A low, guttural growl rumbled in the Three-Horned Boar’s massive chest, a sound that seemed to come from the very bedrock of the forest.

  Having been enraged from losing its tusks and having its great horn chipped, it was no longer messing around.

  The air around it began to shimmer and distort, as if the beast itself were a furnace about to melt down.

  Steam, thick and furious, billowed from its nostrils and began to vent from the fresh wounds on its hide, transforming the beast into a living steam train of hate.

  The very trees around it swayed, bending away from the immense, gathering power.

  Across the clearing, Bi Kan took a deep breath, sinking his feet deep into the soil as if taking root.

  He tensed every muscle, aiming to release his own stored energy in one perfect, explosive moment.

  He spun his dagger, the motion a familiar comfort, before his hand clamped down on the hilt, his grip absolute.

  "Hooh…"

  I want to know how much I've improved, he thought, his breath uneven but his mind a pool of calm.

  A month ago, the mere sight of such a creature would have sent me fleeing for my life. But that was before the training, before the bandits... before I learned what it truly means to fight.

  He let out a slow, controlled exhale.

  I'm lucky. This isn't a human, it's just a mindless boar that cannot use its power to its fullest potential. If it had the intelligence of a human, if it knew how to sparingly use its own abilities, it would be far beyond my league.

  A slow smile spread across his face.

  The red glint of pure battle lust in his eyes softened, transmuting into the brilliant yellow of a hunter who had finally found a worthy beast.

  "Here we go. I'm ready for this."

  Far from the epicenter of the brewing storm, the two villagers huddled together, supporting each other's broken bodies as they staggered away.

  "I sense that something big will erupt," the stubbled man sighed, clutching his bruised ribs. "We must… go."

  "Yeah," his companion agreed, limping heavily as he glanced back one last time at Bi Kan’s solitary, unyielding form.

  "Do you think he'll survive?"

  The stubbled man grinned, a pained but confident expression.

  "What do you think? That kid's not a normal disciple. He's a storm. And we just saw the first clap of thunder."

  He laughed, a raw, wheezing sound. "If he dies here now, it'll be disappointing, because I know he can reach farther than this. This is but a pebble in his path."

  His companion looked up at the sky, now a dark, star-dusted purple.

  "Hah, you're right. I should have never doubted it in the first place." They pulled through, putting a great distance between themselves and a battlefield that would soon become a rubble-strewn monument to a legendary battle.

  High above, perched in the tallest tree in the vicinity, Ying Xia’s world was transforming.

  The fight below had become a distant roar as a new sense organ opened within her soul.

  The forest was no longer just green leaves and brown bark; it was a living tapestry of light.

  She could see the gentle, silver threads of Qi flowing through the branches, feel the deep, emerald pulse of the ancient trees.

  The boar below was a violent crimson sun, a raging bonfire of raw power. This new perception was an intoxicating flood, a euphoria so potent it threatened to sweep her away.

  "Hah… hah…" She smelled the fresh air, her eyes glinting, enlightened.

  I feel like I was reborn! No, it's like I just began opening my eyes! She grinned, closing her eyes once again.

  This feeling is just too euphoric! Her body began to shake, her brows furrowing as she broke in and out of focus. "T-Too much excitement… I can't focus..!"

  Below, the storm broke.

  Bi Kan shot himself out, a shooting star of human will, his body creating faint ripples in the air as he propelled himself forward.

  The boar was no pushover; it launched itself from the soil, a powerful tsunami of flesh and hate, moving at an incredible rate.

  Bi Kan closed his eyes, bracing for impact, his dagger leading the way. No! a voice roared from the depths of his soul.

  I must open my eyes, watch as I kill this boar with this singular move!

  As they inched closer and closer, the flare of light between them grew brighter, as if two comets were about to clash! The air itself screamed, torn apart by their convergence.

  They finally crashed into each other.

  A deafening BOOM that was more felt than heard erupted from the point of impact, creating a giant crater between them.

  The shockwave was a physical wall, ripping up the earth and snapping smaller trees in half. Bi Kan’s dagger didn't just shatter, it vaporized, the cheap metal disintegrating into a thousand incandescent sparks upon hitting the boar’s empowered horn.

  Hng… it's mostly this damned pig creating this big explosion! Its body is too big!

