My Infinite Cultivation System-Chapter 113: End of the hunt

Alex did not look back after the system notification appeared.

[Ding! You have successfully contracted with your 4th beast. Do you wish to retrieve the feedback strength?]

The translucent panel hovered beside him, steady and indifferent, but Alex ignored it. His feet were already moving. The coordinates of the next target remained locked in his mind. He did not slow down, and he did not allow himself the luxury of reflection. Momentum mattered. If he stopped now, the creeping fatigue in his body would become something far more dangerous.

One beast down. Four remained on his list.

He inhaled slowly, but the breath did not bring relief. Weakness was spreading through him. It was subtle at first, like a faint numbness in his limbs, but it deepened with every step. His muscles felt heavier than they should, and the energy that had carried him through the previous battles no longer flowed smoothly. The system had warned him that contracting multiple high-tier beasts in succession would place unbearable strain on his body. At the time, he had accepted the risk without hesitation. Now he could feel the cost accumulating.

He crossed the boundary into the next region.

The environment changed instantly.

The heat of the previous terrain vanished as though it had never existed. The air sharpened into something brittle and biting. Frost formed along the edges of Alex’s sleeves, creeping outward in delicate crystalline patterns. His breath condensed into pale clouds that froze before drifting away, falling as glittering particles that shattered when they struck the ground.

The land before him was composed entirely of ice.

It stretched endlessly, a vast frozen expanse that reflected the dim light of the sky. The surface was not smooth. Ancient fractures ran across it like scars, some shallow, others deep enough to swallow mountains. The cold emanating from the terrain felt unnatural. It was not simply low temperature. It carried weight, as though time itself had slowed here, preserving the land in a state older than memory.

Alex continued forward.

Then a presence revealed itself without concealment.

The Primordial Ice Serpent lay coiled across the frozen plains, its massive body forming a series of overlapping loops that extended far beyond the horizon. Its scales reflected the pale light with mirror-like clarity. Each scale was enormous, comparable in size to a fortress shield, and etched with intricate patterns that seemed to shift when viewed directly. The patterns did not move in a physical sense. Instead, they appeared to rearrange themselves within the observer’s perception, creating the illusion of something alive within the frozen armor.

It did not move when Alex approached.

It did not need to.

In this domain, it was sovereign.

The system interface appeared automatically.

[Name: Primordial Ice Serpent]

[Talent: Minor Reality Manipulation (Genesis)]

[Rank: Planetary level 9]

[Combat prowess: 320000 planets]

[Genetic Strength: 34x]

[Note: It can alter reality within 1 km around it if the opponent isn’t 4 realms higher or possesses higher grade talent.]

Alex read the information carefully. He did not underestimate the description. Minor reality manipulation was anything but minor when used by a creature at this level. Within its domain, the serpent could rewrite local physical rules, distort distance, reshape matter, or nullify incoming attacks. Without a superior talent, confronting it directly would be suicidal.

He nodded slowly. "Reality manipulation," he murmured. "If the dragon horse didn’t have nullification type talent, this one would probably be the most dangerous."

The serpent’s eyes opened.

They were not eyes in the traditional sense. They appeared as fractures suspended within the creature’s skull, two vertical distortions where the surrounding space seemed slightly misaligned. The world behind them warped subtly, as if existence itself had been bent around those points. When those fractures focused on Alex, the temperature plummeted further. Frost spread across the ground in expanding rings, and the air thickened with crystalline particles.

A voice entered his mind.

It did not use sound. It arrived as direct meaning, cold and sharp, pressing against his consciousness like a blade.

"You are not welcome here. Leave this place, or die."

Alex exhaled slowly. "I can’t do that."

He activated his chaos grade telekinesis.

The transformation was immediate.

The world unfolded into layers. Invisible structures became visible to his perception. Lines of gravitational influence stretched across the terrain. Spatial tension formed a lattice beneath reality. Energy currents flowed like rivers between objects. Everything connected through threads of interaction that extended beyond the limits of ordinary physics.

The serpent reacted at once.

Its consciousness expanded outward, touching the surrounding space. Alex watched as the creature began altering the strands of local reality. It did not brute force the changes. Instead, it rewrote the relationships between variables. Distance folded slightly. Temperature ceased to behave linearly. The air gained density without gaining mass. The ground beneath Alex attempted to redefine friction, trying to lock his movement in place.

