ARK SPIRIT

On the afternoon of the fifth day, sunlight slanted through the ancient canopy of the southeastern forest of Tieu Dao Mountain, casting long shadows across the damp ground.

Hao Nhien sat on a thick branch more than two zhang (about 6.6 meters) above the forest floor, his back resting against the trunk and most of his body concealed among dense leaves. He had deliberately smeared mud and crushed leaf sap over his pale blue outer sect robes, darkening the fabric until it blended with the bark and surrounding shadows. His breathing was shallow, his true qi drawn inward, and his body remained almost completely still.

A small clearing lay below.

The wind was blowing from east to west.

Hao Nhien watched the grass for some time. Only after confirming that the wind direction remained stable did he take the red cloth pouch from his storage pouch.

Blood Scent Lure.

Over the past several days, it had saved him a great deal of time searching for demonic beasts. The more he used it, however, the more he understood why Old Van had warned him so carefully. Blood Scent Lure was merely bait. It could attract beasts, but it could not decide what kind of beast would answer.

Too little might attract nothing.

Too much, or a poor choice of terrain, might draw something far beyond the user’s ability to handle.

That was why Hao Nhien prepared his escape routes before every use.

This time was no exception.

He had spent nearly two hours studying the area. To the north was a narrow stream that could help wash away lingering scent. To the south were low bushes that were easy to cross. To the west stood a modest cliff with a rocky hollow beneath it, large enough to provide temporary concealment or allow him to summon the Cave Dwelling of the Cosmic Ark if necessary.

At least three routes of retreat.

Only after confirming all of them did Hao Nhien open the pouch, pinch out a very small amount of reddish brown powder, and scatter it into the clearing below.

The strange sweet scent, tinged with blood, quickly mixed with the wind. It was not as strong as fresh blood, yet it carried a peculiar attraction for demonic beasts.

Hao Nhien put the pouch away and waited.

About fifteen minutes later, vegetation in the distance began to shake. At first there was only the rustling of leaves, followed by heavy breathing. Then a branch nearly as thick as a wrist snapped, and a massive figure stepped into the clearing.

It was a Fire Spirit Bear.

The beast stood nearly twice the height of a grown man, its dark red fur resembling smoldering charcoal. Every breath sent heat from its nostrils, distorting the air in front of its snout. Its golden eyes moved constantly as it searched for the source of the scent that had drawn it there.

A first rank demonic beast, and a relatively powerful one for its rank.

Hao Nhien still did not reveal himself.

He continued watching the surrounding forest and listening for anything unusual. There were no second footsteps, no other branches being crushed, and no additional signs of another beast strong enough to make him reconsider.

For now, there was only one.

Hao Nhien rose on the branch and dropped to the ground.

The instant his toes touched the earth, the Fire Spirit Bear raised its head and released a deep roar.

Its massive body surged forward. Two heavy claws came down with enough force to flatten the grass beneath them.

Hao Nhien did not meet the attack directly.

Tieu Dao Footwork carried him just beyond the first swipe. In the same movement, his right fist drove into the bear’s ribs.

The impact felt heavier than he expected.

Beneath the red fur were thick hide and dense muscle. His punch forced the beast only half a step sideways.

Hao Nhien was not disappointed. He had never intended to finish the battle quickly. This was a chance to train.

The Fire Spirit Bear twisted around and swept a claw across his body. Hao Nhien shifted back half a step, slipped beyond the edge of the strike, then stepped in from an angle and drove his left fist into its lower abdomen. By the time the beast roared and countered, he had already withdrawn from range.

The following exchanges unfolded in much the same way.

Hao Nhien moved around the bear without trying to overwhelm it. He maintained enough distance to observe and test. Whenever the beast raised a shoulder, he watched how its center of gravity shifted. When its hind legs gathered force, he memorized the direction of the coming charge. Whenever heat began building in its throat, he moved away from the line of attack before the burst was released.

The fight was not elegant, but it was real.

The Fire Spirit Bear became increasingly agitated. The fur around its neck stood up, and the heat surrounding its body intensified. A dark red burst suddenly erupted from its mouth, sweeping across the place Hao Nhien had occupied a moment earlier and scorching the grass black.

He had already moved aside, although the edge of the heat caught his sleeve and burned away one corner.

Hao Nhien did not rush.

