15 A Firm Will in Isolation

The new week quickly arrived, and with it came news; the next Inter-Sect Tournament would be held in two months. With this news the entire sect began to boil with excitement, the hallways were buzzing with activity, and the stairs were reverberating with traffic. It was suddenly extremely difficult to move between areas, but Yun still managed to make it to the missions desk and pick up a task to hunt some vicious beasts outside the city. After picking up her task at the desk she also went to each of her group of disciples and gave them some simple tasks to do, providing them some resources but also some free time to prepare for the tournament.

Once she had everyone ready, Yun also prepared her own materials and left the sect through the secondary exit at the City Gates. When she had picked up the mission to leave the city she had been informed by the attendant at the desk that each sect had an underground passage to a different city gate, allowing them to take charge of city defense quickly in emergencies. The Hunting Hall Sect was in charge of the East city gate, matching with their position in the east of the city. As she walked out of the tunnel and stopped before the Gate Guardians they looked her over quickly and nodded at her equipment. She was dressed in a basic set of leather armor similar to what Sister Rong had worn when they met, as well as the arm and leg guards she had obtained with her spear. On her back was a small pack with some supplies as well as her spear and a small sleeping mat. Walking out of the gate and into the darkness of the River Wood to hunt.

After walking for most of the day without encountering any vicious beasts Yun was starting to feel restless. She wanted to hone herself through life or death combat with these beasts and prepare for the tournament. Just as she was thinking of settling down in the hollow of a nearby tree for the evening she felt a strange sensation, like something was tugging on her consciousness. Putting her supply pack in the tree hollow and covering it with fragrant plants to keep the beasts from finding it, she decided to follow this strange sensation further north into the forest. Keeping her spear in hand she jogged forwards, paying special attention to the nagging sensation until it stopped, at which point she was staring straight at the back of a large vicious Dragon Lizard.

These gigantic lizards are equivalent to the average Second Change Neidan Forging fighter and had a very small amount of dragon blood left in them. They were children of weak ground dragons that had long since left this planet behind for warmer worlds, and were frequently hunted for their hide and bones which made good tools and armor. One leg of this Dragon Lizard was already as big as Yun's entire body, and it flicked its tongue out and tasted the air before turning around to look at her. To the Dragon Lizard, she was a delicious treat that could help it evolve and obtain an even greater power, so as it spotted her it got a glint in its eyes and began to charge towards her through the trees.

Despite its enormous body it was extremely agile, weaving through the trees without issue on its six legs as it swiftly closed the distance on the distressed Yun. She was barely keeping her focus as her first battle was against something so large, but as it closed in on her she firmed her resolve and leapt up in the air as it reached her, stepping on its head and doing a quick half-turn in the air before swinging her spear down hard on the bones of its skull. As she felt her spear whip down and collide with the lizard's skull she found that this was an extremely strong area of the beast and her spear felt like it had hit a wall, not even causing a single bit of damage.

Quickly she stepped back further on the lizard to maintain her balance as it started to move quickly in an attempt to knock her off, but as it did she used the tip of her spear to stab into either side of it to keep her balance while standing. After being stabbed repeatedly, the Dragon Lizard slammed into a large tree in a rage, causing a large crack to resound, but not managing to break the tree. It did manage to dislodge Yun from its back though, and she flew through the air until she got close to a tree and could turn and plant her feet against it to stop and drop back to the ground. As she landed she could feel the lizard rushing at her again and raised her head. Seeing the Lizard open its mouth mere meters from her she raised her spear and rolled under its jaws, sweeping her spear out to slash at its front legs, before she rolled again to the side and slashed at its stomach.

Once out from under the lizard she felt much safer, no longer at risk of being crushed under its massive torso should it choose to slam down upon her. She raised her spear and unleashed a barrage of stabs at the front leg again, aiming for the ligaments and joints that were standing out under the lizard's incredible hide. After a few successful strikes the beast roared at her and lifted its front legs off the ground, then, writhing its upper torso, attempted to slam down on her with half its body. Her pupils shrank, her will shook, but her body moved on its own and dove out from under this deadly strike. Standing back up she could feel her knees shaking, but she again forced herself to continue, the will to live pushing her on with that strange feeling from before, like another will within her telling her to stand tall.

The ground shook as the Dragon Lizard repeatedly tried to smash Yun with its torso or thrashed its tail at her to break her body. Twice she received a strike from its tail with her spear, nearly numbing her hands with the force, but she managed to stabilize herself before the beast could close in and assault her again. Each time the Lizard slammed the ground she recovered faster and struck out at it with her spear more and more, leaving bloody gashes along its sides and spilling its blood all over the area. After a prolonged battle the Lizard finally started to become more and more sluggish, bleeding itself dry faster and faster from each new wound. Yun was also tiring out, but she persisted and kept striking out. Finally, as the lizard seemed to be on its last legs, barely standing, she moved in to try and strike the neck when suddenly the tail swiped out from behind her again, smashing into her side and sending her flying dozens of meters away, nearly smashing into a gigantic tree.

As she recovered her balance and looked up she saw the lizard taking one last desperate charge, trying to smash her against the tree to eat her. Seeing this, she prepared herself for one last gamble, waiting for it to get closer. When it was still a few meters away and it had its mouth open wide to devour her she threw her spear into the mouth, aiming for the base of the spine, and dove out of the path of the lizard's charge. As she rolled again to get to a safe distance she watched the lizard's body become limp just as it smashed into the tree at full speed.

The tree shook, but stayed standing, but the lizard was glassy eyed and unmoving. Finally it was over, she had survived a fight with an adult Dragon Lizard. Quickly she verified it was dead, keeping her defenses up until she was certain. After a few moments rest she could feel her whole body shaking, the stress and adrenaline starting to catch up to her. She sat down against the side of the tree near the Lizard's head and rested, trying to control the shaking, trying to calm her mind and body together.