For a moment, time seemed to stop. The beast's eyes locked onto him, narrowing as if it had finally sensed his presence. Chen Yu felt every muscle in his body seize up with pure, unadulterated fear. His heart pounded so violently it felt like it would burst out of his chest. Sweat beaded down his brow, and a cold chill spread through him as the bear took a lumbering step in his direction, each thud of its paws sending shockwaves through the ground.

"Crap, crap, crap..." he muttered under his breath, panic surging through him. There was no hiding now. No running. His legs felt like lead, frozen by the suffocating aura of death that radiated from the bear.

I'm going to die.

It wasn't just a fleeting thought. Chen Yu could feel it—death was approaching, slow and deliberate, wrapped in the hulking form of the spiritual beast now stalking toward him. Every step the bear took felt like a countdown to his last moment.

"Do something!" his mind screamed at him. He grasped desperately for his Qi, the element of earth, wind, anything. But his body felt heavy, his limbs sluggish from overexertion. His Qi reserves were nearly depleted, and whatever energy he had left was chaotic, unsteady.

The bear closed the distance between them, its glowing eyes locked onto him with deadly intent. Chen Yu stumbled back, his vision blurring as panic seized him. He couldn't summon the strength to run, to fight, or even to hide. He was cornered, and the beast knew it.

The system chimed in coldly, but it offered no comfort.

[Warning: Mortal danger detected. Qi reserves are critically low.]

"No kidding," Chen Yu muttered shakily, forcing himself to take another step back. His mind raced, searching for any way out of this nightmare. But the bear was nearly upon him now, its breath hot and foul as it exhaled with a low growl.

He tried to reach for the element of wind, hoping to make himself lighter, faster—anything to escape. But as he fumbled with his control, his body trembled, the Qi swirling weakly in his dantian. His vision swam, and the world around him seemed to blur.

Think, think! He had read hundreds of cultivation novels—there had to be something he could do. But this wasn't fiction. This wasn't a game. This was real, and right now, he was a hair's breadth away from being mauled to death by a beast that wouldn't stop until his bones were splintered under its claws.

The bear stopped a few feet away from him, towering like a mountain of muscle and fury. Its red eyes glinted with malice, its mouth open, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth ready to tear him apart. Chen Yu's breath hitched as he stared at the beast, his hands trembling uncontrollably. This is it. I'm really going to die here.

Just as the bear began to take another step, something changed.

The beast's eyes flickered—its massive form wavered, as if its strength had suddenly drained away. Its next step faltered, claws dragging through the dirt. The triumphant glow in its eyes dimmed, replaced by a dull glaze as its body swayed. Chen Yu blinked, too stunned to process what was happening.

With one last, rumbling growl, the Shadowclaw Bear collapsed to the ground, dead before it even hit the dirt.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Chen Yu's heart pounded in his ears as he stared at the fallen beast, unable to move or comprehend what had just happened. He stood frozen, his body still shaking from the adrenaline and fear coursing through him. Was it a trick? Had the bear somehow passed out? He didn't dare step forward, his instincts screaming at him to keep his distance.

Then, the system's voice chimed in, cold and mechanical as ever.

[The Shadowclaw Bear has died. Cause: Internal spiritual damage and severe blood loss.]

Chen Yu blinked, his mind struggling to catch up with the words. "It's… dead?" he muttered, almost in disbelief. His legs gave way, and he slumped to the ground, his entire body trembling with exhaustion and relief. The overwhelming fear that had paralyzed him moments before began to ebb away, replaced by an almost numbing shock.

He exhaled shakily, wiping the sweat from his brow. The bear was dead. It had been on the verge of collapse the entire time. But just moments ago, he had felt death approaching him, so real and so close he could almost taste it. His hands still shook as he looked down at them, trying to steady his breathing.

"Damn it… I was about to die." His voice was barely a whisper, the reality of how close he'd come settling heavily on him. "I... I actually thought I was done for."

The silence in the forest was deafening now. The lifeless body of the bear lay motionless, and the fallen cultivators around him told a grim story of a battle lost. Chen Yu sat there for a long moment, staring at the carnage around him, his mind still racing. He had survived, but just barely—and not because of any skill on his part. His Qi had been depleted, his control unstable. He was weak, and he knew it.

"Gotta… get stronger," he muttered, clenching his fists as he looked down at his hands. "I can't just rely on luck." But even as the words left his mouth, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had been given a second chance.

He took a deep breath, steeling his resolve. If he was going to survive in this world, he couldn't afford to be naive or complacent. He had to be strong. He had to be smart.ion and fear. He had no idea how far he had run, but he couldn't hear the bear anymore. For now, he was safe.

He stayed on the ground, gasping for breath, his mind racing. The image of the dead cultivators flashed through his thoughts, their broken bodies lying lifeless on the forest floor. He had tried to help, but it wasn't enough. In this world, death could come at any moment, without warning.

"This isn't like Earth," he realized, his fists clenching in the dirt. "There are no second chances here. If I want to survive, I have to get stronger. I have to be better."

He thought back to the Heavenly Body Technique, the stages he needed to master, the power he needed to attain. He had been lucky to stumble upon it, but luck alone wouldn't be enough to keep him alive. He had to work hard, train diligently, and never let his guard down.

He went outside the cave and looked around the clearing, noting the sun's position in the sky. It was still early, and he had plenty of daylight left to continue his journey east. He took a deep breath, steadying his nerves, and set off once more.

Chen Yu sat in the small clearing, his body and mind still reeling from the intense emotions of the day. The sun had dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows through the forest, and the air was thick with the scent of pine and earth. He could still feel the weight of the cultivators' deaths, their sacrifices a stark reminder of the unforgiving nature of this world.

But amidst the sorrow and fear, there was a spark—a newfound determination burning in his chest. He had narrowly escaped death today, and the experience had changed him. He could feel a shift deep within, an awakening of something powerful.

"If I'm going to survive, I need to get stronger," he muttered to himself. His voice was steady, resolved. "I need to push myself beyond my limits."

Chen Yu closed his eyes and began to focus inward, channeling his thoughts and emotions into his dantian. He could feel the Qi swirling within, like a storm brewing in his core. His understanding of life and death had deepened, the stark reality of this world pressing down on him.

As he meditated, the air around him grew heavy with Qi, a dense mist that seemed to gather from every corner of the forest. The world itself seemed to respond to his inner change, the trees around him whispering secrets of ancient times as the energy in the atmosphere thickened, swirling in a gentle vortex centered on his still form.

"I'm done being weak."

And then, he felt it—a small click, like a lock tumbling open in his soul.