番茄乐园

\'Huh? Was I locked in this room?\' Mira wondered and was glad if that was the case.

Her earlier actions of blocking off the entrance to this floor probably pissed off a bunch of people. She never would\'ve been able to meditate peacefully if she wasn\'t locked off.

Standing up, Mira turned to find a large crowd of cultivators, humans, and various beast races amassed at the entrance of the temple. The thick ice walls she had erected had become nearly transparent, revealing the agitated masses outside. Their faces held a mixture of anger, awe, and, in some cases, fear.

A tall, imposing man with a snake-like appearance hissed in her direction, "You dare block our passage, Mira? Do you think you\'re the only one entitled to the temple\'s gifts?"

Beside him, a delicate-looking woman with features resembling a deer frowned. "Mira, you might be powerful, but this is a shared realm. You can\'t claim it all for yourself."

Mira met their glares with a cool composure and shrugged. "I claimed it because I could. If you have issues, you know where to find me."

A roar erupted from a lion-headed man, "Enough of this talk! She\'s just one person. We can overpower her if we unite!"

The air grew thick with tension. Every beast, human, and cultivator present felt the pressure building.

Before anyone could react, a winged woman, who was a beast in her human form, shouted, "She cannot monopolize the temple! For thousands of years, it has been a shared ground between us beasts. We will not let one individual\'s greed tarnish our traditions! Kill that woman!"

Her declaration sparked a chain reaction.

"Kill her!"

"Kill the humans!"

"How dare they steal what\'s ours!?"

Beings from various races began to gather their energy, readying themselves for an imminent confrontation. The ground beneath them trembled as they summoned their power.

Mira, realizing the weight of the situation, began to prepare. Her fox eyes gleamed with a fierce light. A ball of ice formed in front of her, reshaping into formidable ice warriors, each carrying weapons crafted from the frosty air around them.

Without warning, a snake man lunged at Mira, his scales glistening with a deadly venom. But before he could get close, one of Mira\'s ice warriors blocked his path, their weapons clashing in a chorus of metallic rings. 

The temple floor became a chaotic battlefield as multiple beings engaged in combat, the air thick with energy beams, spells, and the sounds of fierce roars.

The lion-headed man\'s roar grew louder as he charged forward with other beast races, hoping to overpower Mira through sheer numbers. 

But they were met with resistance from Mira\'s ice warriors and the temple\'s inherent defense mechanisms. Pillars of light erupted from the ground, creating barriers and pushing the attackers away.

Mira, sensing an opportunity, began to channel a powerful spell. The atmosphere turned frigid as she summoned an enormous blizzard. Snow and ice swirled around her, enveloping the entire floor. Many of the attackers found themselves trapped, their movements slowed by the biting cold.

Using this momentary advantage, Mira began to dismantle her foes one by one, her strikes precise and deadly.

It took what felt like hours, but gradually, the temple floor began to calm. Exhausted beings lay strewn everywhere, their energies depleted. The majestic temple, once peaceful, was now scarred with signs of the fierce battle.

However, Mira stood tall with only a few scratches, which healed almost immediately. 

She steadied her breath and walked over to the fallen beasts, attempting to kill them. 

Unfortunately, someone always has to get in her way.

"Leave them be, woman," A massive lion with golden stripes, on the cusp of breaking through to Rank 9, stepped forward after watching the battle. 

A light of disappointment flashed through his eyes as he looked at his fallen brethren, looking weak and pitiful. For a moment, he couldn\'t believe he had to compare his mighty self with these… worms.

Walking over to the lion-headed man, who was lying pitifully on the ground, he stepped on its face. 

"You don\'t deserve to be related to me." The lion muttered. Before the man could even beg for his life, his head popped like a balloon.

Turning back to Mira, the lion said, "We can fight when we aren\'t in this sacred ground. For now, allow me to deal with these pitiful excuses for beasts."

Mira stared at the beast for a moment before nodding. "Very well." Then, she walked off, ignoring the stares of hatred, fear, and rage in the onlooker\'s eyes.

The lion\'s eyes gleamed in appreciation as he watched Mira. "Such power, such elegance," he muttered to himself, clearly mesmerized by her prowess. "Only a woman of her caliber is worthy of me. After I\'ve evolved to Rank 9, I\'ll ensure she\'s by my side, whether she wills it or not."

