The Blood Refining Fruit wasn't unguarded. Far from it.

The clearing was filled with dark cultivators—at least fifty of them, possibly more. They weren't the weak Level 1 or Level 2 Genetic Soldiers that Levi had been picking off throughout the settlement. These were elites, the core strength of the dark cultivator base.

Levi's eyes swept across them, analyzing their power levels with the perception granted by his cultivation. Most were Level 4 to Level 6 Genetic Soldiers, with at least a dozen Fiend-Warriors scattered among them ranging from Level 1 to Level 5.

And battling desperately against this massive crowd were the academy's top ten Elite Class students!

Levi recognized several of them from earlier. Lucifer Fraust, ranked tenth, wielded twin daggers that blazed with purple flames as he fought against three Fiend-Warriors simultaneously. His movements were graceful, almost dance-like, as he weaved between their attacks and countered with precise strikes that left burning wounds.

The seventh-ranked student, a girl with brilliant green hair, had summoned a massive plant creature that emerged from the ground beneath the platform. The plant was like a carnivorous flower the size of a small building, with petals lined with teeth and vines that lashed out like whips, grabbing dark cultivators and crushing them.

The fourth-ranked student, a young man with golden armor manifested from his Astra Soul, fought at the forefront of the battle. His fists struck with the force of sledgehammers, each punch creating shockwaves that scattered groups of enemies. But even as Levi watched, three dark cultivators managed to flank him, their combined attack leaving a deep gash across his back that spurted blood.

And still fighting in the sky, though now much lower and closer to the platform, was Aldric Frostborne. The number-one student was locked in combat with what had to be the dark cultivator leader—a peak Level 9 Fiend-Warrior whose power was so immense that the air around him literally distorted.

The dark leader was a middle-aged man with a gaunt face and eyes that had turned completely black, no whites visible at all. His body was covered in the same demonic runes that decorated the statues, and dark energy rolled off him in waves. In his hands he wielded a staff topped with a human skull that leaked black smoke.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Ice and darkness clashed repeatedly! Each exchange created shockwaves that knocked nearby fighters off their feet. Aldric's Frozen Domain spread outward, covering the ground in a layer of ice, but the dark leader's death energy corrupted it, turning the ice black and causing it to crack and shatter.

The battle was intense, chaotic, and incredibly dangerous. Even the top ten students were being pushed to their limits. Several of them were already wounded, and the dark cultivators kept coming, their numbers seeming endless.

This wasn't a situation Levi could just charge into recklessly. He needed to be smart about this.

-----

LUNA'S MISSION

Levi crouched behind the ruins of a partially collapsed building at the edge of the clearing, watching and waiting for an opportunity. His mind raced, analyzing the situation and formulating a plan.

The Blood Refining Fruit was too valuable to pass up. It could provide him with advantages that would last his entire cultivation journey. But retrieving it would be incredibly dangerous—the moment he showed himself, dozens of powerful dark cultivators would try to kill him.

Unless… he didn't retrieve it himself.

Levi's gaze shifted to Luna, who was perched on his shoulder and watching the battle with bright, intelligent eyes.

"Luna," he whispered softly, stroking her soft white fur. "I need you to do something dangerous. Are you ready?"

Squeak!

Luna's response was immediate and confident. She puffed out her tiny chest proudly, as if offended that he would even question her courage.

Levi smiled slightly. "Good girl. Here's what I need you to do…"

He explained his plan in whispered words, pointing out the withered tree, describing the fruit, and outlining the timing they would need. Luna's ears perked up as she listened, her head tilting occasionally as she processed the information.

When he finished, she squeaked once in acknowledgment and then launched herself from his shoulder!

WHOOSH!

The little beast moved in a blur of white fur and incredible speed! Her body was so small that most of the fighters didn't even notice her presence as she darted across the battlefield, weaving between legs and leaping over fallen bodies.

She activated her natural ability to dampen her presence, making herself seem insignificant and unworthy of attention. It was a survival instinct common to small creatures—make yourself forgettable, and predators will ignore you.

Luna reached the edge of the platform and leaped upward, her claws extended! She caught the edge of the black stone and scrambled up, her movements so fluid and quick that she almost seemed to flow like water.

Then she was racing across the platform's surface, dodging around the piles of bones and pools of dried blood. She headed straight for the withered tree, her eyes locked on the pulsing Blood Refining Fruit.

Ten meters. Five meters. Three meters.

SQUEAK!

Luna leaped the final distance, her small body soaring through the air! Her claws extended, reaching for the fruit. Her jaws opened, ready to bite through the stem that attached it to the branch.

She grabbed the fruit!

Her teeth closed on the stem, and with a sharp twist of her head, she severed it cleanly. The Blood Refining Fruit came free, its pulsing glow intensifying for a moment as if protesting being separated from its tree.

But at that exact moment, one of the Fiend-Warriors—a woman with wild black hair and carrying a curved sword—noticed the small white creature stealing their treasure!

"The fruit!" she screamed, her voice cutting through the chaos of battle. "Someone is stealing the Blood Refining Fruit!"

BOOM!

The woman launched herself toward Luna with explosive speed! Her sword descended in a deadly arc, aimed to cut the small beast in half!

Luna's eyes widened in alarm!

She couldn't dodge—she was in mid-air, carrying the fruit in her mouth, with no way to change her trajectory!

But that was exactly what Levi had been waiting for!

FLASH!

Luna activated her Substitution Technique at the last possible instant!

The air shimmered with spatial distortion. Reality bent. And suddenly Luna was no longer where she had been.

The female Fiend-Warrior's sword struck with a massive "boom!" , cleaving through a human skull that Luna had been standing near. The skull exploded into bone fragments, but Luna was already gone.

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