Dalian swore a couple of times, gathered power in his legs, and shot off at an even faster speed. He was just a bit slower than a sprint, and he felt that he could only keep up his pace for at most ten minutes; eight if he wanted to keep some energy in reserve.

Time to see what his competition could do. He thought to himself, exasperated. In this situation, he was completely helpless; he couldn’t switch directions without her also doing the same. He suspected that she had some method of sensing him, and was deliberately coming after him. Shouting for her to stop was out of the question, the animals would simply change their target.

So, all that was left was for him to run away, hoping that he could escape her detection range before it was too late; a task that was proving difficult. Even after five minutes, he had only been able to maintain the distance between them. Somehow, she was able to keep up to pace whilst being attacked by wild animals and letting out a ghoulish scream a few times a minute.

An idle thought that this was the difference between those with a spirit root and those without passed through his mind, but he dismissed it as being irrelevant and unhelpful to his current predicament. Another minute had passed and he was no better off. Dalian realised that he couldn’t let it go any further. If he continued as he was, then he might simply run out of energy and be easily devoured. Somehow he had to make a stand, either wait for them to reach him and fight, or put everything he had in one last gambit to escape.

He considered his options faster than lightning could strike. Something about the girl’s scream just seemed to radiate helplessness and despair. If she was able to keep up with him up until now, then one way or another she had been physically trained to a similar standard as him. Something that she couldn’t do, he wouldn’t be able to either, even if it was two of them fighting; which Dalian doubted, he suspected she had a plan to attract their attention to him and flee in the coming onslaught, and he didn’t have the same powers of tracking to follow afterwards.

However, a final escape seemed right.

He had only been able to get to the sect by being careful and avoiding danger. He could’ve died a hundred different ways on the journey, but he stayed away from trouble. This was just one of many, he had done it before. He could’ve blitzed through the forest as soon as the elder finished speaking, but he didn’t. This was just the same. He wouldn’t fight the beasts, he would escape to safety, that was the only logical option.

So, once more he put his energy into his legs and shot off as quickly as he could manage. He zipped through the forest, cold dirt being stamped down underfoot. It wasn’t windy, but he could feel the pressure of the air as he collided with it. Almost immediately his body began to heave, and he felt the callous whisper of death teasing him. He couldn’t do anything about it, even reminding himself that it was just in his mind would take too much effort. All his being was put towards fleeing.

Perhaps noticing his increased speed, the screams grew louder and more frequent. They were twisted and depraved, desperation echoing out through the black forest. Ahead of him, Dalian noticed signs of someone’s travel. Cracked twigs on the ground, snapped branches jutting out and deep footprints left behind. He ignored it, all that mattered was running.

His different body functions powered down as he began to draw on his final reserves. His stomach stopped digesting, his kidneys stopped processing water, and his brain dimmed quietly. All that was left was his heart beating twice as fast, and his lungs demanding that he give them huge breaths of air. But even that couldn’t last forever, soon his mind would go into unconsciousness to force him to recover, it was a natural survival instinct that couldn’t be forced, no matter how much adrenaline was coursing through his veins.

Finally, he saw an opening in the forest ahead of him. He charged towards the light with everything he had. Once through, Dalian saw he was in a clearing. It was roughly circular, but strangely within the ground were numerous holes. They were only about ten centimetres in diameter, but there were so many. The sheer amount meant that he had to tiptoe his way through to avoid his legs falling within. Although he should’ve kept running, the screams had disappeared completely once he entered. Perhaps the girl had been caught, or was unwilling to follow him so far.

Whatever it was, he seemed to be safe for now, so he guardedly allowed himself to catch his breath. Still, he was confused by the clearing. Quite frankly, he had no idea what could have created the holes. Moles maybe? Some kind of small animal? Or could it have been a natural formation, was water about to come jetting out at high pressures?

It didn’t take long for an answer as he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his ankles. When he looked down he saw two round creatures with brown and black fur, which looked almost like a cross between a rat and a small cat, biting down with yellowed teeth. Immediately he kicked out each leg to throw them off, launching them many metres in the process. However, before he could think about escaping, he saw things beginning to crawl out of each of the holes. There had to have been hundreds of the creatures around him, and the swarm only grew bigger as more clambered out. For now they were keeping their distance, allowing him a small space.

Dalian felt as though they were simply massing their forces and realised he had to act fast. Fighting back would be an exercise in futility, there were simply too many. Once again, he had to run. He shot off in the closest direction he had come from- Wait, he was still in place. He tried to move again, but nothing happened. His legs weren’t responding to his mind’s commands. Had he exhausted himself too much running? No. He knew his limits and he should have recovered some by that point.

Realisation struck him.

He had been poisoned. That was the only answer he could come up with. It would’ve been by the two beasts a moment ago. Was such a small size a tradeoff for having such a fast acting poison?

The ocean of creatures was only growing larger, and they were beginning to pile on top of each other until they reached halfway up his knees. He understood that they weren’t necessarily massing their forces, just waiting for the poison to do its job. With an ache of his heart, he reached into his inner breast pocket and pulled out a vial of green liquid with a wooden stopper. He uncorked it and was met with the pungent smell of various medicinal ingredients.

This was an anti-toxin potion he had bought from a local village healer during his journey. He had seen an immortal purchasing one, so he did as well, despite the harsh cost of ten gold which took up eighty percent of his savings. Still, it was worth it if his life could be saved. He drank three quarters with a grimace, then poured the rest into the bite wounds left by the beasts. After a moment, relief flooded him as feeling began to return to him. He didn’t know whether it had permanently cured him or just staved off the effects. Either way, that was the least of his problems, he thought as he looked at the frothing mass of life. If not their poison, their numbers would be enough to shred him into little pieces.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He imagined that was what had happened to the person whose footsteps he had seen prior. Maybe the ‘screaming girl’ had just been a tactic of the animals to get him to this point.

