Scaled Water Lizard

Chapter 026: Scaled Water Lizard

After some investigation, Qin Shaofeng quickly arrived beside a small lake, guided by the map he had obtained.

He had known about this small lake for a while, but it was the territory of a group of Scaled Water Lizards.

The Scaled Water Lizards were at the Third Layer of the Intermediate Realm. While not as strong as the Fourth Layer Intermediate Demonic Beasts Qin Shaofeng had encountered before, generally, Scaled Water Lizards at the Third Layer were quite large. This meant they possessed considerable strength, making them difficult for ordinary people to handle.

Furthermore, they were pack-hunting Soul Beasts. In this outer region of the Black Horn Mountain Range, they were considered one of the more powerful groups of Demonic Beasts.

Of course, if the Scaled Water Lizard had a single weakness, it was their somewhat sluggish movement. With a Skill like Little Li Flying Dagger, Qin Shaofeng was extremely confident.

If it weren't for this, Qin Shaofeng wouldn't have set his sights on this group of Scaled Water Lizards.

However, Qin Shaofeng also understood that when facing the Scaled Water Lizards, he could only try to target solitary ones. With his current cultivation as a martial artist at the Second Layer of the Houtian Realm, he could handle two or three Scaled Water Lizards without issue, but any more would be troublesome.

Moreover, killing them one by one would be more convenient.

Currently, there were over fifty Scaled Water Lizards at the edge of the lake, so Qin Shaofeng naturally didn't dare to rush forward.

After waiting patiently for a while, a Scaled Water Lizard, which seemed to be newly adult, began to sway its massive body and move towards the woods by the lake. It looked like it was going to forage for food.

A good opportunity!

Seeing this, a sharp glint flashed in Qin Shaofeng's eyes. He then slowly retreated, turning to quietly approach the Scaled Water Lizard.

After following the Scaled Water Lizard for some distance, when it finally let its guard down a little, Qin Shaofeng seized the moment and attacked.

Swish!

With a flash of movement, Qin Shaofeng appeared directly in front of the Scaled Water Lizard. He then raised his right fist, glowing with Inner Qi, and threw a powerful punch.

But to Qin Shaofeng's astonishment, when his punch landed on the Scaled Water Lizard, it felt like hitting a wall of bronze and iron. Not only did it fail to injure the creature, but the recoil even made his arm go numb.

Although he had some understanding of the Scaled Water Lizard's defense beforehand, Qin Shaofeng still wanted to test it.

He hadn't expected the Scaled Water Lizard's defense to be so formidable, even exceeding his expectations.

A single punch, which consumed 20 points of Inner Qi, couldn't break through the Scaled Water Lizard's defenses at all.

"Hiss—!"

With a roar, although it didn't sustain any real damage, the Scaled Water Lizard was enraged by Qin Shaofeng's sudden attack.

Opening its large mouth, revealing a row of sharp, cold teeth, the Scaled Water Lizard abruptly turned its head and lunged to bite Qin Shaofeng.

Although shocked by the Scaled Water Lizard's incredible defensive power, Qin Shaofeng didn't let his guard down. The moment the Scaled Water Lizard moved, he instantly flashed back, dodging its bite.

However, the foul stench that rushed towards him almost made Qin Shaofeng faint.

This forced Qin Shaofeng to retreat a few more steps, but the Scaled Water Lizard didn't let him go. It charged forward with all four legs, shaking its entire body wildly as it lunged at Qin Shaofeng.

The Scaled Water Lizard's frenzied charge stirred up a gust of wind, full of momentum.

Qin Shaofeng was greatly alarmed. He hadn't expected the Scaled Water Lizard to be so powerful. Without daring to delay, he slightly shifted his body and successfully dodged the charge. Then, finding the right moment, he delivered a powerful whip kick towards the Scaled Water Lizard.

"Crack!"

A loud sound rang out. Despite the considerable force of the attack, the Scaled Water Lizard, relying on its tough scales, remained unharmed.

However, its body was uncontrollably sent flying into the air.

Hmm?

What's that?

In the midst of the chaos, a patch of white caught Qin Shaofeng's eye, and he suddenly remembered something.

Although the Scaled Water Lizard was covered in hard scales, its belly had a patch of soft, white scales. This was the Scaled Water Lizard's only weak point.

Swish!

Little Li Flying Dagger!

Without hesitation, as soon as he saw the white patch, Qin Shaofeng inwardly shouted. With a slight tremor of his right hand, a silver beam of dagger light instantly shot out, fiercely piercing towards the white spot on the Scaled Water Lizard's belly.

Puchi!

The sound of flesh being pierced echoed. This strike hit its mark directly.

"Hiss-roar—!"

With a sharp roar, the Scaled Water Lizard, in pain, began to roll. It swung its massive tail fiercely at Qin Shaofeng.

Still not dead?

To Qin Shaofeng's surprise, Little Li Flying Dagger, which had consumed 100 points of Inner Qi, hadn't killed the Scaled Water Lizard.

But Qin Shaofeng didn't panic. Carefully dodging the sweeping tail, he drew the sharp sword from his waist. Taking advantage of the moment the Scaled Water Lizard was extending its tail, he thrust the sword fiercely into the wound that Little Li Flying Dagger had already opened.

Puchi!

The sound of the sword entering flesh rang out. A column of blood immediately spurted from the Scaled Water Lizard's belly. Then, Qin Shaofeng's eyes hardened. He casually dragged the sword with his right hand and slashed fiercely.

Screech!

Qin Shaofeng's slash instantly left a half-meter-long gash on the Scaled Water Lizard's belly.

Immediately, blood gushed out like a fountain, and in the blink of an eye, a small pool of blood had formed on the ground.

Qin Shaofeng, however, dodged again, putting distance between himself and the Scaled Water Lizard.