After more than fifteen minutes, the bear’s breathing began to lose rhythm. One front leg had been struck repeatedly at the joint, noticeably slowing its turns.

Hao Nhien recognized the opening.

He moved closer, gathering force in his right fist as he prepared to strike beneath its neck.

At that exact moment, another roar sounded behind him.

The ground trembled slightly.

A wave of heat rushed toward his back.

Hao Nhien’s expression hardened.

Another one.

The second beast had not approached from the same direction as the first. Perhaps it had been farther away and caught the scent of the Blood Scent Lure only after the battle began. The noise of fighting, breaking branches, and repeated collisions had concealed most of the sound of its approach.

Hao Nhien had checked the area before attacking.

But checking once did not mean the situation would remain unchanged.

He did not waste time turning around.

His body shifted sharply to the right.

The second Fire Spirit Bear’s claw tore through the air behind him, missing his back by less than an inch. Had he reacted a fraction slower, his flesh would have been ripped open.

One against one could still be used as training.

One against two in this terrain was no longer worth prolonging.

Hao Nhien drew the Tieu Dao Sword.

Cold sword light flashed through the clearing.

The first Fire Spirit Bear had already been worn close to exhaustion. It had barely begun turning when Hao Nhien crossed the distance with Tieu Dao Footwork and drove the sword straight into the soft point beneath its neck.

The blade pierced flesh and twisted.

Hot blood sprayed out.

The beast released one final roar before its massive body collapsed.

The second Fire Spirit Bear charged.

Hao Nhien did not retreat in a straight line. He lowered his body and slid sideways close to the ground, avoiding the pounce while the Tieu Dao Sword carved a long wound from the lower belly toward the ribs.

Blood sprayed, but the cut was not deep enough to finish the beast.

Pain only made it more violent. It turned and released another burst of dark red heat.

Hao Nhien planted one foot against the base of a nearby tree and used the force to spring aside. He avoided the main blast, but as he landed, the edge of a claw still struck his shoulder.

Sharp pain spread through the joint.

Hao Nhien staggered back three steps as the true qi in his body became briefly unstable.

He did not try to end the battle at once.

The second bear was still fresh. Trading injuries for attacks as though it were already exhausted would only make him pay the greater price.

Hao Nhien lowered the Tieu Dao Sword and focused on controlling distance, forcing the beast to change direction repeatedly.

The Fire Spirit Bear charged three more times.

The first time, he evaded.

The second time, he used a tree trunk to narrow the angle of the attack.

On the third, the bear committed too much force while turning. Its weight shifted poorly for a brief moment.

That was enough.

Hao Nhien moved in.

The Tieu Dao Sword cut across the joint of its front leg.

The beast roared and lowered its head by reflex.

Hao Nhien’s right fist crashed into the back of its neck.

The Fire Spirit Bear staggered.

He gave it no chance to recover. The Tieu Dao Sword reversed and drove deep behind its ear.

The beast thrashed and tried to turn its head to bite him. Hao Nhien withdrew the blade and backed away rather than staying within reach.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Only when its breathing weakened and its movements slowed did he step in again and finish the fight with a second strike.

Two Fire Spirit Bear corpses lay across the clearing.

By then, Hao Nhien’s breathing had become noticeably heavier, and he had spent more than a third of his true qi. His shoulder still ached from the claw strike, although the injury did not prevent him from moving normally.

He did not remain there.

The blood of two demonic beasts would quickly attract unwanted attention.

Hao Nhien cut into the carcasses, removed the two first rank beast cores, and left the clearing at once.

Not long afterward, voices sounded behind him.

“There was fighting over here!”

“Ahead!”

Another voice called out:

“Two Fire Spirit Bear corpses! The cores are gone!”

Hao Nhien did not turn around.

Footsteps began closing in behind him.

“Someone just left!”

“Chase him!”

Hao Nhien increased his pace, but not desperately.

Over the past several days, he had crossed this area enough times to remember the low bushes, narrow rock gaps, and winding routes between the ancient trees. The people behind him had only just arrived. Catching him in terrain he knew this well would not be easy.

If they truly wanted to chase him, they could find out who understood the forest better.

Hao Nhien changed direction twice, passed through a narrow stone gap, then followed a small stream north. Before long, the voices behind him disappeared.

He still did not stop. He continued until he reached another place to rest.

