Chapter 54: Into the Deep

Wang Zen stood before the gate entrance of Goixi Academy’s forest. He had entered this place many times, either during hunting class or with Chu Jiahai as part of their nightly hunting trips but seldom had he entered the place alone.

He looked up at the starry sky, knowing he still had a few good hours of night for his excursion. Tomorrow, he’ll probably be too tired to function normally, but he doubted he could sleep with this new theory swimming around in his thoughts. He walked closer to the gate, his fingers curling around the hilt of the Zen Blade, the short blade his father had gifted him. He walked past the threshold, his school badge allowing him to gain entrance and once he was in he ran…

He sprinted past the area where he and Jiahai would hunt and train. It was at this area were they would fight wild beasts of the lower ranks of Intermediary. This is not where he would conduct his experiment. If he wanted a true life and death battle like he had with Wu Yuwen, he would have to go deeper into the forest where the stronger beasts lived.

He slowed down once his surroundings began looking unfamiliar. He began stalking now, looking around for signs of any wild beast. He found a trail and followed it. A few minutes later, he was rewarded with the sight of a green lizard-like creature on two legs, bent down while feeding on the vegetation. Sections of the beast’s scaly skin had grown bulbous growth, making parts of its body and back look like they had leathery humps.

Zen guessed from the power it radiated that it was at east in the Novice stage. This was what he had been waiting for. He reached at his back and slid the blade, lying horizontally on his hip, from its short sheath.

The beast’s head shot up, alerted by a feint killing intent, before looking directly at a surprised Zen.

How did it sense me?

The beast threw its head back and made a sound between a bark and a bird’s call, prompting Zen to dash forward at it. Taken aback by the boy brazenness, the creature leapt away from him. The beast’s leathery tail whipped at Zen, slamming into his chest and driving the air from his lungs. He tumbled back along the ground before ending on his stomach.

Zen rolled out of the way as the creature slammed down on his position after a high pounce. The ground beneath the beast’s legs embedded inward slightly, before a shockwave laced with earth spread around it. Zen was buffeted back by the shockwave, which slammed him into a tree. He groaned as he made his way to his feet only to be confronted with the beast charging at him with its head down and ki shrouding it’s skull like fire around a comet entering the atmosphere.

He barely jumped out of the way before the beast slammed into the tree behind him and splintering wood. Zen instinctively knew he would have been crushed if he had been between that attack and the sturdy tree.

He rushed forward and had the presence of mind of ducking low as the beasts strong tail wiped above his head. He slashed at the creature with all his might, causing it to scream in pain as a deep slash opened in its face. The beast ran at him, knocking him back off his feet. It opened its maw and attempted to bite him but Zen kept it at bay with his forearm and hand, keeping its flat teeth from his body.

They struggled for a few seconds before Zen brought his knee up to slam into the beast’s chin. This gave him some reprieve, allowing him to slide down between the walking lizard’s legs. It leapt up before Zen could cut its leg. Knowing what was coming, Zen rolled out of the way as it slammed down, embedding the earth and sending out another shockwave.

The shockwave once again hit Zen, sending him hurtling along the ground. Zen got up, cursing the earth technique the beast kept using. He looked up in time to see it charging at him with the same technique as before. He leapt out of the way but was not able to fully avoid the attack as he was sent spinning in the air before landing painfully some distance away.

Zen’s lips were painted with blood as he rose from the floor only to be confronted by the beast charging again. This time however, Zen had distance and could adequately dodge while launching his own counter attack. When the beast had passed him he made the mistake of letting his guard down and was punished by the tail which slammed into his face as it trailed behind its mater. The force sent his head snapping back and his body down on the floor.

Lying on his back, his vision blurred with tears and the threat of unconsciousness. His crushed nose gushed out blood, staining his mouth and chin with a crimson beard. He gritted his teeth, fighting the call of unconsciousness as he knew the battle was not over and this was not a place where he might not survive to wake if he ever fell unconscious. He got up and faced the creature which also attempted to get onto its feet but kept falling over. This was the result of Zen’s counter to the beast’s last attack. When he had dodged, he also slashed at it leg and his father’s well made sword not only bit deep into the creature’s muscular leathery leg but it also did not shatter from the momentum.

Zen radiated a bitter killing intent as he neared the injured beast. It threw its head back and made that strange call again but it was cut short as Zen punished it for exposing its neck by running his blade through it.

Zen collapsed onto his rear as he stared at the dead beast. The battle was not what he expected. It had been intense but did not really exert him enough. He had used his ki mainly to augument his speed and strength, all low and very basic ki techniques, so he still had some in reserve and he had not felt his body start to absorb more mana to create more ki. Sure, he could simply seek another fight with a strong creature but he doubted his crushed, bloody nose, sending prickling tears into his eyes, would have any of it.

He rose to his feet, deciding that he would at least take the beast core from his dead quarry. That’s when he heard it, the charge of many feet coming his way. He peered out and saw more green lizards running toward him. The beast was part of a herd and they had come to either save it or kill the one that killed it!