Chapter 36: Victory Through Battle

Seeing the Mudflat Beauty’s hostile intent, Yato immediately reverted to his true form and lunged forward in a leap.

However, the Mudflat Beauty was clearly not to be trifled with. It reached behind itself, and two long bone swords materialized in its hands. With a powerful swing, it activated its skill, Death Bone Sword, instantly sending Yato flying.

"Meow!" Yato let out a miserable wail as he slammed into the stone wall, suffering heavy injuries. Although he had recently achieved a breakthrough, he was still only at D-rank, leaving a significant gap between him and the C-rank Mudflat Beauty. Furthermore, the creature had long fed on the spiritual essence of Golden Abundance and was nearing its own breakthrough, making its strength extraordinary.

Seeing Yato falter, Fanxing did not hesitate for a second and immediately launched an assault. She first flung out flying blades, and while the Mudflat Beauty was occupied, she activated her Ghost Shadow skill, transforming into a spectral blur that appeared beside the creature in an instant. Her sharp nails unsheathed as she triggered the Skinning skill.

The Mudflat Beauty’s reaction speed exceeded Fanxing’s expectations. With a sudden turn, it began to sing a mournful, moving melody. The moment the song reached her ears, the Mudflat Beauty appeared wretched and pathetic to Fanxing. Her attack faltered, and a wave of reluctance to harm the creature welled up within her.

In that momentary hesitation, the Mudflat Beauty’s Death Bone Sword slashed across Fanxing’s neck, coming within a hair’s breadth of decapitating her. To the creature's surprise, however, Fanxing did not die; her spilled blood flowed back into her body, and the wound healed in the blink of an eye. The Mudflat Beauty stared in disbelief, momentarily stunned by a situation it had never encountered before.

Seizing the chance, Fanxing activated her Water Control skill, weaving currents into ropes that tightly bound the creature. Simultaneously, Princess unleashed her Light of Glaze skill, firing a thick, iridescent beam straight at the Mudflat Beauty.

BOOM!

With a deafening roar, the creature was engulfed by the beam. Fanxing and the others watched, wondering if it had been eliminated. Yet, in the next second, it burst forth from the light like a streak of brilliance, rushing toward Princess and striking her with the Death Bone Sword. Fortunately, Princess reacted quickly and activated Feather of Steel just in time, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow, though she was still sent flying.

After crashing through a boulder, Princess took flight and immediately activated Wing of Steel. Her pitch-black wings transformed into silver feathers, shimmering with cold light as she attacked the Mudflat Beauty. The creature held its ground, swinging its bone swords to meet the assault.

Clang, clang! The bone swords and steel wings collided repeatedly, creating crisp, metallic rings.

"Ah... ah... ah..."

Just as Fanxing prepared to strike, the mournful song echoed again. Both she and Princess were affected; Fanxing’s skill was interrupted, and Princess was sent reeling by a sword strike. The Mudflat Beauty then activated its third skill, Wither Domain (a zone where undead types continuously recover spiritual energy), and a dark green light rippled out from its center, blanketing the entire battlefield. It did not realize that both it and Fanxing were of the undead type, meaning the skill benefited them both.

Wither Domain was a potent recharging skill, its only flaw being that it affected both friend and foe. As Fanxing and the creature both replenished their spiritual energy, Fanxing flashed out of her position, attacking with her Skinning skill while the Mudflat Beauty countered head-on with its bone swords.

Clang! Fanxing’s nails met the bone sword. With a sharp snap, one of her nails was cleanly severed. Clearly, in a contest of raw offensive power, Fanxing was at a disadvantage—the Mudflat Beauty’s Death Bone Sword was truly formidable.

Princess attacked again, her steel wings turning into blades that sliced into the creature's waist. To their surprise, the bone structure there was incredibly dense, and Princess failed to cut through it. This Mudflat Beauty possessed not only excessive offensive power but also remarkable defense.

"Ah... ah... ah..."

The mournful song rang out once more. Looking at the pitiful, beautiful creature, Fanxing and Princess felt their resolve waver, and their attacks stalled involuntarily. The control effect of the Mournful Song was too powerful; they could not shake it off. In the next heartbeat, both master and pet were struck down by the creature’s swords.

Seeing his master in a desperate struggle, Yato, despite his injuries, caught sight of the Golden Abundance in the nearby pool. He leaped to the edge, transformed into a massive black panther, and began devouring the Golden Abundance in large gulps.

"ROAR!" Seeing its food being eaten, the Mudflat Beauty flew into a rage. It let out a terrifying shriek and raised its swords to attack Yato, but was intercepted by the combined efforts of Fanxing and Princess.

As the number of Golden Abundance in the pool dwindled, the Mudflat Beauty began to lose its mind. Its shrieks turned into roars, its beautiful face twisted in agony, and its sharp teeth gnashed together.

*Thud!* The Death Bone Sword slammed into Princess. She defended with her steel feathers, but was still knocked back. Fanxing activated Water Control, gathering water dragons that roared and lunged at the creature, only to be shattered by its sword. Fanxing then closed the distance, her sharp nails flashing as she clashed with the bone blades.