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  Both were sent flying in opposite directions.

  The giant boar, its great horn cracking and splintering from the force, flew only a few feet before rolling and landing heavily on its side, a mountain of stunned, bleeding flesh.

  Bi Kan, however, was launched like a cannonball, a broken kite in a hurricane.

  He hurtled backwards, tumbling end over end until he was stopped by a massive boulder.

  The impact was a sickening, final crunch. He coughed once, a thick spray of blood painting the ancient stone a stark, vivid crimson.

  His body was a screaming chorus of agony.

  Every muscle, strained to its absolute limit, felt like it was tearing itself apart, a familiar torment he hadn't experienced since the non-stop, month-long hell of his training.

  He rose from the cracked rubble of the giant boulder, pushing himself up from the pebble-strewn ground with trembling, bloodied hands.

  Heaving his body upwards, he slowly, deliberately, stood tall, a solitary figure covered in dust and his own drying blood.

  My body feels so heavy, he thought, the world a swimming, dizzying blur.

  Am I carrying the weights of a hundred tons upon my shoulders? He coughed, a wet, ragged sound, and a fresh spray of crimson painted his lips.

  He wiped the smear away with a weakened hand.

  A couple of meters away, the colossal boar twitched, its massive body heaving with deep, ragged breaths.

  It was severely damaged, a mountain of bleeding flesh, but it was alive.

  It could still be kicking after all that? What a tough bastard. He opened his mouth, his voice raspy and coarse.

  "That won't last… I'll head over there now, and slowly beat you… to death!" His boots pressed against the ground, each step a slow, deliberate act of will as he tried to force his heavy limbs to obey.

  I can't give in to my exhaustion now.

  His footsteps thudded with a heavy finality, inching closer to the giant, twitching figure in the distance.

  "I can't let it recover… although, can it lift itself back up?" His mouth slowly widened, letting out a hearty, breathless laugh that was more grit than mirth.

  This is good, just lie down and wait for me to butcher you up!

  High in the canopy, impatient breaths came in short, sharp gasps. Ying Xia twitched and turned, her hands flying to her pink hair, gripping it tightly.

  "HAHH! I CAN'T DO IT!" she shrieked, pulling her hair as hard as she could, venting her roiling frustration.

  "This is stupid! I can't relax! This Qi stuff is just too great! How could those cultivators act so nonchalantly about this matter?! HRAHH!" She stomped her feet, the thick branch shaking beneath her.

  "Enough!" she shouted, planting her hands on her hips. "I'll just do it next time! I felt the tree slightly move earlier, did he finally finish it?!" She peered down.

  From her high vantage point, the battlefield was a panorama of destruction, and the giant figure of the boar was a clear, unmissable smudge on the earth.

  "Will you look at that… it's lying on the ground… he did it," she breathed. Her sharp eyes then spotted the small, determined figure of Bi Kan moving towards the beast.

  "Or maybe, he just managed to take it down. It's not really dead yet." She grinned, stretching and spinning her arm, feeling the satisfying pop in her shoulder.

  "Just you wait, Bi Kan. I, Ying Xia, will contribute to this once again." She looked up at the darkening sky, laughing. "Watch me, Grandpa! But unlike you, I won't die from my stupid bravery!"

  Back on the ground, two figures emerged cautiously from their hiding spot in the dense bushes. "I-Is it over…?" one of them whispered.

  The other pushed him aside. "Why don't we take a look?!" They slowly crept out, their eyes widening as they took in the battlefield.

  "I guess we were over-exaggerating, I thought it'd destroy a large portion of the area!" A friendly smack came upon his shoulder. "HAHA! Me too! That young hero simply looked too awesome!"

  Their awe turned to shock as they drew closer. Even if the impact wasn't as cataclysmic as they had imagined, it had still carved a giant crater into the forest floor.

  "He survived that, huh?" The stubbled man grinned, nodding his head with a profound, newfound respect. "He's proving to be worth following every damn minute."

  The other man pointed a trembling finger at the boar. "He's not the only one that lived."

  Both of their faces contorted into nervous, sweating expressions. "If it were to recover… we'd be truly minced meat."

