The air in the Monster Mountain Range was thick with danger.
Wild Qi danced in the wind, and the scent of beasts—blood, fur, and primal hunger—lingered in every gust.
But Xiao Ranyu, now sealed at 1-Star Dou Fighter, walked forward without hesitation.
> "Come on, then. Let's see what the world has to offer."
---
It didn't take long.
As he stepped past a dense thicket, a rustle echoed to his left.
A low growl.
Emerging from the shadows was a beast with red fur, glowing eyes, and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth—Scarlet-Tailed Flame Wolf, a Late-tier rank 1 magic beast.
> "Perfect warm-up."
Xiao Ranyu cracked his knuckles.
Then lunged.
His body moved instinctively, launching a precise palm strike.
—But the strike felt sluggish, delayed.
> "Shit, forgot I'm locked…"
The wolf dodged mid-air and countered by pouncing straight at his chest.
Xiao Ranyu tried to sidestep—but the weight felt off, his movement slow.
> "OH SH—!"
WHAM!
He was bodied into a tree.
His cloak tore. His back cracked. His ego shattered.
> "...Okay. I was careless. Try again."
The wolf growled again.
And so did Xiao Ranyu.
> "Round two."
---
It took three hours.
Three hours of dodging, tripping, missing punches, and getting flung like laundry into trees.
Finally—sweaty, scratched up, shirtless—he managed to get the wolf in a lock and choked it out using his belt.
Panting, he fell back onto a rock.
> "Haha… easy fight..."
Just as he was about to catch his breath—
> BOOM!
A nearby bush exploded and a two-headed Thunder Ape burst out, chasing a snake.
At first.
It didn't see Xiao Ranyu
Then it did.
> "...Oh no."
The ape roared and charged at him like he had eaten it's grain of rice.
Xiao Ranyu ran.
Screaming.
> "WHY IS HELL ARE YOU CHASING ME YOU STUPID MONKEY?!"
Which made the ape more angry . ( Even if he didn't know what the human was talking about)
---
After that, days passed by
Day 2
Built a crude shelter out of tree bark and beast hide. It collapsed in 3 hours after a bear passed by it.
Day 4
Learned to use his locked Dou Qi efficiently. Took down two flame wolves with basic martial arts. Still got bit in the ass.
Day 7
Broke his leg after underestimating a leaping panther. Crawled to his broken shelter. Got leeches.
Day 14
Finally mastered complete Dou Qi body reinforcement at 1-Star Dou Fighter. Used it to beat a boar into a nutritious stew. Victory tasted like revenge.
Day 21
Perfected muscle control. Can now throw a stone with deadly accuracy. Also uses it to kill birds for meat. May have killed a flying pet beast by accident. Oops.
Day 30:
Stumbled into a natural energy vein. Built a cultivation cave. Named it "Ranyu Fort." Also filled it with spicy grilled beast meat.
Life's getting better.
---
A month later, in the periphery of the forest—
Xiao Ranyu stood shirtless, eyes sharp, breathing slow, fists wrapped in beast hide.
He raised a hand.
His Dou Qi surged—not wildly, but in perfect harmony. Controlled. Precise.
With one palm strike, he shattered a 5-ton boulder to gravel.
> "This is... mastery."
He looked up at the sun filtering through the canopy.
> "Time to climb to 2-Star."
Calm and indifferent.
But deep inside, he smiled.
The old Xiao Ranyu was gone.
What remained was someone who could kill... while laughing.
And maybe complain a little about stupid birds pooping on mid air.
---
A full month passed since his self-imposed hell training began.
Xiao Ranyu now stood atop a wind-swept cliff, shirtless (again), wind rustling through his crimson hair, and scars covering his arms like tribal tattoos .
His Dou Qi surged smoothly within, not wild and overbearing, but balanced and sharp.
> "2-Star Dou Fighter," he whispered, feeling the shift settle into his bones. "Finally."
He grinned.
> "Not bad for a guy who got bitten on the ass last week."
It had taken blood, sweat, and suspicious berries that made him hallucinate talking squirrels—but he'd done it.
Everything was finally coming together.
Until fate said: "Nope."
---
It was a lazy afternoon.
The air was quiet, birds chirping in the distance. A rare moment of peace.
Xiao Ranyu, confident and smug, was practicing a slow, deliberate form with his newly refined Dou Qi when he sensed it.
A gentle presence.
From the bushes ahead emerged a small, snow-white fox.
Its fur gleamed like moonlight on snow, tails swaying playfully—three of them.
Its round eyes blinked up at him.
> "Oh, look at you..." Xiao Ranyu chuckled, crouching. "You're adorable. You lost or something?"
The fox tilted its head.
Purred.
Then vanished.
A split second later—
> BANG!
Ranyu's world turned upside-down as a white blur dropkicked him into a tree.
> "GAHHH!?"
He hit the trunk so hard the bark cracked like thunder.
He blinked, dazed. "W-What just happened?"
The fox—no, that beast—reappeared midair, flipped, and spin-kicked him into the ground.
> BOOM!
Xiao Ranyu groaned into the dirt.
> "You're not cute at all..."
The fox landed gracefully beside him, sat down with a smug expression, and flicked its tail against his forehead.
> THWACK!
Then it smiled.
IT SMILED.
And disappeared into the trees again.
Xiao Ranyu lay motionless for a moment.
Face-down.
Soul-wounded.
> "Did I just get my ass kicked... by a fluffy fox?"
He rolled onto his back, eyes empty.
> "I've trained for a month. Gained muscles, built a fort, punched a boar to death... and I still get ragdolled like a side character."
He coughed out a leaf.
Then winced.
> "Okay... maybe I got cocky."
---
Two Hours Later
Back in his "Ranyu Fort", he applied ointment made from mashed herbs and spirit beast saliva (don't ask) and sulked on his bed of wolf pelts.
He stared up at the rocky ceiling.
> "Alright, new goal: If I ever see that fox again, I'll... I'll…"
His eyes narrowed.
> "I'll try not to call it cute first."
His stomach rumbled.
Outside, birds chirped again.
He squinted out the cave mouth cautiously.
> "...Please not another Thunder Ape."
---
The morning after his glorious defeat, Xiao Ranyu stood at the edge of his cliff in a torn shirt, one eye still twitching from phantom tail-whacks.
> "Cute little fox… my ass."
He clenched his fist and nodded solemnly to himself.
> "No prideful man can rest after being humiliated by a fluffy creature with a smug smile."
With that, he packed a light satchel—herb kit, some grilled beast meat, a throwing knife, and a needle he had fashioned from a horn in his spatial ring.
> "This time… I'm the hunter."