Liu raised her fists into the air and laughed out loud.

"You're really enjoying yourself aren't you?', Jian Li commented, watching Liu.

"Yes, I am!", Liu replied honestly, her face red as she clenched her fists.

Jian Li watched with amusement as Liu punched the air and screamed with joy. She thought for a moment before taking out an extra wooden sword from her inner world for Liu.

Liu took the wooden sword with a smile, "Thank you."

"No problem. You'll need it for later.", Jian Li said with a grin.

"Thanks.", Liu replied, her eyes brightening as she gripped the wooden sword tightly with both hands.

—————

The air in the arena was cold and silent except for the occasional shout and scream after some defeat. Everyone was focused on the match. The sphere that the contestants had previously entered had risen to the skies and expanded to a massive size.

No sounds were heard from it, but dozens of different scenes were shown on it. There were forests, plains, mountains, lakes and rivers. It showed the beautiful views from various places inside the world sphere.

The spectators were stunned by the beauty on display. They were filled with envy as they gazed upon the scenery. However, the scenes were not perfect and there were a few dark spots in them as well. It seemed like a war was happening in those areas...

----------

Liu and Jian Li were walking along the path when they saw a man running toward her.

"Hello! I heard from the others about your amazing skills!", the man said as he stopped beside Liu. He was holding a wooden longsword.

"Who are you?"

"I am Zhang Yi. Please allow me to fight alongside you. I believe that together we will win!", Zhang Yi said, his voice filled with pride.

Liu looked at the man who was tall and strong looking. His face had a gentle look, his eyes sharp and determined as he stared at Liu.

"Why? What's your motivation for wanting to fight alongside two randoms?" Liu asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the man.

Zhang Yi smiled, "I'm here because I wanted to test myself. To see how far my skills and talent could take me."

"You sound confident. Why would you want to fight along with us? You'll lose in an instant.", Liu said, her voice cold and her eyes narrowed even more.

"That isn't true. I will win.", Zhang Yi said, smiling as he extended his hand.

"If you say so. But be careful or you might lose.", Liu said.

"I don't plan on losing.", Zhang Yi replied.

Liu glanced at Jian Li who had stayed silent the whole conversation. Noticing her look, Jian Li cast a reassuring look toward Liu.

As she saw this she relaxed her expression and spoke up again.

"I'm sure you won't, but it's still best to make a backup plan just in case.", Liu said.

Jian Li looked at Liu with a curious look on her face as felt a familiar voice entering her head.

"Are you okay with that?", Liu whispered into Jian Li's head. This was the first time Liu had talked with her using some kind of telepathy Art.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Jian Li was surprised by Liu's sudden question.

"Yeah, I do. It's only fair.", Jian Li answered in her mind after she got used to the feeling. It seemed like she could only give short responses after the initial contact.

Liu smiled and gave her a nod.

"Alright, if anything goes wrong we need to work together to beat him. Alright?" Liu asked.

Jian Li nodded, a hint of determination in her eyes.

"Let's do this!" Liu roared with excitement.

"Right behind you.", Jian Li replied, giving her a thumbs up.

"This is it! We got this!", Zhang Yi said.

The three of them stepped further into the forest down the mountain together.

The sun had set some time ago and the moon could be seen in the distance. A chill breeze swept across their bodies, making them shiver slightly.

"We're almost out. We just need to cross the clearing.", Liu said as she looked around them.

She and Jian Li walked ahead while Zhang Yi kept track of their surroundings. Suddenly, there was a loud roar. Liu's face went pale.

"Look over there! It's a spirit beast!", Zhang Yi yelled, pointing towards a dark cloud that was moving closer to them.

"What?!" Liu gasped as she looked up to see a giant lion-like creature with wings, its body covered in black scales bursting through the clouds.

It opened its mouth widely and roared with rage, the sound resounding across the heavens.

"Don't look at it!", Zhang Yi ordered as his voice suddenly turned into a howl of pure madness and power. Liu stared at him and blinked.

"What are you trying to do?" Liu asked, dumbfounded as she watched Zhang Yi's body transform.

His long golden hair was now white and silver, oddly matching the two girls. His clothes were ripped apart as his skin turned golden and his muscular body was revealed.

Zhang Yi's eyes were blood red and his face contorted into an animalistic snarl. A powerful aura rained all over them.

"What the hell?", Liu muttered as she looked at Zhang Yi in disbelief.

"I will show you what I can do.", Zhang Yi said, his voice filled with confidence.

"Alright. You better not disappoint.", Liu replied, her tone of voice cold and snappy as she gripped her wooden sword tightly.

"You too.", Jian Li added as she held her wooden sword as well.

Liu grinned and nodded.

"Now!", Liu said, charging forward as Jian Li moved to the side.

A huge roar resounded around them as the lionlike creature charged toward them. Zhang Yi howled as he threw his sword across the beast's chest, causing a small explosion before it collided with the creature.

It roared in pain and retreated a few steps as Zhang Yi rushed forwards. His fist crashed down on the creature's head and a bloody mist shot out, causing the creature to stumble back a step.

"So the sword was just for show?", Jian Li muttered.

Liu attacked with her wooden sword, cutting the creature's chest open. Blood was spilt from the wound and the creature retreated once again, its eyes glimmering red.

"I see it's all bark but no bite. Let's take this thing down!", Liu said with excitement in her eyes.

"Let's finish this!", Jian Li replied, her eyes gleaming with determination.

Both of their swords glowed brightly as they swung them towards the spirit beast. At the same time, the beast unleashed a vicious claw as it flew toward the two girls.

The claws clashed against the blade of the girls' swords, sending the beast flying backwards into a tree as blood splattered all over the place. Liu smiled triumphantly as their blades glowed in a silver light.

"Thanks for the sword, love what you've done to it Li!" Liu shouted as she raised her sword into the air. She was covered in blood from the beast's cut and the fight.

Jian Li looked at Liu and smiled.

"No problem. You're welcome.", Jian Li replied, the blood on her face making her look demonic. This had been her first time truly fighting to kill, but the shock had no time to settle in.

Liu stood with her sword raised into the air as she let out yells of victory when suddenly, a bloodcurdling howl rang through the air.

The injured beast let a completely new howl and in response, about half a dozen more howls echoed in the forest.

Their faces pale with shock, Liu and Jian Li looked at each other and quickly backed off.

Liu and Jian Li looked toward Zhang Yi to find him staring at them fearfully.

"Girls, I think there's more of them. Look!", Zhang Yi yelled.

Liu and Jian Li looked where Zhang Yi was pointing and saw a line of winged lion-like beasts approaching from the darkness.

They were about the same size as the one they had fought before, perhaps even larger. All of them had the black scales covering their bodies with a row of razor-sharp teeth.

"Run!", Liu yelled, her eyes widened as she pulled Jian Li in the opposite direction. Zhang Yi joined them as they ran away from the spirit beasts.

Unfortunately, after a short chase, one of the spirit beasts dove from the sky and slashed Liu across the back. Liu screamed and stumbled as Jian Li grabbed her hand to drag her away. The spirit beast had landed in the grass and immediately tried pouncing on her again.

"I admit defeat! I'm defeated!", Liu cried out as a 1 appeared above her head. Unsurprisingly, the beast refused to listen as it lunged for Liu.