A guttural growl rolled through the trees, deep and reverberating, sending a chill through the humid night air.

  Juwon and Bai Xueling stood motionless by the riverbank, their senses sharpening. The once-serene moonlit clearing now felt suffocating, the shadows between the trees stretching unnaturally.

  Juwon’s smirk faded, his muscles tensing. "That doesn’t seem like a normal wild animal."

  Bai Xueling’s silver eyes flickered as she focused, her Qi subtly flowing beneath her skin. "It isn’t."

  The underbrush trembled, branches snapping under unseen weight. Then, from the darkness, it stepped forward—a creature unlike anything they had seen. It had once been a black leopard, but its body was grotesquely altered.

  Dark veins pulsed along its hide, its eyes glowing an unnatural shade of crimson. Its claws, longer than they should be, gleamed under the moonlight, and its breath came out in ragged, unnatural puffs of air.

  Juwon narrowed his eyes. A mutated beast.

  Behind them, the flickering light of the campfire barely reached through the thick foliage. The others were likely still resting, unaware of what lurked beyond the treeline.

  "We need to take this thing down before it reaches camp," Bai Xueling said, already shifting into a defensive stance.

  Juwon cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders. "Guess I’ll finally see how Wudang’s perfect duelist fights."

  Bai Xueling didn’t rise to the bait. "Stay focused."

  The beast tensed, its muscles coiling like a spring. Then, in the blink of an eye, it lunged.

  At the Campfire

  Back at the camp, Yan Huai lazily tossed a twig into the fire, watching the embers flicker. "You hear that?"

  Xu Weishan, who had been resting against a tree with his arms crossed, opened one eye. "Hear what?"

  Zhen Yu had his sword resting across his lap, eyes still sharp despite his relaxed posture. "Something’s moving in the forest. Too heavy to be wind."

  Luo Qing, who had been keeping watch, stood up, adjusting his tactical suit. "Juwon and Bai Xueling aren’t here. Either they wandered off for a midnight stroll, or—"

  A roar shook the ground, cutting him off.

  Yan Huai shot to his feet. "Alright. Midnight stroll theory is dead."

  Xu Weishan was already moving, his iron bracers clanking as he rolled his shoulders. "We need to back them up."

  Luo Qing smirked, drawing his daggers. "Let’s see if fearless leader can handle himself first. If not, we’ll clean up his mess."

  The Fight Begins

  The mutated leopard was fast—too fast. It swiped at Juwon with unnatural speed, its claws slicing through the air just as he dodged, feeling the rush of displaced wind against his face.

  Its attacks were erratic, but they carried lethal intent.

  Bai Xueling moved like a ghost, her robes barely shifting as she sidestepped a strike. Her hand glowed faintly with Qi, forming a blade-thin edge of energy as she countered, slicing a tiny bit of the beast’s shoulder.

  The leopard screeched, stepping back momentarily. Its wounds however minimal, began to stitch themselves together unnaturally fast.

  Juwon clicked his tongue. "Regeneration? That’s annoying."

  Bai Xueling nodded. "This isn't a normal mutation. Something—someone—did this."

  The beast lunged again, but before it could reach them, a whirling glaive shot through the air, embedding itself into the ground just inches from its claw.

  Yan Huai’s voice rang out through the clearing. "Alright, alright. Can’t let you two have all the fun."

  The rest of the team had arrived.

  Luo Qing twirled his daggers, stepping into the moonlight. "Think this thing bleeds?"

  Zhen Yu unsheathed his sword with a sharp, clean sound. "Let’s find out."

  Juwon took a deep breath, then smirked. "Alright, teamwork test starts now. Let’s put this thing down."

  The battle erupted in a blur of movement. Juwon quickly realized something—while he was strong, his attacks needed buildup. His Qi had to flow through his meridians, but the others? They moved as if Qi was an extension of their very being.

