The deeper they moved into the forest, the more surreal everything became. Trees towered like emerald giants, their leaves tinted in impossible hues—turquoise, indigo, even gold. Flowers bloomed in odd shapes and glowed faintly, while strange animals peeked through foliage, vanishing the moment they were noticed.

  “All these...” Jin Yu whispered, wide-eyed, spinning like a child in a candy store. The long-necked flower on his wrist danced happily, mirroring his wonder and tilting its head as if curious too.

  Haozi, though more reserved, couldn't help but glance around with wide eyes.

  What’s that?” Jin Yu asked, pointing at a creature perched on a branch. It looked like a bunny, but its fur shimmered with multiple colors, and a whip-like tail slithered behind it like a snake. It nibbled on a fruit, unbothered, staring at the group with large round eyes and twitching ears.

  “Don’t let the fluff fool you,” Chen Haoran replied, barely glancing at it. “It’s a Venomtail Hare. Cute like a vixen, venomous like a widow. Level One beast. Its tail can slowly paralyze a Level Three if they let their guard down."

  The flower on Jin Yu’s wrist turned to Chen,swiveled its petals to glance at the hare, then swayed dramatically, petals shaking like a shiver. Jin Yu laughed. “You mocking it, huh? You little drama queen.”

  It tilted proudly, as if it had achieved something.

  “Level One, Level Three… so beasts are ranked like humans?” Jin Yu asked.

  Scoff!

  Shen gave him a glance, the kind reserved for fools, before turning forward again.

  Jin Yu frowned. “Did I ask you, you arrogant gorilla?”

  The flower turned toward Shen and flared red.

  Shen: “...”

  What’s wrong with this stupid flower?

  Jin Yu smiled and patted the petals in approval, which turned pink shyly.

  “He's a gorilla, right?” Jin Yu whispered. The flower nodded fast.

  “Hahaha, my cute baby!” Jin Yu beamed. The flower swayed front to back, seemingly laughing along.

  “Too bad you can’t talk.” He sighed.

  The flower drooped, looking downcast.

  “Don’t be sad, my dear. You will... when you grow up.”

  It's petals perked back up, yellow and swaying happily.

  It brightened to yellow and twirled happily.

  “What should I call you, huh… Rainbow. Yes, Rainbow’s perfect.” He beamed, and Rainbow swayed like it was doing a victory dance on his wrist.

  Chen Haoran shook his head. “Why do I feel like that flower’s going to grow into a bigger narcissist than you?”

  Haozi blinked. “Young Master… what’s a rainbow?”

  “Huh? You don’t know?” Jin Yu asked, surprised.

  “No.…” Haozi scratched his head in embarrassment.

  "Oh, right" this world calls things differently.

  Jin Yu thought for a second. “You know those seven-colored bands in the sky after it rains? That’s what I mean.”

  “Oh! People call it Rainbow too?”

  “Nope. I call it Rainbow.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “…Okay.”

  “Chen Hao—” Jin Yu started.

  “Brother,” Chen corrected with a smirk.

  Jin Yu rolled his eyes. “Fine. Brother. So, are beasts ranked the same as mortals?”

  “You mean Solenthians?”

  “Huh?”

  “Caveman,” Shen muttered with a sigh.

  “You—!”

  “Don’t mind him.” Chen stepped in. “It’s no surprise your knowledge is lacking.

  You were always messing around but You’ve changed... I’ll give you that,” he said, giving Jin Yu a quick once-over.

  Jin Yu just shot him a side-eye.

  “We,” Chen spread his arms wide, “are Solenthians. This world—Solenthia—is our home, and we rule it.”

  “Beasts have their own cultivation realms, and levels too. Similar to ours, but not identical.....”

  Snap!.

  A dry twig cracked somewhere ahead. Chen Haoran’s playful demeanor vanished in an instant. He folded his hands behind his back like a seasoned fighter.

  “Now, this is what we call ‘experience is the best master.’”

  Rustle.

  A blur of orange darted across the trail.

  Another. Then three more.

  From all sides, fox-like beasts with shimmering crimson tails emerged. Their slender bodies moved silently, They were silent as ghosts, eyes sharp, muscles taut, surrounding the group with practiced grace.

  “Awooooo!” A howl shattered the silence, and the circle closed.

  Except… not on Shen.

  “Crimson-tail Foxes,” Shen muttered. He stood smack in their midst, but the beasts didn’t even glance at him.

  “They… can’t see you?” Jin Yu asked, eyes darting between the beasts and Shen.

  “I don’t exist to things beneath me,” he replied calmly, like he was discussing the weather. “You three handle it.”

  “Wait, wait, wait! You’re dumping this on us?!” Jin Yu took a step back. “What if they explode?! What if they breathe fire?!”

  “Then try not to die,” Shen said flatly.

  Jin Yu quickly turned to Rainbow. “Hide, girl! This ain’t your fight!”

  With a soft jingle, Rainbow zipped up his arm, curled behind his neck, and became a delicate floral necklace.

  Chen Haoran chuckled. “Let the warm-up begin.”

  One of the foxes lunged at him,without missing a beat, Chen side-stepped and smacked it across the skull with the flat of his blade. It crumpled to the side, whimpering.

  “Really?” he sighed. “These foxes need better teachers.”

  Another beast sprang at Jin Yu. He panicked, stumbled sideways, and slapped at it wildly. His fingers hit its snout, and somehow it flipped mid-air and skidded on its back.

  “Did I just… kung-fu slap a fox?” Jin Yu looked at his hand in shock. “I’m a genius.”

  Ding!

  [Fury +8]

  “Wait, that counts too?” Jin Yu grinned and lol at the fox like a gold mine.

  He ducked another bite and swung again—awkward, but effective. “Take this, fuzzy!”

