The distant growl shatters the stillness of the dense forest. The towering trees cast long shadows beneath the evening sky, their ancient branches twisting in unnatural shapes. A sharp breeze carries the scent of damp earth and something else—a faint, acrid tang that sets De-Reece on edge.
Solar stiffens beside him, her fur rising as she lowers her stance, a guttural snarl building in her throat. The golden-violet hue of her eyes gleams in the dimming light, locked onto the shifting underbrush ahead.
Kalia tightens her grip on her sword, her stance fluid yet alert. "Something's watching us."
De-Reece exhales, his senses stretching outward. "Not something. Three of them."
A moment later, the underbrush erupts.
Three figures burst forward with unnatural speed. Not ordinary beasts—spirit beasts, mutated by the saturation of qi in the land.
The first—a massive, centipede-like creature—surges toward them, its slick, dark-red carapace glistening as its razor-sharp mandibles snap hungrily. A faint green mist seeps from its mouth, an unmistakable sign of venom.
The second circles from the left—a six-legged obsidian lizard, its body shifting and flickering as though dissolving into shadow and reforming again. Each movement is eerily silent, its reptilian gaze unblinking, waiting for an opening. A stealth-type predator.
The third remains further back, perched on a jagged rock—a feathered serpent with elongated fangs, its iridescent blue-and-black scales pulsing with flickers of lightning qi. Its wings twitch, preparing to strike with impossible speed.
Kalia mutters under her breath, shifting her weight. "That snake's got lightning qi. This just got worse."
De-Reece rolls his shoulders. "Then we take them apart before they get the chance to do the same to us."
The centipede lunges first, its mandibles snapping toward De-Reece. He sidesteps cleanly, his palm rising—Sky Shattering Demon Palm. The air quakes as his strike connects with the creature's thick carapace, sending it reeling. The exoskeleton is tough—but not invulnerable.
Solar seizes the opening, launching onto the centipede's back. Her powerful jaws clamp onto the base of its head, her claws raking deep grooves along its segmented body. The spirit beast thrashes wildly, but the lioness holds firm, teeth sinking deeper.
Kalia pivots, bringing her blade up just as the obsidian lizard flickers out of sight—and reappears behind her.
She reacts instantly, twisting her grip and slashing in a downward arc. The blade barely grazes its shifting form, but it forces the creature back. Its body phase-shifts. A difficult opponent.
The serpent watches, waiting—a predator that knows when to strike.
De-Reece narrows his eyes. It's not attacking yet. That means it's waiting for them to commit, to find an opening.
"Kalia," he calls sharply. "Force the lizard toward me."
She doesn't question it. She shifts her footwork, slashing in quick, aggressive arcs, driving the shadow-lizard into De-Reece's range. The moment it flickers again, he's already moving—Shadow Phantom Steps—closing the distance before it fully reforms.
His Domineering Demon Fist slams into its ribs with an explosion of force. A sickening crack rings through the air as the creature is hurled into a tree, its body crumpling.
Solar finishes the centipede with a final, vicious bite, absorbing its fading energy. The forest briefly stills—
And then the serpent moves.
The air hums with charged qi as the feathered snake launches forward.
Lightning arcs through the air as its wings beat once, twice—before it closes the distance with terrifying speed. Its body coils in midair, fangs crackling with barely-contained electricity as it targets Kalia, recognising her as the immediate threat.
Kalia braces, shifting into a defensive stance, but the serpent's momentum is overwhelming. De-Reece reacts without hesitation, moving with Shadow Phantom Steps to intercept. He thrusts his palm forward—Sky Shattering Demon Palm—aiming directly at the beast's midsection.
The impact lands, a concussive shockwave blasting outward. The serpent hisses, but instead of being thrown back, it twists midair, absorbing part of the impact with its coiling motion. A split second later, its fangs lash out, striking toward De-Reece's arm.
De-Reece jerks away, but the serpent's lightning-infused venom grazes his sleeve. A sharp, stinging heat spreads along his forearm. He grits his teeth, suppressing the numbness creeping through his limb.
Solar growls, leaping into the air in an attempt to seize the serpent mid-flight. But the creature is too fast—it weaves between the lioness's claws, a living bolt of energy streaking through the night.
