Striking from the Shadows

The atmosphere in the valley grew heavy, and everyone's eyes focused on Lin Dong and Lei Li.

"Brother Lei Li, help me teach him a harsh lesson," Xie Yingying said sweetly.

"Lin Dong, be careful," Lin Xia said, somewhat worried.

Who knew where Lin Yun had run off to. Seriously, at a time like this, it would have been great if he were here... Lin Xia grumbled inwardly, blaming Lin Yun.

None of them understood why Lin Yun had run so quickly. Did he want to be the first to charge onto the Giant Platform? That was only a qualification. Whether one arrived first or last did not matter much.

Lin Dong and Lei Li stepped forward. The two sides already held grudges against each other, so they said little and immediately fought.

"Earthly Yuan Realm!"

As soon as they exchanged blows, facing Lei Li's fierce attacks, Lin Dong revealed the strength of the Earthly Yuan Realm, instantly drawing cries of shock from both sides.

Needless to say, the Lei and Xie families were stunned.

On the Lin Family's side, only Lin Xia had guessed that Lin Yun and Lin Dong had broken through to the Earthly Yuan Realm. No one else knew. Now that they were seeing Lin Dong's valiant strength with their own eyes, it truly opened their horizons.

Especially Lin Hong. While shocked, bitterness welled up in his heart.

"You actually broke through to the Earthly Yuan Realm." Lei Li's eyes went wide, as if he had suffered no small blow.

He was much older than Lin Dong, and he had received the full support of his family, yet he had only just barely broken through to the Earthly Yuan Realm.

Why? On what grounds had Lin Dong caught up to him?

And there was Lin Yun too. That guy was even stronger than Lin Dong. Could it be? In an instant, many doubts flashed through Lei Li's mind.

His heart grew a little unsettled.

The two sides fell into a fierce battle, and for a while, victory and defeat were hard to determine.

The reason Lin Yun had previously left the Lin Family group and gone ahead alone was because Lin Dong was there, so he could rest assured and make his own way forward.

He had thought that if he took away the Fire Python Tiger family alone without anyone else discovering it, then no conflict would be sparked in the forest.

Unexpectedly, even without the Fire Python Tiger's involvement, there were still other reasons that led the two sides to clash ahead of time.

"Hm?!"

Lin Yun, who was secretly watching the battle through his Mental Energy, suddenly let out a surprised sound.

Lin Yun's Mental Energy covered nearly a thousand meters, allowing him to clearly see the entire area around the valley. At this moment, in the woods beside the valley, a silver-black leopard was approaching.

"A Shadow Phantom Leopard, an Earthly Yuan Realm Demon Beast." Lin Yun recognized the Demon Beast and frowned inwardly.

This Shadow Phantom Leopard was extremely fast. Among those at the Earthly Yuan Realm, it was a Demon Beast with top-tier speed, and that valley was most likely its lair.

At this moment, the Shadow Phantom Leopard was outside the valley, using the cover of the forest to secretly observe the two sides fighting over the prize, waiting for an opportunity. Its gaze was locked onto Xie Yingying—or more precisely, onto the Void Spirit Grass in Xie Yingying's hand.

Clearly, that Void Spirit Grass was the treasure it had been guarding. It must have only happened to leave just now, giving Qing Tan the chance to slip in.

Lin Yun could not help feeling a lingering fear for that girl Qing Tan. If Qing Tan had encountered this Shadow Phantom Leopard earlier, she would probably already have ended up in its stomach.

"This might be an opportunity!" A sudden flash of inspiration struck Lin Yun, and he came up with a plan.

He quickly approached the Shadow Phantom Leopard. When he was almost there, he took out the Alchemy Furnace, along with Tiger Heroine.

"That Shadow Phantom Leopard. Let's take it down together." Lin Yun pointed at the Shadow Phantom Leopard and discussed tactics with Tiger Heroine.

The Shadow Phantom Leopard was very fast and agile, especially in this forest, which was its home ground.

If it became alert ahead of time, killing it would be very difficult. Just catching up to it alone would probably take quite a bit of effort.

Lin Yun took off the Gravity Clothes and Gravity Shoes. Without the three hundred jin of weight, he felt his entire body lighten.

This was the first time he had taken off his weights to fight, and he did not know what level his burst of speed would reach.

