The first beast lunged forward, jaws opening wide.

  "Move!"

  Huo Chen shouted at the wolf. His foot slammed into the earth. Three walls of compacted stone erupted upward in front of the diving beast, rising between them in a single breath.

  The Shadow Wolf bolted sideways.

  WHOOSH.

  Huo Chen was already gone. His body shot toward the second beast, the distance collapsing in an instant. His claw gloves caught the light as his fist drove toward its head.

  The beast's claw met his strike.

  CLANG.

  Metal and bone collided with a crack that split the air. The ground beneath them shattered, cracks spreading outward in jagged lines.

  The beast's second claw came sweeping in from the side, aiming for his ribs.

  Huo Chen twisted and used the force from their collision to launch himself upward. The claw passed beneath him, cutting through empty space.

  He rose above the beast's head already initiating the next attack.

  Earthen spikes erupted from the ground below. Sharp, thick, driven upward with explosive force. They punched through the beast's underbelly, tearing through flesh and organs.

  The creature shrieked as the spikes lifted it off the ground, impaling it completely. Huo Chen was already descending. Earth qi flooded into his claw gloves, sharpening the metal edges until they hummed with compressed energy.

  He spread his hands wide and brought his right arm down in a vicious slash.

  RIIIP.

  The claws entered at the base of the beast's wing and ripped downward. Bone shattered. Flesh tore. He dragged the strike all the way through, splitting the wing completely from shoulder to tip.

  Blood sprayed across the rocks.

  Behind him, stone exploded. The first beast crashed through the third earthen wall, fragments scattering in all directions.

  It launched itself forward with terrifying speed, gliding low across the ground, claws extended. Huo Chen was still in the air above the impaled beast.

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  The first beast's claw came up fast, aimed straight at him. An earthen wall shot up between them. The beast's strike hit the wall with a BOOM that echoed across the savannah.

  Huo Chen landed on the opposite side, his feet hitting the ground in a crouch. He slid backward immediately, putting distance between himself and the charging beast.

  The wall crumbled. The first beast burst through and stopped, its eyes moving from Huo Chen to the other beast hanging lifeless on the earthen spikes. Dead.

  The first beast's body went rigid. It turned its head back to Huo Chen, lips pulling back to expose bloodstained teeth. A growl built in its throat—low, deep, filled with rage.

  Then it turned and ran.

  Its wings spread and it launched into the air, climbing fast and hard, putting distance between itself and the battlefield.

  Huo Chen watched it for a single breath .

  Then his foot came down hard on the ground.

  THUMM.

  Vibrations spread outward in all directions, feeding information back to him—a full sweep of the area, every presence within range tracked through the stone. No cultivators. Just distant beasts, too far to matter.

  His earth clone emerged from his body. The clone's feet left the ground immediately. It landed on a nearby boulder in complete silence, then launched forward again. Ground to boulder. Boulder to ground. It moved between them with explosive speed, its body a blur as it tracked the beast climbing into the sky.

  Huo Chen turned to the dead beast impaled on the spikes. In one smooth motion, he grabbed its body and shoved it into his storage bag. The spikes crumbled to dust as the weight disappeared.

  He started running. The wolf fell in beside him, its legs pumping hard to keep pace. The beast was flying higher now, heading toward the mountains in the distance. Blood dripped from its wounds, leaving a trail across the sky.

  The clone moved ahead of them like a ghost. Silent. Fast. It crossed the rocky terrain without breaking rhythm—boulder to ground sprinting a bit then ground to boulder, closing the distance effortlessly.

  Huo Chen's mind worked as he ran. 'Looking forward to what I'll find in its lair.'

  The mountains grew larger with each passing minute. The terrain changed, becoming rockier, the ground sloping upward.

  The beast angled toward one of the tallest peaks. The mountain's sides were smooth—almost polished—offering no natural handholds. Climbing it normally would be impossible for most cultivators.

  Near the top, a dark opening appeared in the mountain face—a cave carved into the stone. The beast folded its wings slightly and dove inside, disappearing into the shadows.

  The earth clone reached the base of the mountain and stopped. It stood perfectly still, head tilted back, staring at the cave far above. Huo Chen arrived moments later with the wolf beside him.

  Then—

  BANG.

  The clone crouched and jumped straight up. Its hands touched the mountain surface once—just a brief contact—and it pushed off, launching higher.

  Another touch. Another push. The movements looked effortless, each one carrying it dozens of meters upward. It climbed fast, closing the distance to the cave entrance with every leap.

  Partway up the mountain, still some distance below the cave opening, it stopped.

  The switch happened.

  Huo Chen appeared where the clone had been, his body parallel to the mountain face. His hands and feet pressed against the stone, earth Qi holding him in place. For a moment he hung there, muscles coiled.

  Then he pushed.

  His body shot upward, momentum carrying him the rest of the way in a single burst. He twisted mid-flight and his feet hit the ledge in front of the cave entrance.

  He landed in a crouch, claws extended, eyes fixed on the darkness ahead.