That deep snort came again, then a massive form moved in the shadows and my breath caught in my throat. A bison, its humped shoulder reaching way above my head stepped out from the tree line. Thick shaggy dark brown fur around its head, neck and shoulders, covered rippling muscles that could snap me like rotten driftwood. Dark eyes below vicious looking black horns fixed on me as its nostrils flared.

  My heart sank. It had smelt the blood. I was no naturalist, but even I knew that ordinary bison weren't interested in blood. That meant that this was no ordinary bison.

  Centuries of relying on perception techniques that could scan entire worlds had made me careless. I had forgotten that to be mortal meant I was vulnerable to adversaries that would simply walk up behind me. Frankly, if this bison didn't kill me then I would probably die from the embarrassment of putting myself in this position.

  The bison let out another a soft cough, more testing than challenging. Before the sound faded, something slammed into my chest with invisible force. My feet skidded backward across the grass and I struggled to stay upright.

  Oh, well this was great. Just as I had suspected, this wasn't an ordinary bison, troubling as that would have been by itself, this was a Hollow Horn Bison. I mean at least I would know what spirit beast was going to kill me. Its techniques were focused around vibration and echoes. We had them, or similar, in my world, but none as big as this. This bison stood twice the size of any I had come across before.

  I was completely outmatched. My meridians might be open, but I had no core, and no true cultivation. Against a spirit beast this powerful, I would be lucky to last more than a few seconds.

  Flight, rather than fight then. In open ground, the bison would run me down before I had gone fifty yards. Even if it didn't use any of its innate techniques, those horns would shred me like wet silk.

  I glanced around and made a snap decision. I spun and leapt toward the nearest tree, a massive ironwood that would take three men to wrap their arms around.

  Behind me, another cough-roar shook the air, and I felt the sonic pressure ripple past my shoulder. The bison was already giving chase. Of course it was.

  My boots hit the gnarled roots and I jumped to latch onto the rough surface of the trunk. I pulled myself up, tearing the flesh of my palms in my haste just as the beast crashed into the trunk below.

  The impact jolted through me and my fingers slipped on the bark as the entire tree shuddered. I hauled myself up and managed to reach a branch wide enough to support my weight.

  Below, the Hollow Horn Bison paced in tight circles, its massive head tilted up to track my movement.

  Then it stopped and lowered its massive head. I knew exactly what was about to happen. With only a moment to react I wrapped my arms and legs around the trunk and pressed my face against the bark.

  The impact of the bison on the tree rattled my teeth. Wood chips exploded from the trunk where its horns carved into the bark. But I had expected that and just gripped tighter. That wasn't the real danger. The real danger came from the second wave, a harmonic shudder that ran through the entire ironwood like a bell being struck.

  My vision blurred as vibrations coursed through my body. The bison's ki technique turned the tree itself into a weapon. I could feel the blood in my body trying to push through my skin and veins from the force of the frequencies.

  I clung desperately to the swaying trunk as the echo faded. The bison stepped back and looked up at me with those dark intelligent eyes as it started to circle once more. We both knew I couldn't stay up here forever. Eventually, exhaustion or another technique would shake me loose.

  A few heartbeats of calm settled over the forest. The bison prowled below, but it didn't strike the tree again just yet.

  Well if the bison was cutting me some slack then I would take advantage of it. Time to move.

  I glanced at my packs, laden with the harvested plants, formation stones and the remains of the Windstep Deer. The rational thing to do would be to drop the burden and flee. But those materials could take days or weeks off my advancement.

  My mouth twisted into a reckless grin. More training then.

  I eased myself toward the nearest branch that I felt would support my weight and the bison's head snapped up, tracking my movement.

  Then I jumped.

  As I leapt, the pack's weight threw off my balance, and I barely caught the next branch. My shoulders screamed as I hauled myself up. This was more challenging than anything I had endured during my training earlier, yet somehow it felt easier. No time to wait though as the bison was thundering forward and keeping pace below.

  Another jump. This time I landed solidly, but the branch dipped alarmingly under the combined weight. I didn't wait to test its limits.

