Mountain Herb Forest...

To collect the 13 herbs, Tony reached deep into the forest.

Even though it was Tony’s first time, he moved easily like he owned this place.

Because of Pagma’s inheritance, collecting herbs became a child’s play for him.

He could just smell the herbs from a long distance.

A faint bitterness drifting on the wind from the north told him the frost root was growing about forty meters left, sheltered under a rock ledge.

The sharp sweetness coming from higher up the slope was the seven-petal vine. His nose moved across the forest like a compass, pulling him from herb to herb in the shortest possible path, no wandering, no backtracking.

One by one, the herbs went into his storage ring. Along the way he spotted several other rarer ones that Natasha hadn’t asked for. But Tony collected them for future use.

Somewhere in the distance, animals moved. A low growl from deeper in the trees. Birds screeching and scattering above. Tony registered each sound and kept moving. His Tyrant Dragon Fist could handle whatever came out of these woods. He wasn’t worried.

The sun was getting low.

Twelve herbs collected. One left— the seven flower stem, rare, grows in patches of deep shade near running water.

Tony had already caught the scent of it, about thirty meters ahead near a stream bed.

He pushed through the last cluster of branches, crouched down beside the stream, and closed his fingers around the stem.

"Thirteen... Finally..." Tony muttered before placing it inside the storage ring.

He straightened up, brushed the dirt from his hands, and turned to head back.

Something was wrong.

The forest had gone completely silent. No wind. No birds. Even the stream seemed quieter. Tony’s body registered it before his mind caught up— that animal stillness that meant a predator was already in position.

He turned his head slowly... It was almost invisible.

The snow leopard stood about eight meters away, blended into snow. If Tony hadn’t been looking directly at that spot he would have walked right past it. Even now, knowing it was there, his eyes kept trying to lose it.

It was big. Easily the height of Tony’s chest at the shoulder, built like something between a tiger and a ghost.

The snow leopard was completely still,golden eyes fixed on him with the patient and absolute focus.

It launched... No warning. No sound. One moment it was standing there, the next it was in the air— closing eight meters in less than a second. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Tony moved on pure instinct.

His right fist came up and forward— the first form of Tyrant Dragon Fist, the Silent Punch. No wind-up. No sound. Just force, compressed and released in a single point.

The punch connected with the leopard’s face mid-leap.

The impact was like hitting a wall with a wall. The leopard’s entire body whipped sideways in the air from the force, crashing into the snow with a heavy, rolling thud. It skidded three meters and came up snarling, shaking its head.

Tony lowered his fist and exhaled.

"Not bad," he said. "You’re fast."

The leopard snarled again and circled left, low to the ground, looking for another opening. It wasn’t done. The hit had stunned it but hadn’t broken anything important— this animal was built to take damage and keep going.

It lunged again... faster this time, coming in low from the side.

Tony sidestepped, grabbed the scruff of its neck as it shot past, used its own momentum to slam it face-first into the snow, and planted his knee firmly on its back before it could roll.

The leopard thrashed violently. Tony didn’t feel pain from the scratches and held on to it.

"Stop moving," he said calmly. "You’re going to tire yourself out."

The leopard did not stop moving. It twisted, swiped backward with one enormous paw, and caught Tony’s forearm with the edge of its claws— not deep, but enough to sting.

Tony looked at the scratch. Then he looked at the leopard.

"That was rude."

He shifted his grip, flipped the animal onto its side, and delivered three short, precise strikes to the pressure points along its neck and shoulder— Pagma’s knowledge guiding his hands without him even thinking about it.

The force was not enough to injure. Enough to make it very clear that continuing to fight was going to be deeply unpleasant.

The leopard went stiff. Then it let out a low, unhappy sound— somewhere between a growl and a whine.

Tony slowly released the pressure and stepped back, watching. It tried to run away a few times... but he just gave kicks to keep it in place.

The leopard lay still for a moment. Then it raised its head and looked at him. The yellow eyes were still sharp, still proud. But something in them had shifted— the absolute certainty was gone. It was reassessing.

"Good," Tony said. "Now we can talk."

Tony completely ignored the fact. He began speaking like he was chatting with a servant at home.

"Here’s the situation. I need a mount. The academy banned hover vehicles, which is genuinely the stupidest rule I have ever heard, and I am not walking up and down that mountain every day like a caveman." He tilted his head.

"You’re fast, you’re strong, and you blend into snow. You’re exactly what I need."

The leopard stared at him.

"I’m going to sit on your back now," Tony said. "If you try to throw me off, I will find those pressure points again. If you cooperate, I won’t bother you more than necessary. That’s a fair deal."

The leopard was in utter confusion. Because it couldn’t sense any emotion from Tony. For animals fear and braveness were two instincts. But the leopard failed to see both on Tony’s face.

Tony ignored the Leopard’s state and climbed on.

The leopard immediately tried to shake him off, twisting its body and dropping one shoulder. Tony grabbed the fur at its neck, squeezed his knees against its sides, and stayed on with the stubborn persistence of someone who had made a decision and was not changing it.

"I said stop," Tony said. Three taps to the pressure point on the left shoulder.

The leopard flinched and went still.

’It’s pain... the leopard was actually suffering from pleasure!’

"Good." Tony settled more comfortably on its back and pointed toward the tree-line in the direction of the academy. "That way. Move."

Nothing happened for a moment.

Tony reached for the pressure point again.

The leopard stood up— slowly, with enormous dignity and began walking. Stiff-legged, ears flat, tail low.

Tony accessed the storage ring with his free hand, pulled out the thirteen herbs one by one to confirm they were all there, and put them back.

’Good. Everything accounted for... Faster," he touched a pleasure point... and the leopard felt the tickle.

The leopard ran with a frustrated cry.

The tree line opened up ahead, and in the distance, the lights of the Nine Lotus Academy entrance gate were already visible against the darkening sky. Tony could see the small shapes of people near the gate... servants, disciples, visitors.

’Let’s see what kind of reaction this gets,’ he thought and the leopard ran straight.