Qian Shi watched her new enemy with narrowed eyes.

Its posture was casual, and she could tell the great ape was not taking the whole situation seriously. Likely because of its higher cultivation. Some would say it had the right to look down on someone three stages below it. They would not be wrong either, for normal cultivators, at least.

Unfortunately for them, the Divine Fan Guo did not train normal cultivators.

A deep, rumbling bark left her throat as she leapt at her new target. It threw a backhand casually like it was simply attempting to swat a fly. The change in the ape’s expressions over the next few seconds warmed Qian Shi’s heart.

It had finally figured out that it was not dealing with some weak spirit beast. As it turned out, a detached hand was as good a teacher as any. For her part, Shi spat out the blood in her mouth. The mere thought of consuming something that had interrupted her hunt disgusted her.

Her new target finally looked at her, its eyes full of hatred. Yet alongside the clear rage it displayed, there was also something, there was a new emotion. One that left Qian Shi feeling smug.

Caution.

She pounced once more, this time forcing the ape to jump back so it could avoid her jaws. That did not stop her from pushing forward, snapping jaws and swiping claws drawing lines of crimson on its skin. Fortunately for it, its fur and skin were tough, making it harder for her to cause any serious injury.

That changed when she started using her techniques, of course. Line of qi extended from her claws to dig deeper holes forcing her opponent back. Unfortunately, she was not the only one with techniques, and the great ape activated a defensive technique of its own.

For a moment they seemed to be at a stalemate, neither side able to find an advantage. Her opponent was clearly slower than her, but they were just fast enough to make it difficult for her to get her teeth on them. They were also too hardy for her claws to do much damage.

She was contemplating truly going all out when something changed. It was hard to pinpoint what exactly it was, but her instincts screamed at her, and she launched herself back all of a sudden.

None too soon, it turned out, as her prey had exploded forward, its massive fist padding through the empty space where she previously was. The sudden increase in speed, plus the explosiveness of the punch, made her genuinely worried for the first time. That worry only increased as the ape pressed forward. They were noticeably faster than before, enough that she struggled to keep up.

[Mountain Transformation].

With rising alarm, she used what was currently her most powerful technique. The Perfect grade technique drew power from the earth and strengthened her beyond what normal qi reinforcement could achieve. It was nearly a Beyond grade technique, mostly because of its ability to let her utilise the power of an element, something that was usually unreachable below Core Formation.

Unfortunately, the newfound confidence the technique gave her did not last long. For a few moments, she was able to fight on par with the ape and even overpower it once more. Then a strange glowing symbol appeared on its forehead and it once more exploded in strength. She was once more on the backfoot, only this time, the enemy seemed to become even more skilled. It was only a matter of time before she took her first serious hit.

When the fist met her shoulders, Qian Shi knew she had to end the fight very quickly. The only reason why her bones were not shattered was the power of [Mountain Transformation] that straightened her,

So she resorted to something she rarely did. Something usually only reserved for the grandest hunts and the most formidable prey. It seemed the great ape in front of her had met that threshold. Which meant they would have the honour of witnessing why awakened beasts were different from spirit beasts.

[Guardian of the Mountain]

Qian Shi’s trait was an esoteric one. For months, they could not figure out what the trait actually did except increase her strength to some extent when she was around people she considered family. When they discovered it though, it had sent Master Guo Into a frenzy. Mei had told her the man now put her on the same level as a Beyond grade awakened.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Not that she could blame him for that. Even now, she was still awed by the trait that was essentially a cheat.

[Path of Destruction - Lightning to Dust]

Lightning surrounded Qian Shi as the First Disciple’s signature technique filled her with power above what she should be capable of. It left her in a flash of light, seeking the great ape who had interrupted her hunt.

Silence.

When she went to check on her prey, a blackened corpse that was completely unrecognisable was the only thing that met her. The technique would have turned the ape to actual dust if the First Disciple had used it, but not even her trait could bridge the cultivation gap. Even then, the sheer power of the technique was enough to see why he was so feared.

Her qi reserves had nearly run dry and she could feel dizziness start to make itself known, but she felt mostly content when she activated the token. There was still a whole mystery over the strange ape to solve, but it was the most satisfying hunt she had been on in a while, even with the interruption.

