I felt oddly at peace.

“...idiot…” The skeleton lady’s voice drifted into my mind, but now her voice originated from the sword in my hands. How did she get there?

"..battle..." The skeleton lady's voice reminded me.

The muscles underneath my chubby arms tensed as the sword sunk to my side. It was oddly heavy for a sword that didn’t seem very big. But I guess not everything was as it appears in a cultivation world. Maybe the metal it was forged with was really dense?

Roar!

The bramble chimera unsheathed its claws and quickly leapt toward me, but I wasn’t the same person as before. I wouldn't get scratched from a simple charge.

With the violet sword in my hands—

“…Mountain Sealing Sword…” The skeleton lady’s voice reminded me, like she could read my thoughts.

My face scrunched a bit as I deflected the bramble chimera's first attack, but it wasn't from the effort.

…With the Mountain Sealing Sword in my hands, I felt rock steady. If it was headed straight for me, I didn’t need a greater speed than the bramble chimera. If what the skeleton lady—

“…Gou Jing…” The skeleton lady’s voice corrected me. Again. Why does it feel like everyone can read my mind? Am I that transparent?

“Quit interrupting me!” I yelled with evident frustration.

My sword clinked against the ground as my Qi-reinforced muscles tightened on the hilt. With undaunted momentum, I swung the sword in a 45-degree slash as the chimera’s paw raced toward me, and I felt it as the blade sliced against the bramble chimera’s paw.

Snarl!

I couldn’t stop the swing’s momentum, and the Mountain Sealing Sword swung behind me, leaving me wide open to the other attacking paw. For a moment, I panicked and quickly dashed to the other side of the sword, which pulsed alongside my Earthen Heart Vibration.

The violet gem on the sword hilt shone as the sword vibrated to protect me.

Clang!

When the angry claws touched the Mountain Sealing Sword, they distorted and chipped off like a fingernail banged against something much sturdier. Unfortunately for the chimera, my sword was very, very hard…

Chuckle.

“Stop with the innuendos, Louie! This is a serious fight to the death!” I scolded myself as the bramble chimera howled with pain and anger.

Its paw had been cut so deep that some fingers drooped loosely, and the claws on its other paw were cracked and had lost their sharp edge. With a low growl, the chimera circled me as I pulled the Mountain Sealing Sword from the ground.

When I pointed the sword at it once more, it growled in response but didn’t pounce like last time. It was assessing me, trying to find an angle that would lead to my certain death.

My fingers tightened on the sword, and I felt the shallow claw marks that the chimera had left behind. Blood dripped from them as they filled with violet mist. A tingling sensation accompanied the swift healing as red particles filtered out of the wound, and within seconds, the bleeding stopped.

“I think I won that trade,” I reassured myself as I vibrated my blood off the sword blade.

Roar!

The bramble chimera didn’t seem to like my comment and pounced at me once more. It leapt toward me with claws brandished, but as I swung the sword down into the ground, it agilely changed directions and swung around with its back leg.

All it took was one careless moment.

The back leg crashed into my torso, knocking my grip loose on the sword. The blow sent me spiralling into the rocks, and I spat out a bloody mist as my back impacted. I briefly lost my sense of balance, and by the time I looked up, the bramble chimera was swatting at me.

Thud!...

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...Thud!...

“…idiot…” Gou Jing’s voice sounded out as I got knocked aside by the chimera’s paws again. The latest few times weren’t as strong as the first blow. In fact, it was almost like the chimera was enjoying itself while playing with my ragged body.

It really reminded me of a particular person I vowed to kill one day.

Phew!

I spat on the ground after I rolled out of the way and looked up at the bramble chimera as it stayed between the Mountain Sealing Sword and me. Then, as the bramble chimera readied its paw to swat me away again, my legs vibrated, and I rammed headfirst into its underbelly.

Not the best idea I’ve ever had, but it got the job done.

I felt something shift inside the bramble chimera’s stomach as my head bluntly attacked its weak underbelly, and it let loose a roar, distancing itself from the human underneath it. Which meant that it distanced itself from the Mountain Sealing Sword.

The chimera and I exchanged wary gazes as I walked over to the Mountain Sealing Sword and gripped it in my hands.

This thing was more intelligent than the other horned bramble dogs. It didn’t just blindly charge all the time, which meant I would have to anticipate some of its next moves.

