CHAPTER 165: STILL NOT DONE

Logan didn’t move.

He continued sitting in a cross-legged position in the center of his room. The door to his room was locked, the windows were shut. It was like the world outside had totally been forgotten.

And he kept cultivating. His breathing was steady like a rhythm.

Slow and deep inhales.

Then a pause followed by slow exhales.

It felt so peaceful.

The spiritual energy from Spirit Nectar was being refined inside him. It spread through his meridians in waves. It was too dense and pure. The spiritual energy he collected from the corpses of dungeon monsters was nothing compared to it.

The void soul sutra was in full motion, refining Qi from this spiritual energy and channeling through every vein and pore of his body. His internal energy kept increasing in a steady state.

Time passed.

First seconds.

Then minutes.

Then hours.

With eyes shut, his focus was absolute.

His spine remained straight like a drawn blade.

His expression was blank and his heart calm.

He didn’t move. Not even a bit. Only the rhythm of his breathing. Without it, anyone would mistake him for a statue.

Even the hunger of mortal world didn’t affect him.

After reaching a certain stage, cultivators didn’t need food to survive. They could feed on energy. Their bodies would draw nutrients directly from the spiritual forces flowing within them.

And so, Logan stayed like that.

Day after day.

Night after night.

No food.

No water.

Only silence and cultivation.

He trained nonstop.

One day passed.

Then two.

Three....Four.....Five.....

Seven days passed just like that.

And then, on the morning of the eighth day, something shifted.

Inside his dantian, a tremor began.

The spiritual energy rotating inside him began to pull in tighter. The flow accelerated. The heat inside his veins spiked.

And then....

BOOM!

An energy burst.

His entire body trembled.

A powerful pulse spread from his core....rushing outward like a shockwave, cracking the stillness of his inner world.

But Logan didn’t flinch.

He kept his eyes shut.

He didn’t gasp.

Didn’t even frown.

He simply breathed.

But something had changed.

His aura!

He had finally broken through again.

From martial arts master to Junior Grandmaster—a powerful leap in the cultivation path.

His body was stronger now. His senses grew sharper. His control over energy was now more precise than ever before.

But he didn’t stop.

Even with a breakthrough, he had absorbed only a fraction of the Spirit Nectar’s power.

After all that training for days after days, only 10% of the Spirit Nectar’s power had been used.

That realization alone proved how powerful the fruit was.

So he kept training.

And aimed higher.

Meanwhile, elsewhere inside the Hunter Guild...

The healing chamber was quiet.

Soft light spilled through the high windows, landing gently on the bed where Melissa lay.

Still.

Unmoving.

It had been almost a month since the dungeon raid.

Her wounds had been closed. Her life saved. Her mana stabilized.

But she still hadn’t woken up.

No matter how many spells the healers used, no matter how many potions were fed....

nothing changed.

She remained unconscious.

Sitting beside her today was Luna.

She said nothing.

She just sat still, hands resting on her lap, her eyes fixed on Melissa’s face.

There was always someone by her side.

Sometimes Ronald. Sometimes Jessi. Often Gideon.

But not because they had to.

They came because they couldn’t leave her alone.

None of them could.

Luna looked down.

"It’s been so long..." she thought quietly.

"And Logan still hasn’t come back..."

She reached out and gently tucked a loose strand of Melissa’s hair behind her ear.

The room was still.

No movement.

No change.

Just waiting.

Back in Logan’s room, the peaceful storm inside him continued.

He still hadn’t moved.

Still hadn’t eaten.

Still hadn’t slept.

But his cultivation had entered a new depth.

He was stable now.... His internal energy was growing limitlessly. His next breakthrough was on the horizon.

And Logan wasn’t going to stop until he reached it.

He didn’t care how long it took.

_______

The main hall of the Hunter Guild....

It was unusually active today.

It was bright.

Busy.

Loud.

Crowds filled the space....people chatting, lining up, checking weapons, or looking around nervously.

Because today was another Hunter Test Day.

Dozens of fresh faces had arrived from all across the region. Some were young nobles. Others were street-born survivalists. But all of them had the same goal....

becoming licensed hunters.

Many had practiced for this day for years.

Most had never entered a real dungeon.

Their eyes were filled with hope and anxiety.

Some wanted it to brag about. For some, it was necessity.

Elizabeth stood at the front desk, issuing instructions without pause. Her voice was calm but firm. She had done this hundreds of times before.

Yet something about today felt heavier.

The excitement was higher.

And then...

The large front gate creaked open.

The metal hinges let out a soft groan as sunlight poured into the hall.

At first, no one paid attention.

Another applicant, maybe.

But then...

A long shadow stretched across the stone floor.

And silence followed.

Conversations stopped.

Heads turned.

Eyes widened.

Because the person who stepped in wasn’t a rookie.

It was an S-Class Hunter. One of the big three.

Noah Starwind.

He walked inside slowly.

Even with that authoritative aura of his, he still looked approachable, welcoming.

But people still stepped back instinctively.

A few younger applicants gasped.

Even the staff paused.

Behind him entered a tall, silver-haired woman. Elegant. Composed. Her steps were light, but her gaze carried quiet authority.

Emily Starwind.

Noah’s wife.

And finally...

A third figure entered.

The air changed again.

It grew colder.

Sharper.

Everyone had their eyes locked.

A girl stepped into the guild.

Her hair was long and silver. Her eyes were a light blue, glowing faintly under the light. Her expression was still as stone.

She looked both cute and overbearing at the same time. A truly odd combination.

It was her.

Lilith Starwind.