I Shall Steal The Heavens 22 Chapter 21: Abyss

"Oh, shut up…"

Mumbling, I struggled to sit up. Holding my head, I winced as I listened to the annoying sound of dripping water. Not far off, it seems like there was a stream flowing. I blinked and shuddered as a cool breeze blew past me, noticing the drop in temperature.

d.a.m.n, but it was cold.

"Where the h.e.l.l am I?"

c.o.c.king my head from side to side to relieve the stiffness in my neck, I glanced around at my new surroundings. Climbing to my feet, I suddenly felt a sharp pain stabbing my body, and almost toppled over. Huffing, I steadied myself.

"Whoa…"

Shaking my head to clear the pain and grogginess, I took stock of my surroundings. As expected, the abyss was dark, slight illuminated by mysterious luminous qi stones that were embedded throughout the rocky walls surrounding me. Just ahead was a narrow river that was about ten meters wide, but otherwise snaked left and right for as far as I could see, disappearing into a distance. An underwater stream, perhaps? Had I fallen into an underground creek?

And then I realized how wet I was. No wonder I was feeling so cold. My drenched clothes clung to me, sapping away my body heat at a frightening rate and causing chills o run throughout me. Gritting my teeth, I wrapped my arms around me as my teeth chattered, shivering violently.

My vision was blurry, but after a while I realized that it was because the lenses of my gla.s.ses were dripping. Since my clothing was wet, I couldn't wipe them dry. In any case, I was surprised that I didn't lose my gla.s.ses during the fall…

Wait, fall? That's right! I was falling after the bridge collapsed, after that f.u.c.king Qi Fu Ren betrayed me and attacked me when I was distracting the Behemoth! How…?

Then everything came back to me. I survived the fall from the bridge above thanks to sheer luck. Normally, there was no way I could survive such a fall from a great height, but somewhere while falling, I had encountered a waterfall that was running off some cliff. I had almost blacked out when I slammed into the water, but thankfully the tension in the water had already been broken by the falling debris of the destroyed bridge, or the impact would have killed me.

Most people didn't know, but you could still die if you hit water after falling from such a great height. Contrary to what most movies would have you believe, striking water after plummeting from a great height would kill you instantly because the force would be equivalent to hitting solid ground or rock. What killed the faller would be the tension of the water. Fortunately, there was a way to circ.u.mvent it. If the tension had already been broken by something else prior – for example, the descending debris of a bridge or building, then falling into the water wouldn't kill you.

Or so the theory went.

"Ugh…"

I clutched my head. Somehow, after hitting the water, I was carried away by its flow and swept along by countless waterfalls. The journey wasn't a smooth, fluid one. There were obstacles in the way, like rocks in the middle of the underground river. Unable to control my movements, and overpowered by the vicious currents, I was carried along right into a rock. Upon colliding with it (and various other things), I had blacked out.

And now, it seemed that I had finally been washed ash.o.r.e. Given how I was a meter or two away from the river, I judged that I must have unconsciously pulled myself out to save myself from a watery death the moment the currents relaxed. I wasn't good at swimming, so I might really have drowned if I continued to allow myself to be swept away.

"Br…"

I still couldn't control my violent shivering. It was cold. Too cold. It was as if I had been immediately plunged into the middle of a Minnesotan winter, without the right gear. All I had on was the Wu Ling Academy uniform.

d.a.m.n…at this rate, I might catch hypothermia…

I had to find a way to warm my body up. Staggering forward, I made a small base camp by the river and found a place to sit down. Meditating, I began to direct the flow of qi within my body, attempting to warm myself up with my vitality.

How did Teacher Jiao teach me to control and convert my qi again…?

That was when I realized that the surrounding atmosphere was saturated with dense, thick natural qi. This was a great place for cultivation. I guess this was what one could call fortune within misfortune.

But it would still be pretty terrible luck if I couldn't make use of the resources provided to me. Clamping down on my teeth to stop them from chattering, I tried to take my mind off the chills that ravaged my body and focused on directing my qi. Absorbing the rich natural essence from the air, I began to convert it into qi to nourish my vitality.

