Tang Xi narrowed her eyes, her body instinctively preparing itself as she analyzed her oppo's attack patterns. The rhythm, the speed… There was no doubt.

  'It's a Crimson-Spotted Feline, a level five spiritual beast, fire-type.'

  The knowledge she had acquired iudies surfaced in her mind. They were known for their ferocity and speed, and this one had already demonstrated two of its characteristic moves:

  Bzing Cws, capable of slig through metal like paper.

  And the illusionary dispt ability—the residual blur left behind the moment she lost sight of the feline.

  Tang Xi felt her heart qui slightly, but her face remained impassive.

  Something was wrong.

  These felines were rarely seen in humid areas. Their natural habitat was dry, mountainous terrain, where they could maximize their advantages.

  'It's far from home… Why?'

  The answer came almost immediately.

  The Wide-Fanged Rabbit that y dead… It had tried to flee in a specific dire before being struck down.

  The same dire the Lunar Umbrel had been pointing to from the beginning.

  Tang Xi tightened her grip on her on.

  'So that's it… It's guarding something.'

  The doubt sted only a moment.

  If she wao find out what was there, she had to defeat it.

  'If fire is useless, I o ge my approach.'

  She knew her fire teiques wouldn't be very effective against an enemy like this. It had a natural resistao extreme heat and could partially nullify her abilities.

  'Then I'll try the opposite elements. Water ah.'

  Tang Xi took a deep breath and, in a fluid motion, eled her energy through her arm, coating the Lunar Umbrel with ahen aura.

  Then, she struck.

  The feline quickly retreated, predig the attack. But this time, it didn't move away pletely.

  It terattacked.

  Its mouth opened, revealing sharp, gleaming fangs, aiming directly at her left fnk.

  Tang Xi's instincts screamed a warning, and she forced her arm to alter the trajectory of her strike.

  "Weight Amplification."

  What would have been a frontal ssh curved at the st moment, catg the feline off guard.

  — Roar!

  The impact was brutal.

  The Lunar Umbrel's bde tore a deep gash into the creature's belly, and the force of the strike sent it flying.

  But it didn't nd defenseless.

  With an agile movement, the feliwisted in midair and dug its cws into a nearby tree.

  The cws ripped through the trunk, leaving scorch marks as the wood split in two.

  The force of the impact was gradually absorbed, and it mao nd without crashing violently to the ground.

  Tang Xi kept her eyes locked on it, feeling a throbbing pain in her left arm.

  'I overdid it…'

  The sudden shift irike, bined with the weight amplification, had put too much strain on her body.

  But there was no time to hesitate.

  Even through the pain, she quickly activated a Water Jet Talisman and unleashed a powerful stream at the feline.

  The beast instinctively tried to ge course, its muscles tensing to avoid a direct hit. It mao dodge partially.

  But that was exactly what Tang Xi wanted.

  With the Lunar Umbrel already ba her grip, she used the tree trunks as support to gai.

  And when she was high enough…

  She desded with a direct strike.

  A vertical ssh, from top to bottom.

  The attack was relentless.

  But at the st moment, the feline's body became enveloped in a bzing red aura.

  Its skin and muscles tensed with force, and its speed increased dramatically.

  Tang Xi had expected this.

  "Weight Amplification."

  The Lunar Umbrel's strike accelerated downward, making a plete dodge impossible.

  And then, the result of the attack became clear.

  — Roar of agony!

  The feline's red blur retreated quickly… but something was left behind.

  Its tail.

  Tang Xi kept her breathing heavy, her chest rising and falling. Her left arm burned with pain, but this was no time to worry about that.

  Her eyes met the creature's.

  The feline erched atop a tree, its body covered in blood.

  It tried to ceal its weakness, but Tang Xi saw the truth.

  Its wounds were taking their toll.

  She could wait. The beast had already been forced to use its acceleration ability twice.

  Now, all she o do was survive its final attack.

  her of them moved.

  The tension was crushing.

  They were at a deadly impasse.

  Then, suddenly…

  The feline moved.

  Quickly.

  Leaping from tree to tree, its speed slightly reduced but still agile.

  Tang Xi braced for the immi impact.

  But then… something was off.

  What attacked her Lunar Umbrel… was a red blur.

  Her body tensed.

  'I was deceived!'

  She searched for its presence. She felt the surroundings.

  Nothing.

  The Crimson-Spotted Feline…

  Had fled.

  Tang Xi rexed slightly, but her mi heavy.

  She quickly took healing and Qi-replenishing pills, but her remained.

  The beast's retreat had never once crossed her mind.

  'I got used to fighting to the death, or running.'

  In her previous life, no enemy ever fled—it was always her who was forced to escape, never her oppos.

  But this world was different.

  Her adversaries weren't mindless beasts from a ruined world. They had a survival instinct.

  She o learn to deal with that.

  Not every battle would end with one side's death.

  Tang Xi wasted no more time.

  The resource the feline had been guarding was still there.

  And she o be quick.

  Other cultivators had surely been drawn by the noise of the fight.

  Her challenge was already on its way.

  With that in mind, she moved toward the pce the feline had been proteg.

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