The cavern stretched out wide and oppressive, with black stone walls streaked with veins of molten rock, twisting through the cracks like the blood of a slumbering beast. The heat from the lava was becoming unbearable, rising from the pool in thick waves, clinging to their skin like a second layer.
Six feline creatures lay in the shallow lava. To call them ‘cubs’ or even ‘tigers’ felt like a disservice, so different were they from any creature Alex had ever seen. Each cub was the size of a grown man, their fur burning with a glow of deep reds and oranges. Their massive forms lay unbothered by the molten rock beneath them, their bodies nestled into the lava as though it were nothing more than a warm bed of water. The fur wasn’t just fire; it was like molten metal, shifting with every breath they took, rolling waves of heat along their bodies. Their claws rested, floating above the lava, long and curved, sharp enough to carve through the hardest stone. The lava lapped gently against their forms, and the cub's massive paws twitched occasionally, sending ripples through the surface of the lava—like waves on a fiery ocean.
Zheng Yi’s eyes were alight with excitement, her voice cutting through the stifling heat. “There’s six of them,” she said, her eyes never leaving the cubs. “Enough for all of us. We could each claim one.” Her voice was hushed and almost reverent as she watched the cubs.
Cheng Rou stood at her side, arms folded across his chest, his gaze fixed on the sleeping cubs. “Or we could kill them,” he said, his voice rough, as though the heat itself was scraping at his throat. “The fur, the claws, the bones... we’d get more than enough resources. Think of the equipment—the pills. We’d get far more from that than just a hair.”
Alex's brows furrowed as he watched the cubs, each breath feeling heavier as inhaled hot air. “No. We’re only taking hair or a claw. Nothing else. Anything more is just… Stupid.” His voice was calm, but beneath it, there was a hard edge.
Jin stood at the edge, watching the sleeping cubs, each the size of a grown man, their fiery fur rippling with the soft rhythm of their breath. He glanced at Zheng Yi and Cheng Rou" he began, his tone neutral, but there was curiosity behind it. "Those transformations earlier, and the spirit beast cores—what did they feel like?"
Zheng Yi shot Jin a glance, her expression guarded, lips tightening. Cheng Rou remained silent for a moment, his face unreadable. Alex stood still, observing them without a word.
Zheng Yi’s eyes flicked to Cheng Rou for a second, almost as if asking for backup. Cheng Rou shrugged, finally meeting Jin’s gaze. “We feel much stronger than should be possible.”
“And?” Jin asked, his brow lifting.
“There’s... pain,” Cheng Rou admitted, his hand flexing as if it were still aching. “It’s constant. But it’s more than just physical. There’s something else. A hunger. A need for... violence.”
Jin’s gaze sharpened. “Violence?”
Zheng Yi took a step forward, her posture aggressive. “What does it matter? We can handle it.”
Cheng Rou nodded, his tone laced with a strange blend of satisfaction and hunger, "It’s the mark of our new power— something that sets us apart from the rest of the fools, not something to cower away from."
Jin didn’t blink. “I just thought you should consider the fact that your motivations may be skewed.”
Alex agreed. He could sense the gravity of Jin’s words, though Jin himself seemed more excited than concerned. Alex focused on his breathing, trying to maintain a calm exterior. The urge to spill blood was steadily growing increasing with every pulse of Qi from his new core. His attention drifted to the core within him, the latent power that had surged through his body the moment he absorbed it and now he sought to quell it, to reduce it to a state of dormancy. Its connection felt raw and potent, something he hadn’t fully understood but still felt deeply. He wasn’t about to let Jin know that, though. Alex’s attention shifted to his own chest, where he could feel the core pulsating with raw and wild energy. It feels strange. The way it still wants to consume me, to take over. “Jin’s right, there’s no need to kill the cubs, the test doesn’t require it,” Alex spoke the words while resisting the voice deep within that called for violence. He wasn’t an animal.
