On a rugged mountain surface, three youths stood amidst a fierce battle with two creatures. The first was a small stone guardian, roughly human-sized, composed of smooth pebbles and small rocks. It exuded an air of quiet determination, with its rocky exterior occasionally shedding pebbles as it moved. The guardian's eyes, two faintly glowing gems, peered from a simple, expressionless face. Its movements were jerky and deliberate, as if each step required great effort. Yet, despite its modest size, it navigated tight spaces and rough terrain with surprising agility.
The second creature was also a guardian but looked quite different. It was a delicate construction of intertwined vines, twigs, and leaves, standing no taller than a young sapling. Slender and nimble, its body seemed to constantly shift and grow. Green, luminous eyes peered from a face framed by tendrils of ivy and clusters of flowers. It moved with a fluid grace, the rustling of leaves accompanying each step. While not as physically strong as the stone guardian, the plant guardian possessed remarkable resilience, able to regenerate quickly by drawing nutrients from the soil and surrounding vegetation.
However, the plant guardian's advantage was waning. Due to constant environmental depletion, the once lush and flourishing mountain had turned barren, causing the plant guardians' numbers to dwindle until barely any remained.
"Alright, Shui Tao, if you still want to back out, you can." Rue Bu said, holding the stone guardian on the ground while observing the plant guardian Shui Tao was facing.
"Hmph, shut up!" Shui Tao retorted, as if his words might somehow intimidate the creature before him.
Rue Bu ignored him, injecting primeval essence into various gu worms at different intervals. He refrained from killing the guardian beneath him, focusing instead on the one confronting Shui Tao.
'He can easily kill that guardian, yet he chooses not to, to put more pressure on Shui Tao. 'Oh, if you don't hurry and kill your opponent, the other one will escape from me and come at you too.' Something like that, I suppose. But is it really necessary?' Chen Huan thought. She knew Shui Tao wasn't foolish enough to believe Rue Bu couldn't handle such a weak monster, but in the heat of battle, where he could barely defend himself from the plant guardian, Shui Tao had no time for such reflections.
The plant guardian moved closer, each step increasing the pressure on Shui Tao. Their fight had been going on for nearly ten minutes, and he was barely keeping up with its relentless attacks, unable to find an opportunity to counter. Chen Huan began to question whether he even had any offensive gu worms.
The guardian, as usual, didn't close the distance entirely. Instead, its tendrils shot straight at Shui Tao. This time, however, he was ready. Dodging the direct attack, he grabbed the tendrils with his bare hands, piquing Rue Bu's curiosity about his plan.
"What are you doing?! Let it go, Shui Tao!" Chen Huan shouted, worried. She knew what these monsters could do if they caught you, and she feared for his life.
Yet, her expectations were thwarted. The plant guardian didn't attack. Instead, its slender body began to visibly shrink, its green luminous eyes dimming, and its leaves withering as if autumn had come early. Eventually, the creature's life ended, leaving behind a shiny green metal roughly shaped like a heart.
"What... what happened?" Chen Huan was bewildered, unable to speak for a moment.
Seeing that Shui Tao didn't need saving, Rue Bu finished his killer move and destroyed the stone guardian beneath him. He searched the rubble left by the guardian and retrieved a gray metal heart.
"Hahaha, that's my new gu worm!" Shui Tao exclaimed. "I told you I could do it, bitch..." He was so excited he even called Rue Bu a bitch.
"Haha, yes, you're amazing, Shui Tao. Here." Rue Bu tossed him the gray metal heart. "How about another round? You did it once, you can do it again, right?" He suggested, not seeming bothered by Shui Tao's insult.
"Ah, haha, Rue Bu..." Shui Tao laughed awkwardly, but before he could say anything else, Chen Huan chimed in.
"Stop being childish, both of you. We can't play around in such a dangerous environment. Let's hurry and find another plant guardian, we don't have all day." She hastened her steps, not giving them a chance to respond.
"You know I'm out of primeval essence, right?" Shui Tao said to Rue Bu.
