  Veil of Borrowed Heaven – 2400/2400 (Complete Perfection)

  Spirit Residue Following Technique – 1000/1000(Complete Perfection)

  1st-Tier Formation Breaking — 800/800 (Complete Perfection)

  2nd-Tier Formation Breaking — 1/400 (Moderate Accomplishment)

  1st-Grade Spirit Herb Cultivation – 800/800 (Complete Perfection)

  1st-Tier Formation Crafting — 800/800 (Complete Perfection)

  2nd-Tier Formation Crafting — 1/400 (Moderate Accomplishment)

  CURRENT POINTS: 2079

  The four techniques he had bought from the Scripture Pavilion that day had all reached Complete Perfection. And that filled the inner perfectionist within him with great joy.

  Now, only Heavenly Star Refining Sutra remained. But that technique would require a total of 12,000 points to reach Complete Perfection. Which was… too much, even for him.

  For that many points, he could learn four other basic skills like Alchemy, Artefact Refinement, Beast Taming, etc to 1st tier Complete Perfection.

  Plus, the Heavenly Star Refining Sutra already made his cultivation over 20x faster than his previous cultivation. So it's not like he really needed the boost in cultivation. Maybe once he has reached Foundation Establishment and his cultivation has slowed down. But for now, he decided to leave that technique at the beginning of Major Accomplishment.

  With all that out of the way, t was time to deal with that Green Halo opportunity.

  He remembered the vision clearly. A cave hidden deep within the forest. A disciple would discover an inheritance there. For some reason, instead of using the inheritance for himself, he decided to sell it at an auction, and gained enough wealth to purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill.

  But, he didn't really care for the wealth required to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill. With his strength, and cheat abilities, he could now earn that much wealth in a month or less.

  What he cared about was the inheritance itself. To see if he could find a high level technique that he could use for himself.

  With that thought, he changed course and headed deeper into the forest.

  —————

  The waterfall he arrived at was smaller than the one he had visited earlier this morning, but far more secluded.

  Li Yuan stepped into the spray without any hesitation. Cold water soaked through his sleeves as he pressed closer to the rock wall. Then, he started climbing till he'd reached halfway up the mountain.

  Once there, he started searching, and his fingers traced along the slick stone until they found what he was searching for—a narrow crevice concealed behind the falling curtain of water.

  From the outside, the crevice was near invisible, hidden by the waterfall as it was. That alone explained why no one has found this cave before.

  He slipped sideways through the crevice until he went past the tunnel and entered a large cave system. The cave inside was dark, and the air much cooler than the outside.

  He noticed that the passage sloped further downward, widening gradually as it curved into the mountain's interior.

  He tore a strip of cloth from the edge of his sleeve and wrapped it around a dry branch. He coated it with some resin and used a spark of Qi to ignite it. A steady wooden torch flickered to life and he went deeper into the cave.

  The tunnel stretched deeper than expected. Water dripped from the ceiling in irregular intervals, the sound echoing faintly through the narrow space. As he moved, faint markings began to appear along the stone.

  He brought the torch closer and noticed that they were Carvings. He slowed upon seeing them.

  The symbols showed stylized beasts, coiled serpents with fanged mouths and spiraled horns. Interspersed between those were glyph-like characters etched deep into the rock.

  Recognition stirred faintly in his memory. And with that recognition came confusion.

  Back in his clan, Li Yuan had once skimmed through some historical texts regarding the barbarian tribes of the South. That book had some illustrations regarding the tribal markings that each of those clans used and worshipped as spirit beasts, claiming that doing so would let them inherit those spirit beasts' strengths.

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  Considering that the Barbarian tribes are said to absorb and integrate the Beast Core of various Spirit Beasts in order to gain their strength, it can't be said that they were wrong.

  But what confused him was that these markings resembled the illustrations in that text. Why would a barbarian cultivator build his cave within the Empire's territory?

  'Were the empire and the barbarian tribes allies in the past?' He wondered.

  Realising that he won't find any answer by just thinking about it, he continued downward. And the tunnel eventually opened into a larger chamber.

  At the far end lay skeletal remains of a human cultivator, slumped against a jagged rock outcropping. The bones were long and broad, faintly discoloured by age. Around the skeleton were remnants of objects that had not survived the passage of time—crumbled fragments of metal, the faint outline of what might once have been leather pouches, all reduced to dust.

  Only one item remained intact. A book.

  It rested against the skeleton's lap, preserved as though time had tried and failed to claim it.

  Li Yuan approached slowly.

