"It's a Shadow Leopard." Zong Ling was stunned, but his experience surviving one life-or-death situation after another let him retreat quickly. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Using his serpent tail for leverage, he leaped with astonishing speed. After three quick bounds, he had already escaped to the high branches of a distant tree.
But the Shadow Leopard merely swept a cold glance at Zong Ling with its gray eyes, then continued to stare at Dongbo Xueying.
It didn't take the silver-haired serpentman seriously at all. It was a fifth-rank magical beast renowned for its speed. Kill a Heaven-Rank Knight? One move would be enough! And with its tough body... even if it stood there and let a Heaven-Rank Knight hack and stab at it, not a scratch would be left. It completely ignored Zong Ling, focusing almost all its attention on Dongbo Xueying.
This black-clad human boy... was the real threat!
Despite being caught by its sneak attack, he had still managed to counterattack.
"Uncle Zong, get as far away as you can," Dongbo Xueying said in a low voice.
"Xue Ying, be careful. The Shadow Leopard is incredibly fast." Zong Ling knew he wouldn't be able to help, so he called out from a distance, then immediately retreated even farther.
Dongbo Xueying stared intently at the Shadow Leopard and grinned. "I never expected to run into a fifth-rank magical beast on my first trip to the Destruction Mountain Range." As he spoke, he pulled open the two straps across his chest with his left hand. Clunk! The weapon case on his back fell to the ground. It had been completely torn to pieces, and his outer clothes had been ripped as well. Fortunately, he was wearing protective inner armor; otherwise, that one swipe would have badly wounded him.
"Hrhh..." The Shadow Leopard let out a low growl and slowly circled Dongbo Xueying. The pads on its four paws made its steps incredibly quiet.
Dongbo Xueying kept his eyes on it.
One man, one magical beast.
Each stared into the other's eyes!
Their lives hung by a thread!
"Swish, swish!" The Shadow Leopard suddenly moved. It first pounced to the side, but the moment it left the ground, it pushed off and changed direction, darting straight at Dongbo Xueying.
"Die!" The spearpoint in Dongbo Xueying's hand was like a venomous snake, darting toward the Shadow Leopard in an instant.
The Shadow Leopard's gray eyes remained fixed on Dongbo Xueying.
As it charged, its four paws stayed close to the ground. With a light, lightning-fast tap, it changed direction once more and dodged the sharp spearpoint.
Pouncing again and again, changing direction again and again.
Dongbo Xueying threw himself into defending with all his strength.
"Swish, swish, swish..." The Shadow Leopard became a ghostly blur, circling Dongbo Xueying.
All around him were countless phantom spearpoints, while snowflakes formed by the Flying Snow Divine Spear drifted through the air.
"Too fast. Far too fast."
"Not enough. Still not enough." Dongbo Xueying could feel how slow he was. Although he had learned some techniques from the Mystic Ice Spear Technique, which was famed for its speed, the gap between him and the Shadow Leopard was still obvious... The Shadow Leopard circled him as casually as if strolling through a garden, searching for an opening again and again. Those lightning-fast movements and changes of direction still weren't its limit!
The Shadow Leopard's eyes remained calm. Everything was under its control.
"Boom!"
The air seemed to twist. The Shadow Leopard's speed suddenly surged as it charged at Dongbo Xueying.
"Now!" Dongbo Xueying's eyes reddened. Faint streams of blood-red qi appeared around his body. It was clear that he had unleashed his Primordial Bloodline completely.
His strength erupted!
"Boom!" The spearpoint spun, tearing through the air in a twisting arc as it thrust toward the Shadow Leopard.
The Shadow Leopard was startled.
The speed of this thrust was completely beyond its expectations. If it had been on guard, it could have dodged it easily. But now it was lunging at full force and had already reached Dongbo Xueying! The distance was too short, and it was moving too fast to dodge.
"Roar!" It let out a fierce growl and struck the spear with both forepaws.
The spear spun like a great snake gliding through the water.
The strike, combined with the spear's rotation, dissipated most of the impact, but the spearpoint continued toward the Shadow Leopard's belly.
The Shadow Leopard's entire body twisted and bent as if it had no bones, desperately trying to evade the terrifying thrust.
"Rip!"
The spearpoint scraped across the Shadow Leopard's soft white belly, leaving a streak of blood.
Using the force of its blow against the spear, the Shadow Leopard shot into the air and landed on the high branches of a tree. A wound about two feet long had opened on its belly, but it had already forced the wound shut, and a little blood dripped down. Its gray eyes blazed with savage fury as it stared at Dongbo Xueying below.
