Three Years

Su Hao quickly closed in on the Snow Flower Leopard again. The Snow Flower Leopard arched its body warily, let out a roar at Su Hao, and launched another desperate pounce. If it still could not deal with its opponent this time, it planned to retreat.

As Su Hao rapidly approached, the Snow Flower Leopard stretched out both forepaws, intending to knock him to the ground and bite through his throat. Yet it never expected the little fellow to merely twist sideways and vanish from its sight.

"Horizontal Slash!"

"Whoosh!"

A streak of blade light flashed from the Snow Flower Leopard's neck to its spine, carving a narrow, long bloody wound.

Blood splattered across the snow, staining a patch of it red. The Snow Flower Leopard crashed heavily to the ground. Whimpering miserably, it struggled to turn its neck and lick its wound, but could not reach it no matter what.

Only moments later, it unwillingly closed its eyes and breathed its last.

Wu Yuntian walked over from the side to Su Hao. Looking at the Snow Flower Leopard covered in wounds, he praised, "Well done, Xiangwu!"

Su Hao smugly flicked the Short Blade in his hand. "Hehe, just luck."

But Wu Yuntian said regretfully, "What a pity about that fine pelt. It probably won't fetch much now."

Seeing Su Hao's indifferent expression, he added, "I originally wanted to exchange this pelt for some money, save up a little more, and get you a more suitable blade. Looks like that won't work now."

Su Hao immediately said, "Father, where else can we find prey? I think there's still room for improvement in my combat skills!"

Wu Yuntian smiled. "Good. We'll go somewhere else tomorrow."

The next day, he faced an enormous Shanji.

Su Hao did not think much of it. He had already taken down a leopard, so what was a chicken? In the end, however, the Shanji battered him until he was covered in wounds, and Wu Yuntian had to save him. Thus, he became locked in a grudge match with that Shanji.

This Shanji had sharp claws and a pointed beak, and it could even briefly fly into the air. Most crucially, its reactions were incredibly fast, rendering Su Hao's Short-Distance Evasion Method ineffective.

It tormented him for six days before he finally dealt with it by making a snare from rope.

Then, the very next day, Wu Yuntian restricted his combat tools. He was not allowed to take shortcuts and could only use his Short Blade and armor; nothing else was permitted. At Su Hao's vehement insistence, Wu Yuntian upgraded his armor to protect the vital parts of his body.

Next, he encountered a Black-Haired Piglet. Amid the boar's merciless charges, Su Hao learned what a bulldozer was and how to fully unleash the strength within his body, creating powerful Impact force. In the end, he barely won in a head-on collision with the boar. It took ten days, followed by half a month of recuperation.

He encountered a Violent Bear, thick-skinned and tough-fleshed; blades could not cut it, and kicks could not move it. Against this tank with high offense and high defense, Su Hao learned the technique of relentlessly hammering at one spot. In the end, he slowly wore the Violent Bear to death. It took two months.

Cunning Jackals, nimble Leopard Cats, lightweight Birds of Prey, swift Great Serpents...

Wu Yuntian led Su Hao wandering through the mountains, sweeping away every fierce beast suitable for Su Hao to practice against as they traveled farther and farther.

Under Wu Yuntian's protection and instruction, Su Hao broke through one hurdle after another. Each battle took a different amount of time, and his experience fighting fierce beasts grew exceptionally rich. He gained an entirely new understanding of his own strength as a High-Rank Ordinary Warrior.

As time passed, he began to grow taller. His arms and legs became sturdier, the contours of his muscles grew distinct, and his armor and long blade were continually replaced.

Three years later, Su Hao was eight years old.

He stood nearly one and a half meters tall, straight-backed and powerfully built, his gleaming iron armor making him look imposing and heroic. His childish features had begun to mature, though his cheeks still retained a hint of a Child's roundness. His eyes shone with spirit, and paired with his closely cropped hair, it was clear that in a few more years, he would become a handsome and valiant young man.

