The head created a small splash and sunk into the unresponsive blue water as if it was any other vegetable.

Xing Kai eyes were widened so far they began to crack, his jaw tightly clenched together. A shiver went through his very being. It's one of them...one of them actually died. Xing Kai clamped his eyes shut but the dying expression of that mercenary was completely seared into his mind.

Dead...could they all be dead?

Xing Kai looked back at the gathering but all the black furs were separating and heading in different directions. The silver ape and the hairless tailed monkey both went together deeper into the forest. Xing Kai hesitated for only a moment before he followed them. He gazed deeply at the pool as he passed it.

The two beasts travelled quite quickly, heading towards a particular destination, but Xing Kai could only control his chaotic emotions. Perhaps that one was the only one to die...maybe the other mercenaries got away...Xing Kai felt sick as he hoped that the mercenaries were not all killed, but he couldn't deny the dread he felt in his heart.

They travelled for only a few minutes before Xing Kai heard something peculiar. Has one of them?...Suddenly Xing Kai jerked to the side and drew his sword. A hairless tail, thick as an arm, swiped down where Xing Kai's head would have been. The monkey dropped onto the branch together with Kai, revealing it's 4 dagger like fangs.

Big...it's bigger than even the adult boars

Xing Kai shivered at the powerful, pinkish tail coiling behind the beasts back. Xing Kai looked over the monkeys shoulder worrying where the ape had gone, but the monkey suddenly bolted straight towards him.

Fast. Xing Kai flung himself straight off the branch and flew towards the ground. An stretch of the arm, and he managed to stop his fall before hitting the ground; he crouched on the branch and eyed the beast sauntering towards him. I can already barely hear where the other one went, I need to end this quickly.

Xing Kai decided to take the battle to the beast as he rushed up the tree and slashed. The beast almost sneered as it ducked the slash and with lightening speed embraced Kai in a vice like grip and roared in his face in triumph. Brute. Xing Kai butted the ape in the nose, blinding its eyes with tears. He burst out of the beasts clutches using his strength and plunged the sword straight into it's chest. You would have been good practise too...His eyes were cold and hard as he drew out the blood and left the beast to fall out of the trees.

Using rapid steps and long swings on vines, Xing Kai searched for the silver ape. Between the huge trees and their beautifully curving branches and the varieties of green vines hanging from above, Xing Kai forged a path. His nostrils were flared and his eyes bounced about the surroundings hoping to find any trail.

It can't be too far into the forest...I'll keep looking. Xing Kai barged past territory markers, crushed nests under his feet and ignored any beasts that didn't detect him. The other's were killed. I'll comb this whole place if I have to, but I will find that beast.

Kai did not have to wait long however, before he came across the ape. It was sitting with its rippling thick legs dangling on a branch high above Xing Kai while eating some fruits. It placed the core to one side, beside a pile it had already formed, and licked it's fangs. They were shorter relative to it's mouth compared to the other monkeys, but it's size was as large as an ox even while crouching. Only these formidably thick branches could support such a heavy beast.

Xing Kai froze under its gaze, feeling a crushing weight from its presence alone. It knew I was coming...and didn't even care? Xing Kai's mouth twisted and he readied himself with his sword, levelling it to his eyes and adjusting his stance for balance. Xing Kai's heart pounded, and the ape almost appeared to smirk at him for it. The mighty silver furred ape dropped down, sliding down a tree and landed before Xing Kai...before calmly drawing the sword from its sheath.

The two eyed each other.

Xing Kai growled and exploded towards the ape with all the strength of his legs. The 50 paces between was closed in two breaths by Xing Kai, as with a resounding roar he leaped and swung at the ape's head.

The ape twirled under the branch using his tail and appeared behind Kai seamlessly. With a howl of soul shaking force, the ape sliced the air with its sword aiming for Kai's exposed back.

Back off!

Xing Kai screamed in his heart as the mysterious wave struck his body, jilting him as he landed on the branch. A powerful wave was released by Xing Kai's Heart's blood which dispelled the effects of the vicious wave which lingered in his body.

But the sword of the ape was already swinging down on Xing Kai's back.

I'm not dying this quickly. In desperation, Xing Kai managed to raise his sword and let the mighty blow launch him down to the ground.

His back struck against a tree, winding him as his body wrapped itself around the branch. Xing Kai could faintly see the ape sliding down a chain like vine towards him. I...I'm not that weak...Xing Kai pushed himself to his feet, and felt a horrible pain in his sides. His sword had shattered after coming in between him and the tree branch, leaving a deep cut in his sides.

Soul condensing stage beast?

His lips curled and he threw the broken sword aside with a brief look of anger. His clothes were almost completely unrecognisable now, soaked in blood and dirt, and now wrapped around his midriff to stop the bleeding. He pulled the cloth off his forearm and retied it to his knuckles. The ape would wait, he knew.

If you really have killed the mercenaries...then I want to see if I'm also strong enough to have done it

Xing Kai's eyes had an intense force in them as he gazed at the ape, which grunted in amusement.