  He crouched and examined the cover. The texture was unlike ordinary parchment. It was thick, supple, and faintly resilient beneath his touch. Even now, it held a subtle sheen.

  For a book to endure centuries in such damp conditions, the material had to be extraordinary. At minimum, it must've been made from the hide of a Fourth Grade spirit beast. Possibly Fifth.

  His pulse quickened.

  Parchment made from the hide of a Fourth or Fifth Grade Spirit Beast won't be used unless what was written inside was of immense value.

  He lifted the book carefully and brushed away a thin layer of dust. The cover bore no title, only a faint emblem—a stylized beast skull encircled by flame-like etchings. He opened it, his heart beating with excitement as he read through the first place. And then… his smile died.

  The first page was not a cultivation diagram, or a Qi cultivation chart, or a Technique manual. What it was, was a dense, deliberate script that he had some difficulty understanding.

  A diary.

  For a moment, irritation flickered across his expression. He had not come this far for a man's reflections. Still, he turned the page and started reading. Maybe the contents within the diary would lead him to the true inheritance.

  Diary Entry #1

  After an entire year of arduous cultivation, I have finally stepped into Foundation Establishment. For a prince of the Beast God Empire, this is slower than most. And my half brothers mocked me for it.

  Mother does not share their concern. She says my soul is much stronger than theirs. And with the treasure she gave me, my body has grown far sturdier. She says that when the time comes to refine a Spirit Beast Core, I will surpass all my half brothers.

  Li Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly upon reading that. Beast God Empire? He had never heard of an empire by that name. Just how old is this diary?

  Diary Entry #2

  The bonding ceremony is complete. And this prince has now bonded with a Bloodwing Divine Dragon. Even now, I can scarcely believe it.

  When the core settled into my body, I felt my bones burn as though molten iron had been poured through my veins. And the soul of the dragon almost took over. For a moment, I thought I would die but in the end, my stronger soul prevailed. When the pain subsided, I felt reborn. Stronger, and sharper in a way I had never known before.

  My physique has transformed. My cultivation speed has tripled. Father has not said anything, but I can see that he's proud of me.

  Mother says I may yet become the Crown Prince.

  Li Yuan paused upon reading that. This guy absorbed and integrated the core of a Bloodwing Divine Dragon? Damn. How lucky.

  He flipped forward.

  Diary Entry #18

  The Golden Sun Empire has declared war upon us. Let them come. We who inherit the blood of beasts are superior to those who merely refine Qi to culitvate.

  They may have the numbers. But we have strength.

  As Crown Prince, I will march at the front. And I will win glory for the Beast God Empire.

  'Golden Sun Empire. So it was indeed the very empire I live within that attacked the Beast God Empire.' Li Yuan thought, rather excited to read what happened next.

  Diary Entry #34

  War is hell. The fields have run red with all the bled we've shed.

  I have lost more friends than I can count. But we are winning. We must be winning. Otherwise all this blood is meaningless.

  Diary Entry #67

  We were betrayed. Our western allies opened the gates to the enemy. Why? Why would they do this? Don't they see that if our empire falls, then theirs will be next? Why?

  Our main army is annihilated. I lead what remains of my men toward the capital.

  If the Beast God still watches us… may he grant us one more miracle.

  Diary Entry #73

  It is over.

  The Beast God Empire has fallen.

  The capital burns as I write this.

  I hate the Golden Sun Empire.

  I hate them. I hate them.I hate them. I hate them. I hate them. I hate them.

  Diary Entry #81

  Not all is lost. As long as I live, the Beast God Empire lives.

  Strength. I need more strength.

  There are whispers of an inheritance secret world buried deep within the Forbidden Land. If I find it… maybe… just maybe, I will have the strength to reclaim everything.

  If this is my last entry, then know that I died in the forbidden Land, fighting for the Beast God Empire.

  The torch flickered as Li Yuan turned more pages. The entries became increasingly sparse afterward, separated by months or years.

  Diary Entry #94

  I found it. The Primordial Beast Cauldron.

  The Beast God has not abandoned us.

  The path to true power lies here.

  Li Yuan's grip tightened slightly as he studied that.

  Primordial Beast Cauldron. That certainly sounds like an incredibly valuable treasure.

  Diary Entry #95

  The refinement scale is madness.

  To forge an Uncommon Beast Core requires ten common beast cores.

  Rare requires one hundred.

  Ancient requires one thousand.

  Mythical requires ten thousand.

  And Primordial requires one hundred thousand.

  Are there even so many Sixth Grade Beasts in this world?

