The pitch-black pollen scattered over the Amethyst Battle Tiger, seeping into its body. A faint, nearly imperceptible black hue surfaced on its purple fur, followed by a small "-5" floating above its head. The sleeping beast finally stirred, letting out a low growl as discomfort spread through its body—only to be instantly drowned out by a thunderous roar as an explosion erupted.

  Boom! Boom!

  -150, -150.

  A double firecracker, ignited by a lighter, came hurtling from the distance, striking the Amethyst Battle Tiger squarely in the face. Two identical red damage numbers floated above its head as the explosions rang out, completely igniting its fury. In an instant, it locked onto its target—an intruder had trespassed into what was once its exclusive domain. With a deafening roar, it leaped up, claws outstretched, lunging straight for Ye Tianxie.

  -5, -5, -5…

  A steady stream of damage numbers continued to appear above the beast’s head, one per second. And within those numbers, Ye Tianxie saw a glimmer of hope. His breath steadied, his mind sharpened, and his piercing gaze calculated every second with precision. The moment the Amethyst Battle Tiger launched into the air, he tossed another firecracker.

  Not a single one could miss. That was the bare minimum he demanded of himself.

  The airborne beast had no means of evasion and was struck head-on. Another 300 HP vanished in a fiery blast. Yet, the attack did nothing to halt its trajectory. A massive shadow loomed over Ye Tianxie. As the icy wind from the beast's charge whistled toward him, he abruptly arched his upper body backward, nearly parallel to the ground. The shadow, along with the impending death it heralded, roared past him.

  Ye Tianxie swiftly produced a third firecracker, igniting and hurling it at the now-landed tiger. However, its agility far exceeded his expectations. Though the firecracker struck, the moment it touched the ground, the Amethyst Battle Tiger spun around with explosive speed, charging directly at Ye Tianxie, who had just thrown the attack.

  The enormous purple figure expanded within his pupils. As the gleaming, razor-sharp claws filled his vision, his mind instinctively calculated—

  Movement Speed: 150!

  The brief stiffness following his throw, the beast’s lightning-fast reaction, and his misjudgment of its speed… Even though he forcefully shifted half a step to the side, the tiger's claw still raked across his body. A sharp pain flared at his side.

  -468!

  In an instant, Ye Tianxie's full HP bar was reduced to almost nothing—470 to 2.

  Staring at the fragile sliver of health he had left, a cold sweat broke out over his body despite his usual composure. If not for the extra 200 HP granted by his Life Ring, he would have been instantly slain.

  Without hesitation, he retreated rapidly, gulping down a high-grade recovery potion and a special healing potion to restore his health. Yet, the chilling wind of death still pursued him.

  With only 100 movement speed, how could he possibly outrun a beast with 150?

  The Amethyst Battle Tiger was nothing like the mindless Frenzied Bulls he had faced before—those creatures had only 80 movement speed and lacked the intelligence for quick adjustments.

  Faced with an imminent fatal strike, Ye Tianxie’s body reacted instinctively. He twisted sharply, narrowly dodging the attack. Utilizing his momentum, he tumbled to the ground in a roll, his gaze flickering toward the stone platform where the beast had previously been sleeping. In an instant, a plan formed in his mind.

  Without a second thought, he dashed toward the platform, which spanned over three meters in length.

  ROAR!

  The Amethyst Battle Tiger, having missed its target, let out a furious howl and immediately gave chase. Ye Tianxie leaped onto the stone platform, and in the same motion, turned his head—just in time to see the beast pouncing up, almost colliding with him.

  Then, he disappeared.

  It wasn’t true disappearance—he had simply leaped off the platform's edge, crouching low against its side, vanishing from the tiger’s line of sight.

  The platform was under a meter in height, easily within Ye Tianxie’s jumping ability. But his size allowed him to hug the edge, something the colossal tiger could never do.

