Walking back to the cave Long Tianyu carried his wet shirt on his shoulder while his robes were in the ring. Alongside the robes, there were also a few fish that he caught with the wooden spear that he made.


    While on his way he thought that it was strange no demon beast had attacked him. Didn’t dwell on it for too long unless he jinxed himself and got attacked by a demon beast. He arrived soon after at the clearing and immediately started making a fire and brought out the cleaned and descaled fish from the ring. When the fish appeared, it looked as if it was just freshly killed and cleaned, surprised Long Tianyu also grabbed the rabbit.


    By now the cleaned rabbit should have cooled down and be a bit warm from the sun but it still felt cool in his hand as if he just pulled it out of the river. Sticking the fish and the rabbit on a stick he grilled them over the fire until they were done. While his food was cooking his mouth watered at the 5 fish and rabbit glistening over the fire.


    Holding the stick that held the rabbit Long Tianyu sat on a nearby fallen tree and devoured the rabbit but left one leg over. Storing the leg, he wanted to see if food would go bad inside the ring if it didn''t then he could store more food for when he wanted to leave the forest.


    Done eating the rabbit he pulled out his inner and outer robe of the ring and placed them close by the fire to dry them faster.


    Uncle Lei taught him a lot about surviving in the wild and not only to survive but also to thrive on the land. Grabbing the rest of the fish he devoured them in one sitting, even spitting the bones right at his feet. Satisfied with his meal, he walked to a sturdy tree and began cultivating.


    With every kick against the tree, small cracks would form on his shin, and soon a crashing sound echoed through the forest as the once sturdy tree fell over and landed on the ground blowing away the leaves on the ground into the air.


    Stumbling his way to the fallen tree, Long Tianyu sat down and leaned his back against the thick body of the tree. Healing his left leg he still can’t overcome that feeling of itchiness whenever he is treating his bones.


    Standing up he began walking slowly to see if there were any cracks that he missed. Moving just fine he began the same process for his other leg.


    When the sun hung in the middle of the sky Long Tianyu finally completed breaking and healing all the bones in both of his legs. The hard part is how to form small cracks on the smaller bones inside the body without completely breaking them.


    Putting that problem into the back of his mind he walked into the forest intending to find more food and search for a way out of the forest. Reaching the trap, he saw white fur sticking out of the holes. Quickly dashing his way to the trap Long Tianyu eagerly opened it.


    Removing the cover a horned white rabbit was gnawing on the fruit and completely ignoring the culprit that set the trap.


    Long Tianyu swiftly reached for the scruff of the rabbit. When his hand neared the white fur the small demon beast immediately turned around and jumped at his attacker.


    Caught off guard Long Tianyu saw the pointy horn of the rabbit closing in on his chest. Taking a step back he swiftly caught the rabbit''s head and putting a bit more strength into his hand he crushed its head.


    The horned rabbit is the first demon beast he has come across since entering the forest. He found that strange for a forest this large there should be plenty of demon beasts. Storing the rabbit, Long Tianyu made his way to the tree where he caught that lizard.


    Reaching the tree, he began climbing it, nimbly jumping from branch to branch and stepping on footholds. When he reached the middle of the tree a tremor shook the tree. Nearly losing his foothold and falling to his death he grabbed hold of a sturdy-looking branch.


    The tremor didn''t stop as it only got stronger each time a second went by. Holding onto the branch for dear life Long Tianyu decided to climb higher and find a bigger branch to sit on. Slowly making his way upward he soon reached the top where he sat on a thick branch.


    Sitting atop the branch he saw the same view as last time a forest that seemed to stretch endlessly into the horizon only this time a dust cloud could be seen rising into the sky. While staring at the dust cloud, a cacophony of beastly roars and animal noises reached his ears.


    As the clouds of dust approached Long Tianyu, the horde of beasts shook the tree, causing loose leaves to fall. Looking down, he could see the beasts that he recognized and some that he had never seen before. With the tree shaking so much, he nearly lost his footing.


    When the beast hordes passed him and the tremor started to subside, he breathed a sigh of relief. Before he could relax, an explosion boomed in the distance, causing a wave of wind to blow all the trees in his surroundings backward, causing him to lose his grip and fly with the wind.


    While in the air, Long Tianyu’s mind raced. As he flew toward another tree of the same height, he maneuvered himself to land against the thickest part of the tree itself.


    Bracing himself for the impact, he crashed against the tree, knocking the air out of his lungs. Grasping for breath, he grabbed the nearest branch and held on tight. Only when the chaos subsided did Long Tianyu breathe a sigh of relief, but even before a second could go by, a roar shook his eardrum and caused the tree to shake before it became calm again.


