Chapter Ten: The First Battle

As soon as he entered the forest, Li Xingyu suddenly felt hungry and thirsty, the sensation growing stronger by the minute. At first, when he had just finished cultivating, he hadn't considered the oddity that he had survived for at least fifteen days without food or water. But this sudden pang of hunger and thirst left him perplexed, not immediately thinking to retrieve a bottle of nutrient solution from his backpack to replenish his energy and fluids, but instead puzzling over the phenomenon itself. As the hunger and thirst intensified, he set the question aside for the time being, took out a 350-milliliter bottle of nutrient solution, and drank it slowly. He then stood still, waiting for his body to absorb the nutrients.

This nutrient solution was formulated to provide all the daily requirements for a human body. If one didn’t engage in strenuous activities or labor, two bottles a day would suffice; if the weather was hot and there was a lot of sweating, only a little extra water would be needed.

After the hunger and thirst faded, his thoughts returned to the earlier question. Suddenly, he recalled the legends of immortals who could go without food or water for extended periods. Could it be that by persisting in practicing the incantation he had learned, he might become an immortal himself? And if that were the case, did immortals truly exist? Given his years of education and worldly knowledge, such a discovery was difficult for him to accept. Lost in thought for a while, he shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it for now. He resolved to stick to his original plan: figure out where he was and try to contact the command center before pondering these mysteries further.

When he left the woods, he realized the forest was situated on a high embankment. Beyond it stretched an endless grassland, the air on the steppe was exceptionally fresh, and breathing was wonderfully comfortable. As far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but grass—no animals, buildings, tents, or any traces of human activity. This didn’t surprise him, as he had traversed grasslands before and knew their vastness; nomads generally congregated around water sources and their range of activity was limited.

Suddenly, he felt a shadow fall over his head, and a moving shadow appeared on the ground. Instinctively, he looked up and saw a gigantic bird diving toward him. The shadow was cast by its massive body blocking the sun. It looked like an eagle, but was at least ten times larger. Its enormous talons, sharp claws, hooked beak, immense size, and speed all spoke of formidable power. With no time to think, he quickly darted to the right. Fortunately, he had always been strong and agile, and now, with his cultivation at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, his speed had increased greatly. Just as he leapt aside, the great bird’s talons struck the spot where he’d stood, tearing up a patch of turf two meters square before it soared skyward again.

Failing to land its prey, the giant bird did not rush to attack again. Instead, it circled overhead, clearly reassessing its quarry and searching for a weakness. It was supremely confident in its own speed—no prey running on the ground had ever outrun its flight.

Li Xingyu realized that, although his speed had greatly improved, it was still impossible to outpace a bird of prey in the air. He could only remain on high alert while thinking rapidly about how to deal with this threat. He was puzzled—he knew of no bird so huge and fierce; if such creatures existed, why had he never heard of them before?

But there was no time to unravel that mystery—his immediate problem was the foe above. The multi-tool knife in his hand was clearly insufficient. If only he could draw the laser gun from his pack, he was sure he could handle the giant bird—unless, of course, the creature was truly supernatural. Judging from its previous attack, however, it seemed to be an ordinary bird, albeit an enormous one. The problem was that the gun was in his backpack and retrieving it would take time. Any movement might alert his airborne adversary, and if it attacked while he reached for the weapon, he would be at a severe disadvantage.

After circling for a while, the giant bird, perhaps running out of patience, launched another attack—this time not a vertical dive, but a spiraling descent, covering a much broader area and making the attack more difficult to evade. Although Li Xingyu was agile, his greatest weakness was a total lack of combat experience—whether against humans or beasts.

In that critical moment, perhaps spurred by desperation, he hurled his multi-tool knife at the giant bird. The creature, not expecting such a move, instinctively swerved to dodge the incoming object. There was a clear metallic clang as the knife struck its talon, but from the sound, it had only hit the hard claw, inflicting little harm. The bird let out a piercing screech, soared even higher, and resumed circling, its cries echoing from above.

Estimating the distance between himself and the bird, Li Xingyu calculated that even if it attacked again, he could retrieve the laser gun before it closed in. Without hesitation, he quickly removed his backpack, opened it, and gripped the gun. Without waiting to fully draw it, he dodged swiftly to the left. Yet before he could leap clear, pain flared in his right shoulder—the bird’s talons had caught him, perhaps tearing away a sizeable chunk of flesh.

There was no time to examine his wound. As soon as the gun was in hand, he looked up to locate the bird. Having scored a hit, the creature had soared even higher, clutching a piece of flesh in its talons and bringing it to its beak, evidently believing itself out of reach and letting its guard down.

Seizing the opportunity, Li Xingyu raised the laser gun, locked onto the bird with the scope, and pulled the trigger. There was no sound, only a brilliant beam of light flashing from the muzzle and piercing the bird’s body. Without even a cry, the monster plummeted from the sky.

With a tremendous crash about twenty meters ahead, a massive crater appeared in the ground, torn grass drifting in the air above. The bird’s immense body, heavy as it was, had plunged straight into the soft earth, completely vanishing from sight.

Seeing the bird fall, Li Xingyu dared not relax, even though he trusted the laser gun’s power. The creature was so strange, and he couldn’t be sure he’d struck a fatal spot. He remained wary, fearing the bird might revive and attack again.

Though he didn’t fully let his guard down, his tension eased a little. As his focus shifted, the pain from his shoulder grew sharper, but he gritted his teeth and stayed alert. After about ten minutes, convinced that the bird was truly dead, his spirit slackened and he collapsed to the ground—exhausted, not only from the intense fight, but also from the severity of his bleeding shoulder wound. Had he not been a man of great willpower, he would likely have fainted already.

Sitting down, he forced himself to retrieve first aid supplies from his backpack and, using his left hand, did a rough job of dressing the wound on his right shoulder. Once he’d finished, he glanced at the giant crater; seeing nothing amiss, he lay down on the grass to recuperate. Every muscle in his body ached from the earlier tension, and now, as he relaxed, the soreness intensified.

Today, the writing has surpassed 7,500 words. Crystal will strive to finish another chapter tonight to fulfill the ten-thousand-word promise. Once again, I hope for your support and recommendations—thank you!

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