Time passed. Six months later.
Deep inside Huiping's Third Public Dungeon.
If it were you, what could you accomplish in half a year?
Or, more importantly, how much could you truly change yourself?
Baili An, now wielding the Sharingan, would answer simply: "Transformation. Both in strength and in spirit. True transformation."
The forest thrived with life. Towering trees blocked the sky, their canopies forming a natural roof. Shadows flickered with the occasional movement of lurking monsters.
A roar suddenly split the air, startling flocks of birds into flight.
At the center of the disturbance, a massive white tiger, shoulder-height over two meters, stood glaring at the intruder. Its tiger eyes glowed with ferocity, teeth bared.
Scars ran across its forehead and body, slightly marring its fearsome image.
This was the Wind Demon Tiger, a fifth-tier monster. It wielded wind elements, known for its speed, and possessed high intelligence, excelling in forest combat.
"Roar!!"
Seeing the intruder unmoved, a murderous aura solidified around the Wind Demon Tiger. Its status as the king of beasts radiated in full force, and a powerful gust of wind followed its killing intent.
The wind tore past Baili An's face, lifting his bangs. His three-tomoe crimson eyes gleamed more vividly.
Baili An narrowed his eyes slightly but did not flinch. Slowly, he drew the Tang blade at his waist.
This dungeon had been explored extensively, housing over a dozen fifth-tier monsters. Sixth-tier monsters, however, had not been seen in years.
Among fifth-tier monsters, the Wind Demon Tiger ranked at the very top in speed.
But Baili An had no intention of killing it.
He intended to use it as a training partner.
The dungeon's vegetation was massive, far larger than in reality. Trees stood wide apart, allowing the Wind Demon Tiger to move freely despite its enormous body.
"Swish, swish."
The tiger and Baili An darted through the forest, their movements intersecting repeatedly.
The Wind Demon Tiger's wind bursts could momentarily surpass Baili An's speed, yet he dodged each attack by mere inches.
Wind blades sliced through the surrounding trees, shredding trunks and branches, but Baili An remained untouched.
He did not use any other abilities. Occasionally, his Tang blade left shallow cuts on the tiger, nothing more.
After over ten minutes, the tiger paused.
Its eyes betrayed human-like confusion.
It should have shredded its prey long ago. Instead, it had gained a few new wounds while the intruder remained unharmed.
Hesitation crept into its gaze. It was already considering retreat.
"Already thinking of running?" Baili An said, his eyes glinting with challenge.
The tiger could not understand his words, yet the provocation was clear.
As expected, the tiger roared in anger and charged again.
Over half an hour passed. The tiger panted, its eyes no longer brimming with rage or killing intent.
Baili An teased again, but this time, the tiger did not react.
"Why is this guy's temper getting better?" he muttered.
Meeting the tiger's gaze, he activated the Sharingan and subtly manipulated its memory, erasing its recollection of the previous encounter.
The tiger froze briefly, then its killing intent flared again. Once more, it stared at the intruder, the king of beasts' aura fully restored.
"Roar!!"
Baili An had no prior reference for using the Sharingan.
He chose to learn through practice, refining both basic application and genjutsu.
For foundational skills, he learned through real combat. At first, he tested on many monsters. Recently, he had met the Wind Demon Tiger, an excellent sparring partner. Luck was on his side.
For genjutsu, he repeatedly manipulated monsters, ensuring they fell under his illusions.
So far, he had not encountered a monster in this dungeon capable of resisting his genjutsu.
Even a previous fifth-tier mental-type monster had only resisted briefly before becoming his familiar.
Through genjutsu practice, Baili An honed precise control over his ocular power, avoiding waste and minimizing energy consumption while maintaining effective control.
This method also allowed him to experiment with different genjutsu effects, furthering both mastery and creative ability.
After some time sparring with the Wind Demon Tiger, Baili An left.
He found a clean branch in a sturdy tree and rested briefly before beginning the next part of his daily plan: hunting powerful monsters.
"Summoning Technique!"
Hands forming seals, he struck the branch. Smoke exploded outward, and a black crow appeared.
The seemingly ordinary crow was, in fact, a fifth-tier mental-type monster a Phantom Crow. It had taken him considerable effort to locate it in the dungeon initially.
"Find fifth-tier monsters or strong monster clusters," Baili An instructed.
The Phantom Crow cawed in acknowledgment, took off, and immediately split into dozens of phantom copies, scattering in all directions.
Baili An had little reason to hunt goblins anymore. They no longer provided meaningful training.
The goblin lord had been killed, and a new one would take time to rise.
He sought targets that would challenge him, monsters that would push him and enhance his growth while providing Source Essence.
Soon, the Phantom Crow relayed information.
"That fast?" Baili An had planned to inspect the goblin territory first, but the news was already in.
Activating the Sharingan, he linked with the crow, sharing its vision.
This technique, modeled after the crow's shared vision ability and the principles of his "Transcription Seal," relied on residual Sharingan power, not the summoning contract. It could be used even on ordinary monsters.
"Fifth-tier monster… Gluttonous Slime…"
Through the crow's vision, Baili An observed a massive target. "A type I'm not good at dealing with."
Leaning forward, he dropped from a branch over twenty meters high.
"But that's what makes it interesting…"