    Climbing up the tree, Long Tianyu saw what the cause of the chaos was. Two towering beasts, a bit taller than the trees, were staring each other down. Although some of the trees were about 60 to 70 feet high, the beasts were still taller than that, about 10 feet taller but still shorter than the tallest tree in the forest.


    A tiger and an ox were standing still far in the distance, as if waiting for one of them to make a move. The tiger had orange fur with black stripes covering its body, and on its head were stone slabs covering it like a helmet. Seeing as the ox hadn’t made a move yet, it roared, causing a hill and its surroundings to tremble. Soon a yellow qi covered a chunk of earth on a small hill nearby. It then ripped the hill in half and flew towards the tiger. As the chunk of earth got closer, the yellow qi split it into even parts and smoothed itself over the tiger''s body.


    Now, as the earth covered the tiger’s body like armor, it grew confident and took a step forward. The ox, not to be outdone, shook its body and roared into the sky, and not long after, the black fur on its body turned a fiery red color with red qi swirling around its horns. As soon as the transformation was done, a dark red flame appeared in between its horns and lit them up.


    Long Tianyu, looking at the two beasts in the distance, couldn’t believe his eyes, if not for the warmth he felt from the fire between the oxen''s head. He had seen big demon beasts before, but those were only the size of a small house, he had never seen anything like this before.


    The tiger, confident in its armor, made the first move, as it jumped and tried to sink its claws in the back of the ox.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    As the tiger was in the air, its opponent stood on its hind legs and smashed the tiger down to the ground. And as the tiger rolled away, it stood up and swiped at the ground as more yellow qi covered the ground, a new piece of earth flew towards the damage repairing the cracks on its underbelly armor.


    With its armor repaired, the tiger covered itself in yellow qi, causing the earth on its body to turn a slightly golden color. This time instead of jumping at its target the tiger ran, and with each step it took, the earth trembled and the trees in its path were knocked over.


    The ox prepared itself and breathed out steam from its nostrils before intensifying the flames on its horn and ran towards the tiger meeting it head-on. The tiger, knowing that it can''t win against the ox in that way, ducked to the side and tore at the belly of the ox, its claws digging deep inside the body.


    Bleeding from the wound, the fiery beast turned around and covered itself in more fire, then dashed at the tiger with incredible speed, the ground and trees in its path were scorched black from the fire. Not letting its target escape, the ox formed a fireball between its horns and threw it forward.


    As the fireball got closer, the tiger swiped at it with its right claw, dispersing the flame ball, but what it didn’t expect was for it to explode and blind it for a split second. The ox took its chance and increased its speed, and not long after a booming sound is heard as the ox smashed its horns against the tiger, sending it flying towards a hill.


    The tiger’s massive body impacted against the rough ground of the hill and shattered its peak as the dirt slid down and covered the tiger’s body. Its organs shook from the impact and just lay under the dirt, not moving.


    Cautiously the ox stood still and waited for a reaction from its opponent. It didn’t have to wait long before a yellow qi burst through the dirt and caused the earth to tremble.


    Long Tianyu on the same tree watched the fight, holding in his breath as if he made any movement the two beasts would barrel towards his position. He could have run away, but this might be a once in a lifetime moment he thought. It made his blood boil, and his mind spun as excitement filled his body for what he could see more from the world.


    From the burst of yellow qi it shook the dirt of the tiger as its armor now shattered and crumbled to the ground. Slowly standing up, the tiger tried to recover from the impact, but before it could even stand up. The ox ran with all its might, intending to impel the tiger with its horns and end the fight.


    Right before its horns could pierce the tiger, a stone spike shot out from the ground and pierced the ox in its chest. A painful roar escaped the ox''s mouth as it stopped and backed out of the spike, leaving a bloody hole with blood flowing out like a river from the wound.


    The ox staggered backwards as it used the fire on its head to cover the wound. Right when it was done taking care of the gaping hole, another spike grew from the ground and aimed at its hind leg, trying to incapacitate its mobility.


    Barely jumping out of the way, it was distracted as a shadow covered its head and a sharp row of teeth clamped down on its neck. The tiger now having a hold on its opponent between its teeth also slashed at the ox’s belly with its claws and tore into the back of the ox leaving behind deep claw marks.


    Howling in pain, the ox jumped up and down, trying to shake off the tiger''s hold. It only made the tiger dig its fangs deeper inside the ox’s flesh and its claws only held on tighter.


    Seeing as the tiger wouldn’t let go, it calmed down and stopped thrashing as it didn’t work. Instead of giving up, the ox increased the fire on its body, letting it grow larger and stronger. It was now a game of endurance, either you let go of me or I burn you to ash.


    As the flames roared, they soon spread to the trees, and with the abundance of dried trees, the flames spread in every direction and consumed everything in its path.


