The Four-Winged Roc slammed into a massive tree back-first, feathers exploding into the air like torn paper. Blood dripped from its beak, and its wings twitched helplessly. On top of its spine-arched back lay Pan Lun, coughing blood, his face distorted with pain.
He attempted to stand, but his vision blurred into a spinning haze. His skull throbbed from the blow Zhuo Riyan's black arm had delivered, and every breath dragged like knives across his ribs.
Just a short distance away, Zhuo Riyan stood tall, holding Little cat in his clawed black hand.
Little cat was prepared to celebrate their survival—until he sensed the energy radiating from Zhuo Riyan's transformed arm. His eyes instinctively dropped to the monstrous claw gripping him.
His fur bristled. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
"Ah—ah, m-ma-master… c-can you put me down?" Little cat stammered, trembling.
Zhuo Riyan blinked, confused—then realization struck him.
This… this is the same arm that killed Cosmic Thunderfiend Genesis.
An unsettling grin stretched across his face—cold, thrilled, devilish.
So with this… I can command this bastard cat however I want.
Little cat, staring at that expression, felt his soul shrivel.
Shit… he's planning something. That look is never good.
While they were caught in their own tension, Pan Lun forced sound out of his bloody throat.
"T-take me… away… this kid has some kind of… artifact… we'll kill him later…"
The Four-Winged Roc obeyed instantly. It dug its claws into Pan Lun's shoulders and flapped its wings, dragging itself into the air toward the deeper fourth region, heading for the third.
Zhuo Riyan spotted their escape and his expression darkened. Now that he had strength—now that he had that arm—there was no way he would let them go.
He dropped Little cat onto his shoulder and launched forward with a burst of astonishing speed.
Little cat relaxed slightly once his paws were no longer trapped in that terrifying grip. But as they sped through the forest, he suddenly sensed something else—something shocking.
Zhuo Riyan's beast qi had surged. His injuries had vanished completely. And…
Little cat's eyes widened.
Master… h-he broke through. He is at the fourth level now!
Zhuo Riyan hadn't noticed. He only felt the rush of power and the wind ripping past his face.
My speed—this is insane. It must be from this arm…
Zhuo Riyan kept running, eyes fixed like a predator on the fleeing Roc.
Little cat, still jittery, snapped, "Hey! Are you not going to tell me how the hell you got that arm? And how the fuck you broke through like that?"
Zhuo Riyan's eyes widened. "What—I broke through?"
He slammed his eyes shut and checked his dantian. The expansion was unmistakable, his beast qi swirling with far greater density and force.
"Oh but… I didn't broke through."
Little cat immediately jumped in. "Not Really! You can say you are half way in Fourth level. If you do Symbiotic Cultivation with me. You'll reach fourth level!"
"Later," Zhuo Riyan snapped, legs pumping harder as he chased the fleeing Roc. "We kill them first. I don't know why the hell they came for me, but it's definitely not good."
As he ran, crimson-black qi and purple thunder began sparking around his legs, intertwining like furious serpents. "For now, teach me that technique."
Little cat straightened his back proudly on his shoulder. "Right—you already succeeded in controlling your purple thunder. So listen. The next step is simple—you have to think a few steps ahead. Visualize the route. If you want to land on a branch, you plan where your foot goes, how high the jump is, and what position lets your thunder flow through. Then, when you imagine the path clearly…"
He grinned. "Your purple thunder will move your body instantly. Blink—and you'll already be there."
Zhuo Riyan nodded, brows tightening. "So if I want to reach that damn bird… I need to jump from that tree, then that tall one, then two more leaps until I'm above it."
"Exactly! Just do it. Oh, and the technique is called Cosmic Lightning Movement." Little cat licked his paw smugly. "I've got two more techniques you can learn later. For attacking. Humans can use them too."
Zhuo Riyan smirked despite the chase. "Amazing."
Then he focused. Took a breath. Visualized each step.
Purple thunder crackled violently around his legs.
He vanished.
A streak of violet lightning shot across the forest. He hit the first tree trunk. Then the second. Then the next branch—each movement accelerating, each footstep exploding with speed. To the Roc and Pan Lun, he was nothing but a flash of purple tearing through the forest.
Below Beast Source Stage, no one could even follow his outline.
Almost… just one more tree and then—
Right as he reached the top of the tallest tree, the concentration in his mind wavered for a breath. His purple thunder scattered.
His body snapped into place on the treetop, then—
The backlash hit him like a hammer.
The sudden stop neutralized all momentum. The purple thunder recoiled through his limbs. He was flung off the treetop like a ragdoll, crashing through branches and slamming into the ground. Dirt exploded around him, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
But this time, Little cat didn't fly away like the last crash—he dug his little claws into Zhuo Riyan's clothes and hung on for dear life, shaken but safe.
"F-fuck—!" Little cat hissed, tail puffed up. "Master, warn me before you do crazy shit like that!"
Zhuo Riyan coughed, wiped the blood off his lips, and pushed himself up.
"That was… great. I almost caught them."
He looked ahead—where the Four-Winged Roc and Pan Lun were desperately fleeing and about to disappear from his view.
A cold smile crept across his face.
"And now… I know exactly how to get them."
Zhuo Riyan kept trying again and again, but every attempt ended the same way—purple thunder losing control, his body twisting from the sudden halt, and another harsh backlash slamming him into the dirt. Before he noticed, Pan Lun and the Four-Winged Roc had already vanished from sight.
He slumped down at the edge of a broken tree root, shoulders drooping. "I thought I understood it… but I'm just a loser."
Little cat sat behind him, making a disgusted face at his dramatic sulking. He flicked his tail. "Did you forget your mother's illness? You still need the Three Leaf Frozen Grass."
Zhuo Riyan froze. His distraction, the fight, the technique—he had let it all pull him away from the only thing that mattered. Night was already creeping in. "My mother will be worried… Damn it, I let those bastards distract me. Fuck'em."
He jumped to his feet, grabbed little cat under his arm, and took off. Beast qi and purple thunder surged around his legs as he rushed back into the forest, still forcing himself to practice the movement technique while racing to find the Three Leaf Frozen Grass.