A Single Sword Beheads the Enemy, a Star-Martial Prodigy?

The Tyrant Ferocious Tiger was dead.

It had died unwillingly.

Even at death, it could not understand how a mere two-legged human had matched its massive body and incredible speed in endurance.

The battle had been normal enough at the start. Even when its opponent displayed strength no weaker than its own, it had not paid much heed.

After all, the natural disparity between humans and ferocious beasts was there for all to see.

The advantages of ferocious beasts lay not only in their size and strength, but also in stamina and endurance far beyond that of ordinary wild animals.

As the apex predator and king of ferocious beasts, the Tyrant Ferocious Tiger stood head and shoulders above the rest. Its blood and vitality were abundant, its wild nature fierce, and it could remain at its peak for an entire day!

Otherwise, how could it have become the nightmare of countless Hunters?

Even veteran Hunters who had achieved Body Tempering Grandmastery and possessed ten thousand catties of strength could not hold out for long against its ceaseless, explosive attacks. They could only retreat in disarray.

It had driven away who knew how many Hunter teams that had tried to kill it with this rogue-like tactic.

It had thought this time would be no different.

But who would have thought...

Its opponent seemed even more shameless than it was!

As though he had activated some kind of cheat, he simply could not be beaten to death no matter how it attacked.

Worse still, the longer he fought, the more spirited he became. Like a god of war, he grew stronger with every battle.

By the end, it even felt that the human's sword was becoming heavier and heavier. It was gradually unable to withstand the blows, forced back step by step?

"Roar—"

The Tyrant Ferocious Tiger panicked, continuously unleashing terrifying tiger roars in an attempt to frighten away this dreadful opponent.

But Lin Yuan's Clear Sword Heart was lucid. With a sword in hand, he feared enemies from all directions. He directly ignored such a trifling tiger roar.

The more he fought, the more excited he became. He only felt as though he had inexhaustible strength inside him, without the slightest trace of fatigue. Instead, a steady stream of power surged forth, making him stronger.

The sixth Talent Trait—"Heaven-Defying Battle"!

Your talent for battle is unmatched. You can draw strength from combat and grow stronger the longer you fight!

The Talent Trait was still at work.

What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger!

Lin Yuan had finally experienced the true power of this Trait.

Logically speaking, he had always been crushing weaker opponents. He did not actually have much experience fighting true life-and-death battles against opponents of the same rank.

But now, in his first head-on slaughter against the terrifying Tyrant Ferocious Tiger, countless combat techniques seemed to spring into his mind as though blessed by divine inspiration. They allowed him to easily see through every attack and counter at will.

Coupled with the dual buffs of infinite stamina and growing stronger through battle, he had achieved true invincibility among those of the same rank!

"Swordsmanship Mastery" + "Heaven-Defying Battle."

How could a mere Tyrant Ferocious Tiger contend with me?

Lin Yuan's momentum was peerless, his confidence bursting to the heavens.

In the blink of an eye, offense and defense had switched places. Every sword strike carried terrifying force far beyond ten thousand catties, battering the Tyrant Ferocious Tiger until it was dizzy and disoriented, unable to comprehend what kind of monster this was.

"Pfft..."

At last, accompanied by an incomparably brilliant flash of sword light, the Tyrant Ferocious Tiger could no longer resist. In despair, it offered up its head.

"Boom..."

Its enormous tiger body crashed to the ground.

This king of ferocious beasts, which had roamed the Wilderness Zone for decades, had ultimately fallen beneath a human sword.

It had fallen beneath Lin Yuan's sword!

You killed the Tyrant Ferocious Tiger. Experience +5...

"Life Plunder" activated. Your lifespan has increased...

Listening to the game notifications ringing in his mind, Lin Yuan finally let out a breath of relief, only to feel somewhat disappointed afterward.

The Tyrant Ferocious Tiger, the most powerful creature in the Wilderness Zone, had only provided a mere 5 experience points?

It seemed this was the limit of ferocious beasts...

"But this beast had quite a long lifespan. As expected of the king of ferocious beasts."

Lin Yuan then looked at the full year added to his lifespan and felt quite satisfied.

