"Oki doki! I'll get it for you, Mo Fang."
Boufang staggered forward, his massive hammer already raised. The weapon was nearly twice the size of Tianyu.
"Give back Mo Fang's bag… or you die!"
"Tch. You fool."
Tianyu Xing vanished.
In the next instant, he reappeared directly in front of Boufang.
"Astral Blade Third Form: Piercing Winds."
A deafening bang echoed through the area.
Tianyu's blade carved Bou Fang's shoulder. The force was overwhelming. Bou Fang was launched backwards, his body tearing through the air like a rag doll.
Wind howled violently as the shockwave tore through the surroundings. Trees bent, grass flattened, and the earth cracked beneath the pressure.
Crush!
Fine fractures spread along Tianyu's blade.
"Whoa…" Tianyu exhaled, lifting the blade slightly.
"I really have to earn to control my Qi better. This weapon is broken too now."
He turned back calmly.
"You still want my b—" A sharp whistling sound sliced through the air before he could finish his sentence.
"Music?!"
The woman had raised her flute.
At first, the sound was gentle, soothing, almost comforting. Tianyu's breathing slowed, subconsciously calming down.
"PRRRTTRTRRTTTT"
Then it changed.
The melody twisted, growing violent and chaotic. His chest tightened. Anxiety surged without warning.
"Songs of the Demon God: Verses One through Ten."
She played fiercely now.
Soosh!
Behind Tianyu, the trees began to shake, their branches rattling as if something massive was awakening within the forest itself.
"Just what kind of technique is this…? It's disturbing my heart." Tianyu forced himself steadily.
"I have to get rid of her quickly, before she unleashes her technique."
Tianyu leapt forward, but before he could reach her, four blades shot toward him.
They were impossibly fast, slicing through the air with sharp whistles.
Swoooosh!
"Damn it," Tianyu muttered as he deflected all four strikes.
His blade cracked further, thin fractures spreading along its surface after colliding with the wind-infused weapons.
"Wind Essence…Qi" Tianyu narrowed his eyes, a faint grin tugged at his lips.
"If that's the case… let's see what your wind can do against my fire."
Flames surged into Tianyu's palm.
"Astra Palm"
He hurled the compressed mass of fire forward and followed immediately behind it.
"Chan Chan, move behind me. I'll handle this attack."
Mo Fang stepped forward, his posture far steadier than before. Confidence gleamed sharply in his eyes.
Chan Chan retreated behind him, never stopping her tune. The flute's melody continued to twist the air itself.
"Dance of the Wind God."
Mo Fang's steps were rhythmic; his body swayed in harmony with the music, and the winds responded, spiralling around him as his twin blades shot forward, slicing into the incoming flames.
"Whoa…" Mo Fang dropped his blades. "These aren't ordinary flames."
His hands flowed into elegant hand seals; his movements were smooth and precise. The wind around them began to stir violently, gathering and compressing.
"HAAAAAAAA!"
Mo Fang roared, thrusting his palm toward Tianyu.
In that instant, Tianyu felt his body freeze just for a heartbeat a massive gust of wind slammed into him.
"Shit…"
Tianyu slammed his Qi outward, condensing a giant wall of ice, reinforcing it layer by layer with the Qi.
Crack!
The Ice was smashed into pieces.
"Where is he?" Mo Fang's eyes darted about searching for Tianyu, and in the same breath, a thick fog came rolling in.
….
"I've finally managed to find one. You can move back, Brother Fang, go look for Bou Feng," Chan Chan's voice echoed through the mist.
"Really? Are you sure? The stimulant I took is about to run out anyway. Be careful," Mo Fang turned and ran off in search of Bou Feng.
"They may be scumbags, but at least they look after each other," Tianyu thought as he pushed himself off the ground.
"Fighting really is fascinating. You get to see all kinds of techniques. Who knew that Wind Essence could be used like that? How grand!" An involuntary smile stretched on Tianyu's face.
"Mmm… so what did she mean by saying she was ready?!"
"Craaaaawwwww!"
A sharp, piercing cry tore through the mist.
"What? A high-tier demonic beast…?" Tianyu's eyes widened.
"Was it drawn here because of all the fighting…?"
He twisted aside just in time, dodging a strike from it.
The massive creature flew straight past him and hovered above Chan Chan's head, its wings beating heavily as it let out another shrill cry.