  As expected, the Amethyst Battle Tiger's massive form sailed overhead. The moment it passed, Ye Tianxie swiftly retrieved another firecracker, ignited it, calculated its landing point, and tossed it toward the beast’s inevitable crash site. Without waiting to see the result, he immediately flipped back onto the platform, sprinting to the opposite edge.

  A pained roar erupted behind him as the explosion hit its mark. He turned and made a taunting gesture at the beast.

  -5, -5, -5…

  The damage numbers continued, small but relentless. Enraged, the Amethyst Battle Tiger leaped onto the platform once more, but just as it was about to reach Ye Tianxie, he repeated his move—jumping down and hugging the edge.

  Once again, the massive beast soared past him, landing directly onto another firecracker.

  Boom! Another 300 HP lost.

  Again and again, the same cycle repeated. Ye Tianxie used the stone platform to execute the same pattern, while the Amethyst Battle Tiger, bound by its own massive frame, fell into the trap. It pounced repeatedly, missing every time, only to be struck by another firecracker upon landing.

  A true warrior knows how to exploit every advantage—his own strengths, his equipment, the surrounding environment, even the opponent’s body structure.

  As time passed, the Amethyst Battle Tiger had lost over 2,000 HP, and Ye Tianxie had yet to miss a single firecracker throw.

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  If the tiger were as brainless as the Frenzied Bulls, it would continue falling into the same trap. But it wasn’t.

  This time, when Ye Tianxie jumped onto the platform, the tiger did not immediately chase after him. Instead, it turned its eyes upward, its mouth widening, and let out a deafening, earth-shaking roar.

  ROOOAAAR!!!

  The sound carried a heavy, crushing force. Ye Tianxie felt the world itself tremble as a powerful dizziness overtook him. His running steps faltered, and he collapsed onto the platform. His mind went blank, his consciousness fragmented. Through the haze, he could barely make out the looming shadow of the charging Amethyst Battle Tiger.

  Battle Tiger’s Roar—an area-wide control skill with a high chance of inflicting fear and stun for at least three seconds.

  First second... The Amethyst Battle Tiger pounced right in front of him.

  Second second... A massive, lightning-infused tiger claw came crashing down—Dawn Tiger Strike, a small-area AoE attack with a high chance of instantly killing Ye Tianxie. If the unfortunate 30% damage boost were triggered, his death would be an absolute certainty.

  -469!

  Compared to the previous moment when he barely survived with just 2 HP, this time, his full health bar was instantly slashed down to a single point… leaving him teetering on the razor’s edge of death.

  Third second... The Amethyst Battle Tiger raised its claw again, ready to strike. But just as it was about to land on Ye Tianxie’s body, clarity suddenly returned to his eyes. In his fallen state, dodging was impossible, so he acted at the fastest speed possible—gulping down two Special Recovery Potions in rapid succession.

  +300, +300, -466.

  Heaven and hell, life and death—so terrifyingly close. Two green recovery numbers and one blood-red damage number floated above him simultaneously. Ye Tianxie had barely survived. If he had been even 0.1 seconds slower, his fate would have been sealed.

  Dragging his near-lifeless body with just 4 HP remaining, Ye Tianxie rolled off the stone platform and crouched tightly against the rock wall. He quickly downed a High-Grade Recovery Potion and another Special Recovery Potion, refilling his health completely. Sweat drenched his forehead, his heart pounding furiously. The sensation of teetering on the edge of death—nothing could be more exhilarating.

  The stun effect, which should have lasted at least three seconds, only affected him for two. That fraction of a second made the difference between survival and instant death. His early recovery wasn’t luck—it was the result of a player attribute that nearly everyone overlooked: Focus.

  A higher Focus stat made it harder to be interrupted while casting spells, sometimes even shortening cast times. That was common knowledge among players. But what they didn’t know was that Focus also helped resist status effects such as stun, sleep, confusion, and fear. The higher the Focus, the less likely one’s mind would be shaken by external forces. However, since the difference in Focus among ordinary players was usually insignificant, this aspect remained unnoticed. Additionally, Focus also subtly increased success rates for gathering, forging, crafting, and mining.