  If only I had found this when I was young…

  If only I had more time…

  Li Yuan's eyes sharpened upon reading this entry. Refining Spirit Beast cores. Can such a thing be done? Does this mean that once he has enough Beast Cores, he too could use the Primordial Beast Cauldron to refine an Ancient, Mythical or even a Primordial Beast Core.

  Still… the scale was indeed brutal. Even if he wanted to create a Primordial Beast Core for when he reaches Foundation Establishment. Where the heck would he even gain a hundred thousand 2nd stage beast cores?

  No. Considering that only one in ten Foundation Establishment Beasts drop a Core, he would need to kill over a million of them to gather that many.

  And that's not even mentioning that there was no Cauldron within the cave.

  'This is bullshit.' He thought as he flipped forward and kept reading.

  Diary Entry #236

  I have done it. I've finally gathered a thousand Sixth Grade Beast Cores after scouring the entire continent. An entire lifetime of hard work has led to this.

  Tomorrow, I will refine an Ancient Beast Core. And with it, I will ascend.

  With it, I will reclaim my empire.

  I just hope that I won't fail the refinement process.

  Beast God, bless me.

  The next page was smudged.

  Diary Entry #238

  …I failed.

  Diary Entry #239

  I am old. And I am tired.

  My kingdom is gone. My people are dust while the Golden Sun Empire thrives.

  I have nothing left to reclaim.

  If anyone finds this place… what little remains of value is sealed behind the stone wall to the right.

  Take it. And live a life more meaningful than mine.

  Farewell.

  The torch crackled faintly as Li Yuan gently lowered the diary. Feeling pity for the prince who spent his entire life in an attempt to gain revenge, only to fail at the finish line.

  He then turned his head toward the right wall of the chamber. It was indeed a stone wall, but unlike the other walls within the cavern that were jagged and uneven, this one was rather smooth.

  'How did I even miss it before?' He wondered before deciding that it didn't truly matter.

  He picked up his sword, channeled his Qi through it and started to hack at the stone. It took him only a few swings to cut through the stone wall and reach the other side.

  He stepped through and stopped at what he saw…

  Dozens upon dozens of shelves carved directly from the mountain rock, stretching from floor to ceiling. Each shelf held books, scrolls, jade slips, preserved hides bound into volumes.

  His torchlight flickered across titles etched in gold and ink.

  Encyclopedia of Ten Thousand Spirit Beasts.

  Advanced Beast Taming Techniques.

  Essentials of Beast Core Extraction.

  Refinement of Artefacts from Spirit Beast Corpses.

  Bloodline Compatibility Theory.

  Grand Formations for Spirit Beast Domestication.

  Grand Formations for Spirit Beast Slaughter.

  There were manuals on raising spirit beasts, trapping them, breeding them, dissecting them. Pills derived from marrow. Tonics refined from eyes. Diagrams mapping muscle fiber density by species. Even battlefield treatises analyzing how spirit-beast cultivators countered orthodox Qi users.

  Li Yuan stood very still.

  This was an archive. No. More than that. This was the accumulated knowledge of an entire fallen civilisation. Likely from the Beast God Empire's own royal vault. Added with the Crown Prince's own lifetime of research.

  But… there was something wrong.

  This is not what he had seen from that Green Halo vision.

  The green halo had shown the disciple finding a only a few items. Only a small fragment of… this.

  His gaze sharpened at the realisation.

  The prince who wrote that diary had roamed the continent gathering Sixth Grade cores. That meant his cultivation had at least reached Void Refining—the realm beyond Spirit Transformation. Two realms beyond Nascent Soul.

  An expert of that level would never leave behind a simple inheritance.

  He moved deeper into the chamber. The shelves eventually thinned till, at the far end stood a single stone pedestal.

  Upon it rested a jade box.

  He stepped closer to look what was inside, and paused as he found a single Spirit Beast core within.

  Unlike the beast cores he'd seen before, this one was not spherical in nature but resembled Dodecahedron shape and looking at its surface made him feel like he was looking a night sky condensed within a small crystal.

  As he approached the pedestal, the light inside it shifted and something inside moved. A being made of stars, though he couldn't quite see its shape properly.

  Right at that moment, a presence brushed against his mind. It was an Ancient and vast presence.

  He felt the presence observe him. As if weighing his abilities. Then, as if disappointed, the presence lost interest and receded.

  A chill ran down his spine.

  'The fuck.' He thought, pressing down on his urge to run the fuck away from this place.

  He controlled his rapidly beating heart and noticed a folded letter laying beside the jade box. He picked it up and read through it.

  The handwriting was similar to the one he had seen in that diary.