Meanwhile, having swallowed hundreds of the Golden Abundance, Yato’s evolution finally began. Massive amounts of black mist surged from his body, forming clouds that swirled around him.

"Meow... ROAR!"

Yato threw his head back, his call deepening into a roar. His two tails lashed the air so fast they created afterimages. As they whipped about, a third tail sprouted. Then, purple patterns began to emerge across his pure black fur, glowing with a faint luminescence. The markings appeared first on his neck, spread along his spine, and then branched out across his flanks like tree limbs. Once fully formed, the patterns faded into his skin until they vanished.

A crack appeared in the center of Yato’s forehead, and with a final roar, it split open to reveal a golden vertical eye. Simultaneously, Yato’s aura skyrocketed, reaching C-rank in the blink of an eye. Having consumed far more than the hundred spiritual fish required, it was no surprise he broke through during his evolution.

Race: Three-Tailed Evil-Eyed Cat
Classification: Evil Spirit Type
Attribute: Evil
Trait: Evil Pattern (Increases spiritual energy recovery efficiency by 40%)
Skills: Evil Mist (Become intangible mist), Tail Assault (Attack with tail coated in evil force, ignores shields), Berserk (Greatly increases attack and defense when severely injured), Evil Eye (Releases a terrifying gaze to randomly seal an opponent's skill)
Rank: C
Role: Speed Attacker

After evolving, Yato not only learned new skills but also awakened a trait usually reserved for B-rank spirits—largely due to consuming the flesh of the Tai Sui. The moment his evolution succeeded, Yato activated his new skill, Evil Eye. He turned his head and fixed his gaze upon the Mudflat Beauty.

The moment their eyes met, the creature shuddered, and its Mournful Song was instantly sealed. It opened its mouth to sing, but only raspy, incoherent roars emerged. Yato lunged, his massive frame pinning the creature to the ground.

The Mudflat Beauty fought back with immense strength, grabbing one of Yato’s paws and trying to throw him off. But Yato activated Tail Assault, driving two tails into the ground to anchor himself while using the third to impale the creature's chest.

"AAAAAH!!!" The agony drew a piercing scream from the Mudflat Beauty. In a frenzy, it grabbed Yato’s tail, which was still embedded in its chest, and hurled him away—even his anchored tails couldn't stop the force.

CRASH!

Yato slammed into a stone wall, bringing down a shower of debris from the ceiling. Fanxing and Princess seized the opportunity, attacking from left and right with Skinning and Wing of Steel. The Mudflat Beauty, distracted by Yato, failed to defend and was struck by both. Princess’s feathers severed one of its arms, while Fanxing’s hand plunged into the wound Yato had created, ripping out the creature's beating heart.

"AAAAAH!!!" The Mudflat Beauty shrieked, and in that moment, it forcibly broke through Yato’s seal and activated the Mournful Song again. All three—Fanxing, Yato, and Princess—stopped mid-attack, paralyzed by the sound.

Without a heart, the creature was dying, but it chose to gamble on a desperate counterattack. Gathering all its remaining power, it broke its own limits, surging toward B-rank—and it succeeded. Whether for spirits or spirit masters, the gap between C and B was a chasm; once at B-rank, one was undeniably a powerhouse. A C-rank could almost never hope to defeat a B-rank.

Sensing the overwhelming pressure, Fanxing shouted to Princess and Yato, "Hold it off!" As long as they could stall, the heartless creature would eventually perish. She then swallowed the heart she held in her hand. As the heart vanished, the creature's aura began to wane.

"Meow!" Yato pounced again but was swatted away by a single strike. The B-rank Mudflat Beauty had wounded him heavily. Because of the severity of the damage, Yato’s Berserk skill triggered; his fur bristled, his eyes turned blood-red, and his stats surged. The Evil Eye on his forehead opened once more, sealing the creature's only remaining attack method: the Death Bone Sword.

Unable to use its sword, the Mudflat Beauty tried to sing again, but Princess arrived, her steel wings slashing at its neck. While she couldn't sever the head, she successfully silenced the song. The creature grabbed Princess and threw her aside in anger, but Fanxing was already there, her nails slicing off its remaining arm.

"Ah..." The Mudflat Beauty wailed as it whipped its tail, sending Fanxing flying; the force felt enough to shatter her internal organs. But before it could recover, Yato was upon it, his massive paws pinning it to the ground. Deprived of its arms, its combat ability plummeted. Yato then used Tail Assault, one tail constricting the creature's throat while another impaled its abdomen.

Finally, the Mudflat Beauty’s strength failed, and it stopped moving. Fanxing flashed to its side and consumed it without hesitation. The body decomposed rapidly within her, and as a B-rank spirit, it provided a massive boost to her spiritual energy.

She then began to plunder its skills. Since her two skill slots were full, she had to discard either Flying Blade or Water Control. After some thought, she decided to keep Water Control; it was a versatile skill for offense, defense, and control. Flying Blade was too mediocre by comparison.

Choosing which skill to replace it with was difficult. The Death Bone Sword offered great power and was undead-aligned; the Mournful Song provided devastating control; and the Wither Domain was a rare, high-value charging skill. Fanxing considered her options carefully.