The two beasts locked their gaze on Shen Hao.
The wounded one grunted low, muscles tensing beneath its cracked armor.
The second, leaner creature crouched slightly, its six limbs flexing like coiled springs.
They moved in unison.
A pincer strike.
The ground rumbled with their combined weight as they charged forward.
Shen Hao's breath hitched.
Time seemed to stretch.
The forest around him blurred as adrenaline sharpened his senses.
He could hear the heavy pounding of their steps, like drums echoing in his chest.
The air thickened.
Every leaf, every blade of grass, held its breath.
Shen Hao lowered his stance.
Qi flickered faintly at his fingertips, warming his skin.
His eyes narrowed, tracking the beasts' approach.
The injured one swung a massive claw wide, aiming to trap him against the trees.
The other sliced through the air with deadly precision, claws glinting.
A heartbeat passed.
Then---
Shen Hao's muscles coiled like a spring.
His boots kicked up moss and dirt as he slid forward, low and fast.
The injured beast's claw swiped wide, a crashing arc of raw power just inches above his head.
The air whooshed with the strike's force.
Behind him, the beast's heavy tail whipped the ground, sending a spray of loose soil in his path.
Shen Hao's heart pounded.
His palm glowed softly with gathering Qi.
The fourth Ember Bloom was forming, smaller this time, dense with stored energy.
His legs pushed harder, sliding him beneath the beast's massive frame.
The beast roared, a deep, grinding sound like rocks scraping.
But Shen Hao was already turning.
His arm swung back, launching the Ember Bloom over his shoulder.
The flaming rose spun through the air, trailing sparks.
BOOM!
The blast erupted against the beast's back leg.
Stone and dust flew as the creature staggered.
It bellowed, muscles trembling from the hit.
The injured beast stumbled, its heavy leg buckling beneath the force of the blast.
A low, angry growl rumbled from deep within its chest.
Its breath came in harsh, ragged gasps, sending small clouds of mist into the humid air.
Shen Hao didn't pause to watch.
His senses sharpened.
A shadow flickered out of the corner of his vision; faster, sleeker.
The second beast.
It moved like liquid night, silent and precise.
Its claws glinted faintly, sharp and ready.
Without warning, it lunged.
Three quick strikes came in rapid succession, one, two, then a third, faster than Shen Hao's eyes could fully track.
He twisted and bent, narrowly avoiding the first two, feeling the rush of wind as they cut past him.
But then---
SLASH.
A burning pain tore across his right shoulder.
His robe shredded as claws scraped skin and muscle beneath.
Blood bloomed warm and bright.
Staggering, Shen Hao hit the ground, the moss and dirt soft beneath him, but no less unforgiving.
He rolled instinctively, using Qi to push off the earth and land ten meters away.
His breathing was harsh.
His arm throbbed with sharp, persistent pain.
Lingfeng's voice crackled anxiously through the silver ring.
"Master! Are you okay?!"
Shen Hao swallowed his grimace.
"Not really," he admitted, voice rough. "That one's fast. Too fast to just dodge."
Mo Han's calm tone filled his mind.
"It's learning. Watching. Adapting."
Shen Hao's eyes narrowed, resolve hardening.
"Then it's time to teach it a lesson."
The faster beast crouched low, muscles taut like a spring ready to release.
Its eyes, bright, calculating, locked on Shen Hao.
Behind it, the injured one struggled to stand, shaking and angry, but still alive.
Two beasts.
Both deadly.
One slow and powerful.
One quick and cunning.
Shen Hao's chest tightened. Only one Ember Bloom remained.
He took a deep breath.
Fingers trembling slightly, he formed the last fiery rose in his palm.
Lingfeng's voice was tense.
"That's your last one, Master. Sure you want to use it now?"
Shen Hao's lips curved into a faint, determined smile.
"Yup."
He held the flame, watching.
The beasts closed in, their breaths heavy and ragged, eyes gleaming with hunger.
Shen Hao circled slowly, matching their movements.