*

The First Disciple of the Divine Fan Guo, also known as The Rat Prince of Shiu Zu, stared at something in the distance.

“What do you see, Huo Lan?” the oft-silent voice of his companion echoed in his head.

“It seems like our little sister is in need of some help.”

“Qian Shi?” the massive ox beside him asked.

“Indeed. She just borrowed a little help from me.”

“Is it a cause for worry?”

The ox already knew the answer to that, of course. Huo Lan was well aware he could not hide his emotions from his fellow disciple even if he tried. Yet he humoured the ox, for it was not often that his junior brother was feeling so talkative.

“No. She did not hit the limit of what she could draw from me and she has not taken it anymore. I assume whatever she was facing was below not above the second stage of the Core Formation Realm.”

“Good. I do find myself missing my fellow disciples. It would be a shame if anything happened to them.”

Huo Lan felt the threat in that statement and almost shuddered. To think he was often seen as the scary one. He suspected the only reason why the Second Disciple was not a Beyond Grade awakened was because whatever powers that decided these things did not wish to create another Claw Empress.

“It would be indeed. Especially when we have not seen our newest brother.”

The ox nodded and then vanished. The small army of spirit beasts that were planning to ambush them in the distance exploded all of a sudden. When Huo Lan got there, he was greeted by a pile of dead spirit beasts of different kinds. They numbered twenty in total, with the bulk of them in the first stage of the Core Formation Realm.

“Impressive. Even weeks after your breakthrough you continue to surprise.”

“They were merely average cultivators, Huo Lan. Their strength was always the least of our worries.”

To that, Huo Lan could only nod in agreement, his eyes turning to the symbol on the head of all the spirit beasts. It was the same symbol, a simple mess of lines that would be gibberish to almost anyone.

Not to them though. To the First and Second Disciples of the Great Divine Fan Guo, that symbol meant something. Something terrible.

And if their Little Sister Qian Shi was there, then perhaps she would also recognise the symbol from a certain dead prey.

*

Xiao Ji was just about to go inside to eat when Qian Shi appeared in front of him all of a sudden, a large black lump behind her. His brain, previously exhausted from all the tests he had done with his trait, perked up immediately.”

“Welcome back, Qian Shi. I’m glad you are safe.”

The mastiff looked mostly fine, with a few scratches and ruffled fur the only signs that she had been in a fight of some kind.

“Thank you.”

His eyes turned to the black lump that lay on the floor behind her. He tried to make out what it was but came up short. He supposed it vaguely fit the shape of a human of some sort. One with no hands, and very thin legs.

Qian Shi seemed to notice him staring at the lump.

“That is a great ape. It killed the one I was pursuing and interrupted my hunt. I will need to show it to the Master.”

He stared at the blackened lump that was completely unrecognisable and wondered how she even achieved that. She had likely used fire of some sort, but as far as he knew, people below Core Formation could not manipulate the elements. At least not nearly enough to cause this level of damage.

“How?” he asked, that single word containing his genuine confusion.

“The ape was very powerful. Something was empowering it, though I don’t know what. So I had to use my trait.”

She said it so casually like the simple mention of her trait was enough to explain the damage. From his limited knowledge of fire, even Ruo Long’s draconic flames would struggle to burn something to this extent. The dragon could likely achieve it if he stayed for a few hours, but that was not a feasible option.

Master Guo had said something about her trait being different, but he still had no idea what it was.

“What is your trait?” he asked, unable to contain his curiosity anymore.

“Oh, I haven’t told you. It's called [Guardian of the Mountain] and it allows me to borrow the techniques from any of my fellow disciples. I used a weaker version of the First Disciple’s skill to end the fight.”

That sounded like an utterly ridiculous trait, and he knew he would have been very envious if he had not figured out his own trait’s amazing ability. He was still envious, of course, just less so. He also shuddered at the fact that this was only a weaker version of the technique. Perhaps he could understand why everyone seemed to fear Huo Lan.

He was about to ask more questions when their Master appeared at the doorway all of a sudden.

“Welcome back, Third Disciple,” the man said with a slight frown. “It looks like you have a rather interesting story to tell.”