And the thing was—his understanding of Cultivation Methods and Techniques had progressed. Not to the same degree as everything else, but it still increased.
In terms of improvement, here's what progressed the fastest—and what would continue to progress as long as he kept fighting demonic beasts:
1: Combat Experience and Combat Efficiency against demonic beasts.
2: His efficiency in combiningMoonpiercer Sword Art and Cloudbreaking Stride, and using them together seamlessly in battle.
3: His global combat experience as a cultivator.
4: His progress in swordsmanship, otherwise known as the Sword Dao. This wasn't related to any particular Sword Technique like Moonpiercer Sword Art, but represented pure advancement in the Sword Dao itself.
5: Sword Nurturing Art. It might seem surprising, but the fact that Mikael and Sangrelia were fighting together nearly 24/7 allowed him to progress quickly in this art. As they fought side by side, their bond deepened—naturally leading to advancement.
6,7: In sixth and seventh place tied with each other were Moonpiercer Sword Art and Cloudbreaking Stride. As the two Cultivation Techniques he used in nearly every battle, it was only logical that they progressed rapidly.
8: Ninefold Physique Method. Each time Mikael was injured, he would circulate this Body Tempering Method, allowing for steady advancement. While it didn't improve as quickly as the others above, the speed of growth was still far from ordinary.
In truth, even the eighth-fastest area of progress on that list would be enough to make the average cultivator on Diron go mad with envy. Many would kill for results even half that fast—which only served to highlight how absurd Mikael's talent was. Not only could he progress this fast in Body Tempering, but the seven other areas above it were moving even faster.
9: Divine Sense Refining Method. This Cultivation Method progressed rather slowly. The biggest gain occurred during the fight against the Shadowfang Panther. After that, it did advance, but not by much—which was normal. Cultivation Methods were meant to be quietly cultivated in a peaceful environment, not advanced through battle.
Methods like Ninefold Physique Method weren't the norm. So the fact that the Divine Sense Refining Method still managed to progress—even if only a little—was already pretty good.
10,11,12: Sun-Moon Unity Technique, Elemental Unity Path, and Obsidian Spirit Reinforcement were all tied at the same level of progress: none.
None of the three had improved in any way. Not even a little. Which again, was normal. Most Cultivation Methods were designed to be cultivated by... cultivating. The fact that Ninefold Physique Method and Divine Sense Refining Method progressed during battle was the exception—not the rule.
Like water flowing down a stream, time kept moving.
In this way, the fourth week passed with Mikael continuing to advance. That week, he killed 48 Early-stage and 33 Mid-stage demonic beasts. He remained at the same 'depth' in the mountain range as usual, but moved to a different region. His reasoning was simple.
His intense hunting in previous weeks hadn't gone unnoticed. The demonic beasts had begun sensing that a new apex predator had emerged. As a result, they instinctively became more cautious. That shift slowed his hunting pace and eventually forced him to relocate.
The fifth week passed similarly without incident. Mikael continued growing stronger, and it showed in his kill count: 50 Early-stage, 40 Mid-stage, and even 2 Late-stage Spiritual Foundation Realm demonic beasts fell to his blade.
Earlier, he hadn't dared to hunt Late-stage beasts. But something shifted that week. His bond with Sangrelia—honed through near-constant battle—quietly crossed an invisible threshold.
It wasn't dramatic. No thunder cracked the sky, no divine omen split the heavens. It happened in silence—just a quiet moment in the middle of a blood-soaked kill, where the blade pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat. The Sword Nurturing Art had reached Small Success. He didn't need confirmation. He knew.
From that moment on, her blade bit deeper. Cut cleaner. And for the first time, he truly felt like he wasn't wielding Sangrelia—he was fighting with her.
Sangrelia had changed. Her sharpness, durability, and sentience had all deepened. And that transformation gave Mikael the confidence to confront Late-stage demonic beasts without fear.
He wasn't wrong to trust it. That very same day, he successfully hunted two Late-stage demonic beasts.
And so, time flowed on. The sixth week arrived, and Mikael focused entirely on battling Late-stage demonic beasts—sprinkling in the occasional Mid-stage fight. As for Early-stage ones? They were no longer worth his time. Too weak to serve any real purpose in his training.
Mikael thought this week would follow the same rhythm as the others. But halfway through, something happened—something that changed not only his plans for the week, but far more beyond that.
***
With a sharp flick of his wrist, Mikael sent a thin arc of blood flying from Sangrelia's blade. The crimson droplets scattered through the air before splattering across the already blood-soaked ground, leaving the obsidian-black sword gleaming once more beneath the filtered sunlight.
He stood motionless above the corpse of a colossal demonic beast—its body sprawled across the clearing like a broken mountain. Ten meters tall, its thick hide was riddled with fatal gashes, its claws half-buried in torn earth as if it had died mid-charge.
Even in death, its heavy pressure hadn't faded. It still lingered in the air, oppressive and tangible, making it clear that this creature hadn't been a foe to take lightly. Its aura marked it firmly at the Late-stage Spiritual Foundation Realm.