The two clashed again, with Kai sliding under it to deliver a punch to its neck. Everything he had seen in training, seen in actual fights, seen in his nightmares he put on display. Any feints he tried would fail and he would be kicked and punched by the omniscient ape. Xing Kai's body was resilient however, and he took the casual blows from the beast with relative ease.

And so the ape grew thirsty for a battle.

The sword of the ape, a bloodied long sword, would slice the air and hack at him with cruel intent every so often. The howls were ineffective it quickly realised, and so it simply slapped Xing Kai about intending to wear him out.

There's such a big gap...that Soul condensing warrior could create a far more powerful wave, his presence was torturous, yet he wasn't even close to this ape. The Captains...it makes sense now

Xing Kai scrambled to get out of the way of the ape's swing and caught his breath. He had wounds all over, ranging from bruises to split tissues that were the result of the ape's physical attacks. He watched the ape pull the sword out of the trunk of a tree. It leaped towards him with great speed.

Xing Kai's eyes shot about rapidly, looking for some advantage or trick to use, but the intensity in his eyes had only grown stronger for a direct fight. Using a vine and his rapid speed he tangled the beast in loops and clawed his way towards the beast to kick it in the skull.

The blow was another miss.

The ape dodged, not with ease however, and managed to tear the chain like vines with a few savage twists of its body.

More...I can do more

Xing Kai growled as he tried to utter his thoughts, and began dodging again.

The forest was not spared in the carnage of the two's battle, and the beasts nearby began clearing out of the way. The roars of the two were soul stirring and the impacts between them were frightening.

Xing Kai's eyes were completely consumed in the fire of the battle, and he began exchanging cuts deep down to his bones in exchange for striking the beast. First his forearm, then his legs Xing Kai offered all his limbs to the sword so long as he could hit the beast...and he did. The ape's right arm was completely broken from a kick of Xing Kai's, and some its ribs were broken from his punches.

The two felt a primal bond between each other, as the balance of power shifted chaotically with each blow between them. They were certain that they could kill the other but at a harsh cost.

Good, all animals are proud of their strength, so why don't we fight each other to the death with our fists?

Xing Kai grinned maniacally as the Soul condensing beast rushed towards him. He erupted with strength and speed as the two exchanged blows again...but Xing Kai was again coming out short. With a feint towards his stomach, the ape stabbed his shoulder, breaking it. Before it could grab him, Kai pulled himself off the sword and bolted.

The furious howling ape followed, but suddenly a figure appeared before it.

It was a boy, no older then Kai.

He was dressed in rags, covered in dirt and without any shoes. Yet as he looked at the incoming ape from beneath the cap on his head, he was calm. His face, handsome in a cold detached way, formed a small smile. A thin sword was drawn from a leather sheath tied to his back, and his feet steadily placed under him.

What?

Xing Kai managed to stop himself while gritting his teeth to the pain. How did someone else appear here? However, pushing his suspicions to one side he raced back to defend the boy.

"What could have left a Soul condensing beast in such poor state?" said the boy. His smile grew as he noted all the damage done to the charging ape. "Pity...maybe I'll find what did this to you. Until then..."

The boy dashed forward with staggering speed, surpassing even Xing Kai's top speed by a half fold, and sliced deeply into the shocked ape's legs. With a twirl and mysterious sway, the boy dodged the ape's thundering fists, and cut into its back.

How can he do that?

Xing Kai stumbled and almost fell as he rushed back towards the ape. He dodged the swing, but careful, the ape uses it's tail...he knows...but the ape isn't able to evade his attacks? Why is the ape faltering now?

Xing Kai appeared on the branch, trapping the ape between him and the unsuspecting boy. The ape attacked the boy again, but Xing Kai immediately lashed at it's sides with his leg...however the ape dodged again.

How? Xing Kai grasped at his side and evaded as the ape focused on him again.

But the boy had noticed him and was stunned. The ape, almost perfectly, took advantage of this brief pause to attack both the boys using it's tail and sword.

But while the boy managed to evade with a bizarre swaying motion, Xing Kai had to use all his reaction speed and strength to dodge. Again? How is he doing that...that, swaying? What is it?

The boy again swayed, but suddenly almost like a blur he rushed past the ape, leaving a thick cut to it's sides, and appeared before Kai. His mouth was tightly pressed into a line as he studied Kai, with a deep look in his eyes. The ape behind them actually took this chance to throw it's sword at the two and ran.

Xing Kai saw the flying sword and yanked the boy to the side rudely, who instantly twisted Kai's arm off him. However he noticed the sword flying past them, and with the same horrifying speed, he blurred and grabbed the hilt of the flying long sword. He gazed at it disappointedly, examining it closely, while forgetting that Kai or the ape even existed.

Xing Kai growled at the boy, wanting to unload some curses on him, but instead ignored him and chased the ape. He rubbed his palm, feeling a sharp pain coming from it and his wrist. Whoever he is, I don't care. I'm killing that beast first

With a sigh the boy stabbed the long sword deep into the trunk of the tree, and with his great speed he overtook Kai and reached the beast. Kai could only watch as the boy used incredible moves, swaying and jolting, slicing and feinting, to destroy the ape.

In the 4 breaths that Kai took to arrive at the scene, the ape was already dead at the cap wearing boy's feet.