Yu Chen pedaled backwards as the older boy rushed him, quickly circulating his qi as Wu Feng closed the distance between them. The older boy thrust a fist towards him, but Yu Chen blocked it, wincing as the force of the boy’s condensed qi blew his guard open.

The next attack was already coming his way, as Wu Feng pivoted to take advantage of the opening. Unable to block it, Yu Chen hurriedly threw himself backwards, landing hard on his shoulder and rolling as Wu Feng leapt towards him, stomping at the downed boy.

Yu Chen’s heart was beating hard, refilling his depleted qi stores, but his hectic movements had already torn back open his wound. He winced in pain, the salve having only recently managed to scab it over. He left a splatter of blood droplets across the ground as he rolled back to his feet.

Yu Chen let out a roar of rage and pain, circulating his qi, before launching himself towards Wu Feng, giving up defense as he sent vicious blows flying towards the boy one after the other.

A frown crossed Wu Feng’s face as his momentum ground to a halt, as Yu Chen fought back. The two boys were evenly matched as they brawled in the forest, flowing through attacks as the scales of victory teetered back and forth, neither holding an edge over the other.

Wu Feng was older, and his cultivation was higher, but Yu Chen was a talented fighter, and he possessed a matchless furiosity. In many ways he fought more like a beast than a man, not relying on the forms as the other boy did, but instead using an instinctive understanding of momentum, distance and timing to strike every opening with the most force possible.

However, Yu Chen found himself slowly losing the exchange, despite his bloodline reinvigorating him and filling him with power. He was still exhausted, having gone through one hectic fight today, and was unable to draw out his full potential, wounded as he was.

Still, he relished the feeling of the fight, recklessly throwing himself forward in an attempt to harm the older boy. He feinted, drawing Wu Feng’s attention, before pivoting on his foot, and using his momentum to lash out with a hard blow that struck the boy across the face.

For the first time it was the other boy’s blood that fell across the forest floor.

Wu Feng snarled, his complexion turning beet red as he made eye contact with Yu Chen. A curse escaped his lips, and he threw himself back into the fight. Yu Chen raised his hands in preparation, but the older boy flickered as he approached, using some strange technique to close the distance, and he struck him hard in the chest before Yu Chen could adapt.

Yu Chen let out a gasp as the blow knocked the air from his lungs, causing a cruel smile to cross Wu Feng’s face. With a bloodthirsty shout, the other boy twisted his hips and drove the back of his heel into Yu Chen’s bleeding wound, ruthlessly delivering a crushing blow that drove him to his knees.

Pain vibrated through Yu Chen’s form. He staggered and fell, retching onto the forest floor. He could barely focus, blinded by pain, but he could hear the soft crunch of the other boy’s footsteps as he crossed the grass to reach him.

A heavy hand curled into Yu Chen’s hair pulling the boy’s head back, causing him to look up at Wu Feng through unfocused eyes, blurry with pain.

“Didn’t I tell you last time you had a choice?” Wu Feng said with an ugly chuckle. “It’s just an animal skin. All you had to do was lower your head and offer it to your elders like a good boy.”

He struck Yu Chen across the face.

“But honestly,” Wu Feng said as he leaned in close, and Yu Chen could smell his hot breath as the boy whispered in his ear. “I prefer it this way. It’s so much better when they fight back.”

Yu Chen’s blood boiled in his veins, his heart beating harder than ever. He looked up at the boy, barely able to see him through his one good eye, the other one already starting to swell closed from the vicious blow the boy had delivered.

He saw the gloating look on his face, the cruelty that lurked in his eyes, and Yu Chen smiled back at him, baring his bloodstained teeth in a show of defiance.

He still had a trick up his sleeve.

Yu Chen grabbed the arm holding him, gripping it tightly in return, and flung his other arm up, aiming it at the boy. Wu Feng, tilted his head back, thinking to dodge Yu Chen’s punch, but instead Lue She came flying out of the remaining sleeve of his robe, latching onto Wu Feng’s face and biting deep. The boy let out a howl of pain, releasing Yu Chen as he crumpled over, as the snake sent its venom pulsing through his veins.

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Yu Chen looked up, his sense of satisfaction disappearing as he saw Li Feng rushing towards him, rage filling the older boy’s face as he took in the screaming form of his brother. He was another Outer disciple a step away from forming his foundation, and he was moving fast, his speed close to, no faster than, Jin Hua’s had been.

Yu Chen’s face paled, and he took a moment to snatch up Lue She before making a run for it. The little snake resisted for half a second, giving one last bite before unlatching her fangs. Once he had a hold of her he cycled his movement technique, pushing it to the max. Every step sent him leaping forward, flying through the treetops as he attempted to escape.

However, Li Feng still managed to keep up with him and was even closing the distance. He was circulating a movement technique of his own as he chased after Yu Chen, but he had to eventually stop, ending the chase as the sound of his brother’s wails grew faint in the distance.

“You’re a dead man!” He howled, his voice hounding Yu Chen as he ran into the depths of the forest, heedless of his direction in his mad dash to escape.

“You hear me! You’re dead! dead!”