To warm myself up, I have to focus on producing yang qi…

The fiery element of yang qi, the other side of cold yin qi. If I could produce enough of it, I should be able to create a small spark of fire…

Whoosh…

I didn't know how long it took, or how much time I spent meditating, but before I knew it, the water drenching my clothes was turning into steam. Even the water running down the lenses of my wet gla.s.ses evaporated instantly, the black plastic frame growing warm as it absorbed the heat. My body warmed up as my ferocious yang qi surged throughout it, the amount gradually increasing when I converted and added more of the natural essence into yang qi.

"Whoa! That's hot! Ugh!"

Realizing that I got too carried away, I began going in the other direction and focused on converting a tiny amount of essence into yin qi. There had to be a balance. Too much yang qi and I would burn myself out. Moreover, I did not have much affinity with the fire element. h.e.l.l, I probably didn't have affinity with any element, which explained my One Star Const.i.tution. Although I could produce basic flames or heat, I wasn't able to properly employ them in an authentic martial arts attack. I could probably throw Fire Punches, but the amount of heat I generated was negligible and probably wouldn't hurt an opponent who was a martial artist and had improved elemental resistance over normal people who had never learned martial arts.

But at least my clothes were now dry and I had warmed up quite a bit. After counteracting some of my excessive yang qi with a bit of yin qi to balance out the equilibrium of qi within my body, I rose to my feet again. There was no point spending too much time sitting around and meditating. I had to find a way out of this place.

"I fell from quite a huge height…is there any way for me to get back up there?"

I glanced around, but there was no sign of stairs or anything that would lead me back up to Sen Lin Forest or wherever I fell from. The walls in the distance was a sheer drop, too steep for me to scale. The cavern itself was too vast, almost like a forest in itself. I wouldn't be surprised if it was part of Sen Lin Forest, to be honest. I could walk around for days and still not find a d.a.m.ned stairs or clue that would lead me back to the surface.

Was there no way for me to return?

A sudden spike of despair stabbed me. I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, trying not to give into the tears that threatened to well up in my eyes. This wasn't the time to cry. It wasn't…really, but I couldn't help myself.

I was all alone, in the middle of nowhere, cut off from my cla.s.smates. Betrayed by the f.u.c.ker who bullied me, and left for dead. I couldn't help but despair when I thought about my miserable predicament. Did that f.u.c.ker really want me dead? Was I doomed to suffer like this? Why was G.o.d so cruel to me? not only did I suffer the humiliation of being a One Star Const.i.tution cultivator, I had to endure condescending looks and treatment from other students in Wu Ling Academy, I became unable to retaliate against bullying – and that same f.u.c.king bully was the one who almost killed me with his betrayal – and now I was thrown into an abyss despite doing my best to save everyone by distracting the Behemoth.

I helped everyone and this was the thanks I received? How was this fair? Why did I, despite working so hard, remain in such a miserable state, while everyone enjoyed the benefits of their talent? Why was I the one who suffered so much and got sacrificed, even when they were the ones with all the talent and by right should be stalling the Behemoth instead of me?

Why? Why? Why? Why?

"UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH!"

I let out a roar of rage and despair. This wretched fate…the unfair Heavens or G.o.d, this horrible destiny…I will overturn it all. I will go against Fate and the Heavens if I had to. I will take my fortune back with my own two hands.

And I will get revenge on that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Qi Fu Ren and absolutely destroy him. He thought he was finally rid of me? I will show him. I will survive this no matter what and return to the surface. Then I will crush him.

Clenching my fists, I allowed my fury to motivate me, to push me out of despair. Now that I had a goal, I had to put that determination into action. Sucking in a deep breath to calm myself down, I opened my eyes, wiped the tears away and glared at the distant walls.

"I'll be fine. I'll find a way. I'll definitely find a way."

Now that I had calmed down and regained my composure, I began to explore the cavern and look for a way up. I wasn't sure far underground I was in, but I was certain that I was still somewhere within the geographical s.p.a.ce of Sen Lin Forest. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be one of those ruins we were in search of. If that was the case, there had to be a way out.

However, as I progressed, I noticed that the cavern I was inside was less of a manmade structure and resembled more of an underground forest. For one thing, it was vast, with trees cl.u.s.tered before my path. If I wanted to find a way out of this G.o.dforsaken place, I had no choice but to traverse the strange forest.

