The Food-Guarding Big Kitty

"Since a one-on-one fight is risky, I'll have to find a way to wear it down first."

Lin Chen jumped down from the tree and turned to leave.

Before long, he arrived outside a cave littered with white bones.

"Oi~"

Standing far away, Lin Chen shouted toward the pitch-black cave.

"Awoo~"

A low, yet incredibly piercing tiger roar echoed from within the cave.

Immediately after, a One-Eyed White Tiger emerged.

It was a white tiger over three meters long, with a cultivation age of over seven hundred years.

The blind eye was a fresh injury, and the fur around the corner of the socket was still charred, clearly the result of being scorched by high heat.

That's right, Lin Chen was the one who did it.

"Awoo~"

Seeing Lin Chen, the white tiger acted as if it had spotted its father's killer. After a low growl, it charged straight toward him.

Lin Chen turned and ran.

Spirit beasts are generally a cut above spirit masters capable of absorbing their spirit rings; in other words, a seven-hundred-year-old white tiger was at least equivalent to a high-level Great Spirit Master.

Furthermore, white tigers are all-around feline spirit beasts, so its speed was naturally not slow.

However, Lin Chen was no ordinary Spirit Master; his physique had long since broken through to the Great Spirit Master level, and physique implies more than just raw strength.

Speed, agility, and the like all increase alongside one's physical constitution.

Lin Chen sprinted through the forest at high speed, with the white tiger hot on his heels.

It wasn't that Lin Chen was intentionally teasing it; he truly couldn't shake it off, and even maintaining enough distance to avoid being caught was proving exceptionally difficult.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Seeing that the white tiger was about to catch up, Lin Chen suddenly lashed out with his Sky Thunder Whip, wrapping it around the branch of a large tree.

The Sky Thunder Whip retracted, pulling Lin Chen's body into the air.

"Awoo~"

The white tiger looked up, letting out an angry roar at Lin Chen in the tree.

Lin Chen whipped back at it with a flick of his wrist.

"Crack!"

Although the white tiger managed to dodge, the beast became even more irritable.

"Awoo~"

The Sky Thunder Whip swept out again, coiling around a branch of a distant tree.

Lin Chen swung down.

"Awoo~"

The white tiger roared and gave chase, looking as if it wouldn't stop until it had bitten Lin Chen to death.

"Big kitty, you're not doing so well, are you?"

Lin Chen provoked it while running, stopping every now and then to lash out with his whip, terrified that it might suddenly turn around and give up the chase.

"Awoo~"

As they chased, the white tiger suddenly braked. It paced back and forth, emitting low growls; it seemed unwilling to give up, yet afraid to continue the pursuit.

Lin Chen knew that the territorial instincts of spirit beasts were at play.

The white tiger knew this was the territory of the Deep Blue Thunder Python.

Judging by its cowardly behavior, it likely couldn't defeat the Deep Blue Thunder Python.

"Crack!"

The Sky Thunder Whip let out a sonic boom in the air as it lashed straight toward the white tiger.

The white tiger dodged to the right.

Unexpectedly, Lin Chen flicked his wrist, and the whip instantly changed direction.

"Crack!"

The whip struck the white tiger's neck; even it couldn't withstand the damage of the Sky Thunder Whip, and a bloody welt immediately appeared.

"Awoo~"

The white tiger's explosive temper couldn't take it anymore. Baring its fangs, it charged into the Deep Blue Thunder Python's territory, lunging straight at Lin Chen.

Lin Chen didn't rush to flee, instead engaging it for a moment.

Only then did he feign defeat and continue his escape.

The White Tiger, having lost its head, no longer cared about any Deep Blue Thunder Python.

It was determined to kill that two-legged beast at any cost.

Seeing that the distance was about right, Lin Chen began to run forward with all his might.

He no longer relied on trees for evasion.

Seeing this, the White Tiger couldn't help but accelerate as well.