Then he put on his gloves. This counted as being fully armed! Mission: Cooperate with Tiger Heroine to hunt the Shadow Phantom Leopard. Reward: one bottle of Fifth Grade Qi Blood Pills.

After establishing the mission, Lin Yun and Tiger Heroine approached from the left and right.

Whoosh, whoosh... One man and one tiger pounced toward the Shadow Phantom Leopard.

The Fire Python Tiger was the first to close in. When the Shadow Phantom Leopard saw that streak of fiery shadow, it seemed to have encountered its natural enemy and immediately ran in the opposite direction without even thinking.

Lin Yun immediately moved to meet it. He used the Flowing Wind Movement Technique and Eight Steps Catching Cicadas at the same time. Eight Steps Catching Cicadas, in particular, was a movement technique that combined explosive speed, and Lin Yun had already brought it close to Close to the Dao. It was even more formidable than an ordinary fourth-grade movement martial art.

Together with the lack of three hundred jin of weight holding him back, Lin Yun's body seemed to take flight. Before the Shadow Phantom Leopard could react, he had already sprinted right in front of it.

"Mountain Shocking Fist!"

Lin Yun threw a punch. At a time like this, the effect of a simple and brutal fist technique showed itself.

Although the complicated Mystic Gate Seal was stronger, it required time to form seals. Mountain Shocking Fist could build momentum even while running.

Lin Yun smashed his fist forward heavily, striking the Shadow Phantom Leopard on the head.

This time, he did not hold back at all.

"Awooo!"

The Shadow Phantom Leopard fell to the ground in agony, letting out a pained whimper.

"Roar!"

Tiger Heroine caught up and, like a predator making a kill, suddenly pounced onto the Shadow Phantom Leopard. She bit down on the Shadow Phantom Leopard's neck and ended its life.

"All right." Lin Yun patted Tiger Heroine on the head, making it let go, then put the Shadow Phantom Leopard into his Cosmos Sack.

"Now, go down to the valley. Kill that woman first and take the Void Spirit Grass in her hand, then look for a chance to kill that man. If the others run, let them run. Don't chase them." Lin Yun pointed at Xie Yingying and Lei Li below, making Tiger Heroine remember them clearly.

"Roar!"

Tiger Heroine let out a low growl, indicating that it understood what Lin Yun meant.

Rustle, rustle, rustle... Tiger Heroine charged toward the valley.

"System, create missions!" Lin Yun said in his mind.

Mission: Drive your Beast Taming creature to kill Xie Yingying.
Reward: Intermediate Rune Treasure "Thunder Mark Gauntlets."

Mission: Drive your Beast Taming creature to kill Lei Li.
Reward: Advanced Rune Treasure "Mountain Piercing Spear."

Rune Treasures—good stuff... Lin Yun's eyes lit up when he saw the reward items.

Rune Treasures were weapons that only Talisman Masters could create. Runes were carved onto the weapons, giving them certain properties, such as making them sharper, strengthening their defense, or imbuing their attacks with traits like flames or lightning.

Rune Treasures did not reach the level of Spirit Treasures, but they were stronger than ordinary weapons.

They were suitable for experts between the Earthly Yuan Realm and the Core Formation Realm.

"The system's pretty considerate. It even arranged weapons for me." Lin Yun felt gratified. When he had fought the Fire Python Tiger earlier, he had already been thinking about getting himself a weapon in the future.

He was quite satisfied with the Mountain Piercing Spear.

A man ought to use long weapons, heavy weapons.

In China, since ancient times, spears and halberds had belonged to handsome generals.

Hammers, axes, and the like were for ugly men.

The system understood him very well. It knew that spears and halberds were the only things that matched his bearing.

"Run! It's the Fire Python Tiger!"

"A Heavenly Yuan Realm Demon Beast, the Fire Python Tiger! Damn it, why would it appear here?"

"Go, quickly!"

As the Fire Python Tiger charged into the valley, the participants from the Lei, Xie, and Lin Families below were instantly thrown into panic, shouting in fear as they scattered and fled.

Lin Dong and Lei Li also hurriedly split apart.

Faced with the murderous Fire Python Tiger, no one dared to block it.

"Run first." Lin Dong called Lin Xia and the others along, quickly retreating.

Right now, preserving their lives mattered most. As for the Spirit Herbs, they could no longer care about them.