How are the trees alive down here?

Some kind of magical ecosystem? There was no sun down here, so it was unlikely that the trees relied on photosynthesis. Then again, I had no idea how the biology of the world in this timeline worked. It was entirely possible that these trees were nourished by the dense, rich essence or qi that saturated the air in the cave. Already I felt stronger just from meditating for a bit by the sh.o.r.e. What more could be said for the trees, which had been here for years? Possibly centuries, or even millennia?

This world is really full of fascinating stuff…

I nodded as I glanced around, impressed.

While I was a little apprehensive about entering the forest, I found to my benefit that the trees provided a lot of cover. If anything dangerous popped out, I could immediately dive and hide behind a tree. Aware of how treacherous the forest was, and still unsure about how deep underground I was in and thus the strength of the monsters and magical beasts that dwelled within them, I maintained an uneasy caution and traveled stealthily from tree to tree.

I didn't know how long I walked for. After what felt like hours, I was beginning to feel slightly exhausted. Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to rest. Taking a deep breath, I advanced another step, only to stop.

"Eh?"

There was a wide clearing in front of me. Surrounded by trees, it was a little bare other than the carpet of green gra.s.s that covered the soil. There wasn't anything of interest, but it did seem like a good spot to set up camp and rest…

At least that was what I thought, until I noticed the other presence in the clearing.

"!"

I quickly dove toward the nearest tree and sought cover under it. Closing my eyes, I breathed a few times to calm down, then carefully peeked out from behind a huge root. Straight ahead, right at the edge of a clearing, was single creature that hopped into view. At first I thought I had seen wrongly, that it wasn't a magical beast, for it resembled nothing more than a big ball of white fur. Then I caught sight of the long ears.

Is that…a Lunar Rabbit?

Relying on my knowledge of magical beasts, I identified the creature as a Lunar Rabbit. As I had read in the encyclopedia, the creature was the size of a medium-sized hound, with heavily muscled hind legs that it used for kicking. However, it differed greatly from the images in the encyclopedia. For one thing, I didn't remember seeing the dark red lines that ran along its body, like veins bulging and sticking out of its fur. The red lines also pulsated ominously in the darkness, almost glowing, and I could sense a thick demonic aura emanating from the creature.

The Lunar Rabbit…is it corrupted by demonic qi?

That was the only explanation…no wonder I instinctively felt fear. Its sheer presence was overpowering and suffocating, almost like a demon was closing its claw around my heart. There was also something unnerving about the Lunar Rabbit, from the predatory manner in which it sniffed the air and glanced around menacingly with glowing, crimson eyes.

Yeah, that was definitely a dangerous monster. I sure as h.e.l.l didn't want to approach a demonic beast like that. Briefly considering my options, I decided to stay hidden and wait for the corrupted Lunar Rabbit to leave. Closing my eyes, I slid back against the tree and waited patiently. Since I was at it, I might as well make use of this time to rest.

Lunar Rabbit, huh?

I remembered that there was a Lunar Rabbit Sect. Tu Zi Yi had joined that sect, and I remembered how it was a poor, pitiful sect that was barely able to survive with the few resources it had. Initially I wondered why the h.e.l.l would a sect name themselves after such a nonthreatening beast, but now that I had actually seen the Lunar Rabbit in the flesh, I knew that it was far from harmless.

That thing was dangerous! I didn't know how much of it was due to the demonic qi corrupting it, but I sure as h.e.l.l wasn't going near it to find out.

Wait…! What if the demonic qi that corrupted it…is from this very atmosphere!?

I had been nourishing myself with the natural essence from the cavern's air. If it turned out to be demonic essence – that explained why it was so dense and rich – wouldn't I end up corrupting myself like the Lunar Rabbit and turning into a demonic monster?

My heart began to pound. I didn't want to turn into a monster…

"!!"

I was suddenly aware that the Lunar Rabbit's movements had somewhat changed a little. It was sniffing the air, its heavy breathing thunderous against the silence that permeated the strange forest. Its ears stiffened as it stood up straight and rigidly, as if listening for something.

c.r.a.p! Can it hear me? Am I breathing too loudly?!

