The cave rumbled as the glowing red eyes advanced, each step shaking the ground beneath Lin Xuan and Yue. Pebbles bounced, and trees shuddered nervously.
Behind them, the villagers hid behind bushes so thin they were essentially hiding behind hope alone.
Yue, on the other hand, remained completely unfazed.
She dusted off her sleeves and sighed."Master, if this thing destroys the path, you are fixing it."
A deep, menacing growl echoed from the cave.
Then it emerged, a massive creature with fur like midnight fog, claws long enough to slice a house in half, and twisted black iron horns. Its ancient aura weighed heavily across the forest.
A Shadowhorn Devourer Beast.
A monster capable of terrorizing empires.Annihilating armies.Swallowing mountains whole.
It stepped into the light and froze.
Its enormous body trembled.
Then…
It turned around.
Attempting to slink back into the cave.
Yue sighed. "Ah. It sensed your aura."
"Come out," Lin Xuan said calmly.
The beast halted mid-retreat.
Very slowly, it peeked over its shoulder at him.
Lin Xuan gestured politely."I would like to fight."
The villagers' souls collectively left their bodies.
The beast whimpered an actual whimper and pushed its backside against the cave wall, trying to merge into the stone like a guilty cat hoping for invisibility.
Lin Xuan blinked."Did… it just try to hide?"
"Yes, Master," Yue nodded. "It has excellent survival instincts."
Lin Xuan stepped toward it.
The beast screamed.
Not a roar.A terrified scream.
Several villagers fainted on the spot.
"MASTER! STOP SCARING IT!" Yue grabbed his sleeve desperately. "If it panics, it might rampage, and if it rampages, you'll get excited… and if you get excited, we lose the entire forest!"
"That sounds like an exaggeration."
"It's happened before."
Instead of denying further, Lin Xuan crouched before the trembling beast. Its giant head lowered submissively, like a dog who realized it chewed the wrong immortal's shoes.
"I only seek a spar," he said.
The beast shook its head violently.
"No?" Lin Xuan asked.
It shook harder horns clacking like frightened castanets.
Yue narrowed her eyes, suspicious. "Master, perhaps—"
But the beast's eyes suddenly widened.
Not with fear…
With recognition.
It saw something behind Lin Xuan.
Before anyone could react, the Shadowhorn Devourer lunged not at Lin Xuan but at Yue.
Villagers screamed.
Lin Xuan moved instantly.
But he didn't need to.
Yue didn't even look up.
She raised a single hand lazily.
A silver-white strand of energy shot forth calm as a breeze.
BOOM.
The monstrous creature was launched backward like a small pebble, smashing into a massive boulder, embedding itself deep like a grotesque decorative statue.
Silence.
Lin Xuan stared.The villagers stared.Even the forest seemed stunned.
Yue lowered her hand with all the enthusiasm of flicking away a mosquito.
"Ugh. Annoying."
The beast twitched in terror.
Lin Xuan's eyes narrowed slightly."Yue… when did you learn that technique?"
"Born with it," she said casually. "Didn't you ever wonder why the Immortal Realm assigned me to supervise you?"
"…I thought it was a punishment."
"It was," she confirmed. "But they also needed someone capable of tanking your disasters with patience."
She approached and flicked the beast's horn.
CRACK.
The entire boulder split down the middle.
The beast whimpered pathetically.
"Master," Yue said flatly, "this beast is far too weak. If you fight it seriously, it will stop existing."
Lin Xuan sighed. "Disappointing."
"Exactly. So let's not."
The villagers finally peeked from their makeshift hiding spots.
"O-oh great immortal!"
"You defeated the demon beast!"
"We're saved again!"
Yue pointed at herself. "Correction. I defeated it."
The villagers turned toward her reverently.
"Truly… a goddess…"
"More terrifying than the master…"
"I can hear you," Yue said coldly.
They froze.
Behind them, the Shadowhorn Devourer Beast gave one final tremble and fainted.
Lin Xuan clasped his hands behind his back, serene as ever."This forest has proven entertaining."
"Entertaining for you," Yue muttered, "Traumatizing for everyone else."
They turned away from the cave, leaving the cheering villagers behind them once more.
Ahead…
The winding path stretched deeper into the unknown.
And for the first time in a million years
Lin Xuan felt something stir within him.
Anticipation.
What else would this mortal world dare throw his way?
He smiled slightly.