The scorching heat of midday beat down on Shuren, sweat slightly perspiring from his forehead. The rattling of the crimson snake, a creature Shuren was unfamiliar with, rose as it brought out its tail to the forefront. Sharp, jagged spikes exploded towards the end of the tail, and each reflective scale moved, as if tensed for a fight.

Shuren flicked his wrist. His staff, slightly embedded in the bright sand glistening in the heat, simply moved up.

An explosion of sand flew into the snake’s eyes. The rattle of its tail grew louder, an expression of its emotion. Rage.

And with that, it acted with tail as the point.

Controlling his Qi to expand near his ankles and feet, he dashed to the side. But he always kept focus on the direction of the tail, its jagged spikes crashing into the ground. His right hand permanently tensed, preparing to strike at any opening.

I have to be aware. There’s a potential those spikes can be shot out. Shuren waited for that exact moment the tail hit the ground, and ignored the sand that exploded and covered his vision. In a javelin stance, his right forearms burst with Qi as he launched his staff, embedding itself deep in the crimson snake’s tail.

And to the cultivator’s eye, they would be able to see a thin string of Qi attached from Shuren’s arm to his weapon.

With a wide stance, Shuren held his arms out and feet ready, anticipating its next move. Now would’ve been the opportune time for the creature to reveal its hidden cards. The spikes shivered, and the tail end writhed and expanded, but nothing happened.

For a moment, the reflective light of its scales disappeared.

Shuren’s pupils shrunk, focusing all of his Qi around his vitals and body. With defence enhanced, he held both arms out in front of his head.

There was no time to react.

Dozens of scales shot out, not from its tail, but from the crimson snake’s entire body. As if each scale had an eye of its own, all of them managed to strike Shuren’s body. He felt the stabbing pain reach from his arms to his legs. If I didn’t react in time, that would’ve done some real damage. Even if I’m Stage 6, beasts are inherently stronger at birth. They’re testing our adaptability with our lack of knowledge…

Most beasts and creatures of the world were born with natural attunement to the control of Qi. It was why during the Oblivion Era of the world, Beast Tides were the biggest tragedies, even worse than natural disasters. But all of these beasts had a set weakness and attribute, thus information on them alongside preparation allowed for even mortals to fight back.

The crimson snake’s tail rattled and pulsated a few more. That tail both works as a threat to other wildlife and a mechanism to discharge its scales. Then… Shuren paid focus to the snake’s body, listening for the specific tune of rattle that indicated the scales to be shot out.

The scales whizzed past Shuren’s hair as he weaved between the shots, watching the spiked tail rise high in the air. The staff still embedded in its skin. I have to bait it to slam the tail again, then grab the staff out. With that, it’ll focus on its open wound afterward.

Shuren switched his direction within an instant, heading straight to the crimson snake’s head. Seeing its prey change course to pounce towards it, the snake instinctively lashed out with its tail.

Very good.

Focusing on the balls of his bottom feet, Shuren let loose his tensed legs as he adeptly dodged to the side of the tail, still retaining the distance. The staff, finally in front of him. Embedded halfway at the pulsating end of the tail, almost like an air sac.

Grabbing the end of the metal staff, Shuren locked in his wrist and tugged, digging his feet into the sand to stabilise his body. He had to make this quick, within a single breath.

With a popping sound, the staff ripped out the wound in the tail, and black blood fountained. Once more, the tail thrashed around as the scales whizzed around Shuren. This time, he used the staff to deflect most of them as he moved, dashing towards the jerking head. He had to end it faster. There shouldn’t be any more wild moves this snake could have.

Using his staff as a rebound force, Shuren vaulted himself towards the top of the crimson snake’s head, firmly landing on its crown. The scales beneath shook once more, but before it could act, he raised his staff.

Once more, he manipulated his Qi to bolster the strength in his arms. All for one downward stab.

And so he pushed down. With brute force.

The staff drilled itself through the snake’s brain, piercing through its mouth and throat. The scales continued to tremble and vibrate with vigour and violence. There’s something off.

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With its death throes, each and every one of the scales lit up, no more reflecting the light of the world. Spikes exploded from each scale, akin to its tail, its final defence to any intruders on its body.

Shuren jumped. Landing with ease on top of his staff, he watched the crimson snake’s body wither away, its scales falling off. “Can’t expect much from a Stage 4 beast. Perhaps it’s a newborn, rather than in its adulthood.”

With its brain smashed, the crimson snake shivered, gradually landing to the ground.

Shuren’s bangle hummed, and as he willed, the same cloudy box appeared once more. Forty points. That was the amount he received.

And he watched his ranking number move around, constantly shifting between ten to twenty. “Hmm. It’s actually calculating everyone’s progress at the same time? The sect surely has prepared quite the spectacle. But, this rises the competitive spirit even more.”

