The Prowl Forest
With their Inner Core disciple identity, the siblings smoothly left the city, heading towards an imposing forest merely a dozen miles away from them.
The ominous dread of the forest could still be felt even miles apart. The dark, dreary gloom, the aura of impending death, the stench of ever-present blood – it permeated the air. Even seasoned cultivators trailing the clear road path to the city took weary, cautious glances towards this forest.
Naturally, this was the Prowl Forest, the region in which many weaker cultivators needed to cross if they wanted to go to or leave Azure Dawn City.
Seeing Prowl Forest in the distance, Lei Ya flicked a glance to her brother, her lips curling in eagerness. "Hey! Before we get down to business, let's have some fun. The first to make it to the edge of the forest has to listen to the other for the entire day!"
Lei Ya was already stretching, cracking her bones in anticipation, her competitive spirit burning bright. Naturally, she didn't think it was a problem to flex a bit. They had gone off the road path and secluded themselves away from others; nobody would be able to identify them at this moment.
"Really now?" A confident smile curled Lei Jin's lips. "What makes you think me winning will change anything now? You always listen to me anyway, Ya'."
"Too damn confident!" Lei Ya scoffed, a playful glint in her eyes. "Let's go!"
A radiant blue glow shimmered across her legs, her Myriad Spirit Resonance Physique beginning to subtly stimulate. All of her senses massively increased, a profound sensation, one that caused her to feel enlightened, akin to walking across the sky, flowed throughout her.
'Chi!'
Dust and debris flew with Lei Ya blasting off at high speeds!
She sped quicker than what an average human could possibly see, trails of wind whirling around her and flapping her long, flowing hair and sect robes in the wind.
In that split-moment, Lei Jin had to assume that Lei Ya was as fast, if not slightly faster, than that of a high-power sports car in his previous world.
Lei Jin didn't want to be outdone by his sister. A small surge of multi-colored lightning streamed out of his blood and soul. The power of his bloodline slightly stimulated, the faint roar of thunder echoing within his ears. Power coursed through him, the sensation to overwhelm everything flooded every inch of his cells.
'Chi!'
A slightly greater boom of dust and debris scattered across the land for meters with Lei Jin's thunderous explosion of speed!
The world around Lei Jin practically transformed into a blur, and yet he was in complete control of himself. In fact, within seconds, his control was growing more and more, the refined power of his Spirit Qi bending more to his will.
He was already matching Lei Ya's speed in a mere two seconds.
And another second later, he was slightly ahead of her.
"Huh?!"
Lei Ya nearly stumbled, seeing a blue, sizzling streak of light shoot ahead of her. She cursed under her breath, a low growl.
"Damn it!"
More Spirit Qi revolved through her body, her speed increasing dramatically, striving to match Lei Jin's effortless pace.
But no matter how much she tried, Lei Jin kept a consistent lead, his form a blur of multi-colored lightning.
The siblings were simply blurs of speed, two streaks of vibrant energy tearing across the landscape. The sheer force of their passage caused strong winds to burst all around them for hundreds of meters, whipping up dust and leaves.
"This?!"
Mortal Awakening cultivators who were trailing the clear road path to Azure Dawn City were forced to surge their Spirit Qi just to stay rooted to their spot against these powerful gusts.
One group in particular, led by a late-layer Mortal Awakening cultivator, felt a crushing pressure on his chest when he tried to investigate the wind with his Spirit Sense. His hands clenched from tension, all the while wondering just what the hell was causing these localized tempests.
At that moment, several minutes later, two loud bangs echoed out close to the Prowl Forest.
Lei Jin appeared, standing slightly farther ahead of Lei Ya, the results of their impromptu race evident.
"Tch! Damn it!" Lei Ya cursed, crossing her arms, her chest heaving slightly, a competitive fire blazing in her eyes. "I want to see you keep this same energy when my cultivation far outstrips yours!"
Lei Jin smiled, an easy confidence oozing from him, welcoming the challenge. "And I'll be waiting for that day. For now, let's focus up. I have a feeling things will get more interesting from here on out."
"Mn. Right." Lei Ya instantly sobered up, her competitive fire shifting to a focused intensity.
With their confidence at an all-time high, the duo walked straight into the Prowl Forest.
Their first steps into the Prowl Forest were exactly what the siblings expected. The stench of death, potent enough to make one nauseous, the putrid scent of blood and guts, it all swirled into their noses, a visceral assault on their senses.
The trees, the grass, the dirt – everything around them was drenched in a thick layer of grime. In many spots, it was easy to see dry, caked blood, remnants of past struggles.
Just a step into the Prowl Forest seemed like a horror land that would make those with weak wills instantly turn away, their courage failing.
Admittedly, Lei Jin and Lei Ya did pause for a moment, a brief intake of the grim reality. But it was only for a moment as their minds adjusted to everything, their honed senses processing the grim details without flinching.
Lei Jin's expression kept its calm as he followed the faint, guiding light provided by the mission's compass.
The siblings took calm and measured steps through the Prowl Forest. Their Spirit Senses stayed sharp, constantly sweeping the surroundings, ready for anything to come out at them.