  The bison's bellow erupted behind me, a wall of sonic force that sent me tumbling through the air. I slammed into the next tree trunk, ribs screaming, and scrambled for purchase on the bark. My vision swam, but somehow I held on and then jumped again.

  For long minutes this game of cat and mouse continued on its knife edge but then I realized the forest had gone silent.

  I looked back. The Hollow Horn Bison stood frozen its massive frame rigid with frustration. It took a step back and then tried to run forward again before it stopped dead again. It let out another bellow, this one of pure anger, but its hooves remained planted exactly where they were.

  It took me a second but then the pieces fell into place. Something that size, displaying such territorial restrictions, could only mean one thing. This was a guardian beast. There must be a true spirit treasure somewhere in its domain, one powerful enough to enhance the bison's already formidable strength in exchange for protection. But, as a consequence, the beast couldn't pursue me beyond its assigned territory.

  It was possible that I could have escaped anyway, but I was going to gratefully take this way out when it had been handed to me on a plate.

  I took a deep breath, gave the my frustrated adversary a last look, then carefully climbed down the tree I was on. The presence of a spirit treasure and its guardian was interesting but it was a problem for another day, another month really, when I could actually face the creature and survive. For now, I had a forest to escape.

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

  * * *

  Given my mad dash to get away from the Hollow Horn Bison it took less time than I expected to get out of the Wanyuan. As I walked through the trees I found myself starting at every small noise. It was only once I reached the main road back to Shuilin Haven that my heartbeat finally settled into something resembling normal.

  As I walked down the road, the memory of the surge of strength when I had ended the Windstep Deer's suffering came back to me.

  I pulled out the Soul Mirror and fed it a thread of ki. The familiar script materialized in the crystal's depths, but for once it wasn't the increase in my attributes that caught my eye, but the new line in my profile.

  Name: Shen Taros

  Stage: Breakthrough. Tidesworn Pillars open

  Path: None

  Attributes: Body: 12 (+3) / Mind: 10 / Spirit: 14 (+3)

  Dao: None

  Titles: Lesser Beasthunter (Common). The Dao of Hunting recognizes that you slayed a Lesser Spirit Beast while still at Breakthrough Stage. Body +3, Spirit +3.

  I just stared at it for a moment trying to make sense of what I was seeing. The fact that my training and the encounter with the Hollow Horn Bison hadn't led to any attribute increases was irrelevant. This title was extraordinary. At the very least in now knew what the Title heading in my status was for and the boost explained why I had felt stronger after the encounter and why swinging through the branches felt easier. But this was far more than that. It suggested this world operated under different rules than I had known before.

  Time to consult with someone who might be able to help me organize my thoughts.

  I took a seat just off the side of the road and slipped into the Silent Pagoda Archive. Inside, Meiyu sat at her desk, repairing a book that had its cover hanging off.

  She glanced up at me. "Someone looks pleased with themselves."

  "I'll get to that, but first of all I've got some runes I came across that we should transfer to the Archive."

  It didn't take long for Meiyu to make a record of the runes that I had found on the formation around the trap. She then looked up from the table where she was writing. "That's done, but the way you're bouncing from foot to foot, there must be more to it than that."

  "There is. The Title heading in my status now has something under it." I briefly shared my exploits of the afternoon with her and she took notes as we went, as always forcing me to share precise details so that there would be an accurate record here in the Archive.

  Her spectacles caught the light as she leaned forward and reread what she had written. "Fascinating. So this world grants tangible rewards for exceptional achievements."

  "How is something like that even possible?"

  "It makes sense if my hypothesis about the Dao of Information is correct. That line about the Dao of Hunting all but confirms it."

  She was referring to an ongoing discussion that we had been having. Over the weeks in between everything else, Meiyu and I had been trying to better understand the Soul Mirror. "You mean when you were speculating that the Soul Mirrors were created by someone who had insights into the Dao of Information? How does that relate to this?"

  "Precisely. I have been thinking about that more. That would only be possible, if somehow this realm was closer to The Great Dao than ours was. If that's the case then each Dao may be able to influence both this world, and the people in it directly."

  "So you're saying that these Titles are rewards from specific Daos?"