With such a massive wound on his abdomen, blood quickly pooled on the ground. The Scaled Water Lizard struggled for only a few moments before falling completely silent.

"System prompt: Congratulations to the Player for killing one Third Layer of the Houtian Realm Scaled Water Lizard. You have gained 8 Experience!"

"Hoo! Finally dead!"

Looking at the Scaled Water Lizard, which showed no signs of struggle after falling to the ground, and listening to the system's announcement, Qin Shaofeng finally breathed a sigh of relief. He then broke into a slight smile.

"As expected, killing monsters above my level is more satisfying. One monster gives 8 Experience. At this rate, it won't be long before I level up to the Third Layer of the Houtian Realm."

He muttered softly to himself, a smile on his face, his gaze drifting towards the distant lake, excitement gleaming in his eyes.

An hour later, with another Scaled Water Lizard falling to the ground, a system prompt sounded. Qin Shaofeng smiled happily.

"System prompt: Congratulations to the Player, your experience has reached the requirement for leveling up. Player Qin Shaofeng's Level has been raised to Third Layer of the Houtian Realm!"

Level: Third Layer of the Houtian Realm, 2/3000
Inner Qi: 900/900 (Third Layer of the Houtian Realm has 300 Inner Qi, Yi Jin Jing provides a threefold bonus)
Innate Spiritual Root: Body of Thunder
Skills: Fiery Golden Eyes, Yi Jin Jing, Little Li Flying Dagger
War Beast: Hundred Spirits Demonic Fox
Equipment: None
Quest: None
Points: 130
Title: Lord of Lanjiang City

Listening to the system prompts, Qin Shaofeng summoned his status interface. After looking at it for a while, he became excited again.

"Mmm, Third Layer of the Houtian Realm now. My Inner Qi has also reached 900 points. With this, I can use Little Li Flying Dagger a few more times. Reaching Houtian Fifth Level in three days shouldn't be difficult!"

Gazing at his status interface, Qin Shaofeng's eyes sparkled. However, at this moment, Qin Shaofeng didn't bother preparing to hunt any more Demonic Beasts.

The sky had grown dark. After fighting continuously for several hours, Qin Shaofeng was quite tired.

Even though his Inner Qi was instantly replenished to full upon leveling up, he was mentally exhausted.

So, after a moment of hesitation, Qin Shaofeng began to search for a place to rest.

Soon, Qin Shaofeng found a safe cave. After setting up some warning traps around the area, he caught a few wild rabbits and began to roast them.

While eating the roasted rabbit meat, Qin Shaofeng reflected on the day's events.

The fact that his realm had advanced from the First Layer of the Houtian Realm to the Third Layer of the Houtian Realm was something that would seem extremely abnormal to others.

In comparison, Qin Shaofeng was only slightly satisfied.

With a System, he could hunt monsters and level up. If he didn't level up quickly, he wouldn't be able to accept it himself.

Besides his level, other things had also changed.

The most significant change was that the Skills Qin Shaofeng possessed had also begun to upgrade.

Fiery Golden Eyes: Level 2, 731/1000. A God-grade active Skill, the renowned ultimate technique of Great Sage Equal to Heaven Sun Wukong. Currently at Level 2, it can reveal information about characters up to 3 levels higher than the player, with a certain chance of discovering their weaknesses. It can also be used to investigate any other object, revealing its level, with the specific details depending on the player's level. Each use consumes 10 Inner Qi.

Fiery Golden Eyes, being the Skill Qin Shaofeng used most frequently, was now not far from reaching Level 3.

Comparatively, the information revealed by Level 2 Fiery Golden Eyes was much more detailed than Level 1. Moreover, the chance of discovering weaknesses was also increasing.

Furthermore, with Fiery Golden Eyes upgraded to Level 2, not only could Qin Shaofeng see more clearly, but he could also perceive the attacks of Demonic Beasts during combat, allowing him to dodge them in time.

The reason Qin Shaofeng was able to successfully kill so many Demonic Beasts today was largely thanks to Level 2 Fiery Golden Eyes.

Little Li Flying Dagger: Level 2, 123/1000. A God-grade active Skill. Little Li's divine blade, unmatched in the world, strikes true with every throw! Currently at Level 2, within ten meters, it is guaranteed to hit any opponent of the same tier as the player, hitting 100% of the time. Once activated, it consumes all Inner Qi.

(Note: It can also be activated with a small amount of Inner Qi, with a corresponding reduction in power. The minimum consumption is 100 Inner Qi.)

In addition to Fiery Golden Eyes, Little Li Flying Dagger, also a God-grade Skill, had increased its level by one, reaching Level 2.

Moreover, with Level 2 Little Li Flying Dagger, not only had the attack range increased from the original three meters to ten meters, but its power had also significantly improved.

Before Qin Shaofeng had leveled up to the Third Layer of the Houtian Realm, using Level 2 Little Li Flying Dagger against the Scaled Water Lizard, while still consuming 100 Inner Qi, yielded completely different results.

With Level 1 Little Li Flying Dagger, even if it hit the Scaled Water Lizard's weak spot on its abdomen, it would at most severely injure it, not kill it outright.

However, Level 2 Little Li Flying Dagger, with a single hit, could directly end the Scaled Water Lizard's life.

The only drawback was that Qin Shaofeng's current Inner Qi could only sustain nine uses of Little Li Flying Dagger at most.

Speaking of Inner Qi, Qin Shaofeng couldn't help but complain about Yi Jin Jing, a Saint-grade Skill.

Both Fiery Golden Eyes and Little Li Flying Dagger were God-grade Skills, and to Qin Shaofeng's dismay, both had been upgraded to Level 2.

In contrast, Yi Jin Jing, a Saint-grade Skill, had not yet been upgraded.