Mutated fierce beast!

Upon spotting the Vicious Hound in the distance, Li Yuan instantly activated Cloud Treading Step and fled at full speed.

This beast was extremely fast, far outpacing Li Yuan.

Fortunately, Li Yuan was skilled in using Cloud Treading Step, and there was still some distance between them, with uneven terrain in between.

As he fled, he slashed at the surrounding plants with his blade.

The sap from the plants often released pungent odors.

He used these scents to mask his own, throwing off the beast's tracking.

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This escape took Li Yuan deeper than the range he had previously set.

Once he was somewhat safe, Li Yuan calmed down and carefully searched the area.

At that moment, not far ahead.

A Vicious Hound, about the size of a person, growled lowly.

This beast had patchy fur, and its skin was ulcerated in places.

Blood oozed slowly from the festering wounds.

The creature's appearance was truly like a Zombie Dog.

It was even more horrifying than the Vicious Hound that had been chasing him.

Across from this beast, a young woman held twin blades, panting heavily, her body tense in a standoff.

The aura she released made Li Yuan feel suffocated.

This was the terrifying pressure of a powerful martial artist.

She looked very young, at most his age.

But this aura could already compare to Principal Yin, a Seventh Grade martial artist.

In Qijia Town, it was rare for martial artists above Fifth Grade to come for training.

This woman didn't seem to be here purely for training either.

The beast noticed Li Yuan and gave him no time to think, its bloodied claw lunging straight at him.

It was incredibly fast—though a canine beast, it was quicker than a wildcat beast.

This was not the strength a D-grade beast should have.

Based on what Li Yuan had learned from books, this was at least... A-grade!

"Run! Report the Blood Corruption Mutation!"

The woman stepped forward with her twin blades, intercepting it directly.

But this beast felt no fear of pain.

Even as the blades struck, it lunged forward, its aggression pushed to the limit.

Li Yuan snapped back to reality in that instant.

Forty years ago, the pack of Blood Wolves that slaughtered Qijia Town had undergone some kind of mutation.

That time was worse—it was a whole pack of mutated Blood Wolves.

This time, they were slightly luckier—only two Vicious Hounds.

But even with just two, they could still lose their lives here.

Hearing the woman's warning, Li Yuan immediately turned and hid in a sheltered spot, without a moment's hesitation.

Against a beast, everything had to be fast.

Hesitation meant throwing yourself into danger.

Meanwhile, Xia Zhao was locked in a fierce struggle with the Vicious Hound.

Her stamina was dropping, and she showed clear signs of poisoning.

It was only because her physique was strong enough that she could barely hold on.

Anyone else would have already passed out.

At this point, she had accepted that she would die here.

Running into someone who could help spread the news was already incredibly lucky.

Her only regret was that she really didn't want to die in a place like this.

She would likely be torn apart by the beast, maybe even left without a complete corpse.

The beast before her was now even more frenzied and savage.

It seemed it had no intention of letting any prey escape.

Not just Xia Zhao, but also Li Yuan, who had just stumbled in—it wouldn't let him go either.

Its bloodshot canine eyes were still fixed on the direction Li Yuan had fled.

The more Xia Zhao used her martial skills, the greater the poison's effect.

She had to deal not only with the beast but also with her body's exhaustion.

This fatigue came from the poison.

Her mind grew hazy, her eyelids felt weighted with lead, and she unconsciously wanted to close her eyes.

The only slightly good news was that the beast's attacks had also weakened a bit.

"I should be able to hold out a little longer, enough for him to escape far..."

Xia Zhao muttered to herself, calculating that she had stalled the beast.

She might lose her life here, but the message would get out.

Just as she thought this, a figure flashed in.

Li Yuan's long blade had already sunk into the Vicious Hound's body.

The beast showed no sign of pain.

Instead, it instantly twisted its head around and bit down with its bloody maw.

Li Yuan activated his movement technique to dodge, while grabbing a handful of mud with his other hand and flinging it straight into the beast's face.

The mud covered its mouth and nose, which would affect it at least somewhat.

This tactic seemed childish, like a kid messing around.

But in Li Yuan's philosophy, any practical, useful method was a good one.

He tried to pull out the long blade, but it was stuck in the bone and wouldn't come free.

Not wasting time, Li Yuan immediately leaped to Xia Zhao's side.

He grabbed her and fled into the distance.

"If you run alone, you still have a chance. Dragged down by me, we'll both die here..."

Xia Zhao showed no joy at being rescued; instead, there was a hint of reproach in her tone.

In her view, saving her meant neither of them would make it out.

The news of this Mutant Beast would be buried here with them.

Li Yuan pulled her along as he sprinted, using Cloud Treading Step to weave through the terrain.

Hearing her complaint, he casually replied, "There's another one outside. We can't escape..."

Xia Zhao froze. She had thought this Mutant Beast was the only one.

So there was another...

If that was true, their chances of survival were even lower.

"This kind of beast has an extremely keen sense of smell. It'll catch up soon. It's useless."

Xia Zhao's exhaustion made it harder for her to keep pace with Li Yuan.

Her words turned defeatist.

Wrapped in despair, she had already accepted her fate.

But for Li Yuan, bringing her along wasn't just about thanking her for giving up her chance to live.

It was because the current danger far exceeded his expectations.

She clearly knew more about this Mutant Beast's background.

At the same time, the sound of the hound chasing them came from behind.

Li Yuan frowned at Xia Zhao, then simply hoisted her onto his back. This way, he could move faster.

The Mutant Beast's strength was far beyond what Li Yuan, a Fifth Grade, could handle.

The distance was closing; it was only a matter of time before it caught up.

But the path Li Yuan had chosen held a hidden trick.

Before making his move, he had selected a route lined with War Spider traps.

Many spots around here were covered in its silk.

As Li Yuan had anticipated, the Mutant Beast gave chase and immediately got tangled in the spider silk.

The silk's stickiness couldn't trap it completely.

But it could slow it down and hold it back!

Carrying Xia Zhao on his back, Li Yuan didn't slow down at all; instead, he ran even faster.

Xia Zhao was still forcing herself to stay awake, struggling not to pass out from exhaustion.

Feeling his movement technique, she was surprised.

Cloud Treading Step was a very common movement technique.

But the person carrying her moved as lightly as if stepping on clouds, adjusting direction with effortless ease.

The simplest way to judge a person's movement technique is to look at their turns.

When sprinting at extreme speed, how do you adjust?

Pure straight-line sprinting—that part isn't difficult.

But even at that speed, they would still be caught.

The Mutant Beast had scraped off some of the spider silk and would catch up before long.

After mutation, this kind of beast could match Seventh Grade or even Eighth Grade martial artists.

How could Li Yuan, a martial artist who had just entered Fifth Grade, compete with it in speed or endurance?

In Xia Zhao's heart, she remained pessimistic.

But that pessimism didn't last long before she tumbled straight into a patch of muddy ground.

At first, she thought she had slipped on empty air.

Soon she realized that Li Yuan was carrying her on his back, and the two of them had rolled together through the mud.

For someone like Xia Zhao, when had she ever been so humiliated?

Especially that head of black hair, now completely caked into a clump of mud...