The lesson from his first trip remained clear.

Loot only truly belonged to him once he brought it back safely.

Over the next three days, nothing particularly dangerous happened.

Hao Nhien hunted one more first rank demonic beast, gathered several portions of low level medicinal herbs, and spent most of the remaining time regulating his breathing, changing hunting grounds, studying terrain, and testing the limits of the Blood Scent Lure.

By the night of the eighth day, his storage pouch held six first rank beast cores and the second rank core from the Black Cloud Leopard he had killed earlier.

If he returned all of them to the Mission Hall, the cores alone would be worth ninety contribution points.

He was already close to qualifying for the examination token.

But Hao Nhien was not ready to return.

A crescent moon hung above the thick mist of Tieu Dao Mountain.

The deep forest felt entirely different at night. Familiar sounds such as birds, running water, and wind through leaves seemed farther away, while smaller noises between tree trunks and ravines became easier to notice.

Hao Nhien sat on a rocky outcrop beside a narrow ravine.

His robe was torn in several places. A bruise remained on his shoulder from the Fire Spirit Bear fight two days earlier, and the back of his hand still carried scratches that had not fully healed, but his overall condition remained good.

After eight days of hunting, resting, breathing cultivation, and repeated combat, his seventh layer Qi Condensation had become much more stable. His true qi had not increased dramatically, but it circulated faster and with greater consistency. The Body Soul Fist Art was also beginning to merge with his combat instincts instead of remaining a sequence of movements he had to consciously perform.

Ordinary first rank demonic beasts no longer placed enough pressure on him to properly test what he had learned.

Hao Nhien had no intention of gambling with his life.

But he wanted to challenge an opponent near the second rank threshold under conditions where he had already prepared the terrain and possible routes of retreat.

He looked down into the ravine.

It was deep and relatively narrow, with rocky walls on both sides and trees growing at sharp angles. The terrain was poorly suited to very large beasts. Behind him were two possible escape routes, one leading up the mountainside and the other following the stream.

After checking everything one final time, Hao Nhien took out the Blood Scent Lure.

His fingers paused over the pouch.

This time he used slightly more than usual, enough to extend the lure’s reach without increasing it recklessly.

The reddish brown powder fell into the cracks between the rocks and spread along the ravine with the night wind.

Hao Nhien put the pouch away and rested one hand on the hilt of the Tieu Dao Sword.

About fifteen minutes passed.

Then the forest fell silent.

Not the ordinary silence of night.

The insects gradually stopped.

The night birds went quiet.

Something unnatural seemed to settle over the ravine.

Hao Nhien focused.

Something was approaching.

But there were no footsteps.

Instead, a low vibration came from the distance.

At first it was so faint that it nearly blended into the wind. Then it grew clearer, spreading through the trees and stone walls. The sound struck the rocks and reflected back, until the entire ravine seemed like a giant bell vibrating from within.

Hao Nhien tightened his grip on the sword.

A dark shape emerged from the mist ahead.

It was a large wolf.

Its body stretched nearly two zhang long, its dark gray fur shimmering silver beneath the moonlight as though coated in night mist. Deep violet eyes fixed on Hao Nhien, their pupils narrowing into thin lines. Two large pointed ears stood upright and turned constantly, catching the smallest vibrations in the air.

Hao Nhien recognized it at once.

A Mystic Sound Wolf.

A second rank demonic beast.

He had read about the species in a mission jade slip.

The Mystic Sound Wolf did not possess the overwhelming frontal force of a Fire Spirit Bear, nor the terrifying pure speed of a Black Cloud Leopard. What made it dangerous was its sound killing force.

Its howls and sonic waves could shake the meridians, disrupt the circulation of true qi, and even leave weaker cultivators dazed for an instant. In ravines, near cliffs, or anywhere sound reflected easily, the danger became even greater.

Hao Nhien glanced at the rock walls on both sides and smiled bitterly.

He had chosen the ravine because its escape routes were clear and the directions of approach were easier to control.

Without realizing it, he had also chosen terrain that favored an opponent that attacked through sound.

The Mystic Sound Wolf did not charge.

It lifted its head and released a low howl.

The sound itself was not especially loud, but once it struck the walls and echoed back, Hao Nhien felt the blood and qi in his chest tremble. The true qi moving through his meridians also became briefly unstable.

