The Post Sky Tipping Era
Chapter 398 - 277: The Gap Between Worlds

Chapter 398: Chapter 277: The Gap Between Worlds

Li Yi was leading the way at the moment, with Fan Zhizhou closely following behind. The two men moved swiftly, shuttling through the danger zone, leaving this place as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, as a Qi Cultivation Martial Artist of the Refining Realm, Fan Zhizhou had his own strength. Though he couldn’t quite keep up with Li Yi’s pace, he wasn’t dragging him down either. Moreover, he had some self-defensive capabilities. Li Yi didn’t have to babysit him and could leave him in Tianchang City with peace of mind.

"Mr. Li, why do we avoid a straight path when leaving this area, instead weaving around?" Fan Zhizhou asked, after following for a while, the question of doubt in his mind.

Li Yi glanced at him, his eyes especially conspicuous in the night: "Because the eyes of the Martial Artists from the Four Seas and Eight Continents have not evolved and can see very little. To your eyes, the path ahead seems safe, but through my eyes, it is fraught with extreme danger. The route I’m taking is one we’ve scouted out. Remember it well, as you’ll need to follow it whenever you enter or exit the danger zone."

"I see, now I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Li," Fan Zhizhou quickly grasped the concept, thus realizing why Li Yi’s eyes were different from the others.

So, the light from Li Yi’s eyes was not just for show, but allowed him to see things normally invisible.

The two advanced some distance further.

Suddenly, Li Yi had a premonition and abruptly stopped in his tracks.

Fan Zhizhou, slightly surprised, hurriedly halted as well.

"We’ve been spotted. We can’t keep going, or we’ll be ambushed," Li Yi frowned and said this somewhat mysteriously.

"What’s got us in its sights? Everything around seems normal... No, that’s not right, it’s too quiet here, somewhat peculiar," Fan Zhizhou looked around. He saw nothing, perceived nothing, and couldn’t even sense any danger.

Li Yi said, "Martial Artists from the Four Seas and Eight Continents haven’t unlocked the door to evolution. Your eyesight is poor, your hearing is weak, and all five senses are dull. You’re not keen to the dangers around you... This thing has been following us for a while. At first, I thought it was a coincidence and didn’t pay much attention. But now, my Spiritual Sense is signaling a warning; it wants to make a move on us."

Then, he faintly sniffed and caught a barely discernible fragrance emanating from his backpack and Fan Zhizhou’s body.

"I think I understand now; it’s probably the strong scent of the grand medicines and elixirs we’re carrying in our backpacks that’s attracted an Extraordinary Creature. It didn’t dare to make a move before because I led the way, which likely intimidated the creature. But now, we’re about to leave its territory, and it seems reluctant to let us go."

"We must fight a swift battle; this is a danger zone. Any commotion might attract other Extraordinary Creatures from nearby territories."

As Li Yi spoke, he set his backpack down, and his luminous eyes narrowed slightly with vertical pupils suddenly emerging.

However, at this moment, Fan Zhizhou was full of trepidation because, up to this point, he still hadn’t sensed anything. Yet, Li Yi’s warning made him feel as if the darkness around them was teeming with danger, filled with the presence of murderous intent that instinctively made one tense up.

"It’s coming," said Li Yi.

As his words fell, a shadow flashed through the surroundings.

The shadow landed at a higher point amidst nearby ruins, looking down at the two men like a ruler inspecting its domain.

"Is that... a cat?"

Now Fan Zhizhou could also make out what Li Yi was wary of; it was a creature standing aloft that indeed resembled a black cat, albeit much larger, like a black panther. Its eyes were emitting a greenish glow in the black of the night, shining like two precious gemstones.

"That’s no ordinary cat, it’s an evolved Extraordinary Creature. I’ve encountered it before; even after several gunshots, its reflexes were terrifying, capable of dodging bullets," said Li Yi, his expression growing serious.

The cat was certainly not from this locale as the local animals didn’t evolve so rapidly. This was likely a cat from the Otherworld, by some stroke of fate invading this world through a Sky Tipping event.

"But no matter what, it’s just a cat. With such a physique, its strength surely cannot be strong, and the level of danger should be relatively low," said Fan Zhizhou. "Mr. Li, may I test its mettle?"

He was eager to try.

As his first day traversing to a new world, Fan Zhizhou didn’t want his path blocked by a black cat. As a Qi Cultivation Martial Artist, he was certainly skilled. If he didn’t show his abilities, he’d be the subject of ridicule.

"If you want to try, go ahead. I’ll help out if you can’t handle it," Li Yi did not stop him. After all, words are useless, but a lesson learned from experience is remembered.

Letting Fan Zhizhou experience the terror of an Extraordinary Creature would make him understand and be more cautious.

If by any chance he died, Li Yi would have to make a trip back to the Four Seas and Eight Continents and ask the Fan Family to send another disciple over.

With Li Yi’s permission, Fan Zhizhou now set his backpack down. He took a deep breath, his Qi-Blood stimulated, and with a quick move of his feet, accompanied by four explosive sounds of Jin Qi on the ground, he charged out like an arrow, his explosive power and speed truly remarkable.

Fan Zhizhou unleashed his full strength without holding back, with Fist Power gathering and Qi-Blood surging as he went straight for the black cat, launching a deadly move with his hand.

"Nine Sounds Killing Fist?" Li Yi immediately recognized Fan Zhizhou’s form.