Still, they were only getting more numerous. With as much energy as he could muster, Dalian prepared to jump.

“Stop!” A brash shout interrupted him, and he quickly turned his head to see the source. However it had come from behind the treeline.

“Inferno!” Suddenly a great blaze of fire rushed into the clearing. It blew through in only a moment until it had completely enveloped the creatures, leaving only Dalian uncovered. Immediately, a thousand screams echoed out, much like the one he had heard earlier but in all ranges. Children’s, women’s, men’s, elderly screamed into his ear like a waterfall filling every crevice of a cave. The fire raged for many seconds, during which he felt the heat almost burning his skin. He would’ve taken his clothes off if he wasn’t worried that it would make him more likely to be burnt.

Finally, the fire died down into nothingness. Left in its wake was nothing but the charred corpses of a thousand rat-cat hybrids, and a smell that reminded him of chicken. He took in a deep breath of the now cooler air, though it was still quite hot. At the edge of the clearing, a young man walked out. Dalian looked at him curiously, before realising who he was. Black hair, regal manner. It was Mersault Inisher, the one who had a top-grade spiritual root.

“Carvines. Odd creatures. On their own, they’re weaker than a wild hog. Together, they’re stronger than most first-rank magical beasts. Strangest of all is their hunting style. Usually, they’re stealth hunters, waiting for the perfect opportunity to sink their fangs into you. But sometimes, when they come across a prey too irresistible to pass up which is too strong for them individually, they’ll try and lure it to their nest. You should be happy, you’re good meat.”

Dalian was surprised that Mersault had been the one to save him, even more so that he was able to do something which belonged to the realm of immortals. Then he had told him about a creature he couldn’t even recognise, a surprising feat considering he had spent at least half of his life in forests. He had so many questions he wanted to ask.

“Why did you save me?” This was what Dalian was most confused about. The point of the examination was to weed down the candidates into a more manageable number that only had the best remaining. Mersault couldn’t have derived any benefit from saving him.

Contrary to his expectations that he was a serious person, Mersault laughed. “Out of all the things you could have asked, it was that? I just felt like it.”

Dalian narrowed his eyes. “But why did you feel like it?” He was a cautious person by nature, he didn’t like things being left unclear.

“Would you believe me if I said I wanted you to be my loyal spy, to report to me about Elder Alano’s actions?”

“I suppose that’s more likely than you feeling like it.”

Almost imperceptibly, Mersault’s eyes widened; only someone with Dalian’s level of perception could have caught it. “I’m only joking.”

“Of course.” Dalian replied back with a smile, inwardly wondering why he would need a spy for someone who looked so favourably upon him.

Mersault smiled back, and changed the topic. “It was a pretty tough game you talked back there. Becoming someone’s slave is no small matter. Even as a prince I never saw anyone do something like that. But I don’t think you made the right choice.”

“Why is that?” Dalian asked.

“Because hoping for immortality without a spirit root is like trying to fly without wings. It’s impossible.”

Dalian sighed self-deprecatingly. “Even still, I had to make that decision. Living a regular mortal life can’t be my end. Even though it’s completely hopeless, I must do it anyway.”

Mersault nodded, and was silent for a moment. “You should come with me for the rest of the test. I’ll escort you to the next mountain peak.”

However, Dalian shook his head. “Thank you, but I need to rely on myself to pass. If I can’t even manage to overcome such an obstacle, then how could I ever manage to overcome my fate of being unable to cultivate?”

Mersault smiled in respect. Back at the palace, he had seen many people who begged for generosity, and many who even acted like it was his responsibility to give them a luxurious and indulgent life. However those who declined in order to succeed through their own efforts were few and far between.

“Very well, but I still can’t leave you helpless. You are originally at a disadvantage compared to everyone else who has a spirit root. Throughout their lives, their body has been changed through the gradual nourishment of qi to become stronger, sturdier and to give them more stamina.”

He reached into the pocket of his robe, and pulled out a bottle of pills. He took one out which was bright orange in colour and held it out.

“This is a qi gathering pill. People with a spirit root can use it to speed up the absorption of qi into their qi sea. But those without a root are able to use it to enhance their strength. For a few hours after you take it, your strength should increase, and your stamina will become practically endless for your purposes. Once its effects are finished, your body’s potential will be overdrafted and you’ll need to recover through sleep. However, your strength will also be permanently increased.”

He put the pill back in the bottle and handed them all to Dalian.

“I can’t take something so precious.” Dalian was sure that something so heaven-defying had to cost dearly, he couldn’t take advantage of the person who had just saved him.

“They’re not that precious. After I join the sect, with my spiritual root, they’re bound to give me much more. This was just something that Elder Alano gave to try and win me to his side. Besides, they can only help me marginally with my talent.”

“Still…” Dalian was unwilling to accept the help.

“You don’t need to say anything else. If we both have luck, we’ll see each other on the mountain peak.” After saying that, he chucked the bottle at Dalian, and darted into the forest. Dalian caught the bottle with one hand, and stuffed it into his pocket. Clearly, Mersault had abruptly left so that he would accept it.

Dalian already had an enormous favour to pay back to him for saving his life, if these pills were as good as he said, then it would be even larger.

Rather than leaving straight away. Dalian took a half hour to recover some of the energy he had lost, before he used the sun to determine which way his destination was and set off again.