The dimensional creatures cores were becoming visible through their flesh as the bodies began to break down in death.

Dimensional beast cores. Each one was a concentrated crystallization of the beast's power and could be sold for substantial amounts of money or absorbed to increase one's strength, agility or physique, depending on which attribute the beast focused more on.

Then could also be used in various refinement processes. Especially the cores from Rank 6 and Rank 7 beasts, they were worth small fortunes.

But first he was feeling slightly irritated with the smell wafting from his body.

He then decided to clean himself first and then comes harvesting.

He had time. The Blood Moon Frenzy was still ongoing based on the crimson moon which meant the trial might not be ending anytime soon.

He stepped out of the cave and found that the waterfall had indeed resumed flowing, though at a reduced rate compared to before. The water was cool and clear, flowing down from some underground source deep within the dimensional zone. Levi carefully set the little thief down in a dry spot on a flat rock.

Then he stripped off his ruined clothing, tossing the tattered remains aside.

He stepped under the waterfall and let the cold water cascade over his body, washing away the blood and pieces of dried flesh or intestine from his skin.

The scar tissue from where Marcus's sword had pierced his heart was still visible on his chest. This made Levi pause for a while as he knew he was supposed to be dead if it weren't for the fact that his regeneration hit level 8.

His left arm and right leg, which had been completely severed during the fight, showed no signs of ever having been damaged. The regeneration had been so complete that there wasn't even residual scar tissue. This was the frightening power of level 8 regeneration blood art.

After several minutes of thorough cleaning, Levi finally felt presentable again. He stepped out from under the waterfall and circulated a small amount of inferno strike energy to evaporate the water clinging to his skin, leaving himself dry.

He wore his still wet pants that looked like rags on him. As for his shirt, they couldn't even be worn even if he tried.

He walked back to where he had left the little thief and picked up the small creature once more. The beast stirred slightly at his touch but didn't wake, simply nuzzling deeper into his palm with a tiny, contented sound that made Levi's expression soften.

"You really saved me back there," he murmured quietly to the sleeping creature. "When you wake up, I'm going to feed you some good treasures."

The little thief's nose twitched slightly, as though even in sleep it could sense what Levi had just said, making Levi laugh slightly.

Levi spent the next hour harvesting monster cores from every beast corpse. His cleaver, despite the cracks that had formed during his battle with Marcus, was still functional enough for this task.

He carved through beast after beast, extracting the glowing crystalline cores and storing them in his spatial ring.

By the time he finished, he had accumulated an impressive hoard. Thirty-seven Rank 3 cores, twenty-two Rank 4 cores, fourteen Rank 5 cores, eight Rank 6 cores, and three Rank 7 cores, excluding the one from the Wrathram he had absorbed energy from.

The total value of this collection was staggering, easily enough to purchase a house in a decent city or fund several years of cultivation resources for a normal student.

But Levi wasn't a normal student, and he had no intention of selling these cores. He wanted to absorb them and move his strength!

Speaking of which, Levi suddenly remembered that the trial was still technically ongoing. He had been so focused on recovery that he had almost forgotten he was supposed to be competing for the top position.

His student badge, which should have been displaying his current ranking and point total, was somewhere in the remains of his shredded shirt.

After a bit of searching through the torn fabric, he found the badge and pressed his thumb against it to activate the display. What he saw made him blink in surprise.

[Current Ranking: 1st Place]

[Name: Levi]

[Points: 43,847]

Forty-three thousand points. The number was so absurdly high that it took him a moment to process. The second-place student, according to the small display showing the top ten rankings, had only accumulated twelve thousand points. He was nearly four times ahead of the next closest competitor.

The reason became clear as he looked at the point values assigned to different actions. Killing a Rank 7 beast during a Blood Moon Frenzy, when their strength was tripled, awarded five thousand points. Killing a corrupted cultivator, especially one who had artificially enhanced their realm, awarded even more. Marcus alone had probably been worth ten thousand points given his Rank 4 Genetic Soldier cultivation and dark cultivator status.

Levi almost felt bad for the other students. Almost. They were all fighting for their lives out there in the Blood Moon Frenzy while he was taking a shower and harvesting monster cores in relative safety. But then again, he had earned this moment of peace through literal blood and suffering and had almost even died in the process.

He sighed and then thought of his next course of action. Right now, he could just settle down and cultivate. With the system and the dimensional beast cores, he should be able to breakthrough Super soldier stage and advance to Genetic Warrior stage.

But then, the thought of the ruins came to him and he squinted his eyes in thought.

The ruins. He had only managed to claim the rewards from the first checkpoint before being interrupted by the Blood Moon Frenzy and the subsequent disaster with Seraphina and the beast tide.

There were still about nineteen more treasures in that ancient ruins and with the Heavenly Demon Breathing Technique at level 5, he should be able to move even higher the mountain stairs and take more treasure.

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