Hot blood sprayed across the clearing, each drop sizzling like molten lead. Wang Fang didn't stop to breathe. His sword was a silver blur, whistling through the air until it met the skull of a Black Fang Wolf, splitting it clean in two.
He barely had time to wrench his blade free before the earth began to tremble. Two Ironhide Boars erupted from the chaotic sea of fur and claws, their massive tusks aimed directly at his ribs. As they closed the gap, the very air around Wang Fang seemed to thicken, heavy with the weight of their charge.
He flashed a sudden, wild grin.
"I don't think a sword is enough for this," he muttered.
With a grunt, he slammed his blade deep into the dirt, leaving it standing upright. "Fine then. I'll use my fists!"
He didn't just punch; he launched his fist like a falling asteroid. The blow met the first boar head-on, the force shattering the beast's skull like a dry mushroom. As the second beast reached him, Wang Fang twisted his waist, putting his entire weight into a whip-like kick. A visible shockwave rippled through the air, and the sound of every bone in the boar's body snapping echoed through the woods.
"Granny," he wheezed, "you're really trying to kill me today."
From the sidelines, Old Lady Shen's eyes glimmered with genuine shock. He had reached a level she hadn't anticipated, especially for a boy who hadn't mastered a single form of technique.
"Wang Fang!" she shouted. "Use your Qi. And stop holding back!"
The distraction cost him. A Black Fang Wolf lunged from his blind spot, its claws raking across his back. It wasn't deep, but the sting was sharp. Old lady shen's gaze darkened, she saw the blood, her heart tightening.
Wang Fang didn't panic. He ripped his sword from the ground and flooded the steel with Qi. "AHHHHH!"
He swing the sword. In an instant a massive wave of qi erupted from the blade, spreading out like a tide of blue flame. It tore through the forest, reaping fifty beasts in a single, devastating instant.
But the light in his eyes flickered. His shoulders slumped, and his breath came in ragged gasps. Too much, he thought, his vision swimming. I used too much Qi at once. And it drains my stamina a lot.
He looked toward where the old lady sat, hoping for a sign of help, but she remained still. He thought to himself,Is she really going to watch me die? Or is she waiting for... something?
He whisper why his eyes narrowed to the ground.it doesn't matter,if she helps or what something from me in this battle.
While his mind wandered, a Stoneback Bear took its chance. The massive creature slammed into him with the force of a collapsing mountain. The shockwave sent Wang Fang flying backward, his body snapping through a thick tree trunk before he hit the dirt.
"Wang Fang!" Old lady shen voice was cold now, cutting through his daze. "You will die here if you don't go all out!"
He lay in the dirt, the world spinning. As his eyes rolled back, memories surfaced, jagged and broken like a TV with no signal. He saw the Eternal Flame Sect. He saw the fire, the screaming disciples, and the brutal image of Elder Mu Ziyan's head falling to the ground, and the explosion that put is mother in a life and death state.
Then, he heard his father's voice. Wang Yun.The memory acted like a cold bucket of water. Wang Fang exhaled, a long, steady breath that pushed the pain aside. He stood up slowly. His sword was gone, buried somewhere in the brush, but he didn't reach for it.
"I don't have to rush," he whispered, his voice steady for the first time. "Granny was right. I am weak."
But that not true, Old lady shen said.
As Wang fang clenched his fists, his Qi didn't just flicker, it roared