With a sudden wave of his staff, the blood spread across the sands. Shuren picked up the pace towards the hole the snake appeared from. “There’s an underground structure? If there’s more of those snakes in a small area, it might be harder. But if I can kill more of them faster, my points should increase with it likewise.”

He didn’t take long to decide, jumping down into the cavern. One that looked like the ruins of an ancient building. He narrowed his gaze, realising the room itself was rather small, barely enough to even house that snake. And a soft hue radiated from the end, with a brilliant blue crystal on an altar.

Shuren took his time observing his surroundings, tapping the ground with his staff as he walked around the room, his eyes scouring the area with caution. Scrutinising each corner of the place, even the grooves between the engravements, but there was no sign of a potential trap. With a gradual pace, tapping the ground and with a hand against the wall, Shuren didn’t take long making it towards the crystal.

His bangle hummed once more, and clouds grew from the crystal to form words.

“This must be one of the toys they placed in the Fractured Realm. It’s a… an object that flies to the highest point, allowing me a vantage point to see the battlefield? This is quite useful.”

Putting it to the test, Shuren grabbed the crystal and left the cave. The arid heat of the desert once more beating down on him. But once he used his Qi, the crystal shimmered until an ethereal form of a hawk formed. And without Shuren making a command, its claws gripped Shuren’s wrists, and its wings beat rapidly. There was no sound, nor air being pushed, yet Shuren’s body rose alongside the bird, with the view of the realm getting expanded.

The perimeters of the desert were soon shown to him, bordering the green sprawling jungle lands at the northernmost point. In the far distance, he could even see a snowy mountain range that shifted into a pulsating orange volcanic region. Even Shuren couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow with some surprise. “They’ve really designed this place with this much care? Not even the Liu Clan’s training realms had this much variety involved with their environments.”

Shuren noticed a few others flying in the sky with their own kinds of creatures. They must’ve similarly found objects around the area to gain an advantage. Shuren kept his hearing attentive, holding his staff out in a guard stance.

An arrow whizzed towards him, but Shuren deflected it with ease. It had long since dropped its speed from the airtime. “The downside to gaining such an advantage.”

Shuren scoffed. This opponent would have to put far more effort to put a dent on him.

He saw the borders of the jungle sprawling with other a dozen fighters, all scrambling while dealing with each other. A smirk came onto his face.

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Tez panted as he grabbed the vivid blue crystal in his hand, with a silhouette of a creature at its centre. Blood already covered his right arm, and his sword was doused in blood. “Shit, it felt way too real! Those two are still alive, right?”

Tez felt the sensation of a knife stabbing in his back, causing him to stumble forward once more. Still wheezing, he turned around and saw a young man with long black hair, a bun held by a thin gem encrusted needle. Casually standing while waving a fan, he mocked Tez as he stood on the high ground. “Impressive to see an outlander only in Stage 2 to survive for so long. You truly are talented at running.”

He’s here for my crystal. I need to find a better chance to use it, I can’t let him sneak up on me!

Tez held his sword in front, walking backwards in the deep marsh while watching for that fan. His left foot felt a squelch, and muddied water dirtied his pants. He narrowed his eyes at the realisation.

He took a deep and long breath.

Sword arm shivering, he waited as the man waved his fan, three metal feathers aiming towards Tez’s head. With a swipe of his hand, he could only deflect two of them.

And with the third embedded in his chest, Tez fell backwards, submerged in the swamp.

After a few moments, the fan wielding elegant man walked towards the swamp, but hesitated. “I really don’t want to dirty my clothes by walking in this swamp, but that crystal would be worthwhile.” With a long sigh, he held up the sleeves of his robe, fully prepared to muddy his beautiful visage. “This should be wor-”

A large snout jumped out of the swamp, and the shadows of a powerful beast rammed into him, pushing him to the side. Ignoring the dull pain in his body, he watched as the golden hippo bolted into the jungle, with Tez at its helm.

“Stay calm! Stay calm!” Tez continued to force his Qi into the manifested hippo, the result of his crystal, but it barely listened to him. Red eyed, it slammed into another combatant, knocking him away. Tez felt as he gained 10 points, only 3 percent close to achieving his goal for the quest. Seriously, how the hell am I supposed to do this?!

Tez couldn’t help but hold a grin as a handful more combatants tried to escape the hippo, only to struggle in dodging it, getting knocked out. But I’m pretty sure I didn’t receive any points when that fan bastard got hit. He’s way stronger than these grunts.

When Tez saw the dozens of fighters scrambling around as they fought each other, none with any sort of unique advantage, his heart fluttered. With this, he’d be able to-

A wave of dust exploded from the centre of them, as a shadow from the sky dropped with a thunderous bang. And when the dust and debris cleared up…

A man stood at the centre with flowing blond hair and staff in hand. Surrounded by twelve people, Tez could feel his presence as the man’s Qi surged in a powerful aura around him.

“Now then. It’s time to gather some points.”

Shuren had entered the scene.