Li Wei’s face showed a grimace as he had not heard of such a variant of the Lion Beast species. The large lion which seemed purely made of crystal, slammed one of its paws into the ground. The shockwave rebuffed Li Wei a few feet away and he felt a tremor below his feet that felt like a precursor to an unfortunate end. As such, Li Wei seemingly vanished from the Lion’s perspective by using Void Slip. At the edges of the void, he could view the real world's happenings in real time, allowing him to observe the fate that awaited him if he had acted too late. Several spikes of green crystal of the same color as the Lion had rushed out of the ground with tremendous force from where he had felt the tremors moments earlier. There was no doubt in his mind that he would have been a goner if that attack had fully landed.
With no intention to remain in the void too long as the detrimental effects would add up eventually, even with his tempered soul; he slipped back into reality from behind the domineering lion. Already with his sword floating beside him, Li Wei unleashed his flying sword skill Soaring Sword Dance. A basic technique that most cultivators of the empire learned but when combined with the Origin Focus Blade skill, it becomes a devastating skill of precision. The E-grade sword dipped and flew all around the lion, diving to take opportune jabs while Li Wei himself used his movement skill Fluid Steps to dodge forthcoming crystal spikes.
Their tough exterior made it rather difficult to damage but gradually, cracks began to appear across the body of the hulking lion. This change of events was unwelcomed by the lion as it bellowed an ear-piercing roar that spread across several miles in every direction. The sound rattled Li Wei’s senses, and the beast was upon him in an instant. Despite being a Qi Beast that was hardly focused on speed, it was still a 2nd Step creature with a Body attribute at least double that of most 1st Step individuals.
Quickly slicing through the air, Li Wei’s E-grade sword appeared in between him and the incoming Lion’s claw. Moving in a clockwise motion parallel to both him and the lion with such speeds to give the image of a shield being conjured; the lion’s claw and his sword made contact. A deafening blast wave erupted from the collision point, uprooting nearby trees and the ground surface.
Adjusting his position and backing into the void using Void Slip, Li Wei traversed the void with his sword in hand. While in the void, Li Wei utilized Genesis Manifestation Blade, and his Qi reserves dropped by 30%. When he appeared once more from above the Lion’s head, his blade that was in motion could be seen with tendrils of darkness and the blade itself pulsating with a heartbeat. As if instincts took hold, the lion retreated as a blade’s tip sliced through the forehead of the lion with barely any resistance. The skill is meant to break down anything it contacts into its first form of either mana or Qi. As all things of this world originate from these forces.
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Li Wei could see whisps of energy fade into the air from where his blade met the beast’s crystal skin. That beast was staring daggers at Li Wei and its body began to vibrate and then shrink to the size of a mundane lion. The incision he had made on its forehead vanished and its skin was a darker shade of green. The lion roared with a faint difference in tone than last time, and the multitude of replies nearby by similar sounding roars alerted Li Wei of its ploy. It was trying to guarantee his demise by ambush! With no spare moment, Li Wei rushed at the Lion as various beasts came into the picture simultaneously from the foliage. The Restless Forest became slightly more chaotic than usual.
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Approximately seven hours had passed since then and corpses that number over two dozen were strewn across the floor near the center of The Restless Forest. They were of varying species of the Lion Beast variety and all but one were that of the 1st Step. Their leader in this battle had its limbs sliced off and half of his head seemingly eroded. A fearsome predator that caused Li Wei to be heavily injured, of which half of the injuries were from the little 1st step helpers it called for. His left arm was limp, his right eye torn to shreds and his lower torso had been blown open. Barely hanging by a thread, Li Wei used his golden finger and focused on creating a pill to restore injuries of a 1st Step being with the highest potency he could think of.
A small pill summoned into the air in front of him and he snatched it up and popped it into his mouth without further study. Upon swallowing the pill, an explosion of a warm sensation spread across his body and his body began repairing itself. In a matter of seconds, he was as good as new. He stretched into a few positions before laying his eyes upon his deceased foe. Earlier, when he finally struck the finishing blow on the crystal lion, he had received 180,000 Creation Tokens for the achievement of killing a being a step above him. This was rather annoying as that was a mere ‘Excellent’ award. Nevertheless, he managed to understand his current limits and how far he must go to gather achievements. For now, he will focus on building the clan up before taking any drastic decisions. He had not reached a point that directly confronting any of the factions of the district could be done unscathed. And he would only act if he was certain of absolute victory. After all, it was not just himself but his entire clan’s fate on the line. He was just about to see if any of the Beasts dropped a Beast Core when his communication talisman in his storage ring alerted him of a transmission. Li Wei summoned the talisman and answered.
“Yes?”
“Leader Wei, we have a visitor from the Zhao Clan. He wishes to speak with you.” The voice of an elder spoke.
“Understood”
Li Wei jumped onto his sword and lifted off into the air, becoming a streak of light that vanished into the distance.