"What?!! How can this be?!!" Rue Bu replied sarcastically, knowing full well that Shui Tao had spent all his primeval essence against the monster.
"Well, I know you're making fun of me, but I didn't use any gu worms during the whole fight, just at the end. The water essence gu worm uses way too much primeval essence for such a simple effect, and it has an even weaker effect on humans. So, I wouldn't be able to take another bet even if I wanted to." Shui Tao admitted with an ashamed look on his face.
"Oh? So that's it. I was a little confused about the gu worm you used, but it makes sense now. Anyway, you don't have to feel bad. I was just teasing you. You defeated it without any help, and it doesn't matter how little primeval essence you have left..." Rue Bu reassured him.
'The water essence gu worm is a famous gu worm in the Shui tribe that gained popularity in recent years after someone advanced to rank three extremely quickly with its help. Initially, it seemed like an offensive gu worm with a strong effect, sucking water and moisture from the opponent's body and drying them to death in the process.'
'But the water essence gu turned out to be more versatile. Elder Lin Lou acquired it one day and aimed to develop a killer move using it. Focused on its offensive capabilities, he found that every time he conceptualized a killer move, there were problems. Either the gu worms he had weren't compatible, or the move was so complicated and confusing that it became impractical in life-and-death situations.'
'However, Elder Lin Lou didn't give up. Eventually, he figured out a way to use the water essence gu to aid in cultivation, making him an elder at a very young age despite his average talent. This led to the creation of his infamous killer move, 'Essence of Life'.'
'He had managed to keep his research a secret the whole time, but eventually, he had to explain how he reached rank three so quickly. So, to avoid unnecessary conflicts within the tribe, he revealed the truth. And with his rank three status, no one in either the Shui or Lin tribes dared to challenge him for the killer move. It also helped that he mentioned a fatal drawback of the killer move.' Rue Bu remembered hearing the story when he was young. However, no one ever disclosed what the 'drawback' was or if it was even true.
"...but Shui Tao, this gu isn't suitable for you. You should have consulted me before purchasing anything. Firstly, considering its massive primeval essence expenditure, its effect is weak. Secondly, no offense, but as a D-grade, you're not the best person to use this gu. Lastly, you're not that good at direct combat either. With your reflexes and speed, you'd excel more with movement-type gu worms. I'm not saying you should get rid of it—it's good to have a trump card, and it probably costed you a lot—but keep what I said in mind." Rue Bu continued.
Shui Tao was stunned for a moment. "Yes, thank you, Rue Bu. I will keep that in mind for the future." He didn't know what to say other than to thank him, staying silent as they followed Chen Huan in search of more plant guardians.
'Since when did I ever have good reflexes or was fast?' he wondered. No Shui tribe instructor had ever told him that, nor had anyone else. He was used to hearing 'D-grade' or 'low talent' from everyone around him, so questioning himself was normal. But remembering his earlier fight with the plant guardian and what Rue Bu had said, he grew a little more confident. 'I might actually have a good future if I listen to Rue Bu.' he thought, feeling excited. Rue Bu wasn't saying he was a genius, but Shui Tao believed that if he followed his advice, he at least might become more useful.
Their journey continued without any major issues, finding three or four plant guardians every thirty minutes or so and encountering many more stone guardians. They didn't avoid any of them, killing each one and taking their metal hearts. They continued like that for almost eight hours, with various rests to heal minor injuries and regenerate primeval essence either naturally or with primeval stones.
As the sun set behind the huge mountain and darkness began to creep in, the last rays quivered and vanished beneath the horizon. A small light flickered on the mountain, a spark that was fast and barely lasted a second.
"Rue Bu, did you get it?" Chen Huan asked, worried about his 'flashy' attack.
"Yes, don't worry. We have all 50 hearts. We should get moving before something unexpe—" He didn't finish his sentence when they heard loud, thunderous footsteps that shook the ground slightly.
Looking behind him, Rue Bu saw a huge silhouette towering over the landscape. "Fuck!" he shouted.