The Shadow Leopard regarded me lazily, as if not taking me seriously, and then sprang forward. I stood my ground firmly and countered with a powerful kick that could take down even a Rank 4 magical beast. Okay, maybe not, or I would have defeated the Diamondback Crocodile..but then I was referring to unarmored Rank 4 magical beasts, so the Diamondback Crocodile didn't count. The Skull Jackal from earlier, for example, would be hard-pressed to remain standing after this kick.

However, the Shadow Leopard was a Rank 5 magical beast. It could defeat most Qi Essence Stage practitioners..even Peak level Qi Essence Stage practitioners would have trouble following its speed. Except that I didn't care about all these weird stages. I didn't even know which stage I was at right now, so these comparisons were utterly meaningless to me.

Refusing to back down, I dodged the Shadow Leopard and retaliated with a Shadow Kick but it nimbly avoided them while deftly pouncing on me. As my foot swung toward its neck, the Shadow Leopard casually slapped my leg away, flipped above me, and slashed my back. I felt a tremendous force shoving me toward the ground.

"Guh!"

I fell to my knees and plunged my sword into the ground, leaning on it to prevent myself from falling flat on my face. Red-hot agony burned in my back, almost drowning my consciousness in a blinding haze, but I gritted my teeth and forced myself to stay awake. Spinning around, I was just in time to block a slash from the Shadow Leopard. Gathering qi into my hands, I froze a couple of ice swords and unleashed Ghost Shadow Sword to discourage it from approaching.

SCREE!

A horrifying screech shrieked through the air and sparks flew between us and the Shadow Leopard's claws skidded against the frozen blades that were created from frosty qi. I counterattacked with swift strokes of my self-created Ghost Shadow Swordsmanship, blasting the Shadow Leopard before it could dodge and knocking it off balance. The momentum of the Shadow Leopard's strike still managed to drive me back, but I managed to leave a few bloody holes in its fur with my counterattack. On the other hand, it shattered the ice sword in my left hand, reducing it to countless frozen shards that rained onto the ground.

The Shadow Leopard gracefully landed on the ground, but its agile body absorbed the majority of the effect and it disappeared once more, springing into the densely clustered trees.

I slowly rose to my feet, my back still burning. My eyes followed the shadowy silhouette of the leopard, and I clenched my fist tightly. The wounds on my back were deep..I could feel hot trails of blood dripping down my back and into my torn clothes.

This isn't good.

Spitting out a glob of blood, I wiped my mouth with my left hand and readied the remaining ice sword in my right hand in an offensive stance. Keeping my eyes on the Shadow Leopard, I waited for it to make its move.

The Shadow Leopard's dark eyes narrowed and focused on me coldly. The Rank 5 magical beast was famous for its speed, and was supposedly capable of killing advanced level Qi Essence Stage practitioners with just one attack. Yet, not only did I counterattack after its sneak attack, I was able to deal some wounds to it – injuries it couldn't evade.

The Shadow Leopard seemed to understand that it had underestimated me and was now registering me as a threat.

"Hu.."

I exhaled as I fought to calm myself down. Risking a glance, I saw that Zhu Jiao and the group we happened upon were long gone, having fled the scene some time ago.

Good. It meant I didn't have to worry about Zhu Jiao and could completely focus on the enemy before my eyes.

It's nice knowing you, pal.

I felt bitter. We had only just met again after my two long months of forced solitude, and now I probably wouldn't be able to see one of my best friends again. Then again, in another story, Zhu Jiao would have been the protagonist. He would be the hero who fought and defeated the Shadow Leopard, but I somehow stole that role from him. Then again, this was reality, and it didn't always go the way xianxia stories went.

Not to mention, if I was honest, I doubted Zhu Jiao would be able to defeat this monster.

"Gr.."

The Shadow Leopard growled as it circled me. Its steps were extremely light, the pads of its feet muffling the sounds of its footsteps. As expected of an alpha predator in Sen Lin Forest. No wonder I wasn't able to detect its presence.

I kept my eyes on the Shadow Leopard, following its movements warily. It glared back, those inscrutable eyes shining ferociously in the dark.

The Shadow Leopard suddenly burst into action, jumping back, and then suddenly reversing its movement and lunging at me the moment its paws touched the ground. It was trying to take me by surprise.

"Whoa!"

