A Chill Down His Spine

"What's going on? Why do I have this feeling? Could an expert have appeared?" One-Eyed Wang Jun's expression changed slightly.

He had calculated that an expert would not bother with a small fry like him, which was why he had acted so recklessly.

But what was this strange aura? And where did this feeling of submission come from? He had never felt anything like it before.

This made One-Eyed Wang Jun very uneasy. It felt as though a terrifyingly powerful expert had appeared.

With that thought, One-Eyed Wang Jun immediately put away his earlier arrogance and warily looked toward the southeast—the direction Mad Lion had left in.

Very soon.

He saw his summoned beast, Mad Lion, sprinting back toward him.

Blood was flowing from Mad Lion's mouth, dripping continuously to the ground. It was clearly injured.

More importantly, Rock Snake—the creature on Mad Lion's tail that had always been cruel and unyielding—had curled up in terror and did not dare move at all.

This sight gave One-Eyed Wang Jun another shock, making him even more convinced that an expert had appeared.

Rock Snake was naturally vicious and feared no strong opponent. Even against an expert at the peak of Bronze rank, Rock Snake would not be scared into such a state.

But now.

Seeing Rock Snake's terrified appearance and trembling body, One-Eyed Wang Jun finally realized that a truly supreme expert had likely appeared this time.

"Go! We have to leave this place as soon as possible, or we'll be in trouble."

One-Eyed Wang Jun was an extremely decisive person. After assessing the situation, he immediately turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

Like a rabbit fleeing for its life, he raced toward the city gate with Mad Lion and escaped the city in the shortest possible time.

Only the bewildered Iron Tiger remained, staring blankly at everything.

"What's going on?"

Iron Tiger blinked, his mind still muddled. He had not sensed anything at all. He had only heard a loud boom, then seen Mad Lion come running over while bleeding.

Then Mad Lion and One-Eyed Wang Jun had fled together. The scene left Iron Tiger utterly confused, unable to understand what had happened.

But that loud boom had to signify something, so he was very curious and wanted to see what exactly had happened.

Still confused, Iron Tiger struggled to his feet, placed a hand over his ribs, and used spiritual energy to set several broken ribs back in place.

At the same time, he carefully reconnected his injured left arm and woke the unconscious Lightning Snake. Though they both needed time to recover, they could barely walk now.

"I have to go see what happened. If it really is a true expert, I must observe them closely. It's rare to see an expert make a move."

Iron Tiger took a deep breath, endured the pain throughout his body, and walked step by step down the alley. After going some distance, he gradually caught sight of the herb shop.

From afar, he saw several apprentices standing at the entrance of the herb shop, staring fearfully inside.

The sight made Iron Tiger even more curious. Unable to resist, he slowly approached and then heard their conversation.

"That scared me to death. I was terrified just now. It was too frightening!"

"Yeah, I never expected it to turn out like this. It's simply unbelievable!"

"We've spent so long with Qin Yue, yet we never noticed this. We're so stupid."

The apprentices talked among themselves, staring into the shop in shock, their expressions filled with reverence.

"What's going on?"

Iron Tiger looked at the scene in confusion. Their discussion seemed to be related to Qin Yue, but that did not seem right.

Mad Lion was at the peak of Black Iron rank. Its strength was terrifying, and ordinary people were no match for it.

Let alone one Qin Yue—even ten Qin Yues would not be able to defeat it. Iron Tiger simply could not make sense of it.

Just then, Iron Tiger spotted his informant, Mengmeng, and could not help waving at her.

Very soon.

Iron Tiger walked into a nearby alley and waited for Mengmeng to come over.

"Mengmeng, what happened just now? Tell me quickly," Iron Tiger said anxiously.

"Well, I..." Mengmeng hesitated, stammering as she spoke.

"What is it? Can't you say it?" Iron Tiger frowned.

"It's not that I can't say it. It's just too unbelievable and too shocking. I need to organize my thoughts," Mengmeng answered seriously.

"Oh? What exactly happened? I'm getting more and more curious," Iron Tiger said expectantly.

"It was Qin Yue. Qin Yue did it all," Mengmeng said solemnly.

"Qin Yue? Be more specific." Iron Tiger's expression turned serious.

"Alright. We were busy in the shop just now when a powerful Mad Lion suddenly burst in and charged straight through the shop toward the dormitory in the back courtyard.

"At the time, only Qin Yue and Song Xiaomei were in the back courtyard dormitory. A Mad Lion suddenly appearing was clearly wrong, so we hurriedly looked inside.

"Then we suddenly heard a tremendous boom, and Mad Lion flew backward covered in blood.

"You didn't see that scene. Such a powerful Mad Lion went tumbling out, crashed straight into the middle of the road, and then took off running.

"But that wasn't the important part. The important part was that the back courtyard dormitory directly burst apart, and a terrifying black shadow appeared, standing in the back courtyard like an iron tower.

"That shadow's feet were bigger than a person, and it gave off an inexplicable aura. Everyone nearby could sense that aura.

"Even those farther away could sense it if they had snake-type pets. One of our apprentices has a little snake, and it was scared limp."

Mengmeng spoke solemnly, roughly describing what had just happened. But because it had been so shocking, her account was still not entirely complete.

"So that's what happened. Then why did you say this has something to do with Qin Yue?" Iron Tiger asked with a frown.

"Because that black shadow was none other than Qin Yue's summoned beast, the little cat. It had just become incredibly huge and terrifying," Mengmeng continued explaining.

"No way. Although Qin Yue's summoned beast is a special summoned beast and has many abilities, it shouldn't be able to grow that large, should it? It has always been tiny."

Iron Tiger asked in confusion, feeling that the matter was too unbelievable.

"I don't know why either, but it's all true. Everyone can testify to it. If you don't believe me, go take a look yourself.

"Oh, and that cat has lain down. You can still see its terrifying body from inside the shop," Mengmeng continued.

"Alright, I'll go take a look right now."

Iron Tiger still did not quite believe it. He immediately turned and headed toward the shop, but when he reached the entrance, Lightning Snake refused to move, curling up and trembling.

"What's wrong, Lightning Snake?" Iron Tiger asked hurriedly.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

Lightning Snake hissed, constantly swaying its body, but it simply did not dare move forward.

"You're saying you're afraid? I remember—you said before that you were afraid of that cat. But why?"

Iron Tiger was puzzled. Although cats ate snakes, Lightning Snake was at the peak of Black Iron rank. Logically, it should not have been afraid of a cat.

Moreover, Mengmeng had just said that all snake-type creatures were afraid. This reminded Iron Tiger of the snake on Mad Lion's tail, as well as One-Eyed Wang Jun.

"Wang Jun injected himself with Rock Snake bloodline. He must have sensed something that I couldn't."

Iron Tiger vaguely formed a guess. With that thought in mind, he slowly entered the shop and immediately sensed an inexplicable aura.

"This aura... could it be?"

Iron Tiger's heart jolted. He hurriedly looked toward the deepest part of the shop and instantly saw a pair of blue cat eyes like lanterns.

Those cat eyes were beautiful, but such enormous cat eyes were truly alarming. Combined with that strange aura, Iron Tiger felt a chill run down his spine.