A stupid thought occurred to me. Perhaps the Lunar Rabbit could hear the ferocious pounding of my panicking heart…or it could somehow sense the disturbance in my emotions when I dreaded turning into a monster like it.

Yeah, I mean…any normal human would panic, so stop blaming me for having such idiotic thoughts. Put yourself in a similar dangerous situation like mine, and see if you can stop your fear and panic and think rationally, you d.a.m.ned edgelords!

I pressed myself against the tree, praying fervently. I forced myself to calm down, in the unlikely scenario that the Lunar Rabbit could hear my pounding heart (nah, it was more likely that it would hear my heavy breathing before it would ever hear my heartbeat) or sense the emotions, so that I could minimize my presence.

Fortunately, the Lunar Rabbit's attention was focused not on me but something else.

"Gr…!"

At the sound, I couldn't help but curiously peeked out again. This time, I caught sight of a Silverback Wolf slinking out of the forest, growling fiercely. It was almost identical to the Silverback Wolves that I had seen and fought against in the outer regions of Sen Lin Forest. Except for one difference. Like the Lunar Rabbit, this particular Silverback Wolf had been corrupted by demonic qi. It possessed the same pulsating dark red lines all over its body, standing out visibly against its armored, silver fur. I was pretty sure the Silverback Wolves that my cla.s.s and I encountered in the outer regions of Sen Lin Forest did not have those vein-like lines.

I moved my hand to draw my short sword on reflex, only to find that it was missing.

Ah…that's right. My sword broke.

Now I remembered. When attacking the Behemoth and stabbing its eye, the blade of my short sword had shattered. I was completely unarmed.

Well, it's not as if the magical beasts are attacking me…for now, I'll just stay hidden.

Just when I thought that, I heard a few more growls. To my surprise, four more Silverback Wolves – each sporting the same demonic red lines that pulsed all over their bristling muscles – loped out of the bushes and trees to join their comrade.

Pushing my gla.s.ses up, I watched the situation while being safely hidden. No matter how I looked at it, it was clear that the Silverback Wolves had an advantage over the Lunar Rabbit. They would absolutely rip the poor thing apart with their claws, teeth and numbers. Not only that, having fought the Silverback Wolves, I was highly aware of their silverback fur armor, which was impervious to blade. The Lunar Rabbit possessed neither fang nor claw, and didn't seem to possess any way of fighting those Silverback Wolves.

It was going to be one-sided.

Not that I sympathized with the "poor" Lunar Rabbit, of course…I couldn't afford to feel pity for a demonic creature that might very well kill me.

"Ku!"

The Lunar Rabbit was not intimidated at all. With a cute cry, it leaped into the air and spun about. In a single, fluid motion, it delivered a roundhouse kick to the first Silverback Wolf before it could even react, smacking the lupine creature's head with its ma.s.sive legs.

Crack…

My jaw dropped as the thunderous sound echoed throughout the forest. The Lunar Rabbit's kick had struck true. And the next moment, the Silverback Wolf collapsed, its neck bent at an unnatural angle. The Lunar Rabbit's kick had snapped the wolf's spine.

Holy…!

I blinked a few times, unable to believe my eyes.

The Lunar Rabbit was far from done, however.

It was still spinning in the air. Making use of its momentum from the roundhouse kick, the rabbit slowly whirled around in midair, and then as if kicking off something invisible, launched itself at its next foe. The second Silverback Wolf never saw the attack coming. Before it could even turn around, the Lunar Rabbit's leg slammed into the side of its face.

SNAP!

Again, the Silverback Wolf's neck was snapped cleanly by that vicious kick, and it fell onto the ground, twitching in its death throes.

Amazing…

Despite myself, I couldn't help but admire the Lunar Rabbit. Despite its numerically superior foes, it was killing them with superior martial arts. I realized that this was actually a terrible matchup for the Silverback Wolves, which relied on their fur armor to protect themselves. That armor meant nothing when their opponent did not use sharp weapons, fangs or claws to fight. The Lunar Rabbit was pulverizing them with sheer strength, using raw muscle to break their necks. It didn't need to penetrate their armor – and the Silverback Wolves' fur offered no protection against overwhelming blunt force.