"Father, today's target is a blue-and-white striped tiger about five meters long, right?" Su Hao's voice had grown somewhat more mature, loud and clear with the vigorous energy unique to a youth.

Compared to before, Wu Yuntian had gained a few lines at the corners of his eyes. He asked in surprise, "It is indeed a Blue-Striped Tiger, but how did you know?"

"I saw it a long time ago." Su Hao chuckled.

Over the past few years, he had continuously recorded information on all kinds of wild beasts, and the Database had become extraordinarily extensive. With only a glance, Little Light could distinguish species large and small; no matter how deeply they hid, it was useless.

Little Light's automatic Search function was no longer the casually issued command from three years ago. He had specifically rewritten its Search program and established various Databases, naming and adding to them whenever needed. It was now equivalent to one of Su Hao's special scouting skills.

Anything on Record could be identified instantly. As for things he had never seen before, as long as he named and recorded them, he could identify them the next time he encountered them. After three years of recording, he had basically catalogued all the wild fierce beasts around Tea Mountain Outpost.

Su Hao had encountered this Blue-Striped Tiger two years ago, but Wu Yuntian had not allowed him to deal with it at the time.

"Since it's the target, there's no problem. Father, wait here for a moment." With that, Su Hao lightly leaped down from the boulder and headed straight for the Blue-Striped Tiger.

Wu Yuntian was left standing in place, looking around in every direction, full of frustration. "Are that brat's eyes those of an eagle? Where is the Blue-Striped Tiger? Why can't I see it?"

Having watched Su Hao grow at an inconceivable pace with his own eyes over the past three years, he had become Numbness. He believed that even if more incomprehensible things happened in the future, he would not be surprised.

If Su Hao three years ago had been a High-Rank Ordinary Warrior, then Su Hao now was a High-Rank Ordinary Warrior far beyond High-Rank Ordinary Warriors. Thus, Wu Yuntian was not worried in the slightest about Su Hao facing a fierce beast like the Blue-Striped Tiger alone. Instead, he worried that Su Hao would tear the tiger pelt.

That was right, Su Hao still belonged within the ranks of High-Rank Ordinary Warriors, because he had yet to set the Blood Qi in his body in motion and create a new transformation. Yet his combat power had already far exceeded the scope of High-Rank Ordinary Warriors. It even surpassed that of Middle Elite Martial Artists.

To Wu Yuntian, this was an inconceivable matter. What he found most impossible to understand was the vigorous Blood Qi within Su Hao's body. He had never seen it in anyone else; to him, such a situation simply should not exist.

It was as if even the slightest additional trace of Blood Qi in Su Hao's body would exceed its limit of endurance, yet he could maintain this overflowing state at all times.

"What exactly is the 'Blood Qi Strengthening Wave' Xiangwu mentioned?" Wu Yuntian had studied it for three years, yet he still could not find the Gate. He could only sigh that they had fate but no affinity.

Watching Su Hao's retreating figure, Wu Yuntian felt a faint trace of pride and muttered, "As expected of my son."

Su Hao darted lightly through the forest, growing faster and faster while still nimbly avoiding every obstacle among the trees. When he came within fifty meters of the Blue-Striped Tiger, its ears twitched, and it detected the movement of Su Hao's approach.

"Roar!"

A king's roar echoed through the forest.

"Awoo—" Su Hao also howled toward the sky, answering the Blue-Striped Tiger's roar.

The Blue-Striped Tiger, king of the forest, had been challenged. It charged majestically toward Su Hao, swift as the wind, moving like thunder.

The two figures crossed in an instant.

"Bang!"

The Blue-Striped Tiger's massive body crashed to the ground. Carried by momentum, it snapped several branches as thick as arms before finally coming to a halt. At that moment, blood gushed from beneath its huge tiger head, pooling across the ground.

At the instant they crossed, Su Hao had driven the Short Blade in his hand up through the Blue-Striped Tiger's chin and straight into its brain, killing it instantly.

"Done!" Su Hao sheathed his blade, clapped his hands, stepped forward, grabbed the Blue-Striped Tiger by the Tail, and dragged it away.