Yu Chen didn’t stop running, circulating his movement technique until his qi ran dry, his dantian unable to keep up with his expenditure even with the qi regeneration provided by his bloodline. His speed slowed, but he didn’t stop, stumbling deeper into the forest as he ran as far away from the boys as he could.

Yu Chen didn’t know how long he ran for, but he kept going until his body physically gave out on him, depositing him onto the forest floor in a quivering heap. He rested there for a moment, groaning in pain as he took stock of his body.

Yu Chen shrugged off his tattered over robe, letting it fall to the ground, little more than shredded rags at this point. Lue She shivered at the unexpected change, and the small snake slithered from her usual resting place near his waist to wrap around his bicep. He examined his wound and found it had closed once again; the healing salve apparently having remained hard at work.

Yu Chen groaned again, rubbing his aching face. The swelling around his eye had reached its peak, halving his vision, and he was covered all over in bruises that spread in a riot of colors across his body.

Thankfully his pants were still intact, although they had some small tears in them from the prolonged fight. He’d had to leave the boarskin behind though, and Yu Chen cursed bitterly under his breath at the loss. Without the skin he had no way of collecting his mission reward and would have to miss out on all of the contribution points it offered.

A thought struck him, and he rummaged in his pocket, before pulling out the small core that he’d taken from the boar, giving a small sigh of relief at the sight. At least he’d managed to escape with something, so it wasn’t a total loss.

He examined the core in his hand as he lay there with his back against a tree. This one was the color of iron, a metallic gray, different from the green one they’d received from the large snake. Like the other, Yu Chen could see small wisps of some strange energy rotating within the core.

Lue She let out an interested hiss, and slithered down his arm, approaching the core. Her tongue flickered, hesitantly at first, briefly tasting it. She let out a slow hiss of excitement, vibrating in place, and raised her head to look towards Yu Chen.

“Do you want this?” Yu Chen asked hesitantly, as he pondered the core in his hand. He wanted to keep it, as it was his only chance of earning any profit out of this situation, but then the memory of Wu Feng’s wailing face entered his mind, and a wicked grin crossed his face.

“Go on then,” He said wearily, smiling down at the little snake. “You earned it.”

Lue She hesitated for a moment, looking back and forth between him and the core, before striking out quickly, swallowing the little marble whole. He could sense it explode into energy, filling the little snake’s belly, and she wobbled in place, looking for all the world like a tiny drunk.

She gave a lethargic stretch, before slowly moving back up his arm, wrapping around his bicep and falling asleep as she absorbed the remains of her meal.

Yu Chen titled his head back, letting it hit the tree as he looked up, thinking about his situation. He was wounded, had no idea where he was, and he had nothing left to his name, other than his pants and a snake.

Still, a sense of happiness filled him, despite the events of the day. He might have lost the boarskin but he’d made them pay quite a price for it, and even now he imagined they were racing back to the sect, rushing to help Wu Feng.

A savage sense of joy filled him at the idea.

Yu Chen pushed himself up from the ground, groaning as he looked around, examining his options. He couldn’t remain here. The light of day was fading, and he’d already been through two tough fights today. He’d be easy picking for any Spirit beast that stumbled across him at this point.

He considered the bloodstained rags that were once his robe, but decided to leave them on the forest floor, after doing his best to scrub off whatever dried blood remaining on his body that he could. The scent would doubtless attract some unsavory beasts, and Yu Chen felt it was best to leave them behind.

He looked around and was about to set off in a random direction, when a voice stopped him.

“Wait.” Xiao Huang’s voice rumbled through his head, filled with a note of excitement. “I can sense something in the distance.”

Yu Chen looked up in surprise at the intrusive voice, before beginning to walk, following Xiao Huang’s direction. He looked around as he went, keeping an eye out for any lurking spirit beasts. The forest gradually gave way to more mountainous terrain as he walked, boulders, rock and gravel starting to intersperse the grass on the ground, and the few trees that remained stood tall and proud as they stretched towards the open sky.

Yu Chen didn’t recognize the terrain, but it slowly sloped upwards, and he realized with a jolt that he had reached the base of another nearby mountain.

“To your right, hatchling.” Xiao Huang’s voice rumbled through his head once more, and Yu Chen felt a slight tug on his attention, as the dragon tugged mentally, directing him towards a small cave in the rocks.

Yu Chen entered into the cave, stumbling as the ground gradually sloped down, slowly following a path that disappeared down into the earth. His breath began to grow colder as he traveled, but each breath also seemed to reinvigorate him, filling thicker than that from above ground.

He paused, adjusting his vision, and looked around, realizing that it wasn’t just his mind. The air here was thicker, practically bursting with the energy of heaven and earth. He could sense it billowing forward from somewhere deep within the cave, and he began walking faster, a sense of palpable excitement filling his veins.

Finally, the tunnel opened up, and Yu Chen entered a wide cavern, his eyes going wide as he took in the sights around him. There was a small crack in the cavern floor, and he could sense energy bubbling forth from it like a small spring, but what truly caught his eye was the pond that filled the center of the chamber, casting a soft glowing light across the space. To his eyes the deep pool of frigid water was alight with spirituality.

“Finally.”