Every muscle in his body was taut, ready.
His injured shoulder throbbed fiercely, a sharp reminder of the last strike.
He felt the heat of the Ember Bloom pulsing softly in his palm, a glowing ember waiting to ignite.
The faster beast twitched, muscles coiling like a spring.
It tested the air, looking for an opening.
Its gaze flicked from Shen Hao's face to the flaming rose in his hand.
Shen Hao held his breath.
He didn't flinch when the beast took a sudden step forward, claws slashing through the humid air.
The strike came swift and sharp---
but Shen Hao didn't dodge.
Instead, he stepped into the attack.
His good arm raised, forearm blocking the blow with a sharp crack of impact.
Pain radiated through his shoulder, but he stayed steady.
With a quick twist, he shoved the Ember Bloom into the beast's chest.
The flame exploded.
BOOM.
Fire and heat blossomed outward, engulfing the beast's torso.
The monster screamed, claws flailing as it was blasted backward.
It slammed into a tree with a crack that echoed through the forest.
Shen Hao stumbled in the opposite direction, barely catching himself before he hit the ground.
His body ached.
His breath came ragged.
Lingfeng's voice burst through the silence, a mix of relief and teasing.
"You're alive! That's nice!"
Shen Hao groaned, rubbing his back.
"Barely. Think I cracked my back in three languages."
The faster beast struggled to rise, chest smoking, eyes burning with fury.
The injured one limped back up too, claws digging into the dirt as it growled low and furious.
Still standing. Still dangerous.
Two against one.
Mo Han's voice was steady, firm.
"You've weakened them both. But you're out of Ember Blooms. Now it's time to use the Second Form."
Shen Hao swallowed hard, nodding.
The clearing fell silent once more.
Smoke drifted lazily, embers hung like sleepy fireflies.
His robes were torn, blood drying along his collarbone.
He lowered into a fighting stance, fingers hovering just above the mossy ground.
The air felt heavy.
Thick.
Like the forest itself was holding its breath.
Shen Hao exhaled slowly, letting the tension bleed from his chest, even as his muscles stayed coiled.
His right hand trembled, not from fear, but from the strain of the fight.
Lingfeng tried to lighten the mood, voice faintly shaky.
"Master… I know you're a genius and all, but maybe now's a good time to reveal one of those secret, world-ending techniques you've been hiding from me."
Shen Hao didn't look away from the circling beasts.
"Don't need a secret technique."
He lifted his palm.
Qi began to gather.
Not wild flames.
Not a burst of petals.
This was tighter. Denser.
Crimson and gold light wound together in a slow, spiraling current.
Mo Han's voice entered his mind, calm, deliberate.
"Then it's time. Second Form."
The pressure in the air shifted.
Heat swelled, but there was no fire.
The ground seemed to hum beneath his boots.
The glowing spiral in his palm condensed further, its edges sharpening into a drill-like point.
It pulsed once, steady, like a heartbeat.
No bloom.
No explosion.
Just focus.
Shen Hao's voice was barely a whisper.
"Crimson Core Detonation… Second Form."
The faster beast's muscles twitched.
The injured one let out a low, warning growl.
The drill in Shen Hao's palm gave off a soft, high-pitched whine, the sound of power being forced into an impossibly small space.
It didn't lash out, it waited, vibrating faintly, as if alive.
The injured brute moved first.
Three legs pounding the ground, it charged.
Not with speed, but with desperation.
Shen Hao stepped forward to meet it.
One clean step, no flourish, no wasted motion.
He ducked under its swiping claw and drove the drill into its side.
There was no roar.
No thunderclap.
Just the piercing sound of steel and bone giving way.
The Qi drill punched clean through ribs and muscle, shattering the creature's core in one fluid motion.
The beast's body gave a single, violent shudder---
then collapsed.
Dust and steam hissed around its form.
"One down," Shen Hao muttered, his chest rising and falling heavily.
Lingfeng's voice trembled in awe.
"…That… was terrifying."
