Chapter Eight: Fierce Battle with the Thunderbeast

On this day, Li Chengzhu was resting atop a towering tree in the heart of the forest when he suddenly sensed a rhythmic tremor ripple through his body. It felt as if some colossal creature was drawing near, each of its steps causing the very earth to shudder beneath its weight.

Li Chengzhu frowned, gazing ahead. In the distance, several large trees were swaying precariously, forced aside by whatever was coming. This newcomer was clearly unlike any he had encountered before—its size must be immense. A thrill ran through him; he wondered just how powerful this beast might be. Recently, he had grown bored of bullying those spirit beasts that looked impressive but were utterly useless in a fight. Now, he hoped he might finally face a worthy adversary, one that could truly test the limits of his strength.

Yet when the beast finally appeared before his eyes, Li Chengzhu could only stare in disbelief, his eyes wide with astonishment. Despite having mentally prepared himself, the sight of this gigantic creature still sent a jolt of fear through him.

He was perched on a branch at least twenty meters above the ground, yet the beast’s eyes met his own directly. That meant its eyes were no less than twenty meters from the forest floor.

Cold sweat beaded on Li Chengzhu’s forehead as he craned his neck to study the beast’s back, where a massive tail swung restlessly, its every movement making trees as thick as a man’s embrace tremble violently. At the center of its back grew something resembling a fish blade—not that Li Chengzhu believed it truly to be such, but the glinting, razor-sharp edge suggested that a slash from it would be no less lethal than a sword’s thrust. The creature itself was at least fifty meters long and thirty meters tall, not counting the height of the blade.

Li Chengzhu, taking in the beast’s resemblance to an African rhinoceros, couldn’t help but swallow hard, calculating whether he ought to make a run for it.

Apparently displeased with Li Chengzhu’s hesitation, the enormous rhino snorted disdainfully, a thunderous exhalation that nearly tore Li Chengzhu from his perch. Only by clinging to the branch for dear life did he avoid being blown away. When the gust subsided, Li Chengzhu wiped the snot from his face, sprang to his feet, and shouted, “Damn it! You think I’m Hello Kitty just because the tiger hasn’t bared its claws?” With that, he summoned his Coldlight Sword, chanted a command, and, uttering a sharp cry, thrust the blade straight at the beast’s massive eye.

There was a crisp clang as the sword struck the rhino’s eyelid, unable to pierce even a fraction further. Li Chengzhu was startled—Coldlight couldn’t even break through its defenses. In a panic, he hastily switched to another spell.

The African rhinoceros, enraged by the attack, opened its maw and bellowed furiously, then raised a gigantic foreclaw and struck down.

The force of the roar left Li Chengzhu reeling, his mind shaken. He barely had time to react before the colossal hoof came crashing toward him. Desperately, he lifted Coldlight before his chest to shield himself.

In an instant, the rhino’s enormous claw slammed into the sword, nearly sending Li Chengzhu flying. Using the force of the blow, he twisted through the air, landing atop another towering tree, thus dissipating the impact.

Suppressing the surging blood within him, Li Chengzhu was inwardly taken aback by the sheer strength of the beast. To be battered so soundly—just what grade of spirit beast was this?

Before he could recover, the rhino opened its jaws and unleashed a bolt of lightning, as thick as a water barrel, directly at him.

Alarmed, Li Chengzhu had only just regained his footing when the second attack was upon him. He quickly recited an incantation, pointed with his hand, and sent forth a bolt of lightning as thick as his arm to intercept the incoming strike. At the same time, he leapt toward another tree.

No sooner had he left than the rhino’s lightning broke through his defense and struck the tree, splitting it in two and setting the stump ablaze.

Dodging the first bolt, Li Chengzhu had scarcely caught his breath when a second flashed toward him, forcing another frantic leap aside, then came a third in quick succession.

The African rhino was like a mobile artillery battery, firing wherever Li Chengzhu fled. The relentless barrage of lightning bolts, each as thick as a barrel, soon set the forest ablaze all around.

In this predicament, Li Chengzhu could only lament his fate. Facing this machine-gun assault of lightning, he was forced to push his agility to the limit, abandoning any thought of counterattack. Instead, he stood atop his sword, using it as a flying platform to escape with all possible speed. He knew that, with his frail human form, a direct hit would be disastrous.

He could, of course, flee the battlefield with the speed of his flying sword, but the humiliation of being so thoroughly routed was intolerable. He was used to bullying these rare beasts—when had he ever been so thoroughly bullied himself? Gritting his teeth, he dodged and racked his brain for a solution.

After much consideration, Li Chengzhu reached a conclusion: unless the rhinoceros stopped, he would be forced to keep running indefinitely.

But whether spirit beast or celestial beast, surely even they must eventually exhaust their spiritual energy.

Resolving to endure, Li Chengzhu retrieved a low-grade Bright Spirit Pill from his storage ring and popped it into his mouth to prevent his own energy from running dry. He was ready for a protracted battle.

Just as he predicted, after half a day—by which time he was utterly spent—the rhino’s attacks began to flag. Its strikes slowed, and the lightning bolts thinned from the girth of water barrels to that of a human thigh. Even a direct hit could no longer fell a tree in a single blow.

Li Chengzhu knew his moment was at hand.

He drew out the standoff for a while longer, until even his own spiritual power was nearly depleted. Swallowing another Bright Spirit Pill, a sly grin spread across his face.

“At last, it’s my turn to show my strength.”

This time, he ceased his evasions, performed a spell, and with a flash, Coldlight shot forth like a streak of lightning, aimed straight at the rhinoceros’s eye.

Once again, a metallic clang rang out as Coldlight was halted by the armored eyelid. The beast’s other eye, open and filled with disdain, glared at Li Chengzhu and fired another bolt of lightning in challenge.

Effortlessly dodging, Li Chengzhu sneered, “Little bull, let’s see how you like my spirit sword drilling a hole.” With a subtle gesture, he commanded, “Spin!”

Coldlight began spinning rapidly upon the eyelid. The excruciating pain made the rhino bellow in agony, its massive head swinging left and right in a futile attempt to dislodge the sword, but Coldlight clung fast, boring ever deeper.

With a sickening squelch, the steel-hard eyelid was finally pierced. A surge of blood mixed with black and white matter spurted violently from the wound, spraying far and wide—enough to make Li Chengzhu nauseous at the sight.