    After a while, the tiger got bolder with its attacks and ignored the rising flames. Even with wounds on its body, the ox had a strong tenacity and stood tall. As time passed, the flames only got hotter, and not long after, visible fatigue appeared on the tiger’s face and its hold on the ox weakened.


    Grasping at its opportunity, the fiery beast increased the fire’s temperature. The tiger couldn’t hold on for long anymore as yellow qi burst out from its body and a spike shot out from the ground underneath the ox’s head.


    Already expecting an attack, the spike missed as the ox moved its head to the side. Finally, as the tiger''s last attempt at killing the ox failed, it couldn’t hold on anymore and let go.


    Throwing the tiger far away, the ox’s front leg buckled as blood dripped from the gaping hole, even with the flames covering the wound it couldn’t completely stop it from bleeding. Looking at the tiger, its stone helmet was glowing a bright orange color, still sizzling from the heat, and most of its armor scorched black from the flames.


    Both beasts recovered some of their stamina before standing up and were ready to fight again. This time the tiger was visibly weaker as the fire affected it more than the ox. Charging forward, the ox shot out a few mini fireballs and ran with all its remaining strength.


    The fireballs flew in different directions, as the ones in front of the tigers were swiped away, the rest that flew over its head exploded on its back, causing the armor there to chip away, revealing burned skin. Forming a single horn on its head, the tiger having no other choice also charged at the incoming ox.


    At the last moment as both of them were about to make contact, the ox stopped its momentum and lowered its head, causing its horn to be underneath the tiger''s head. Fatigued and dizzy, the tiger couldn’t react to the ox’s as it pushed its head upward and could only accept it as the blazing horns pierced its head.


    Shaking of the limb tiger, the ox let out a victorious roar and transformed back to its black fur. As the flames dissipated from its body, deep claw marks covered its body showing that the fight was much closer than it was.


    After celebrating its victory, the beast then tore apart the tiger’s stomach with its mouth and searched for something inside. A short time later, the ox pulled out its head and on its tongue a marble the size of a fully grown adult’s head was swallowed instantly.


    As the marble entered the beast''s body, it shuddered before an enormous amount of qi flowed out of its body and healed most of its wound. Letting out steam from its nostrils, the ox walked away satisfied with its gains, leaving the tiger''s body behind.


    The fight left the area devastated, and the fire still burned strongly spreading its flames. Staring at the body of the tiger, Long Tianyu thought about getting closer and maybe getting some of its meat, but before he could even move an inch, a shadow flew over his head. Not long after the shadow arrived, it swooped down and grabbed the beast''s body in its talon before rising in the air again.


    All Long Tianyu saw was the blur of its shadow before it disappeared. As the body of the beast disappeared, all of the hairs on his body stood up. Calming down, he slowly made his way down the tree and only when his feet touched the hard ground did Long Tianyu breathe a sigh of relief.


    Having seen enough excitement for today, he made his way back to the cave. Along the way, he thought about the journey he needed to make out of the forest, as the fires were spreading towards the cave, and with the demon beast that he couldn''t even see, Long Tianyu decided to find a way out of this forest before he gets eaten by something larger than himself.


    ‘I’m still too weak, even standing far away, I could still feel the strength of the demon beasts. If I want to see more of the world, then I need to be strong enough to fight them and protect myself’


    While walking along the way, he saw the corpses of unfortunate demon beasts that were trampled on in the stampede. Thinking that he got lucky, Long Tianyu searched for acceptable parts that still looked eatable and put them inside his storage ring.


    When he reached the clearing, the first thing that he did was sit down and look at his gains from this trip. Inside his ring, at least 7 catty’s worth of meat floated neatly a short distance from the rocks.


    Looking at the fire consuming the forest behind him, he calculated that he had a few hours before it reached the cave. Pushing a log to the center of the clearing where he made his fires, he took out the wet robes and hung them on the log and then began making a fire.


    As the fire came to life, Long Tianyu took out a few pieces of meat and roasted them by the fire while his robes were drying.


    While the meat is cooking, a rustling sound caught his attention from behind him. Standing up, he looked towards where the sound came from. What greeted his eyes was a wolf about his height, holding a half-eaten white tiger in its mouth.


    The wolf let go of its food and walked out into the clearing, revealing its bloodstained gray fur and on its head a patch of white fur stood out. Growling towards the intruder to its home, the wolf inched closer to Long Tianyu, intending on not letting him escape. Why would he let a perfect prey go as it sensed that the human in front of it is weaker than itself?


    Long Tianyu tensed up when the wolf came closer and tried to converse with the demon beast, “Brother wolf, I didn’t know this was your home, we don’t have to fight. How about I get my stuff and then leave?”


    The wolf ignored his words and kept inching closer, baring its fangs not giving Long Tianyu any choice.


    Seeing as he had no choice, Long Tianyu breathed out and prepared himself for the fight as he didn’t know how strong the beast was.