As Jingyi left through the entrance, unbeknownst to her, Li Wen's servant was still tracking her every move. As Jingyi exited the village, the servant quickly alerted the guard to go to quickly inform Li Wen. The guard, eager to teach Jingyi a lesson, eagerly relayed the information to Li Wen.

  Upon receiving the news, Li Wen's lips curled into a cruel smile. "Send five men after her," he ordered. "If she finds nothing, beat her to near death and bring her to me. If she finds anything valuable, kill her. Oh and bring back the money she took from me."

  The men nodded, fully aware of their master's sadistic tendencies. They knew the real intent behind his orders—Li Wen wanted to toy with the young girl, savoring her suffering. His last toy a young woman who was set to marry the man she loved had her life ruined completely. Li Wen killed her fiancé, ruined her family, and even had her violated so she killed herself. Now he had set his sights on Jingyi.

  Having received their orders the group of men wearing black exited the room and ran towards the village entrance. Jingyi moved through the forest unaware of the danger closing in behind her. Her mind was set on the tiger and the potential to harness its power. She retraced her steps from the previous day, moving quickly through the dense forest.

  As dawn broke, casting a pale light over the forest, Jingyi reached the clearing where she had last seen the tiger battle the bear. The area was eerily quiet, the aftermath of the previous day's battle still evident in the trampled grass and splatters of dried blood. Jingyi scanned the surroundings, looking for any signs of the tiger.

  It didn't take long for her to spot the faint trail of blood leading deeper into the forest. She followed it cautiously, her senses on high alert. Every rustle of leaves and snap of a twig set her nerves on edge, but she pressed on determined to find the tiger in its weakened state.

  Meanwhile, Li Wen's men were hot on her trail, moving swiftly and silently through the forest. They kept their distance, biding their time, confident that they could easily overpower Jingyi and any helper she had when the moment was right.

  Jingyi finally found the tiger lying in the cave as she had previously guessed, its body convulsing slightly while undergoing the transformation into a demonic beast. Its fur had already begun to shimmer with a red otherworldly glow, and the air around it seemed charged with a strange energy. Jingyi knew that she didn’t have much time so she had to act quickly.

  She approached the tiger cautiously, her sword at the ready. The tiger's eyes flicked open, filled with a mix of pain and fury. It let out a low growl, but its movements were sluggish and weak. Jingyi would need to deliver a swift and precise strike to end its life near the end of the transformation and claim the demon core.

  Before she could act, however, a shout rang out, breaking the silence of the forest. Jingyi whirled around to see Li Wen's men emerging from the trees, their expressions predatory. "Well, well," one of them sneered. "Looks like the little thief found something after all."

  Jingyi’s eyes scanned the approaching men—five in total. Their movements were confident, disciplined, and far too coordinated to be mere thugs. She recognized the insignia on their black robes, embroidered subtly along their sleeves. These weren’t just any villagers—they were personal enforcers, and they belonged to Li Wen.

  Of course. It had been too easy. She should have anticipated it. Was there an error in her coding for her to miss such an obvious turn of events?

  "You’ve got some nerve," the lead man said, his voice thick with amusement as he stepped forward, a curved blade resting casually on his shoulder. "That meat and silver or your life? Consider it rent. But now, Little Miss Hunter, you've made yourself… very interesting."

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  Jingyi didn’t reply. Her body moved slightly, shifting to block their view of the half-transformed tiger still convulsing behind her. Its breath came in slow, ragged gasps. Time was running out—either she killed it and took the core, or she lost everything.

  But five enemies. The wounded of a little girl with a sword. A dying demon beast she couldn’t turn her back on. It wasn’t just a bad situation—it was a calculated trap.

  {Scan... Scanning... Complete. Estimated chance of victory in direct combat: 0.008%. Recommend: Tactical diversion.}

  Her mind spun. They didn’t know about the tiger—yet. That was the only edge available in this scenario and if use properly then the percentage of survival would increase exponentially.

  "I suggest you turn around and run," Jingyi said flatly, stepping sideways just enough to let a flicker of the demonic glow from behind her illuminate the space between them. "Because in five minutes, this beast becomes something your pitiful blades can't handle."