Even though I was supposedly an intellectually superior human, there was still a lot of things I could learn from the magical creature. The Lunar Rabbit was actually using martial arts…did the Lunar Rabbit Sect specialize in kicks, then?

But it wasn't over yet. As the Lunar Rabbit landed, two of the remaining Silverback Wolves pounced on it, thinking it was most vulnerable. As before, they still maintained their cunning and weren't about to miss such a golden opportunity.

However, the Lunar Rabbit wasn't the least fazed. Having landed on its hands rather than its legs, it did a handstand and whirled about like a tornado. Its two heavily muscled hind legs lashed out and caught the two Silverback Wolves in their jaws. Before I realized what happened, the two Silverback Wolves were flung back and struck a couple of trees with such colossal impact that they actually broke the trunks in half, and were buried under the collapsed wood. Blood leaked out from their corpses, spreading out into a pool underneath the fallen trees.

The last Silverback Wolf growled and raised its tail, acc.u.mulating a frightening amount of qi into it. I realized that it was about to use a long-range elemental qi technique. Immediately, the temperature plummeted as icicles materialized above it.

The Silverback Wolf can actually use long-range elemental qi techniques?! But the ones in the outer region of Sen Lin Forest couldn't…ah, that's right…

I suddenly recalled a pa.s.sage from the encyclopedia. High-level magical beasts could use qi techniques, which were basically akin to magical spells in a more fantasy-like setting. Even within the same species, certain members had survived and fought long enough to…"level up", if you will, and obtained the ability to use qi techniques.

This particular Silverback Wolf was an example of that. It was obviously of a much higher level or cultivation stage than its brethren.

"Gr…!"

The barrage of icicles rained down on the Lunar Rabbit. Even as they sought to pierce the demonic beast, the Lunar Rabbit fearlessly darted forward with incredible agility. Evading the deadly hail of icicles by zigzagging across the clearing, the rabbit launched itself at the wolf and launched a somersault kick into its chin. The Silverback Wolf's head snapped upward with a sickening crunch and its whole body was lifted off the ground and sent hurtling across the clearing. Like its deceased brethren, its neck had been broken from that single blow.

"Ku!"

The Lunar Rabbit cried triumphantly and stomped on the ground, its long ears twitching excitedly.

"You've got to be kidding me…"

I mean, the encyclopedia did praise the Lunar Rabbits as strong, precocious creatures, and there was even a human martial arts sect that took its name, but this was way beyond my expectations. A single rabbit defeating five wolves on its own? Who would believe me if I survived my journey out of Sen Lin Forest and told everyone about it?

Furthermore, just from those movements, that incredible speed and agility, and the raw power behind its kicks, I was pretty sure that this Lunar Rabbit was superior to the terracotta soldiers that my cla.s.s had trouble with earlier. If my cla.s.smates were to run into a pack of these Lunar Rabbits, wouldn't we be annihilated?

Best to stay low and hide until the Lunar Rabbit left. Thinking that, I was about to dig in deeper when the Lunar Rabbit mercilessly kicked the corpse of one of the Silverback Wolves. The carca.s.s was flung right into my direction, and I instinctively dodged it even as it slapped wetly against the tree I was hiding behind. The wolf's carca.s.s then slid down to my position.

"…oh."

Whether the Lunar Rabbit had done it on purpose because it had already sensed my presence, or if it was a terrible coincidence and bad f.u.c.king luck on my part, it didn't matter. As I froze, my eyes half-riveted on the Silverback Wolf's corpse, I could see the Lunar Rabbit staring at me with those demonic, crimson eyes.

Yup, it had definitely seen me.

I was rooted to the ground, my instincts screaming at me to run but my body reusing to obey my mind. It was almost as if I was hypnotized by the Lunar Rabbit's predatory gaze.

Then the Lunar Rabbit infused strength into its hind legs and sprang forward.

"Whoa!"

I barely reacted in time as the Lunar Rabbit dashed toward me at a ridiculous speed that actually left afterimages behind it.

Fortunately, the Lunar Rabbit wasn't the only one with deft footwork.

