Breakthrough Opportunity After a Fierce Battle

"Nalan Yanran has practiced the Mysterious Tier High-grade Dou Technique: Wind's Extreme: Fallen Kill. Proficiency +1. Congratulations, host, you have received the Mysterious Tier High-grade Dou Technique: Wind's Extreme: Fallen Kill. Proficiency +10."

Liu Yun, who was traveling through the Monster Mountain Range, froze slightly. Then, a flood of information entered his mind. Enduring the swelling pain in his head, he slowly absorbed every move and technique.

He checked Nalan Yanran's information and discovered that in less than half a year, she had gone from a Two-Star Dou Practitioner to a Five-Star Dou Practitioner. She was practically a monster!

Perhaps it was because he had gifted her a high-grade cultivation technique that she had begun practicing a Mysterious Tier High-grade Dou Technique so early. It was truly unexpected, and it gave him a huge surprise as well.

Just as he was immersed in joy, carefully sensing the Mysterious Tier High-grade Dou Technique, He Qingfeng's voice came from beside him.

"Young Master, something has happened ahead!"

Liu Yun was startled and quickly came back to his senses. He looked at He Qingfeng, signaling for him to continue.

"There's good news and bad news. Which would Young Master like to hear first?" He Qingfeng asked with a smile.

Seeing the smile on Elder He's face, Liu Yun relaxed. He had thought they had encountered a high-tier Magical Beast. As long as Elder He did not look grave, it could not be terribly bad news.

"The good news first," Liu Yun said.

"The good news is that there's a Peak Tier 2 Magical Beast ahead," Elder He said.

Liu Yun was delighted and hurriedly asked, "Then what's the bad news?"

"The bad news is that there isn't just one Peak Tier 2 Magical Beast there, but two." Elder He's expression was strange.

"Two?" Liu Yun exclaimed.

He already had a hard time killing one Magical Beast. If there were two together, then fighting them was absolutely out of the question!

"Young Master, how about trying to challenge two Peak Tier 2 Magical Beasts at once? I'll watch your back and support you from the side," He Qingfeng said with narrowed eyes and a smile.

Liu Yun was speechless. Support his ass—the system would not allow anyone to help him at all!

"Forget it. I'll handle it myself. Just make sure I don't die," Liu Yun said helplessly.

Before long, the two drew near and finally saw the two Magical Beasts.

A Lion Tiger Beast and a Crimson Flame Tiger.

The Lion Tiger Beast was born from the mating of a tiger and a lion. It had a lion's head and a tiger's body. The one before them was three meters long and two meters tall, slightly plump overall, yet it gave off an impression of immense strength.

Though the Crimson Flame Tiger was huge, it was somewhat lean. Its powerful muscles created the illusion that it could take off flying with every stride. Its most obvious feature, however, was the crimson flames flowing over its entire body. It was an innately Fire Attribute Magical Beast.

At that moment, the two Magical Beasts were locked in a standoff, neither willing to yield. One roared at the other, and the other roared right back. In any case, neither made a move. It looked like they had been confronting each other for quite some time.

As Liu Yun observed them, he also planned out his battle strategy. It seemed these two would not fight after all. Their strengths were similar, and both possessed intelligence. They could not possibly fight to the death the moment they met.

"Elder He, once the two Magical Beasts separate, don't stay behind to watch my back. Follow the Crimson Flame Tiger directly and remember where it lives," Liu Yun said.

"Young Master, that won't do. What if you're in danger..." He Qingfeng said anxiously.

"Enough. Listen to me. If you keep following me, I won't feel any pressure, and it won't serve as training," Liu Yun said casually.

In the end, He Qingfeng compromised. On second thought, the Young Master surely had other trump cards, and he could see Liu Yun's determination as well, so he agreed.

While the two Magical Beasts remained in their standoff, Liu Yun began assessing his current combat strength.

He now possessed two Dou Techniques: the Wind Spirit Fractal Sword and Wind's Extreme: Fallen Kill. However, because the system's Return was too powerful, they required an enormous amount of Dou Qi to use. Restricted by his cultivation, he could only use one of them once in a battle.

Therefore, his combat strength was basically no different from before. He merely had one more option.

The two Magical Beasts focused most of their attention on each other. Neither noticed the two pairs of eyes watching them greedily from the grass nearby.

The sun in the sky gradually reddened, and the setting sun dyed the clouds covering half the sky crimson. Both Magical Beasts seemed to grow impatient and began cautiously retreating.

In the end, the two beasts held back and did not engage in a final battle.

Once the Crimson Flame Tiger had retreated far away and the Lion Tiger Beast was nearly out of sight, Liu Yun knew it was time to act.

Using the ground for leverage, Liu Yun leaped high into the air. Upon landing, he sprinted in the direction the Lion Tiger Beast had gone. After only a few leaps, he caught sight of the massive beast.

