Re-birth: The Beginning after the End - Chapter 54

Chapter 54: THE HUNT

Dawn crept across the Great White Mountain, its weak light struggling to pierce the ancient canopy above. The spiritual essence hung thin in the air—precious threads of power that cultivators and beasts alike fought to claim. Between the towering pines, shadows shifted like hungry things, dancing away from the pale fingers of morning light that managed to breach the dense branches overhead.

The mountain’s silence shattered as three figures burst through the underbrush, their movements a deadly dance of pursuit. Ahead, something large crashed through the frost-covered branches, its desperate flight sending showers of ice crystals raining down like broken stars. Li Hua’s keen eyes caught glimpses of crystalline fur and gleaming claws—their prey was far more dangerous than the usual beasts that roamed these lower reaches of the mountain.

“It’s heading for the hot springs!” Li Hua’s voice cut through the morning air, barely above a whisper yet carrying clearly to her brothers. Her jade bunny pendant pulsed softly against her chest as she leaped between frost-covered branches, each movement a testament to how far she’d come. Eight years of rigorous training had transformed what was once a clumsy child’s body into something extraordinary. Though only thirteen, she moved with a deadly grace that would have made her past self envious. This body was stronger, faster, and possessed an almost supernatural flexibility that surpassed even her peak condition in her previous life as an assassin.

The celestial diamond earrings—her most treasured artifact—caught the morning light, sending tiny starbursts through the air as she moved. She’d mastered them over the years, learning to use their enhancement abilities in short, precise bursts rather than the continuous drain that had once exhausted her. Each burst allowed her body to move at speeds that would have been impossible in her past life, her form leaving golden afterimages in her wake—a skill she needed now more than ever.

Ahead, their prey—a frost-maned tiger with crystalline fur that sparkled like freshly fallen snow—bounded through the underbrush. Each of its steps left patches of ice blooming across the ground, a desperate defense meant to slow its pursuers. But Li Hua had spent too many pre-dawn hours training in these mountains to be deterred by such basic techniques.

“Eldest brother, left! Second brother, cut it off before it gets away!” Her hands dropped to the twin spirit daggers sheathed at her waist—birthday gifts from her father, each blade inscribed with formations that could channel spiritual essence. She vanished mid-sentence, golden afterimages trailing in her wake as she materialized three steps ahead, perfectly positioned to intercept the beast. “I’ll drive it toward the steaming pools!”

Her second brother’s voice carried a note of concern as he veered left. “Sister, stop! We could tame this one—its spiritual core is nearly intact!” Li Wei called out, already preparing his beast-taming formations. As the eldest, he’d always been protective of both his siblings, but his passion for beast taming often put him at odds with Li Hua’s more… direct approaches.

“Trust me!” Li Hua called back, activating her celestial diamonds in a controlled burst. Golden light trailed her movements as she surged forward with enhanced speed, her body moving with supernatural grace. The jade bunny at her throat hummed softly, masking the pulses of power from her artifacts.

The frost tiger sensed the trap closing. It spun suddenly, its massive form coiling like a spring. Spiritual energy crackled around its form as it prepared to unleash its innate technique. Li Hua’s eyes narrowed. She had been waiting for this.

“Eldest brother,” Li Hao called out with an amused grin, his flames dancing around his fists as he kept pace with Li Hua’s advance. “Just help her herd it first—you can try sweet-talking it after we make sure it won’t freeze the morning merchants!” As usual, their second brother was trying to find middle ground between Li Wei’s careful approaches and Li Hua’s adventurous schemes.

“Water Prison!” Li Wei’s voice carried a hint of exasperation as he sketched formation symbols in the air with practiced efficiency. Small formation flags materialized around the tiger, each one humming with the unique resonance that had made him a promising beast tamer. Where Li Hua struck with speed and Li Hao with precision, Li Wei’s techniques focused on control and spiritual manipulation.

“That’s the spirit, Eldest brother!” Li Hua grinned, her celestial diamonds flaring as she pushed her body to impossible speeds. “Spirit-Binding Blade Dance,” she whispered, her daggers weaving intricate patterns through the air. Each strike was carefully placed to heard the beast toward Li Wei’s forming array.

