The Fifth Level?

The Sand-Howl Tiger was savage to the last. Even with all four limbs mired in Zhang Xiaohou's Flowing Marsh Spirit Seed, it wrenched itself free through sheer brute force and hurled itself upward, landing atop the Stone Wall that Chengying had raised.

The wall stood ten meters high, its surface jagged and irregular. The Sand-Howl Tiger stood at the peak, its eyes slowly filling with a crimson glow, locked onto Zhang Xiaohou — the nearest target.

It launched itself down from above, its body still coated in a thick mantle of blood shadow. Mo Fan recognized the force immediately. His Blood Beast Boots could release that same savage power.

The blood shadow made the Sand-Howl Tiger immensely strong. On the hard-packed terrain of the Gobi Desert, creatures like this could be even more devastating. This one must have been desperately hungry to venture into a region of soft dunes in search of prey.

Now it stood atop the jagged Stone Wall, with the perfect launching platform beneath it. It struck fast and fierce — and Zhang Xiaohou miscalculated the speed of the attack again.

He was already weaving a spell, but neither Wind Track nor Earth Wave would get him clear of the Sand-Howl Tiger's pounce in time.

The creature was almost on him. He could see every fang in that wide-open maw. A wave of fetid stench crashed over him, thick with a primal terror that struck straight at the spirit.

"Light's Grace — Sacred Shield!"

A short distance away, Zhao Manyan moved with lightning speed. His Light Element magic snapped together into a gleaming oval barrier that enclosed Zhang Xiaohou completely, solid as hammered metal.

The Sand-Howl Tiger slammed into it as though it had charged headfirst into an iron ball. Zhang Xiaohou was knocked skidding backward, while the tiger rocked in place, shaking its massive head in a daze.

Zhang Xiaohou was unharmed. He shot Zhao Manyan a grateful glance. Zhao Manyan thumped his own chest in reply — the gesture was unmistakable: *go ahead and be reckless. Your safety's on me.*

Zhang Xiaohou gave a short nod. He could see that everyone Mo Fan had brought was genuinely elite — the kind of Mages who fell into perfect sync without a single word between them. That was enough.

Honestly, Zhang Xiaohou had never been much of an attacker. Back in the military, his role had always been vanguard — the one who threw the enemy's rhythm into chaos.

Put plainly: he pulled aggro.

With him holding the Sand-Howl Tiger's attention, Mo Fan and Chengying unleashed intermediate-level magic without restraint. The disoriented tiger ran straight into two powerful blasts and scrambled to dodge.

Its evasion was sharper than expected. Of the two spells, only Mo Fan's Thunderbolt connected cleanly. The strike sent the Sand-Howl Tiger crashing back into the flowing sand that Zhang Xiaohou had prepared. Before it could right itself, half its body was already swallowed by the earth.

The ground here had unusual viscosity — a benefit of the Earth Element Spirit Seed acquired back in Sunset Valley.

Half-submerged, the Sand-Howl Tiger could barely move. It was no different from a beast with its leg in a hunter's trap. Raw strength and savagery counted for nothing now. In a Flowing Marsh, struggling only made you sink faster.

"Giant Shadow Nail!"

Mo Fan didn't bother concealing it. He cast the Shadow Element spell openly.

The Giant Shadow Nail drove into the frantically thrashing tiger's shadow with pinpoint accuracy. Dark energy poured out and solidified into binding coils, locking the Sand-Howl Tiger's shadow firmly in place.

The creature couldn't move at all. It could only watch, powerless, as its body sank slowly into the flowing sand.

The Flowing Marsh and the Giant Shadow Nail together formed a perfect cage. No matter how much raw power the Sand-Howl Tiger possessed, it had nowhere to put it. Before long, the group had it fully subdued.

"Seems the legendary Dunhuang Magic Tiger isn't quite as terrifying as the stories say." Zhang Xiaohou grinned.

"There's nothing but soft sand out here," Lingling said. "Your Earth Element Spirit Seed gets a massive boost in these conditions. This Sand-Howl Tiger never even got to show its real power before you lot wore it down."

"Let's see if it's carrying any special bones or hide first." Mo Fan's eyes lit up. "Those are worth real money."

Having killed as many Demon-Beasts as he had, Mo Fan didn't take satisfaction in a Battle-General-class kill the way Zhang Xiaohou did. His mind went straight to the bottom line.

Unfortunate, then, that this Sand-Howl Tiger had nothing of value. Even its soul was the most ordinary of Remnant Souls.

He collected it into the small Loach Pendant to serve as raw material for condensing into Spirit Essence — material that would, in time, push his Shadow Element's basic-level skill to the fourth level.

"Hey, Mo Fan — why not just go for the fifth level?" Zhao Manyan raised an eyebrow.

Nearby, Chengying's eyes went wide.

*The fifth level?*

*Did that mean this person had already pushed his basic-level magic to the fourth level?*

The Zhao Clan was one of the most prominent magical commerce Noble Clans in the country, with auction houses spread across provincial capitals from one end of the land to the other. Most people simply called the Zhao family loaded. But even among the wealthiest Noble Clans, no one had ever been known to push their basic-level magic all the way to the fourth level. The fifth? That was pure fantasy.

"Are you serious," Mo Fan shot back. "Going from the fourth level to the fifth takes seven Battle-General-class Spirit Essences. Hand me the money right now and I'll upgrade on the spot."

Zhao Manyan made it sound so simple. If the jump had only required Servant-class Spirit Essences, Mo Fan would have been happy to spend more weeks out in the wilderness pushing his basic-level magic higher. But the fifth level demanded obscene resources — seven full Battle-General-class Spirit Essences came to over a hundred million. That was enough to buy a Wing Enchanted Gear.

And obtaining Battle-General-class Spirit Essences was already a nightmare. Even with over a hundred Battle-General-class Remnant Souls collected, Mo Fan wasn't sure that was sufficient to condense even a single complete Spirit Essence. Reaching the fifth level would be a colossal undertaking.

"Keep moving," Lingling said, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Don't waste time here. The Shamang River will give everyone plenty to deal with."

That was the most dangerous stretch of the entire journey. Even with Xinxia and her Mind Element along for the crossing, there was no guarantee they would make it through without incident.