  Zhen Yu struck first, his Crescent Sever flashing in the dark—a sword arc too fast to follow. There was no delay, no Qi buildup, just an instantaneous release of power. The beast shrieked as the energy blade cut deep.

  Juwon’s eyes widened. Instant Qi activation. Hah so that’s the difference.

  Before the beast could react, Xu Weishan planted his feet, his Qi Aura expanding around him like an invisible pressure field.

  The moment the leopard stepped within range, its movements slowed slightly, as if pushing against an unseen force.

  Another difference.

  Core Formation cultivators suppress everything around them.

  Luo Qing vanished into the shadows, then reappeared behind the beast, daggers glowing faintly. "Let’s test this thing’s reflexes." He vanished again, his Phantom Veil Steps leaving afterimages as he struck the beast’s legs, cutting tendons and weakening its stance.

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  Bai Xueling barely moved as the beast lashed out at her. With the flick of her wrist, she activated Heaven’s Mirror Formation, a transparent barrier forming in an instant.

  The beast’s own force rebounded, sending it staggering backward.

  Juwon exhaled sharply. "They aren’t just stronger—they fight on a completely different level."

  His realization hit like a hammer. Foundation Establishment cultivators store and refine Qi. Core Formation cultivators command it. Their Qi didn’t need time to gather—it was instant. Their presence alone suppressed weaker enemies.

  Their bodies had adapted, naturally reinforcing them against attacks. Whereas for Foundation establishment, reinforcements are made utilising the Qi in the meridians.

  This… this is Core Formation.

  But there was no time to think further. The beast roared again, its wounds sealing even faster than before.

  Juwon’s smirk returned. Fine. If they wanted to show off what Core Formation could do, he’d show them how a Foundation Establishment cultivator fights against the odds.

  But before he could move, the beast did something no one expected—its Qi flared.

  A deep hum resonated through the air as the mutated leopard’s body began to glow faintly with dark blue energy.

  A sudden surge of Qi formed at its core, and without warning, it opened its maw and unleashed a howling blast of wind, followed by a crackling arc of lightning, tearing through the ground with terrifying force.

  Bai Xueling’s eyes widened. "That… that was wind and lightning Qi?”

  Yan Huai barely dodged, rolling to the side. "Since when can animals use Qi like that?!"

  Zhen Yu’s grip on his sword tightened. "Can you even call that an animal now? It more resembles the Qi beasts of the legends. What is happening to this forest?"

  Juwon narrowed his eyes, focusing on the beast’s movements. "It seems this world is not aware of Qi beasts as of yet," he muttered under his breath.

  In the far future, beasts like this will be ranked from the lowest Qi beasts ranked 9th to the highest Divine Beasts ranked 1st.

  But right now, Juwon and the others are dealing with a Rank 5 Qi beast.

  Which is nearly impossible to defeat without a Nascent Soul cultivator.

  They fought for hours. The mutated leopard was relentless, its Qi attacks pushing them to their limits.

  It wielded wind like a living blade, sending countless slicing torrents through the battlefield. The Wudang disciples struggled—dodging, countering, but unable to land a decisive blow.

  And even when they do, they are unable to pierce its skin which is almost as hard as steel.

  Xu Weishan blocked a direct strike with his Iron Wall Guard, barely holding his ground as the Qi-imbued claws crackled with lightning, sending jolts through his reinforced arms.

  Bai Xueling’s Reversal Flow redirected an incoming gust of razor-sharp wind, sending it crashing into a tree, but the beast adapted too quickly.

  Eventually their wounds piled up. Their Qi drained. However the same cannot be said about Juwon. With his breathing technique applied while fighting Juwon is able to recover to some extent. However even that has it’s limits.

  Luo Qing cursed under his breath. "This thing’s healing too fast. If we can’t kill it in one blow, we’re just wasting our strength."

  Juwon wiped blood from his mouth, his body covered in bruises and claw marks. He was the only one still keeping up, still moving like he hadn’t slowed down at all.

