As Bai Qi's 'Ghostflame' claw tore through the first of the maws, he confirmed a thought that had occurred to him a few moments ago.

The maws were just paper tigers. Their aura, almost equal in power to Hu Mu himself, was the only thing they had. Their fangs were sharp indeed, but they were hardly more dangerous than a normal, common weapon. While their bodies, if one could consider the two half-circles surrounding their fangs as a body, were fairly weak.

After all, if they weren't, why would they rebound from the 'Ghostflame' cocoon? A cocoon that was nothing more than a side effect stemming from the release of the flame, and had a defensive prowess not higher than a 1st level Sage?

Eight claw swipes later, none of the 'Savage Maws' remained.

Eight swipes later, Bai Qi's amount of 'Ghostflame' infused qi was down by a third.

"The amount of qi that the 'Ghostflame' generates and the amount of qi that the 'Black Flame Demon Incarnation' uses are too uneven" Bai Qi absentmindedly noted while landing. Mind occupied with the battle, he could hardly spend time and effort to try and correct it for now. That would need to wait for later.

Hu Mu's previous hysteric outburst was an act. Bai Qi was now sure of it. The youngster had played him and had played him well. Still, Bai Qi did not consider this anything but a small setback. And one that even could be exploited.

Not letting Hu Mu act, Bai Qi moved right after landing, closing distance to the immediately deployed 'Blood Dome' and frenziedly clawing. Each attack was followed by a trail of 'Ghostflame', adding to an already destructive force, making each of Bai Qi's attacks comparable to a full-strength peak Sage.

"Even your trump card will not be able to break my dome! A true skill of my clan - a skill that grows along with our strength. A skill that is unbreakable to anyone below the Warrior Lord realm!" Hu Mu mocked from behind the dome, but his mocking was, in the same way, feigned as his previous conduct had been. In truth, Hu Mu now was sure that his opponent was not a common cultivator.

Even a single strand of the strange black flame that crashed against the dome was enough to make Hu Mu spend his qi and reinforce it. And the claws were no single strands!

Hu Mu had planned to attack right as his opponent landed, but the latter seemed to sense something, launching at him immediately. Forcing Hu Mu to call for the dome and now sieging him inside. "But his qi can not sustain such strong skill for long, can it?" Such were his thoughts.

Unknowingly to him, he was only half right.

Indeed, Bai Qi could not sustain the new 'Incarnation' for long, but it wasn't like he would spend his entire qi on it.

After all, the skill only used the 'Ghostflame' qi created inside his dantian. One that accounted only for a tenth of his overall reserves.

Probably the exchange would end with Bai Qi spending all of his 'Ghostflame' qi and moving to other methods. Methods that he already planned and would force Hu Mu to remain behind his dome, unable to act.

Or maybe Hu Mu would suddenly reveal some kind of unexpected strategy, breaking the siege.

There were dozens of possibilities, a common thing in a fight between two almost equal cultivators. Still, no one would know, as when Bai Qi used up another third of his 'Ghostflame' reserve, an unforeseen event took both of them by surprise...

______________________________________________________________

Sometime before Bai Qi's and Hu Mu's fight started. Somewhere in the 'Underground Forest'.

"Haaa... How I am supposed to find anyone?" A girl small even for her age suspired while shaking her head. A movement that made her twin ponytails funnily swing from side to side.

This being her first true outing, at least without the company of one or two experienced cultivators made her feel like an experienced one herself.

But having met a hard challenge on her first slate, Zhuan Min was forced to rest. And... in place of simply meditating for a bit and then moving out, she fell asleep, waking only several hours after.

Slightly angry at herself, Zhuan Min had rushed out of her tunnel and into the 'Underground Forest'. Without even looking around first or at least trying to orient herself. Now, she had been wandering around for half an hour, and except for a Challenge Slate that she decided to avoid, she had not seen anything else. Or anyone, which was her actual target.

She knew that most of the participants planned to gather somewhere near a lake and that it was close to the center of the forest. Still, she could not exactly pinpoint where.

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

In the end, she decided that as a fully grown-up cultivator, she had to solve the issue herself, and not hope to find someone to lead her. Thus, she climbed one of the trees, profusely thanking the formation that prevented even the thinnest branches from breaking.

"Oh, there's the lake!" She exclaimed just a few branches short of the top and quickly began making her way down. As soon as she touched the ground, she began running towards the direction she saw water in.

A direction that brought her dangerously close to the place where two cultivators were fighting. And even though she did not know, both of them did sense her. Having very different reactions.

______________________________________________________________

"That cultivation level and the familiarity... Zhuan Min?" Bai Qi's senses were far sharper than Hu Mu's ones, and so he was the first one to notice. Still, he had no chance to communicate with her, at least to say her to not come closer.

Qi transmissions required one to see or be connected with a strand of qi or mind power, and so, Bai Qi could only hope for her to not enter the range of Hu Mu's senses.

Regretfully she did, and he noticed it. He did not show anything, but Bai Qi's 7th sense tingled. At least Hu Mu was inside his dome, and while Bai Qi attacked, the former could not move. Adding that he already knew of Zhuan Min's presence, Bai Qi decided that his only option would be to shout a warning.

