Path of BlooDld

Three weeks had passed since his battle with the Red Crocodile, and every moment of those weeks had left its mark on Ashen's body and soul. He remained secluded deep within the cave, healing his wounds with harsh patience, inhaling the steam of herbs and soaking his torn body in waters mixed with pre-refined blood. Rest was an illusion, but a necessary one.

When the three weeks were over, he emerged.

The first step outside the cave felt like a rebirth.

He resumed the hunt, not merely for battle, but for refinement—for blood carrying intent that would push him upward.

Over the following months, Ashen fought hundreds of beasts—he tore, burned, absorbed, and faced all kinds of wild intents.

Every drop of blood, every scream, every splatter further merged him with his clan's sealed bloodline.

Seven months...

And on a gray morning with no sun, he felt something break within.

His bloodline had reached 10% purity, which allowed him to devour and steal two additional abilities.

His integration with the sealed bloodline also increased to 50%, boosting his physical power even further.

But most importantly, after long months of battles and blood, his strength reached 9900 kilograms—on the brink of the Blood Trainee's peak stage.

His body glowed with power, his veins flowing like rivers of primordial blood. But above all… there was his new ability: Blood Tracking.

He felt a call.

A powerful bloodline, one that rivaled or even surpassed the crocodile's.

He crept through the rocks until he found himself watching a scene of chaos.

At its center, a black panther with fur shimmering in dark red. Its claws gleamed, and its speed blurred the eye. Dozens of beasts fell one after another before it.

Absolute dominance.

It killed as if death had been made in its image.

Ashen stepped back.

A direct fight with that beast would be suicide.

Then an idea struck him.

He returned to the Red Crocodile's last known location, where he had previously tracked its blood.

He found it sleeping—slow, but alive.

He sprinkled it with a rare blend of toxins… some triggered violent aggression, others clouded its vision with imagined enemies.

The crocodile roared in fury and began chasing Ashen.

Ashen led it toward the panther's lair. Despite the crocodile's strength, its weakness was speed, so Ashen left it in the wind.

But the crocodile, driven by madness, kept chasing him by scent.

It didn't realize it had entered another apex predator's territory.

Ashen hid in a location he had marked earlier and waited patiently for the coming battle.

The panther, sensing someone had dared enter its domain, let out a roar—like a king whose kingdom had been invaded. The crocodile, affected by the toxins, bellowed in rage and charged like a blood-fueled train, dragging its tail lined with gleaming blades.

The panther didn't wait.

A bloody aura burst from its feet, and it dashed with terrifying speed, dodging the assault and aiming three strikes at the crocodile's eyes.

But the crocodile's skin...

It thickened its blood-armored scales, deflecting the attacks, and unleashed tail-blades that slashed through the air.

One of them struck the panther's side—a deep wound—but it didn't fall.

Instead, it activated a strange ability.

The panther turned into liquid blood for a moment, dodging a crushing blow that would've shattered its skull. Then it reformed behind the crocodile, striking with its hind legs.

But the crocodile twisted its heavy body, swinging its tail like spinning blood blades.

Every strike caused a ground-shaking explosion.

Every roar from them was terrifying, primal, and deep.

Trees shattered, rocks collapsed, and clouds of bloodied dust filled the air.

The panther was faster. The crocodile was tougher.

The fight raged on until they looked like two masses of chaos.

In the end...

The crocodile fell.

The panther stood—but bleeding.

Its body cracked, its legs trembling.

From the shadows, Ashen released poisoned arrows.

One... two... five.

They pierced the panther's body.

It roared, but its reactions were delayed. The poison was slowing it down.

Ashen charged in, his arms glowing with the "Blood Bear Fist."

He also activated the Blood Frenzy ability, which boosted all his power, speed, and reflexes by 25%.

He struck the panther's chest.

The beast staggered but didn't fall.

It countered with a burst of speed, biting Ashen's shoulder with bloody fangs.

"Primordial Iron Skin!"

It saved him from being torn apart.

But the pain… was indescribable.

Their battle turned into a whirlpool of blood and burning breaths.

In the end, Ashen pierced the panther's chest with a double strike, combining the Blood Bear Fist and Blood Frenzy.

The panther roared one last time...

And fell.

Ashen dropped to his knees, breathing heavily.

Then…

The sound of air splitting.

"Shhhrrrrkkk!"

The crocodile's tail blade pierced his shoulder, throwing his body several meters away.

He almost died.

Turned out the crocodile hadn't died—it had only played dead.

This was the law of the jungle: a predator could become prey in an instant.

At that moment… on the brink of life and death,

Runic control. The Blood Bear Fist invaded Ashen's mind.

The blood rune ignited.

Ashen's consciousness vanished.

He became a beast.

A bloody intent aura exploded from him.

He roared—a roar that was not human.

And he charged at the wounded crocodile.

Another massacre.

Fists like boulders. Bloody strikes. Screams from unknown sources.

Until the crocodile's jaw was torn.

Until its skull was crushed.

Until its body was nothing but mangled remains.

Then…

Silence.

Ashen regained consciousness.

But his hands were shaking.

His wounds were countless.

With extreme difficulty, he gathered the beasts' blood.

Then dragged his shattered body… back to the cave.

And collapsed.