Two days later, beside Wind Spirit Lake outside Mogan Forest, Andrew enjoyed a refreshing bath. Bare-chested in the lake, he stirred the water, thoroughly enjoying himself.
"I broke through a little faster than I expected." Andrew walked out of the lake and lay on a blue-green rock, listening to the water and feeling the cool breeze, utterly at ease. Not far away, his long saber stood with his clothes hanging from it.
"Far East Prairie, I'll be leaving you soon. Three years went by so quickly, so quickly that I can hardly remember anything."
At that thought, Andrew felt a little melancholy, then broke into a quiet laugh.
After dressing and picking up his long saber, Andrew entered Mogan Forest once more. This time, his goal was clear: to subdue the Windwing Tiger King.
The Windwing Tiger King was the overlord of Mogan Forest, an Eighth-Level Magical Beast of great strength. It was said to have a pair of wings on its back and to be able to spit wind blades. Of course, these were all legends, because no one in the Keli Tribe had truly seen it. Or rather, everyone who had seen it was already dead.
According to the lore passed down in the Keli Tribe, the Windwing Tiger King lived on Mount Mogan in the center of Mogan Forest, which was also the forest's highest point. Mount Mogan stood roughly two thousand meters tall, with slopes so steep that ordinary people could not climb it at all.
Andrew ran forward, neither sad nor happy. With a single step, he appeared dozens of meters away, yet the ground beneath his feet remained completely unchanged. Clearly, his speed did not come from pushing off the ground with his legs.
This was Explosive Steps.
After breaking through to become a High-Level Warrior, Andrew had gained new insights into Explosive Steps and could use it with greater ease. Moreover, whenever he used Explosive Steps, the battle-qi within his body pulsed in a mysterious rhythm. The sensation was marvelous and difficult to describe. He guessed that his footwork was stirring his battle-qi.
This change brought enormous benefits. As his battle-qi pulsed, it also circulated faster. In other words, his battle-qi grew whenever he used Explosive Steps, even faster than when he honed it through quiet cultivation!
It was simply an invaluable cultivation tool. At least before reaching Saint-level, he could rely on Explosive Steps to increase his cultivation speed somewhat.
Not only that, over these two days, Andrew had also comprehended moves that brought out the power of his Fusion Battle-qi. Previously, his understanding of power had been lacking, but his life-and-death struggle with the Dark Demonic Ape had greatly improved it. In particular, the force with which the Dark Demonic Ape had swung a tree trunk and smashed wildly about during its rampage had given him considerable inspiration.
In Andrew's view, lightning and fire were both elements suited to attack, so battle-qi formed from their fusion possessed tremendous explosive power. This was also the direction he had taken in comprehending his ultimate move.
"An ultimate move is called an ultimate move because of its tremendous power. Although I've comprehended mine, just how powerful it is remains to be tested. Let the Windwing Tiger King give me the answer!"
Brimming with confidence, Andrew headed up Mount Mogan with his long saber on his back.
Jagged rocks covered Mount Mogan, and there was no path up the mountain. Even Andrew found the climb difficult.
"The Windwing Tiger King must be able to fly. Otherwise, it wouldn't stay here."
Stepping on the rocks, Andrew sprang upward, covering three or four meters with each leap. After an unknown number of jumps, he reached the mountainside. The ground was somewhat flatter here, and there were quite a few woods. Farther up, white clouds drifted and cool breezes blew, making the scenery even more beautiful.
"The Windwing Tiger King is quite intelligent, finding such a fine place. It's a pity I'm leaving. Otherwise, living here in seclusion would be a good choice."
Andrew expressed his appreciation for the Windwing Tiger King's taste, but that did not mean he would let it off.
The stretch from the mountainside to the summit was easier to traverse. Andrew picked up considerable speed and soon reached the top. On the summit, an enormous figure lay stretched out lazily.
The Windwing Tiger King! Andrew immediately thought.
The Windwing Tiger King lay there, ten meters long from head to tail, with its tail accounting for half that length. It was probably around three meters tall, its whole body covered in alternating golden and white fur, with a pair of wings folded against its back.
Sensing movement behind it, the Windwing Tiger King sprang nimbly to its feet and turned to look at Andrew. Only then did Andrew get a clear look at it.
"It looks a little like a Siberian tiger from my previous life, but clearly a super-sized version."
Its enormous head, the distinct "king" character on its forehead, its thick limbs, and its sharp teeth all displayed the Windwing Tiger King's strength.
"Roar!"
A tremendous tiger's roar echoed over Mount Mogan. Not far away, Andrew kept frowning. That was far too loud.
The Windwing Tiger King possessed remarkable intelligence. Unlike the Dark Demonic Ape, it did not attack right away. Instead, it studied Andrew and growled softly, seemingly asking why this human had come here. Of course, that was Andrew's guess.
