Chapter 103: Silver Warrior

After being chased for an entire night, fighting back, and then encountering saber-toothed tigers, after several dangerous encounters, it was only when he finally relaxed that he realized his combat energy had been completely depleted. A profound sense of fatigue overtook him, making Rod’s eyelids heavy with drowsiness.
“Huff… Damn, I’m really tired!” His body was empty, with no trace of combat energy flowing through it. Completely exhausted, Rod knew he had only two choices. The first was to fall into a deep sleep right away to restore his energy. This would help him regain his mental strength and physical stamina, as well as relieve the pain in his body. After that, he could resume training to replenish his combat energy.
The second option was to start training immediately, as it would allow him to recover some energy while training. Of course, given his extreme fatigue, training alone wouldn’t be enough—he would still need to rest afterward.
The first option was obviously out of the question. This was Collins Forest, and Rod certainly didn’t want to wake up in hell. So, the second option was the best choice.
Finding a relatively safe spot, he sat cross-legged and began his training. His mental energy sank into his body, which was eerily empty, prompting him to smile bitterly. He activated his cultivation technique, guiding external fire elements into his body.
In just an instant, he sensed the presence of these elements and opened his pores wide, absorbing them without hesitation. An irresistible suction force emerged from his dantian, as if impatient with the slow influx of elements, accelerating their absorption. At that moment, an astonishing amount of elements entered Rod’s body. If anyone had been around, they would have been shocked.
A faint red aura surrounded Rod, and this red light rapidly rotated around him, forming countless streams that were indistinguishable to the naked eye. These streams surged into his body in a terrifyingly dense manner. Even martial gods, during their cultivation, might not be able to absorb such a large amount of combat energy at once. As a result, if a martial god’s combat energy was completely depleted, it would take a long time to restore it to its optimal state due to the sheer volume. But Rod? His speed was terrifying, and the density of the energy was at least a hundred times that of ordinary people.

There are actually three reasons for this situation, and it is precisely these reasons that others cannot possess, which is why Rod’s terrifying speed in absorbing elements reaches a level that others cannot match. First, after practicing the “Self-Cultivation” secret manual, his pores became fully controllable, allowing him to expand them to absorb elements—a capability that already makes him far stronger than others. Additionally, after that accidental signing of an elemental contract, known as the unity of man and nature, he established an extremely close relationship with the universe, elements, and nature. Even without actively absorbing them, these elements would flow into his body automatically. Once absorbed, the extent of their impact is easy to imagine—hence the high speed, large quantity, and high density. As for the third reason, it goes without saying: the powerful suction force from his dantian acts like a pump, continuously drawing in elements, making the already dense elements even denser as they flow into his body. Under such circumstances, Rod felt his depleted meridians rapidly regaining combat energy, which, after compression and purification, quickly returned to a passable level—specifically, six layers. Sensing this and feeling the flow of combat energy returning to his meridians, the warm sensation made him relax his brows slightly and lift the corners of his mouth in a faint smile. As the energy circulated through his meridians with each cycle, he grew stronger with each pass. He didn’t know how many cycles had passed, but he had already reached saturation. “Hmm?” At the moment of saturation, Rod sensed changes within his body. He frowned slightly before relaxing, revealing an excited smile. Just now, he felt the bottleneck within him loosening—like a thin layer of paper that had shifted slightly right before his eyes. He felt that with a slight movement, he could easily break through it. “An opportunity!” Suppressing his excitement, Rod knew his chance to break through had arrived. He had been a Bronze Warrior for some time and had also stayed at the peak of Bronze for quite a while. If he could break through now, he would advance to Silver Warrior. He quickly focused his mind and began to channel combat energy through all his meridians using the method described in the “Dragon Soul Meditation.”

