The last time Xiao Ji had to face a shadow panther, he had not even known what it was.

It was the System notification about his title that had revealed it to him. Thinking back to that night, it was truly a miracle he had not ended up as food. This was especially true since he was attacked in the night, when the panther was in its element.

The Xiao Ji that he now had completely surpassed the one of a few months back in almost every area. Not only was he much stronger and more resilient, his senses were better and his skills more refined. He still had no martial or offensive techniques, but Bai Lin had helped him brush up his skills to some extent.

Even with all these improvements, he still faced the panther with caution. A simple glance was all it took to confirm that this one was a lot more dangerous than the one he met in the forest. Its exact cultivation was difficult to sense, something that made him wary. Still, he was fairly certain it was still in the Qi Condensation Realm. If it wasn’t, then he did not particularly stand a chance regardless.

The big cat finally left the camp once more, this time holding another person in its jaws. He remembered reading about how ravenous the cats were, and knew it had to die if they did not intend to lose all their people. He also suspected it was intelligent enough to understand the concept of storing food. The scroll he had read on them did mention that they gained intelligence faster than normal.

When it spotted him staring, the shadow panther did not back down, instead slowly dropping the person it held and focusing all its attention on him. It seemed to recognise him as a threat.

Good.

A panther recognising a chicken as anything other than a snack might normally be very unusual, but Xiao Ji had never been particularly normal. Besides, he had refused to be a snack when he was a mortal, he was not going to change his position now.

Predator or prey.

He knew what his uncle was. He had heard stories told by humans, awakened, and spirit beasts. None of them considered him prey, chicken or not. Xiao Ji had no intention of soiling his uncle’s name.

So he walked straight to the shadow panther, the cat taking up all his attention. It was likely going to be a fight for his life. But he was not prey. And so he would not run.

Instead, he launched himself at the cat, even as it narrowed its eyes and snarled at him. Qi rushed out to strengthen his body, and he twisted mid air to meet the raised paws of the cat with his own claws.

The hit that would have once sent him flying and come close to breaking something was stopped, and he merely dropped back to the ground. Another claw came at his with blinding speed, and it took all he had to just barely dodge it. He was confident in meeting the paws with his own claws, but trying to tank a hit from the sharp claws of the cat with his wings did not seem particularly wise.

His eyes narrowed after that and he tried to steady himself. The panther was fast. That was something he knew, of course, but actually facing that speed was something else. At that point, it was obvious this would be a more difficult fight than the last time he faced a shadow panther.

The next time he launched himself, he pushed himself higher with a flap of his wings, trying to land on the panther’s back like he did with the wolf .Unfortunately, the cat was too smart to fall for that, and instead jumped up to meet him in the air.

Trying not to panic, he flapped his wings harder, rising just barely out of the panther’s impressive jumping range. The cat’s eyes remained on him even as it fell gracefully to the ground. By the time he tried to land on it, it was already in position to swat him to the ground.

He once more barely avoided it, trying at the last moment to use his spurs to slash at the paw. Unfortunately, the strengthened bone only met air. At that moment, a part of him wished he had chosen the [Flying Spurs] trait. It was not hard to see his biggest challenge so far.

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The panther was too fast.

That on its own was not an insurmountable challenge, but there was also the issue of his lack of any ranged weapons. A head on clash was not something he could win with the tools he currently possessed. Perhaps if his spurs were much longer, or his body was even stronger still, it could have been a possibility. As it was thought, he needed another solution; And he needed it fast.

He took a brief moment to look at the fight between Ruo Long and the grizzly close to the edges of his vision. The clarity of his eyesight even from his current distance was one of the things he truly appreciated cultivation for. Unfortunately for him though, the dragon seemed to be taking his time to slowly wear down the bear, which meant he would be of little use to Ji’s own fight.

What to do then?

He dodged a paw strike, then another, and even an attempt to bite his head off, each subsequent attempt making him feel like he was playing an increasingly risky game with his life. Those flying spurs would have been truly helpful now.

The thought of his trait once more brought something to the forefront of his mind. His trait, [Force of Mind], had been fairly useful to him, increasing his qi control and even his cultivation speed. All those were useful things that would be considered great fortunes by most people.

But Xiao Ji was not most people

He was a Beyond grade awakened with enough potential to one day rival the Titans and others who stood at the top of the world. His trait was useful, but it was still underperforming. This was a conversation he’d had with his master before. But he had only recently tried experimenting with it.

He thought back to the description of the trait, the last sentence, in particular.

Unlocking this trait strengthens your mind and allows it to influence your surroundings

There was no doubt the trait had strengthened his mind. Mental exercises were much easier now and he could remember things more clearly than he ever could. A large part of his quick improvements in qi control was because of his increased mental capacity.

The last part of the sentence, however, was still a work in progress. He had been trying, with little luck, to enforce his will on his surroundings with little access. Now though, he was desperate with few options. He supposed giving it a few attempts wouldn’t hurt.

Meanwhile, he was also starting to understand the panther’s fighting style. When the next attack came, not only did he dodge it, he managed to start his jump just before it could correct itself. He coated both his spurs and his claws once more and slashed down on his opponent’s face.

Unfortunately, the panther closed its eyes at the last moment, so he only scratched the eyelids, which were tougher than he expected. Regardless, his slash had left a long gash on its face, successfully drawing the first blood of the fight.

He landed gracefully, trying to steady himself. He was not all that confident in his attempt working, if he was being honest, but it did, which meant his chances of winning had just increased.

His next attempt ended in failure, but he was not disappointed. He managed to land a hit once more after a few tries. Or so he thought.

Just as he was about to hit, the panther moved. He was so shocked when his claws hit empty air that it took him a few moments to actually realise what had happened.

Shadow panthers were not given their name for no reason. They generally had an innate ability to manipulate and pass through the darkness, which made them a very powerful species. The first time he had fought one, he had been lucky. It was newly evolved, which meant it could not yet use its innate ability.

This one was clearly different, and as he replayed the memory, he noted the way it moved along the shadows. It was subtle, and did not look too different from normal movement except for some strangeness. What gave it away was the speed and fluidity of the movement. The panther was fast and graceful, but even it could not achieve that without being helped along.

The fight that looked like it was about to start going in Ji’s favour turned around once more. He went on the backfoot, and the panther even started using shadows to aid its offence occasionally. They were fighting close to the trees, so it had the advantage in the environment. All his attempts to move away from the forests were met with utter failure.

Eventually, the inevitable happened. When the next paw swipe came, he found himself just a little too slow. Multiple sharp points struck punctured flesh, though they thankfully did not get far. He was not able to dodge, but he had pushed the qi in his side to the maximum while also raising his wings. He would rather those did not get broken.

The force of the hit was still enough to send him flying back, and he crashed on the ground before he could stabilise himself, though the fall did not injure him, thankfully.

He got up almost, instantly, managing to avoid the charging panther, though it was a clumsy dodge. Though the pain he felt was nothing compared to that day, it still hurt badly and he found it increasingly difficult to move. If it continued at this pace, he would not survive.

The thought gripped his heart, and it was all he could do not to panic. He thought about calling for help, but Ruo Long leaving the bear would only make things worse. There was no way to contact his master that he knew of. The panic rose further, even as he struggled to dodge. He tried to fight it, but his attempts were foiled by the undisputed truth he knew in his heart if things continue as they were.

Xiao Ji was going to die. And he was going to die as prey.