His body was riddled with wounds.

His mind was on the verge of collapse.

The injuries he’d sustained were far worse than in the Red Fire Ore battle!

He could no longer even enter the Divine Ghost Heaven State.

He could only use the basic Essence Devouring Art, slowly and painstakingly digesting the Blood and Flesh Tai Sui Treasure Flesh in his stomach to produce Healing Fluid and mend his wounds.

After "setting" his body’s recovery program in motion...

The thread of consciousness he’d been holding onto finally snapped, and he collapsed into a deep, restorative sleep.

He didn’t wake until his body had fully recovered to its peak state—scabs had fallen away, new flesh had filled the gaps, and his shattered bones had fused back together.

Only then did his internal "alarm clock" rouse him.

He felt his stomach; it was completely empty.

A piece of Blood and Flesh Tai Sui Treasure Flesh the size of a soccer ball had been completely consumed just to heal his wounds!

This showed just how terrifying the great tribulation he’d faced last night had been.

But even so, Wu Dao felt no lingering fear or regret.

In the natural world, aside from opportunistic scavengers, what predator doesn’t hunt with its full strength?

Even a tiger uses its full power to pounce on a rabbit!

So why would it be any different when two tigers fight?

’If I start holding back, giving in to fear, relying on luck, or running away, my courage and dignity will wash away like a flood.’

’A tiger becomes a dog!’

’A dog becomes a worm!’

’A worm becomes an ant!’

’And an ant is as insignificant as dust!’

’Living a muddled, passive life, I’d never achieve anything great!’

WHOOSH—

He reined in his stray thoughts.

Wu Dao opened the attribute panel.

[Physique: Beast King (Limit)]

[Extraordinary: Essence Devouring Art (60% Potential Release) +

Overlord Whale Fist 50 years (Versatile) +]

[Teleportation Points: 40]

The changes to the attribute panel weren’t significant.

The only thing worth noting was that his Potential Release had progressed from 58% to 60%.

This was normal.

The essence of the Essence Devouring Art was to stimulate the body’s potential in a near-death state, forcibly stealing the sealed potential that heaven kept under lock and key.

His life-and-death battle last night had pushed him to the absolute limit—he’d had one foot in the Ghost Gate. That, combined with the Blood and Flesh Tai Sui’s Treasure Flesh turning into Healing Fluid to heal and reforge his body...

...stealing another two percent of his potential was perfectly logical.

’Just a final 5% stumbling block before the Heroic Domain.’

A look of anticipation surfaced in Wu Dao’s eyes as he took out the Blood and Flesh Tai Sui’s Demon Pill. It was the size of an egg and looked like red agate.

It gave off a faint red glow and an overwhelming fragrance.

Though it had a few cracks and some of its Energy had leaked out... Wu Dao was confident that this Demon Pill, the condensed essence of the Flesh and Blood Tai Sui’s five hundred years of cultivation, would bring him a massive surprise!

His only regret was that Mao Ba had escaped. Otherwise, the Energy contained within the Demon Pill would have been even greater.

However, Wu Dao was deeply wary of that Immortal Descendant, Mao Ba.

Mao Ba had too many trump cards; he always seemed to have a way to turn the tables, even from the brink of defeat.

If he’d pushed him into a corner and Mao Ba had resorted to some unknown, mutually destructive technique, it would have been a classic case of the plan backfiring. It wouldn’t have been worth it.

GULP.

The ever-thickening fragrance of the Demon Pill brought Wu Dao back to his senses, and he swallowed hard.

He no longer hesitated. He tossed the Demon Pill into his mouth and, with a bob of his throat, swallowed it whole.

VMMMM—

The instant it hit his stomach... Wu Dao felt as if he had swallowed five hundred years of weathered history and changing seasons. A vast flood of information and memories threatened to explode and shatter his mind.

Thankfully, the feeling lasted only an instant.

The attribute panel intervened. The Demon Pill calmed and was quickly absorbed and digested.

"Teleportation Points +100."