This battle was just beginning.

Snarl!

…

I jumped off a large boulder, avoiding the back leg headed toward me as I sailed overtop the chimera with the Mountain Sealing Sword. Unfortunately, I missed one key point: chimeras had two sides to them. With snapping fangs, the bramble chimera’s snake tail hissed toward me, nearly sinking its fangs into my defenceless leg like last time.

Did you know the violet mist also heals poison? I'm thankful for that.

My body rotated as the sword’s blade came up and around like a pinwheel. With as much force as I could muster, the blade sunk into the neck of the snake, cleanly chopping off the venomous threat as my sword plunged into the ground.

Roar!

The bramble chimera roared in pain and bared its sharp teeth at me.

Until now, I had been defending against the onslaught of the bramble chimera’s attacks. But now, I saw my chance.

I was going on the attack.

…

My sword was too heavy for me to swing in a traditional way. It required my entire body to slash, which meant I had to muster as much force as possible.

Spinning, jumping, and brute forcing it were my only options.

I felt like a video game character as I jumped over the Mountain Sealing Sword and used the generated force to bend back and swing the blade in an overhead slash.

Slam!

The Mountain Sealing Sword dug into the ground, leaving a rippling vibration that shook the bramble chimera’s legs and cracked the ground on impact. Recognizing the opportunity, the muscles in my body clenched with strength as I dashed in a crescent moon pattern, building up speed.

The blade's tip unearthed itself as I suddenly stopped, letting the force travel through my arms and into the blade in a sweeping blow.

Roar!

The sword blade sunk into the Bramble Chimera’s viny arms and hit the bone that I couldn’t cleave through without vibrating the sword at maximum strength. Like a saw, I ripped out the sword from the pained bramble chimera and queued up my next attack, only to dash away at the last second.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

The bramble chimera went berserk, leaving tremors in the ground from smashing its paws down. All the while, blood continued to pour from its aggravated injuries thanks to the violet mist attacking its numerous cut wounds.

“I think I’m winning this battle.” I mocked as the bramble chimera suddenly stared right at me.

Oh no, I know that look.

…

I huffed and heaved as my sword reached over the top of me. With cold eyes, I brought the final blow down on the bramble chimera. I watched as the sword vibrated with a power strong enough to cut through bones and swung down like an executioner.

Chop!

In a single slice, the bramble chimera’s life was no more.

I collapsed to one knee as soon as the sword met the ground. This was by no means an easy fight, and even with the violet mist pouring its strength into me, I had only won after multiple chipping attacks.

“…idiot…” Gou Jing’s voice reminded me.

My teeth clenched as the vein in my forehead popped. With adrenaline and countless other vicious tendencies running through my body, I shouted aloud.

“I’m not an idiot!”

*****

“This can’t be happening. This is impossible!”

Gou Hui’s lips trembled as he watched the Bramble Chimera slowly get defeated. He had been so confident in his chances of winning that he had even played around a bit.

Gou Hui regretted losing that chance again. Unfortunately, there was no medicine for the regret that turned his insides upside down.

“No!” Gou Hui shouted as the sword came down on the bramble chimera’s neck. The connection cut off, and the recoil shot toward Gou Hui’s mind. He gasped in pain as the bramble chimera marking on his forehead slowly faded.

“I can’t let it end like this!”

Gou Hui’s eyes grew hopeless as he felt the meaningless strength in his cultivation base. He was nowhere near his brothers in cultivation, and at this moment, he regretted not training more. Thankfully, he had a backer on his side.

“…power?...come…” The Matron’s compelling voice entered Gou Hui’s mind like a light of hope shining on him.

“Matron!” Gou Hui fell to his knees before his saviour and crawled toward the root like a useless beggar.

“…power…at a cost…” The Matron whispered, but Gou Hui was already desperate. Who knew when the young man wielding the violet sword would return for him? Gou Hui wouldn’t take that chance on his life.

“Matron, please bless me with your power!” Gou Hui reached for the root, touching it with his hand.

Suddenly, the root pulsated with power, and countless tiny roots gathered around Gou Hui’s arm. The branching roots dug into the pores of Gou Hui’s arm, causing numerous bursts of pain as the roots invaded his body. The pain reached a threshold that blanked Gou Hui’s mind, and a scream for dear life escaped his lips.

A scream that echoed into the distance.