Liu Feng and the phoenix parted ways. The phoenix could not change back into her phoenix form, but she could still transform a part of her body to that of a phoenix. After a few hours of rest, along with the help of Liu Feng's own mana supplement, she was able to gather enough mana to transform her back to have wings. Nodding at Liu Feng, she thanked him once again for his help, and flew to the direction that Liu Feng had pointed her towards.

"Remember, if you can't find the city, look for the academy. It is very near to the forest, and the city is basically right next to the academy.", Liu Feng reminded her as she was flying away. After she left, Liu Feng looked at the corrupted mana that was still visible from the point that Liu Feng was at. Then, he suddenly remembered something truly peculiar that happened.

"How the hell did I use the corrupted mana around me?", Liu Feng asked out loud. He waited for a while as if expecting the spirits to answer him, but he got no response.

"Esteemed spirits, please answer this question of mine.", he asked again, but no one responded.

"Hmm, that's new. Must be as shocked as I am.", Liu Feng thought as he looked forward.

Liu Feng went back the exact way that he came and reached the gathering that became a massacre just a day ago. The day was coming to an end, and Liu Feng looked around for a high tree to rest for the mind. He did not want to go even near the phoenix's territory. Even being near the corrupted mana made him feel nauseous, and he would definitely choose not to given the opportunity. And, now that he was much, much stronger than when he entered the forest, he was not in nearly as much trouble as he would have been just a day ago.

"Well, I know that very few beasts will even be able to defeat me.", Liu Feng sighed. "I don't even know what I am doing here. I wanted to get stronger by gaining experience, but instead, I got another mana upgrade."

The next day,

Liu Feng spent the day surveying the land. Because one side of the forest was essentially a dead zone due to the fight with the demons, Liu Feng looked at the other three sides. He saw monsters were in abundance everywhere.

Seeing a horde of Magical beasts come towards the gathering again, Liu Feng's eyes shone. "Hahaha, the monsters are literally giving themselves up to me. I can get so many cores.", he laughed and got ready to jump at them, when he heard a voice ring in his head.

"Don't even think about attacking them.". Liu Feng's body froze as he looked around to find the source of the voice, but he could not. His body was drenched in sweat as he thought about that terrifying voice again. He knew that it wasn't the spirits. It was an entity that was as strong as, no. It was much stronger than the phoenix itself.

"Who the hell was that?", Liu Feng spoke out loud.

"Hehe, looks like you were unfortunate enough to meet the king of the forest himself.", Primitus' voice suddenly spoke out in Liu Feng's head.

"Primitus? Where were you? I wanted to speak with you, but you guys didn't respond. Anyways, what do you mean by King of the forest?", Liu Feng asked Primitus.

"The king of the forest is exactly who he is. He is the king of the forest, the highest of the high in the forest food chain. He is one of the most powerful people in the world."

"Why would he stop me from killing a horde?", Liu Feng asked.

"Cause they are normal beasts. What would your king do if a fourth order went and killed civilians? Same here."

"Well, fourth orders are truly rare in the human kingdom now anyways. Okay, so I can only kill the higher order magical beasts?", Liu Feng asked.

"Essentially, yes."

"Forget all that. What the hell was with that spell that I used against the demon? I was able to use corrupted mana! I thought that I was supposed to be weakened by it.", Liu Feng asked.

"Calm down, Liu Feng. We are as confused as you are. It must have to do with how the humans have adapted their mana spells over the years. Maybe this was an experiment of one of the humans, that went main stream after the humans stopped contracting spirits.", Prmitus said.

Liu Feng nodded, understanding that the true reason could not be explained without the concrete fact.

Liu Feng looked around and started selectively killing the higher tier magical beasts, of the fourth and fifth order. He did not face any challenge because of his new found strength.

He spent a lot of time gathering magic cores to use in the future. They would be extremely helpful in the future when he would start mass producing the gun.

The day was spent in killing fourth and fifth order beasts that were roaming around. Liu Feng already had more cores than he could count.

Liu Feng spent the night on a branch of the tree. He reflected to himself, "If I want to increase my combat training, then I should decrease my reliance on mana. I have to hone my instinct. I should do this the right way."

He called upon all the spirits, and asked, "Respected spirits. It is time that I grow my strength, and to do that, I have to temper myself. Can I ask you to restrict my mana completely so that I learn to depend on myself more? You can remove the restrictions if I face a monster that is much stronger than me."

"Hmm. I approve of this step, but you should not overestimate yourself. Without mana, you are no more powerful than a third, maybe fourth order beast."

Liu Feng nodded, and he felt his connection to the magic circles within his body slowly fade away, until they were nonexistent. Liu Feng looked forward with a serious face, preparing himself for what would be the longest night in his life.

Liu Feng was by no means a weak man. Over the years, the mana that he absorbed every day was also going into his body, which got stronger over time. Even though he lost his mana for now, his body was still very strong. With the body that he had right now, he could even kill a third order demon, but it was not going to be easy. Liu Feng spent the majority of his life depending on mana for every little thing. When he was surveying the lands, he had grown to the point where he trusted his mana perception more than his own eye.

"Looks like this is the perfect time to change all that.", Liu Feng grinned.

He took out the great sword from his spatial ring with the wisps of mana that were remaining in his finger tips, and armed himself. He closed his eyes, to rest for the night, but his concentration was still on his surroundings. His ears perked every five minutes, and his eyes twitched every ten.

One month later,

A boy could be visible below a waterfall. He was taking a bath, with his head directly below the waterfall. He had scars riddling his body, and a long scar through his back.

Who could this be other than Liu Feng?

"You should take care of that scar. If you run mana through it, it will decrease the scar by quite a bit you know.", Avian chimed in.

"This is a reminder of the mistake that I made that day. It is a battle scar. It is a matter of pride for me. I defeated a fifth order beast for the first time that day. Now, I can fight hand in hand with even sixth order beasts. This will remind me that even I was once cannon fodder, and that I am nowhere near how powerful I should be."

"Well, do whatever you want to do. Now, since your training is over, should I stop withholding all this mana? You should know that this will be like lifting dam gates. It will be a force that will be hard to stop. You should be prepared."

"Don't worry. If I cannot even handle my own power, then how will I possibly fight against demons?"

"It is that sort of arrogance that leads to the demise of even the greatest of heroes."

"I am ready. I am prepared for the rush, I know what to expect."

The four spirits then spoke in unison, and lifted their seals of mana. Liu Feng felt a rush of mana flood his core. The mana spilled from the core and started spreading throughout his body.

Aaaah! Liu Feng screamed with pain. Having all of that mana that was automatically being absorbed by his body just enter the mana core was a very painful affair. After all, all of the mana was in the liquid form, now that his body automatically compressed the mana by default.

Liu Feng's veins started popping out. Inside his body, the mana core was being visibly strained. A slight crack was forming at the edge, but it slowly disappeared. historical

Liu Feng's body readily absorbed the mana, and it started growing at a visible rate. His feet stretched an inch, and his height by a few. Liu Feng opened his eyes a while later, and his eyes glinted in the sun.

"It's time to go back."

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