  The men hesitated. One of them squinted past her. “What the hell is that glow?”

  "The belongs to the creature that will end your lives," Jingyi replied, her voice chillingly neutral. "Unless you kill it first."

  She raised her sword in a calm motion, as if presenting them a choice.

  Two of the men faltered. The leader, however, scoffed. "She's bluffing. Kill the girl first, then we get whatever prize she's protecting."

  Wrong move.

  Jingyi dropped a flash pellet from her pouch, slamming it into the ground. A burst of blinding white light exploded in the narrow space. The men yelled in surprise, instinctively shielding their eyes.

  {Target blinded. Opportunity window: 3.2 seconds.}

  Jingyi moved without hesitation.

  But instead of delivering a killing blow to the tiger’s heart, she angled her strike to the side—piercing its shoulder. Deep enough to wound. Deliberate enough to destabilize.

  The tiger’s body convulsed violently as its half-completed transformation was suddenly disrupted. Red veins of unstable Qi surged across its fur. Its muscles spasmed, eyes glowing crimson. The beast let out a guttural, agonized roar—one that echoed through the forest like a crashing wave of fury.

  {Condition triggered: Qi Deviation. Target is now Berserk.}

  Jingyi’s body was hit by a burst of wild spiritual force as the beast flailed. A claw slashed across her side—fast, unexpected. She staggered back, blood blooming across her robe, but her reflexes allowed her to rotate her body just in time. The wound was shallow.

  She dropped low and rolled behind a fallen log just as the tiger’s rage-filled eyes turned from her to the five black-clad men emerging from the trees.

  One of them raised a sword. “What the hell is wrong with that thing?!”

  Too late.

  The tiger lunged.

  Its clawed paw struck the first man mid-leap, crushing his ribcage with a sickening crack. He was dead before his body hit the ground. Another man screamed as the beast’s tail whipped around like a flail, hurling him into a nearby tree. His spine bent unnaturally. Silence.

  “Fall back!” one of them shouted, panic setting in as the full horror of the rampaging demon tiger tore through their ranks. Its strength had increased tenfold in its berserk state, but its movements were erratic, wild—driven by agony and madness.

  From her cover, Jingyi watched in silence.

  {Tiger's state: Berserk. Target priorities reset. Due to lack of cultivation, this body is no longer seen as a primary threat.}

  Her fingers pressed against her bleeding side, numbing the pain a sensation she was still not used to. This was not the clean absorption she had planned—but the situation was still usable. She had gambled on the chaos. Now the pieces were moving as needed.

  The third man tried to leap above the tiger’s head, aiming for its exposed neck. The beast twisted mid-air and caught him by the leg. With a roar, it slammed him down with bone-crushing force.

  That left only two.

  The leader and one other, both clearly stronger and more composed. They moved with discipline, circling opposite sides, slashing at the tiger with glowing blades. The beast howled, lashing back with savage precision.

  For now, Jingyi remained hidden. Her eyes, glowing faintly with golden rings of calculation, tracked every movement.

  This was a chessboard, and the tiger was her bishop—sacrificed to break open the enemy's line.

  One of the remaining men launched a thunderous palm technique, slamming into the tiger’s flank. The blast tore through fur and flesh—but the beast didn’t fall. It turned and pounced, jaws snapping down on the man’s shoulder and ripping him free of the earth.

  Only the leader remained now, blood splattered across his robes, his expression hard. He looked toward the brush where Jingyi had disappeared.

  “I’ll make you scream for this, girl—”

  The tiger's tail impaled him through the stomach.

  His eyes widened. The words died in his throat.

  The battle was over.

  The demon tiger, panting, bloodied, and dying, staggered as it tried to remain upright. Its body was barely holding together, Qi surging and shattering every meridian in a feedback loop.

  Jingyi stood slowly from behind the log. She walked toward the beast.

  It looked at her with a flicker of recognition—pain, rage, defiance.

  "Thank you for your help," she said in a calm, emotionless manner.

  Then she drove her sword through its eye, striking its brain.

  The Qi explosion was smaller than it would’ve been during a proper transformation—but enough to make her stagger.

  When the mist settled, the demon core floated upward—unstable, but intact.

  She reached out and grasped it.