Novice Lin Li's First Battle

"Hoo..."

"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."

Winds would occasionally sweep across the wilderness, rustling the waist-high wild grass that grew tall from the nourishment of the Spiritual Energy drifting in the air, setting it swaying with a soft rustle.

If someone heard the rustling of grass and trees in a bustling, peaceful city, they wouldn't think twice.

But out here in the perilous wilderness, the noise stirred up by a sudden gust of wind made one tense up involuntarily.

Lin Li, venturing into the wilderness alone, steered clear of areas thick with overgrown grass, choosing instead to slowly explore relatively open, flat terrain.

And also... a one-kilometer radius—that was the range Lin Li had set for himself on his first trip into the wilderness. Any farther wasn't on his mind for now.

Don't think a one-kilometer radius is too small.

Keep in mind, even within that one-kilometer radius, quite a few Exotic Beasts were already active.

After stepping into the wilderness, Lin Li had only shuffled forward about a hundred meters when he encountered the first Exotic Beast of his life.

This Exotic Beast stood a meter tall, with long ears, blood-red eyes, sharp buckteeth, and razor claws... a truly fierce and terrifying Rabbit Exotic Beast.

Rabbits were usually synonymous with gentleness, but the Rabbit Exotic Beast Lin Li faced was anything but gentle.

With its meter-tall frame, those blood-red eyes glaring at him with undisguised malice, it completely shattered Lin Li's preconceived notions of rabbits.

"Damn... this Rabbit Exotic Beast is vicious! No idea how strong it is, but based on the beginner tips I checked on the Beast Hunter app...

The strongest Exotic Beasts within a one-kilometer radius here are only at First-Order Mid Stage. This Rabbit Exotic Beast should be easy for me to kill."

Lin Li's heart was pounding with nerves, his right hand gripping the Spirit Artifact Longsword trembling slightly.

He finally understood why, yesterday on the Beast Hunter app's forum, he'd seen so many Beast Hunters at First-Order Peak looking to team up with those at Second-Order or above.

Because once a Cultivator broke through to Second-Order, their mental energy underwent a qualitative change, granting them a sensing ability. This let them judge an opponent's strength from the Spiritual Energy fluctuations they emitted.

Right now, for instance, the Rabbit Exotic Beast Lin Li faced had Pale Gold Spiritual Light blazing in its eyes—it was already channeling its Spiritual Energy.

If Lin Li were at Second-Order Early Stage, he could use his sensing ability.

Through the Spiritual Energy fluctuations the beast gave off while using its power, he'd know exactly what level it was at, instead of being clueless and uncertain like now.

This Rabbit Exotic Beast, with its First-Order Mid Stage strength, could sense that the human before it was a bit afraid.

That made it think the human was weaker than itself, so it attacked Lin Li first.

"Huh? This Rabbit Exotic Beast isn't that fast!"

Facing the Rabbit Exotic Beast charging at him with Pale Gold Spiritual Light in its eyes, Lin Li pushed off the ground, dodged right, and easily evaded its attack.

Seeing its strike miss, the Rabbit Exotic Beast turned and charged at Lin Li again.

"Dodge... and dodge again..."

Lin Li effortlessly sidestepped the Rabbit Exotic Beast's lunges over and over, while the beast stubbornly kept at it.

Dodging its attacks repeatedly boosted Lin Li's confidence. Even a fool could see now that this Rabbit Exotic Beast was far weaker than him.

"Die."

As he sidestepped another lunge, the moment he and the Rabbit Exotic Beast passed each other, Lin Li channeled his Spiritual Energy into the Spirit Artifact Longsword in his hand.

Pale Gold Spiritual Light flared instantly. With a swift swing of his right hand, the sharp Spirit Artifact Longsword stabbed fiercely toward the Rabbit Exotic Beast's neck.

"Pfft."

Though the Spirit Artifact Longsword Lin Li bought was a discount item, it was still forged from Spiritual Energy materials, making its blade far sharper than ordinary weapons.

With Spiritual Energy infused into it, its sharpness climbed even higher.

The blade tip, glowing with Pale Gold Spiritual Light, pierced the Rabbit Exotic Beast's neck as easily as cutting through tofu.

"Thud."

The Rabbit Exotic Beast, its neck gravely wounded, crashed heavily onto the grass. It struggled to get back up.

But the large wound on its neck from the Spirit Artifact Longsword gushed blood, and its strength drained away with the flow. It barely rose before collapsing again.

Within a minute, the Rabbit Exotic Beast, stabbed in the neck by Lin Li, was dead.

"Hoo..."

Lin Li, having achieved his first kill in life, let out a long breath. The tension vanished, replaced by excitement and elation.

"Exotic Beasts aren't so tough!" he muttered smugly, a grin spreading across his face as he strode over to the Rabbit Exotic Beast.

"Finally got some Exotic Beast flesh that's fresh within an hour."

Lin Li crouched down, reached out with his right hand, and grabbed one of the Rabbit Exotic Beast's ears.

Then, with a thought, a flash of Spiritual Light enveloped him, and he vanished from the spot—along with the Rabbit Exotic Beast he held.

On the Mysterious Small Island, Lin Li tossed the Rabbit Exotic Beast he was holding under the Miracle Small Tree at the island's center.

Then he stared intently at the Miracle Small Tree before him, waiting to see how it would handle the Rabbit Exotic Beast.

Five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen seconds...

The Miracle Small Tree in front of him didn't move at all. Just as Lin Li was about to open his mouth and complain, the corpse of the Rabbit Exotic Beast placed beneath the tree began to change.

White mist drifted out from the corpse of the Rabbit Exotic Beast. As time passed, more and more white mist emerged, and at the same time, the corpse began to decompose.

In less than ten seconds, the sturdy, meter-long Rabbit Exotic Beast had decomposed completely, leaving not even a single bone fragment behind.

The white mist that had risen from the corpse gathered in midair, forming a round, white misty clump.

This white misty clump was only the size of a pigeon egg. Just as Lin Li was about to reach out and poke it, the clump suddenly shot toward the Miracle Small Tree and merged into its trunk.