SSS Awakening: Rebirth of the Strongest Vampire God Chapter 691 Training time

Damon dodged nimbly among the heads, narrowly evading the snap of teeth while blistering heat grazed his side. He touched down with grace, his gaze fierce and unyielding. Now came his moment to unleash the enhanced burning lance at his command.

The moments that followed blurred into chaos as Damon traded fierce strikes with the monstrous salamander. He had figured his improved hellfire burning lance would finish the creature in one go, yet the abomination activated its domain ability.

Glowing molten symbols ignited under the salamander's form, and a ring-shaped zone burst open, engulfing Damon without delay. The heat surged ferociously, far beyond mere warmth—it pressed down like a crushing force, disrupting mana flow and warping his senses. The atmosphere grew heavy and viscous, every inhale laden with scorching particles that stung the insides.

Within this domain, the pull of gravity shifted faintly toward the salamander, bolstering its strength. Fissures spread like webs over the ground, with lava channels throbbing like veins just below. The creature's hide turned shadowy, cracks of light snaking over its frame as the trapped spirit emerged completely.

Damon sensed the change right away. The salamander's combat strength exploded in a flash. All three necks struck simultaneously—one with jaws clamping down hard, another spewing a twisting blaze packed tight like iron, and the third bellowing a cry that shook the entire domain. That noise assaulted his concentration, ripping at his mental fortitude.

Any other fighter would have fallen in that instant, but Damon just grinned at the domain's power. "It's too bad for you that my fire resistance is already insane." The twisting blaze crashed right into him. Fire coiled around his frame, howling fiercely as though desperate to burn him away, yet ultimately, it barely affected him.

Damon advanced through the blaze. His blood raced, hellfire gathering on his limb as the Burning Lance took shape again. He spun aside from the biting maws and drove his shoulder into the monster's torso for leverage.

"Your domain is impressive," Damon remarked steadily, his words cutting through the inferno's din. "But you picked the wrong element." He drove forward. The Burning Lance stabbed directly into the salamander's torso, striking the heart. On this strike, it carried roughly 60% of his maximum force, and the beast couldn't repel it anymore.

The salamander let out a piercing shriek. Its domain started to collapse as it flailed in frenzy. Fractures shot through the fiery symbols underfoot, lava lines flickering as grip faltered. Flames burst out in a savage explosion.

One neck vanished in a puff. Another got severed outright, its bellow silenced abruptly. The last neck issued a choked, raging wail before crumbling to dust. The domain broke apart. The sweltering air faded, giving way to the chill, heavy quiet of the Forest of Doom. Liquid rock hardened swiftly, splintering beneath steps as the salamander's remains tumbled into a charred heap.

Damon effortlessly drew in the blood essence, sensing his fire resistance notch up slightly, together with his bond to the fire element. "...So that's a peak C-rank abomination with a domain," he grumbled. "Tougher than I thought. Cunning as well."

His eyes shifted toward the forest's heart. This remained the edge of the wilds. Far greater threats lurked within, eager for the taking. He ran his tongue over his lips, eager for the chase. The real hunt awaited.

He was on the verge of moving on when an odd sensation caught his attention. He knelt amid the burned ground, as unease prickled at him. He couldn't quite identify it, but traces of grudge and old malice lingered on the charred soil, seeping into the dirt like toxin.

"Hmmm… even after death, you're still poisoning the land," Damon murmured. He knew little of souls, but it struck him as wrong that the spirit hadn't fully faded even after its second end. He lingered, eyeing the area a bit longer, then pressed onward into the woods.

Damon's following prey included another salamander, then a beast resembling a gorilla, and afterward a vicious, twisted bird unlike any he'd seen. He paced himself in battles against various monsters, but soon altered his approach, shifting to toxins and resuming his poison studies.

His miasma spread through the wilds, toxic flowers sprouting all around. Though they didn't kill outright, the poisons sapped the abominations' vigor, speeding up the kills considerably.

By chance, Damon advanced his soul poison concepts and experiments using these varied toxins, in a place where beast spirits burned with unusual potency. Yet he stayed highly alert. Potent souls implied some could inflict spiritual harm.

The intense regimen persisted for a while before Damon headed back to camp. This expedition hadn't yielded major breakthroughs, but he'd notched small gains in several areas.

He also dispatched his shadow clones and creatures for reconnaissance, hunting for ideal locations nearby to unlock additional meridians. He'd wished for a fiery zone or the like, but fortune didn't favor him.

Tomorrow would bring more searching to find something fitting. Lost in reflection, Damon returned to the site. The instant he arrived, his mother embraced him and handed over a hefty serving of meal.

He considered protesting that he didn't require it, fresh from devouring potent blood essence repeatedly, but yielding and eating it all proved simpler than arguing with her. So he complied.

Nearby, Aurora, Kate, and the rest of the women sat in lotus positions, deep in meditation. Damon settled among them quietly, first raising a sturdy blood shield around his form.

He retrieved a flask of toxin from his soul space—one among the dozen-plus from La Rocha. Now was the hour to trial his refined physique against a venom from that ancient, dubious artifact spirit.

***

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