The farther they got into the Prowl Forest, the more desolate the environment became. The trees grew gnarled and twisted, the shadows deepened, and the air grew heavier. They had even spotted patches of fresh blood that had been left not long ago, indicating recent carnage.
It was when they reached hundreds of meters deep that something changed. The siblings paused, their Spirit Senses detecting a sudden, malicious surge of intent rapidly charging towards them from a nearby thicket. Cold looks emerged on their faces, their eyes hardening.
"Hmph." Lei Ya snorted, a disdainful sound. She didn't bother taking out any weapons.
There was no reason to.
Her Spirit Qi revolved, flooding amazing power throughout her body. She shifted like the wind, ducking right at the perfect time.
At the same moment, a large Nascent Tier beast came barreling out of a nearby bush, sailing right over Lei Ya's crouching form.
This Nascent Beast had the shape of a cheetah, only it was much larger, easily the size of a small horse, with black fur that glistened with dried blood, claws sharper than swords, and an imposing aura flowing out of its body.
Other Mortal Awakening cultivators would be caught off guard by this sudden pounce.
But Lei Ya deviously smirked. Her fists shimmered with radiant Spirit Qi, condensed to an astonishing degree. In the same instant she ducked to avoid the Nascent Beast, she used her incredible speed and raw physical power to slam her Spirit Qi-infused fist straight up into the gut of the beast.
'Bang!'
Her Spirit Qi-infused fist brutally struck, the beast's tough hide tearing apart with little resistance, bones shattering and internal organs rupturing in one devastating strike.
The Nascent beast pitifully wailed as its body was sent flying away, a grotesque arc of black fur and blood splattering out of it when it heavily smashed into the ground, a sickening thud echoing through the trees.
At the same time Lei Ya was attacked, another Nascent Beast, identical in appearance to the first Shadow Cheetah, slashed towards Lei Jin. And Lei Jin dealt with the beast in an even more overwhelming manner.
Trickles of multi-colored lightning surged across his fist as he revolved his Spirit Qi, condensing it to an impossible degree. He struck out his Spirit Qi-infused fist, moving faster, a blur to the Nascent Beast's eyes.
The beast was just in the middle of its pounce, its own Spirit Qi revolving to make one clear, deadly strike. But its vision was suddenly filled with a deadly, radiant fist, crackling with suppressed power.
'Bang!'
Blood splattered across the ground, thick and dark, with pieces of bone and brain matter accompanying it.
Lei Jin's fist had directly exploded the Nascent beast's head wide open.
The Nascent Beast's body spasmed for a moment before dropping to the ground in a horrid, lifeless manner. At the same time, the beast Lei Ya struck smashed into the ground, dead before it even landed.
Lei Ya and Lei Jin only took a moment to study the now-dead beasts, their expressions calm, almost analytical.
Nodding to herself, Lei Ya was having trouble containing the emerging excitement shooting through her body. "I've heard and read horror stories of even 7th layer Mortal Awakening cultivators instantly dying to these Shadow Cheetahs. But honestly? They were just too slow."
"Well then. Let's keep moving." Lei Jin spoke, unable to contain a pitch of his eagerness flowing into his tone. His adrenaline was surging, tingles of battle growing ever stronger inside him.
This taste of fighting, the rush of action, as he expected, suited him perfectly. More than perfectly. What just occurred was a combination of natural instincts and his own heightened perception. Even without using his Godly Lightning Force directly, simply revolving his Spirit Qi caused his reactions and thinking perception to increase by several times, making him just fast enough to both move on instinct and get accustomed to the sensation of battle.
The siblings then started their trek once again, their nerves tensing, but the eagerness for battle rapidly growing.
Walking a dozen more meters ahead, the siblings narrowed their eyes. They sensed more subtle shifts in the air. Malicious intents locked right onto them. But this time, instead of it being that of a Nascent Beast, the Essence Energy signatures were distinctly human.
People were rushing over to them, albeit discreetly, as they were suppressing their auras. Perhaps even a 7th layer Mortal Awakening cultivator would struggle to sense this ambush. But Lei Jin and Lei Ya stopped walking. An ice-cold glint that would freeze the sun twinkled in their eyes.
Lei Jin's booming voice rippled across the area, cutting through the forest's silence, "Stop hiding like some rats! We don't have time to waste with idiotic fools."
"Hoh? Idiotic fools."
Mocking voices soon echoed around them, seemingly from every direction. Five flashes of Spirit Qi dazzled as five shadows leaped out of the bushes surrounding the siblings, forming a semicircle.
A group of Mortal Awakening cultivators appeared before the siblings. Each of them stood with perfect confidence, their auras thick, the imposing dread of danger radiating from them, enough to terrify any single Mortal Awakening cultivator.
Two of them were at the 5th layer, one at the 6th layer, and the leading one, a handsome man, was at 7th layer Mortal Awakening. All of them were wearing the Beloved Sky Sect's Inner Core disciple robes, and each of them wasn't even trying to hide their subtle killing intent, their eyes glinting with malice.