Aladdin finally locked onto the thunderroot camellia through his spiritual senses, located roughly eight hundred meters ahead. However, what troubled him was the absence of any guardian beast. A spiritual herb of that caliber being left unguarded? Highly unlikely.
Something's not right, he thought, eyes narrowing. Still, I'll get closer and reassess the area.
He moved swiftly but cautiously through the dense foliage, his steps silent against the forest floor. As he neared the spot, the atmosphere grew increasingly strange. A heavy tension hung in the air, and thunder rumbled with unnatural frequency. Each bolt of lightning seemed to strike near the same spot—directly where the thunderroot camellia bloomed in radiant, bluish light.
And then, the ground trembled.
From behind a jagged ridge of stone, the guardian finally revealed itself.
A demonic beast—Rank 4.
It was a Thunderclaw Drake, a lizard-like dragon with shimmering electric-blue and silver scales. Four powerful legs supported its hulking frame, each paw ending in claws wreathed in crackling lightning. Its body emitted a low, pulsing hum—a constant discharge of energy from its charged core. The air around it shimmered with static.
It stood nearly two meters tall at the shoulder and stretched over four meters in length, tail lashing slowly behind it like a serpent testing the air.
Aladdin's breath caught in his throat.
He had expected a challenge, but this creature… it was death incarnate, especially in its natural habitat. And he was no match for it—not now.
I'm just a middle-stage Martial Adept, he thought, dread weighing down his chest. How am I supposed to fight a Rank 4 demonic beast?
He knew this wasn't a mistake. Old Bao had likely known about the Thunderclaw Drake. The old master hadn't sent him to die, but to prepare him—for life beyond Kunlun Mountain, where no mentor would step in to save him. Either he adapted and grew stronger, or he would die like countless others who walked the path of cultivation.
If he dared to face the drake now, it would mean certain death.
Time was slipping through his fingers. Of the one year granted by Old Bao, only four months remained. A single month would be needed to safely return to the mountain, assuming he avoided unnecessary fights. That left three months—three months to find a way to defeat a creature that should require the power of at least a middle-stage Martial Master to confront directly.
And he wasn't even close.
He did, however, possess one advantage: the icy core of a Rank 3 Frost-tail Basilisk. Absorbing it would push him to the peak of Martial Adept. Still not enough to defeat the Thunderclaw Drake in open combat—but a step forward.
Retreat, for now, wasn't cowardice. It was strategy.
Rather than wasting time or returning empty-handed, Aladdin resolved to prepare. He wouldn't just claim the thunderroot camellia; he would take the Thunderclaw Drake's demonic core as well.
That was the new goal.
Determined, he scouted the surrounding terrain and soon found a secluded cave carved over time by a winding river. He spread his spiritual sense inside—no threats. It was safe.
Without hesitation, Aladdin entered, settling down in the cool shadows. He retrieved the icy core from his spatial ring, its surface glimmering with pale-blue energy.
Sitting cross-legged, he closed his eyes, holding the core between his palms. The frigid energy pulsed through him.
The path forward was set.
I will return, he promised silently. Stronger. Ready.
Then, without another thought, he began the process of absorption.
---
It took Aladdin seven days to reach the bottleneck—and then, with a final surge of energy, he broke through to the peak of the Martial Adept realm.
But he didn't rush to leave.
Instead, he remained in secluded cultivation, using every last resource at his disposal to stabilize his breakthrough. For a full month, he stayed within the cave, tempering his foundation, consolidating every trace of his new strength. When he finally opened his eyes, his aura was calm yet dense with power—stable, unwavering.
Still, Aladdin didn't move to confront the Thunderclaw Drake immediately. With three months left before his deadline, he chose patience over recklessness.
I need to test my limits… push them… understand this new strength before I face that beast.
He spent the next month traversing the outer regions of the wilds, seeking battle. Rank 2 demonic beasts fell before him with relative ease now, their strength no longer a match for his refined techniques and cultivated power. Rank 3 beasts, however, demanded more effort—each fight a trial of endurance and skill. Demonic beasts were far more vicious and resilient than spirit beasts, their bodies fortified by innate elemental cores and battle instincts.
But Aladdin endured, thrived, and adapted. Day after day, his movements grew sharper, his timing more precise. His body adjusted to the peak Martial Adept realm with a warrior's rhythm—one forged through countless blood-soaked clashes.
Yet even now, as his confidence grew, he understood the truth: facing a Rank 4 demonic beast, especially the Thunderclaw Drake, was still a monumental task. The creature was in its natural element, empowered by the very thunder and storm that echoed through the terrain.
It would be nearly impossible.
But Aladdin didn't believe in impossibility. Not anymore.
There was no "retreat" in his path—only a goal. Only the thunderroot camellia… and the demonic core of the Thunderclaw Drake.
And he would claim both.
---
Two months remained on the deadline Old Bao had set—one to confront the Thunderclaw Drake Lizard, and the other reserved for the return journey to Old Bao. Once he descended from the sacred peak, it would mark the end of his time in the only home he had known since arriving in the Xuanlan Continent.
Aladdin stood at the height of his power. His body was in peak condition—no wounds, no lingering fatigue. Everything had led to this moment.
There was no hesitation.
He drew his saber, its blade gleaming with condensed spiritual energy, honed through dozens of battles and countless hours of training. Then, without a word, he moved. Silent as wind. Swift as lightning. The path ahead was clear.
He was going to face the Thunderclaw Drake Lizard—head on.
The forest grew eerily quiet as he approached the region he had scouted before. Ominous clouds churned above, and bolts of thunder cracked the sky with unnatural rhythm, as if the heavens themselves were announcing what was to come.
Finally, he reached the battlefield.
There it was—the Thunderroot Camellia flower, glowing with a faint blue aura amidst jagged rocks scorched black from repeated strikes of lightning. The air trembled, thick with the raw charge of energy.
But the prize wasn't free for the taking.
A low rumble echoed through the earth. Then came the hum—that familiar, ominous sound of condensed lightning radiating from a single being. From the shadows of the storm, the Thunderclaw Drake Lizard emerged.
Electric-blue and silver scales shimmered across its hide, each muscle coiled with tension. Lightning crackled at the tips of its claws, arcs dancing over the ground as its four legs carried it forward in slow, deliberate steps. Its eyes locked onto Aladdin—intelligent, territorial, and merciless.
This was its domain.
And Aladdin was the intruder.
He clenched his saber tighter, breath calm, spirit resolute. The flower was within reach—but to claim it, he would have to slay its guardian.