Chapter 185

Lykan

The Expert

Call it karmic justice, or maybe something far more sinister at play, but Lykan was ready to face off against nearly any form of monster that emerged from the impact crater. Yet, when the monster that appeared from the crater resembled a human, if only a slightly smaller version of a human, Lykan almost found himself pausing. Only years of dedication and commitment to forcing his body to move over his mental actions, caused him to strike first.

Wham!

Lykan connected with such force that he felt qi particles fracture off of the being he struck. As he struck, he could feel strands of loosened qi floating about. Potent qi, that Lykan found his own body hungrily devouring.

Mere moments before the battle Lykan had forced his cultivation up to the second tier once more, though this time he was able to cultivate all four elements with force. This was good as the vessel the alien creature landed in practically radiated qi in different elemental forms. The vessel itself was a vessel of earthen qi that had been altered to travel through space more easily. The fiery entrance to the planet’s surface caused air qi to be infused with ambient particles of condensed energy. Energy that would be toxic to most forms of life on the planet, but particles that were able to at least be absorbed by Lykan’s enhanced cultivation. Even it consuming such qi did feel like breathing in pure smoke and ash. Finally, there was the heat energy caused by the vessel as it entered the planet’s surface. This too proved to be a conduit for siphoning off qi intended for the vessel’s sole inhabitant.

Even with multiple layers of qi burnt off, or otherwise stripped away from the adversary. It was clear that Lykan was easily outmatched. First, the monster was capable of a mastery of qi control that went well above anyone Lykan had ever seen. Even in his mind, while trying to come up with contingency plans for just such an event, he had not conceived that someone would be so vastly overpowered as to be vastly more powerful than himself, even after multiple layers of compacted qi cultivation were stripped away. That was why he found the resistance to his initial strike so jarring.

His strike was sudden, unexpected, and above all unprotected against. Yet, despite all these factors. Despite Lykan infusing his body with cycled qi, his strike did nothing. Worse, it did next to nothing.

Wham!

The monster of an alien recovered and struck back at Lykan. Feeling the movement and anticipating such a retaliatory blow, Lykan was already moving out of the way of the strike, but to no avail.

Crunch.

Lykan felt his ribs crack from the strike that sent him upwards into the sky. Fortunately for Lykan, he was still floating in the air. This likely took away some of his kinetic force from his own strike, but took away a lot of the force of his attackers.

This way, rather than flying off into the distance, Lykan only flew up, until his mind was able to enact control over the air around him. First, he began by slowing his ascent. Then when his momentum finally stopped, he let the wind currents slow his descent to the ground until finally he was twenty meters above the ground.

During this whole time Lykan used the moment to let his body heal.

Regeneration was one of his first skills he learned and had always been something he took for granted, except for times like this. Even moving hurt, as his body slowly knit itself together. Even with the protection of his qi woven skin and bones, he knew his quality of qi was too light, too brittle compared to the qi this cultivator was shedding off like an old serpent’s skin.

“How long have you been here?” The monster spoke.

At first Lykan was confused, but then realized his actual first skill. The skill Universal Linguist was likely at play with this translation. Realizing that stalling for time would only help Lykan’s bones knit back together he decided to speak the truth.

“All my life.” Lykan answered, the alien language feeling oddly comfortable on his tongue.

“All your life yet you know the proper tongue. Clearly you are an outcast royal like myself. Someone who made an enemy too large to stop. So you ended up here as well. Why do you attack me. We could be allies. This planet will soon be fully saturated with qi. If you play your cards right, you might even be able to get to the stage of immortality.” The youth spoke.

Hearing the monster speak, Lykan couldn’t help but feel that this person was young. While Lykan knew that he himself was young in the grand scheme of things, it was clear that this person before him was a peerless genius. One who had more than enough powers to conquer their tiny planet many times over.

Cough.

The alien coughed painfully for a moment.

“This air, how can you breathe it? Even now I feel my lungs burning.” The alien spoke.

As he spoke, Lykan could feel Pentra coming forward, though she wisely kept her distance.

Holding up his hand for Pentra to stop, the invader turned his head and looked. “You brought a slave with you?” He asked, a note of derision in his voice. Then peering at her longer for a moment, a look of confusion washed over his face. “You taught her to cultivate?”

Hearing this Lykan felt that there was something to the statement. “Yes, I am her master.”

Hearing that admission, the alien nodded. “I can see your influences on her cultivation. I take it the pregnant one off on the mountains is also your disciple.”

“Pregnant?” Lykan asked, as he found his eyes shifting off to the distance, off to where Brenna was.

Clap!

The attack came so quickly that Lykan even up in the air could only spin his body partly out of the way.

Whoom!

