Black Stone Scorpions were unique exotic beasts of Black Stone Mountain. Although they had not yet reached 1st Rank, their entire bodies were covered in extremely hard black carapaces with very high defense, their pincers possessed enough strength to easily crush black stones, and their venomous stingers could effortlessly kill a 1st Rank Martial Artist with poison.
Moreover, they liked to move in groups, so even a 1st Rank Martial Artist would steer clear of them upon encounter, not daring to fight them.
Sure enough, before Chu Han could stand his ground, the soil all around ruptured one after another. Within a mere few seconds, over twenty Black Stone Scorpions burst out from the earth, surrounding him in the center.
If it were any other trainee participating in the training, they probably would have pissed their pants in fright by now.
Either turn and run, or pull out a signal flare to call for help.
Yet Chu Han looked at the swarm of Black Stone Scorpions before him without the slightest trace of fear in his eyes, a flash of excited light appearing instead.
I was just worrying about having nowhere to practice, and you have delivered yourselves right to my doorstep.
He drew the Fine Steel Long Blade from his back, his gaze sweeping across the entire bodies of the Black Stone Scorpions, and quickly discovered their weaknesses.
Their weaknesses are in the head and abdomen, their speed is relatively slow, and their attack trajectories are single-minded. As long as I avoid the pincers and stingers, I can easily deal with them.
At this moment, the foremost Black Stone Scorpion took the lead and launched an attack!
It fiercely arched its body, its pincers rapidly snapping toward Chu Han's lower leg, while its scorpion tail whipped out like a spring, the deep-blue stinger piercing straight at his chest.
"Here comes a good one!"
Chu Han let out a loud shout, advancing instead of retreating!
Stepping with agile footwork, he easily dodged the Black Stone Scorpion's fatal attack.
At the same time, the long blade in his hand thrust out like lightning. With a single squelch, the blade precisely pierced the head of this Black Stone Scorpion.
Pulling out the long blade, dark green juices splashed out. The Black Stone Scorpion's body convulsed violently for a moment before instantly losing its vitality.
Chu Han did not use a martial technique, relying merely on his consummate Basic Saber Technique to instantly slay the Black Stone Scorpion.
His movements were clean and fierce, a degree of execution that even quite a few veteran martial artists could not achieve.
"Black Stone Scorpions are nothing much after all!"
After testing his skills on a small scale, Chu Han's battle intent soared as he once again brandished his blade and charged toward three Black Stone Scorpions.
Facing the encirclement of three Black Stone Scorpions, he still strolled leisurely as he dodged their attacks.
"Swish, swish, swish!"
Stabbing three times in succession, the three Black Stone Scorpions instantly perished.
In an instant, four Black Stone Scorpions had already been wiped out.
The surrounding Black Stone Scorpions were all enraged by the deaths of their companions, successively letting out "hissing" cries as they lunged toward Chu Han.
Some swept horizontally with their pincers from the front, some launched sneak attacks with their scorpion tails from the sides, and others simply burrowed back underground, attempting to launch a surprise attack from beneath his feet.
Yet Chu Han's footwork grew increasingly ethereal and agile, the Spirit Cat Steps being executed by him without a single flaw.
No matter how the Black Stone Scorpions attacked, it was difficult for them to touch his body.
On the contrary, every time Chu Han thrust out his blade, a Black Stone Scorpion died.
The battle quickly became Chu Han's unilateral slaughter.
On the ground, the corpses of the Black Stone Scorpions piled higher and higher.
Before long, all 27 Black Stone Scorpions that had attacked Chu Han became corpses!
Chu Han stood in the center of the corpses of the scorpion swarm, his complexion slightly flushed.
Although the battle just now had been easy, continuous high-level combat had also consumed quite a bit of his energy; however, more than anything, it was deeply gratifying and exhilarating!
This was his first true battle in the literal sense. Not only did he emerge uninjured, but his Basic Saber Technique and Spirit Cat Steps had also gained tremendous improvement.
"As expected, actual combat is still what tempers a person the most."
Chu Han sighed with emotion, his gaze falling upon the stingers of the Black Stone Scorpions.
Using his long blade, he flicked at the junction where the scorpion tails met the stingers, and a venomous needle emitting a blue, eerie glow was pried out by him.
Nothing could represent the identity of a Black Stone Scorpion better than its stinger; the stinger was the proof of his hunting Black Stone Scorpions.
Thus, Chu Han successively pried off the stingers of these Black Stone Scorpions, wrapped them in special anti-venom cloth, and placed them into the inner interlayer of his backpack.
Then, with a grand wave of his hand, he gathered all the corpses of the Black Stone Scorpions on the ground into his spatial ring.
Although the most valuable part of a Black Stone Scorpion was its stinger, their entire armor of carapaces was also excellent material for making defensive gear, and their venom sacs could even be used in medicine.
