A Moment Between Life and Death

"It's a Shadow Leopard." Zong Ling was shocked, but his experience in life-and-death situations allowed him to retreat rapidly. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Using his snake tail for leverage, he leaped with astonishing agility, darting three times in succession until he reached the high branches of a distant tree.

However, the Shadow Leopard's dim, grey eyes merely swept coldly over Zong Ling before fixing back onto Dongbo Xueying.

It didn't even consider the silver-haired snake-man worth its attention. It was a Tier 5 Magic Beast famous for its speed; to kill a Sky-rank Knight? A single strike was enough! Moreover, with its formidable physique... even if it stood still and let a Sky-rank Knight hack and stab at it, it wouldn't suffer a scratch. It completely ignored Zong Ling, focusing almost all its attention on Dongbo Xueying.

This young human in black... was the true threat!

To think he could actually counterattack after being ambushed.

"Uncle Zong, stay back, as far as you can," Dongbo Xueying said in a low voice.

"Xueying, be careful. The Shadow Leopard is incredibly fast." Zong Ling, knowing he couldn't help, shouted from afar before immediately retreating further.

Dongbo Xueying stared fixedly at the Shadow Leopard and grinned. "I never expected to run into a Tier 5 Magic Beast on my first trip to the Destruction Mountain Range." As he spoke, he tore the two cloth straps from his chest. Clang! The weapon case on his back fell to the ground, already shredded to pieces. His outer garment had been torn as well, but fortunately, he was wearing protective inner armor; otherwise, that single claw strike would have left him severely wounded.

"Hrr-hrr..." The Shadow Leopard let out a low growl, slowly circling Dongbo Xueying. Its paws were padded, making its movements eerily silent.

Dongbo Xueying kept his eyes locked on it.

One man, one Magic Beast.

They stared into each other's eyes!

Life and death hung by a thread!

Swish! The Shadow Leopard moved suddenly. It lunged toward the side, but mid-leap, it tapped the ground and instantly changed direction, charging straight at Dongbo Xueying.

"Die!" The tip of Dongbo Xueying's spear, like a venomous snake, was already before the Shadow Leopard in an instant.

The Shadow Leopard's dim eyes remained fixed on Dongbo Xueying.

As it lunged, its four paws barely brushed the ground. With a light, lightning-fast tap, it shifted its trajectory once more, dodging the sharp spearhead.

Lunge after lunge, shift after shift.

Dongbo Xueying was putting his entire being into his defense.

Swish, swish, swish... The Shadow Leopard transformed into a ghostly blur, circling Dongbo Xueying.

Dongbo Xueying was surrounded by countless phantom spear tips, with snowflakes formed by the Flying Snow Divine Spear drifting through the air.

"Too fast, it's too fast."

"Not enough, still not enough." Dongbo Xueying felt his own slowness. Although the Mystic Ice Spear Technique he studied was renowned for its speed, the gap compared to the Shadow Leopard was glaringly obvious. The beast circled him as if taking a leisurely stroll, searching for an opening time and again. This phantom-like movement and agility weren't even the Shadow Leopard's limit!

The Shadow Leopard's eyes remained calm; everything was under its control.

"Boom!"

The air distorted as the Shadow Leopard's speed suddenly surged, and it lunged forward to strike Dongbo Xueying.

"Now!" Dongbo Xueying's eyes turned blood-red, and a faint crimson aura began to emanate from his body. Clearly, he was fully unleashing his Primordial Bloodline.

Power erupted!

"Boom!" The spearhead spun, tearing through the air and carving a distorted arc as it thrust toward the Shadow Leopard.

The Shadow Leopard was startled.

The speed of this strike was completely beyond its expectations. Had it been on guard, it could have dodged easily. But it was already committed to its full-force lunge and was right in front of Dongbo Xueying! The distance was too short, its momentum too great—it couldn't dodge.

"ROAR!" It let out a ferocious cry, its front claws slamming simultaneously against the spear shaft.

The spear spun like a swimming serpent.

The impact, dampened by the rotation of the spear, still drove the tip toward the Shadow Leopard's belly.

The Shadow Leopard's entire body twisted and swayed as if it had no bones, struggling to evade the terrifying strike.

Rip!

The spearhead grazed the Shadow Leopard's soft white underbelly, leaving a bloody gash.

Using the force of its strike against the spear, the Shadow Leopard soared into the air, landing on a high branch of a large tree. A wound about two feet long appeared on its belly, though it had already forcibly closed, with only a few drops of blood falling. Its dim eyes burned with ferocious madness as it glared down at Dongbo Xueying.