"Hehehe," Chan Chan giggled softly.
"You are going to die here."
Her eyes gleamed coldly through the fog.
"You may be strong, but there's no way you can fight both a fifth-tier beast and me in your current condition."
She raised her flute slightly.
"You've already used too much Qi." A huge grin stretched across her face.
"Yeah. Had it been any other time, I would've been in serious trouble. But now that I've gained an understanding of something… there's no way I'm losing."
Tianyu reached into his bag, pulled out a Yin Lily, and stuffed it straight into his mouth.
Normally, such a spiritual flower would need to be refined into a medicinal pellet before consumption. But from the fight earlier, Tianyu realised something crucial.
He could refine it inside his own body.
The flames within his dantian ignited, wrapping around the Yin Lily as it dissolved. At the same time, faint traces of Wind Qi were drawn in, circulating alongside the fire and enhancing the refinement process.
Though Tianyu hadn't consciously grasped the Law of Wind during the fight, he had caught its essence just enough to imitate its function.
"I don't know how… but every time I deflected those blades, I felt wisps of Wind Qi and refined them."
His brow furrowed.
"Just what is this seal in my dantian? Ever since obtaining it, my cultivation has been advancing at an absurd speed."
His eyes sharpened.
"Oh…?" Tianyu's lips curled upward.
"A Thunderbird."
A pulse of excitement surged through him.
"A fifth-tier beast… perfect."
"I'll have all the points I need to qualify, once I kill it."
Tianyu's breath turned to mist as the air around him began to fall in temperature.
"Nice of you to bring the beast straight to me," Tianyu's voice boomed stepping forward.
"It would've been a hassle searching all over for a magical beast."
"You—!"
Chan Chan's face twisted with fury.
"Keep underestimating me, and you'll learn what pain truly is!"
She raised her flute.
The melody shifted sharply and violently.
The Thunderbird shrieked and shot through the air, its wings tearing the mist apart. A crackling sound echoed as lightning burst from its beak, ripping forward like a spear.
"Hng—!"
Tianyu twisted aside, avoiding the strike. The lightning grazed past him, scorching the ground behind.
"When it comes to speed… thunder truly reigns supreme."
His eyes hardened.
"Astral Blade: First Form!"
Tianyu black rose in an upwards curve, silver light erupted, cutting through the air with the ground split open beneath it, and the fog was torn apart, clearing everything.
"What the hell is that?" Chan freezed.
The beast screeched and rushed forward, placing itself between her and the incoming attack.
Slash!
The silver arc cut straight through its body.
The Thunderbird was cleaved in two.
Yet its sacrifice only weakened the strike. The remaining force slammed into Chan Chan, tearing across her chest.
Blood sprayed, and her robes were ripped open.
"Huff… huff…"
Tianyu staggered slightly, breathing heavily.
"This form still drains too much," he thought.
Snapppp!
His blade was crumbled fragments turning to dust, then scattered into the air.
"You served me well." He said, watching the ash drift in the wind.
"At the end, the only way to truly wield that technique… is with the actual blade."
His gaze drifted to his hand; five stars had formed on the back of his palm.
Three glowed a deep blue.
Two pulsed with a faint purple light.
"Huh… why are they different colours?" he wondered.
Tianyu stopped right in front of the fallen girl.
"She's not dead, ha" Tianyu realised, narrowing his eyes.
"I thought that strike would've finished her, just means the magic beast was really that durable."
His gaze shifted to the side.
Her flute lay nearby, split cleanly in half.
"So, she used the flute to block…"
Tianyu stood there in silence, Qi buzzing violently around his hand.
"…What now?"
"Do I kill her?"
His jaw tightened.
"It feels wrong… finishing someone who can't even fight back."
For a moment, the pressure around him grew heavier, murderous thought filling his head.
"Damn it… damn it."
He exhaled sharply.
"…Tch."
"Ah fuck it," Tianyu said quietly.
"Looks like it's your lucky day."
He turned away.
Pulling another handful of herbs from his bag, he stuffed them into his mouth, and he walked off, the Qi around him gradually calming.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh.."
A furious roar echoed from the distance.
"You monster!"
"What do you think you're doing to Bou Fēng?!"
Mo Fang's voice thundered across the battlefield.