The forest was a realm of shadows, its silence broken only by the occasional rustling of leaves. Pale moonlight filtered through the canopy, casting eerie patterns on the ground.every sense of his sharpened, every nerve ready for the inevitable. In his hand, the karambit-his father's curved blade-gleamed faintly.

The weapon felt alive, an extension of his will, its razor-sharp edge promising swift judgment.

Ahead of him, a monstrous figure emerged from the darkness—a hulking beast, its fur shimmering like obsidian under the moonlight, its crimson eyes glowing with malevolent intelligence. Its growl reverberated through the trees, a deep, guttural warning that sent smaller creatures scurrying into the night.

Alex's breath steadied as he analyzed the threat. This was no ordinary predator; he could feel the qi radiating from it, a clear sign it had absorbed energy from its environment. It was faster, stronger, and deadlier than anything he'd faced before.

But Alex wasn't ordinary either.

"Let's see what you've got," he muttered, shifting his stance.

The beast struck first, its massive claws tearing through the earth as it lunged at him. Alex leaned back slightly, narrowly avoiding the swipe. In that brief instant, his body twisted, his right leg snapping up in a devastating arc.

He calculated every movement-his lean creating distance, his hip rotation amplifying force, and his tightened thigh muscles delivering explosive power. A trained martial artist could achieve a speed of 16 miles per hour in a quarter-second, producing up to 450 pounds of force. But Alex's qi-enhanced body amplified his strength fiftyfold.

The kick connected squarely with the beast's ribcage. A thunderous crack echoed through the forest as the creature was hurled back, slamming into a tree with enough force to splinter the trunk.

The beast staggered but didn't fall. Its eyes burned brighter, its growl deepened, and it charged again.

Alex's lips curled into a grim smile. "Tough one, huh?"

The next exchange was a blur of motion.

The beast's claws came within inches of Alex's chest, but he twisted his body, evading the strike while countering with a sharp slash from his karambit. The curved blade cut deep, carving through muscle and fur with brutal efficiency.

Blood sprayed across the ground, but the beast didn't relent. It spun, its massive paw lashing out in a desperate bid to take him down. Alex ducked low, his feet shifting in a calculated rhythm. He visualized the fight as a series of vectors and momentum, each movement a part of an intricate equation.

The beast lunged again, its speed unnaturally fast. Alex sidestepped, his karambit spinning around his finger in a fluid motion before slashing upward. The blade found its mark, slicing cleanly through the tendons of the beast's foreleg.

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The creature stumbled, its balance compromised, but Alex didn't let up. His body moved with calculated efficiency, each strike blending martial arts with scientific precision. He channeled qi into the karambit, amplifying its sharpness.

With a final, decisive motion, Alex spun the blade in an upward arc, slashing across the beast's throat. The creature let out a strangled roar before collapsing, its lifeblood pooling beneath it.

Alex stepped back, his breaths steady but deliberate. The karambit dripped with crimson, its lethal edge unblemished.

"That's one," he muttered, wiping the blade clean on the beast's fur.

The forest grew denser as Alex ventured deeper. The frequency of encounters increased, each beast more aggressive and attuned to qi than the last. He avoided fights when he could, slipping past predators whose auras rivaled or exceeded his own. But luck wasn't always on his side.

As dawn approached, his fortune finally ran out. A deep growl froze him mid-step.

From the shadows emerged a tiger-like beast, its sleek, striped body rippling with qi-enhanced muscles. Its aura was suffocating, its cultivation level at the peak of the fifth stage of the Qi Refinement realm.

Alex's grip on the karambit tightened. "This one's not going to be easy," he muttered.

The tiger didn't wait. It lunged, its claws flashing in the dim light. Alex barely dodged, the force of the attack gouging deep furrows into the ground.

The fight was ferocious.

The tiger's movements were almost too fast to track, each strike a deadly blend of speed and power. Alex ducked, dodged, and countered, his karambit slashing in arcs of gleaming silver.

One particularly vicious swipe caught him off guard, its claws grazing his shoulder. Pain flared, but Alex gritted his teeth and pushed through, his qi surging to dull the ache and accelerate healing.

He needed to end this quickly.

Alex shifted his stance, grounding himself. He visualized the tiger’s movements as he had the earlier beast, calculating its speed, angles, and attack patterns. The next time it lunged, he met it head-on.

His kick lashed out, connecting with the tiger’s side and sending it skidding across the ground. Before it could recover, Alex closed the distance, his karambit a blur of motion.

The curved blade struck true, slicing deep into the tiger’s hind leg and crippling its mobility. But the beast refused to fall, its qi surging as it roared in defiance.

“Stubborn,” Alex muttered, adjusting his grip on the karambit.

This time, he channeled all his remaining qi into the blade. The weapon vibrated faintly, its edge glowing with a faint light. With a final burst of speed, Alex closed the gap, his body a whirlwind of motion.

The karambit arced upward, slashing across the tiger’s throat in a precise, devastating strike. Blood sprayed in a crimson arc as the beast collapsed, its aura fading into nothingness.

Alex knelt beside the tiger’s lifeless body, his chest heaving. The forest was silent again, save for the faint rustle of leaves.

He sat down and took out a low-grade Rank 9 healing pill, swallowing it to accelerate the healing of his injuries. The pain in his shoulder subsided slightly, replaced by a soothing warmth.

As he rested, his eyes were drawn to a faint flicker of light deeper within the cave. It was faint, almost imperceptible, but it sparked a sense of curiosity and foreboding.

Alex tightened his grip on the karambit and rose to his feet. Whatever awaited him in the cave would be another challenge, another test of his growing abilities.

With steady steps, he ventured deeper into the darkness, the faint light his only guide.