The Tyrant Ferocious Tiger's normal lifespan should have exceeded a hundred years. Thus, even though Life Plunder could only seize one percent of its remaining lifespan, it had still given him a full extra year.

This was the most he had gained from any ferocious beast he had hunted.

"But I still haven't leveled up."

Lin Yuan was helpless.

He had been on the Boundless Grassland for a week. Without resting for a moment, he had fought day and night, killing an unknown number of ferocious beasts.

Yet he still had not reached Level 11. His experience was currently stuck at "999/1024."

Just a tiny bit more!

No rush. He should be able to settle it today.

Lin Yuan could only console himself like this, though in truth, he had already decided to leave the Wilderness Zone.

The levels here were too low. They could no longer satisfy his need to level up quickly.

"It is time to charge toward greater heights..."

Lin Yuan was still calculating experience points, levels, higher-level grinding grounds, and all sorts of strange things.

But the members of the other Hunter teams present were all dumbfounded.

"..."

What had they just seen?

A young man, fighting alone, had challenged a peak Tyrant Ferocious Tiger without falling into a disadvantage.

He had even grown fiercer as the battle went on and killed it with a single sword strike?

The Tyrant Ferocious Tiger was dead?

Everyone's minds buzzed.

Wasn't it supposed to be the king of ferocious beasts?

Wasn't it said that as long as a Starry-Sky Warrior did not appear, the Tyrant Ferocious Tiger could not be killed?

Could those legends all have been lies?

Was the Tyrant Ferocious Tiger actually weak?

No!

That was not right!

It was not that the Tyrant Ferocious Tiger was weak. It was that this young man before them was too strong!

Captain Thunderclap reacted quickly, his gaze toward Lin Yuan filled with fear and reverence.

As though he were looking at a true monster.

"At such a young age, he has not only achieved Body Tempering Grandmastery, but can even kill a Tyrant Ferocious Tiger alone..."

"He is more than just a genius. He is a true Star-Martial Prodigy!"

Star-Martial Prodigy.

It was an honorific for heaven-blessed geniuses with astonishing talent in martial arts.

In a satellite city, among hundreds of thousands of young students, fewer than a hundred could be called Star-Martial Prodigies.

Every one of them was a heaven-blessed genius for whom those lofty martial academies would fight like mad.

They were great beings capable of walking far upon the true Stellar Martial Path.

And he had actually encountered such a person?

Captain Thunderclap's head spun.

He did not know whether his luck today had been good or bad...

"Too strong!"

Lei Guang, the saber-wielding youth, had eyes that shone brightly. The word worship was practically carved across his face.

The other Hunters came to their senses and let out sighs of relief, repeatedly thanking Lin Yuan.

Had he not appeared, their Hunter team would likely have collapsed.

Even if a few had escaped, most of them would certainly have died.

"You're too polite."

Faced with everyone's praise, Lin Yuan smiled shyly. His expression was innocent, but he was quite pleased inside.

Mm, my efforts were not in vain...

I really pulled it off this time.

Sure enough, showing off before others was forever an unshakable dream in a young man's heart.

Even Lin Yuan, who had lived two lives, could not escape it.

Only after being praised until his face reddened slightly did Lin Yuan hurriedly wave his hand to stop them.

"The materials from this ferocious tiger..."

"How could we trouble you with that? We will gather them for you."

Before Lin Yuan could finish, the members of the Thunder Hunter Team spoke first with great tact. One after another, they rolled up their sleeves and sprang into action.

They were all veteran Hunters, quick and efficient. Before long, they had completely butchered the Tyrant Ferocious Tiger, cutting off every valuable material and arranging them neatly.

Lin Yuan nodded slightly and smiled.

Now that was more like it.

This was his spoils of war. It was his first time hunting such a valuable target, so he certainly could not let it go to waste.

Tiger bones, tiger sinews, tiger whip, tiger blood...

Nearly every material on the Tyrant Ferocious Tiger was highly valuable and in short supply on the market. Any one of them could sell for a sky-high price of hundreds of thousands.

With this prey, the pressure of Lin Yuan's Hunter Loan would be greatly reduced...