Kapitel 36: Imminent Death
A sense of intense danger overtook Shi Li's senses once he realized the beast that stared at him. Although he was able to notice the danger the beast held and formed the idea of escaping from the beast, it was still too late.
"Roar!" the beast howled. This howl made the leaves from multiple trees in the vicinity shake as a cacophony of crashing branches ensued afterwards. The beast circulated all of its strength and inner force as it dashed towards Shi Li.
"I underestimated the beasts around me!" Shi Li couldn't help but curse at himself. It was natural for Shi Li to form a somewhat arrogant attitude after killing multiple Rank 1 and Rank 2 Beasts without incurring any retaliation or punishment. From Shi Xingwan and Elder Yan's words, the outskirts of the Forest of Ruin were relatively safe...but Shi Li forgot the word 'relatively'. The outskirts were still as dangerous as a place when compared to the center.
He circulated all of the strength his body and soul had towards the soles of his feet, bringing up small piles of dust upwards as they scatter in the air. In fact, the blown dust somewhat blurred the beast's field of view, forcing it to spare some of its energy on clearing its view. Yet it was still faster than Shi Li even after all that.
"Roar!" Another howl was heard from the beast, making Shi Li's legs for a short moment. Shi Li looked at his current situation and realized that the power the beast held was incredibly insane for its rank. He even deduced that the strength this beast held was already over 200 ren, which meant that it wasn't just a Rank 4 Beast...but instead a Rank 5 Beast with great control over its inner force!
Shi Li continued to run towards a certain direction, not caring on where he would end up. He grabbed the sword from his back as he ran and turned around for a short second before turning back to run once more.
"Flame Slash!"
Fwoosh!
The reliable orange sword light manifested from Shi Li's current emotion and the effect brought by Sundering Flame, allowed it to radiate an intense heat while wisps of gold could be seen inside it. Each golden wisp held multiple times more power compared to the orange lights surrounding it...but Shi Li didn't notice this at all.
Bang!
The beast was hit by the Flame Slash on its abdomen, creating a shallow yet large gash near its left lung.
"Gwahh!" the beast loudly howled in pain after being hit, but nonetheless, it was still a shallow wound rather than a mortal one. Rather than heading back to where it came from, it instead became enraged and chased Shi Li with a higher speed than before. It didn't have any reason to toy around with the human anymore, the only thing on the beast's mind was to kill!
"Roar!" the beast howled once more, but with more force. Shi Li heard this howl but didn't give it any importance as his survival was his first priority. At this time, he regretted the fact that he was not on guard enough for any possible mishaps that came way.
But nonetheless, he shouted out of desperation, "Though I made this mistake, if I die, I won't learn from it and become better!"
"I must survive!"
Consumed by the feelings of fear, courage, and a strong will to survive, Shi Li started to run at a speed exceeding his previous limit. If one were to compare it to anything, Shi Li's speed would be equal to those cultivators who have cultivated their soul to the peak of the 3rd Martial Novice stage.
"Hah!" In an attempt to move faster, Shi Li started to execute Flame Slash on the surrounding nearby trees. To his surprise, all of the trees he hit with Flame Slash were cut done in one go.
"Eh?" Of course, even if he was running away from the beast behind him, he couldn't help but feel confused at the current situation. He then decided to put this matter to the back of his head and continued to run at a high speed.
At this time, multiple beasts heard the sounds the beast and Shi Li made while running, catching their attention. Sensing the aura of both the beast and Shi Li, they were assured of the fact that the two were easy prey, making them chase the two as well.
...
A few minutes have passed since Shi Li has started running for his life. Noticing that the beast still couldn't catch up to him, he had some leeway to think about his current situation.
"Even though it's probably a Rank 5 Beast, its speed isn't that high so it might probably be a beast focused on defense or strength," Aurus deduced after a few seconds. With him getting to that conclusion, he felt like a few pounds were shaved off his chest, allowing him to breathe more easily.
As he continued to run, he looked at his surroundings and noticed that it was considerably darker than before, even though the sun was high up in the sky. Noticing this weird situation, Shi Li tried to recall the topography of the Forest of Ruin, only for his relaxed state to be replaced with a state of heart-clenching fear.
"The inner area?! I've already gotten so far away?!"
The Forest of Ruin was split into three areas: the outskirts, the inner area, and the center. The outskirts was the place where Rank 1 to 3 beasts usually lived, with some Rank 4 Beasts popping up here and there. It was Shi Li's bad luck that caused a Rank 5 Beast to appear in the outskirts.
The inner area was the place where Rank 4 to 8 Beasts would usually appear. That meant that the beasts here had a cultivation realm of at least the first Martial Adept stage and at most the second Martial Elite stage...which meant they could use inner energy.
As for the center area, only Rank 9 and Spirit Beasts could enter here. This meant that every beast within the center area had the strength that could easily kill Shi Li with just a snap of a finger!
"Gotcha!" All of a sudden, a voice could be heard not far from Shi Li as an intangible energy surrounded both of Shi Li's legs, forcing him to trip and fall on the ground. The beast that was chasing Shi Li also had the same fate, with its four limbs being binded with an intangible energy as well.
Shi Li's heart palpitated after sensing the extremely strong aura that was radiated not far away. He nervously turned his head to face the being that radiated that strong aura. It was a beast he hadn't seen before, and neither did Tian Zhenfei in his memories. Nonetheless, all of the beasts surrounding this certain beast were kneeling towards it as if it were a god.
"The beasts surrounding the beast emanating that strong aura are all kneeling, which means..." Shi Li didn't think it was possible, but in his current situation, he had no choice but to accept.
"A Rank 8 Beast! A beast of the second Martial Elite stage!"
All of a sudden, the Rank 8 Beast faced Shi Li and opened its mouth, revealing a voice that was deep and commanding.
"Haha! Puny human, I don't know why you've come here but treading the inner area...you must be looking for death!"
"Don't worry, for I, the great being in front of you, shall make sure you die in a quick and painless way."
Without hesitation, the Rank 8 Beast pounced towards Shi Li while the other beasts pounced towards the beast chasing Shi Li. The Rank 8 Beast opened its massive jaw to devour Shi Li's upper body...only to be stopped by an aura that was on the same level of the Rank 8 Beast.
Sensing this aura, the Rank 8 Beast stopped in its tracks and looked at its surroundings. "Who goes there?!"
Not long after, a beast that had extremely white fur revealed itself to every beast surrounding Shi Li. The Rank 8 Beast saw this beast and couldn't help but kneel down in respect.
Shi Li saw this and looked at the beast that just came. Unexpectedly, the beast looked back at Shi Li before opening its mouth.
"Nya..."
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
TrueDawn
TrueDawn Nya? COULD IT BE...?!
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