"To think I didn't kill you—you're lucky." Dongbo Xueying stared up at the beast, feeling a sense of frustration. He had unleashed his power at the critical moment, catching the beast off guard, which had been his best chance. Now that the Shadow Leopard was on its guard, things would be difficult.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

The Shadow Leopard was enraged. It suddenly dove, running vertically down the trunk of the tree. With three quick leaps, it hit the ground and charged at Dongbo Xueying.

Shoo.

The faint crimson aura flared around Dongbo Xueying's body, and his lethal thrust was narrowly dodged by the Shadow Leopard.

"Get lost!" His thrust missing, Dongbo Xueying immediately transitioned from a stab to a horizontal sweep!

The sweep carried earth-shattering power. The Shadow Leopard's expression shifted; if that strike landed, it would be dead or severely wounded! How could it have known... that the Primordial Bloodline Dongbo Xueying had awakened was a bloodline of pure strength? Now, as he swung the spear, his power surged through the shaft, finally allowing him to fully utilize his advantage.

The Shadow Leopard's body rippled like water, its claws tapping lightly against the spear shaft to borrow force and evade.

"BOOM!" The spear swept past, slamming into a nearby tree. The tree exploded with a thunderous crack, snapping in half and crashing down.

"Die!"

Dongbo Xueying lunged forward, his spear thrusting, hacking, and sweeping.

A continuous barrage of attacks engulfed the Shadow Leopard, forcing it to retreat and dodge constantly. The surrounding forest suffered for it; Dongbo Xueying's spear could shatter boulders the size of three men and pierce through anything. How could these trees withstand such devastation?

They fought all the way.

Dongbo Xueying realized he had long since left Uncle Zong far behind, which made him breathe a secret sigh of relief, yet his heart remained filled with anxiety.

Because of his explosive burst of strength, he appeared to be launching a frenzied assault and holding a slight advantage!

However, whenever he retreated, the Shadow Leopard would immediately follow, refusing to let him escape. The Shadow Leopard was simply too fast... if it wanted to keep pace, Dongbo Xueying could not shake it off at all.

What do I do, what do I do? My stamina is constantly draining; I won't be able to hold on for much longer. Under the strain of his explosive power, Dongbo Xueying could feel his physical strength depleting rapidly.

Once his stamina was completely exhausted, he would be as good as dead!

"Hrr-hrr~~~"

The Shadow Leopard was the most experienced of hunters, constantly searching for an opening.

Finally—

The severe depletion of Dongbo Xueying's stamina caused a flaw to appear in his attack, and the Shadow Leopard suddenly lunged out like a bolt of lightning, reaching before Dongbo Xueying in the blink of an eye.

"Oh no." Dongbo Xueying's heart trembled, his scalp tingling.

The crisis of death had arrived so suddenly!

"Die, die, die!" Dongbo Xueying went mad, his eyes turning bloodshot. It was either him or the beast; he channeled every ounce of his strength to thrust his spear forward with all his might.

This was his final struggle!

Just as some wild beasts would struggle frantically before death, Dongbo Xueying, faced with the sudden arrival of a lethal crisis, clearly had his survival instincts ignited.

All the strength in his body surged, and the time around him seemed to slow down, making the fangs of the Shadow Leopard clearly visible.

"Whoosh..."

The wind generated by the surrounding battle felt so distinct against his face.

Swish, swish, swish... He could even clearly feel the flow of blood within his body, rushing like a torrential river.

Sss, sss, sss... The power of his tendons, bones, and muscles was being transmitted...

"Power perfected, pure and unified."

Under the threat of death and driven by the instinct of life, Dongbo Xueying finally broke through that barrier. The flow of blood, the connection of tendons and bones, the transmission of muscular force... he felt it all, so wonderfully. In this instant, every ounce of his strength was under his control, refined to the utmost degree, without a single shred of waste or unnecessary consumption.

"Whoosh!"

His entire body's strength flowed like water; never before had he experienced such exquisite control over his own body.

The spear pierced through the air with a rotation, its speed suddenly surging!

Puchi!

The tip of the spear instantly pierced through the chest of the startled Shadow Leopard, exiting from its back.

Gripping the spear, he watched the impaled Shadow Leopard still twisting and struggling, blood flowing out incessantly. Dongbo Xueying stared at it fixedly, and the Shadow Leopard stared back at him, though its dimming eyes were now filled with panic, fury, and anxiety. Its powerful vitality allowed it to struggle for nearly half a minute, and only after a pool of blood had gathered on the ground did it finally cease to breathe.

His entire body went limp, and Dongbo Xueying collapsed onto the cold, snow-covered ground, looking at the Shadow Leopard still impaled on his spear, its eyes wide open.

"It is you who dies, and I who live!" Dongbo Xueying looked at the corpse of the Shadow Leopard, feeling the relief of having survived a catastrophe.