Shadow Mire Beast nonchalantly emerged from the dark shadow of an oak tree, opening its poison coated fangs. It lunged forward with irregular speed, claws tearing tacitly through the air towards Lian Nichang. With an instant jerk, Yun He pivoted her body towards Lian Nichang and rushed vehemently. A large-sized, clenched fist of an Ape formed around her right hand. She sprinted fastly towards Lian Nichang and leaped upward to land a devastating punch on the Shadow Mire Beast.

BOOM!

The impact threw Lian Nichang away, slamming into the hard-rock before halting. Yun He also staggered backward, a thick yellowish-grey smoke slithered across the place. After a few minutes, the smoke began to clear but the Shadow Mire beast was not there.

’Wh– Where is that beast?’ Yun He frowned with the thought in her brain.

Lian Nichang slowly rose, darting his head towards Yun He.

Whoosh!

In an instant, Yun He slammed into the large pine tree, the thunderous impact leaving a spiderweb crack on the trunk. Lian Nichang hadn’t even processed the speed of the attack before it was over. As his vision cleared, he realized what happened: the Shadow Mire beast had emerged from the dark shadow on the swampy ground beneath Yun He, kicking her with enough force to crack the tree.

"YUN HE!! Are you okay?" Lian Nichang bellowed, popping his neck bones which were hurt with the previous Yun He attack’s impact. "Be careful!! Stay away from dark swamp, if your shadow falls on a swampy ground the beast can emerge from there! Shadow Mire Beast using swampy ground to teleport."

"...."

"Y– Ye– Yes!!" Yun He spoke after a second of silence, listening to the warning of Lian Nichang. "I am fine..."

Lian Nichang dashed towards Yun He immediately, covering her back. Thanks to the Ape defense, Yun He took less damage from that vicious attack. Lian Nichang and Yun He darted their heads frantically searching for the Shadow Mire beast. Far left to Lian Nichang in a dark swampy ground, a pair of violet eyes grinned, watching the frantic students. Right away, the Shadow Mire beast emerged fully and lunged towards the students to attack.

"There it is.." Lian Nichang alerted, extending his hand up, a claw of the wolf formed around his hand. "Let’s bag this bastard’s beast core, Yun He!"

Yun He didn’t reply, having a confident smirk on her face. As Lian Nichang started sprinting towards the Shadow Mire beast, suddenly the Shadow Mire beast vanished and appeared beneath Lian Nichang. But Lian Nichang wasn’t scared. He just had an elegant smile on his face.

"Got you, bitch!" Lian Nichang jolted sideways instantly.

The Shadow Mire beast emerged from the swamp mist, appearing dazed and disoriented. Suddenly, a devastating punch landed on the creature; it was Yun He. The two students had coordinated this strategy perfectly: Lian Nichang had intentionally lured the beast toward the swampy ground, dodging just as it appeared. Yun He then unleashed the Might Ape Punch, delivering a strike so powerful it shattered the beast’s defenses. The creature’s black-scaled body was broken by the impact of the blow, sending debris and swamp water flying across the area. Pulpy flesh chucks clung to the robes of Lian Nichang and Yun He as they stood victorious.

"Tsk..." Lian Nichang clicked his tongue, smearing the flesh on his robes. "Disgusting!"

"Haha... Our strategy worked well, so we are able to kill a Rank 3 beast easily," Yun He asserted, walking towards the crunchy corpse of the Shadow Mire beast. "Let’s take its core."

A mass of crushed flesh and shattered white bones lay in front of Yun He. Her stomach churned with a nauseating sensation. She quickly placed the hand above the mass, retrieved the beast core, and rushed to the side to vomit. Even though Lian Nichang and Yun He brutally killed the beast, their eyes became frantic seeing the dead mass of the beast. They rigidly walked out from that place immediately.

"We finally have a Rank 3 beast core, Yun He," Lian Nichang excited, seeing the shimmering blue beast core in the storage bag. "If we get another Rank 3 beast co—"

"Luck saved us now, brainless bastard," Yun He scolded, snatching the bag from Lian Nichang. "Don’t be greedy!"

Lin Yuan’s Group.

"Now!! Attack, Lin Yuan," Chen Ming screamed frantically, watching a Vinecrawler Lizard.

Followed by the words, instantly a beam shot out from the hands of Lin Yuan piercing the head of the lizard. It was a Rank 2 beast. Chen Ming strolled towards the Vinecrawler Lizard’s corpse.

"This fucking lizard..." Chen Ming slurred, reaching out the corpse. A green beast core formed forthwith. He bagged the beast core instantly. "Two more.. Lin Yuan!"