  Ding!

  [Fury +12]

  “These guys get angrier when I clobber them? Oh, now I have to poke them more!”

  Meanwhile, poor Haozi was in a mess. “S-Someone help! I think this one wants to eat me!”

  A fox had him pinned against a tree. He smacked it with his dagger’s hilt, barely making it flinch.

  “Don’t panic, dude!” Jin Yu shouted while swatting at his own attacker.

  “I am panicking, Young Master!”

  “Try screaming louder, maybe it’ll get confused!”

  Haozi rolled under a tail swipe and flailed. “I’m serious! I’m not ready to be dinner!”

  With a frustrated grunt, Jin Yu dashed over and smacked the fox harassing Haozi. It neck snapped and it fell down with a soft bang.

  “You okay?”

  Haozi groaned, brushing leaves from his hair. “Yes… barely. Thank you, Young Master.”

  Chen wiped a non-existent dust from his robe. “i'm used to bashing human figures, this would be a great polish.”

  Shen stepped forward at last, not a speck of dirt on him, he then looked at Jin Yu and Haozi. “Barely passable,” he said coolly. “If this had been a Level Two ambush… you both would have become fertilizers.”

  Jin Yu rolled his eyes. “Nothing like brotherly encouragement.”

  Jin Yu looked at his dirtied hands,then glanced at the twitching corpse of the fox. "That was a Level One Beast, right?"

  Chen Haoran gave a curt nod. “Yeah. Low-grade Spirit Beast. Quick, but not too smart.”

  Behind them, Haozi flopped onto a rock, panting like a dog. “That thing almost ripped my arm off. You're saying that's... low-grade?”

  Chen chuckled. “Welcome to cultivation, Haozi. That was barely scratching the surface.”

  Jin Yu wiped his hands on his clothes and Rainbow quickly curled from his neck down to his wrist, firmly lodged there “Then what comes next? I want to know what we’re dealing with. Especially if there are stronger ones in this forest.”

  Haoran crouched beside the beast, poking its core with the tip of his blade. “Alright, lesson time. Beast realms mirror human cultivation. It’s not exact, but close enough.”

  He held up one finger.

  “First, you've got Feral Beasts, like these Foxes. They're ordinary creatures with a trace of qi. No real threat unless they swarm. Even a beginner like Haozi should have handled one of those easily.”

  Haozi frowned. “Hey!”

  Chen grinned. “What? It’s a compliment—barely.”

  "But,why do we have trouble killing them?" Jin Yu asked, looking at the dead foxes

  "It's not troublesome at all, it's you that has no experience, you should be able to swat it to death,well...I can't say the same for Haozi who's still in human realm one....,he needs more training"

  “Second,” he raised another finger, “Spirit Beasts. They're aligned with the Essence Core Realm—basic qi control, maybe a minor elemental trait. Easy for a trained cultivator, deadly for mortals.”

  “do they also stop being weakling?" Jin Yu asked, remembering his father's lecture

  “Yes, just like humans. Next up, there’s the Soul Beasts,” Haoran added. “Once a beast has reached the Essence Core Realm, it stabilizes its strength and refines its core. From there, it enters the Soul Beast Realm—where its spirit solidifies. This is when the beast’s soul begins to take form, akin to the nascent version of a cultivator’s soul. Afterward, it begins to cultivate its spiritual power, preparing for the breakthroughs that come in the higher realms.

  Next up, Profound Beasts. These are the real threats. Equivalent to Transcendent Realm. They’re intelligent, they strategize, and their beast cores are highly prized.”

  Haozi leaned forward. “Do they talk?”

  “Some do,” Chen said. “But you’ll wish they didn’t. Nothing worse than a beast insulting your ancestors while tearing your formation apart.”

  "Imagine this Rainbow can talk now,I bet we'll have eaten it from anger"

  They both laughed, except Jin Yu who glared at them and caress the angry rainbow who has turned red .

  “After that,” Chen continued, “come the Sacred Beasts—beings on par with Deity Realm cultivators. They're ancient, rule territories, some even cultivate like humans. If one marks you, run.

  An example of Deity realm experts is uncle Lin”

  "Wow,How about transcendent?" Haozi chimed in

  "Transcendent..... right before you...."

  "You?" Jin Yu asked

  "No, behind me " Jin Yu glanced at Shen who was looking at him smugly

  "Wow,no wonder the foxes couldn't see him"

  "Exactly" Chen Haoran replied

  Scoff!

  Jin Yu rolled his eyes before looking at Chen Haoran

  "What realm are you?"

  "Well, I'm in essence core realm..."

  "Oh,so you're no longer a weakling " Jin Yu teased

  "Exactly,I can swat you to death,so behave " he replied smugly

  “Whatever, what about the last?” Jin Yu asked, voice low.

  Chen’s eyes darkened. “Primordial Beasts. They match the Immortal Realm. Rare. Ancient. Some say they’re born from the world's origin qi. The land bends around them. Even the heavens hesitate when one awakens.”

  "Just like my father" Jin Yu nodded and looked at Shen as if reminding him.

  Haozi swallowed. “We’re not gonna meet one of those, right?”

  “Not unless you go looking for death.” Chen rose to his feet. “Stick to annoying Crimson-Tail Foxes for now.”

  Jin Yu crossed his arms. “Can humans tame them?”

  “Sometimes,” Chen said. “But only if the beast allows it. Most would rather die than submit.”

  Silence fell for a beat, the kind that settled heavy after talk of giants.

  Sigh!

  Haozi sighed and muttered, “I just wanted to learn how to shoot fireballs... now I have to worry about talking bears with ego problems.”

  Chen clapped him on the back. “Welcome to the path, cultivator.”