  "Well that's what the Title says, right? If I'm right then if we do something that demonstrates an affinity or understanding of a Dao then we get rewarded. So, in this model, our Beasthunter title is a reward from the Dao of Hunting that reflects the fact that almost no one will ever kill a Spirit Beast.

  "I'm liking the implications. If titles can boost attributes…"

  "Then strategically getting as many as possible becomes essential if we're going see off the Vanguard." She tapped the end of her quill against the parchment. "Notice the designation. It reads Lesser Beasthunter." I nodded. "Well that suggests a hierarchy. If there is a 'Lesser' that suggest there is also a 'Greater' or similar variant with superior rewards. If nothing, else the fact that the title is designated Common, when combined with the welcome, but rather modest, boost to our attributes makes it almost certain that there are better titles to be had.

  "To speculate for a moment, in order to get an improved title we would need to either kill more of what are seen as Lesser Spirit beasts, or kill a Spirit Beast that is more than 'Lesser'. Ideally we would do both."

  I put out my hand. "Hold on there. If you think that I'm about to massacre a herd of Windstep Deer for a marginally better title, then think again."

  If a look could have frozen water it would have been the one she gave me. "That wasn't what I was suggesting at all, obviously. But, if dangerous creatures threaten innocent people, perhaps we might consider making the world a safer place. Justice? Aiding those who can't help themselves? Is that not who we are?"

  Fair point.

  "Any other thoughts?"

  "The description implies certain titles can only be earned before you have a core, so while you're still at Breakthough Stage. It still doesn't make sense for us to delay getting our core, but now we have a focus while we finish fixing our meridians." She pulled out a fresh sheet. "Let's theorize."

  I thought for a moment. "Attribute thresholds. Maybe reaching certain Body, Mind or Spirit values while I'm still at Breakthrough Stage grants recognition."

  "Very feasible. Crafting achievements. Creating treasures without cultivation assistance would be remarkable. We have plans for alchemy, but consider also crafting weapon or armor or creating a formation."

  "In fact, maybe there is an achievement for breaking through a defensive formation."

  "Good, yes. Now what about the arts? What have we seen of those here."

  I knew where she was heading with this. "You think that if there are Marital and Artisan titles then there'll also be Aesthetic Titles?"

  She shrugged. "There doesn't appear to be anything to suggest that the structure of Realms in this world is any different to ours. If I'm right I would still expect cultivators who move past the Awakening Realm into the Master Realm to normally choose between the Martial Realm, Artisan Realm, and Aesthetic Realm before they then converge again at the Transcendent Realm. I would suggest that unless we see evidence of anything different we should use it as our working hypothesis."

  "Makes sense. It would seem strange if there weren't titles that supported each of the paths through the Realms."

  "Let's move on. What about dungeons? Have you seen if they exist here? Clearing one solo while at Breakthrough Stage would seem to be a significant enough achievement."

  "I've not heard any talk of them, but worth investigating. I suspect that would something that would be talked about in the inner city by the nobles and sects."

  "Then you need to get to the inner city." Meiyu was on a roll now as she made notes in her neat hand. "Combat achievements beyond simple beast slaying. Perhaps defeating cultivators while mortal. How about surviving impossible odds or coming back from the brink of death."

  I held up my hand to slow her stream of consciousness. "Those are a lot of ideas. The question is which titles are worth pursuing versus which waste our limited time? Particularly as we're still speculating."

  "Precisely. We need information. Perhaps Yanzi's network can identify local threats worth eliminating." Her quill paused. "Or we could inquire at the Thousand Blows."

  The possibilities excited me maybe more than they should have. Each title could provide permanent advantages, cumulative benefits that would serve me well against future threats. If I needed an edge in the coming months then maybe these Titles would be it.

  "Start with attribute thresholds," I decided. "Push our Body, Mind and Spirit attributes as high as possible through training. At the same time I'll see what information I can find out. Whatever other opportunities present themselves we'll be well placed to take advantage of them."

  Meiyu's smile was razor-thin. "Now we're using that brain of ours. What are you waiting for? Go get some Titles."