I stumbled back, just barely managing to avoid its charge. Its claws cut sharply through the air in front of body, but I managed to prevent myself from sustaining another injury. Good. That was painful as hell – I would rather not get wounded if I could help it.

The leopard staggered back, but continued to keep its eyes on me. Snarling, it dashed at me again, its four paws practically floating above the ground as it closed in on me. I met it head-on and slashed with my ice sword in hopes of decapitating it, only for the Shadow Leopard to abruptly change its direction and evade my strike.

Rolling on the ground, it jumped and sprang at me from multiple directions, often switching the direction it came from to confuse me while evading my sword strikes at the same time. Again and again, it would lunge toward me, only to suddenly change its trajectory. It was all I could do to keep up, focusing entirely on defending against its vicious attacks. Despite my desperate counterattacks, the Shadow Leopard was not at all discouraged, and its assault only intensified.

"As expected of a Rank 5 magical beast, huh?" I murmured, beads of perspiration dripping down my face, mixed with blood. Sometime during the battle, the Shadow Leopard must have left a scratch on me. Fortunately, my body was coursing with so much adrenaline and endorphins that I didn't feel the slash.

"Gr.."

The Shadow Leopard snarled as it circled me, its speed gradually increasing to the extent it turned into a phantom blur.

"!"

I was forced to conjure a second ice sword to deflect its charge. Staggering back as the Shadow Leopard's claw broke through fragile blade, I parried its strike with my first ice sword, only to be thrown back by the momentum of its attack as my makeshift weapon shattered.

"Gah!"

I hit the ground and rolled, only to see the Shadow Leopard capitalizing on its advantage and pouncing on me. Gritting my teeth, I swung my right hand out, freezing an ice sword into existence and swinging it before it could change the trajectory of its lunge.

"KREE!"

The Shadow Leopard shrieked as I slashed its body with my desperately forged ice sword, but managed to spring away and land safely. I cursed when I saw that I only had done superficial damage with that attack.

"The stupid thing just won't die," I muttered under my breath.

The Shadow Leopard pounced on me again, disappearing into a blur. Even though I blocked its attack with my ice sword, a swipe from its claw shattered my frost blade, knocked me off my feet and sent me sprawling onto the ground. I rolled instinctively, just as its paw pulverized the dirt where my head was lying just seconds ago. I continued to roll, even as soil and sand showered me, the result of the Shadow Leopard trying to slash me but ending up ravaging the ground instead.

"Huff..huff.."

I jumped to my feet and staggered back to widen the distance between us, only for the Shadow Leopard to send me hurtling backward with another swipe of its claws. Flipping my body in midair, I managed to land clumsily on my feet.

"Too fast..the Shadow Leopard is just too fast!"

I almost couldn't respond to the Shadow Leopard in time. At this rate, it was going to tear me into shreds!

"I'm too slow."

Chink!

The dreadful realization struck me as I blocked another attack, just barely, my dual ice swords shattering in my grip. The gap between me and the Rank 5 Shadow Leopard was too vast. Why the hell was I trying to resist such a fearsome beast?

Obviously, because you'll die if you don't.

That was right. I didn't want to die. I had gotten this far in Sen Lin Forest, having prevailed over everything the abyss had thrown me. I was so close to returning to Martial City. I just wanted to survive this ordeal and return home safely. I had already been through so many near-death experiences that it wasn't funny. For once I wanted to defy Fate and return home against all odds, to go through a peaceful period where nothing was trying to kill me.

I had practically clawed my way out of the abyss just to return to the surface of Sen Lin Forest, and had set myself firmly on the path back to my home. I was going to do my best to survive, no matter the odds, and see my family again.

However, the Shadow Leopard was just too strong. It was practically toying with me, slowly circling around me as my movements slowed. Sen Lin Forest was its territory, the forest its domain. There was no way an intruder like me could beat it in its own home ground. Every now and then, the Shadow Leopard would playfully attack, probing my defenses and searching for an opportunity to leave another injury.

Damn it!

That speed from earlier..these moves..they weren't even the Shadow Leopard fighting to its utmost capability. These were just basic movements for the Shadow Leopard, its natural instincts. I hadn't even forced it to get serious!

I glared into the Shadow Leopard's tranquil eyes, which seemed to imply that everything was within its control. It could kill me anytime it wanted, but it just wanted to play around with a weakling like me even more.

"RUOOOR!"

