Someone whispered, "Third layer…"
The beast vanished.
A young man screamed.
The gray-black beast appeared in front of him, claws already descending toward his face.
Zhou Kang moved.
For the first time, Qin Yuan saw what a trained mission senior truly looked like.
Wind exploded beneath Zhou Kang's boots.
His body crossed ten meters in a blink.
His saber came out fully this time.
The air screamed.
"Threefold Gale Cut!"
One slash became three.
The first cut struck the beast's claws aside.
The second opened its chest.
The third passed through its neck.
The gray-black beast hit the ground in two separate pieces.
Silence fell.
Luo Sheng stared, eyes wide. "Senior Zhou…"
Lian Xiang's lips parted slightly. "That was almost a Spirit Master-level movement art."
The other mission seniors looked at Zhou Kang with open respect.
Zhou Kang flicked the blood from his saber and said coldly, "Almost means nothing. If it had been a real Spirit Master beast, I would be dead."
Qin Yuan looked at the corpse with simple calculation.
It felt strange.
He knew that if Zhou Kang tried to kill him, it would be a simple task.
But at the same time, he felt that surviving the first instant would not be impossible.
Was it because of the levels he had gained?
He was not sure.
Before Qin Yuan could think further, Luo Sheng gave him a strange look.
"You're really calm."
Qin Yuan looked back at him.
"Would panic improve the situation?"
Luo Sheng opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Lian Xiang actually laughed once, quietly.
"Fair."
With the beasts dead, the valley changed from a battlefield into a butcher's yard.
Only minutes ago, people had been screaming, swinging weapons with shaking hands, and stumbling through blood-wet grass. Now those same workers knelt beside corpses with knives, talisman gloves, extraction needles, and cheap core containers. The mission bracelets on their wrists projected small diagrams over each beast corpse, marking where valuable parts could be removed and warning which organs were still dangerous.
A low-level beast core was not large.
Most were only the size of a thumb joint, dull and cloudy, with faint traces of weak Spirit Qi rotating inside.
But to people like Qin Yuan, every core mattered.
Every core was currency.
Every core was time.
Every core was another step away from helplessness.
Qin Yuan crouched beside a Mossjaw Wolf corpse and cut carefully beneath the ribs.
The first cut was too shallow.
The second found the soft tissue near the heart.
He inserted two fingers into the warm, bloody cavity, felt something hard, and pulled out a green-gray core slick with blood.
Beast Core Extraction Experience +0.15
Qin Yuan paused.
A new talent.
He looked at the core.
Then at the corpse.
So even this counts.
He cleaned the core on the grass, placed it into his container, and moved to the next beast.
Lian Xiang watched him from nearby while extracting poison sacs from a Needleback Rat. Her sleeves were already stained dark, but her movements were practiced and precise.
"You've done this before?"
"No."
"Then why are your hands so steady?"
Qin Yuan thought for a moment.
"Because the beast is dead."
Lian Xiang stared at him.
Then she shook her head. "You are either very brave, or there is something wrong with your head."
"Possibly both."
She laughed despite the blood on her sleeve.
Luo Sheng walked over carrying two damaged cores. His spear rested against his shoulder, but his expression remained tense. "Don't get too comfortable. Senior Zhou is right. This gathering was wrong. First-zone beasts don't group like this unless something pushed them."
Qin Yuan looked toward the trees again.
The strange feeling had faded after Zhou Kang killed the third-layer beast.
Now, as he pulled another core free, it returned.
This time, it was stronger.
It did not crawl up his neck.
It pressed into the center of his back.
Qin Yuan's hand stopped.
The corpse beneath him suddenly smelled too sharp. The mist seemed too thick. The grass seemed too quiet.
He closed his eyes.
Focus.
Not on fear.
Not on the corpses.
Not on the chatter around him.
Only on the feeling.
Where was it coming from?
What shape did it have?
Was it sound?
Smell?
Spirit Qi fluctuation?
Killing intent?
The world seemed to narrow.
His weak Spirit Sense spread outward like a thin, fragile thread.
Before this, his Spirit Sense had only been a vague awareness of Qi around his own body. Now, under pressure, he forced it farther.
Five meters.
Eight.
Ten.
The sensation strained his mind like pulling wire through flesh.
Spirit Sense Experience +0.20
Focused Perception Experience +0.18
Danger Awareness Experience +0.24
Qin Yuan did not stop.
The feeling sharpened.
His skin prickled.
His breathing slowed.
Danger Perception Talent Unlocked.
Danger Perception — Level 1
Sixth Sense Talent Unlocked.
