Although Su Min had already braced herself for a formidable foe, when she actually laid eyes on the tiger demon, she could not help but instinctively suck in a sharp, cold breath.
Under the pale moonlight, a gigantic tiger demon, as large as a small hill, lay quietly in a mountain clearing. Its massive chest rose and fell in a slow, powerful rhythm. Though it had not formally cultivated any techniques yet, it was already instinctively absorbing the faint essence of the sun and moon. Combined with the fresh life force brought back by the changgui it commanded from the village, its body had swelled to an even more monstrous size over the past few days.
Even though its actual cultivation level was only equivalent to the early Body Refining stage, a creature of this sheer size and natural power was extremely dangerous for Su Min at her current level. The Body Refining stage was not considered a true threshold for cultivation, it was a foundational phase where both humans and beasts were still heavily influenced by their raw physical form.
Moreover, at the same cultivation level, a bare handed human stood almost no chance against a beast in a contest of brute strength. But if that human wielded a weapon, that was a completely different story. Ancient humans had relied on sharpened spears to hunt ferocious beasts like mammoths and saber toothed tigers.
The same principle applied to cultivators. With the right spiritual treasure or enchanted weapon, one's combat ability was on an entirely different level. So while Su Min frowned at the sight, she was not panicking. Below her—
"Awoo..."
A low, rumbling sound vibrated in the tiger's chest. Sensing that its little changgui had returned with a full harvest, the tiger demon stretched its colossal limbs lazily and rose to its feet, its muscles rippling under its striped hide. By now, it was the undisputed ruler of these mountains. Ordinary flesh and blood no longer satisfied it. Only the condensed essence of human vitality could bring it any real pleasure. As it watched its spectral servant glide closer to deliver the gathered blood essence, something completely unexpected happened.
Snap!
A sharp, crisp sound, like a taut thread breaking, rang out across the clearing. The changgui simply exploded on the spot, its ethereal body bursting apart into a cloud of black mist. In an instant, the crimson spiritual energy it carried splattered across the grass, and its consciousness scattered back into the heavens and earth. Su Min had struck first from her hidden position. Along with the changgui's destruction, the small throwing knife she had used clattered to the ground. For her, low level spirits like that were no different from fragile soap bubbles, one precise spiritual poke and they popped.
The tiger stared blankly at the fallen knife for a single, stunned moment. Then, a deep, primal rage ignited in its eyes. It lifted its massive head and let out a deafening, earth shaking roar toward the sky.
"ROAR—!!!"
As the old saying went, a tiger's roar could shake the mountains and forests, and this was especially true when the tiger in question was a demon beast. Its furious cry echoed across the entire mountain range, and Su Min could physically feel the once silent night erupt into panicked chaos.
Beasts bolted from their dens, fleeing as far and as fast as they could. Birds abandoned their nests in a flurry of wings, and the area immediately around the roaring tiger turned into a dead zone, devoid of any other living creature. Meanwhile, in the village several mountains away, the villagers who had been anxiously waiting for news were completely caught off guard.
The roar was so powerful it terrified them to their core, making them feel their souls were about to leave their bodies. Chickens in their coops squawked wildly, cattle and sheep in their pens stampeded, and even the fiercest guard dogs went silent, whimpering and hiding in dark corners with their tails tucked tightly between their legs.
"T-this..."
The villagers exchanged stunned, pale faced glances. They had heard tigers roar before, but never one with such terrifying, penetrating force. Some of the more cowardly ones even lost control of their bladders. Now, all they could do was clasp their hands and pray desperately that the "fairy lady" would be able to subdle the beast.
"It has not absorbed much spiritual energy, but it has learned some basic innate techniques. Tiger's Might, huh?" Su Min analyzed coolly from her perch. "Oh, it spotted me."
The roar that sent every other animal running did not faze her at all. At that moment, the tiger demon's head swiveled, and its burning, intelligent gaze locked directly onto her position in the tree.
In the very next instant, it lunged forward with shocking speed and swung a massive, clawed paw. The ancient tree Su Min had been standing on, so thick it would take several people holding hands to encircle it, was snapped clean in half as if it were a dry twig. Su Min leapt lightly from the falling treetop, her body moving in harmony with the tumbling trunk.
"ROAR—!!!"
Another furious roar echoed, this one filled with killing intent. The tiger demon gathered its powerful hind legs and leapt upward a staggering twenty meters, its cavernous maw open wide, trying to swallow Su Min whole. But she remained completely calm amidst the chaos. With a solidified step of spiritual energy beneath her feet, she tapped the empty air lightly. Although she could not truly fly yet, using this trick to change directions midair was not too difficult for her.
Under the cold moonlight, the vastly mismatched figures of a human and a tiger crossed paths in the sky. Su Min descended gracefully like a falling leaf, her movements precise and elegant. Half a second after her feet touched the ground, the tiger slammed into the earth with a thunderous crash, the impact sending tremors through the soil. Demon beasts usually possessed far stronger bodies than humans, but for Su Min, who wielded a Life bound Spirit Treasure, that physical advantage meant little.
The massive size of the beast not only gave it great strength and endurance, but it also made its vital spots larger and easier to target. Half a second later, as the tiger shook off the impact—
BOOM!
The tiger demon slowly got back up, but this time it was not nearly as imposing. A dark stream of blood now poured down from a long, deep gash over one of its eyes. That was Su Min's handiwork during their brief aerial clash.
Her strength was terrifying compared to an ordinary person, but against this monster, brute force was not the solution. Instead, she used her superior speed and agility to strike at its most vulnerable points. In that single moment of passing, she had blinded one of its eyes. Though felines had sharp senses of smell and hearing, they still relied heavily on their vision for hunting and combat. Losing an eye immediately threw off the tiger's depth perception and balance.
"ROAR—!!!"
Its roar was now more a shriek of pain and rage. Its enormous body was no longer an unstoppable killing machine in Su Min's eyes, but more like a rickety, unstable house. A single well placed kick at a load bearing wall, and the whole thing would come crashing down. Seizing the opportunity as it staggered, she dashed forward in a blur. Another silvery slash—
Splat!
The tiger's remaining good eye burst in a shower of fluid. A cry of pure agony was cut short as its huge body toppled sideways like a mountain giving way. Su Min did not hesitate, she lunged forward and drove her slender sword deep into the soft flesh of its throat.
Instantly, she channeled a scorching wave of her spiritual energy through the blade and directly into the tiger's body. While its outer hide and muscles were powerful, its internal organs were still just as fragile as any creature's. The neck was close to the brain, and Su Min's goal was clear, she poured all her concentrated spiritual energy directly upward into its skull.
"Awooo—!!!"
The giant tiger howled in one last, short burst of agony, its body convulsing several times violently before falling completely, finally still. Blood slowly seeped out from its nostrils and mouth as its internal organs were shredded, and all signs of life vanished from its massive frame.
"Whew... Good thing I had this sword. My little fists might not have been enough to get through all that."
Su Min exhaled a long breath of relief as she observed the lifeless corpse. Sure, she could probably punch a cow to death now, but this tiger's sheer size, its thick hide, and dense bones? Fighting it bare handed, she would have needed way too many punches to make a difference.
"Once I reach the Qi Refining stage, the first thing I will do is further refine this weapon. Ugh—"
Suddenly, that now familiar, dizzying sensation washed over her again, a sign she was beginning to recognize.
In the very next moment, her vision swam, and Su Min's consciousness slipped seamlessly into a deep state of Enlightenment.