With a roar, the Shadow Leopard sped up and abruptly sprang at me again, its claws outstretched to eviscerate me.

Whirling around, I kicked it with my Shadow Kick, my foot cracking against its head and sending it spinning to the side. Slamming my foot on the ground, I dashed forward and slashed with my ice sword, using Ghost Shadow Sword to deliver a deep cut in its head.

"RUOOOORR!"

With a defiant roar, the Shadow Leopard desperately swiped at me with its front claws, smashing my ice sword to bits and hitting me.

"Kuh!"

I staggered back as blood burst from my chest. Thankfully I had instinctively used Tui (Retreat) at the last moment and the wound was superficial.

"Huff..!"

Wow, Teacher Jiao was right. Solid footwork could really save my life!

"!"

Just when that thought crossed my mind, the Shadow Leopard roared and lunged at me again. I waited until the last moment before I used Duo (evade) and disappeared just as its claws slashed through the space where I formerly occupied.

Appearing right behind the Shadow Leopard, I swung my foot down in a devastating Shadow Kick, almost snapping its spine in half.

"RUOOOOOOOOOOOR!"

The Shadow Leopard howled in agony, and I twisted around to deliver a roundhouse kick that I learned from the Lunar Rabbit. my foot slammed into its neck with a sickening thud, and I could hear the agonizing crack as bone gave way under my blow.

Almost there!

However, the Shadow Leopard was far from finished. Just as I landed on the ground, it suddenly spun around and bit into my neck with those vicious fangs of its.

"!"

I was unable to evade the fatal attack from close range. Having let my guard down, I wasn't able to use a footwork technique to evade. A stupid mistake, one I would curse myself for if I survived this encounter with a Shadow Leopard.

Fuck..!

"Gaaaaaaah!"

A spray of blood erupted from my neck as the Shadow Leopard's jaws clamped down viciously on my flesh. I staggered and desperately stabbed the Shadow Leopard's head with a hastily forged ice sword, freeing my neck from the grip of its fangs.

"Ah..aaaaaah!"

Screaming in pain, I staggered back. Pressing my hand to my neck, I struggled to stop the bleeding, but I was quickly losing consciousness. Dropping to my knees, I gritted my teeth, but could taste blood. It was trickling out of my mouth and flowing down my chin in waves.

Am I..going to die here?

I glared defiantly the Shadow Leopard as it closed in on me, feeling frustration well up inside me.

I had severely wounded the Shadow Leopard, dealing life-threatening injuries at the very least, but the damned beast refused to die. At the last moment, I let down my guard and the alpha predator capitalized, literally going for the jugular.

Fuck..I was so close! So close!

Just a little more..

No..I was na?ve. I had thought I could finish the Shadow Leopard off with my current skills, especially after I had survived everything that the abyss threw at me, including a legendary Hydra. I had gotten a little overconfident and complacent. Thanks to my lack of foresight, I paid for the mistake with my life.

Like hell I'm going to die here!

I shoved the negative thoughts out of my head and forced myself to focus on the present. It was true that the Shadow Leopard had dealt me lethal damage, but I was still alive, and I still could fight. For the moment, that was all that mattered.

"I'm going to kill you!"

The Shadow Leopard shared the same sentiment, for it roared and lunged at me. I gritted my teeth and directed qi toward my legs, disappearing right when the Shadow Leopard slashed at the spot where I was standing.

"?!"

The Shadow Leopard snarled and spun around, but it was too late. I smashed another powerful Shadow Kick into its face, hearing a satisfying crack, but at the same time the Shadow Leopard swatted me away.

"Kuh!?"

The immense impact from its swipe sent me hurtling through the forest. I crashed through several trees, snapping their trunks and vanishing under a shower of wood and splinters. I blacked out immediately, my consciousness swallowed by warm darkness as I was buried under huge chunks of wood, branches and leaves.

In the distance, the Shadow Leopard roared in fury as it tried to pursue me.

*

"?!"

I suddenly sat up, and then winced when red-hot agony lanced into my whole body.

"Gah!"

Letting out a yelp, I almost blacked out. Gritting my teeth, I thrust my hands out and began clawing away at the pile of wood that buried me. Gentle sunrays streamed through the branches, affording me some sort of view of the outside.