The force of the blow clipped Lykan so hard that his circulating qi within his body was stopped momentarily. Fortunately, Lykan had long since grown past the point of just needing qi to keep him afloat. As he also circulated his mana within his closed secondary meridian channels.

Lykan looked around for the attacker, only to see that he had traveled underneath Lykan. Looking down Lykan saw that had he fallen, had qi been his only source of power available to him, he would have fallen and likely been killed on the spot.

Fortunately, Lykan was a true native of this world. One who could cultivate both Mana and Qi.

Still that attack had been powerful. Even now, Lykan felt his body fighting to regain control of the densely powerful qi that was circulating his body. Qi that he had never felt before in such intensity. Qi that practically burned with how much raw power it contained.

Lykan began moving about, not wanting to sit still long enough for his would be attacker to get another clear shot off at him.

Cough.

“I have to hand it to you. You are fast. I thought for certain your low level qi cultivation would be nothing for my Qi Disruption Technique. The boy said arrogantly.”

“I must admit your attack was impressive. If what you said was correct, if I only had Qi at my disposal, then you are correct I would have surely been at your mercy. But again, I am a true inhabitant of this world, and we have developed ways to combat invaders like you.”

“Oh, and what would that be…” His voice trialed off, as he made another clapping strike in the air.

Fortunately for Lykan, he was prepared for such an attack, and used this attack to get in close. As the wave of energy came close to him, he nimbly dodged out of the way.

“Good form. I must admit you flying types are the worst for me to deal with. At least at first, eventually though, you must come down. That is when I will find you and stop you.”

“Looks like I will need to end this before we get to that point.” Lykan said. There was no sign of cockiness, nor of disrespect in his words. Rather, he spoke of someone who knew they must put out the fire on a burning building if for no other reason than they were the only one capable of such a feat.

“Well then fellow exile, I have for you a counteroffer.” The alien spoke.

“Let’s hear it.” Lykan said, again letting his mind and body come up with a plan to counter such a monster of a person. The fact that this being far outclassed him in cultivation was undeniable. Even with his second tier of cultivation he was nothing in comparison to this monster.

Still, he had to come up with something. Too much was at stake.

Cough.

Once again, the alien coughed. As burning qi dust filled the air. Still seeing the way this alien seemed to be acting with the environment let Lykan know that something was clearly wrong. Maybe the planet was as qi saturated as the alien had expected? Though Lykan didn’t want to fall for that possible trap, it could very well be a way to lure him into a false sense of security.

“What do you say, we split this world in half. Surely a planet this size is more than enough for four cultivators, or however many of you have already come.” The monster said.

At that Lykan couldn’t help but feel that there was something to his words. This world was surely vast, their weeklong trek across the ocean was testament to just how large the planet truly was. Yet, Lykan felt that this was the trap. The idea that if he gave this monster time, he would succumb due to its inability to adapt to the atmosphere of this world. Of course, Lykan knew better. He was far enough along in his cultivation to know that he could, if needed, go for days without breathing. So, for a cultivator who was so much further along in their own cultivation, he knew that even having a planet that wasn’t fully integrated would be nothing.

This was the alien’s play with their feigning weakness. They would garner trust to stay here, then likely come back to strike at him and his family when they least expected an attack. That was something that Lykan could not allow to stand.

Almost as soon as Lykan came to that conclusion clap!

The clouds erupted as the largest infused qi strike Lykan had ever felt hurled through the air. This time the burst was enough to not only stop his qi circulation but also his mana circulation as well.

Whoop, woop, wham.

The world spun around, as his orientation and vision changed drastically. One second the sky, next the ground, then the sky again. He was falling.

Worse, not only was he falling, but he noticed the way the alien monster surged forward to strike at him. This time, he would take care of Lykan for good.

Everything burned.

Alien qi forced its way into his large channels, causing a build up of energy and force to prevail. For a moment he thought this would be it, that he would die here and now. Out classed and out matched by a stronger and faster opponent.

Then an idea struck Lykan.

Something stupid, something that he would never think about doing, unless it was life or limb. The idea was as crazy as it was brilliant. He remembered the arcing pain that coursed through his body when he first was exposed to qi. How his body had nearly died on him multiple times over. How it had only been a blessing from the gods that allowed him to live, let alone fly once more.

Still, this was all he could do.

Everything came down to this one key moment in time.

He felt his mind blurring with pain, as his own body stopped circulating blood. Everything seemingly stopped circulating through his body, everything except for his mana. His mana that was on a vastly different network, one that could be stopped by a sudden overloading of his nervous system, but couldn’t be stopped with power blockages the way his qi was.

Gathering all of his ambient mana in the palm of his right hand, he struck out, at the exact moment that the alien reached up to strike him while falling.

BOOM!

Double Strike.