"Hehehe... We will win this trial for sure, Chen Ming," Lin Yuan guffawed, popping the knuckles.

As they went deep into the forest, the swampy grounds, dark oak trees were more in their vicinity. Lin Yuan yawned, getting bored of not finding any beasts for two hours.

"Let’s take a nap, Chen Ming," Lin Yuan asked, marching towards a tree shade. "We will go search again this evening."

"Don’t be lazy, Lin Yuan," Chen Ming sneered with an annoyed look on his face. "Winning is our goal..."

"Yeah! Yeah! I know it," Lin Yuan spoke with nonchalance. "But taking a nap for 2-3 hours is okay!"

Chen Ming nodded confusingly, walking to the tree shade. Lin Yuan and Chen Ming leaned to the tree trunk, snapping their eyes shut.

****

Ying Yue’s group.

"We have two Rank 2 beast cores, and five Rank 1 beast cores now, Su Wan’er," Ying Yue demonstrated, counting the beast cores in the storage bag. "But Rank 1 beast cores are not useful for winning this trial... We need three more Rank 2 beast cor—"

Su Wan’er was cleansing her hands and face in the lake three paces away from Ying Yue.

Splash!

A flash of blue slashed Su Wan’er’s cheek, sending her staggering back as she clutched the wound. From a shimmering golden mist rising off the bank, the attacker emerged: an elegant Mistfin Carp. A Rank 2 Beast, it can leap from the water like a ricocheting blade, striking from up to ten meters away before vanishing back into the water again.

Ying Yue rushed toward the riverbank. The Mistfin carp leapt again toward Su Wan’er. Su Wan’er crouched down instantly, allowing Ying Yue to strike from behind. Energy from the wolf hand cloaked Ying Yue’s fist as she slashed the creature. The lethal attack struck the carp, plunging it back into the water. However, the Mistfin carp’s main advantage is its healing prowess; its golden mist can heal such a wound in ten seconds.

The Mistfin carp leapt again to slash the Ying Yue neck. Ying Yue was ready to counter-attack...

WHOOSH!!

Suddenly, a pitch-black panther lunged onto the carp, snatching it into its mouth and swallowing it in one gulp. The panther halted and turned back, opening its sharp fangs with viscous liquid drooling out.

"Beautiful Bitches!" A rumbling male voice reached out from the side where the panther appeared.

Ying Yue and Su Wan’er snapped their heads in that direction. A tall, young man walked out from the pathway, his red-hair whipping against the wind. He was Xiao Lingtian, a Core Beast Realm - Lower Stage Cultivator, and an epic beast — Panther — holder. He recently nurtured his aperture into Core Beast Realm , before coming back to his house. He walked sluggishly towards Su Wan’er. She staggered backward frantically, her large boobs jiggled once.

"Don’t be scared, pretty lady," Xiao Lingtian soothed, tucking a strand of Su Wan’er beside her ear. "I just want some information... I will let you live!"

"W-What information?" Su Wan’er groaned, her face filled with fear.

"Shut the fuck up and move away from her, you bastard," Ying Yue yelled, rushing towards Su Wan’er.

Thud! 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Instantly, the panther lunged into the middle of Ying Yue and Su Wan’er.

"Don’t be stupid," Xiao Lingtian grinned, harshly clutching the white-hair of Su Wan’er. "Just tell me the whereabouts of the person who killed Xiao Chen, and I will not harm either of you."

Ying Yue frowned, taking a step backward. Now, she has an idea who the person in front of them is. ’He was Xiao Lingtian, brother of dead Xiao Chen,’ Ying Yue thought, her hands shivering in a violent way.

"SPEAK NOW!" Xiao Lingtian threw Su Wan’er onto the ground in front of the Panther.

"W-We don’t know a-about that... Only master Mo Qin—"

The pitch-black panther struck instantly, its powerful paw slashing at Su Wan’er. With a sickening snap, her neck broke, turning her head a brutal 180 degrees.

"AHHHHHHH!" Ying Yue screamed, her eyes filled with sheer panic and fear.

"Don’t scream, you bitch!" Xiao Lingtain marched toward Ying Yue. "If you don’t say his name, my panther will have a tender feast today!"

Ying Yue wept, falling onto her knees. She was utterly terrified, having just witnessed the brutal, senseless death of her friend.

"Lin Yuan..." Ying Yue whimpered, her voice barely a whisper.

Yet, her voice reached to Xiao Lingtian. He climbed onto the panther, ordering it forward.

"LIN YUAN!! YOU BASTARD!! I AM COMING!!" Xiao Lingtian roared, plunging away into the distance within seconds.