"It's useless! These kinds of skills don't work on me!" I announced, rushing forward.

Ding...

"Territorial Suppression failed due to skill Unshakable Mind."

The wolves suddenly flinched, realising their debuff didn't work on me, and switched to the traditional way of attacking in a group.

Most of the attacks I used against them were stabbing motions due to the dullness of the blade. Only shallow wounds landed on their bodies; however, Crimson Wound was turning them weak, while the sword was getting sharper with each attack due to Blood Tempering.

Still, fighting against more than seventy monsters with thick outer skin using a dull blade was pushing me to my physical limits. I also had to be careful not to get even the tiniest scratch, or the ally in my hand would instantly turn into my enemy.

When I shoved my sword forward to stab one of the wolves in the mouth, it tightened its grip on my sword, holding it still, and at the same time, four others attacked me from the sides.

I instantly engulfed a lungful of air and exhaled a wave of Yin energy into the surroundings.

"Breath of the Grave!"

"Yin energy -2"

The beasts' breaths turned cold, and their movements were significantly reduced.

Not wasting this chance, I shoved the blade forward into the throat of the wolf in front and pulled it out in a circular arc, striking the two beasts on my left.

A flaming energy radiated from my fist and landed in a horizontal motion on the mouths of the wolves on my right.

"Yang Blazing Fist!"

The destructive force of the punch smashed the wolves' faces, killing them instantly.

"Yang energy -10"

"Yin energy +30"

"Huh!? Did the cost of Yang Blazing Fist increase due to an increment in its level?" I murmured, seeing the consumption increase tenfold.

The movements of the wolves returned to normal as the effect of Breath of the Grave slowly vanished.

"Hehe! The skill only costs 2 Yin energy. I'm going to release this continuously!" I declared, exhaling another wave of Yin energy.

I let the katana drink the blood of the wolves I had killed with Blazing Fist, and its blade finally turned sharp enough to cut through the thick skin of these wolves.

After that point, I didn't even need to use my attribute skills. I swept through the rest of the wolves like a tsunami, chopping them into pieces with my bloodthirsty katana.

My violent crimson dance with Shinku no Sabi lasted for five minutes, as fragments of flesh rained down like petals thrown by an audience admiring our macabre performance.

"Yin energy +686"

Ding...

"Maximum limit to absorb Yin energy reached.

Yin energy: 1500/1500"

To absorb Yin energy further, the Host must break through to the next stage!"

"It's a good thing I already absorbed Yang energy from the Soul Stones in advance, or I would have had to stop in the middle of the fight when the difference between them exceeded 750," I sighed in relief, taking out a Mid-Tier Grade 2 Soul Stone from my inventory. This was the same Soul Stone I had previously used to absorb Yang energy, and surprisingly, it was still full of Soulforce even now.

The Soulforce of my previous body was so vast that I consumed these stones like everyday breakfast, but now, in this regular human body, I realised the true value of these stones.

I quickly climbed a nearby tree—of course, for safety purposes—and absorbed the required Yang energy from the Soul Stone.

---

"Congratulations! The Host has successfully broken through! The Host's realm has increased.

Early-Stage Spirit Adept Realm → Mid-Stage Spirit Adept Realm

All stats +10"

"The maximum capacity of Yin-Yang energy has increased!

Yin energy: 1500/3200

Yang energy: 1500/3200"

"3200!?" I exclaimed, reading the window. "If the capacity keeps increasing at this rate, breakthroughs in higher realms will become extremely difficult. And after this breakthrough, I didn't even get any extra energy like before."

To avoid repeating the same mistake I made in the previous gate, I again consumed Yang energy from the stone until it reached the maximum limit of 3100.

"I need to quickly kill the boss monster before Jasmine wakes up," I murmurred, moving towards the top.

Similar to the previous gate, veins of Soul Stone crystal, half-digged into the earth, began appearing as I moved closer to the zenith. Disappointingly, these crystals were also Low-Tier and didn't deserve my slightest attention.

At the hill's top, the surface was surprisingly flat and open, with no trees in view. On the other side, an unusually large wolf—about the size of an adult tiger—was sleeping peacefully.

The blue patterns of corruption on its body were even more intense than those on the wolves I had just fought, and the hardened substance around its body covered all of its vital points. At the center of its forehead, a blue-colored mark of the same corruption was embedded.

The moment I entered its territory, its ears suddenly flinched and its sharp yellow eyes glared at me.

"WARNING! High-Threat Entity Detected"

"Designation: Corrupted Mountain Wolf (Alpha)

Classification: Beast

Threat Assessment: DDD-Rank

Status: Hostile

Reward on defeating the monster: 700 Yin Energy"

"GRRRRR!" The wolf growled, baring its fearsome fangs at me.

We both began slowly circling the area, assessing each other's power. Its yellow eyes stared at the katana in my hand, and it suddenly became even more hostile.

The blue corruption on its body began pulsating as it let out an ear-piercing howl.

The ground beneath me began shaking, the branches of trees shook violently, and in the next moment, hundreds of lesser mountain wolves surrounded the entire area from all sides.

Ding...

"The opponent has used the skill: Unity of Corruption.

The stats of every opponent in the mountain have increased by 10%.

The Host's stats will be decreased by 20%."

Taking a big gulp, I murmured, "Now I understand why Jasmine said it took 30 D-Rank Awakeners and 2 C-Rank Awakeners to clear one D-Rank dungeon."

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