Li Hao’s flames twisted with strips of water essence—a unique combination he’d developed specifically to support his siblings’ techniques. His fire enhanced Li Hua’s blade dance while the water strengthened Li Wei’s formations. “See? We can have it both ways,” he called out cheerfully, always the voice of compromise.

The frost tiger roared, its cry sending ripples through the thin spiritual essence of the mountain. Ice crystals formed and shattered against Li Wei’s water prison while his formation flags pulsed with restraining energy. Li Hua’s daggers continued their dance, leaving traces of spiritual energy that wove together with her brothers’ techniques.

“Sister,” Li Wei’s voice cracked with concern, his protective nature overwhelming his usual composure. The formation symbols wavered slightly as his attention split between maintaining the technique and watching his little sister. “Please be more careful with those strikes. Your body is still developing—if you strain your meridians or the beast retaliates—”

“She’s got this, stop worrying,” Li Hao cut in with an easy smile. “When has our little sister ever let us down?”

A gentle contentment settled in Li Hua’s chest as she watched her brothers’ typical dynamic unfold—Li Wei the overprotective beast tamer, Li Hao the enabling mediator. In the eight years since her soul had transferred to this world, they had transformed her from a lone assassin who trusted no one into someone who understood the true meaning of family.

Where her past life had taught her to rely solely on her own abilities, their countless shared adventures and unwavering support had forged bonds deeper than she’d ever thought possible. Even now, as they worked in perfect synchronization against the frost tiger’s unexpectedly dense spiritual energy, she knew their combined strength would lead them to success.

This trust proved well-founded as their coordinated effort began to show results. The magnificent beast thrashed against Li Wei’s water prison, its crystalline fur sparking with desperate bursts of ice essence as they moved into the final phase of their plan.

Li Wei’s eyes gleamed with focused intensity as he drew additional formation symbols in the air, each gesture precise and purposeful. Where most cultivators saw only spiritual beasts to be hunted, their eldest brother had always seen potential companions waiting to be understood.

“Sister, carefully, guide it towards my central formation flag,” Li Wei called out, his voice carrying that familiar mix of authority and concern. Small talismans began peeling away from his formation flags, each one inscribed with ancient beast-taming scripts that glowed with a gentle azure light. “If we can calm its spiritual core, we might be able to—”

“Already on it!” Li Hua pivoted mid-strike, her celestial diamonds flaring as she adjusted her Spirit-Binding Blade Dance. Instead of drawing blood, her daggers now traced patterns that mirrored her brother’s formation work, herding the tiger with threads of spiritual energy. Golden afterimages followed her enhanced movements as she drove the beast exactly where Li Wei needed it.

Li Hao grinned, smoothly transitioning his fire-water technique to support their eldest brother’s work. “Three-point containment?” he asked, already moving to position himself at the optimal angle. His flames dimmed to a gentler warmth while his water essence synchronized with Li Wei’s formations.

“Perfect,” Li Wei nodded, pulling a beast-taming bell from his robes—a treasure he’d earned through years of dedicated study. The bell chimed with a sound that seemed to bypass physical space, resonating directly with spiritual cores. “Now, watch and learn, little siblings. This is how you make a friend.”

His fingers danced across the bell’s surface, each touch drawing out notes that carried subtle variations of spiritual essence. The frost tiger’s struggles began to slow as the melody wrapped around it, speaking to something primitive and pure in its nature. Li Wei’s formation flags pulsed in rhythm with the bell, their azure light mixing with the morning mist rising from the nearby hot springs.

“Heart-Seeking Resonance,” Li Wei murmured, his voice harmonizing with the bell’s tone. The technique he’d spent years perfecting began to take effect—threads of pure water essence extended from his spiritual core toward the tiger’s, creating a bridge of understanding between beast and tamer. Through this connection, Li Wei could sense the creature’s nature: its fears, its strengths, even fragments of its memories.

Li Hua watched in fascination as color began bleeding from her eldest brother’s eyes, replaced by the same crystalline blue that marked the tiger’s gaze. This was the part of beast taming she’d never quite grasped—the willingness to make oneself vulnerable, to open one’s spiritual core to another being.