Zheng Yi turned to him, a sharp laugh escaping her lips. “You’re afraid of the mother, aren’t you? You think she’s the problem here?”
Alex didn’t flinch, his gaze steady. “Look at the size of them. Look at that one there, the closest one” He pointed at the cubs, their massive bodies rising and falling with slow, deep breaths. “How do you think the mother would compare?” He sighed, letting his words sink on deaf ears. “And plus, they’re newborns. Babies. You can’t harm them just for pills and weapons.”
Jin stood at the edge of the pool, his arms crossed, watching the molten rock swirl beneath the cubs. “Doesn’t matter to me if they live or die,” he said, his tone flat, indifferent. “But the mother isn’t far. We don’t have time for this debate. Make a choice.”
Cheng Rou’s eyes shone greedily as he stared at the cubs. “If we kill one, we’ll be stronger for it. The resources—”
“No,” Alex said, his voice harder now. “We’re not doing that. A hair or a claw is enough to pass the test.
Zheng Yi’s lips twisted into a mocking smile. “There are six of them, Alex. Plenty to go around. You can leave with a hair if you want, but I’m not walking away from this empty-handed.”
Alex’s blood ran cold at her words, is she stupid? he wondered. “That’s not an option. We take what we need and leave.”
Stolen novel; please report.
“Time is running out,” Jin sighed, his gaze drifting over the molten pool. He shrugged and moved toward the edge, clearly unbothered by the tension between them.
“A compromise then,” Cheng Rou nodded, his eyes still on the cubs. “Then Zheng Yi will keep one as a pet, you two can do what you want with two and we’ll kill the rest. Take what we can, and be done with it.”
Zheng Yi didn’t wait. She moved first, leaping lightly onto a stone jutting out over the lava. Her movements were swift and fluid, her Qi flowing effortlessly through her body, propelling her closer to the cubs, her body lithe and precise as she approached the centre, her eyes locked on their glowing forms.
Cheng Rou followed close behind, his movements slower but just as deliberate. Jin let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair as he stepped forward to follow them, his expression indifferent.
Alex stayed back, his knuckles whitening as he squeezed his blade's hilt as he watched them go with his gut twisting with frustration. Why can’t they just listen? He would have to stop them from killing the cubs… the creatures had done nothing wrong, and according to Jin, true spirit beasts were said to hold intelligence, like that of a person, or a child. Perhaps he could even save one. His decision solidified, and Alex took a step forward.
And then... he felt it. The vibrations in the rock told him everything—every subtle shift in the air, every tremor beneath the surface.
A presence. Massive. Overwhelming. His domain rippled as the weight of it crashed into his senses like a tidal wave. Heat surged around him, suffocating, pressing in from all sides. The Qi was dense, thick with power, like standing at the heart of a volcano, or the edge of a burning forest.
Alex’s breath caught in his throat as two giant eyes appeared in the distance, burning like the molten core of suns, glowing brighter than the lava that surrounded them. They stared down at him, filled with a fury that sent waves of heat rippling through the air. The mother stood at the very edge of his domain, her form massive, towering over him. Her fur was like a living flame, every movement sending bursts of hot air rushing past him. Her claws dug into the stone, cutting through it as though it were nothing more than soft clay.
She was too close. Too powerful.
The tiger mother took another step forward, her massive form now fully within Alex’s domain. Her breath was hot, burning, as though the very air was on fire.
“You… would… save them?”
Alex didn’t move, his blood freezing in his veins as he realized what had entered his domain. The Fire Tiger mother was here, and she was only fifteen feet behind him. No— thirteen feet, and none of the others had noticed.
He swallowed. “I was going to try.”
“…Good” her Qi spread in the air, stifling as it filled the space around them like smoke, breaching the edge of his awareness like a predator stalking through the shadows. It wasn’t anywhere near as oppressive as Mistress Yan Hua’s Qi, but Alex felt it nonetheless.
“I won't… kill you… yet.”