  -5, -5, -5...

  The continuous damage numbers still floated above the Amethyst Battle Tiger’s head. The fact that the Dark Devourer Flower Pollen was still active after nearly three minutes startled Ye Tianxie.

  5 HP lost per second—300 HP per minute—900 HP over three minutes…

  When he first encountered the Amethyst Battle Tiger, he had felt nothing but powerlessness. But now, those small but relentless damage numbers ignited a burning hope within him. His blood boiled with excitement.

  If that’s the case... then there’s no reason to lose!

  Suddenly, a strange, binding sensation swept over his body. Ye Tianxie’s eyes snapped upward and saw a faint purple glow enveloping the Amethyst Battle Tiger. His expression darkened, and without hesitation, he bolted away—three meters, four meters, five meters... ten meters!

  CRACK!

  A violent purple lightning bolt ripped through the sky, striking the ground just inches behind him.

  He barely escaped.

  Sky Thunder Break—a ten-meter radius homing attack. Once locked on, dodging was impossible unless completely outside its range. No matter how fast Ye Tianxie’s reflexes and movement speed were, nothing is faster than lightning.And no one can outrun lightning.

  With 2.5 seconds of casting time, this skill was a matter of life or death. He didn’t dare to test its damage—because a single miscalculation could mean instant obliteration.

  Ten seconds… Twenty seconds…

  Finally, the damage numbers above the Amethyst Battle Tiger stopped. Ye Tianxie’s mental countdown ended at the exact same moment.

  200 seconds!

  The Dark Devourer Flower Pollen’s poison effect had lasted for a full 200 seconds. That meant... each dose drained exactly 1000 HP!

  Twelve doses of pollen.

  If he managed to land all of them, that would be a total of 12,000 damage!

  A truly beautiful number.

  The 20-second cooldown had passed. The enraged Amethyst Battle Tiger halted, lifted its head to the sky, and let out another deafening roar.

  But this time, Ye Tianxie did not retreat.

  Instead, for the first time, he charged straight toward the beast.

  "ROAR!!"

  The War Tiger’s Roar shook the heavens, its overwhelming force reverberating through the air. Ye Tianxie’s body stiffened for a moment—but this time, he neither collapsed nor lost consciousness.

  In that brief moment of rigidity in the Amethyst Battle Tiger’s body, Ye Tianxie closed the distance, scattering another cloud of black pollen onto its head before instantly retreating.

  Once again, that dark mist reappeared on the beast’s body.

  He did not get stunned this time.

  It wasn’t luck.

  It was his Focus.

  With his far superior concentration, he was confident that this level of intimidation was not enough to disrupt his consciousness. The first time, he was caught off guard.

  Now, fully prepared—it no longer affected him.

  -5, -5, -5...

  Like the slow, relentless footsteps of the Grim Reaper, the poison damage continued to tick away.

  Against this Amethyst Battle Tiger, even if he only dodged without attacking, the battle was far more difficult than fighting twelve Berserk Wild Bulls at once.

  But now, Ye Tianxie had a fully-formed strategy.

  Using the stone platform to control the tiger’s movement, Dark Devourer Flower Pollen to slowly chip away at its HP…

  Each dose of pollen lasted 200 seconds.

  And every time the effect wore off, the Amethyst Battle Tiger would immediately be poisoned again.

  BOOM! BOOM!

  -150, -150.

  SLASH!

  -467!

  Against such an overwhelming opponent, Ye Tianxie had to push his reflexes and calculations to the absolute limit.

  Dodge. Evade. Survive.

  His only chance of victory lay in his items.

  If this were a battle of pure strength, even ten of him wouldn’t be enough to win.

  The Dark Devourer Flower Pollen was running low, consumed one by one.

  At the same time, his recovery potions were also dwindling.

  Half an hour later…

  Only one final dose of pollen remained.

  And in his inventory—just five bottles of Special Recovery Potion.