Vrrrm.
A soft vibration pulsed through Sangrelia's hilt, almost like a purr. It came mere seconds after the cleaning flick—an instinctive response, subtle yet unmistakably alive.
A small smile appeared on Mikael's face. "I already said it—no need to vibrate when you want to thank me, at least I think it's to thank me…" he muttered the last part under his breath, clearly unsure. Then, with a louder voice, he added, "I know it's tiring for you to do any independent actions, so really, no need to 'communicate' like that."
VRRRMMMMMMM.
Sangrelia responded by vibrating more intensely in his grip, so much so that she nearly slipped from his hands.
Seeing her like that, Mikael let out a helpless sigh. "Sangrelia, I don't understand what you're trying to say. Since the Sword Nurturing Sword Art reached Small Success, you always vibrate right after I kill a demonic beast, but honestly, I have no idea why you do this."
Vrrrrmm.
Her answer came in the form of a continued, lower purr. That simple act sparked a thought in Mikael's mind.
'Does this mean that when she vibrates loudly, she isn't happy, and when it's more like a normal purr, she is happy—or wants attention—or… anything, really? I don't fucking know! How am I supposed to communicate with a sword that suddenly gained sentience, when her only way of responding is fucking vibrating!'
He inwardly complained with a somewhat resigned expression. But then something struck him like a bolt of lightning.
"Wait a fucking minute… If you can vibrate to communicate and clearly understand me, couldn't we actually communicate—at least somewhat efficiently—by creating a yes and no system?"
His eyes lit up at the realization. The more he turned the idea in his head, the more it made sense. His gaze fell once more on the obsidian longsword with its blood-red edge, which had gone still the moment she heard his words.
"Okay, let's go with something simple. If you know the answer to what I say: one vibration for yes, two for no, and three if it's unsure. Understood?"
Vrmmm.
Sangrelia gave a single hum in reply, drawing a subtle smile from Mikael.
Thud.
He dropped into a seated position atop the still-warm corpse, the ten-meter-tall demonic beast sprawled beneath him like a fallen mountain. Blood pooled around the massive carcass, yet not a single drop touched him—the faint film of qi surrounding his body kept the filth at bay, as if even the beast's death refused to mar him.
From a distance, the sight would have been haunting: a lone figure resting in eerie calm atop a monstrous creature that could crush boulders with ease. But Mikael didn't spare a thought for appearances.
His gaze was fixed on the sword in his hand. "Earlier you hummed after I killed the demonic beasts—why so?"
Hmmm Hmmm Hmmm.
Mikael rubbed his chin. "My bad. I didn't ask a yes/no question, let's remedy that. Earlier, did you vibrate because you were happy that I killed the demonic beasts?"
Vrmm... Vrmm Vrmm.
"Okayyy... A yes and a no after? I think it's that?"
Vrmmm.
'Okay, so she's happy when I—we—kill demonic beasts, but at the same time she's also unhappy... this way of communicating really isn't the most efficient. Kinda annoying!'
He pondered the contradiction for a moment, mentally cycling through possible causes for her mixed response. "Do you like when we kill demonic beasts? And I mean only the killing part, no other reason?"
Vrmmm.
"What do you dislike then? Is it the end of the fight?"
Vrmmm... Hmmm Hmmm.
Mikael kept asking dozens of yes and no questions, trying to parse Sangrelia's logic, but he couldn't isolate the reason for her displeasure. There were a couple of moments when she gave a yes followed by a no, but never a no on its own—leaving him metaphorically scratching his head, still no closer to understanding her mood.
Eventually, he had what even he considered a dumb idea. "I know this is going to sound stupid, but... the thing you dislike—is it that you don't like when I clean you of the blood?" he asked, clearly not expecting a positive reply.
Surprisingly—Hmmm.
"It's really that?" he muttered, surprised. For a moment, it didn't quite make sense, but as his thoughts drifted toward Sangrelia's usual bloodthirsty aura and the fact that she was a sword, it started to feel less strange.
A human who is bloody would want to clean himself/herself of the blood which is why he automatically assumed it was the same with her. But now that he thinks about it she was a sword not a human so expecting her to have the same morality, preferences, or emotional patterns as a human was extremely stupid on his part.
"If… that's the case." He adjusted his grip on Sangrelia and plunged her down.
Squelch.
Her blade sank effortlessly into the demonic beast's hide, parting flesh that had long since cooled—yet still offering the blood she seemed to crave. As she began to purr, Mikael was nearly certain this time that it meant she was happy.
His gaze drifted to the horizon, expression calm, thoughts unreadable. In the background, Sangrelia's faint purring—feeding quietly—accompanied the silence in his mind.
For a moment, there was peace. No movement, no threat. Just stillness, the distant wind, and the warmth of fresh blood fading beneath him.
Then his ears twitched. He caught something faint—far away. So distant that even with his enhanced hearing, it was difficult to pick up. But even at that range, he could still identify the sound.
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