As Mira walked off, he thought to himself, \'Her strength and demeanor captivate me, but I also sense an untapped potential, a rawness that needs taming. Once I\'ve evolved, I\'ll make her mine.\'

Watching Mira\'s back until she disappeared, the lion turned back around, his eyes now frosty. \'But first, these fools need to be put in their place.\'

***

The lion may have thought that he had hidden his motives well, but they were as clear as day in Mira\'s eyes. 

However, since the lion didn\'t want to fight, she saw no need to force it. Taking him down would take a while, considering his strength.

Like the Dragon statue said, this Realm was built upon competition. It was a race to see who could find the most opportunities, and she had no intention of losing a single one.

After her confrontation with the gathered beasts and cultivators and the unexpected interference of the golden-striped lion, Mira felt a magnetic pull guiding her deeper into the temple. She followed it, allowing her intuition to guide her through the giant hallway.

Soon, she arrived at the entrance to the Moon Temple, marked by a vast crescent moon engraved on a massive silver door. The door radiated an enchanting luminescence.

Pausing, she placed a hand on the door, feeling the cool energy pulsating from within.

As Mira gently pushed the doors open, a serene sight greeted her. Inside, the entire chamber shimmered under the soft glow of thousands of moonstones, reflecting in a massive pool of crystalline water. Above, an open dome allowed the real moonlight to flood in, mingling with the reflected light from the moonstones below.

The reflection from the moonstones in the chamber cast intricate patterns of light on the crystalline water in the center. Mira, having been initially distracted by the beauty of the room, realized the importance of the pond as she approached it.

The water was not just any ordinary water. It pulsated with energy, much like the rest of the temple but in a more focused and concentrated manner. The very air around it was thick with ancient power, and Mira could feel the thrum of energy calling to her

She knelt beside the pond and gently dipped her fingers into the water. It felt cool, almost silken against her skin, and a rush of knowledge flooded into her. 

Unlike the jarring influx she\'d expected, the information flowed in harmoniously, filling her mind with visions and wisdom. She saw the origin of the temple, its significance, and its role in nurturing countless powerful beings throughout eons.

She also realized that the water could be shared, and there was enough for many to benefit from its properties. Perhaps her earlier attempt to monopolize the temple wasn\'t necessary, as the real treasure was this limitless pool of energy.

...Though, she would never give up free loot to anyone if she could help it.

Mira could feel the immense potential this water held. As she submerged her hands further into the pond, a realization washed over her: this wasn\'t just about power, but transformation. 

She saw fleeting images of ancient beasts over millennia immersing themselves into this sacred water and emerging fully human. 

This was the final rite for many – a passage to break through their natural barriers and reach a new form. 

While many beasts valued the power of their beast forms, for those that were powerful, there was an understanding that the human form was the epitome of balance and control. 

By transforming completely into a human, a beast could achieve a harmony of mind, body, and soul that was otherwise unreachable.

However, this required an incredible amount of time, energy, and talent. Normal beasts, no matter what they did, would never be able to unlock a human form as it simply required too much. 

One needed to have a deep understanding of the intricacies of the human body, how to create meridians, but also how to retain this complexity in their beast form. 

They also needed control over their soul and many more just to be able to tap into this power. 

Fortunately, Mira was an anomaly.

As soon as she dunked herself in the pool, a surge of energy rushed through her meridians, bloating her body. She did something similar to what happened inside the Sun Temple. 

With the meridians that were connected to her human heart, she merged as much of this energy with them as she could before creating a pathway. 

The world around Mira melted away as she was engulfed by the pool\'s power. Visions flashed before her eyes, and sensations bombarded her body. She felt her energy pathways expanding slightly, every cell of her being absorbing everything it could.

Pain. Pleasure. Darkness. Light. All sensations intertwined, pulling and stretching her senses.

The calm, serene surface of the pool began to churn as the water danced around her, reacting to the changes occurring within her. From the pool\'s center, where Mira was submerged, brilliant streams of light erupted, weaving intricate patterns in the air.

Inside this cocoon of energy, Mira felt both stretched thin and condensed at the same time. She visualized her meridians, the pathways that channeled her internal energy, expanding and branching out in ways she hadn\'t imagined possible. Each new pathway was like a riverbed, being carved out by the torrent of energy she was harnessing.

Gradually, the overwhelming sensations began to converge into a more singular, focused feeling. Control.

As the tumultuous process began to settle, Mira opened her eyes and immediately noticed her reflection. 

No more were her fox ears, fox tails, or any of that. 

Instead, she looked exactly like a normal human, something she hadn\'t experienced in a while.