Within a one kilometer radius, the serpent reshaped the rules.

Alex observed calmly.

His chaos grade telekinesis did not counter by force. It simply asserted precedence. The higher grade talent recognized the inferior manipulation and stabilized the underlying structures. The serpent’s altered rules lost cohesion. Distorted distance returned to normal. The frozen air resumed its natural properties. The warped physical constants collapsed into their original state.

The serpent paused.

Confusion radiated from its fractured gaze. Its reality manipulation had always functioned without resistance. Even powerful opponents were forced to adapt to its domain. This was the first time its authority had been dismissed entirely.

Alex tilted his head slightly. "Not today sweetheart."

He teleported.

The distance vanished instantly. One moment he stood hundreds of meters away. The next he appeared directly above the serpent’s head. The creature attempted to respond, pushing its consciousness outward to reshape space and displace him. The effort began, but the chaos grade telekinesis suppressed it before completion. The altered coordinates failed to stabilize.

Alex drew back his arm.

He did not rely on physical strength. He condensed telekinetic force into a single focal point. The pressure accumulated silently, compressing layers of influence into a narrow vector aligned with his fist. The surrounding air trembled as the force density increased.

He punched.

The impact detonated like a collapsing mountain.

A deep crack echoed across the frozen plains. The shockwave propagated outward, fracturing the ice in expanding rings. Massive fissures opened beneath the serpent’s body, splitting the terrain into uneven plates. The creature’s skull absorbed the concentrated telekinetic strike. The force penetrated inward, bypassing surface durability and targeting structural coherence.

The serpent’s massive body shuddered.

Its consciousness faltered.

The fractured eyes dimmed as the higher dimensional force overwhelmed its resistance. The loops of its body slackened, losing tension. The enormous coils settled heavily against the ice, sending tremors across the terrain.

Silence followed.

Alex landed on the serpent’s head. His boots pressed against the smooth, frozen scales. He inhaled sharply. The weakness inside him surged again, stronger than before. His vision flickered slightly, and his balance felt less stable. Contracting multiple beasts in succession was draining more than expected.

He steadied himself. "Initiate the binding."

The system responded.

[Ding! Host has successfully contracted with his 4th beast. Do you wish to retrieve the feedback strength?]

The notification hovered before him, but he did not immediately respond. His breathing had become uneven. The exhaustion spreading through his body was no longer subtle. Each heartbeat felt heavier. The energy sustaining his star realm state fluctuated unpredictably.

He attempted to step forward.

His legs trembled.

The world blurred slightly at the edges. The sky above the frozen domain appeared distant, washed in pale light. He tried to focus on the next coordinates, but the information felt harder to grasp. The momentum that had carried him through previous battles was slipping.

Then the weakness intensified abruptly.

It struck like structural failure.

The power sustaining his body collapsed inward. The star realm energy that had elevated his capabilities began dissipating rapidly. The sensation resembled a reservoir draining faster than it could be replenished. His limbs lost strength. His breathing grew shallow. Even maintaining consciousness required effort.

The system panel shifted.

[Ding! Due to host’s extreme weak condition, the star realm power cannot be sustained anymore. Host will die if it continues. Does host wish to take the risk?]

Alex stared at the words.

They felt distant.

He understood the implication. Continuing would push his body beyond survivable limits. Stopping meant abandoning the final objective. Under normal circumstances he would have forced himself forward regardless. But now his muscles no longer responded properly. His nervous system lagged. Even lifting his arm required concentration.

He tried to take another step.

His knees buckled.

The strength left his body completely. He fell forward onto the serpent’s frozen scales. The surface was cold enough to numb sensation instantly, but he barely registered it. His heartbeat slowed. The world dimmed. The sky fractured into indistinct shapes.

The star realm power flickered once more, then faded.

Alex’s vision narrowed to a thin tunnel. The pale sky remained visible for a moment longer. The vast frozen landscape stretched beyond him, silent and indifferent. The contracted serpent lay motionless beneath him, now bound to his will, yet he lacked the strength to issue commands.

Darkness closed in.

His eyes shut.

His body went limp atop the Primordial Ice Serpent, and consciousness slipped away entirely.