Chapter TWENTY

Li Yu looked at the saber panther with a small smile on his face, masking just how much he wished to rip this bastard apart alive.

Ever since Rayden had inherited the memories of the previous Li Yu, he had found someone... or rather, something... he desperately wanted to tear apart.

This beast. He wanted to dissect it, slash it into countless pieces, each death more harrowing and grotesque than the last.

It had shown Li Yu literal hell before tossing his half-dead body down the cliff where Li Yu met his end and where Rayden was born inside his body. On his very first day in this world, he had realized he was no match for the creature.

After all, it was powerful—insanely powerful. Back then, Li Yu had not even reached the First Stage of Body Refinement, so the thought of fighting the beast had never even crossed his mind.

Yet he still held that grudge. And one day, when he was strong enough, he would kill the vile saber panther with his own two hands.

He would bathe in its blood. He would devour its core. And finally, he would roast it for dinner. After weeks of hard work, planning, and relentless refinement, Li Yu had grown stronger over and over again.

Right now, he was practically invincible compared to the Li Yu of the past. And that wasn’t all. The saber panther before him looked half dead. This battle shouldn’t take too long.

Li Yu licked his lips dangerously, his eyes gleaming with anticipation as he stared at the saber panther, which was growling angrily and hostilely, hunting the very air itself.

"Host, I would like to make a suggestion. If you want to live, then don’t underestimate your opponent no matter how it looks right now. That panther killed the king cobra that nearly killed you without putting in much effort."

Li Yu didn’t respond, but he knew the system was right. The saber panther had defeated the king cobra, a creature Li Yu considered a nightmare. That alone made this beast an even greater nightmare.

"Don’t worry, System. I won’t lose. I never will. It would be a shame if I couldn’t even take down this beast in its current state." Li Yu spoke while staring at the saber panther that looked only a step away from death itself.

Even so, he activated his physique to its fullest capacity. His body bent slightly. His back arched. White fangs protruded from his mouth.

His fingers grew longer and sharper. His body expanded slightly, becoming more muscular and imposing.

"Let’s do this." Li Yu muttered. Then... BOOM! He exploded from the ground and rushed toward the saber panther.

Honestly, he was far happier that the king cobra had died instead of the saber panther. Otherwise, how would he have taken his revenge?

But now that this damned beast had survived, it was going to experience every inch of the pain and despair he had felt that day.

The saber panther didn’t hesitate either. It launched itself forward and met Li Yu head-on. One of its massive saber-like claws swung forward. Fast. Extremely fast. Li Yu’s eyes widened.

SWUSSH! Li Yu twisted in midair before abruptly coming to a halt, his heart pounding violently inside his chest. Several strands of his dark hair drifted to the ground behind him.

It was fast. Extremely fast. Li Yu felt his body tremble involuntarily. Had he reacted even a second later, his head would already be rolling across the ground.

That damn beast. Li Yu’s eye twitched as he turned to face the saber panther, which was now staring at him with an unmistakably murderous gaze. How was that thing still this fast?

"Host, I don’t think I need to remind you that this beast was still one of the two kings of this region of the forest. And considering that the second king was killed by it, it alone deserves that title now."

The system paused briefly before conducting a quick analysis. "Calculating combat power..." A moment later, the result appeared. "

Estimated combat power: 5000." When the system spoke again, its voice sounded unusually subdued.

"Host, despite its weakened state, the beast still possesses a combat power that dwarfs yours by a significant margin.

I would strongly suggest forfeiting this battle and focusing on growing stronger first. Face it again when you have become more powerful." Li Yu’s face became unreadable.

After reaching the Eighth Stage of Body Refinement, his combat power had only reached 3000. Yet this beast, despite being battered, wounded, and standing on the brink of death, still possessed nearly double that amount.

"Retreat? Forfeit? Go back?" Li Yu spoke those words, and they tasted sour beneath his tongue. His face grew increasingly unpleasant as he stared at the saber panther, his gaze darkening with every passing second.

"I won’t fall back. I will win, and I will surely kill this beast." Li Yu’s voice was deep and resolute as he spoke. Then he assumed another martial arts stance from Earth. His hands moved, forming a claw shape before him.

His legs shifted slightly beneath him, grounding his balance. His posture became calm and stable, his earlier anger fading into complete focus. His face settled into perfect stillness.

He might not possess the brute force or overwhelming power of the saber panther, so he would rely on a martial art specifically designed to handle stronger and tougher opponents. Tai Chi.

Back on Earth, Rayden had learned Tai Chi alongside several other martial arts during his school years. He had been selected and sponsored after his talent for martial arts was discovered.

That was also around the time he beat the living hell out of the school bullies. Several ribs were broken. A few jaws were shattered. Arms and legs were fractured.

Those students had spent weeks in the infirmary, traumatized by the silent and creepy Rayden who rarely spoke. Following that incident, he had been sponsored to receive professional martial arts training, including Taekwondo and Tai Chi.

The Taekwondo classes never really caught his attention. Tai Chi did. For a while, he had been genuinely excited. But after learning nearly every move his instructor possessed in less than a month, Rayden grew bored once again and eventually withdrew.

Still, he had mastered numerous Tai Chi techniques and fighting styles. And if he had been proficient back then, he was far beyond proficient now. After all, back then he hadn’t possessed a Divine-Grade Spirit Root. Nor had he possessed an Invincible Physique.

Nor had he lived in a cultivation world that previously existed only in fiction. But now he had all of those things. And he was about to prove the System wrong. He was going to win. Rayden’s dark eyes narrowed into slits.