The blue translucent interface materialized over the young man's head, analyzing his vital signatures and spiritual pressure through the Inspect skill.
[ Target: Wang Chen (Human Male) ]
* Affiliation: Clear Water Sect (Outer Disciple)
* System Level: Equivalent to Level 7
* Cultivation Realm: 9-Stage Body Refinement ➔ Stage 4: Blood Boiling
Stage 4, she noted, her muscles tightening. His blood is supercharged, burning away impurities. He’s two full stages ahead of me in cultivation, and his physical stats must be much higher.
Wang Chen paced around the clearing, his boots crunching on the damp twigs. He lifted his glowing steel sword, tilting his head as he scrutinized the ground. "There are no drag marks. It's as if a four-hundred-pound beast simply vanished into thin air. Did a high-level cultivator use a spatial ring to harvest it?"
He shook his head, dismissing the thought. An inner sect elder with a precious spatial ring wouldn't waste their time poaching a mere Level 4 Iron-Tusk Wolf deep in the outer perimeter.
Frustrated, Wang Chen stepped backward, his heel catching a thick root. He adjusted his stance, and the jade amulet at his waist flared, casting a sharp, ambient glow upward into the canopy of the weeping willow.
The sudden light pierced the thick, drooping branches.
High above, Ethan tried to pull back into the darkness, but the shifting light caught her form. Against the dark bark of the willow, her pristine, snow-white fur was an absolute beacon. The moonlight and the amulet's glow combined, casting a stark, unmistakable fox-shaped shadow directly onto the forest floor right in front of Wang Chen’s boots.
The disciple froze. He stared down at the crisp silhouette of a small, four-legged creature with a remarkably long, fluffy tail.
Slowly, his head tilted upward. His eyes tracked the shadow back to its source, cutting straight through the foliage until his gaze locked directly onto her bright, glowing eyes.
"A Spirit Fox?" Wang Chen whispered, his eyes widening with immediate, undisguised greed. He lowered his sword slightly, his breath catching. "And a pure white one at that... This isn't a common beast. Its fur has no impurities. If I can capture it alive and brand it as a spiritual pet, the Outer Sect Elders will reward me with enough Qi Pill formulas to break through to the Qi Condensation realm!"
He didn't see a living creature; he saw a golden ticket to promotion.
Ethan felt a chill run down her spine as the man's gaze turned predatory. Even with the divine blessings of the goddesses humming silently within her soul, her survival instincts flared. She was still physically outmatched. If he struck to incapacitate her, those steel-tempered bones from his Stage 2 refinement would make his blows devastating.
Wang Chen smiled, a deeply unsettling, arrogant grin. He reached into his robes with his left hand, pulling out a yellow paper talisman inscribed with pulsing crimson cinnabar ink.
"Be a good beast and sit still," Wang Chen cooed, channeling his supercharged Qi into the paper. The talisman began to crackle with static, spiritual energy. "This Beast-Binding Sigil will only sting for a moment."
He began to scale the trunk with superhuman agility, his Stage 4 physique allowing him to leap up the initial branches with terrifying speed.