It accelerated rapidly, growing faster with each cycle—after three full cycles, its speed had reached an unimaginable level, several times faster than when he practiced on his own.
“Good, break through that barrier!” Rod thought to himself once he reached this speed.
Indeed, with each breakthrough, he was expanding his meridians. Although he had already unblocked all meridians in his body except for the Ren and Du meridians during his practice of “Self-Cultivation,” this was why his practice speed had increased exponentially. Yet, there were still invisible barriers hidden within the meridians that hindered the flow of combat energy. The existence of these barriers determined a warrior’s progress in cultivation and the expansion of their combat energy. More importantly, breaking through these barriers allowed him to expand his meridians and make them wider.
From the beginning of his cultivation until now, Rod could clearly feel that his meridians had expanded several times over—initially as thin as hair strands, they had now grown to about half a centimeter in diameter.
There was one more important thing Rod hadn’t figured out yet: once he broke through this final barrier, his future cultivation would no longer involve breaking barriers, as all barriers in his body would be eliminated. From then on, the focus would shift to strengthening his meridians. This was also why Silver or Gold Warriors were so powerful.
With full determination and no hesitation, he channeled his combat energy forward. In an instant, a tremendous explosion, felt only by Rod, echoed within his body like thunder.
Boom! With that loud noise, the barrier was gone, and combat energy flowed continuously into his body. He quickly used this energy to strengthen his meridians, expanding them further. Cracks appeared, but the combat energy quickly repaired them, causing the meridians to expand slightly with each repair.
This cycle repeated without pause, until after the Nth expansion, they reached their limit. The flow of combat energy slowed down, but its concentration within his body increased further, becoming denser and stronger.

The original cyan combat energy gradually transformed into silver as it was continuously compressed and intensified. Once the last trace of combat energy flowed into his body, the cyan disappeared, replaced by pure silver—a bright, white silver that flowed through his body like a small stream turning into a mighty river, spreading throughout his entire being.
“Success!” His heart raced, but once it slowed down, he allowed the combat energy to flow rhythmically within him. Rod muttered to himself.
Opening his eyes, a flash of light passed by. Exhaling a puff of air, he suddenly stood up and let out a loud roar that pierced the clouds, drawing the attention of many people in the vicinity—and, naturally, many magical beasts as well.
An innate aura radiated from within him, spreading outward with great dominance and determination, reaching every living being.
“Hahaha… Silver Warrior! Damn it, I’ve finally broken through!” At the age of eighteen, less than a year after embarking on his training journey, Rod had reached the rank of Silver Warrior. No one could have imagined that this unremarkable young man would break the continent’s training record, raising the previously unbroken record of one year and 278 days to 221 days—over a full year’s improvement. Though not the youngest to reach Silver Warrior, he was surely among the top 100 in the continent. As for history? Well, it probably wouldn’t even make the list. Still, it was an impressive achievement.
Thinking back, time had passed so quickly. Just over half a year ago, during a battle with Vidoc, he had been amazed by a high-ranking warrior. He had admired mages and Anderson, the first Bronze Warrior he had seen, as well as Kiro, the Silver Warrior whom he considered untouchable.
Who would have thought that in just over 200 days, he would reach the threshold of Silver Warrior and enter this realm of power?
Silver Warrior also meant something even more important: from this day onward, he could begin cultivating his own beast soul, a soul that would one day be strong enough to fight alongside him like a mage’s magical beast.
Although none of the Silver or Gold Warriors he had seen used beast souls in battle, Rod knew they very likely did, but they hadn’t developed them enough to use them effectively.

Beast Soul! It is a unique ability of warriors. Once reaching the rank of Silver Warrior, one can utilize the traits cultivated through training to find a magical beast suitable for themselves, kill it, and then take its soul. This soul is housed within one’s dantian, where it is refined and nurtured, eventually becoming a companion to fight alongside the warrior. Of course, there is another way without killing the beast, but it seems few have succeeded—that is to make the beast voluntarily abandon its physical body and enter the dantian in soul form, achieving the same effect, though this is extremely difficult.

Naturally, not every Silver Warrior possesses a Beast Soul. Firstly, there are too few magical beasts suitable for cultivating such souls—too weak for others to consider, and too powerful to obtain. This is a major challenge, as no one wants to randomly choose a weak creature to be their Beast Soul for life, as it cannot be changed. This is why many prefer not to take one at all.

After obtaining a Beast Soul, it still needs to be refined and nurtured, with the original memories of the soul erased. Unless it willingly follows, its memories must be removed; otherwise, backlash may occur! After erasing the memories, the process of cultivation begins, slowly transforming the soul from an intangible state into one ready for battle—a task of extraordinary difficulty.

After the cheers, Rod fell silent, realizing his situation and inwardly groaning. His excitement had made him forget that he was in the dangerous Collins Forest.