Alex finally turned to face the mother, both hands firm on the hilt of his sword. His breath caught in his chest as the beast’s immense body exploded past him like a fiery comet tearing through the air, all heat fire and rumbling fur. The force of her passing stirred the air violently and heat rolled off her large form, hitting Alex like a furnace door being thrown open. Her body was too large and too fast for what should have been possible.
In a single bound, she landed in front of Zheng Yi and Cheng Rou with a bone-shaking crash, her paws hitting the lava and stone like boulders, shaking the earth beneath her weight. The impact sent waves of molten rock splashing upward, sizzling against the stone as it hit the cooler surfaces around them. Cracks spread outward from where her claws dug into the stone, jagged and sharp, like a shattered mirror on the ground. Where’s?— Jin was nowhere to be seen. He’s gone, Alex realised. The mother’s massive jaws opened wide and without hesitation, she spewed a wave of flame and molten spit at them. The inferno roared forward, obliterating the space around the pair.
Zheng Yi and Cheng Rou had no time to react.
Their bodies disappeared in the blink of an eye, consumed by the flame and molten spittle before they could even scream. Through the Qi circulated from his beast core, Alex sensed Cheng Rou’s form vanishing in an instant, his flesh and blood reduced to ash and nothingness. The fire swirled through the air in a sustained blast, with molten spittle spraying across the ground, burning everything it touched and leaving the stone blackened and cracked.
Zheng Yi erupted from the flames. Her body was covered in a cracking, flaking layer of blood, hardened by the extreme heat. Alex could feel the pressure of her blood manipulation technique as it shielded her from the worst of the heat, but he knew it wouldn’t last. Its brittle layers cracked as she flew with purpose, peeling away like old paint.
Her body crashed against the far wall with a heavy thud, the bone spikes in her legs anchoring her into the stone. More spikes erupted from her arms and legs as they dug deeper into the stone.
Then she ran.
She raced along the wall, her body blurring as her speed increased. The wall cracked under each impact, her inverted legs gripping into the surface as talons would hold onto prey. The fire clinging to her clothes faded as her speed increased, some strange Qi technique causing her form to almost warp from one place to the next.
The mother's first strike missed, claws scraping the stone, sending sparks flying in all directions. The second strike came just as fast, tearing into the stone wall where Zheng Yi had been only moments before.
Zheng Yi dodged twice more, her movements precise and controlled, using whatever secret techniques she held to stay just ahead of the tiger’s attacks. The mother paused, claws extended after missing her by inches as the cultivator leapt to another part of the wall, bone sinking into basalt, anchoring her. The missed attack sent pieces of stone flying in all directions, some hitting the molten pool with a loud plops. Zheng Yi’s body flickered as she leapt once more, her speed allowing her to evade the worst of the tiger’s fury.
The mother stood still, then, watching the disciple race through her den. Then she rested, laying on the lava as her cubs did— as though she had grown tired of the intruder in her nest.
Alex felt the sudden surge of Qi rip through the air, a force radiating from the large beast. In the next instant, heat warped the air as the molten claws struck Zheng Yi, sending her crashing to the ground with a heavy thud. The force of the impact was muted, the liquid rock twisting unnaturally into the shape of claws to leave glowing trails across the stone.
The mother rose and approached Zheng Yi’s downed form.
Her jaws opened wide, and with a sickening crunch, she snapped them shut around Zheng Yi’s motionless form. The sound of bone being crushed bounced off the walls and rang through the den, filling Alex’s ears with the finality of the moment.
The tiger mother turned slowly, her gaze locking onto Alex. Her presence was suffocating, the increased heat from her body warping the air around her as she stepped forward. She closed the distance in a single, powerful leap, the ground shaking beneath her as she landed in front of Alex, towering over him like a living mountain of heat and rage.
Her voice rumbled through the den, deep and inhuman, the words dripping with malice.
“Tell… me why… I… shouldn’t… kill you?”