...An Oriole Behind?

[Your tail looks like they're ready to make a move.]

Ryker heard Mini C's warning in his head as he weaved through the underbrush towards the demonic boar, subconsciously flanking left in order to keep the direction of his mystery guest in his field of vision.

"Hm, I see. Think they're after some fire roots, too?" Ryker wondered aloud.

[Firespike Root. And they've been trailing you as soon as you left the city, so I doubt that's what they're here for,] Mini C said, sending a visual ping to Ryker's eyes that revealed the stalker's position.

[Just a heads up since you'll be starting a fight, soon. They seem to be somewhere in the Golden Core realm, be careful.]

Ryker nodded, taking note of the stalker's outline sitting in the trees as he brandished his sword at the Huoyan Boar with a shout.

The boar just stamped at the ground and snorted, jerking its head and easily deflecting Ryker's sword with its tusks, disarming him. It followed up with a swift charge, catching Ryker in the stomach with its spiky tusks and throwing him to the ground.

"Ooof!" Ryker grunted in pain as the boar trampled all over his body. His sword landed with a thunk in the soft forest floor, watching helplessly as its master was brutalized by the beast.

"..."

Cheng Hui could only look on in disbelief. Wasn't this man the one who had single-handedly taken on that giant Red Viper?

"Sir Ryker!" he cried out, running up to him. The boar was now back to digging up the Firespike Root, looking their way and snorting as if they weren't worth the effort.

"Are you alright?" the captain asked, helping Ryker to his feet.

"Yeah," Ryker said, taking the captain's hand and dusting himself off, "My bad. I was trying to use my 'qi' and stuff, but it takes a little getting used to."

He had wanted to try out his new sword techniques and peak Qi Gathering strength, but of course someone in the Qi Gathering realm using what was essentially a basic sword art wouldn't stand a chance against a Huoyan Boar.

In fact, with his current skill in qi manipulation, he was probably even worse than a fifth level Qi Gathering cultivator in terms of utilizing it in combat. He definitely needed to get more practice in.

He cracked his neck and exhaled slowly, circulating his qi and trying to get used to the sensation.

"I-I see.." Cheng Hui said. He observed as Ryker went through his qi circulating exercise, noting that he was rather unskilled at moving his qi for how much of it he had.

Could what that one young noble had said about him being a body cultivator be true?

But even body refining experts used qi, just for a different purpose than qi cultivation experts. Surely one at his level of strength would be at least more proficient at qi manipulation than a Qi Gathering newbie!

"Uh, shall I assist in taking the beast down?" Captain Cheng asked. The boar was currently engrossed in digging out the high-grade Firespike Root, so he could probably kill it with one well placed strike.

Although he had come here to test Ryker's capabilities, it would be counterproductive if he got himself hurt. Not that it seemed like he was injured, but still...

"Nah, nah, I got this," Ryker said, rolling up his sleeves with a grin.

However, before he could make a move, a cold, raspy voice rang out from the trees above them, echoing eerily in the dense forest.

"Hmph, the young master told me you were a little special, but you really are just a Qi Gathering whelp, after all."

The Huoyan Boar seemed to sense a strong level of danger, immediately running deeper into the forest with a squeal.

Cheng Hui hurriedly scanned the area, but Ryker already knew where the source of the voice was, simply resting his hands behind his head and waiting for their stalker to show himself.

He didn't have to wait long before Meng Guo slowly descended from his perch, his wrinkled face aloof as he looked down on them.

"Woah, he's flying!" Ryker exclaimed, eyes lighting up in excitement.

{Well, actually, he's levitating,} Bestie chimed in.

{If you're good at qi control you can float short distances at the Golden Core realm, but you won't be able to truly fly until you reach the Soul Wandering realm.}

"Uh, which one was that again...?"

[That's currently three major realms above yours.]

"Damn, so pretty far off, then..."

Meng Guo frowned, wondering why this Qi Gathering brat was ignoring him to talk to himself.

"You really have no idea how much danger you're in right now, do you?" he said, ashen lips curling into a sneer.

"Not really, no," Ryker answered back with a grin.

Cheng Hui, on the other hand, had broken out into a cold sweat. Why was this Golden Core expert accosting them, here?

It couldn't be about that encounter Ryker had with Li Daoming a few days ago, could it?

"What do you want?!" he shouted with as much confidence as he could muster.

"I'm part of Miss Long Meiling's personal guard, and this is one of her honored guests! Do you dare offend the Long family today?"

"It's true, I usually wouldn't dare," Meng Guo said, finally landing on the ground with a gentle breeze.

"But the Long family doesn't need to know it was me who killed you, today."

His mouth twisted into a vicious grin, and he drew a longsword surrounded by a wicked aura from out of his storage ring, pointing it at Ryker.

"Face your death, brat!"

With a burst of speed, Meng Guo rushed Ryker with a downward swing, intending to finish it in one blow.

Cheng Hui could only watch in horror as Meng Guo appeared right in front of them in the blink of an eye, barely being able to react.

"Sir Ryker, watch out!"

He was prepared to sacrifice his life to give Ryker a chance to escape, but could he even do anything in time?

However, he wouldn't get a chance to act as something unbelievable happened.

As the sword descended in a clean arc, Ryker lifted his arms crossed in front of him, catching the falling blade in between them.

A sound not unlike metal on metal clashing rang out, and Cheng Hui even thought he saw some sparks.

"This is..." Cheng Hui muttered in disbelief. Had Ryker really just blocked that strike, unarmed?