Stephen burst out of the dense forest after several frantic minutes of running—and froze.
Before him stretched a vast clearing, unnaturally quiet, the air heavy and oppressive. At its center stood a majestic Golden-Crowned Eagle, its massive body lowered protectively over a deep pit in the earth.
Inside the pit were three enormous brown eggs, each the size of a small house. The pit itself was filled with a brilliant red liquid, from which a crimson mist continuously rose, visibly being absorbed into the eggs.
Blood essence…Stephen's heart clenched.
The eagle lifted its head and fixed him with a steely gaze. The sheer pressure radiating from the beast made Stephen's soul shudder, as if it were being crushed under an invisible mountain. A sharp, piercing shriek tore through the clearing.
Before Stephen could retreat, footsteps sounded behind him.
His three pursuers emerged from the treeline, blocking every possible escape.
The spear-wielding man sneered."Boy, you have nowhere to run. Hand over the beast, and we might leave your corpse intact."
Sensing their presence, the eagle's aura surged violently. A murderous pressure flooded the clearing, freezing the three intruders in place for a brief moment.
Stephen recalled what he had read in the Federation library—some high-ranked beasts fed their offspring with their own blood essence before birth to elevate their future potential.
Before he could think further, danger struck.
A giant two-handed axe whistled through the air toward him.
Stephen instinctively dove aside—but his heart lurched when he saw its trajectory. The axe was heading straight for the pit.
The eagle moved with terrifying speed. Its wing swept out and knocked the axe aside—but a deep gash opened along its wing, golden blood spraying into the air.
The axe rebounded, flying back into the axe-wielder's grasp.
The two men's eyes lit up as they finally noticed the eggs.
The axe-bearer's breathing grew heavy."Big brother… those eggs alone would fetch millions of merit points. A Grandmaster-realm Golden-Crowned Eagle's brood—why not take them too? With that wealth, we wouldn't need to serve the Clark Family ever again."
The spear-wielding man hesitated, greed flickering in his eyes.
But the woman immediately snapped, "Are you idiots? Golden-Crowned Eagles nest in pairs. If its partner returns, we die here. What use are riches if you're dead?"
Her words sobered them.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Stephen tried to slip away.
An arrow screamed through the air and buried itself in the tree before him, exploding bark outward.
"Don't move," the woman said coldly.
The two men charged the eagle in an attempt to suppress it.
They were instantly flung back.
Both crashed into the ground with thunderous booms, carving craters dozens of meters wide. Their weapons were sent flying far from their grasp. They struggled to rise, blood spilling from their mouths, their insides feeling as though they had been violently rearranged.
Stephen's heart sank.
A weakened Grandmaster-realm beast is still a Grandmaster… and beasts are stronger than humans of the same realm.
The eagle pressed its attack, enraged. It had no intention of letting these ants retreat after daring to threaten its offspring.
As time passed, the three hunters grew more battered, their clothes soaked crimson with blood.
Stephen used the chaos.
Circling silently through the trees, he drew several dozen meters behind them. He poured what little energy he had into his blade, waiting for the perfect moment.
When the eagle forced the men back again, Stephen struck.
His blade flashed.
The woman sensed danger at the last instant—but her injuries slowed her. The strike tore open a deep gash across her back, ripping through her robes and soaking her pale skin in blood.
She cried out, spinning around with a short dagger—but Stephen was already gone, retreating hundreds of meters into the forest.
Barely standing now, the woman's vision swam. Gritting her teeth, she pulled out a silver talisman and ignited it with her remaining energy. It burned with a strange glow before turning to ash.
A distress signal.
Freed from the constant arrows, the eagle slammed into the two men again, intent on killing them.
Then—
A sharp whoosh cut through the air.
A sword as thin as a cicada's wing flashed across the sky and severed the eagle's wounded wing cleanly.
The wing crashed to the ground with a deafening thud. Blood erupted from the stump as the eagle shrieked in agony.
Stephen looked up in shock.
A young man descended from the sky, landing lightly on a tree branch. His eyebrows were sharp and sword-like, his presence overwhelming.
He laughed."So this is what greed gets you. You were only sent to capture a Night Fox, yet you nearly died for more."
The woman leaned heavily on her bow, barely able to stand."Mock us later… help us kill the beast first. You can take its corpse—just leave us the eggs."
"You're not in any position to negotiate," the man replied calmly.
The air suddenly grew heavy. Even Stephen felt it become hard to breathe.
The eagle let out a desperate shriek—
And the sky answered.
A thunderous cry echoed from kilometers away. The sound of air tearing apart followed.
The man's gaze sharpened.
Another Golden-Crowned Eagle, far larger, with jet-black wings and a wingspan stretching dozens of meters, appeared overhead. It roared in fury at the sight below.
The forest responded.
Roars erupted from every direction.
The ground trembled beneath Stephen's feet. He climbed a tree and looked back—his heart pounding as dozens of powerful beasts, each no weaker than his pursuers, rushed toward the clearing.
The lords of this territory…
Realizing the situation had escalated far beyond him, Stephen fled.
He poured every last drop of energy into his legs, pushing his movement art to its absolute limit. Within minutes, he had put dozens of kilometers between himself and the chaos.
He stopped atop a massive boulder to catch his breath as wave after wave of beasts thundered past, ignoring him completely.
He slipped away and soon found an abandoned cave. After confirming it was safe, he collapsed the entrance with falling rocks, sealing it tightly while leaving a faint airflow passage.
Only then did he untie the Night Fox from his back.
The small beast was thin and weak, the poison still ravaging its body.
Stephen sat cross-legged before it and placed his hand over its wound, focusing on the A-rank seedling in his soul sea.
Black wisps of poison seeped out, drilling into his palm and flowing through his meridians. The seedling glowed brightly as it absorbed the toxin, refilling his nearly depleted soul sea.
The Night Fox's trembling eased. The blackened flesh faded to red.
Stephen applied precious medicine from the Federation outpost, his heart aching at the cost, then wrapped the wound carefully.
Exhaustion claimed him soon after.
Hours later, a soft whimper woke him.
The Night Fox had opened its eyes. Its beautiful brown gaze met his before it limped forward and gently rubbed its head against his leg.
Stephen smiled faintly and stroked its head."It's alright. You're safe now."
The wound was already healing—astonishingly fast.
Outside, the sky glowed orange.
"The exam starts at dawn," he murmured. "I have to go."
He glanced down at the Night Fox, hesitating for a moment before adding softly, "Once your wounds are fully healed and you feel well enough, you should then leave the cave, but be careful and don't get caught next time".
He then slipped back into the forest, pushing onward through the night, refining his movement technique, gathering fruits and herbs when possible, and stabilizing his cultivation whenever his soul sea dipped.
By the time dawn neared, his foundation at the early Apprentice Realm had fully solidified.