Perhaps my survival instinct had kicked in at the last moment, but I managed to use Duo to evade the Lunar Rabbit. The ground where I was standing on a millisecond ago exploded as if an artillery sh.e.l.l had just hit it, gouging out a deep crater in the soil. I rolled on the ground after reappearing, and then jumped back to my feet.

Before I could regain my balance and infuse qi into my legs, the Lunar Rabbit had already launched itself at me.

"…tch!"

Clicking my tongue, I tried to use Tui to retreat, but the Lunar Rabbit was too fast. Before I could fully materialized the footwork technique, the Lunar Rabbit had already caught up with me. Even though I was flying backward at an incredible speed using my footwork and qi, the Lunar Rabbit was even faster!

What the h.e.l.l!?

The Lunar Rabbit kicked me. I brought my arms up to block on reflex, and thus protected my face from being obliterated, but the tremendous force threw me across the forest and slammed me into the ground with bone-crunching impact.

"ARGH!"

I writhed helplessly on the ground, screaming in pain. Struggling to get up, I collapsed to the ground. Looking down, I realized that my left am – which had taken the full brunt of the kick – was lying uselessly by my side. That single kick had broken the bones in my left arm, causing it to hang at a weird angle. I could actually see white bone sticking out of my elbow. The bone had fractured completely, to the point that it was piercing my skin.

And it hurt. A lot.

"Ugh! OOOOOOOW!"

Worse, my right arm was also slightly twisted at an awkward angle, with a giant, ugly bruise spreading over it. Having crossed both my arms to absorb the impact, my right arm – which was behind my left arm – had suffered less, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was broken. There was a dull pain thudding toward it, and the deep, purplish color was getting me worried.

The f.u.c.king Lunar Rabbit had gotten in a lucky shot, otherwise it wouldn't have successfully landed a kick on me. Then again, the Lunar Rabbit possessed not one but two Rabbit's Foot. Of course it would have great luck.

"Huff…"

Sucking in a deep breath, I tried to stem the pain and desperately looked for the Lunar Rabbit. The b.l.o.o.d.y f.u.c.ker turned out to be about ten meters away, but it was strolling to me in a relaxed manner, as if it believed that it had already won. Funnily enough, its arrogant att.i.tude struck me as very human, much like the haughty young masters that dominated wuxia novels, only to be beaten up by the protagonist and taught their place.

Unfortunately, I possessed no such power. I could only curse in frustration as the Lunar Rabbit looked down on me condescendingly, as if I was nothing more than a mere bug squirming in the soil. In fact, it looked like it was enjoying itself.

What a s.a.d.i.s.tic rabbit. The Lunar Rabbit was getting a kick out of kicking me.

You've got to be kidding me…!

I tried to stand, but my legs were still shaky from the impact. Additionally, excruciating agony was spreading from my broken left arm, and my qi circulation had been clogged by the unbelievable pain. It would be difficult for me to use my Shadow Steps and footwork techniques, even if I succeeded in standing up. As if it was fully aware of the fact, the Lunar Rabbit raised its foot playfully, as if taunting me.

And the most frustrating fact was that I couldn't even do a single thing.

"I don't suppose you're all ears, despite having long ears?" I grumbled, and then sighed resignedly.

Am I really going to die here? A pathetic death at the hands of a f.u.c.king rabbit?! Before I get my revenge?! b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l, I never thought a b.l.o.o.d.y Lunar Rabbit would be so deadly! Aren't they supposed to be cute, harmless creatures with an incredible s.e.x drive?!

Of all the ways to die…this had to rank among the most pathetic of deaths.

I closed my eyes as my heart was enveloped in despair and frustration. I really wasn't satisfied with this outcome. I really didn't want to die like this. I…

"…?"

The kick never came.

"Eh?"

I opened my eyes, not daring to believe that I was saved. However, the first thing I spotted was the Lunar Rabbit's foot.

"Whoa!"

However, I suddenly realize that the foot had stopped. For a second, I wondered if the Lunar Rabbit was toying with me, tormenting me one last time before it finished me off. Then I realized that the foot was trembling.

No, the Lunar Rabbit was trembling.

What's going on?

I wondered if the Lunar Rabbit was shivering in fear. That seemed like the most plausible explanation. But what was it afraid of? Me?