  Yan Huai glanced at him between ragged breaths. "How the hell do you have so much stamina?"

  Zhen Yu, panting, nodded. "Are you even human?"

  Juwon cracked his neck. "However it seems that is not enough to take on this oversized house cat." He flexed his fingers, feeling the Qi surging through his body despite his exhaustion. His reserves should have run dry by now—but they hadn’t.

  Juwon and the Stormclaw Leopard clashed repeatedly, exchanging brutal blows in a blur of movement.

  The beast's razor-sharp claws raked through the air, missing Juwon by inches as he weaved through its strikes.

  His fists met hardened flesh, delivering powerful blows that barely seemed to slow the beast down.

  A sudden burst of wind-enhanced speed sent the leopard behind him in an instant, its claws barely grazing his side as he twisted away.

  Juwon countered with a sharp elbow strike to its ribs, but the beast retaliated with a vicious swipe, forcing him back.

  Bolts of crackling lightning surged from the leopard’s fangs as it roared, the force sending shockwaves through the battlefield.

  Juwon barely dodged the deadly arcs, his Qi flaring as he launched forward with a sharp knee to the beast’s jaw. The leopard staggered but recovered instantly, its bloodshot eyes locking onto him.

  The leopard countered with a Qi infused claw, Juwon got pushed back making him drop a knee. Then, Juwon’s stance shifted. He loosened his shoulders, breathing hard, even coughing, letting his arms slacken just slightly.

  The beast’s eyes flickered with predatory instinct, sensing weakness. Juwon exhaled sharply, a trickle of blood escaping his lips. In that moment, the beast lunged—its massive jaws opening wide, fangs flashing as it went straight for the kill.

  Juwon didn’t dodge.

  Instead, he thrust his left forearm forward, letting the beast sink its teeth into him. Blood erupted as the fangs tore through flesh, but Juwon gritted his teeth and locked eyes with it.

  Then he grinned. "Caught you, kitty."

  He moved his right hand below the beast's lower jaw, an uppercut, his Qi surging violently.

  Dragon Fang Void Break.

  A deafening shockwave exploded as Juwon’s fist connected with the beast’s chin, the force disintegrating its entire skull in an instant.

  Blood, bone, and brain matter splattered across the battlefield.

  The lifeless body collapsed to the ground, its Qi flaring one last time before fading.

  Silence.

  The Wudang disciples stared in shock.

  "We… we couldn’t even leave a scar on its head…" Luo Qing muttered, his voice barely audible.

  Yan Huai, still catching his breath, shook his head. "That was… brutal."

  Juwon exhaled, finally stepping back. He ignored the pain in his left arm, rolling his shoulders like nothing had happened. "Good teamwork."

  Juwon closed his eyes, activating Qi Sense to check for any remaining threats. Nothing. But then—something inside the beast’s corpse caught his attention.

  He walked forward and placed a bloodied hand over its chest, feeling the residual energy inside. Instead of dispersing back into nature, the Qi inside its heart… was solidifying, crystalising?

  Juwon didn’t hesitate.

  He reached into the beast’s chest cavity and ripped open its heart.

  A small, pulsating Qi Crystal sat inside, glowing faintly. Pure, condensed energy.

  "What… what the hell is that?" Zhen Yu asked, voice tinged with disgust covering his nose with his right hand.

  Juwon rolled the crystal between his fingers. He thought "Qi crystalised into its purest form huh?" "Interesting, it seems much is to be learnt about Qi beasts"

  The others looked at him, some confused, others outright revolted.

  Luo Qing wrinkled his nose. "You just dug that out of its heart. And you’re keeping it?"

  Juwon smirked, pocketing it. "Muddy hands often bring great fortune"

  They stood in silence, the realization settling in.

  Tonight, they hadn’t just faced a mutated beast.

  They had encountered the first Qi Beast in recorded history.

  And something told Juwon—this was only the beginning.

  ”Let’s head back to camp”

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