In the blink of an eye, it was about to charge into the clearing.

Lin Chen flicked his right hand, and the Sky Thunder Whip shot into the sky, wrapping around the trunk of a large tree and pulling his body off the ground.

Although the White Tiger braked in time, its momentum still caused it to slide into the clearing.

"Roar!"

The Deep Blue Thunder Python had long since heard the commotion. Seeing that the intruder was the White Tiger, it let out a roar like a dragon's cry and instantly charged toward the beast.

The Deep Blue Thunder Python was not fast, but the distance was too short to matter.

By the time the White Tiger stopped, there was nowhere left to run.

At this critical moment, the White Tiger did not flinch, roaring as it charged toward the Deep Blue Thunder Python.

A great battle was on the verge of breaking out.

Relying on its agile frame, the White Tiger leaped to avoid the python's strike, then stepped on its head and bit down hard on its vital spot.

However, it could not pierce the Deep Blue Thunder Python's tough scales at all, and it nearly got entangled by the giant tail the creature whipped around.

Fortunately, it retreated in time.

Holding the Sky Thunder Whip, Lin Chen stood on a tree trunk, looking down at the dragon-tiger struggle not far away.

The battle was not intense; in fact, it was somewhat boring.

The Deep Blue Thunder Python lacked the speed and agility of the White Tiger, while the White Tiger could not break through the python's defenses. Neither could do anything to the other.

At least, that was the case for now.

However, as the Deep Blue Thunder Python flew into a rage, the situation soon changed.

"Roar~"

A dragon-like roar erupted from the Deep Blue Thunder Python's throat. Wisps of blue lightning gathered in its mouth, and a terrifying pressure suddenly swept outward.

The White Tiger had clearly suffered from this before and immediately turned to run.

"Swish, swish, swish..."

The Sky Thunder Whip tore through the air like a tornado, followed by a purple lightning net that instantly covered the Deep Blue Thunder Python.

"Crackle, crackle..."

The purple lightning crackled against the Deep Blue Thunder Python's body, causing the lightning power it had just gathered to dissipate into nothingness.

Under the erosion of the purple lightning, its body became somewhat stiff, though it did not suffer any serious injury.

The White Tiger, which had been preparing to flee, suddenly felt its opportunity had arrived.

It immediately turned around and charged at the Deep Blue Thunder Python.

With a powerful push from its hind legs, its massive body leaped over three meters into the air, descending like a meteorite toward the python's vital spot.

Brute force could bypass the scales and transmit damage directly into the body.

The Deep Blue Thunder Python was hard-controlled and unable to dodge.

This beast is actually quite clever.

Seeing this, Lin Chen felt both surprised and secretly impressed.

"Boom!"

The White Tiger's massive body landed heavily on the Deep Blue Thunder Python's vital spot.

"Crack!"

A crisp sound of bone breaking rang out, and the Deep Blue Thunder Python's mouth flew wide open.

"Snap!"

The Sky Thunder Whip let out a sonic boom in the air, its tip striking precisely into the python's mouth.

"Pfft!"

The lower jaw, lacking the protection of scales, was instantly pierced by the sharp tip of the whip.

"Come here!"

Lin Chen pulled hard, and the Deep Blue Thunder Python's massive body was instantly yanked into the air.

"Crack!"

Perhaps unable to withstand the immense force, or perhaps because the lower jaw had been pierced, the jawbone of the Deep Blue Thunder Python was ripped clean off.

However, only the bone broke; the skin remained intact.

"Awoo..."

The White Tiger let out a low growl, fiercely pinning the Deep Blue Thunder Python's head beneath it, looking exactly like a cat guarding its food.

"Heavenly Thunder Strangling!"

As Lin Chen shouted sharply, he flicked his wrist. The purple lightning net condensed once more with the movement of the Sky Thunder Whip, covering both the White Tiger and the Deep Blue Thunder Python.