The dawn mist had barely begun to thin when the Shrek team stirred at Moonmist Lake. Tendrils of fog drifted across the placid surface, obscuring its mirrored depths. The air felt heavy—too still, as if the forest itself held its breath. Li Wei stood at the water's edge, his teal-white robes melding with the pale light, eyes narrowed as he surveyed the shifting haze.
"Move carefully," he murmured, voice low but precise. Each member of the group listened: Flender (ever watchful), Liu Erlong (calm as a hawk), Zhao Wuji (tensed for action), Zhu Zhuqing (silent determination), Ning Rongrong (nervous strength), Xiao Wu (playful tension), and Meng Yiran (poised readiness).
"Report," Flender said quietly to Liu Erlong.
Liu Erlong fingers traced an arc in the air, pale sigils shimmering for a heartbeat before vanishing. "Mental echoes—indications of a psychic signature. The Crystal-Eyed Wisdom Fox is probing our defenses, attempting to anticipate our moves."
Ning Rongrong swallowed. "It… it already brushed me. Like something cold pressing on my mind, but gone before I could focus."
Li Wei nodded. "Understood. We'll bait it. Xiao Wu, prepare illusions along the western treeline. Ning Rongrong, create mental buffers—keep our minds anchored."
Xiao Wu flashed a crooked grin. "Got it. My illusions will be fun—sorry, foxie, no real candy today." Still, her laughter rang hollow in the oppressive dawn.
"Zhu Zhuqing," Li Wei turned to her, voice steady. "Meng Yiran, you two head down into the ravine to draw out the Voidfang Tiger. I want visible tracks and disturbances. Alert the rest if you confirm its presence."
Zhu Zhuqing inclined her head. Her black eyes glinted with resolve. "Understood."
Meng Yiran merely nodded, her arms folding as her gaze locked on the tree line. Neither spoke, they trusted Li Wei judgement entirely.
Zhao Wuji patted Ning Rongrong back. "I'll help Rongrong with mental defenses. Keep her shielded once the fox strikes."
"Right," Ning Rongrong said, biting her lip. She glanced at Xiao Wu, who offered an encouraging nod even as she slung her spirit-bead necklace around her wrist.
Flender stepped forward, resting a hand on Li Wei shoulder. "We will move at first light. Stay sharp." His voice carried the weight of authority, beneath it was the unmistakable hum of anticipation.
Li Wei gave a single nod. "Be ready."
Killing the spirit beast will be easy but to hold back so that the beast did not will not be easy for Flender, Liu Erlong and Zhao Wuji.
_______________
The forest, once serene, seemed to twist as the team split into two units. Along the western shore, Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong advanced beneath a shroud of trees as bait.
To the east, Zhu Zhuqing and Meng Yiran descended into the ravine, the world shifting suddenly to craggy rock faces, snarling vines, and damp earth. Vines hung like serpents from the cliff walls, and the shadows between the boulders deepened. Zhu Zhuqing moved like a specter, her footsteps insubstantial as she tested the ground ahead. Meng Yiran followed, eyes scanning, every muscle coiled for action.
The place where the two Spirit Beast seem to live too close to each other. Is it because of their presence that the beast move together or they already like that. No one knew.
As Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong advanced, the air in the forest around them wavered—visual distortions creating phantom trees and shifting shapes. Xiao Wu eyes narrowed. "Rongrong, ready your barrier. It's playing with the mind."
Ning Rongrong exhaled and touched her Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, using her third skill. Even if it not be able to block it completely, it enough for it to soften the blow. A soft golden aura flared, weaving around both girls like a protective blanket. "Barrier up," she murmured. Her voice trembled, but her barrier held firm, a translucent dome of warm light enveloping them both.
Xiao Wu grinned. "Now let's see how sly this fox can be."
The mist parted as if drawn by unseen hands. Out of the swirling haze stepped a creature of impossible grace and beauty: the Crystal-Eyed Wisdom Fox. It's fur was pure snow, tinged with iridescent blue; the ghostly third eye in its forehead glowed violet, flickering with psychic power. It regarded Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong with unsettling calm, as though it already knew their fears and strengths.
From the ravine above, Zhu Zhuqing and Meng Yiran heard the faintest tremor—the telltale roar of a great predator. Their heads snapped to the cliffs overhead. The Voidfang Tiger emerged into partial light, its fur an obsidian void rippling with strange energy. Silver stripes etched its flanks like living runes. The long, muscular body moved with terrifying stealth across the narrow ledge. Its eyes, molten gold, fixed upon Zhu Zhuqing and Meng Yiran with unspoken intent.
In that instant, a brutal truth settled over the two battlefronts: the fox and the tiger, twin ten-thousand-year beasts, had chosen to strike simultaneously.
_____________
On the western flank, the fox tilted its head. Without warning, the ground beneath Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong twisted into a labyrinth of illusions: phantom boulders blocking paths, false trees shimmering into view, and the distant echo of a child laughter—Tang San voice—breaching their senses.
Xiao Wu gritted her teeth as her legs tried to follow deceptive paths. "Rongrong, can you maintain the barrier? It's warping everything."
Ning Rongrong nodded, sweat beading on her brow. She concentrated, weaving her spirit power through the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Golden threads of energy solidified the barrier, resisting the fox psychic distortion. "I can hold for a while, but it's draining me fast."
The fox leaped forward, each step barely touching ground. It lunged at Xiao Wu, spectral claws extended. Xiao Wu reacted instinctively, tapping into her teleportation. She blinked to the side, her silhouette flickering into nothingness and reappearing behind a phantom boulder—only to realize it was an illusion. The true boulder loomed directly ahead moments later.
Xiao Wu shouted, "Bar...?"
