Inside of the straw village, a burly man with blue pigtails sat overlooking the village. Among the inhabitants were many BlueCrescent Boars who milled about here and there. They were all second and third form practitioners so he had no fear of someone contesting him for power. After all, he was a rare fourth form BlueCrescent Boar who had attained the rank of Beastlord!

Among the monsters of the first layer of the line, the largest but also the weakest layer sitting next to it, many were common monsters who would at most reach the fourth or fifth form of practice. But, because of that they were also the first ones to awaken the human-like transformation! Those that do are qualified to become Beastlords and reign over their clans.

This "Beastlord" transformation is one only attainable to those who have reached the limits of their species. Many who have reached this status do not further their practice because they know there is a very slim chance of reaching the next form so they are content to just lord over their species and have them live in prosperity. That is, killing as they wish and lounging about.

With a wine cup in hand, the Beastlord MoonBaby sat on his throne of tree branches enjoying the entertainment in front of him. Two BlueCrescent Boars had captured a GreyPox Monkey and were playing "monkey in the middle" with it. Using their snouts to toss in back and forth. The monkey screeched as it became more and more bloody with each toss. Yet, escape was no longer possible for it the moment it entered the village.

Then a voice was heard calling out. "Human!" I shouted with a rough voice. MoonBaby frowned. He knew the voice. It belonged to MoonChild, his younger brother who was still at the late stage of the third form. He was typically in charge of outings for the BlueCrescent Boar clan. Seeing him here meant that all of the others must be preoccupied with the human. Wasting no time, MoonBaby shifted into a rather large blue boar with a crescent moon on his cheek and ran ahead with the rest of his brethren following behind him.

While this was going on, RedFlame had been sweeping through the opponents whilst only using the second form technique "Gracing Tail." The technique wasn't a hugely offensive technique if used against someone of equal power but when facing those of lower forms it becomes a good crowd herder that either severely injures them if not kill. Eyes glowing blue, Flame stayed on one foot resting on his tip toes while the other foot was held up beside it. Whenever a BlueCrescent Boar approached him, Flame's eyes would flash a brighter blue hue and he would jump.

Each jump was given lightning like speed as the standing foot would lash out covered in an almost bluish aura resembling a scaled tail. The tail would hit some unprotected side of the BlueCrescent Boar and swipe with crushing force. Yet, the attack would not end there as Flame directed the foot back to the spot it stood and the other foot that did nothing would strike with penetrating force right where the heart was. The Boar would die and the foot would return right to where it was before, giving the scene a sense of never even occurring. That is except for the corpses of the BlueCrescent Boars scattered in a circle around Flame.

This whole time, Flame had been pondering how and why the BlueCrescent Boars seemed to be all over him. From the moment he had finished the skirmish with the first one, hordes on them were practically on top of him. Little did he know that the moment the scent of blood wafted into the air, all of the monsters in the surrounding area would smell it. Thus, the more bodies he made, the more enemies he created. Pretty soon, even escape might become impossible so Flame had to prepare himself to shift from fight to flight.

Flame has the perfect technique for this sort of situation: the third form technique, Billowing Smoke! While Flame was still undergoing training under RedThunder's watchful eye, this was the first technique he learned using energy. For many high level paths, practitioners started to utilize their inner energy at the fourth form or through rare exceptions, the third one. The prerequisite making it necessary to go through several earlier forms is body conditioning. Tuning the body to the right wavelength and strengthening it to the point of handling excessive use of energy. Only then can it be safe to use the spare energy for practicing and utilizing techniques,

Back when Flame first learned of energy, he found himself confused. According to RedThunder, energy can be separated into two categories. The energy that can be utilized and the energy that sits around going to waste. Like human's capacity for utilizing the body, energy follows the same path and is more difficult to use since it is intangible and not connected to the body. Even with 90% mastered use of the body, if someone has not undergone practice in a given path up to a certain point, they could not use more than 3% of their energy. Not to mention, the form must be mastered "correctly" or they cannot use it precisely.

The third form of the Dragonic Shift was a bottleneck point. It is one of the most difficult forms to reach in the practice due to the concept of forming the dragon. Until this point, the first form focused on making the energy flow to certain points of the body and the second form created "eyes" that can see and manipulate the energy. The third form though, was a form of image sculpting. In path's utilizing energy control, a image sculptor made of energy in a person's body symbolizes the path. This symbol allows for someone to transform all energy going into the body into energy corresponding to the body's harmony and allows the user full control over all energy harmonized within. As for the fourth form, that had to do with power and purity. Two things that are of importance to a practitioner's path and battle style. Further along someone is, the easier it is to gather and utilize energy.

Raising his right fist and glaring at the ground, Flame mustered the energy he could at a moment's notice. Despite the excellent form he had achieved, Flame had zero battle experience and thus had no experience mustering energy on a short notice. Flame distinctively heard his inner dragon cry out in pain as he tried to muster the energy and form it into a ball of smoke around his hand and smash it down into the ground.

This billowing ball of smoke while black, also held a tinge of blue resembling Flame's aura. As Flame drove it down, he imagined the dragon opening its mouth and inhaling. After huffing in a good amount, it breathed out with a force of a fierce wind. The ball of smoke around Flame's hand broke open and a fierce blast of wind overtook the forest. Several smaller trees were knocked back and the BlueCrescent Boars had to stop in their tracks to fight the fierce wind. Flame grinned as he turned for the trees behind him. While the smoke was meant for him to escape, it was still a technique of the Dragonic Shift path!