He steadied his breathing.

This was only a probe.

The wolf opened its jaws again.

A sharper cry erupted.

The air ahead seemed to compress beneath an invisible force. Leaves shook violently, dust rose from the ground, and thin branches along both sides of the ravine cracked.

Hao Nhien did not stand still and endure it.

Tieu Dao Footwork carried him away from the most dangerous area.

He could not see the sonic waves themselves, but the movement of leaves and dust, the pressure against his skin, and the prickling sensation that arrived just before the impact gave him something to read. With his awareness remaining clear, he caught those signs faster than usual and moved before the full force reached him.

Instead of retreating, he advanced.

The distance between man and wolf narrowed rapidly.

Hao Nhien drove a fist into the Mystic Sound Wolf’s shoulder.

The silver fur rippled, and the beast shifted back half a step.

Only half a step.

Its body was tougher than Hao Nhien had expected.

The wolf growled. Its ears turned toward him, locking onto his position and movement. Another sonic shock swept across from the left.

Hao Nhien shifted aside and drew the Tieu Dao Sword.

The beast controlled distance too well. Remaining close with his fists would expose him to repeated sonic attacks, while the sword allowed him to maintain more space and target vulnerable areas.

Sword light flashed beneath the moon.

Hao Nhien struck three times in succession, all aimed toward the head and ears.

The first strike missed.

The second cut only through the fur along its neck.

On the third, the Mystic Sound Wolf turned a fraction too late, and the blade cut across its left ear.

Blood ran down the silver fur.

The wolf roared and retreated.

Its sonic attacks did not noticeably weaken, but over the next several exchanges Hao Nhien began to notice something different.

Its ability to locate him had become slightly less precise.

The difference was small, but real.

His attention went to the ears that had constantly turned to track sound.

While avoiding another sonic shock, Hao Nhien swept his left hand across the ground and gathered a handful of loose stones.

When the Mystic Sound Wolf prepared to howl again, he hurled the stones to the left.

Dozens struck tree trunks, dead branches, and rock walls, creating overlapping noises from several directions.

Both of the wolf’s ears turned toward the disturbance.

Its head shifted with them.

Hao Nhien used Tieu Dao Footwork to move in the opposite direction.

By the time the beast turned back, he had already left his previous position.

It worked.

The second time, Hao Nhien threw another handful of stones against the wall behind it.

The impacts echoed through the ravine in several overlapping layers.

Once again, the Mystic Sound Wolf’s attention shifted away from him.

That was enough to confirm his suspicion.

The wound to its left ear had not destroyed its hearing, but it had weakened its ability to distinguish the source of sounds in terrain already filled with echoes.

The ravine had initially strengthened its sonic attacks.

Now the same terrain was amplifying the noise Hao Nhien created.

The Mystic Sound Wolf grew increasingly aggressive. It threw back its head and howled, sending sonic force through the ravine hard enough to strip leaves from branches and shake loose stones from the cliff face.

Hao Nhien continued changing position instead of rushing closer.

He was not waiting merely for a chance to land another strike.

He wanted an opening deep enough to break the beast’s balance.

His left hand swept across the ground again, closing around another handful of loose stones.

This time, he threw them hard to the right.

The stones struck a curved section of rock wall, tree trunks, and dead branches, producing a chain of layered sounds that echoed across the ravine.

The Mystic Sound Wolf turned toward the noise.

At almost the same moment, Hao Nhien used Tieu Dao Footwork to slip left.

But he still did not attack.

The wolf had already been deceived once. A single burst of noise would no longer be enough to make it lower its guard completely.

As expected, the beast snapped its head back, deep violet eyes locking onto Hao Nhien again.

That reaction was exactly what he had been waiting for.

His left hand moved once more.

A second handful of stones flew toward the beast’s right side.

The Mystic Sound Wolf instinctively raised one front paw to swat them aside while shifting its body away from the incoming debris.

It was only a small movement.

But the moment that paw left the ground, its chest and the area beneath the foreleg opened.

Tieu Dao Footwork surged.

Hao Nhien crossed the distance before the beast could lower its leg, the Tieu Dao Sword already aligned along a straight path.

The thrust was fast, direct, and precise.

The blade pierced the silver fur beneath the foreleg, punched through flesh, and drove deep into the chest.

