Chapter 30: Three Mountains, One Kill

The forest grew quiet—too quiet.

Even the insects stopped buzzing as Tian Jue and Huan Tao stepped into a clearing surrounded by scorched trees and clawed earth.

Then they saw it.

A spirit beast, nearly three meters tall, with silvery fur marred by fresh wounds, limped across the glade. Its mane was thick and bristled, its claws dug deep into the ground with each step, and its eyes—burning like molten gold—glared at them with both fury and pain.

> "Foundation Establishment…" Tian Jue narrowed his gaze. He could sense it clearly: the oppressive aura, the denser Qi, the primal sharpness in its movement despite the injuries. "Looks like it's been in a fight already."

The beast snarled, fangs glinting as it bared its teeth and roared, sending a pulse of spiritual pressure crashing through the air like a wave.

Huan Tao instinctively stepped forward, tail flicking.

Tian Jue held out a hand.

> "Let me see the might of the Tiger Clan."

He grinned. "I'll step in if things get dangerous."

Huan Tao looked back at him, one brow raised.

> "Deal. But if I win, you're cooking tonight."

Her smirk was both fierce and playful.

Tian Jue chuckled. "Alright, fair enough."

---

Without hesitation, Huan Tao leapt forward.

The moment she moved, her aura changed—sharpened. The blood in her veins pulsed visibly beneath her skin, glowing with a faint red hue.

> "Bloodburn: First Pulse!"

A burst of crimson mist erupted around her. Her limbs grew leaner, her speed doubled, and her already-sharp claws extended slightly—now shimmering with Qi.

The injured spirit beast roared and pounced.

The impact of their clash sent a shockwave through the clearing, blowing back leaves and dust. Huan Tao ducked under a swiping claw and countered with a spinning strike to the beast's ribs, cracking bone.

The beast howled in pain and tried to retaliate with a Qi-infused slam, but Huan Tao's speed was now unreal—she was a blur of silver and red, ducking, weaving, and striking with precise, brutal efficiency.

> "Bloodburn: Second Pulse—Tiger's Heart!"

Her muscles bulged slightly, and her claws left afterimages in the air. She grappled the beast mid-leap, twisted its front limb, and slammed it to the ground with a thunderous crack.

From afar, Tian Jue's expression was unreadable.

> "This technique… it's not just brute strength. It's built around controlled madness—she's burning her blood to push her body beyond normal limits, but she's still calculating her moves. Not a berserker—more like a controlled wildfire."

The beast struggled to stand, groaning and foaming at the mouth.

But Huan Tao gave it no chance.

> "Final Pulse: Tiger Devours the Sky!"

She spun midair and landed a devastating Qi-charged kick to the beast's throat, crushing its windpipe. The beast let out a choking gasp—and fell silent.

Dust settled. The trees swayed again. The quiet returned.

Huan Tao exhaled and flexed her hands, the bloodmist around her dispersing.

She walked back toward Tian Jue, wiping her face with the back of her sleeve.

> "So," she said, breathing steadily, "what's for dinner?"

Tian Jue smiled.

> "Whatever the mighty tiger wants."

They both laughed, the tension dissolving. But inside, Tian Jue was more alert than ever.

> "She held back. That wasn't even her limit."

He looked down at the beast's corpse, the spiritual core still faintly pulsing inside.

> "If the Tiger Clan produces bloodlines like this, I really need to re-evaluate the beastfolk cultivators… and what other clans are hiding."

The shattered bones of the fallen Foundation Beast still crackled faintly as Huan Tao crouched beside it, carefully extracting its intact spiritual core. Her hands moved quickly but efficiently, slicing along spirit-acupuncture lines and preserving key materials—claws, teeth, marrow-rich bones.

She was just about to remove the beast's inner pelt when—

Crunch.

A twig snapped in the distance.

Huan Tao's ears twitched, but before she could even lift her gaze, Tian Jue's eyes had already narrowed, his spiritual sense pulsing like a net.

"Low footsteps. Light, fast. No spiritual fluctuations—hiding intent. But it moved just as Huan Tao struck the final blow… it's a predator waiting for weakness."

A blur of steel-gray fur darted from the brush.

A Razor Wolf, its metallic claws flashing under the morning sun, lunged at them with deadly silence—clearly trained in ambush.

But Tian Jue was faster.

With a single movement, his hammer left his hand like a comet.

BOOM!

The beast twisted midair, throwing up its arms in a desperate guard. The hammer connected with sickening force, shattering both of its forelimbs and launching the Razor Wolf across the clearing, where it slammed into a tree with a splintering crash.

It howled once, low and guttural.

But it didn't get to howl again.

Before the echo even faded, Tian Jue had vanished.

"Silent Wind Step—Minor Accomplishment."

He reappeared before the beast in a blink, the earth beneath his feet cracking from the sudden halt of force. His eyes locked onto the Razor Wolf—already injured, but baring its gleaming fangs.

"Metal-element wolf… If it gets even one swipe, it'll cleave flesh like paper. No second chances."

Qi coiled around his arm, gathering fast and violently.

His fist drew back, pressure surging.

"Seven Collapsing Mountain Fist."

The first strike landed like a battering ram.

Boom!

A phantom of a mountain exploded behind him, slamming into the Razor Wolf's chest.

It reeled, choking, bones fracturing.

Before it could collapse, the second mountain slammed down.

CRACK!

The air thundered as the beast's spine bent unnaturally, Qi surging through its body and shattering its core from within. The third mountain began to form—but there was no need.

The Razor Wolf was already limp.

A metallic clink followed as its claws hit the ground, lifeless.

Tian Jue stood there, fist still raised, eyes cold and focused.

From the edge of the clearing, Huan Tao blinked.

"That… all happened in seconds."

She approached slowly, tail twitching.

"You didn't hesitate. You knew what it was, how dangerous it was, and killed it before it even became a fight."

Tian Jue exhaled and retracted his Qi, stepping back from the corpse.

He turned and looked at her with a faint smile.

"Besides, you already did your part. Now it's my turn to cook."

Huan Tao laughed and knelt by the new corpse.

"With how clean this kill is, I should have plenty of materials left. You even spared the core. Efficient and elegant."

Tian Jue gave her a sideways glance.

"Elegant? I just punched it with a mountain."

"A killing mountain," she said, grinning. "Which is now my favorite type of mountain."

As the two packed the cores and valuable materials, Tian Jue looked up at the sky.

"Two Foundation beasts in a day… either luck is with us, or something's stirring in these mountains."

And somewhere far beyond the trees, a low growl echoed through the range—a beast's cry that didn't belong to Qi Refinement… but something far more ancient.