Seriously injured. Today.
Lu Yuan lowered his eyes, gazing at the several lines of Gray Text floating above Shao Ping's head. Only when the Spirit Master before him turned back and spoke did he gather his thoughts and quickly follow the group.
"What are you spacing out for? Are we really ignoring those tracks from earlier?"
Shao Ping neatly folded the map and tucked it into his robes, his tone calm and steady. "You came out here to learn, not to throw your life away. We'll avoid that area for now and leave it to the Patrol Team later."
Lu Yuan asked no further questions. The group detoured half a li westward, leaving behind the dragging marks on the ground and the scraped, battered saplings. Yet the gray fate prompt above Shao Ping's head remained clear and did not fade.
[Today]
[North Hunting Forest]
[Fate Node: Seriously Injured]
Changing routes was useless.
Lu Yuan tightened his grip on the Piercing Spear, his steps slowing slightly. One of the Spirit Masters ahead noticed and turned around with a teasing grin. "You got scared after killing one Iron-Backed Jackal?"
"A little," Lu Yuan admitted frankly.
The man's mocking smile froze, leaving him speechless. Without turning around, Shao Ping's cool voice cut through the forest wind. "A little fear is a good thing. Those who enter a hunting forest for the first time and think themselves invincible rarely live long."
After traveling several dozen zhang farther, a Spirit Master on the right abruptly stopped. He crouched down and stared at the low bushes. "A Monster Beast passed through here."
Lu Yuan leaned closer to inspect it. Iron-Backed Jackal paw prints lay scattered across the mud, varying in depth. One trail of prints was far larger than the rest. Several fresh tufts of gray-black fur clung to the branches, carrying the vivid scent of life.
Shao Ping brushed aside the surface layer of fallen leaves, revealing densely overlapping paw prints underneath.
"Iron-Backed Jackals?" Lu Yuan asked quietly.
"Yes." Shao Ping raised a hand to measure the largest paw print. His expression darkened as he stood. "The one earlier was juvenile, merely scouting ahead. Iron-Backed Jackals never act alone."
A Spirit Master beside them scanned the surroundings, his tone grave. "There are definitely quite a few of them. More than three or four."
Shao Ping made his decision at once. "We're ending today's trip here. We head back."
Lu Yuan was slightly surprised. "We're going back already?"
"Or do you want to stay and feed the jackal pack?" Shao Ping asked blandly.
Lu Yuan immediately shook his head. "No, not really."
"Then move."
No one objected. Their purpose today had been to let Lu Yuan gain experience and become familiar with fighting Spirit Beasts. Charging recklessly ahead when they knew a beast pack was lurking there was not training. It was suicide.
The group quickly turned around. They had gone less than two hundred zhang when a faint crack suddenly sounded through the quiet forest, like a dead branch being crushed beneath something heavy. Lu Yuan instantly glanced back, but the forest behind them was empty and still.
After only two more steps, the bushes to his right suddenly shook violently.
"They followed us," Shao Ping said in a low voice.
The two Spirit Masters immediately spread out, one to either side, protecting Lu Yuan in the middle. Shao Ping glanced at the spear clenched in his hand and gave him only one crucial warning. "When the fight starts, hold your position. Don't pursue the enemy."
"Understood."
Before his words had faded, the grass on the left exploded. An Iron-Backed Jackal shot out in a swift, ground-hugging pounce. The Spirit Master on the left had been ready; he twisted aside and precisely slammed into the rushing beast. Almost at the same instant, two gray-black blurs darted out from the right.
"Careful!"
The Spirit Master on the right firmly intercepted one jackal, but the other nimbly circled around, abandoning the others and lunging straight at Lu Yuan in the center.
Lu Yuan stood firm without retreating in the slightest. He held the Piercing Spear horizontally and steadied his breath. Only when the Iron-Backed Jackal leaped within arm's reach did he sidestep, sweeping the spearhead upward at the beast's foreleg.
This jackal was far more cunning and vicious than the previous one. It suddenly twisted in midair, narrowly evading the lethal spearpoint. The instant it landed, it gathered strength and pounced again, its attack fierce and swift.
The Yellow Spirit Ring beneath Lu Yuan's feet abruptly lit up, and his Soul Skill activated instantly.
Piercing Edge!
The Piercing Spear shot forward with immense force, its speed and power far beyond an ordinary thrust. The Iron-Backed Jackal could not dodge in time. A long, deep wound was torn across its chest, and it rolled in pain into the undergrowth.
Remembering Shao Ping's warning, Lu Yuan did not give chase. He immediately looked toward Shao Ping. The Gray Text above his head, foretelling serious injury, remained condensed and unchanged.
The battle was deadlocked. Shao Ping was engaged in close combat with an Iron-Backed Jackal, raising an arm to block its bite before kicking the beast toward a tree trunk. Elsewhere, one Spirit Master was tightly entangled by two jackals. His bracer had already been clamped between one jackal's teeth, while the other quietly circled around, waiting to exploit an opening.
"Ah..."