Maybe I had some inner demon or demon lord sealed inside my soul, and at this life-threatening moment, that demon had emerged to save me? Was that why I only had a One Star Const.i.tution? Because my "talent" had been sealed along with the demon?

That would be absolutely amazing, but also idiotically cliché. Still, I wouldn't mind taking the cliché route if it meant I survived.

Unfortunately, I was horribly mistaken.

There was a new demonic beast present. It had just lumbered out of the trees and into the clearing, filling the s.p.a.ce with its immense bulk.

Yeah…I was stupid for flattering myself. Of course there's no way the Lunar Rabbit would be afraid of me. And obviously there's no clichéd fictional plot device where I have a demon lord or legendary creature sealed inside my body.

If I wasn't in such a dangerous predicament, I would have rolled my eyes at my chuunibyou delusions, but for now my eyes were riveted to the new demonic beast.

As I said before, the new beast was immense. It towered over three meters, and its heavily muscled body was covered in ghostly gray fur. Just like the Lunar Rabbit and the Silverback Wolves, the newcomer seemed visibly contaminated by the demonic qi saturating the cavern, with demonic red lines pulsating all over its body. Both arms were grotesque, extended limbs that stretched all the way to the ground, each of them sporting three ma.s.sive claws that were about a foot long in length, resembling a butcher's cleaver.

That's…a Ghost Bear!

No, I wasn't talking about that particular Ghost Bear from some planet that sp.a.w.ned a Mechwarrior clan in the far future. But I read about the Ghost Bear. It was a Rank 7 magical beast that possessed incredible power. What the h.e.l.l was it doing in an underground cavern? No…that same question could be asked of the Lunar Rabbit and Silverback Wolves' presence. It was here because it was here.

Furthermore, it also meant that I was most likely in a very deep part of Sen Lin Forest, one where Rank 7 magical beasts inhabited.

Oh boy…I seriously was f.u.c.ked.

The Ghost Bear swept its demonic gaze across the clearing, keeping its ghostly eyes on us. For a moment, nothing spoke or made a sound. Both the Lunar Rabbit and I were frozen, overwhelmed by the Ghost Bear's sheer presence. It was an insurmountable fear, like one suffered by a mortal standing before a G.o.d, struck with the realization that he could absolutely nothing against such a far more advanced and powerful being.

"Gr…"

The Ghost Bear let out a growl, and then stepped forward.

"Ku!"

The Lunar Rabbit snapped out of its stupor. In a single fluid movement, it spun around and bounded away on those heavily muscled hind legs of its. All the speed it used to annihilate its enemies earlier was now being used to escape.

Unfortunately, it still wasn't fast enough.

Moving with a swiftness that belied its immense size, the Ghost Bear lashed out with a single paw. The Lunar Rabbit twisted its body with its incredible agility, dodging the blow. At least I believed it had dodged the blow, until I saw the Lunar Rabbit land a few meters away.

Drip…drip…drip.

The same sound I woke up to. Only, instead of water, it was blood.

Blood was gushing out of wounds on the Lunar Rabbit's body. Red stained white fur and the Lunar Rabbit began falling apart. Literally. Large chunks of its body began slipping off, blood bursting like a geyser as it turned into a pile of chopped meat.

I see…

Even in the face of absolute despair, I calmly a.n.a.lyzed the situation. I had spotted and sensed the qi flowing around the Ghost Bear's claws. That was a qi technique that allowed it to extend the sharpness of its claws into triple qi blades, further elongating its range to a meter. Even though the Lunar Rabbit had dodged the claws, it had not successfully evaded the qi technique. It reminded me of the level 5 technique Sharpened Sword Force.

If I got out of here alive, I would certainly have my eyes open to the infinite possibilities of qi usage and martial arts…

I might consider learning Feline Claws, and then advancing it to Sharpened Sword Force…

The Ghost Bear lumbered forward and began feeding on the Lunar Rabbit's carca.s.s. While it was distracted, I quietly stood up and tried to back away.

The Ghost Bear turned to look at me.

d.a.m.n!

