Hunt

Zoran employed a variety of guerilla tactics against the company of Miasma Beasts.

There were still about 90 Miasma Panthers left in their formation, and even Zoran wouldn't be able to survive if he fought them head on.

He simply used the environment to his advantage to slowly whittle their numbers. Although these Miasma Beasts were more intelligent than their animal counterparts, they still could not create a counter to Zoran's tactics.

Zoran lured the puma soldiers into the location filled with Miasma spires.

These spires of tendrils were made out of pure Miasma but it was not as condensed nor was it as toxic as the solid Miasma.

These towered from the very depths of the realm up to the ceiling with varying sizes of girth and length.

This biome in the Miasma realm was reminiscent of a kelp biome in the ocean, with the tendrils swaying from the movements in Miasma.

The Miasma beasts navigated through the large biome of spires by spreading out their numbers—which was a big mistake.

Zoran used these spires as cover as he snuck up behind them and used the tendrils to choke them to death.

But the company soon learned their lesson and the company searched for their assassin in groups of five.

This was a good countermeasure to Zoran's tactics because he wouldn't be able to discreetly kill one beast without alerting the others.

But that would only apply if Zoran was still hunting them.

Zoran had long retreated away from the biome of spires and recuperated his strength.

While the whole company of Miasma Beasts were tiring themselves out and keeping their eyes open all the time, Zoran was cultivating his strength.

He used the beads to fill half of his cultivation core with Miasma. If he cultivated more, he would be able to break through to the 2nd stage of Body Strengthening.

And so that's what Zoran did. He spent many days pestering the Miasma Beasts and retreating quickly before they could even catch a glimpse of him.

The puma soldiers would stand guard with full attention after every assassination, but after a few days, they would let down their guard.

That's when Zoran would strike.

These prideful Miasma Beasts didn't retreat even after Zoran eliminated half of their troops. They would rather die than go back with no results and no bodies to bring back.

Some Miasma Beasts were enraged after a few cycles of this cat and mouse game. They bit their own comrades in anger as they saw Zoran blast away from them with his strange techniques.

After a month, there were only a handful of puma soldiers left. He got out of his meditation stance and revealed himself from the wrapping of Miasma spires around him.

He searched for the remaining beasts and saw them congregating in a circle.

But there was someone new in their midst. This didn't seem like the ordinary Miasma panther or soldier. This one looked dangerous.

It was twice as large as the other soldiers, who were already buffed compared to other Miasma Beasts.

This Beast had a clearer edge, as if its hind legs had been chiseled to achieve perfection in both strength and agility.

Claws with sharpness comparable to most treasured weapons like Helio's bloodred ax, was perfectly hidden amongst its paws.

A pyramidal structure acted as its armor around its shoulders, filled with millions and millions of gently swaying tendrils of Miasma.

Make no mistake. Although this armor looked to be soft, just one touch and its prey would literally have a brush with death as it injected decay into its prey.

Zoran could tell that the intensity of Miasma around those tendrils rivaled even the solid Miasma that he could not handle.

Its body was sleekly designed to glide through the viscosity of Miasma, creating little to no ripples as it moved.

This would not only increase its speed, but also prevent its prey from noticing its deadly lunge before it was too late.

It's blocky jaws handled sharp teeth and two long canines to the side. Zoran estimated that those jaws could rip off a puma soldier's head with ease.

Above those dangerous weapons was its clear red eyes that exuded a dangerous glint. It was filled with confidence and boredom.

The reddish purple neon color around its body was much brighter and more intense than the other Miasma Beasts, making it stand out even more than the others.

This was a dangerous foe that Zoran could not belittle. Judging from the natural ripples of Miasma around its body, he estimated that this new beast was at the very end of the 3rd stage, just a hair's breadth away from the 4th stage.

And that was not the worst. This creature had the aura and bearing of an expert.

There was a saying in his previous life that stated: even a rock can advance through the Body Strengthening stage in a hundred years, but only the expert would spend ten thousand.

That was because advancing through the stages was as easy as consuming as many cultivation beads and pills as possible.

Many novices used this process to quickly reach the top of Body Strengthening for the sake of just reaching it. But they would have no mastery over their Yi energy and end up becoming weaker than their peers.

This evolved form of Miasma Panther was no such being. This creature had full mastery over the energy over its body, with barely any excess leaking if any.

The moment that Zoran noticed this new creature, it noticed Zoran too.

Its red eyes clearly tracked Zoran's body even if they were a long distance away from each other.

Zoran felt a chill as excitement filled his entire body. All those days hunting those Miasma Beasts made him bored. This new challenger would wake his sleeping competitive spirit.

His body filled with Yi energy, Miasma tendrils revolved around his body like roots. He was locked and loaded, ready to pounce at any moment.

The evolved Panther lowered its stance, claws at the ready. It saw Zoran as a threat, especially with the massacre he had done to the army.

While the two of them sized each other off, one puma soldier finally noticed Zoran's presence.

Then, it quickly turned back towards the nest. It screamed and screeched at the top of its lungs, announcing its location. Zoran realized that this helpless scream was a literal scream for help. It wanted the rest of the army to charge at Zoran.

With this warning, the whole army would soon converge at Zoran's location.

But before that could happen, the screaming suddenly stopped. The Miasma Beast who called for backup was missing its head as it slowly dissolved into the Miasma.

The evolved Panther looked at Zoran while it chewed the head of the Miasma Beast who dared disturb its fun.

After it turned its ally's head into mush, it spewed out a cultivation bead right in front.

It looked at Zoran, as if tempting him to come and get it.