It was heart-pounding at first, but with the lack of enemies Cleia and Jade were returning to their usual selves. The sight of someone they talked with being eaten in front of them was hard to accept, but as cultivators it was something they had to become accustomed to.
It was about an hour after they started heading east, that was when they felt chills run down their spines. This time, there was no thinking needed. They ran away immediately and just as they thought, there was a chameleon tiger chasing after them.
"Rawr!!!"
Even while using spells to boost their speeds, the distance between them and the chameleon tiger was decreasing. And then, the absolute worst thing happened; Cleia tripped and fell. Without second thinking, Jade quickly went to help her and by the time she was back on her feet the chameleon tiger had caught up to them.
"Jade, I'll-"
"Don't bother. Unless you run, both of us are staying here."
Seeing through Cleia's intentions, Jade quickly put a stop to her idea. Cleia felt deep regret as well as resignation. Because of her mistake, both of them would die here.
'Damn it!'
The chameleon tiger took slow steps as it approached with the confidence of a predator, while the two women began to accept their terrible fate. The chameleon tiger opened its mouth with a big smile as it prepared to pounce onto its meal, but then there was sudden interference. With a slender figure which many girls would love, a young lady appeared and slammed her foot on the chameleon tiger's head.
It reeled back and glared at this new human who prevented it from getting to its meal. While staring back at the chameleon tiger, the young lady waved her hand to signal her comrades. Four men and women in similar attire also appeared on the scene and went to help Cleia and Jade. Based on their coats, they knew they were from Storm Sky Manor, but she couldn't recognise the core disciple that led them.
Once they got to the two, the four started leading them away but Cleia asked, "Wait, are you sure she'll be okay?"
The four of them paused for a moment. This was the exact same question they had. When their group noticed Cleia and Jade being chased down by the chameleon tiger, the four of them didn't want to get involved, but it was Kate who changed their minds.
"In the forest, our main enemies are the beasts. We need to help each other when we can."
Then, without waiting for any other complaint from them, she jumped into the battle. After remembering how they got involved in this, one of the men sighed and responded to Cleia.
"We believe in her."
Kate had wondered if they would take this chance to laugh at her and run away, but they were surprisingly loyal.
Since entering Storm Sky Manor, Kate had gotten used to fighting with those who were supposed to be her comrades, so the times when she could trust other people to have her back were few. Even so, this was only something convenient for her. Whether they were there or not, what she had to do wouldn't change.
The chameleon tiger had strength comparable to an Earth Realm expert while she was half a step away from Earth Realm, but she knew that that half-step was a big gap. Still, it was a gap she was ready to overcome.
"Grr..."
While the chameleon tiger released a low growl, Kate took out a certain pair of gloves. These red gloves rarely showed themselves inside the sect, but in this place she was willing to go all out. The Red Tiger Paws not only enhanced her strength, it also boosted her reaction speed and defence. With these special-rank gloves, Kate was confident she could put up a decent fight.
Once she was ready, she was the one to pounce on it. A red aura wrapped around her right fist and then she used it to slap the chameleon tiger's head and rattle it. The beast shook its head once, before spitting out a green spear that transformed into a tree once it pierced the ground. Kate had evaded it, but still felt tense. Its defence was low, but she couldn't give it a chance to counterattack.
Kate concentrated the red aura on her fists until it was like an extra layer of skin. She then charged at the chameleon tiger and released several jabs that pounded its face. With her relentless assault, the chameleon tiger was soon beaten so bad it stumbled as it tried to step back. While the red tiger that these gloves were made from wouldn't be able to produce this much power, Kate could use them to do it.
Finally understanding that it couldn't fight her head-on, the chameleon tiger released a loud roar that made her flinch and took this opportunity to flee. Kate considered that this could be a trap, but if she let it get away, it could go back into hiding. That would be far too dangerous, so she had to finish it off.
Kate chased after the chameleon tiger while shooting bullets of wind at it. Due to the Focused Heaven Physique and her own bloodline, Kate had high elemental affinity with wind, so her wind spells were powerful enough to make even this high beast wary, however, its keen instincts allowed it to dodge every one of her spells without looking back.
Kate squinted her eyebrows at the chameleon tiger's evasive ability, but there was no room for grumbling. The longer she was on its tail the more danger she would be in, but she couldn't find a chance to stop it with her long-range attacks.
'Tch, I have to do it.'
Although she couldn't stop it with her spells, Kate possessed a means of catching up to it. The only problem was, once she used this means her mind would be less clear and she would mainly act off of emotions and instinct. Most would call this a horrible choice since there was a high chance that the chameleon tiger was leading her into a trap, but Kate was stubborn at times like these. And right now, she wanted nothing more than to kill the beast in front of her.
From a biped movement, Kate got down and started running as a quadruped. At first, the chameleon tiger was bewildered by this human trying to mimic its gait, but then it noticed the dagger-like red marks at the edges of her face. This wouldn't be enough clues for most, but it was sure of it.
'How is this possible?!'
The girl chasing it down was using the power of a different tiger evolved beast. Forget this chameleon tiger, even some Sky Realm experts would be surprised by the fact that Kate was able to draw out this much power from an artifact. Though those in the Soul Realm could use the full power of special-rank artifacts, this was only the first stage. Being capable of using an artifact's full power was called understanding, being able to use it to the extent that both your and the artifact's powers were brought out to their fullest was called mastery, and to tap into the artifact's origin and fuse it with oneself was called resonance.
Unlike the resonance series that Shui was making, Kate was able to reach the level of becoming one with her artifact by relying on her own talent. This, was a true genius.