Hunting the Beast General

"Uncle Liu, look over here. Are there any Beast Generals in this group?" the chubby Li Ze suddenly whispered in surprise.

The others rushed over, each of them raising their binoculars to scan the area below carefully.

Scattered across the streets to the east, dozens of Iron-Armored Wild Bulls had appeared, and their numbers were still increasing.

"Hmm?" Liu Haifeng's eyes lit up. He noticed a bull in the herd that stood out from the rest; it was entirely red and was being escorted forward by the other bulls.

"Is that a Bloodthirsty Savage Bull?" Tang Ping quickly noticed the creature that was clearly different from the others and asked Liu Haifeng after a moment of thought.

"Yes, that's a Bloodthirsty Savage Bull. It ranks third among bovine monsters, possessing incredible defense and strength. Judging by its color, it should be an intermediate-level Beast General," Liu Haifeng nodded and said.

"That's a big catch," Tang Ping exclaimed.

The market price for a Bloodthirsty Savage Bull was quite high; an intermediate-level Beast General Bloodthirsty Savage Bull was worth nearly as much as an advanced-level Beast General of other common monster species.

"It is a big catch, but whether we have the strength to take it down is another matter," Liu Haifeng said, sounding hesitant.

Although he had gained a preliminary understanding of the strength of Tang Ping and his four brothers, they had only killed Beast Soldier-level monsters before, so his assessment was limited. For the sake of these promising young men, Liu Haifeng had to be cautious.

"Don't worry, Uncle Liu. I can handle an intermediate-level Beast General like this all by myself. You just need to hold off the other Iron-Armored Wild Bulls and any other monsters attracted by the commotion," Tang Ping said nonchalantly.

He hadn't been wasting his time lately. Although he hadn't bound any new "tools," the ones he had already bound were progressing rapidly.

Even though they had passed the Quasi-Martial Artist assessment a month later than his brothers, they had all caught up and successfully passed this Martial Artist Combat Assessment. After all, they were using cheats; during that period, Tang Ping had even secretly increased their distribution ratio to ensure they successfully mastered the Five-Heart-to-Heaven Cultivation Method, though he had changed it back afterward.

In other words, he had thirteen "tools" helping him cultivate during this time. Although the ratios for his brothers were set so high that his own gain was almost negligible, his overall cultivation speed was still far faster than theirs.

Advanced War General, Perfect-level footwork, Perfect-level blade technique, and the second layer of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade—this was his current strength.

Not to mention that this Bloodthirsty Savage Bull only had the strength of an average advanced-level Beast General; even if it were a true advanced-level Beast General, Tang Ping would not be afraid at all.

"Are you sure you can do it?" Liu Haifeng looked at Tang Ping with doubt.

"I'm sure!" Tang Ping smiled and answered with great confidence.

"Alright then, let's head down." Seeing Tang Ping's confident smile, Liu Haifeng decided to trust him.

The six of them immediately descended the stairs in a hurry.

A few minutes later, Tang Ping and his group arrived near the street where they had seen the Bloodthirsty Savage Bull.

"I'm going in. Keep up," Tang Ping told his brothers following behind as he watched the Bloodthirsty Savage Bull swaggering ahead. He gripped his combat blade and charged forward.

"Follow him!" The brothers didn't hesitate and quickly charged in after him.

"Boom..."

With a lightning-fast slash, Tang Ping sent the Bloodthirsty Savage Bull flying, crashing into a building behind it before it came to a stop.

"Heh... the defense is decent. It actually withstood a strike where I didn't even use my power-amplification techniques."

As the dust settled, Tang Ping looked at the spot where he had struck the bull. There was only a cut a few centimeters deep; given the thickness of the Bloodthirsty Savage Bull's hide, it hadn't even broken through the skin.

"Moo..."

Although its defense hadn't been breached, Tang Ping's strike clearly enraged the Bloodthirsty Savage Bull. It let out a roar and charged toward him.

"Haha... you big dummy, you're still far from hitting me. Since I'm bored, I'll use you to practice my blade work today." With a light dodge, Tang Ping avoided the bull's charge and chuckled, deciding to use the beast to hone his combat skills.

It was somewhat frustrating; he had leveled up too quickly. Who else at the Advanced War General level hadn't experienced real combat? As for the previous combat assessment and the few times he had fought on the road, bullying monsters much weaker than himself didn't count as real combat.

While this Bloodthirsty Savage Bull was strictly speaking much weaker than Tang Ping, it could still serve as a qualified sparring partner as long as he didn't use the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade's power-amplification technique. Plus, his Perfect-level footwork ensured his safety—it was simply perfect.

Of course, some contrarians might argue that life-and-death battles are the only way to stimulate potential and improve rapidly, but Tang Ping would just say that was nonsense. He was a man with cheats; he didn't need to put himself in danger to improve his strength.

He decided to play with the bull simply because he was bored and wanted to gain some practical combat experience along the way.

"Boom, boom, boom... boom..."

The Bloodthirsty Savage Bull charged back and forth time and again, but Tang Ping dodged every strike with ease. The buildings along the street suffered instead, with several already dilapidated structures collapsing.

"Brother Ping, stop playing around. Another group of monsters is coming from over there."

After about ten minutes, the Bloodthirsty Savage Bull was covered in countless blade marks, but it hadn't actually sustained any injuries. Liu Haifeng was starting to get anxious, but Tang Ping's brothers knew his strength. It was only when they noticed a large group of monsters appearing in the distance that they urged Tang Ping to finish the fight quickly.

"OK, I'll finish it in a minute." Tang Ping slashed the bull away again, glanced at the monster herd rushing toward them from afar, and spoke.

Nine-Layered Thunder Blade, second layer!

Since he had decided to get serious, Tang Ping naturally employed the power-amplification technique of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade. The second layer provided a 2.1x power boost.

"Splurt!"

The 2.1x boost had a clear effect. Tang Ping's blade finally sliced into the Bloodthirsty Savage Bull's body, and as the blade swept through, a spray of blood erupted.

"Moo..."

The pain further stimulated the Bloodthirsty Savage Bull, which was already exceptionally irritable from failing to hit Tang Ping. With an angry roar, it charged again, its eyes bloodshot, moving faster and more fiercely than before.

"Splurt!" "Splurt..."

"Bang!"

His Perfect-level footwork allowed Tang Ping to utilize everything around him, nimbly circling the bull and landing strike after strike on its vital points. The Bloodthirsty Savage Bull couldn't do a thing against him. Soon, it collapsed in frustration and resentment.

At this moment, less than a minute had passed, and the new herd of monsters in the distance was still some way off.