Douluo: Opening by Furiously Rebuking the Grandmaster

"Continue." Lu Yu nodded in satisfaction.

Lu Fei's thoughts coincided perfectly with his own.

Not only was a Soul Power boost the most useful thing for them right now, but this skill also would not lose its usefulness as their levels increased.

Of course, that was assuming it was a percentage-based boost.

Lu Fei continued, "I've thought of a few Soul Beasts, like Evergreen Ivy, Nine-Sun Flower, and so on. They'll most likely be able to provide me with a percentage-based Soul Power boost skill."

"But Soul Beasts are a matter of luck. There's no use just thinking about them; we have to see whether we can encounter them. We'll have to assess the situation after entering the Soul Hunting Forest."

Lu Yu's face darkened.

Good lord, this guy really dared to dream.

Plant-type Soul Beasts were already rare, and things like Evergreen Ivy and Nine-Sun Flower were exceptionally precious varieties among plant-type Soul Beasts.

Even Lu Yu had not dared to think that far.

However, Lu Yu could not dampen his enthusiasm, so he said, "Your train of thought and ideas are both very good. The rest depends on luck."

Lu Fei nodded and asked in return, "What about you, Brother Yu?"

"Me?" Lu Yu said, "Although my Martial Soul is a weapon Martial Soul, my first few soul skills will be limited by their age and won't be very powerful. If I choose offensive soul skills, they'll become useless later on. So I'm also planning to choose enhancement-type soul skills."

"Things like attack speed, critical strikes, armor penetration, and so on. We'll see once we enter the Soul Hunting Forest. I'll choose whatever we encounter."

Of course, there was another reason he did not mention.

He already had Flash Shadow Triple Kill for damage. Since he had that, why would he need another offensive soul skill? Wouldn't an enhancement be much better?

After discussing their respective ideas, the two entered Soul Power cultivation. They still had more than two hundred li to travel, so they could not waste the time.

At noon the next day, Lu Yu and Lu Fei finally arrived outside the Soul Hunting Forest.

"Have a permit! Forming a team to hunt Strength-type Soul Beasts, still need two people."

"Hunting Agility-type Soul Beasts! Seven people waiting for a permit! Ten Gold Soul Coins."

Outside the forest, not only had large stretches of buildings been constructed, but all kinds of shouts rose and fell one after another. It was just like forming parties outside a dungeon instance in an Earth game.

Lu Fei found it all incredibly novel.

Because they had a permit, the two entered the Soul Hunting Forest without any trouble.

There was no way they were bringing anyone along.

Human nature was complicated. In the face of absolute interests, sometimes even blood brothers could not be trusted, let alone strangers.

Although Lu Yu considered himself fairly strong, he had not reached the point of being invincible. Some people were truly impossible to guard against.

Upon entering the forest, Lu Fei looked around like a curious child. "Whoa, these trees are much thicker than the ones on the Back Mountain behind our village."

Lu Yu rolled his eyes at him.

One was an ordinary forest, while the other was a Soul Beast Forest. How could they possibly compare?

Although the Soul Hunting Forest could not compare to legitimate Soul Beast Forests like Star Dou Forest and Sunset Forest, there were still plenty of Soul Beasts inside.

Not long after entering the woods, they encountered several low-level Soul Beasts. However, Lu Yu merely hid in the shadows and used them to test Lu Fei.

He did not disturb them.

As they ventured deeper, the ages of the Soul Beasts gradually increased as well.

From time to time, they could also spot hundred-year Soul Beasts.

However, they were all only one or two hundred years old, and their quality was not particularly high.

The two continued deeper.

"Roar..."

After walking for another ten minutes or so, a beastly roar suddenly came from not far away.

Both of them stopped at once.

"Brother Yu, what kind of Soul Beast is that? Its aura feels pretty strong." Lu Fei looked at Lu Yu uncertainly.

What he got in response was a huge eye roll. Lu Yu said irritably, "Do you think I'm a god? How am I supposed to identify it just by hearing its roar?"

"Still, it should be a leopard-type Soul Beast. Judging by that aura, it's at least over five hundred years old. We can go take a look."

Most leopard-type Soul Beasts were known for their speed, so there was a high chance of obtaining a movement-type soul skill. However, that was not what Lu Yu and Lu Fei needed.

Still, that did not stop them from taking a look.

If possible, Lu Fei could fight it.

A five-hundred-year Soul Beast, and an Agility-type one at that, was already beyond what Lu Fei could handle now.

But that was precisely the kind of mortal threat Lu Yu wanted. Human potential was limitless; under absolute pressure, Lu Fei might just make another breakthrough.

In any case, Lu Yu would be there to keep watch, ensuring things did not get out of hand.

With that, Lu Yu led Lu Fei toward the direction from which the roar had come.

Very soon.

The two saw the owner of that roar.

Just as Lu Yu had expected, it was a leopard-type Soul Beast.

A Gold-Patterned Black Panther.

A Soul Beast with terrifying speed.

However, what surprised Lu Yu was that he did not see any intruders at the moment, nor was there any sign of Soul Masters.

Since there were no intruders, why was this thing roaring?

Hidden in the shadows, Lu Yu tested him. "Xiao Fei, tell me what kind of Soul Beast this is, and how old it is."

Lu Fei's gaze fell on the Gold-Patterned Black Panther. After thinking for a moment, he said, "It should be a Gold-Patterned Black Panther. As for its age, it should be close to six hundred years."

Lu Yu nodded in satisfaction. "Explain in detail."

Hearing that, Lu Fei immediately gained confidence. "The age of a Gold-Patterned Black Panther can be determined by the golden stripes on its back."