"It's me, Chen Guang!" But Hu Mu had either sensed or seen something from Bai Qi's slight hesitance between the last attacks. Infusing his voice with qi, he shouted, and even though his voice wasn't too much like Bai Qi's, it was enough to make Zhuan Min start running towards the spot from where the voice sounded.

"Don't come, Zhuan Min! It's dangerous, run towards the lake! Now!" Bai Qi tried to salvage the situation, but it was already late. She rushed into the clearing where he and Hu Mu were fighting.

"Huh? Big Brother Chen, where are you? What's happening?" Unable to use her aura or senses with the two Sage realm auras covering the zone, she could not even be sure of who was who. A figure was inside some kind of scarlet barrier while a terrifying black demon was attacking the former.

"Ninety-Nine Blood Gods, Savage Maws!" Hu Mu used the same skill as before, the only one he could use while inside the dome. It would not serve for much against Bai Qi now but against a 4th level Soul realm?

"RUN!" Bai Qi both shouted and sent her a qi transmission, trying to reach for the maws before they fully materialized and flew after her. His aura was locking Hu Mu's one, and so Zhuan Min was safe from being suppressed, or killed by it, but...

"Now choose, either you pin me down, or she dies. Bite her to death!" Hu Mu sneered and then commanded with a motion of his hand.

*Slash*

*Slash*

Bai Qi managed to destroy two of the maws, but the other seven took flight. As for Zhuan Min... She had frozen on the spot. Where was Big Brother Chen? Was he here? Who was the demon? Why he was attacking someone?

"Damn it!" With no other option, Bai Qi rushed after the maws.

Their speed was fast, but he was faster, and so he overtook and destroyed the remaining seven before they approached the girl. The girl he chose to protect, allowing Hu Mu to dispel the 'Blood Dome' and start acting.

"Let's see how you can dance with her as a weight!" Hu Mu mocked while waving his hands.

With each wave, a few orbs of crimson qi appeared.

*Grab*

Bai Qi dispelled part of his skill, namely the left arm, and grabbed Zhuan Min before jumping behind the nearest trees.

*Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*

The situation returned to the same as it was at the start of their combat. But now, it was even worse. Bai Qi could not fully dispel the 'Black Flame Demon Incarnation' less he would not be able to call it again. And dodging with Zhuan Min weighing him down, he was forced to spend more and more of the 'Ghostflame' qi, and even his aura to move from cover to cover while shielding her from the explosions.

"Snap out of it!" After facing part of an explosion because the girl wasn't even trying to avoid it, Bai Qi shouted at her.

"Ahhhhh!!! Demon!!!!" Zhuan Min screamed suddenly and began trying to liberate herself from Bai Qi's grasp.

"Stop it! It's me, Chen Guang!" Bai Qi shouted again and pulled her towards the next cover. Her attempts to free herself coupled with the need to avoid touching her with the flames, as they were only tame towards their user, complicated the situation. The idea of knocking her out surfaced inside his mind.

"Big Brother Chen? What's... what's happening?!" Thankfully she recovered before he did it. She was trembling and averted her gaze from Bai Qi's visage, but at least she was beginning to understand.

"That guy is a killer. He killed Su Yawen. I am trying to stop him from harming others" Bai Qi answered in short phrases, constantly on guard against the incoming projectiles.

Hu Mu's attacks appeared interminable, and it was like he almost did not spend any time or qi to create them. And in truth, it was so.

The projectiles were called aura orbs and were nothing else but parts of Hu Mu's condensed aura. As they hit something, the forcefully concentrated qi would release, thus generating an explosion. And then the qi would flow back towards Hu Mu, merging back into his aura.

Bai Qi could not be blamed for failing to recognize them, as they were an innate, practically unique ability. One that had a few years ago won renown for a cultivator of the region. A cultivator that Hu Mu's master had captured, and then permitted his disciple to absorb.

"Listen, I can not fight him with you here. I will distract him and you run. Don't go towards the lake for now, as if he follows or other people arrive it can turn bad" Using a small breather between the waves of qi projectiles, Bai Qi instructed Zhuan Min.

After confirming that she had understood, he slowly let her shoulder go and covered his arm with his 'Incarnation' again. The skill was on the verge of dispelling, but it still could be used for a few moments. And Bai Qi intended to make them count.

But Hu Mu seemingly had a similar idea, as a moment earlier than Bai Qi jumped out, he used something else.

"It's time to end this... Ninety-Nine Blood Gods, Tear!"

*Crack* *Splatter*

"Gah" Bai Qi's instinct had made him move at the last moment, but he still grunted as he felt fierce pain from his left shoulder.

He looked down and saw that something had penetrated his shoulder, ignoring all of his defenses. But that was not the most frightening thing, but that the attack had also penetrated the tree that served him as cover! A tree shielded by a formation equal to a Warrior King defense!

"Big Brother Chen!!" Zhuan Min screamed in panic as blood splashed over her.