Suddenly, the fox's third eye flared. A violet beam shot forward, aiming directly at the barrier's core. Ning Rongrong threw both hands forward, chanting under her breath. The barrier rippled violently as the fox's psychic blast collided against it. For a heartbeat, the barrier quavered—but it did not break.
Happy that her minimum defense held, Rongrong whispered, "Now, Xiao Wu—disrupt it!"
Xiao Wu forced a smile. "I've got just the trick."
She grabbed a handful of spirit petal—glistening, translucent blossoms—and tossed them into the orb of gold light.The petal move toward the fox seemingly like it some kind of weapon causing the creature to flinch as its mental web unraveled. Even though the petal only ordinary just reinforce with spirit power.
Seizing the moment, Xiao Wu vanished again—this time truly behind a rock. When she rematerialized, she struck at the fox's flank with her kick, but the beast blurred away with supernatural speed, leaving a gust of mental pressure that knocked Xiao Wu off her feet.
Ning Rongrong raced to help, pushing her barrier outward. "Xiao Wu!"
Xiao Wu rolled free of a second psychic slash and leapt to her feet. "I'm fine!" She winced but pressed on. "We may not defeat it here—but we won't let it slay us." She glared at the snow-white fox. "Fight me if you dare."
The fox answer was a low, laughter-like growl. Then, in a swirl of violet mist, it vanished—leaving Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong to catch their breath, the barrier slowly dissolving around them.
___________________
Simultaneously, on the eastern front, Zhu Zhuqing and Meng Yiran faced a different nightmare. The Voidfang Tiger had dropped from the cliff—its claws raking the rock, leaving silvered gouges in its wake. It landed with a ground-shaking roar, spitting columns of dust and small stones into the air.
Zhu Zhuqing reflexes ignited. She activated Hell Rush, her form splitting into seven afterimages that darted around the tiger jaws as it lunged. Only one real Zhu Zhuqing moved beneath the avalanche of claws, and she slammed her elbow into the tiger side to deflect its initial strike.
Meng Yiran lunged at its flank, her Serpent Cane swirling with a faint purple aura. She aimed a glancing slash—Soulfang venom animated along the cane tip. The tiger howled as the poison scorched its pelt but barely slowed its momentum.
The tiger sprang upward, disappearing into a ripple of void energy that distorted the air. It reappeared behind Zhu Zhuqing, jaws gaping.
"Watch out!" Meng Yiran shouted.
Zhu Zhuqing rolled forward, Phantom Civet Legion erupting in ten transparent clones that streaked outward. The tiger jaws snapped shut on illusions—crack—while the real Zhu Zhuqing spun and launched Hell Hundred Claw, dozens of ethereal slashes targeting the tiger joints.
The Voidfang tiger roared in fury, twisted its massive head, and with a single swipe of its forepaw, sent Zhu Zhuqing hurtling across the rocky floor. She slammed into a boulder, winded. Blood trickled from a cut on her cheek.
"Zhuqing!"
Meng Yiran darted to her side, but the tiger locked its gaze on the pair. Then it reared—void energy shimmered along its limbs—and launched a devastating Void Spiral Fang: a wide, rending slash of pure spatial energy that carved a gouge through rock and earth.
Both girls dodged, but the shockwave knocked Meng Yiran off her feet. She tumbled down the rocky slope, cane clattering from her grasp. Zhu Zhuqing crawled upright, fury in her eyes. She surged forward, blood mingling with sweat, and plunged her claws into the tiger flank—only to be flung backward by a retaliatory swing.
"Li Wei!" she called, her voice wheezing.
A distant roar answered.
__________________
At the same moment, Li Wei felt the twin tremors erupt through his spirit senses: the fox psychic wave and the tiger Void Spiral Fang. He had been hidden on a narrow ledge, preparing to assess both fronts, but there was no time to hesitate.
[BuffRide : Accel]
Red circuit lines flooded his body as he activated Kamen Rider Accel buff. In an instant, he became a streak of light rushing between the ravine and the lakeshore—against both foes.
As Li Wei rocketed toward Zhu Zhuqing and Meng Yiran, he summon two rider to distract it. Putting the card of the rider into the side slot of Diendriver gun.
[KamenRide: Brave]
[KamenRide: Specter]
The figure appear to disrupt the Voifang Tiger.
The Voidfang Tiger snarled, disoriented by the kamen rider. It roared, shaking loose its spatial cloak. This attack cause both Kamen rider to disappear into data as the damage more than it can take. Firelight and freezing mist danced around its form as Liu Erlong arrived in a blaze of aura in the form of dragon, striking the beast with a scorching inferno that drove it back.
Li Wei landed beside Meng Yiran in a crouch and offered her his hand. She accepted, and together they evaded another swipe from the tiger fanged maw.
In the blink of an eye, Li Wei was moving again—he dashed toward Zhu Zhuqing, aura blazing—ready to catch her midair when a bone-cracking blow would almost have ended her life sound because of the Voidfang tiger claw swipe at her real body as she stand too close to it after attacking with phantom civet legion.
But there was no moment to breathe.
Across the ravine, the Crystal-Eyed Wisdom Fox had returned—this time not for illusions alone. Its third eye opened fully, and a beam of violet psychic energy shot toward Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu, who were still recovering.
Zhao Wuji fall down infront of the girl, shielding them from the attack. He was distract from the illusion from the fox attack, he able to break through it as his realm is Soul Saint stronger than the fox cultivation age.
Li Wei, torn between both fronts, forced his gaze back to the tiger even as he felt the fox mental assault.
All around him, the forest trembled.
He raised his Diendriver, drawing a final breath.
"Then they shall face a battle they never saw coming," he whispered, summoning every ounce of spirit power.
The light from his body flared and engulfed him as he prepared to strike at both foes—predators of mind and void.