Nether Ghost Leopard

Wu Ling had raised his Soul Power to level twenty in two and a half years. That was indeed quite fast compared to ordinary people, but compared to Bibi Dong's record of two years, Wu Ling had actually been half a year slower.

Bibi Dong had comforted him because of this. "Don't rush. These six months are for building your foundation. If the current you fought the me who had just obtained my second Spirit Ring, even I wouldn't be confident of winning."

Faced with Bibi Dong's reassurance, Wu Ling had merely nodded silently before lowering his head and continuing his arduous cultivation.

At the time, Bibi Dong had thought Wu Ling intended to make up for it through hard work. Only Wu Ling himself knew that he was not anxious at all, because he already had an idea for the Heroic Spirit of his second Spirit Ring.

That idea had come from the training method of the yellow, hedgehog-haired prince from a certain popular shonen series.

So Wu Ling had set his sights on the Ghost Tiger that had appeared in the original story.

Ghost Tigers were renowned for their terrifying speed and attack power. They were among the stronger Spirit Beasts, exceedingly fierce, and would fight to the death against any opponent who dared invade their territory.

Their speed was so terrifying that even Spirit Beasts of comparable cultivation were unwilling to fight them. They also possessed the innate ability, Shadow Clone.

In the original story, Zhu Zhuqing had obtained her fourth Spirit Skill, clone, by killing a Ghost Tiger.

It was precisely because of its innate talent and horrifying speed that Wu Ling was highly confident he could summon that Heroic Spirit.

Although Wu Ling did not think much of that Heroic Spirit's strength, if it was used solely for cultivation and support, it could be called a "cultivation cheat."

But now, the Ghost Tiger he had targeted had died right before his eyes. Rather than being disappointed, Wu Ling was somewhat excited, because the Spirit Beast that had emerged from the stone cave was an even more powerful Spirit Beast suited to his plans—the Nether Ghost Leopard!

Ordinary Ghost Leopards were Spirit Beasts half a tier below Ghost Tigers, but Nether Ghost Leopards were different. They were a mutated variety of Ghost Leopard. If Ghost Tigers could only be considered the lowest of the high-grade Spirit Beasts, then Nether Ghost Leopards had one foot in the ranks of top-tier Spirit Beasts.

"Its fur is entirely black, with purple stripes running down both sides of its body. Its limbs are half black and half purple. When it moves, only its shadow can be seen, never its form. Like a purple ghost, it is a true top assassin at the peak of the nighttime pyramid.

This Nether Ghost Leopard is just over a thousand years old. At night, its threat level would rival that of a true top-tier Spirit Beast. No wonder the Ghost Tiger, also a thousand-year Spirit Beast, was killed by it without suffering a single injury."

From what Wu Ling remembered, the Nether Ghost Leopard's attack power was not weaker than the Ghost Tiger's, while its speed surpassed the Ghost Tiger's. Its innate skill was Nether Shadow Clone, a more advanced ability than the Ghost Tiger's ordinary Shadow Clone.

The Clones created by ordinary Shadow Clone could only exist for a limited time, and their strength could not compare to that of the original body.

But the Clones created by Nether Shadow Clone could not only exist for a long time, but also possess strength nearly equal to the original body. When they were not needed, they could hide in the original body's shadow. At night, they could be anywhere in all directions.

Furthermore, when the original body lacked Soul Power, it could use its clones as "power banks," absorbing them to restore Soul Power. In battle, it could also switch places with a clone to evade fatal injuries.

This innate talent combined ambushes, ganging up on enemies, recovery, and survival. It was certainly flashy, but it was undeniably excellent.

There was even a saying among Soul Masters: "Better provoke a Dreadclaw Bear by day than a Nether Leopard by night."

The reason was simple. Spirit Beasts like the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear put all their "points" into attack power, so if you could beat one, you could beat one; if you could not, you could not.

But if you encountered a Nether Ghost Leopard at night, failing to defeat it meant death. Even if you beat it, it only needed to create Clones and flee. You would have no idea which one was its true body, and in the end, all your efforts would be for nothing while you wasted an entire night.

Generally speaking, obtaining a Spirit Ring from such a Spirit Beast required the intervention of an elder from one's family. Only overwhelming strength could capture and kill it.

But Wu Ling did not need that, because Spirit Hall's secret records stated that Nether Ghost Leopards had an enormous difference in strength between day and night. At night, they possessed the strength of top-tier Spirit Beasts, but during the day, they had only the strength of ordinary high-grade Spirit Beasts. Their Nether Shadow Clone was also restricted by light, which was why they were said to have one foot in the ranks of top-tier Spirit Beasts.

And now, when the Nether Ghost Leopard emerged and dragged the Ghost Tiger into the cave, Wu Ling used Transparency to suppress his presence to the lowest possible level, avoiding its search.

Wu Ling looked at the sky and estimated the time.

"It'll be dawn in less than half a shichen. I'm not in a hurry, so I'll wait a little longer."

After making his plan, Wu Ling began to wait.

The dampness of early morning was always heavy, and several drops of dew had already gathered in Wu Ling's slightly long black hair.

Finally, a ray of sunlight slipped past the layers of leaves and shone directly upon Wu Ling's face.

"The plan begins!"

The moment the sun appeared, Wu Ling ran toward the huge stone cave. He wanted to smash the stone apart directly, but as a mere one-ring Soul Master, he truly lacked the strength to do so. Thus, he used another method to lure it out.

He took out three torches he had prepared beforehand, lit them, and threw them into the cave.

Less than three seconds after the torches entered the stone cave, their flames were suddenly extinguished. In the instant they went out, Wu Ling saw the Ghost Leopard's body. It stood around one and a half meters tall and was over two meters long.

Perhaps Wu Ling had disturbed its rest, or perhaps it had seen such a weak human dare to provoke it. Without a moment's hesitation, the Nether Ghost Leopard charged at Wu Ling, vowing to make Wu Ling's corpse its midnight snack.

Wu Ling's naked eyes could not keep up with the Nether Ghost Leopard's speed, but his Mind's Eye could.

Just as the Nether Ghost Leopard was about to rush before him, Wu Ling suddenly turned and slashed at the Nether Ghost Leopard that had somehow appeared behind him.

As though it sensed the threat, the Nether Ghost Leopard stopped and turned in a manner utterly defying the laws of physics, perfectly evading Wu Ling's attack.

After the Nether Ghost Leopard withdrew from Wu Ling, it was surprised that Wu Ling had discovered its true body, but its own evasive action angered it even more.

It was a mighty Nether Ghost Leopard, an existence capable of rivaling top-tier Spirit Beasts in the night, yet it had been frightened into retreating by a young human!

"Unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable!"

As that thought arose in the Nether Ghost Leopard's mind, two more Nether Ghost Leopards leaped out from his shadow.

At that moment, Wu Ling keenly noticed that three more pairs of claws hovered at the edge of the Nether Ghost Leopard's shadow, unable to emerge.

"Those must be the Clones it can't use during the day."

Facing the Nether Ghost Leopard that had summoned its Clones, Wu Ling went all out as well. A yellow Spirit Ring appeared before him, then lit up.

In an instant, Wu Ling completed his possession. He assumed a stance, ready at any moment for the attacks of the three Nether Ghost Leopards.

Wu Ling and the Nether Ghost Leopards stood facing one another. The Assassin and the killer of the night thus began a prolonged standoff.