Black-Necked Viper

After extracting the Magic Crystal Cores from the Wind Wolves' heads, Wharton washed them by the river and placed them in his pack. One Magic Crystal Core from a Fifth-Level alpha wolf, two Fourth-Level cores, and thirteen Third-Level cores counted as a considerable fortune. Slipping the pack onto his back, Wharton continued onward, heading deeper into the Magical Beast Forest.

Over the next half month, Wharton sought out all kinds of Magical Beasts for practice every day, most of them Fourth-Level or above. As long as Magical Beasts below Fourth-Level did not provoke him, Wharton rarely bothered with them. His pack was now much fuller than before, containing over a hundred Fourth-Level Magic Crystal Cores and more than a hundred and eighty Third-Level ones. There was no longer much point in remaining on the outskirts, so Wharton planned to venture deeper.

As he continued onward, penetrating ever deeper into the forest, the Magical Beasts he encountered grew increasingly powerful. He only advanced several dozen li each day. That day, Wharton entered a mountain range, yet he did not encounter a single Magical Beast. The surroundings were exceptionally quiet, and waves of rotting stench filled the air.

Based on his experience over this period, Wharton realized that he might have entered some Magical Beast's territory. Perhaps he was already under its watch, and it was merely waiting to deliver him a fatal blow.

Wharton did not dare let down his guard. Gripping his longsaber tightly, he advanced slowly. Suddenly, an intense sense of danger flooded his body, accompanied by a thick, foul stench. He immediately activated his movement technique and leaped over ten meters away, leaving his original position.

After changing locations several times in succession, he finally looked at the huge creature behind him—a giant snake as thick as a water barrel and over ten meters long. Its neck was glossy black, while its head was flat.

A Black-Necked Viper, a Sixth-Level Peak Magical Beast, highly venomous. Wharton recognized the snake at once. It was a king among Sixth-Level Magical Beasts; even an ordinary Seventh-Level Magical Beast might suffer at its hands.

"No wonder I didn't see a single Magical Beast. So it was you, you big fellow. I haven't encountered a suitable opponent in so long. Today, I'll use you to test my recent progress," Wharton said as he looked at the snake.

With saber in hand, he continuously shifted positions as he slashed at it. Seeing that the human before it actually dared to look down on it and even wanted to use it for practice, the Black-Necked Viper flew into a rage. Its three- to four-meter-long tail swept toward Wharton.

Watching the whip-like tail, Wharton deftly dodged and slashed across it, sending sparks flying.

However, such an attack could not truly injure the Black-Necked Viper. It merely left a faint bloody mark on its tail.

After a simple exchange, both sides had roughly gauged each other's abilities. The battle that followed became exceptionally fierce.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Their battle reduced century-old trees within several dozen meters to splinters, while the ground seemed to have been scraped away in several layers.

The battle lasted a full half hour. Both Wharton and the Black-Necked Viper were injured. The viper's body was covered in venom, and if Wharton had not been so fast, his injuries might have been far worse. Even now, his wounds carried a faint corrosive effect, though it did not affect him much. After all, Ultimate Warriors possessed not only powerful bodies, but also a degree of poison immunity.

Snake-type Magical Beasts were quite slippery, so each of Wharton's strikes only knocked several scales from the Black-Necked Viper's body. That was only because the saber in his hand was excellent; an ordinary blade might not have been able to injure the Black-Necked Viper at all.

After fighting for so long, the Black-Necked Viper was also astonished. Even a Sixth-Level Warrior could not have lasted this long, yet this youth had not even reached Fifth-Level Warrior, and his speed was so fast. Moreover, he did not show the slightest sign of fatigue.

Having achieved his goal, Wharton no longer intended to waste time with this beast. His attacks became increasingly sharp as he charged at the Black-Necked Viper again. The abdomen was a relatively vulnerable part of snake-type Magical Beasts. Seeing Wharton charge straight at it, the Black-Necked Viper considered it nothing but suicide. Though it did not know why he was doing this, it still opened its huge bloody maw and met him with venomous fangs gleaming coldly.

Wharton seized the moment and leaped ten meters into the air. His eyes lit up as he stared at the dark brown line running along the Black-Necked Viper's back. He circulated the Dragonblood Battle Qi within him, accompanied by dense lightning elements, and shouted.

"Water Severing!"

Like a bolt of lightning more than ten meters long, it cleaved toward the Black-Necked Viper's head.

"Awoo!"

The Black-Necked Viper only felt blade light relentlessly tearing through its entire body. Its vision went dark, and it lost consciousness. Seizing the opportunity, Wharton slashed his saber directly at the Black-Necked Viper's head, splitting it in two.