That was a supremely powerful boxing technique; when the fist was thrown, the inner Fist Power propelled in successive layers, having up to nine echoes. If an opponent of the same realm got hit without any defense, they would be severely wounded and defeated in an instant. However, the technique had a flaw; it consumed a huge amount of Qi-Blood, suited for short-term bursts and not prolonged equal combat.

If the opponent caught the fist without falling, the power of the second and third punches would continuously decline until you were eventually overturned.

But in most cases, those with insufficiently strong constitution and Qi-Blood couldn’t withstand the first three punches.

Li Yi preferred to call this technique the "Three Desperate Punches."

However, the evolved Extraordinary Creature, the black cat, just gave Fan Zhizhou a glance, its eyes revealing an almost human disdain. Meanwhile, the black cat didn’t even think to dodge; it lunged forward, extending a paw to strike Fan Zhizhou’s fist instantly.

Just a single clap, and the air was torn apart, sending a wave of energy rippling through.

The very next moment.

Bang!

An immense force erupted, its strength and ferocity causing Fan Zhizhou’s complexion to change dramatically.

How could a cat possess such terrifying power?

At this instant, he recalled the time he clashed fists with Li Yi, equally forceful and powerful, utterly irrational; all concepts of Fist Power and Qi-Blood seemed like a joke in the face of absolute power.

"Phew!"

The powerful force made Fan Zhizhou spew a mouthful of fresh blood; then, his entire body was sent flying backwards, slamming hard into a cement slab. Afterwards, one of his arms was torn open with three ghastly gashes, skin peeled back, bones shattered, a gruesome sight to behold.

Merely at first contact, one of his arms had been utterly crippled.

"What kind of joke is this, it’s just a cat... how can such a tiny body unleash such a degree of power?"

Fan Zhizhou struggled to stand with his nearly dismantled body, his hair disheveled, teeth clenched, wearing an expression as if he’d seen a ghost.

He himself, a proud descendant of a prominent family, a Qi Cultivation Martial Artist in his early twenties, came from another world, aiming to make a name for himself, to witness the vastness of the outside world. Yet he never expected to suffer defeat at the paws of a cat in his very first battle, and it was not even a battle of equals; he was simply being crushed.

"The disparity between worlds shouldn’t be this huge, ahh!!"

Fan Zhizhou roared to the heavens, nearly deranged, his Qi-Blood surging, eyes reddening from the tremendous shock. Desperate to fight again, he wanted to draw on his very lifeblood to battle the black cat to the death.

This was the characteristic of Martial Artists from the Four Seas and Eight Continents; better to lose by strength than momentum, to fight to the death without retreat if outmatched.

But before he could act on this impulse, the next moment, his pupils suddenly constricted, and a wave of terror flooded his body.

For in his field of vision, the black cat that was once afar had instantly appeared before him.

The cold claws shone with brilliant light, and just the sensation of them made his forehead chill, feeling as if his head was about to be torn apart.

However, at this critical juncture.

The glowing claws collided with something, emitting a sound akin to metal striking metal, and then the figure of the black cat was forced back.

"Is my head still intact?"

Fan Zhizhou stood somewhat dazed, touching his forehead only to find he wasn’t dead, just a gash across his forehead with fresh blood flowing.

He was hurt without being touched.

If those claws had been inches closer, he would be dead.

When he came back to his senses, he saw two figures briefly flash in front of him before disappearing, with dazzling light colliding; Li Yi and that black cat were locked in combat. However, during their struggle, as forces collided and Jin Qi was released, the air kept exploding, and nearby buildings crumbled like mud paste, breaking apart.

"I can’t keep up with their speed... My eyes simply cannot see."

Fan Zhizhou murmured, trying to observe the battle but realized his vision was essentially blind, failing him.

To think that he could not even capture a glimpse of Li Yi and the black cat.

All he heard was the continuous sound of thunder echo in his ears, with scintillating light streaking through the darkness of the night.

"This beast is not an ordinary Extraordinary Creature; it’s ridiculously strong," Li Yi thought in shock after clashing with the black cat.

Now at the Peak of Qi Cultivation and a master of Spiritual Perception, undertaking Dual Cultivation of Martial Arts and Evolution, even making use of Guiding Skill, he still couldn’t defeat this Extraordinary Creature, managing only to fight to a draw.

In terms of strength, the black cat was slightly weaker than him, but in reaction and speed, Li Yi was the lesser.

However, relying on the early warning provided by his Spiritual Perception, Li Yi managed to hold his own against the black cat, with no victor emerging from their enduring struggle.

The black cat seemed to realize that it couldn’t kill Li Yi in a short time, so it decided not to continue the deadly fight. As a lone Extraordinary Creature in a dangerous zone, it doesn’t wish to get injured during a hunt, as this would reduce its status in the biological hierarchy in the short term, making it vulnerable to other Extraordinary Creatures.

After a brief clash, without the slightest hesitation, the black cat leapt into the darkness, then swiftly disappeared using the debris of ruined buildings for cover.

"Escaped?"

Li Yi paused at this sight, and then sensed the figure of his opponent moving away at an unimaginable speed.

Engaged in a grueling battle, he had been considering using that mystical item, even if it meant shortening his lifespan, to defeat this Extraordinary Creature. Otherwise, should it grow before their next encounter, there would be no way to confront it. Unexpectedly, the cat chose to escape so decisively.

"Since it has run away, so be it." Li Yi had no intention to pursue but quickly left with the injured Fan Zhizhou to avoid drawing the attention of other Extraordinary Creatures.