"Windwing Tiger King, I am Andrew Lance. I've come to Mount Mogan to subdue you!" Knowing it could understand human speech, Andrew got straight to the point.
The Windwing Tiger King flew into a rage and roared at him, as though saying, "Not a chance." Andrew was not surprised. Humans could not subdue magical beasts with words alone; they had to demonstrate their strength. Still, facing this highly intelligent Windwing Tiger King, he had a few more things to say.
"Windwing Tiger King, submitting to me will benefit you too. I'm only eleven this year, and I've already become a high-ranking warrior. In the future, reaching Saint-level will be nothing unusual. Moreover, when I was still a level six warrior, I killed a level seven Dark Demonic Ape. Now that I've broken through and become a level seven warrior, you're no match for me!"
"Follow me, and I'll help you continue evolving into a Level Nine Magical Beast, or even a Saint-level magical beast! If I become a god, you can become a divine beast too. Think about it. This is an opportunity for you as well!"
The Windwing Tiger King understood Andrew's meaning, and a trace of interest appeared in its enormous eyes. It was already a peak level eight magical beast, only a step away from becoming a level nine Windwing Tiger Emperor! Yet that step had troubled it for decades. Deep down, it also knew that relying on itself alone, it likely had no hope of crossing that threshold!
Following the strong was perfectly normal for magical beasts, and it felt no resistance to the idea.
After considering for a moment, the Windwing Tiger King walked forward and gave Andrew a few low growls. Andrew understood what it meant: it could submit to him, but he had to defeat it first.
Andrew had expected this as well. If a few casual words were enough to fool it, an Eighth-Level Magical Beast would be far too cheap.
"Come on!" Andrew shouted!
The Windwing Tiger King roared, bent its forequarters slightly, and pushed hard with its hind legs, pouncing on Andrew with crushing force. Andrew planted his feet angled outward in a horse stance and thrust out both fists, bracing his hands against its paws. In this exchange, both sides competed purely through physical strength.
Bang!
The rock beneath Andrew's feet shattered. Then he was driven steadily backward, his feet plowing a shallow furrow through the stone.
Clearly, he was at a disadvantage in this contest of strength.
Andrew was not disappointed. His opponent was an Eighth-Level Magical Beast, and its physical strength was beyond his. Pushing off with his right foot, he stopped his backward slide and tilted his body to the right. Exerting strength through both arms, he redirected the Windwing Tiger King's force to one side and seized the chance to slip free of its paws.
The Windwing Tiger King had never seen such a method of redirecting force and froze for a moment. In that instant, Andrew tapped his feet against the ground three times in succession and landed on its back. The Windwing Tiger King reacted swiftly. Without even turning its head, it lashed its steel-whip-like tail at him from behind, producing a tremendous crack through the air. Andrew did not dare take it head-on and hurriedly dodged. He knew that although a tiger's tail was not as hard as its teeth, its attacks were no weaker than its bite!
The moment Andrew landed, countless wind blades swept toward him from every direction. Wind blades were a fairly common Wind Element spell; even the prairie Wind Wolves could use them. However, the Windwing Tiger King's wind blades were clearly different in power. Andrew remembered that a Wind Wolf's wind blades were less than a foot long, while the Tiger King's were over a meter long.
The raging wind blades sliced the rocks on the summit to pieces, leaving perfectly smooth cuts wherever they passed. Facing such an attack, Andrew grew somewhat alarmed too. Reaching behind him with his right hand, he drew his long saber.
"Impressive wind blades. Now try my ultimate move, the first lightningfire form: Lightningfire Storm!"
Andrew no longer held back. With a sweep of his long saber, small vortices began to appear in the air. A violent aura slowly gathered at their centers. Soon, countless small vortices converged into a tornado three meters across.
The tornado spun faster and faster, but it did not grow any larger. The wind blades sweeping in from all around were drawn toward it and disappeared inside. The blue-green tornado, the blue-green wind blades, the shattered rocks, and the two opponents facing off-for a moment, an aura of destruction filled the summit.
In the space of a few breaths, the tornado formed from nothing and grew from small to large, absorbing and grinding away every wind blade the Windwing Tiger King spat out.
At this sight, Andrew smiled. This ultimate move had not disappointed him after all.
The Windwing Tiger King was dumbfounded too. He was a wind-attribute magical beast himself, and the wind blades he unleashed rivaled level eight human magic. Yet the human before him was only a Warrior of the Seventh Rank. How could he obliterate level eight magic? He simply could not understand it.
After suppressing the wind blades, the Lightningfire Storm's power also reached its limit, and it slowly dispersed.
"Windwing Tiger King, whatever other moves you have, use them!" Andrew continued to defend without attacking.
The Windwing Tiger King's fury flared anew. With a tiger's roar, it spread the wings on its back. The wings spanned roughly twelve or thirteen meters, which was not particularly large. Unlike a bird's wings, they were covered in white fur.