Shen Hao wiped sweat from his brow.
"One left."
The forest was quiet again---
but not peaceful.
The faster beast stood its ground, claws flexing slowly against the stone.
Its eyes… sharper now.
It had seen Piercing Flare.
It understood the danger.
It wasn't going to give him another clean chance.
Shen Hao's breathing was steady, but each inhale burned in his ribs.
His arm felt heavy, fingers tingling from the strain of holding that much Qi just moments ago.
Mo Han's voice cut through the silence, even and controlled.
"You can use it one more time. After that, your body will not withstand the compression."
"Understood, Master," Shen Hao murmured.
He began gathering Qi again.
Slow.
Deliberate.
The crimson-gold light spiraled between his fingers, tighter and tighter.
But the beast moved first.
It vanished.
Shen Hao's eyes snapped wide.
Not a dash---
A blink.
One instant it was in front of him, the next, its claws were tearing across his back.
White-hot pain ripped through his spine.
He stumbled forward, boots digging into the dirt.
A second strike came down, missing his skull by a hair as stone cracked under the force.
Lingfeng's voice was sharp with alarm.
"Master! It's blinking! Short-range Qi jumps!"
Mo Han was calm, but urgent.
"Stay grounded. Do not rush the flare. If you lose control mid-charge, you'll destroy yourself."
Shen Hao gritted his teeth.
The drill in his palm spun faster, brighter, unstable light flashing across his torn robe.
The beast blinked again, reappearing at his left.
Its claws lashed forward.
This time, Shen Hao didn't dodge.
He planted his feet, took the slash across his side, felt blood spray hot against his ribs, but held the flare steady.
With a sharp twist, he thrust it forward.
"PIERCING FLARE!"
The drill tore into the beast's neck.
SSHHHRRRRK---THOOM!
A ripping sound of scales and sinew giving way.
The beast screeched, thrashing violently.
It staggered back, smashing into a boulder, shattering it in half.
Shen Hao dropped to one knee, panting.
The monster twitched once.
Twice.
Then lay still.
The forest fell silent.
Silence.
It was the kind that didn't feel empty, but heavy, pressing down on every leaf and stone.
Shen Hao stayed there, one knee on the ground, head down.
His breath came slow, dragging heat into his chest before pushing it out again.
The sound of it was loud in the absence of battle.
The air still smelled of scorched moss and torn earth.
Faint smoke curled upward from shattered roots.
Embers floated lazily, drifting like tired fireflies through the drifting haze.
The bodies of both beasts lay still.
The larger, limping brute, its massive frame half-collapsed into a crater of its own making.
The faster one, neck twisted unnaturally, a faint steam rising from the ragged wound where the flare had pierced clean through.
Shen Hao's gaze lingered on them only for a moment before his head dipped again.
Lingfeng's voice came softly, almost reluctant to break the quiet.
"…Master."
Shen Hao forced his eyes open and lifted his head a fraction.
"I'm fine," he said, but his voice was low, edged with exhaustion.
Mo Han's tone followed, calm but firm.
"You faced two opponents equal to your level. You kept your mind clear. Your Qi… precise. That was well done."
A faint smile tugged at Shen Hao's lips.
Then, without ceremony, he let himself fall backward into the grass.
The impact was dull, almost comfortable compared to the earlier blows.
His eyes shut for just a moment.
"Just… give me one minute," he muttered.
"Maybe two. Or until someone invents a flying bed."
Lingfeng hovered above him, grinning faintly despite the tension that had only just left the air.
"I'll guard you. With my life. And a nap."
Shen Hao's laugh was more of a groan.
"You're the best useless assistant ever."
Above them, smoke rose in thin ribbons into the canopy.
The wrecked clearing held the marks of every clash, gouged earth, cracked stone, scorched moss, a silent record of the fight.
And for the first time since the beasts had appeared…
Shen Hao allowed his body to sink into the ground beneath him.
He breathed in.
He breathed out.
And, just for a moment, he rested.