Ascension of the Forsaken

Chapter 4: Another Battle

Kael strode deeper into the forest, his steps confident and unyielding. The scent of fresh earth and the faint hum of Qi filled the air, invigorating him with every breath. This world pulsed with life—a stark contrast to the stagnant emptiness of his past.

The forest stretched endlessly, towering trees with glowing veins of energy forming a canopy that bathed everything in soft, golden light. The faint rustle of leaves and the chirping of unseen creatures echoed, creating a symphony that both soothed and sharpened Kael’s senses.

But Kael wasn’t here to enjoy the scenery.

His mind was focused, calculating. The battle he’d fought, the strength he’d gained—it was merely a taste of what lay ahead. This world was vast, and power was its currency. If Kael wanted to rise, he would need more than just brute force; he needed knowledge, resources, and strategy.

And Kael was determined to seize them all.

As he moved his instincts blared, the faint whisper of danger prickled at the edge of his awareness.

Kael paused, his movement seized, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings. The forest’s serene atmosphere hadn’t changed, yet there was a strange underlying tension in the air—a sense that he wasn’t alone.

From the shadows, something moved.

A beast emerged. It was humanoid but far from human—its eyes glowed with a feral light. A deep crimson that gave it a menacing air, its skin an ashen gray that seemed to drink in the light around it. In its hand, it carried a jagged bone club that seemed to have torn of the corpse of another beast. The weapon seemed radiating an ominous, pulsing aura.

Kael’s lips curled into a smirk as he cracked his knuckles, readying himself for the inevitable confrontation that was about to occur.

.The figure stepped forward, its movements fluid and predatory. It didn’t speak, didn’t make a sound. Its gaze was locked onto Kael, the crimson glow in its eyes seeking to strike fear into the heart of its target, its prey.

Kael flexed his fingers, his body thrumming with anticipation. He didn’t need words to understand its intent.

The beast lunged.

The battle began.

Kael’s movements were a blur, his body reacting instinctively to the onslaught of attacks. The blade hummed through the air, slicing with deadly precision, yet Kael danced around it effortlessly.

His fists struck out—BOOM!—colliding with the figure’s chest. The impact reverberated through the forest, sending the figure skidding backward.

But it didn’t falter.

The beast straightened, its crimson eyes burning with fury. Its blade flared to life, the pulsing energy erupting into a fiery aura that radiated pure destruction.

Kael’s grin widened. This was what he lived for—the thrill of battle, the test of his limits.

He focused inward, drawing on the Qi he had refined, the strength he had cultivated. His meridians surged, power flowing through him like a storm.

The air around Kael shimmered, his presence growing like an unstoppable tide.

“Let’s see what you’ve got,” he muttered, his voice low and commanding.

The beast lunged again, its blade cutting arcs of unstoppable destruction.

Kael met it head-on

The figure charged at Kael with unrelenting ferocity, its fiery blade carving through the air in deadly arcs. The force behind each swing was deadly, leaving only destruction in its wake.

Kael stood his ground, the rush of battle quickening his pulse. Every movement of the blade, every shift in the figure’s stance—it was as if the entire scene played out in slow motion before him.

As the weapon slashed downward, Kael moved.

Effortlessly, he sidestepped the attack, the blade slicing through empty air. With the precision of a master, he lashed out with his palm, aiming for the beast’s exposed ribs.

BOOM!

The impact reverberated like a thunderclap, sending the beast skidding backward, its feet digging deep grooves into the forest floor. But it didn’t fall. The beast straightened, the crimson glow of its eyes burning brighter, fueled by what could only be described as otherworldly rage.

Kael grinned. His strikes were perfect, yet this opponent wasn’t like the wolves—it endured, it adapted. The thrill of the fight sparked an even deeper hunger within him.

The beast raised its blade high, the aura around it intensifying. Kael’s sharp eyes caught the subtle ripples in the air as Qi condensed around the weapon. This was no ordinary Spirit Beast—this beast was capable of manipulating the ambient qi in the surrounding much different from the wolves he had encountered before.

Kael’s smile faded, his expression turning deadly serious.

.The ground beneath the beast cracked as it launched itself forward, its movements faster, sharper. The blade descended in a blazing arc, the sheer force of it causing the air itself to ripple.

Kael met it head-on.

His body glowed faintly as he channeled Qi into his limbs, his muscles tightening like coiled steel. He caught the blade with his bare hands, causing a deep cut on his palm though the blade seemed to not be able to cut all the way through. His wounds healing almost as quickly as they formed. This had happened before in his fight against the wolves and he attributed it to one of the talents that enigmatic being had given him. He resolved to really study himself later to find out the limits of his talents and what they were.

The beasts crimson eyes widened in surprise.

Kael smirked. “Is that all?”

With a burst of power, he twisted the blade from the figure’s grip, shattering the weapon into pieces. The figure staggered backward, disarmed and vulnerable.

Kael wasted no time.

He surged forward, his fist colliding with the figure’s chest in a devastating blow. The impact sent the figure hurtling into a tree, the force of the collision splitting the trunk in two. It slumped to the ground, its glowing eyes dimming.

Kael approached slowly, his steps deliberate. The air around him seemed to tremble, his dominance undeniable.

As he stood over the fallen figure, his instincts screamed at him to finish it, to crush his opponent completely and so he did exactly that. With a clench of his fists, he struck the beast on its head crushing it to paste

Kael crouched, inspecting the motionless figure. His hand hovered over its chest, his Qi probing carefully. He found exactly what he was looking for.

A core.

But unlike the Beast Cores of the wolves, this one was different. It was more refined, more potent and carried vastly more energy than those of the wolves

Kael’s eyes gleamed with intrigue. It seemed there were ranks among beasts and the higher the rank of the beast the more energy its core would have. With precise control, Kael extracted the core, feeling its immense energy hum between his fingers. He inhaled deeply, absorbing the core’s power into his own.

The sensation was immediate.

BOOM!

Kael’s meridians flared, his cultivation advancing once more. His Qi surged, deeper and richer than ever before. This breakthrough wasn’t just a step forward—it was a leap, propelling him two stages ahead as he made two consecutive breakthroughs.

He rose to his feet, the core dissolving into nothingness as its energy became a part of him. Around him, the forest seemed to grow still, as if the world itself acknowledged his growing strength.

Kael glanced at the remains of the figure, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. This world had layers—secrets and dangers that ran far deeper than he had anticipated. But Kael welcomed the challenge.

Let them come.

His journey was far from over. This encounter was but the beginning, a taste of what was to come—and the triumphs—that awaited him.

Kael turned, his eyes fixed on the horizon. The forest stretched on, vast and untamed, but somewhere beyond its borders lay the answers he sought.

And Kael would claim them all.