100!!

Wu Dao was stunned, his eyes filling with delight.

Meng Qingshuang, at the Divine Power Peak, had only yielded ten Teleportation Points.

But the Flesh and Blood Tai Sui, even after being "discounted" twice, still provided 100 Teleportation Points. Truly worthy of a "Great Demon" whose power at its peak was infinitely close to a cultivator undergoing their Second Rebirth!

All his efforts had paid off.

And it was a massive, bountiful harvest!

Wu Dao’s heart filled with pure joy, and a genuine, happy smile spread across his face.

With this huge haul from the Flesh and Blood Tai Sui... the number of Teleportation Points he possessed broke into triple digits for the first time, reaching 140. It was enough for a major Life Transition.

The attribute panel’s rule for advancement was one transition per stage, one level at a time.

Previously, Wu Dao’s Potential Release was at 55%.

The attribute panel had indicated that transitioning to the 65% Heroic Domain required 150 Teleportation Points.

That was a steep price!

If he had relied solely on the attribute panel... Wu Dao would still be ten points short right now.

Fortunately, Wu Dao had always lived by the creed of relentless self-improvement, never pinning his entire future on "miracles."

Through his own efforts, he had clawed his way forward, raising his Potential Release from 55% to 60%.

He had already covered half the distance himself!

Now, when he checked the plus sign after the Essence Devouring Art, the required cost had dropped from 150 to 100.

It wasn’t a direct fifty-point reduction for his five-percent progress. But Wu Dao wasn’t surprised. In every stage of Human Potential Release, the most crucial transformation was always in the final 1%.

Most of a Heaven Stealer’s accumulated resources would be consumed breaking that final 1% "shackle" during a breakthrough.

However, he now had a full 140 Teleportation Points, more than enough to reach the Heroic Domain.

Without further hesitation... Wu Dao calmed his mind, adjusted his state, and his will formed an invisible finger that pressed down hard on the plus sign after the Essence Devouring Art!

VMMMM!

In that instant, it was as if a small sun had exploded.

Wu Dao felt an overwhelming, unprecedentedly powerful warm current erupt from deep within his body. It spread rapidly to his limbs, surging through every inch of his being and enveloping him like a great cocoon!

From his microscopic cells to his macroscopic tissues, inside and out, his body began a comprehensive evolutionary transformation!

The sensation was ecstatic, as if he were ascending to immortality!

The sublime beauty of a Life Transition was always intoxicating.

From Beast King to Hero.

He was breaking the limits of the human body for a second time!

This was a massive transformation of his biological potential and life level, a great leap forward on the path of evolution!

Both his Power and his spirit officially crossed the threshold from "mortal" to "Extraordinary," and he began to possess all sorts of incredible Mighty Powers!

As a result, this transformation took far longer than any before it!

CRACK—

「An hour later.」

The last shackle on his potential shattered.

Both inside and out, he felt as if he had escaped a small pond and leaped into a vast lake, a feeling of boundless freedom.

He had broken through the cocoon and emerged a butterfly. The Hero was forged!

Wu Dao opened his eyes. The pupils and whites were no longer distinct, nor were they fragile. His eyes were now pure black, like iron beads reflecting an indestructible metallic sheen.

WHOOSH—

He exhaled a searing, turbid breath.

Wu Dao began to carefully perceive the changes both inside and outside his body.

First, his spirit!

His Brain Domain had broken its shackles twice, and his brain tissue had been reshaped and transformed twice.

His Spiritual Will was now inhuman!

All manner of complex and tedious problems could now be solved with ease.

He could find quick solutions to the most complex dilemmas from angles an ordinary person could never conceive of, making him a veritable human computer!

The increase in intelligence was one thing.

But the most important change was that his Spiritual Thoughts could now control every inch of his body’s microscopic tissues—

Blood and Flesh Spirit!

The control exerted by his brain and nerves was no longer limited to the simple, external movements of major motor organs like his limbs and head.

Now, he had achieved true mastery over his entire body!