"One golden stripe represents one hundred years of cultivation. This Gold-Patterned Black Panther only has five golden stripes on its back, but if you look closely, you can see that a sixth stripe has already begun to faintly emerge."

"So I judge that its cultivation is nearly six hundred years, probably between five hundred and seventy and five hundred and ninety years."

Lu Yu said approvingly, "Not bad. It seems you really put effort into the Soul Beast knowledge I taught you over the past half year."

"Hehe..."

Lu Fei grinned foolishly. As long as Lu Yu praised him, he was extremely happy.

"Brother Yu, we've seen it. Let's go. It'll be troublesome if we draw its attention later." After enjoying the praise, Lu Fei began urging Lu Yu to leave.

Although he firmly believed the Gold-Patterned Black Panther was no match for Brother Yu, they did not need this Soul Beast's Soul Ring. There was no need to fight it.

Lu Yu smiled. "What are you in such a hurry for? Such a good sparring partner, are you sure you don't want to try? You might even break through in your movement technique with its help."

"Huh?" Lu Fei stared at him in disbelief. "You want me to fight it?"

Did he not know his own strength?

Fighting it would just be asking for a beating.

That was a Gold-Patterned Black Panther nearly six hundred years old.

With its terrifying speed, its strength was probably already comparable to a top-tier Soul Grandmaster. He was merely a small Soul Scholar, and an auxiliary-type Soul Scholar at that. What could he use to fight it?

Chapter 22: I Really Can't Beat It

Lu Yu said, "What are you afraid of? I'm here, aren't I? Go fight without worry. I'll step in at the critical moment. Just focus on honing your movement technique and swordsmanship."

"Gulp..."

Lu Fei swallowed, looked at the Gold-Patterned Black Panther, then at Lu Yu. "Then, Brother Yu, you have to keep a close eye on things. Don't let me end up dying in a leopard's jaws."

Lu Yu did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Don't worry. Would I really just stand by and do nothing?"

"Whew..."

Lu Fei let out a heavy breath, then walked straight out from hiding.

"Roar!"

With his appearance, the Gold-Patterned Black Panther, which had been lying on its side, instantly rose to its feet and let out a threatening roar at him.

"Roar, roar, roar... roar my ass! Come fight!" Lu Fei sounded arrogant, but his slightly trembling legs had already exposed the fear in his heart.

Still, that was normal. Anyone would have reacted the same way.

The Gold-Patterned Black Panther seemed to sense Lu Fei's provocation as well. With an angry roar, it kicked off the ground, flinging up a patch of turf as it charged toward him.

It was incredibly fast.

In the eyes of ordinary people, they probably would not even be able to see its afterimage. It was even a little faster than the Basic Movement Technique at the perfected realm.

Lu Fei's entire body trembled. Without caring how the Gold-Patterned Black Panther intended to attack, he immediately retreated, instantly opening a distance of more than ten meters.

The Gold-Patterned Black Panther was no pushover. After missing its first strike, it launched another attack, moving much faster than before.

"Fuck... Brother Yu, save me!"

Lu Fei no longer had the mind to use the Gold-Patterned Black Panther as a whetstone. He cried for help as he ran, because he had realized that he and the Gold-Patterned Black Panther were not even in the same league in terms of speed.

Yet Lu Yu, hidden in the shadows, turned a blind eye.

This was nothing.

How could Lu Fei unleash his potential and break through his bottleneck without experiencing a genuine life-and-death crisis?

With a bang.

Lu Fei was caught. Then the Gold-Patterned Black Panther sent him flying with a swipe of its claw, leaving several bloody gashes across his back.

"Brother... Brother Yu, save me! I can't do it! I really can't beat it!" Lu Fei, sprawled on the ground, had already panicked.

Lu Yu shouted coldly, "You're already saying you can't do it before even trying. If you're this useless, then die here."

Seeing Lu Fei actually turn his back on the Gold-Patterned Black Panther truly angered Lu Yu. He deserved to be swatted away by that claw.

Lu Yu had repeatedly emphasized that even in death, one must never turn one's back on an enemy. Yet look at Lu Fei now.

Not only had he openly offered it his back, but he had not made any defensive move at all.

Had he learned everything over the past half year into a dog's stomach?

Lu Yu had watched several sparring matches between him and Tang San. They could not be called particularly outstanding, but they had at least been decent and steady.

But what about now?

Other than running away, what had he done?

He had not even struggled once.

Lu Yu knew that this guy must have known Lu Yu would not watch him die, so after seeing how strong the Gold-Patterned Black Panther was, he had simply given up.

But Lu Yu could not be at his side every moment.

There would always be times when he was absent.

While Lu Yu was still here, if he did not force him properly, what would happen when Lu Fei truly encountered danger and Lu Yu was not by his side?

Lu Yu's shout startled the Gold-Patterned Black Panther. It did not continue attacking Lu Fei immediately, instead warily looking toward the direction where Lu Yu was hiding. This gave Lu Fei time to catch his breath.

Yet Lu Fei did not seize this chance to launch a counterattack. He did not even put up an effective defense, merely cursing loudly, "Fuck... do you even have any humanity?"

Seeing this, Lu Yu was furious.

He could not help cursing inwardly, Hopeless.

The next second.

Perhaps sensing that Lu Yu did not intend to help Lu Fei, the Gold-Patterned Black Panther moved. It arrived beside Lu Fei almost instantly.

It raised a claw to pin Lu Fei down. Once it succeeded, the next thing awaiting Lu Fei would undoubtedly be the Gold-Patterned Black Panther's bloody maw.

Lu Yu, hidden in the shadows, immediately became tense as well. Without realizing it, he summoned the Eight-Faced Han Sword and prepared to provide support at any moment.