There was nothing outside, not even the Shadow Leopard. After royally pissing that monster off, I half-expected it to be prowling nearby, but there was no sign of it. I guessed it tried to look for me, but couldn't find me under all these trees.

"Ugh.."

This was not good. I was too severely injured to move. I had lost too much blood and my limbs just refused to obey. Crawling out from under the broken tree, I flopped down onto the ground, heaving and panting.

Am I going to die here?

Even if the Shadow Leopard failed to kill me, I was going to die from a massive loss of blood. At the very least, the Shadow Leopard had left fatal wounds on me, each and every one of them enough to cause death. I could feel the blood filling up my lungs as I struggled to breathe. My vision was darkening slightly, the edges clouded.

And that was even when I was wearing my glasses.

On the other hand, my improved constitution was kicking in. If I hadn't gone through what I did in the abyss, I would probably be dead by now. In fact, my toughened constitution was what allowed me to endure the otherwise lethal attacks of the Shadow Leopard. All I needed to do was correct my breathing and follow the Heaven and Earth Formula breathing method that Master taught me in order to circulate qi around my body and speed up my healing.

It might take a few hours, but I would survive this.

"Huff..huff.."

I stared at the sky, which was obscured by dense tree canopies, the leaves refusing to grant me leave or respite.

Fuck you, heavens. You're always trying to get in my way. Do you enjoy my suffering this much?

Fortunately, what didn't kill me made me stronger. I would definitely survive this, strengthen myself, and prepare myself for the eventual battle against the Heavens themselves. Perhaps they knew I was coming for them, so they were throwing everything they could in hopes of killing me before I ever reached that stage.

That idea made me smile. Yeah, I couldn't die here. Not until I tore the heavens apart. For now, I should focus on healing myself.

Closing my eyes, I began the slow process of circulating qi around my body to mend my injuries.

"Are you all right?!"

My eyes flew open when I heard that soft, feminine voice. Instantly, the beautiful image of a girl in pink floated into view. She was staring at me in concern.

Girl, do I look all right to you? Or were you wasting time asking a rhetorical question?

"Oh no! You're badly hurt!"

No kidding. It took you that long to figure that out?

"Uh..yeah. Don't worry about it. I'll..find a way..to survive."

Gritting my teeth, I winced as I struggled to sit up. No sense scaring the girl and dying right in front of her. That would traumatize her. Then again, I should be worrying about myself more than others at the moment.

Glancing at the girl, I realized that she looked very familiar. Not only was she beautiful, she gave off a sweet scent, almost making me feel heady. She reminded me of my classmate, Qing Xin Xia, what with her gentle and kind personality, and there was a tinge of shyness in her behavior that made her adorable.

I had obviously gone delirious from my injuries. She was my classmate, Qing Xin Xia.

"Qing Xin Xia?"

"Ah, yes.." Xin Xia blinked in surprise when she realized I knew her name. She studied me for a moment, as if trying to remember where she had met me before, and then she brightened up. "Ah, you're Fei Wu!"

"Took you long enough to remember." I coughed out some blood and glared at her. Qing Xin Xia looked a little embarrassed.

"Sorry. At that time, we were panicking, so I didn't get a good look at your face. Otherwise I would definitely have recognized you."

I was sure you would. Hundred percent sure. Don't mind my cynicism. Then again, I was never close to Qing Xin Xia or Li Chun Long, so I honestly couldn't blame them for forgetting me when I went missing for almost two months.

No, I wasn't being bitter about it. And this throbbing sensation in my heart wasn't rage and bitterness. I wasn't arrogant enough to think that my classmates would at least remember who I was, especially when there was only a mere two months..I mean, especially after such a long period of two months.

"Ah, that's right!" Qing Xin Xia clapped her hands. "I still haven't thanked you for that time!"

"That time?" I stared at her blearily, trying to force those bitter thoughts from my mind. Even then I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Y..you know! The time when you rescued me and my fellow sect disciples from the Diamondback Crocodile!"

She hastily bowed her head, her long, silky hair flowing downward like waves.

"Thank you very much!"

"It was nothing. I was only doing what anyone else would have done."

I waved her thanks away, and then flinched from the effort. Damn it..the massive blood loss was taking its toll.

"Oh no! You're hurt really bad!"

Yeah, you said that already..

Qing Xin Xia thought for a bit, and then nodded determinedly. She raised her hands and gathered qi into them. I watched, mesmerized, as a ball of pink qi materialized above her palms. I recognized the wood element brimming within the ball.

