When Strength Falls Short, Talismans Make Up the Difference

Lu Ye had thought he had encountered some formidable Fierce Beast, but only after truly coming into contact with it did he realize that this Big Tiger might not be as powerful as he had imagined.

It had remained at the cave entrance, not daring to venture deeper. If it were truly much stronger than Lu Ye, why would it waste so many words?

That was one point.

The second was that, after failing to get Spiritual Pills from Lu Ye, it had settled for Spirit Stones. When that failed too, it asked for Healing Pills instead, carrying the distinct air of a thief refusing to leave empty-handed.

From this, Lu Ye concluded that although Big Tiger looked imposing, it was most likely all bark and no bite.

Lu Ye took out a Healing Pill and placed it by his feet, making one final test.

Sure enough, Big Tiger was unwilling to approach Lu Ye and merely told him to throw the Healing Pill over.

Now that he had confirmed Big Tiger was not as powerful as imagined, Lu Ye put his mind at ease. What he needed to do now was simple: kill the tiger and eat its meat!

There was no denying that this was a Monster Beast with cultivation. If he could kill and eat it, it would surely be better than eating many ordinary wild beasts. Perhaps opening his ninth Spiritual Aperture would depend on this Big Tiger.

Lu Ye had never been one to keep his head down and follow the rules. Otherwise, he could never have lured Steward Yang into that Mine Cave filled with the Primordial Magnetic Field.

He planned ahead against potential dangers, and he did his utmost to seize any opportunities that might exist.

The Fire Serpent Talisman activated, flames coiling around it as it shot toward Big Tiger. At the same time, Lu Ye charged forward with his sword in hand.

Yet the moment he moved, his shoulder suddenly sank. It was as though something had pressed down upon him, forcing his body lower and nearly driving him to his knees.

At the same time, a piercing shriek rang beside his ears. In an instant, he felt as though someone had smashed his head viciously with a hammer. His entire mind reeled, and stars burst before his eyes.

He propped himself up with one hand on his sword, forcing himself not to collapse. At the same time, he circulated the Spiritual Power within his eight Spiritual Apertures to protect his body. In an instant, a layer of firelight seemed to burn across his body, threaded with strands of gold.

His Five Elements were Primary Fire, Secondary Metal, so the Spiritual Power within him naturally bore the radiance of those two attributes.

A shrill scream rang out, and the weight pressing upon his shoulder immediately vanished. His head was still spinning, but he had recovered considerably.

What left him utterly incredulous was that someone had actually ambushed him just now!

The attacker had not been Big Tiger, but someone else entirely!

He had been staying at the very bottom of the cave, while Big Tiger blocked the cave entrance. From beginning to end, he had been speaking with Big Tiger. There had not been the slightest trace of anyone else.

So he had never expected someone to launch an ambush from behind him. Fortunately, the ambusher did not seem particularly strong. He had merely activated his protective Spiritual Power and forced the other party back.

At the same moment that shrill scream sounded, Lu Ye abruptly turned his head. From the corner of his eye, he vaguely saw an inexplicable mass vanish into the rock wall.

He had no time to investigate the ambusher's identity, because a gust of bloody stench swept over him. Big Tiger had already pounced before him.

The Fire Serpent Talisman had not killed it, only scorched its fur black. This showed that Big Tiger truly possessed cultivation.

There was clearly no time to activate another Spirit Talisman. Lu Ye had missed the best opportunity to strike, so he could only slash out viciously with his sword while circulating his Spiritual Power, the Sharpness Spirit Pattern empowering the blade!

During this time, he had used Steward Yang's sword to kill quite a few Fierce Beasts. Unfortunately, he had never learned any swordsmanship, so he mostly relied on chopping and slashing.

How sharp was a sword empowered by Sharpness? When he had fought Zhou Cheng before, Lu Ye had cut through the other man's sword of equal quality with a single strike.

Yet Big Tiger's bones seemed even sturdier than Zhou Cheng's sword. Lu Ye's slash landed on its shoulder blade, but he failed to cut its body apart completely. Instead, a tremendous impact knocked him off balance.

Lu Ye retreated several steps with the momentum, pulling back his sword as tiger blood splashed through the air.

Before he could make another move, his chest went numb. A tiger claw had swept across it, tearing away a layer of flesh.

The pain did not affect Lu Ye. Instead, it made his mind even clearer. In this cramped space, the battle between man and tiger was extremely perilous. Life and death could be decided at any moment.

Yet after this exchange, Lu Ye's heart settled completely, because his judgment had been correct.

Big Tiger's cultivation was indeed not as profound as he had imagined. This was not an enemy he could not contend with. So long as he handled things properly, killing the tiger and eating its meat was just around the corner!

Big Tiger roared and pounced at Lu Ye again. At the same time, a burst of ghostly wails and wolfish howls suddenly echoed through the cave, disturbing Lu Ye's mind.

This was a trick employed by the enemy lurking in the shadows.

Lu Ye ignored the hidden enemy and focused only on Big Tiger's movements. The instant it leaped at him, he lowered his body, stamped his foot, and slid beneath the tiger.

As the two figures crossed paths, Lu Ye fiercely thrust his sword upward, striking Big Tiger's soft underbelly dead on. He had thought this strike would rip its belly open and spill its guts, but a ball of pale golden light suddenly emerged from its abdomen. Even with the Sharpness-enhanced sword, he only broke through that layer of light's protection and failed to severely injure it.

By the time he rose again, the positions of both sides had already switched.

Originally, Lu Ye had been deep within the cave while Big Tiger blocked the entrance. But now, the situation had reversed.

Moreover, through this exchange, Lu Ye discovered that while Big Tiger was not particularly strong, it was not weak either. It was likely a notch stronger than him.

He merely held a sharp weapon in his hand, and that weapon could be empowered with Spiritual Patterns, allowing him to gain a slight advantage.

But if they continued fighting like this, it would inevitably end with both sides badly wounded.

With that thought, Lu Ye reached into his Storage Bag and pulled out a Spirit Talisman.

When strength fell short, talismans made up the difference. The thirty Spirit Talismans Sect Master had prepared for him were not for decoration. Lu Ye had no intention of conserving them. If he did not use them now, when would he?

Yet before he could activate the Spirit Talisman, a crisp, urgent voice suddenly cried out, "I surrender! Spare my life!"

Lu Ye lowered his gaze. Hearing such words at the critical moment of a life-and-death battle undoubtedly dampened one's fighting spirit. Spiritual Power surged through the hand holding the Spirit Talisman as he barked, "Get out here!"

Deep within the cave, a figure slowly emerged from the rock wall beside Big Tiger. That figure was not solid, but instead seemed like a gathering of Spiritual Power.

After emerging, the figure gradually became more substantial, eventually becoming no different from an ordinary person.

It was a young girl with a slender, graceful figure and a beautiful face. Black hair fell to her waist, and she wore a white dress. A small black mole beneath her eye added a trace of Charm. She looked to be around sixteen or seventeen.

After stepping out, the girl stood beside Big Tiger and looked timidly at Lu Ye, wearing the expression of someone who had done something wrong.

Lu Ye frowned. "What exactly are you?"

Another push for the rankings. I truly do not understand the ranking rules at all. I'll ask for whatever I can get. The new book ranking dropped from first place to fourth before. How miserable.