Sixth Sense — Level 1
Spirit Sense Level Up.
Spirit Sense — Level 1 → Level 2
Qin Yuan's eyes opened.
Something was already near them.
He opened his mouth to speak.
But at that very second, the world trembled.
Not loudly.
Deeply.
A vibration passed through the soil, through the beast corpses, through Qin Yuan's knees, and into the dantian in his lower abdomen.
Then came the roar.
It rolled out of the western mist like a stone gate grinding open beneath the earth.
Several workers dropped to their knees.
One wizard apprentice coughed blood as the mana around his staff flickered and collapsed.
A shield-bearing warrior clutched his chest, his face turning purple.
Zhou Kang's face went pale white.
Lian Xiang whispered, "No…"
A massive beast stepped through the trees.
It was not as tall as a building.
It did not need to be.
Its body was only the size of a heavy war bull, but every inch of it looked compressed with brutal strength. Black-gray hide covered its frame like layered armor. Two grave-colored horns curved from its skull. Its shoulders were too broad. Its legs were too thick. Its claws sank into the earth with every step.
Around it moved several other beasts.
Two third-layer gray-black hunters.
A pack of Mossjaw Wolves.
Three Iron-Tooth Badgers.
But none of them mattered.
Everyone was staring at the horned beast.
Zhou Kang's lips trembled.
"Dreadmyr Beast…"
The name struck the mission team harder than the roar.
Qin Yuan's eyes narrowed.
Dreadmyr Beast.
Faint memories rolled through his head. He had vaguely heard about these beasts before, but he had never seriously looked into them. The most he knew was that Dreadmyr Beasts were far more terrifying than ordinary monstrous beasts, to an insane degree.
This beast made the wolves look like mice.
The Dreadmyr Beast lowered its head.
Its yellow-black eyes swept across the valley.
For a moment, Qin Yuan had the terrifying feeling that it was not simply hungry.
It was choosing.
Zhou Kang shouted, "Run!"
No one hesitated.
The formation broke instantly.
Earlier, Zhou Kang had threatened death for anyone who ran.
Now he ran first.
No one blamed him.
The mission seniors erupted with their full strength. Wind steps, blood-force bursts, talisman flashes, crude mana jets, and movement charms exploded across the valley.
Luo Sheng grabbed Lian Xiang's wrist. "Move!"
Lian Xiang stumbled, then sprinted.
Qin Yuan ran.
The first three steps were ugly.
His body was tired. His ribs hurt. His sword bounced against his leg. His breath almost broke rhythm.
Then his mind clamped down.
Run properly.
Do not waste motion.
Do not look back with your eyes.
Use Spirit Sense.
His awareness spread backward like a thin net.
Running Talent Unlocked.
Running Talent — Level 1
Escape Talent Unlocked.
Escape Talent — Level 1
Concentration Talent Experience +0.22
He heard screams.
One behind him.
Two to the left.
A rifle fired wildly until something struck the gunner and the shots stopped.
The Dreadmyr Beast roared again.
Qin Yuan felt his dantian tighten as if an invisible fist had squeezed it. His Spirit Qi staggered.
For half a breath, his legs nearly failed.
He forced his breathing even.
Not now.
If you collapse, you die.
Concentration Talent Level Up.
Concentration — Level 1 → Level 2
His Spirit Sense caught Zhou Kang.
The senior had fled farther than everyone else. Wind wrapped around his legs. His saber glowed. He was fast enough that most beasts could not even follow him.
But the Dreadmyr Beast was not most beasts.
Its body lowered.
The ground shattered.
It crossed the distance with horrifying force.
Zhou Kang turned, his face twisting, and slashed with everything he had.
"Threefold Gale Cut!"
Three wind blades streaked across the air. Qin Yuan's eyes could barely follow them. The wind seemed to scream as dust whirled up from the pressure of the Spirit Qi. Those powerful wind blades desperately struck the Dreadmyr Beast's hide.
But there was no erupting shockwave.
No burst of torn flesh.
The three wind blades barely left three shallow wounds.
Only shallow.
The beast remained unbothered. For an instant, it almost seemed to carry a savage smile. Its horn glistened, and its body slammed forward with a pressure that cracked the ground beneath it.
Zhou Kang's protective Spirit Qi collapsed like thin glass.
He did not even have a chance to scream before the horn savagely pierced through his chest. Blood gushed out like a geyser.
The brutal impact sent his corpse smashing across the ground.
Qin Yuan's back chilled.
Sweat formed on his forehead.