That's..

"This might sting a little, but it'll help, so please bear with it."

"Eh?"

Xin Xia didn't wait for my response. She was already reaching out and infusing my battered body with the pink qi. A great warmth enveloped my body in an instant. Like Xin Xia mentioned, the warmth stung at first, with my grievous wounds burning up and blazing hotly across my body. Fortunately, the agony died down, and was replaced with a comforting sensation.

"Whoa.."

I was amazed by how effective Qing Xin Xia's treatment was. Right before my eyes, my wounds were closing up, the cuts mending and the blood disappearing. My vision was recovering, the darkness clearing away from the edges, and the pain was lessening. It was much easier to breathe than before, with the blood in my chest being cleared out.

"You're awesome!"

"Ah..no, not at all."

Qing Xin Xia shrank back, embarrassed.

"It's just a specialty of the Green Dragon Sect. we have a lot of emphasis on healing techniques along with combat ones."

Yeah, to be honest, this wasn't the first time I had seen it. Teacher Yi Liao had used a similar, if not identical technique on me before. I had also seen Qing Xin Xia perform the same technique on Zhu Jiao in what seemed like a lifetime ago, before my fall into the abyss.

Nonetheless, I plastered a smile on my face.

"Wow..you guys are amazing."

"No..well..that..I think you're more amazing."

With the treatment done, Xin Xia was fiddling with her fingers nervously, unable to meet my gaze. Her face was flushed, probably from embarrassment.

"Earlier..when you saved us from the Diamondback Crocodile..I thought you were incredible. This is nothing compared to your courage.."

"Hey, don't forget," I interrupted, realizing that she had forgotten something. "I wasn't the only one there. Ban Zhang was there too."

"Ah, you're right." Qing Xin Xia's eyes went round and she nodded. "I'll make sure to thank Ban Zhang when I see him!"

I nodded. "Be sure that you do. He risked just as much as I did in order to help you, if not more."

Qing Xin Xia ran a hand through her long, silky hair as she glanced about. She then frowned in puzzlement.

"Wasn't Ban Zhang with you? Where is he?"

"We got separated when escaping the Diamondback Crocodile." I sighed. "Fortunately, he escaped. I ran into Zhu Jiao, but.."

"Ah..Zhu Jiao.."

Qing Xin Xia's face turned red and she shyly glanced away.

"Is..is Zhu Jiao all right?"

"Yeah, he is." It was clear that Qing Xin Xia still had a crush on Zhu Jiao, that lucky bastard. Of course. By virtue of being the typical protagonist of a wuxia story, Zhu Jiao would have every girl falling for him.

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I hauled myself up, still unsteady on my feet. Then I bowed.

"Anyway, I really appreciate you healing my wounds. Thank you very much!"

"No, don't think anything of it. I just did what anyone else would have done. And I'm returning the favor.."

"Xin Xia!"

Li Chun Long's voice sharply cut through the woods as he emerged from the bushes and glared at us.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and help our other fellow sect disciples find magical beasts!"

"Ah, yes!"

Xin Xia hurriedly rose to her feet. She turned to me and bowed slightly.

"I'll excuse myself then!"

After she ran toward Li Chun Long and rejoined him, he reprimanded her.

"Don't bother with other people."

".."

Xin Xia merely nodded and hurried ahead of him. Li Chun Long lingered for a moment longer to glare at me spitefully, evidently forgetting that I saved his life from the Diamondback Crocodile earlier. Jealousy could be a very scary thing.

Then he blinked in disbelief.

"Aren't you..?"

"Yo." I waved at him. "It's been a while, Li Chun Long."

"FEI WU?!"

I sighed and shook my head, annoyed. "Why is everyone screaming my name whenever they see me?"

"You..you're supposed to be dead!"

Feeling a little mischievous, I staggered toward him.

"That's right," I moaned in a low voice and nodded. "I'm dead. I've come back as a ghost to haunt the class for not coming to save me even though I sacrificed my life to delay the Behemoth just so you all can escape."

"Im..im..impossible!"

Wailing, Li Chun Long spun and sprinted away into the shadowy depths of the forest. I could still hear him screaming from a distance a few minutes later.

Chuckling, I shook my head and proceeded in the direction he ran toward, hoping that I could catch up and follow them back to where the teachers were waiting.