  They looked at each other and nodded, pulling out their daggers. "I lost one of the daggers when we were sent flying earlier," the stubbled man sighed. "That's fine, we can find it later," his companion replied, shaking his head. "Mine got shattered."

  They then saw the small figure of Bi Kan trudging slowly towards the boar. "That must be our brave hero." The stubbled man grinned and dashed forward.

  "Hey, wait up! I want to help him out too!" Their stomachs rumbled in unison; they could already taste the victory feast.

  Bi Kan’s foot kicked something hard. Having had his own dagger shatter from the impact, he was weaponless.

  He looked down. A sharp, pointy rock, sheared from the boulder he had crashed into, lay half-buried in the dirt. "This should do." He bent down, his aching muscles screaming in protest, and wrapped his hand around it.

  The weight was good, the edge keen. A smile touched his face. "Okay, now I'm even more confident!" He made his way forward again, seeing the two villagers now running towards the giant boar.

  It must be those two. His feet, which had felt like lead, slowly regained their power.

  A small, yellow glint returned to his eyes as he broke into a skipping, lurching run, the heavy weight on his body ignored. He reeled his arm back, the rock held like a primitive blade, and threw himself forward.

  "Hyahh!" His fist, clutching the stone, pierced the boar's thick hide.

  The beast’s massive frame shuddered, a pathetic tremor from a fallen titan. It wanted to squeal, to roar one last time in defiance, but its body was a ruined vessel, its overworked nerves barely registering the new waves of pain. Its will was broken.

  "Yeah! Get it! Stick it again!" the stubbled man roared, his voice hoarse with adrenaline and exhaustion.

  He and his companion stabbed with a desperate frenzy, their meager daggers piercing its flesh haphazardly. It was less an attack and more a final, furious release of all their pent-up terror.

  Suddenly, a shadow fell over them. A figure descended from the sky, not tumbling, but diving with purpose.

  It was a focused projectile of pink and violet, wreathed in a faint, shimmering aura—the first blush of gathered Qi clinging to her like a battle shroud.

  After watching Bi Kan’s impossible aerial assaults, Ying Xia had learned. She had kicked off the trunk of her tree, using the powerful recoil to transform her fall into a guided missile strike.

  Her dagger, a silver needle against the boar’s monstrous skull, struck squarely between its eyes.

  There was no clang of steel on bone, but a sickening, wet thump. A ripple of force pulsed through the beast's frame, a final, convulsive tremor that kicked up a cloud of dust.

  The malevolent light in its remaining eye flickered and died, replaced by a dull, glassy emptiness. A last, shuddering breath escaped its lungs, a foul gust smelling of blood and ozone, and then the mountain of flesh was utterly still. It was finally, truly, dead.

  For a moment, the only sound was the soft drip of blood onto the cracked earth and their own ragged, panting breaths. The chaotic violence was over, leaving a ringing silence in its wake.

  The stubbled man was the first to break it. He let out a raw, triumphant scream that echoed through the trees.

  "WE DID IT! HAHA, WE ACTUALLY DID IT!" He staggered back, dropping his dagger and grabbing his friend in a fierce, one-armed hug.

  "We're eating like kings tonight, my friend! Kings!"

  Ying Xia stood proudly atop the beast's head, her small frame silhouetted against the last sliver of the setting sun. She planted a boot on the boar's snout and yanked her dagger free with a victorious grunt. "Did you see that, Grandpa?" she whispered to the twilight sky, a fierce, tear-streaked grin plastered on her face.

  "Twenty men… you needed twenty. We only needed four." She let out a whoop of pure joy, the sound sharp and clear in the quiet forest. "I told you I'd surpass you!"

  Bi Kan simply slumped against the beast's warm flank, the sharp rock falling from his numb fingers. He let out a long, slow breath, a faint, weary smile touching his lips as he surveyed their handiwork.

  He was covered in grime, his own blood, and the blood of the boar, but his eyes held a spark of deep satisfaction. "What a troublesome pig," he muttered, closing his eyes for just a second, the crushing weight of exhaustion finally settling upon him.

  They had done it. Against a monster that had become a dark legend, a beast that had taken a previous generation to fell, this strange quartet—a manic cultivator pushing his limits, a girl awakening to her immense potential, and two ordinary men who had found their courage, had not just fought.

  They had won.