After a few days, focused on hunting and gathering energy, passed before he advanced to Tier-2. Most of his Soultraits were still sealed or restrained to a low star-rating, but that was exactly what Michael needed. He used most energy particles to unlock more Cursed and Serpent Seals and spent several hours every day practicing Rune Vortex while Fenrir and Jormungandr did their work.

Michael sensed a faint change in Rune Vortex. His mastery of the Primordial grade technique skyrocketed in the Trial of Regression, which was a welcome surprise.

[The Trial of Regression allows you to look at certain techniques from a different point of view. You can perceive the changes of Rune Vortex as a Tierless, Tier-1, and Tier-2 Awakened and thus increase your mastery of Rune Vortex by grasping the changes and expanding on them.] Jormungandr explained when the World Serpent noticed Michael's confusion.

While the World Serpent was right about that, Michael sensed more about Rune Vortex than it looked like. It required almost no effort to exert Rune Vortex at this point, and Michael could feel how Rune Vortex and his Energy Pillar interacted with each other. There was an attraction between the two forces, something Michael didn't expect to encounter until he was about to ascend to a Divine Lifeform.

His Energy Pillar and the Rune Vortex showed the first signs of fusing. The Energy Vortex could only be formed as a Divine Lifeform. That was, at least, what Michael had read in the Primordial grade technique's book. But was that really the case? What if the Trial of Regression could change that? Maybe it was possible to create the Energy Vortex earlier using the Trials of the Fallen God!

That thought excited Michael, and he chose to invest more time in practicing Rune Vortex. He continued investing the energy particles of slain monsters into the Beast God Curses and unlocked all artificially sealed Cursed and Serpent Seals in the next four weeks. Four weeks was also how long Rune Vortex required to reach profound mastery. A fraction of the Energy Pillar had transformed into a minuscule vortex that absorbed a tiny amount of energy at all times. It was a permanent construct and would ensure Michael could refine his War Rune while walking around and hunting at all times 1-Star Sacred Constitution was strong enough to occupy the tiny vortex and use it to the fullest. That wasn't further surprising as the vortex was insignificant. Nonetheless, Michael was only about to advance to the 3rd Tier, yet he had formed a minuscule Energy Vortex. What if he completed the Energy Vortex until the end of the first trial? That would be phenomenal!

Michael faced a group of Blood Oath Demon Monkeys. Watching them made him recall Sun Demos and his subordinates, but only for a moment. Sun Demos and his group had already evolved. Still, they hadn't been as strong as the Blood Oath Demon Monkeys from the Primordial Untamed Jungle. All Monsters from the Primordial Untamed Jungle were much stronger than they were in reality. There could be multiple reasons to explain everything, but Michael didn't pay enough attention to it. The energy density and purity of energy in the surroundings explained everything well enough.

Thanks to the Primordial Untamed Jungle's environment, he was growing stronger a lot faster than the norm, so others could do the same. One way or another, Michael had to fight a bunch of BLood Oath Demon Monkeys. There were more than a dozen of them, and all were at the Mid rank of the 2nd Tier. They were below Michael's rank but didn't think highly of his combat prowess because he was alone and didn't wield a weapon.

Still, anyone who could reach the Peak of Tier-2 was supposed to be powerful. The Blood Oath Demon Monkeys surrounded Michael and attacked from all sides. They planned to attack, scratch him once or twice, and pull back. Repeating that pattern until their enemy was worn out was supposed to be the perfect target for the Blood Oath Demon Monkeys. However, they didn't expect their attack to fail instantaneously.

When the monsters attacked, Michael unleashed Curse Fusion with all 51 Cursed Seals and 53 Serpent Seals. His body was coated in a thick serpent-scale defense that was so black it seemed to absorb the surrounding light. A massive serpent tail grew from his tailbone, his eyes transformed into Jormungandr's serpentine slits, and his hands transformed into massive claws. His physical prowess skyrocketed while the Curse Fusion with The Wolf Deity increased his energy reserves drastically. Energy flooded Michael, allowing him to use Greater Enhancement on each Seal, Sacred Constitution, Extraction, and Aethyr.

He then conjured sharp spikes at the end of the serpent tail while also coating his claws in Aethyr. Some Blood Oath Demon Monkeys noticed something was amiss and screeched, but it was already too late for the majority. Michael moved much faster than the Blood Oath Demon Monkeys. His tail smashed heavily into the neck of one monster behind him, a spike penetrating its neck without any resistance. Michael kicked the ground and pierced another monkey's chest before he blocked several claw strikes with his serpentine armor. The Blood Oath Demon Monkeys couldn't penetrate his armor after Greater Enhancement strengthened it!

Michael smiled vibrantly and shot forward. He moved faster than the monkeys, and they couldn't escape him either since he was overly familiar with their movement patterns. He slashed, sliced, and smashed the Blood Oath Demon Monkeys, killing them quickly. The dozen monsters died in less than two minutes, their energy particles flooding Michael's body. He transformed back and licked his lips in excitement. 'I'm advancing so fastDo I want to unlock more Soultraits or upgrade them right now?'

Michael shrugged lightly. He upgraded Sacred Constitution and Extraction to 3-Star, using energy particles to shatter the artificial seals. Thereafter, The Wolf Deity and The Serpent Deity had a much easier time using their Perfect Soul Techniques to absorb the surrounding energy and infuse it into his body. He unleashed Rune Vortex as usual and started advancing to Tier-3.

Advancing to Tier-3 didn't take too long after removing some of Extraction and Sacred Constitution's seals. If anything, it was much faster than before, showing Michael that both Extraction and Sacred Constitution were useful for combat and to refine his War Rune and expand his Energy Pillar rapidly.

With that in mind, Michael spent the next two weeks unsealing Extraction and Sacred Constituion to 8-Star once again. In those weeks, Michael expanded the miniature Energy Vortex in his Energy Pillar. He gained enlightenment, and it was only a matter of weeks or months at the worst. By then, the Energy Vortex would be complete, and his advancement to Tier-6 and higher was only a matter of resources and effort.

The enemies in the Primordial Untamed Jungle were growing stronger as he inched closer to the main area of the jungle. He followed the trails of High Beasts and hunted a handful using Greater Enhancement, Soullife Arts, Soul Techniques, and his two main 8-Star Soultraits alongside Curse Fusion and Aethyr. It was much harder to kill High Beasts than it had been in the past, but due to the increase in difficulty, Michael could advance faster as well. He had only a few Soultraits unsealed and was thus faster than ever at advancing. He was excited about what awaited him. Meanwhile, the power particles of the High Beasts were used to unleash more power of his Beast God Curses. It was about time to unseal more Seals!