Hearing the cry, Shao Ping immediately rushed to aid his teammate. Lu Yuan's gaze followed him, then abruptly fixed on a point behind him. A broken log lay across the grass, its fractured end sharp and jagged, its edges already blackened with rot. Beyond it stood a patch of low, dense bushes pressed close to the ground.
As he watched, a pair of cold, vicious beast eyes suddenly lit up within the shadowy brush.
Lu Yuan's heart tightened.
A massive gray-black figure silently sprang out, launching a low ambush. This jackal was nearly half again as large as the others, with thick, savage Black Spikes along its back and an entirely different presence. It was the owner of those giant paw prints—the leader of the jackal pack.
"Behind you!"
Shao Ping spun around in alarm, but the lead jackal's ambush had been too fast. It was already close. Rather than rashly clawing or biting, it gathered its full strength and charged straight at him. With its massive body and ferocious momentum, even if Shao Ping barely managed to block and deflect the impact, he would inevitably be forced backward.
And that sharp broken log was only a few steps behind him. If he struck it, the consequences would be unthinkable.
At that critical moment, the Yellow Spirit Ring beneath Lu Yuan's feet flashed again.
Piercing Edge!
The Piercing Spear tore through the air past Shao Ping's side, precisely targeting the lead jackal's braced left foreleg. The sharp spearpoint instantly pierced flesh, and the shaft trembled violently.
Splat!
The powerful force carried by the Soul Skill forcibly knocked the lead jackal's charge off course. What had been a fatal strike aimed at Shao Ping's waist skimmed past his side instead, its claws tearing away a large piece of cloth and bringing a sharp rush of wind.
Using that fleeting opening, Shao Ping staggered but steadied himself. He immediately spun around and smashed a fist into the lead jackal's neck.
A muffled impact exploded through the forest.
The injured lead jackal lost its balance and rolled into the grass. The recoil left Lu Yuan's palm numb, but he gritted his teeth and held the spear shaft tightly. Shao Ping had already followed up, striking again before the lead jackal could push itself up.
This time, the massive Iron-Backed Jackal Leader collapsed completely and could no longer rise.
With their leader dead, the remaining Iron-Backed Jackals instantly fell into chaos, their assault crumbling. The two Spirit Masters seized the chance to press forward, forcing back their opponents. The surviving jackals did not dare continue the fight. They turned and fled into the depths of the forest, vanishing in moments.
The forest wind gradually quieted, and the smoke of battle dispersed.
Shao Ping lowered his eyes to the torn fabric at his waist, then looked toward the sharp broken log just beside him. In that perilous instant, only a few steps had separated him from a serious injury. After a moment of silence, he turned to Lu Yuan.
"How did you spot it?"
Lu Yuan flexed his numb fingers, his tone steady. "Among the earlier paw prints, one trail was far larger than the others. It never appeared the entire time. That was too unusual."
Shao Ping followed his gaze to the lead jackal's corpse and nodded slightly. "Keep that habit of observation and prediction."
The Spirit Master whose bracer bore deep teeth marks stepped forward, still shaken as he looked at the broken log. "If that hit had landed solidly, Captain Shao, we'd probably have had to carry you back today."
Shao Ping shot him a sidelong glance, his voice calm but faintly teasing. "Worry about yourself first."
"Can't I still fight and run?" the man argued with a laugh.
"Then shut up."
The man immediately fell silent, wisely abandoning the joke.
But Lu Yuan could not laugh at all. He focused on the air. The floating gray words were shaking violently, fading layer by layer.
[Shao Ping]
[Today]
[North Hunting Forest]
[Seriously Injured]
At last, the two words representing misfortune completely disappeared. A few breaths later, new text slowly emerged.
[Shao Ping's serious injury node has been changed]
[Obtained Origin of Destiny]
A familiar, gentle warmth instantly spread through every limb and bone in Lu Yuan's body. The Piercing Spear in his palm trembled lightly, and the hidden Dark Gold Patterns along its shaft lit up. Their color was deeper and brighter than usual, flowing with faint glimmers of light. The glow vanished in an instant, and the spear returned to silence, as though nothing had happened.
Lu Yuan lowered his head and glanced at the spear without saying anything. Then he turned toward the jackal corpses.
Shao Ping lifted a foot and nudged the thick spikes along the lead jackal's back. His voice was low as he made his judgment. "An Iron-Backed Jackal Leader with more than three hundred years of cultivation."
The Spirit Master beside him furrowed his brows. "Why would a high-level Monster Beast of this age be wandering the outer region with a jackal pack? It's far too strange."
Shao Ping looked into the depths of the forest, toward the direction where they had found the dragging marks earlier. His expression was grave. "It is most likely related to the disturbance deeper in the forest. Report this to the Patrol Team when we return. Newcomers are forbidden from training in this area for the time being."
After speaking, he looked at Lu Yuan. "Can you still walk?"
"No problem."
"Then don't just stand there. We're heading back."
Lu Yuan walked over to the lead jackal's corpse, planted one foot on its shoulder, and gripped the Piercing Spear as he steadily pulled it free.
Splat...
The cold spearpoint slipped cleanly out from the wound in the jackal's neck, carrying warm beast blood that dripped down in scattered crimson drops.
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