Felix lay flat on the ground, half-hidden beneath a low wall of ferns. The dirt was damp under his chest. His elbows ached from holding still so long, but he didn't move.
A short distance ahead, in a clearing surrounded by roots and moss, was a strange flower. It stood alone, pale and upright, with wide cream-colored petals and a faint glow at its center. Even from here, Felix could tell—it wasn't just any flower.
He narrowed his eyes and knew this plant.
"Ember Pale Flower," he muttered softly.
He'd seen a drawing of it in one of the old books he scavenged. Most pages were ruined, but one described this flower clearly. It absorbed the energy of the land for years, refining it until the petals glowed faintly. When fully ripe, it gave off a type of qi that could push someone past their limits.
Not just healing qi. Not just replenishing energy. It could trigger advancement.
It could be the final push a cultivator—or even a beast—needed to step into the next realm.
Felix exhaled slowly through his nose.
He needed that.
His own qi had been building up for months. After long weeks of quiet cultivation, hunting for food, gathering herbs, meditating under moonlight—he was close. Very close. Each cycle of breath, each time he drew in qi, it circled tighter. Clearer. His body felt heavy some days, like something wanted to shift but hadn't yet.
This flower could be the key.
But he wasn't the only one who'd noticed it.
Not far from the flower, lying almost too still to notice at first, was a beast. It looked like a large hound, but bigger than a wild ox, and its thick fur was marked with pale streaks. Its body was coiled beside the roots of a tree. From its posture, it wasn't hunting. It was waiting.
Felix didn't need to guess why.
It knew the flower too.
And just like him, it was on the edge of breakthrough.
Feral Realm—probably peak stage. But from the slow pulse of qi coming off its body, it was getting ready to enter the Soul Awakening Realm. That would put it equal to a human Awakening Realm cultivator.
Felix stayed low. He didn't move his limbs. He just studied the clearing.
He had no chance in a fight; that much was clear.
His wooden spear and stone-tipped arrows weren't enough to pierce that thing's hide, not at its level. He had no armor. No escape route. No real weapons.
But that didn't mean he had no chance at all.
He only needed the flower.
He didn't need to kill the beast.
Just grab the flower—and get away alive.
Still, even that felt far.
If he made one wrong move, even stepped too hard, the beast might notice him. And when that flower bloomed completely, the beast would definitely act. It was just waiting for the right moment.
Same as him.
Felix stared at the flower again. The glow inside it was faint now, barely visible. But he remembered the book's words. When the center turned gold and the edges brightened fully, the qi inside would be at its peak. It wasn't there yet.
"Soon," he whispered. "Not now."
He let the tension ease out of his shoulders.
This wasn't a moment to rush.
He would need a plan.
If he wanted to survive this, he couldn't rely on force. He'd have to use the land, the shadows, the timing. Maybe even create a distraction. But even a distraction had to be quiet. Quick. Precise.
He looked to the sides of the clearing.
Roots.
Branches.
A slight slope.
Water is dripping slowly from the leaves.
If he moved around the edge and placed something far enough—maybe he could draw the beast's attention away for just a breath or two. That might be enough.
Or maybe... he could wait. Let the beast make the first move, and grab the flower in the chaos.
Still too risky.
Felix pressed his forehead gently to the damp ground.
"Think. What do you have?"
He mentally listed his gear. Spear. Bow. A few arrows. Twine. Bark cloth. Resin paste in a small pouch. Not much. Not enough to trap the beast. But maybe enough to craft a simple sound lure.
His thoughts circled quietly.
Not fear.
Just focus.
There was a strange calm inside him now. The kind that only came when things were clear. He wasn't panicking. He wasn't rushing. He knew what was at stake.
And he also knew something else.
That flower was going to change everything.
One of them would walk away stronger.
The other… wouldn't.
Felix slowly backed up from the fern cover, careful not to snap a twig or shake the leaves. The beast's breathing didn't change.
Good, there was still time. He needed to get into position and to prepare.
The flower hadn't bloomed yet.