Kalia takes the opening.
Her sword gleams with condensed qi as she plants her foot, pivoting sharply. The serpent twists to dodge—but she anticipates the movement.
"Got you."
She swings with full force—a diagonal slash timed with the snake's retreat. Her blade cuts through the air in a near-flawless arc, slicing deep into the serpent's side. The creature screeches, its body spasming as blue arcs of electricity lash out in retaliation.
De-Reece lunges forward, Domineering Demon Fist striking the weakened serpent's skull. This time, the force doesn't just wound—it shatters.
The serpent's body convulses, its electric energy flickering wildly before finally dimming. It crashes to the ground, twitching once—twice—then goes still.
Silence.
Kalia exhales, shaking residual sparks off her arm. "That was unpleasant."
De-Reece flexes his fingers, ignoring the faint burning sensation left by the lightning qi. This was the toughest opponent so far.
Solar growls lowly, nudging the serpent's corpse with her paw, as if ensuring the beast is truly dead.
De-Reece watches as the last wisps of life fade into the night air. He turns to Kalia. "Don't absorb it all at once. Let it cycle through your pathways. Keep the energy moving, reinforcing them. If you let it sit too long, it'll dissipate."
Kalia nods, closing her eyes for a moment, feeling the newly absorbed energy circulate. "Right. Got it."
He does the same, focusing inward as he directs the energy through his own pathways, strengthening them with each pass.
Mount Kunlun still lies ahead.
And the true challenges have yet to reveal themselves.
De-Reece stands still, his senses sharpened despite the exhaustion settling into his limbs. He breathes steadily, guiding the absorbed qi through his meridians, reinforcing them as he had advised Kalia.
Solar growls softly beside him, her golden-violet eyes locked on something beyond the battlefield. Not an enemy—but something old.
De-Reece follows her gaze and finally notices it.
Beyond the treeline, a formation of jagged stone pillars rises from the earth, half-buried beneath overgrown foliage and mist. The air around it hums faintly, the sensation pressing against his skin like an unseen force. Faint inscriptions, long eroded by time, wind, and rain, coil along the stone like veins of an ancient power.
Kalia steps forward, her breath steadying after the battle. "That... definitely looks like ruins."
De-Reece narrows his eyes, scanning the formation. "More than just ruins." His fingers graze a nearby stone, feeling the faint traces of qi embedded within. "This is a formation—old, but still active."
Kalia glances at him, surprised. "You can tell?"
He nods. "Formations don't just disappear, even when degraded. Some persist for centuries, maybe longer. Whatever this was meant to protect—or hide—it's still holding on."
Solar pads ahead, her ears twitching. No immediate threats. The ruins, for now, seem abandoned.
Kalia exhales, gripping the hilt of her sword. "So, what do you think? Danger or opportunity?"
De-Reece smirks. "Both."
They step forward, moving carefully into the heart of the ruins, the scent of damp stone and aged dust thick in the air. The deeper they go, the stronger the lingering qi becomes, subtle yet unmistakable. This place was once more than mere rubble—perhaps a temple, a stronghold, or the remnants of an ancient battlefield.
The air shifts as they pass between two towering pillars. A whispering sensation brushes against De-Reece's consciousness, a presence—not alive, yet not entirely gone. He halts, his brows furrowing. Residual intent. A trace of whatever once existed here remains imprinted within the ruins.
Kalia notices his hesitation. "What is it?"
"Something... left behind. A will, or a fragment of intent."
Solar's ears flatten, and she lets out a soft growl. The air around them hums—then flickers.
Symbols on the ground pulse with sudden energy, faint at first but growing stronger, radiating an eerie blue glow. A formation—reactivating.
Kalia steps back instinctively. "Did we trigger something?"
De-Reece doesn't answer immediately. He watches the shifting lights, his mind rapidly piecing together what's happening. The ruins were dormant, waiting—but for what? A misstep? A specific qi signature? Or something deeper?
The glow intensifies. Then, with a pulse of unseen force, the very air distorts, twisting space as an ancient mechanism awakens.
A distant boom rumbles beneath them, and the ruins tremble.
A challenge has begun.