Zhou Kang died.
The senior who had killed a third-layer beast in one move died like a paper doll.
For the first time since waking in this world, Qin Yuan felt a truly physical understanding of weakness.
Not humiliation.
Not social embarrassment.
Not being looked down on.
Weakness.
The kind that turned a person into meat before they could finish one thought.
His face remained calm.
His breathing did not.
Fear Resistance Experience +0.16
Mental Stability Experience +0.19
Multi-Focus Talent Unlocked.
Multi-Focus — Level 1
Qin Yuan kept running.
Part of his mind watched the terrain.
Part of his mind watched the beasts.
Part of his mind adjusted his breathing.
Part of his mind tracked Luo Sheng and Lian Xiang several dozen meters behind him.
Part of his mind listened for the Dreadmyr Beast's steps.
The system rewarded all of it.
Running Experience +0.27
Escape Experience +0.31
Spirit Sense Experience +0.18
Multi-Focus Experience +0.22
More screams rang out behind him.
Then one of the third-layer gray-black beasts noticed him.
It broke away from the others.
Qin Yuan sensed it before he saw it.
Fast.
Too fast.
The beast did not immediately kill him.
That was the worst part.
It circled through the trees, occasionally appearing at the edge of his vision, yellow eyes bright with cruel instinct. It could close the distance whenever it wanted.
It was playing.
Qin Yuan's mouth became dry.
The safe zone marker was still far ahead. A faint silver beam rose beyond the trees, marking the outer formation boundary.
Too far.
The beast lunged, the wind splitting around it.
Any peak human back on Earth would have been slaughtered like a pig by this beast.
Qin Yuan narrowed his eyes, madly circulated his Spirit Qi, and threw himself sideways at full speed.
Claws passed through the space where his spine had been.
He rolled across the dirt, his shoulder screaming, and came up running.
Emergency Dodge Experience +0.35
The beast snarled, almost offended that its prey had moved correctly.
It attacked again.
This time, Qin Yuan did not simply dodge.
His Spirit Sense caught the angle of the beast's shoulder.
His eyes caught the tightening of its rear leg.
His skin felt the change in the air.
Left claw first.
Right claw following.
Bite after.
He stepped diagonally.
The left claw missed.
He raised his sword, not to block, but to redirect.
The right claw struck the flat of the blade.
The impact nearly tore the weapon from his hand, but Qin Yuan angled the sword downward, letting the force slide past him.
His body spun half a step.
The beast's bite snapped shut beside his ear.
Qin Yuan used the spin to gain another two meters.
Predictive Evasion Talent Unlocked.
Predictive Evasion — Level 1
Deflection Talent Unlocked.
Deflection — Level 1
Sword Mastery Experience +0.42
The beast froze.
Then its eyes changed.
No longer playful.
Enraged.
Qin Yuan did not celebrate.
He ran harder.
His legs burned.
His lungs burned.
His Spirit Qi moved through his skin and flesh in ragged streams, but every step became cleaner than the one before it. His body leaned at the right angle. His arms stopped wasting motion. His feet found firmer ground even while his eyes stayed forward.
Running Talent Level Up.
Running — Level 1 → Level 2
Escape Talent Level Up.
Escape — Level 1 → Level 2
Qin Yuan was not paying attention to anything except running.
But his speed…
It was rapidly increasing by the second.
All his talents stacked together. His mind entered its most focused state. Wind rushed around him as faint sprinkles of Spirit Qi rippled out of his body.
The beast was briefly shocked.
Its prey was getting faster.
Faster and faster.
It shrieked and charged harder, its limbs hammering against the ground as it tried to swallow its prey once and for all.
But it was all for nothing.
Qin Yuan's speed at this point was astonishing, perhaps even faintly matching the speed Zhou Kang had shown earlier.
But Qin Yuan did not look back.
The silver beam was close now.
He could see the boundary posts.
Three white stone pillars stood around a clearing, each carved with formation script. A translucent film shimmered between them. Mission safe zones were not invincible, but they were designed to repel low-level beasts long enough for rescue teams to arrive.
Qin Yuan crossed the boundary.
The formation recognized his bracelet.
A cold light passed over his body.
The barrier opened.
He stumbled through.
Behind him, the third-layer beast lunged.
The barrier closed.
The beast slammed into silver light.
The entire safe zone shook.
Qin Yuan fell to one knee.
The beast clawed at the barrier, shrieking.
A formation turret rose from the center pillar.
Light gathered.
A white beam shot through the beast's shoulder.
It screamed, retreated, then vanished back into the trees.