At that moment, the Lion Tiger Beast noticed the disturbance behind it. It abruptly stopped mid-run, its bright eyes staring dangerously toward the source of the noise.

The moment they met, Liu Yun did not hesitate. Gripping the Liu Yun Sword, he flashed forward and slashed at the Lion Tiger Beast.

He had no time to play some game of neither side moving first with this Magical Beast. When both sides were evenly matched, striking first was the best choice. What mattered was suppressing the enemy with momentum.

With a vertical slash, Liu Yun used the momentum of his sprint and viciously chopped down at the Lion Tiger Beast's head.

The Lion Tiger Beast was startled by Liu Yun's immediate assault. As it watched the sword descend, a sense of danger rose in its heart, and it hurriedly dodged to the side.

But before it could breathe a sigh of relief, Liu Yun pressed his advantage. His sword swept toward it like a raging storm, forcing it to dodge repeatedly without even a chance to gather strength.

A minute later, the Lion Tiger Beast was wounded in several places, blood flowing down through its fur. No matter how thick its hide and flesh were, it could not withstand repeated strikes from a sharp blade.

For the first time, the Lion Tiger Beast felt fear. To a creature that considered itself a king, that was unforgivable. It grew enraged and roared toward the sky, only to be met with one Sharp Blade Thrust after another.

"Roar!"

A furious roar echoed out. The Lion Tiger Beast was beside itself with rage. At the cost of having a chunk sliced off its rear, it swung its tail like a divine dragon, finally finding an opening to borrow force from as it pounced at Liu Yun, intending to launch a counterattack.

But how could Liu Yun let it succeed? Without hesitation, he used the Floating Catkins Movement Technique, flashing behind the Lion Tiger Beast and wildly stabbing at its injured rear.

Unable to bear the pain, the Lion Tiger Beast instinctively swung its head, successfully sending Liu Yun flying.

It had to be said that the Lion Tiger Beast was truly powerful. That headbutt carried even more force than the Black Spirit Snake's desperate tail strike.

Blinded by rage, the Lion Tiger Beast let out a lion's roar toward the sky. Then its hind legs kicked wildly, gathering power to the limit before it shot into the air. With its gleaming claws extended, it pounced toward the hateful human before it.

Liu Yun was also astonished that the Lion Tiger Beast could jump so high. But alongside that astonishment came wild joy. The beast had little ability to remain airborne. If it could stop and dodge with that massive momentum, that would be downright cheating!

"Wind's Extreme: Fallen Kill!"

Liu Yun shouted. The Liu Yun Sword in his hand trembled violently, and a thin ray of light, barely as thick as a thumb, shot out in an instant. Even the space along its path seemed to ripple.

"Crack!" The ray shot into the Lion Tiger Beast's lower jaw and emerged from the top of its head. Time seemed to freeze in that instant.

"Boom!" A heavy object struck the ground, kicking up dust as the Lion Tiger Beast's corpse crashed down.

"Ding. Congratulations, host, for killing a Peak Tier 2 Lion Tiger Beast. Current mission progress: (8/10)."

Liu Yun landed on both feet, but his body felt weak and unsteady. He had still underestimated the power of this Dou Technique, as well as its Dou Qi consumption. At the final moment, that attack had nearly drained all of his Dou Qi.

Fortunately, he had not suffered any serious injuries. At most, he had taken the Lion Tiger Beast's furious headbutt. At that instant, he had activated the Magical Core of the Ironclad Savage Lion, offsetting nearly half of the tremendous force.

Compared to his previous battle against the Black Spirit Snake, Liu Yun's combat experience had improved by more than a little, and his reaction speed had become much faster as well.

With the battle over, Liu Yun sat on the ground and circulated the Carefree Wind Riding Art, frantically absorbing Dou Qi to recover, because the next battle was still waiting for him.

Just as he was cultivating to recover, a sudden realization surged into his heart. The energy between heaven and earth rushed desperately toward him, while the Dou Qi within his body was beginning to transform into liquid.

Liu Yun was startled. In an instant, he understood what was happening. He was about to advance to the Dou Master realm!

The opportunity to advance to Dou Master was extremely rare. Many Dou Zhe were stuck at the final step and could not advance an inch, yet Liu Yun had unexpectedly obtained this opportunity.

It was good news, but he could not bring himself to be happy. His mission was only at 8/10. With the mission so close to completion, how could he advance at a time like this?

For the generous reward, I'm going for it!

Liu Yun gritted his teeth. The Dou Qi within his body poured out wildly, resisting the energy outside from entering. At the same time, as the Dou Qi in his body was rapidly depleted, the process of liquefying it was interrupted, and his advancement failed.

Liu Yun lay on the ground, gasping for breath as he sensed the changes in his Dou Qi Vortex. The Dou Qi density there had already become extremely concentrated, as though he could take that final step at any moment.