However, the Fire Python Tiger ignored the Lin Family members completely and went straight after the Lei and Xie Families.

The people of the two families hurriedly scattered and fled, while Lei Li and Xie Yingying naturally ended up together.

The Fire Python Tiger locked directly onto Xie Yingying.

"It's coming for the Spirit Herb!"

"This is its lair!"

"Sister Yingying, throw the Spirit Herb to it!"

The people of the Lei and Xie Families shouted, reminding Xie Yingying.

At this moment, Xie Yingying had already realized the problem as well, but she seemed somewhat unwilling. Holding the Spirit Herb, she was still hesitating. The Fifth Grade Void Spirit Grass was too precious—it was her chance to break through to the Earthly Yuan Realm.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and throw the Spirit Herb down!" Lei Li roared. He was about to be driven mad by this fiancée of his.

A Heavenly Yuan Realm Fire Python Tiger—how could they possibly face it?

"Brother Li, help me, I want..." Xie Yingying had not even finished speaking.

Lei Li's eyes turned ruthless. He directly shook off her hand, abandoning her, and rushed forward alone.

As a rational man, at a life-or-death moment like this, he could not afford to hesitate. The Fire Python Tiger was far faster than them. If he did not let go now, he would be killed by Xie Yingying, that stupid woman.

"Brother Li!"

Xie Yingying was terrified and hurriedly threw down the Spirit Herb.

However, by this time, the Fire Python Tiger had already caught up.

"Roar!"

With an angry roar, the Fire Python Tiger pounced on Xie Yingying. Xie Yingying, at the Body Tempering Ninth Layer, was like a delicious, tender snack before a Heavenly Yuan Realm Demon Beast. With one light bite, she was gone.

After dealing with Xie Tingting, the Fire Python Tiger picked up the Void Spirit Grass in its jaws and immediately chased after Lei Li again.

"No, don't come over here..." Lei Li shouted in despair.

He had already abandoned Xie Yingying and the Spirit Herb. Why still wouldn't it let him go?

Unfortunately, Tiger Heroine paid Lei Li no attention at all.

It only obeyed its Master's orders! "Pounce!"

In the blink of an eye, Tiger Heroine caught up to Lei Li. Its tiger claws sprang out and grabbed him across the back.

In the eyes of the Fire Python Tiger, Lei Li of the Earthly Yuan Realm was nothing more than a slightly larger ant.

One swipe of its tiger claw was enough to kill him instantly with ease!

Its razor-sharp claw nearly pierced straight through Lei Li's entire body.

After dealing with the two of them, the Fire Python Tiger did not continue the chase, but stopped.

The people around them had already fled for their lives, not daring to look back at all. The members of the Lei and Xie Families only cast a hurried glance over; even though their own young master and young mistress had been killed by the Fire Python Tiger, they had no intention of stopping whatsoever. If anything, they ran even faster.

Even Lei Li could not stop it, let alone them.

Before long, only Tiger Heroine and two corpses remained in the entire valley.

Lin Yun used his Mental Energy to probe the surroundings. Only after confirming that there was no one around did he call Tiger Heroine back and take her into the Alchemy Furnace.

Task: Defeat Lei Li. Reward: Root Bone +2, Luck +2. Completed. Claim?

Task: Drive your Beast Taming beast to kill Xie Yingying. Reward: Intermediate Rune Treasure "Thunder Mark Gauntlets." Completed. Claim?

Task: Drive your Beast Taming beast to kill Lei Li. Reward: Advanced Rune Treasure "Mountain Piercing Spear." Completed. Claim?

Three completed-task notifications popped up directly in his mind.

The task to defeat Lei Li was one he had created earlier.

He had not expected that this time, when Tiger Heroine killed him, it would be completed along the way.

Tiger Heroine was now his Beast Taming beast, so it counted as him making a move. Very reasonable.

"Mm, I'll head to the central Giant Platform first!"

Lin Yun sped up and ran toward the central Giant Platform.

He had to arrive before everyone else, then wait and watch the show.

With the number one geniuses of the Lei and Xie Families dead, the two great families would probably lose control.

He was looking forward to it!

Two chapters are being posted together; that's it for today! I originally wanted to update on time, but there's really too much going on during the New Year period. I can only guarantee two chapter updates, not the timing. I'll adjust it after the New Year! Once again, happy New Year, everyone!