The lizard stood motionless, golden eyes faintly glowing yet unfocused.
The room was brighter than before—*clearer*—but something was still wrong. Edges blurred. Distances lied. Depth felt shallow and unreliable, as if the world itself refused to settle into place.
Its thoughts sharpened.
*I ate the corpses.*
*Devoured the demonic cores.*
*Spent evolution points.*
And yet—
*Why can't I see?*
Its gaze narrowed, a trace of frustration creeping in. Not rage. Not panic. Just cold, restrained confusion.
*How long until my sight is fully restored?*
The answer came immediately.
**{System}**
**[Ocular Recovery Status Updated.]**
**[Remaining Time: 20 days.]**
The lizard froze.
*…Twenty?*
Its jaw tightened slightly.
*It only reduced it from sixty days to twenty.*
With—
*Five demonic cores.*
*Fifty thousand evolution points.*
Its thoughts sharpened into a blade.
*That only cut forty days.*
A pause.
Then, deliberate and controlled—
*Explain.*
*Why is it like this?*
The system did not delay.
**{System}**
**[Explanation:]**
**[Host's ocular damage was not purely physical.]**
The lizard went completely still.
**[Damage originated from layered sources:]**
* **[Physical destruction of ocular tissue.]**
* **[Qi-channel scorching.]**
* **[Sensory pathway disruption.]**
* **[Soul-sensory strain.]**
**[Corpse consumption accelerates physical regeneration and qi replenishment.]**
**[Evolution points accelerate biological adaptation and gene integration.]**
A brief pause.
**[However—]**
**[Vision is a compound function.]**
**[It requires synchronized recovery of:]**
* **[Flesh.]**
* **[Qi pathways.]**
* **[Neural-soul perception layers.]**
The lizard's claws pressed lightly into the bed beneath it.
Its pupils constricted.
*…So that's it.*
**{System}**
**[In simple terms:]**
**[You healed the body faster than the perception.]**
**[Your eyes exist.]**
**[But your ability to interpret sight is still stabilizing.]**
Another pause—then the final line.
**{System}**
**[Time cannot be bypassed entirely without risking permanent distortion or false vision.]**
Silence filled the room.
The lizard exhaled slowly.
*So eating more won't instantly fix it.*
*And forcing it… could ruin it.*
Its golden eyes remained half-focused, expression calm but edged with quiet pressure.
*Even if I eat more corpses…*
*Even if I consume more demonic cores…*
*It won't reduce the remaining recovery time.*
It wasn't a complaint.
It was confirmation.
The system replied immediately.
**{System}**
**[Confirmed.]**
**[Additional corpse consumption or demonic core absorption will NOT further reduce ocular recovery time.]**
A brief pause.
**[They will still provide:]**
* **[Qi replenishment.]**
* **[Gene points.]**
* **[Overall growth and evolution resources.]**
**[But NOT additional reduction to ocular recovery duration.]**
The lizard's tail twitched once.
Then its thoughts sharpened again.
*If that's the case…*
*Why did you earlier say eating couldn't fully shorten the recovery time?*
There was no accusation in the question.
Only logic.
The system answered without hesitation.
**{System}**
**[Because at that time:]**
**[Ocular recovery was in its EARLY regenerative phase.]**
**[During that phase:]**
* **[Physical reconstruction dominated the recovery process.]**
* **[External resources could accelerate regeneration.]**
A beat.
**[That phase has now ended.]**
The lizard's eyes narrowed slightly.
**{System}**
**[Current recovery stage:]**
**[Neural-sensory synchronization and soul-perception recalibration.]**
**[This stage:]**
* **[Cannot be rushed by raw energy.]**
* **[Cannot be bypassed by evolution points.]**
* **[Requires temporal stabilization.]**
The system's tone remained flat and factual.
**{System}**
**[Earlier advice was correct at the time it was given.]**
**[Conditions have since changed.]**
Silence settled once more.
The lizard absorbed the explanation.
*So it wasn't wrong.*
*The window just closed.*
It lifted its head slightly, unfocused gaze steady.
*Then the remaining twenty days…*
*Are unavoidable.*
No frustration surfaced.
Only acceptance.
*Alright,* it thought calmly.