Naturally, Chu Han would not let these monetary gains delivered to his doorstep slip by.
Doing all this, Chu Han cast his gaze toward the deeper parts of Black Stone Mountain, where the foul stench was even denser, clearly harboring stronger exotic beasts.
He hastened his pace and continued on his journey.
Along the way, he encountered two more waves of Black Stone Scorpions, all of which were eliminated by him one by one, totaling 39.
Continuing deeper for over ten miles, Chu Han suddenly felt an extremely slight vibration transmitted from the ground beneath his feet.
Hm? Another batch of Black Stone Scorpions?
Chu Han furrowed his brow slightly. He had already killed enough Black Stone Scorpions today, and hoped for some other exotic beasts instead.
No, this isn't the commotion of Black Stone Scorpions.
Chu Han discovered that the vibration came from even further away, and the commotion was growing larger and larger.
Before long, a thunderous rumble echoed from afar.
"Rumble..."
The ground beneath his feet suddenly shook in a wave, resembling an earthquake.
Chu Han's expression shifted slightly, and he hurried to run toward a protruding black stone slope on the right side, where the terrain was higher and allowed him to clearly see the situation ahead.
Reaching the top of the slope, he saw that in a forest clearing a hundred meters away, a giant beast comparable in size to a small truck was running wildly in a blind panic!
That was a Tusk Pig, exceeding three meters in length, its entire body covered in thick black hide, with steel-needle-like black bristles standing upright on its back. Most terrifying of all were the two curved tusks protruding from both sides of its mouth, reaching a full half-meter in length and gleaming with a cold metallic luster. When it ran, the tusks slammed into tree trunks, directly snapping bowl-thick trunks in half!
"1st Rank exotic beast, Tusk Pig!"
Chu Han's pupils constricted slightly, and the records from his textbooks instantly surfaced in his mind.
A Tusk Pig was nothing like the likes of Black Stone Scorpions; this thing could be considered the most dangerous variety among 1st Rank exotic beasts.
Its strength and defensive power could both be called top-tier among 1st Rank exotic beasts, sufficient to rival 2nd Rank Martial Artists among humans!
Its tusks were even deadlier weapons that could effortlessly pierce through large trees and boulders!
It would take at least five 1st Rank Martial Artists fighting in coordination to have any confidence in attempting to hunt one, and casualties would be extremely likely.
Even a 2nd Rank Martial Artist had to rely on the advantage of movement techniques to skirmish with it, not daring to confront it head-on.
Such a formidable entity was, at this moment, fleeing frantically like a stray dog.
Simply because right behind its rear was a dense swarm of dark figures, their roars rising and falling in succession, making one's scalp tingle just listening to them.
Chu Han looked closely and immediately recognized them.
"This is a pack of Rotten Dogs! There are a full seventy or eighty of them!"
Rotten Dogs were sturdier in build than adult Tibetan Mastiffs, their entire bodies covered in rotting flesh and pus, exuding a nauseating, putrid stench.
Their teeth were sharp and long, stained with black mucus. If one were bitten by them, even a 3rd Rank Martial Artist would have to administer antidote shots for treatment.
They belonged to the most disgusting category of exotic beasts.
This pack of Rotten Dogs was extremely fast, tailing closely behind the Tusk Pig as if maintaining a hunting formation.
"How is this possible?"
Chu Han locked his brows tightly, his heart filled with doubt.
Although Rotten Dogs were formidable, their individual strength fell far short of reaching 1st Rank, and a single one was even inferior in strength to a Black Stone Scorpion.
Aside from their speed and venomous teeth, they had almost no advantages when facing a Tusk Pig.
Let alone seventy-odd of them, even if a hundred came, under normal circumstances they would only be easily smashed to pieces by the Tusk Pig; how could they possibly turn the tables and encircle the Tusk Pig instead?
Yet the Tusk Pig's hindquarters and flanks did indeed feature several bone-deep wounds that were festering, clearly inflicted by Rotten Dogs.
Just as Chu Han was feeling puzzled, the Tusk Pig suddenly let out a miserable, shrill wail, and its speed abruptly stagnated.
A giant hound, far exceeding the size of ordinary Rotten Dogs, pounced onto the Tusk Pig's body like lightning!
Its speed far surpassed that of its companions, and its size was a full two circles larger than ordinary Rotten Dogs, making it look simply like a ferocious tiger!
It bit down with absolute precision onto the Tusk Pig's hind leg!
Giving its head a violent shake, it immediately tore off a large chunk of flesh and blood.
"Roar!"
The Tusk Pig let out a shrill scream, its massive body stumbling and nearly crashing to the ground.
Chu Han's pupils shrank fiercely, staring fixedly at the giant hound that had struck and retreated, currently emitting a threatening whimpering sound.
So that's how it is, the Corrupt Dog King! A 1st Rank exotic beast!
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