"I actually failed to kill you. You're one lucky beast." Dongbo Xueying looked up at the Shadow Leopard, feeling a pang of frustration. He had unleashed his strength at a crucial moment, catching it by surprise and getting the best possible result. Now that the Shadow Leopard was on guard, things would be difficult.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."
The Shadow Leopard was furious too. It suddenly plunged downward, racing headfirst down the tree. After three quick bounds, it landed on the ground and charged at Dongbo Xueying.
"Shing!"
Faint blood-red qi rose around Dongbo Xueying's body. The Shadow Leopard carefully dodged his deadly thrust.
"Get lost!" His thrust missed, and Dongbo Xueying immediately turned it into a horizontal sweep!
The spear swept across with earth-shattering force. The Shadow Leopard looked alarmed; if that strike landed, it would be severely wounded at best. How could it know... that Dongbo Xueying's awakened Primordial Bloodline was the Strength Bloodline? When he swung the spear, the force coursed through its shaft, allowing him to fully bring his strength to bear.
The Shadow Leopard's body rippled like water. It lightly tapped the spear shaft with a claw and used the force to dodge.
"Boom!" The spear swept past and struck a nearby tree. With a thunderous crash, the tree burst apart and snapped in two. It began to topple with a rumble.
"Die!"
Dongbo Xueying charged forward, thrusting, chopping, and sweeping with his spear.
His continuous attacks relentlessly engulfed the Shadow Leopard, which kept retreating and dodging. The surrounding woods suffered terribly. Dongbo Xueying's spear could smash boulders that would take two or three people to encircle, or pierce straight through them! How could the trees withstand such devastation?
They fought all the way.
Dongbo Xueying realized that Uncle Zong had long since fallen far behind. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but he was growing anxious.
With his strength unleashed, his frenzied attacks seemed to give him an advantage!
But whenever he retreated, the Shadow Leopard immediately followed, never giving him a chance to escape. The Shadow Leopard was simply too fast... If it chose to pursue him, Dongbo Xueying couldn't shake it off.
"What do I do? What do I do? My stamina's draining constantly. I can't keep this up much longer." With his strength unleashed, Dongbo Xueying could feel his stamina rapidly draining away.
Once his stamina was gone, he'd be dead!
"Hrhh..."
The Shadow Leopard was a highly experienced hunter, always searching for an opening.
At last--
Dongbo Xueying's rapidly dwindling stamina caused a flaw in his attack. The Shadow Leopard suddenly shot forward like lightning and was almost instantly right in front of him.
"Not good." Dongbo Xueying's heart lurched, and his scalp prickled.
The threat of death had come so suddenly!
"Die! Die! Die!" Dongbo Xueying went berserk, his eyes bloodshot. It was either him or the beast. He summoned all his strength and desperately thrust out the spear in his hands.
This was his final struggle!
Just as some beasts fought wildly in their final moments, the sudden threat of death had stirred Dongbo Xueying's instinct to survive.
Power surged through his body. The world around him seemed to slow, and he could clearly see the Shadow Leopard's fangs.
"Whoosh..."
The wind from their battle brushed his face, and he could feel it so clearly.
Splish, splash... The blood flowing through his body seemed to surge like a river, and he could feel every bit of it.
Sss, sss, sss... The strength of his muscles and bones coursed through him...
"Strength, perfected and pure as one."
Under the threat of death, his survival instinct finally carried him through that final barrier. He felt the flow of his blood, the connection of his bones and sinews, the transmission of power through his muscles... He could feel everything, and it was wondrous. In that instant, every bit of his strength was under his precise control. Not a trace was wasted or expended unnecessarily.
"Whoosh!"
His strength flowed through his body like water. Never before had he felt such perfect control over himself.
The spear spun as it pierced the air, its speed suddenly surging!
Thwack!
The spearpoint instantly pierced the startled Shadow Leopard through the chest and emerged from its back.
Gripping the spear, he watched the impaled Shadow Leopard writhe and struggle, blood pouring out. Dongbo Xueying stared at it, and the Shadow Leopard stared back at him. But its gray eyes now held panic, rage, and desperation. Its powerful life force let it struggle for nearly half a minute, blood pooling on the ground, before it finally fell silent.
His whole body relaxing, Dongbo Xueying lay on the cold, snow-covered ground, looking at the Shadow Leopard beside him, still impaled on the spear with its eyes open.
"You died, and I lived!" Looking at the Shadow Leopard's corpse, Dongbo Xueying felt the relief of having survived a catastrophe.
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