The lizard settled back into stillness, breathing slow and even—already adjusting its plans around patience rather than force.
---
The fox had been watching in silence for some time.
It tilted its head, ears flicking as it studied the lizard just… standing there. No movement. No reaction. No sign of awareness beyond breathing.
"…Oi," the fox finally said, breaking the quiet. "Why are you just standing there?"
It took a step closer, tails swaying.
"Don't tell me your eyes *still* haven't healed."
No response.
The lizard didn't move. Didn't turn. Didn't even flick its tail.
But inwardly—
*System.*
*What's my cultivation level now?*
The answer came at once.
**{System}**
**[Cultivation Status Updated.]**
**[Foundation Establishment — Sixth Layer.]**
The lizard's breath paused for half a heartbeat.
*…Sixth.*
Not fourth.
Not fifth.
Mid–Foundation Establishment.
So that was the pressure it felt. The density in its qi. The subtle resistance with every breath.
*I broke through while unconscious.*
Outwardly, it remained motionless.
But its presence shifted.
The air around it grew heavier—settled. Like something that had *finished forming*.
The fox felt it immediately.
Its ears snapped upright. Fur along its neck prickled as it instinctively took half a step back.
"…Huh?"
Its divine sense brushed outward—then stopped short, as if meeting a solid wall.
"That's not right," the fox muttered. "Your qi…"
It trailed off, staring.
The lizard finally moved.
Just slightly.
Its head tilted—slow and deliberate. Though its golden eyes still didn't focus on the fox, the weight behind that unfocused gaze was unmistakable.
It spoke calmly.
"…My eyes aren't healed yet."
A pause.
"It'll take twenty days for a full recovery."
The room felt smaller.
The fox swallowed, then clicked its tongue—half impressed, half unsettled.
"…Sixth layer?" it guessed.
The lizard didn't confirm.
It didn't need to.
The fox circled slowly, eyes sharp, tails swaying with restrained agitation. Even with its energy deliberately suppressed, it could *feel* it—there was no mistaking that pressure.
"…No doubt about it," the fox said quietly. "That's sixth-layer aura. Even wrapped up like that, it's leaking."
It stopped in front of the lizard, staring straight at it.
"But how?"
Its ears flattened slightly.
"You broke into the **fourth layer** just days ago. I *felt* it then. And now?" The fox let out a short, disbelieving breath. "You skipped two layers like they were puddles."
It shook its head.
"That's not normal."
The fox's eyes narrowed, studying the unfocused gaze, the way the lizard's qi felt *too clean*, *too settled*.
It paced once. Twice.
"So how did you do it?" it demanded. "What did you *do* to jump two layers?"
Its gaze sharpened, replaying everything.
"You didn't cultivate normally. You didn't sit in the formation. You didn't swallow piles of pills like I did." A pause. "You just… ate."
The fox frowned.
"But you've always eaten corpses," it muttered. "That's nothing new. You were doing that even before the auction."
It stopped mid-thought.
"…No."
Its eyes narrowed—then widened.
"That's not it."
The fox's gaze snapped back to the lizard, tracing its outline, its wings, the subtle heaviness in its presence.
"This time was different," it said quietly. "Those weren't just cultivators."
Its ears twitched as realization settled piece by piece.
"Demonic beasts," it murmured. "High-tier ones. A Crimson Fang Wolf. An Iron-Claw Eagle. A mountain bull. Mutated bloodlines."
The fox inhaled sharply.
"And their **cores**."
It froze.
"…You didn't just eat flesh," it said, voice dropping. "You devoured their cores."
Its eyes gleamed with understanding now.
"That's it, isn't it?" Half disbelief. Half awe. "Your body wasn't just repairing itself—it was *absorbing foundation-grade essence directly*."
The fox let out a slow breath.
"For beast cultivators, demonic cores are refined. Neutralized. Balanced." It shook its head. "But you're not refining them."
"You're **digesting** them."
Its gaze flicked to the lizard's chest, then back to its eyes.
"No filtration. No loss. You turned pure beast foundation into your own."
The fox clicked its tongue softly.
"…That explains it. Two layers in one go. No instability. No backlash."
It looked up at the lizard again, something like reluctant respect in its eyes.
"Do you have any idea how terrifying that is?"
A beat.
Then, quieter—