Just when I thought I had a chance to escape…

With a bellow, the Ghost Bear charged at me, its sheer bulk causing tremors to quake the ground below. I took a deep breath and used Tui to retreat, widening the distance between us. Still, the Ghost Bear was incredibly fast. Before I could use my footwork technique, it was already in front of me and swiping its claws.

"!"

Thankfully, I was aware of its strange qi technique and had taken countermeasures against it. Despite evading the extended range of the triple qi blades, I was unable to prevent three fresh wounds from appearing on my stomach.

"Ugh!"

Blood gushed out of my mouth and wounds, staining my white uniform red. Fortunately, they seemed relatively shallow. A centimeter more and I would have been gutted – literally, eviscerated with my guts pouring out of my wound. For now, I ignored the burning pain in my abdomen and whirled around to run.

Jin!

I advanced further, kicking off the ground. Despite my swift footwork, the Ghost Bear was gaining on me. The b.l.o.o.d.y b.a.s.t.a.r.d sure could run despite its immense size!

I can't let it catch up to me!

Sprinting across the forest and alternating between my footwork, I plunged deeper into the forest. I had no idea where I was running in, just that I was escaping from the ferocious beast. It was too bad I didn't have trans.m.u.tation magic, or I could dig a hole in the wall and escape…but whatever cavern walls were there were too far away for me to reach.

Or were they?

That's…!

While running, I saw a hollow within the roots of an enormous tree. Even though I could run for a lot longer – thanks to running thirty kilometers every day, I had built up solid stamina and could outpace the Ghost Bear eventually – I decided to make a break for it. The Ghost Bear was closing in despite my best attempts to use Shadow Steps and footwork techniques to shake it off, and it wouldn't be long before it eventually caught up.

I needed a new strategy.

Taking a deep breath, I used Jin and dove into the hollow amongst the roots. The Ghost Bear swiped at me, but its claws slashed a huge chunk of wood out of the ma.s.sive tree, which shuddered but held. Fortunately, the gigantic tree was st.u.r.dier than it looked.

Seeking shelter within its roots, I scrambled deeper into the hollow while trying to stay out of reach of the Ghost Bear's Ghost Blades. The wood qi that saturated the air within the hollow gave off a nostalgic feeling, and I was somehow reminded of Teacher Yi Liao's healing techniques. Yeah, her healing techniques were wood element type, and she mentioned that she was a master of the Green Dragon Sect

Even at a time like this, I'm still thinking about school. How ironic.

Come to think of it, if I hadn't run twenty or thirty kilometers everyday for my martial arts training, I would have run out of stamina and get caught by the Ghost Bear…and mercilessly slaughtered by it. In a way, my training and decision to learn Shadow Steps had saved my life. I doubted any of my cla.s.smates would have been able to outrun the Ghost Bear. If I had chosen a technique other than Shadow Steps, I would never have been able to escape the Ghost Bear. If I had joined a martial arts sect and focused on techniques rather than building a solid foundation of stamina, speed and strength, I would have died back there, caught by the pursuing Ghost Bear and ripped apart.

Again, fortune within misfortune. A silver lining in a cloud. The "advantage" of being revealed in the test with only a One Star Const.i.tution…

"GUOOO!!!!"

The Ghost Bear swung its paws again as it tried to cleave the tree apart. Knowing that there was no way I could go back out that way, I began squirming deeper into the hollow.

"!!!"

Before I knew it, I came aground an underground pa.s.sage hidden underneath the tangle of roots. Much like a rabbit's burrow…no, it might even be a Lunar Rabbit's burrow!

My broken left arm throbbed, reminding me how dangerous those Lunar Rabbits were. But given how that single Lunar Rabbit was so easily defeated by that Ghost Bear…

I've no choice but to proceed, huh?

I pushed through, disappearing through the pa.s.sageway and leaving the furious bellows of the Ghost Bear behind. I ran and ran, not knowing where I was heading, as long as I was putting as much distance as I could between me and my pursuer. At some point of time, I finally collapsed from exhaustion.

"Ugh!"

Tripping over something, I stumbled and fell. Rolling on the ground, the burning flare of agony stabbing me from my broken arm, I slammed into something. Water splashed into my face, causing me to cough.

And then…darkness claimed me.