One Move (3)
Eventually the water qi sword faded from existence under his feet, and Li Zian landed on the ground, continuing his sprint.
The giant wolf was catching up with him, and he didn't let a single second go to waste.
Li Zian dashed towards the mountain and leapt up its side, using the strength in his legs to smash his feet through the rock and gain a stable footing, enough for him to run up the side.
He ran up the mountain and the wolf followed him, leaping up cliffs and ledges, chasing him towards the peak.
Li Zian smiled when he noticed this and released a surge of qi from his body.
He then began to transform this qi into powerful, sharp water qi.
The water qi rushed through the air and fused with his sword, coating it entirely.
He gripped the sword tight, his heart beating faster and faster, and began to hack at the mountain as he ran up its side.
Chunks of rock were blown away with each slash, smashing into the wolf that chased from below.
Each time the wolf was struck by a piece of debris it became a bit slower and gained a few minor injuries- but nothing serious enough to stop it.
Li Zian gritted his teeth and more qi rushed out, transforming into ten water qi swords above him.
The swords tore through the rock of the mountain above, causing a wave of debris and stone to collapse down towards him.
Li Zian leapt backwards, letting the debris fall like a waterfall upon the wolf.
He felt his body grow heavier as his qi was being exhausted.
The giant wolf lost its grip on the mountain and fell, bouncing and crashing along its rocky surfaces.
It cut itself on multiple sharp rocks that jagged out as it fell down to the ground far below.
Li Zian manifested four more water qi swords, performing the same manoeuvre as earlier where they all fused into one.
He arrived back along the side of the mountain and continued racing up.
His divine sea was nearly dried up after the battle, and he had little left to spare.
He eventually reached a cliff by the peak of the mountain and finally took a moment to rest, collapsing onto the ground.
"My first battle…" He panted. "And it's already so intense…"
Li Zian wondered if everyone's first battles were so dangerous.
He wiped the sweat from his face and sat down, looking up at the grey clouds above.
They were growing darker… Was it going to rain?
He sighed, enjoying the cool breeze.
'Those people back in the town… I wonder how many of them died.'
With a deep exhale, he wondered if he would get any sect tokens taken away for getting innocents killed during his mission.
He then realised what he was thinking. 'I just caused innocent people to die… They were just crushed in the streets…'
He held his head and felt his heart skip a beat with guilt.
Li Zian eventually stood up and shook his head, looking at the mortal town that had been completely decimated.
Their walls were destroyed; their crop fields were trampled; their houses were destroyed; their citizens were crushed.
It was horrible. Li Zian paced back and forth, and then his eyes widened in shock.
From the mountain cliff shot up a giant wolf with crimson fur dripping with mud, dust and blood, and a long black horn that was cracked and damaged protruded from its head. It was covered in wounds and was in terrible shape.
But it was angry.
Its eyes were burning with fury, and it released a terrifying howl.
Li Zian leapt back, and the beast landed on the ground.
However it didn't immediately attack, instead it looked up at the sky and howled once more.
Li Zian thought it was simply making some noise, and decided to make his move, readying himself to swing his sword.
Then he noticed it.
The dark clouds in the sky suddenly turned a bloody red colour, swirling in a giant vortex around the peak of the mountain.
"What is it doing?" He asked aloud to himself and watched with both curiosity and fear.
The wolf stopped howling and the clouds grew thicker and more violent.
Thunder rumbled, and the mountain vibrated under his feet.
"Shit…"
Crimson lightning flashed down from the centre of the vortex, striking the very peak of the mountain and ripping through it.
Cracks spread across the mountain's surface, under Li Zian's feet and between him and the wolf, separating them.
The wolf leapt off the mountain and quickly ran down the side.
Li Zian realised what was happening and ran for his life.
A deafening rumbling noise came from the entire mountain, and dark grey smoke blew out everywhere.
The ground under his feet shifted, and he lost his footing.
He fell forwards and rolled over the edge of the mountain.
Li Zian's eyes widened in shock as he witnessed the entire surface of the mountain falling apart before him as he fell.
The mountain was collapsing!
He turned his gaze towards the wolf that was racing down the side of the mountain, and he tightened the grip on his sword.
'One move…'
Li Zian drew out the last of his qi reserves into a final slash and swung his sword at the wolf.
'One move…'
The giant wolf looked up, but not in time to realise what was happening- the wave of water qi hacked into its front right leg, and it tripped over, blood spraying out.
'One move…'
The waves of debris caught up to it, and the wolf was quickly coated in rubble as it vanished from sight.
'One move…'
Li Zian breathed a sigh of relief, and he relaxed his muscles, letting go of his sword.
He entered the lotus position in mid-air, using his last few seconds to condense a tiny amount of qi.
The ground grew closer and closer, and his heart beat faster and faster. He condensed as much qi as he could and…
Just before he struck the floor, he gathered the qi across his body to reduce the impact.
BOOM!
A web of cracks spread across the ground as Li Zian hit the earth, facing up to the sky. A crater formed around him, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
His entire body was covered in wounds, his muscles were torn apart, and dust and blood covered his ripped-up robes.
"Ho…"
He survived.
The entire mountain collapsed, and waves of smoke and rubble were thrown across the land.
Rock fell upon the mortal town, crushing and destroying everything.
The red clouds in the sky turned a normal colour, and rain began to fall.
The wolf was buried under debris, long dead, according to Li Zian's weak divine sense.
He sighed. Not only had he survived, but he had won against a Foundation Establishment Realm spirit beast.
"What an eventful day…"