The Mystic Sound Wolf screamed.

Its other claw swept sideways.

Hao Nhien did not overcommit. He twisted his wrist, tore the sword free, and used the force of the movement to retreat beyond the strike.

Blood sprayed from the wound beneath the foreleg.

But the Mystic Sound Wolf did not fall.

It staggered two steps and stared at Hao Nhien with deep violet eyes. For the first time in the battle, some of the ferocity in that gaze gave way to something else.

Caution.

More than caution.

Recognition.

Then the beast turned and ran.

Hao Nhien gave chase.

Allowing a badly wounded second rank demonic beast to disappear into the forest would create even greater trouble. It could hide, ambush him later, or draw other beasts into the area. More importantly, although the sword wound was deep, Hao Nhien could not be certain that the blade had reached the heart.

He could not let it escape.

Man and beast raced through the ravine.

At first, the Mystic Sound Wolf was still extremely fast. Even injured, each stride opened several zhang of distance between them.

Hao Nhien did not waste true qi trying to force an impossible pace. He kept the wolf within sight, followed the blood trail, and waited.

The wound lay close to the chest.

Every stride stretched the muscles around the shoulder, pulling the injury wider.

Blood marked the stones behind the beast.

Its breathing gradually became heavier.

The wolf kept changing direction. At times it leaped across large rocks. At others it plunged through low bushes to break Hao Nhien’s line of sight.

Once, it twisted around without warning and released a short howl.

A sonic shock swept backward.

Hao Nhien moved aside, allowing the force to strike the tree behind him.

The delay lasted only a moment, but the wolf used it to gain another ten zhang of distance.

Hao Nhien did not become impatient.

He kept chasing.

About fifteen minutes passed.

Then longer.

At last, the wolf’s speed began to fall.

Its hind legs no longer landed steadily, and its body tilted sideways several times while running. Blood from the wound beneath its foreleg had soaked much of its chest and front leg.

Hao Nhien knew the time had come.

He drove one foot into the ground and sent true qi through both legs.

Tieu Dao Footwork surged to its limit.

The distance began shrinking rapidly.

The Mystic Sound Wolf heard him closing in and tried to turn for one last counterattack, but its body could no longer keep up with its intent.

One front paw lifted.

Its balance failed.

Hao Nhien gave it no chance to recover.

He launched himself forward from a low angle.

The Tieu Dao Sword shifted direction in midair.

He did not aim for the chest.

He did not aim for the throat.

The blade drove toward the lower abdomen, where the beast’s defense was thinner and its attempt to turn had exposed the entire area.

The sword sank in to the hilt.

The Mystic Sound Wolf’s body went rigid.

A strangled growl escaped its throat and died almost at once.

Hao Nhien kept both hands on the sword, forced true qi through his arms, and pulled the blade upward at an angle.

Hot blood poured out.

The wolf’s front legs buckled.

Its massive body collapsed sideways, throwing dirt and loose stones into the air.

Hao Nhien pulled the sword free and retreated several steps.

He did not approach again until the beast had stopped moving completely.

Only then did he release a long breath.

He had not won because he was overwhelmingly stronger.

He had won because he made the beast listen in the wrong direction once, forced it into the wrong reaction a second time, and then refused to give it enough time to recover from those mistakes.

Hao Nhien rested against the rock wall before approaching the corpse.

He cut open the beast’s skull and removed a dark violet core. Faint spiral patterns moved within the crystal, resembling frozen rings of sound.

A second rank beast core.

Hao Nhien turned it in his hand.

Compared with the Black Cloud Leopard that had only recently broken through to the second rank, this battle had been clearly more difficult.

He had won.

But he had also made a mistake before the battle began by choosing terrain that favored his opponent.

Fortunately, it had been a mistake he could correct before it became fatal.

Hao Nhien sat on a nearby rock, took out his jade slip, and recorded one line:“Terrain is neither good nor bad. What matters is who benefits from it.”

He paused, remembering the Mystic Sound Wolf’s injured left ear and the scattered stones that had disrupted its ability to locate him, then added:“Finding a weakness is not enough. You must create a situation that turns that weakness into an opening.”

Hao Nhien read the two lines once before putting the jade slip away.

The dark violet beast core went into his storage pouch.

Thirty points.

But the lesson was worth far more than thirty.