Dashing through the smoke, Flame felt on top of the world. So this is what fighting and living is all about! As he was feeling this elation, a presence was felt out of the corner of his eye. Utilizing Slithering Fang, Flame moved out of the way from the fist and tried a counterattack. This attack however, was met by a powerful fist.

Being knocked back, Flame coughed up a glob of blood before righting himself a good distance away. So this was real pain! RedThunder was too lenient in his training. While he might do some overpowering here and there, it was to the extent he was blown away. Never once had he met any bodily harm in it. Looking up, Flame's eyes met with a burly man with blue pigtails dressed in blue fur. More accurately, the white fur was covering his body and not being worn by it. It was MoonBaby.

"Sniff, sniff"

In another section of the forest, a SmokeNose Mouse felt the collision between the two forces and sniffed at the air. It's eyes opened a little wide and it sped away. This was a collision between a human and a Beastlord, something his lord would very much want to hear about.

"Hahaha," the Beastlord MoonBaby greedily laughed. "Some muscle on you for a youth. Gonna make you more tasty when I have you for my meal." Following that, he launched a third form technique "Crafting Edge." His arm carried a yellow edge to it all the way down to the elbow and swiftly moved to bisect the unsuspecting Flame. Unfortunately, Flame is a fourth form practitioner himself so he felt the power of the blow himself. Knowing that his enemy was a fourth form as well, he counterattacked with his own third form technique Billowing Smoke!

The first of black smoke met the arm coated in yellow and a terrific force was released. MoonBaby felt content because the attack earlier should've been weaker than his own. He didn't even account for Flame being as strong as him. So once the Crafting Edge met strong resistance, he was taken by surprise. In a blow between two equal forces, it would be determined by the drive and MoonBaby was careless to the point of forgetting to include that drive!

The fist blew apart the yellow energy coating and sent the black smoke ball into the surprised MoonBaby's chest. The ball exploded and a gust of black smoke was released. This was the true use of Billowing Smoke. A hard-felt blast and hazardous wind making the enemy enter a state of confusion. While that is going on, unleash a fatal blow. For Flame who wanted to save strength in case of a more dangerous opponent, he decided on a more powerful Billowing Smoke.

MoonBaby had no time to notice the incoming blow as he was too busy choking on the combination of a crushed chest and black smoke. The blow sent him flying away and forced down more than a mouthful of smoke. MoonBaby was sent into a sorry state as he was knocked into a nearby tree and crashed down to the ground. He was still alive though, do to his fierce physique as a BlueCrescent Boar.

Seeing the still capable opponent, Flame moved in for a more permanent solution. As Flame moved in, MoonBaby came to his senses. "Don't get cocky!" he yelled as he used the fourth form technique, "Last Quarter" and prepared a stance. His right arm raised to the sky, his left to the ground, and his feet sliding to make a triangle. With a deep breath, his right arm descended slowly and his left raised to meet Flame in the eye. Then the left arm retreated to his chest and the right sped to meet the Billowing Smoke. As it sped, the yellow energy condensed and shifted to blue before releasing a buzzing sound as wind was moved aside to not even produce an ounce of resistance.

One a third form technique, the other a fourth. Odds are, Flame was about to be seriously injured if he didn't throw in some effort. Throwing in as much power as possible, Flame released a fierce yell as the two forces met each other. Black and Blue filled the trees as the confused BlueCrescent Boars were sent crashing into each other by the fierce wind. But as they were thrown aside, a white figure dashed in with a smile on his face.

The collision continued for a few breaths before a inch was given Flame's way. Before it continued any further, he sent more power and nudged it MoonBaby's way. Then it inched back, before creating a back and forth motion. As this motion continued, the power released by the collision started to go out of control as it fought fiercely to leave their hands. Thinking he had no choice, Flame risked a step and threw his other fist into the mix and released a dragon-like roar before pushing at the power released.

The power started to cave in on MoonBaby's side and he yelled defiantly before he was consumed by the combined force of the Last Quarter and Billowing Smoke. Overwhelmed by the combined force, the light in his eyes gave out and he was banished from this world. A Beastlord gone, just like that. But as he was blown back, the white figure rushed in and batted aside the tossed MoonBaby with one hand.

Exhausted by the exchange, Flame had his hands on his knees as he gasped for breath. He had no time to notice the incoming figure before it was before him. With one hand up in the air, the figure sneered and back slapped Flame in the face. The unsuspecting Flame was tossed in the air and flown back onto the ground. With a groan, he raised himself up and saw a youth with white fur and black tipped nose. This was a Beastlord of the SmokeNose Mouse clan, Beastlord HavenSon.

The fun had only just begun, because other beastlords in the area had also felt the various clashes and were beginning to rouse themselves...

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That's the chapter folks. Battle chapter, just enough to stir a little excitement. Might be different from expectations but oh well. Consider this an arc of Flame and the Beastlords. MoonBaby was just the opening act to opening acts. Looks like the update wasn't needed. Hahaha. Hope you enjoy!