  The prince wrote that before refining the Ancient Beast Core, he had experimented extensively with weaker spirit beast cores. For that reason, he had hunted relentlessly. Which beasts cores combined to produce which type of beast cores. Which ones have better compatibility ratio. So on and so forth.

  After decades and centuries of hunting and refining, he finally managed to create Seven 2nd Grade Primordial Spirit Beast Cores.

  Li Yuan felt a chill go down his spine as he read that. A single Primordial Beast Core required 100,000 spirit beast cores. And only 1 in 10 Foundation Establishment Beasts drop a Core. So, the prince had killed at least Seven Million 2nd grade Spirit Beasts. Likely much more than that if you count the experiments and the refinements that failed.

  That's… a genocidal level of slaughter.

  Not that he had any right to judge to fallen prince, considering that he himself hunted Spirit Beasts regularly for their Essence to feed to his Stele.

  He shook his head and went back to reading the letter.

  Of those seven 2nd tier Primordial Beast Cores, this one—named Abyssal Star Devouring Dragon—suited him the most.

  Once he reaches Foundation Establishment Realm, he would gain the qualifications to try and absorb it. And he would fail. Because absorbing and assimilating a Primordial Spirit Beast Core was no easy task.

  To assimilate a primordial core would require him to master a Supreme Body Refining Art and Supreme Soul Tempering Art to the Realm of Perfection, then using those Cultivation techniques for years to prepare his body to withstand the reshaping, and for the soul to be vast enough to suppress its will.

  The prince wrote plainly that without such extensive preparations, absorbing the Primordial Beast Core would lead to the destruction of his body and soul.

  Li Yuan lowered the letter slowly and sighed. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. But then again, nothing truly worth gaining was. He glanced back at the core. The starlight within it pulsed once. Then...

  He noticed two books laying beside the jade box. They… were definitely not there before.

  This all but confirmed that this place was alive. Maybe a wisp of the fallen prince's soul still lived and controlled the place. His heartbeat quickened as he picked up the books carefully.

  The first was bound in dark hide etched with mountain patterns.

  "Heaven-Breaking Titan Body Scripture."

  A supreme body refinement technique once used by the Beast God royal line.

  The second was thinner, bound in pale silver hide.

  "Eternal Abyss Soul Furnace Manual."

  A soul cultivation art designed to expand the sea of consciousness and temper it like steel in a furnace. Even skimming the opening passages made his head throb faintly. These were not beginner-friendly manuals, to say the least.

  For ordinary cultivators with limited comprehension, mastering either to even the Moderate Accomplishment would take an entire lifetime. Some would die before even reaching Minor Accomplishment.

  For anyone else… this was an impossible task. Only those with special physiques or immense comprehension could do this. And even then it's not a certain thing. For him however, with his Stele… this was not only possible but just a matter of time.

  He turned slowly, surveying the shelves again.

  Forget the Primordial Beast Core. The archive alone was priceless. So he has definitely gained far more by coming here than he had hoped. Only on problem though...

  He had no spatial ring.

  He stared at the shelves. Then at the jade box. Then spoke aloud.

  "I will need a spatial ring to take these with me." He said. "Can you give me one."

  Silence.

  For a heartbeat, nothing happened. But then… a faint ripple of Qi moved through the chamber. And when he looked back at the pedestal... a ring lay beside the jade box.

  His eyes widened as he gained the final confirmation that the cave was indeed being run by a remnant will of the fallen crown prince.

  He picked up the ring carefully and probed it with Qi Sense. Inside it was a vast space. Much larger than ordinary spatial rings.

  "Thank you," he murmured softly.

  Then, he began transferring the shelves methodically. Every manual, every scroll, and every fragment of knowledge the Beast God Empire had once possessed now entered his new Spatial Ring.

  When he finished, only one item remained in the cave.

  The Beast Core of the Abyssal Star Devouring Dragon.

  He rested his hand lightly upon the jade lid and tried to place it within the Spatial Ring. Alas, he failed. In the end, he had no choice but to close the jade box and take it with him.

  The good news was that the jade box did not let any of the Beast Core's energy leak out into the world. Or he'd be in a heap of trouble. He took a step....

  And he found himself standing outside the cave. Hanging off the wall behind the waterfall. And when he looked back...

  The crevice which led to the hidden cave was no longer there. And in his hand was a note, which he read.

  Once you've absorbed the Beast Core of the Abyssal Star Devouring Dragon, return here for the next part of the inheritance.

  The paper turned to dust after that, and he smiled. This entire Tournament has turned out to be far more profitable than he expected.

  But… what next?