Hunting Soul Beasts (Part 2)

On the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, thousand-year Soul Beasts occasionally appeared. By a pond in the outer region, a delicate, doll-like little boy was struggling to chew on a piece of dried meat. What he did not know was that, at the bottom of the pond, a shadow was gradually approaching the surface.

"This jerky is really hard to chew. My teeth hurt." Lin Qing gnawed on the homemade Soul Beast jerky in his hand, chewing with difficulty.

Suddenly, Lin Qing sensed an enormous threat. As a Demon, he immediately sprang to his feet and leaped backward, summoning his Martial Soul into his hand at the same time.

The instant Lin Qing jumped, the previously tranquil pond erupted in a huge splash. Amid the spray, a ferocious maw opened wide and lunged at him.

"Whew, that was close."

Lin Qing landed back on the ground. He had nearly been ambushed by that thing just now. If not for the Demon King's warning, if he had hesitated for even 0.1 seconds, his legs would have been gone.

He landed, bent forward, held his Martial Soul, and assumed a combat stance. Only then did Lin Qing clearly see what had attacked him.

It was a crocodile, more than eight meters long, with sturdy limbs. Yet unlike the crocodiles Lin Qing knew, this one had two protrusions on its head, as though something were about to grow from its skull. Its limbs also differed from those of ordinary crocodiles. A normal crocodile's limbs could at most support it while walking on land, but this crocodile's limbs nearly allowed it to stand upright, and they bore incomparably sharp claws.

"What is this? A crocodile? It doesn't quite look like one. But with this pressure, this crocodile is at least eight or nine hundred years old, right?"

Lin Qing had never studied knowledge related to Soul Beasts. It would have been fine if he encountered a Soul Beast mentioned in the original novel. After transmigrating, his spiritual power had strengthened, and he remembered the original novel's details more clearly. Thus, if it were a Soul Beast that had appeared in the original novel, he could still identify it.

This crocodile clearly had not appeared in the original novel, so Lin Qing could not determine its age and could only make a vague judgment based on his senses.

"Roar!"

A roar that clearly did not belong to a crocodile rang out. Then the crocodile opened its bloody maw and charged rapidly at Lin Qing.

Seeing this, Lin Qing was not particularly nervous. After all, over the past month or so, he had fought more than a dozen battles of varying scale. Naturally, he could not be compared to those greenhorns facing Soul Beasts for the first time.

Lin Qing gripped his Nichirin Blade and stared intently at the charging crocodile. Raising his blade, he charged straight at it as well.

In just two breaths, Lin Qing and the crocodile clashed for the first time. Lin Qing swung a horizontal slash, striking his Nichirin Blade toward the crocodile's mouth.

But the moment the Nichirin Blade entered its mouth, it was clamped between its jaws. Then, the crocodile actually raised a foreclaw and viciously slapped at Lin Qing.

Seeing that things had gone wrong, Lin Qing immediately released his grip and dodged backward. After several evasive movements, he managed to leave the crocodile's attack range.

The moment Lin Qing, who had just leaped away, steadied himself, he saw the crocodile's enormous claw smash down onto the spot where he had just stood.

Bang!

Sand and stones exploded from the ground, and the huge claw blasted a circular crater over a meter wide into the earth.

"Hiss..." Lin Qing sucked in a breath. "Even those thousand-year Soul Beasts I sensed before might not have been able to withstand that attack!"

"If that had struck me just now, even with a Demon's body, I would have been seriously injured even if I didn't die."

Lin Qing began to take things seriously. He recalled his Martial Soul, and the Nichirin Blade in the crocodile's mouth vanished and returned to his body. Then he summoned it again and gripped it in his hand.

Lin Qing grasped the hilt and charged at the crocodile once more. Wielding the Nichirin Blade, he closed in and unleashed several slashes.

Naturally, the crocodile would not let Lin Qing's attacks land on its body. Although its scales were tough, they were not absolutely invulnerable. Thus, the crocodile continuously used its claws, teeth, and tail to battle Lin Qing.

The two fought fiercely. The clashes between blade light and claw shadows left the surrounding trees covered in wounds, turning the area into a complete mess.

The Nichirin Blade slashed downward, and the crocodile raised a claw to meet it. Blade and crocodile claw collided, immediately producing a sharp metallic clang.

Then, borrowing the force of the crocodile's claw, Lin Qing leaped up and flipped through the air. His body came above the crocodile's head. Holding the Nichirin Blade with his head pointed downward, he drove it straight toward the crocodile's eye.

Splat!

Roar!

Lin Qing successfully blinded one of the crocodile's eyes. The crocodile instantly let out an enraged roar and swept its tail at Lin Qing. Lin Qing hurriedly raised his blade to block, but he was still sent flying by the tremendous force.

Bang!

"Ah, that hurts! Damn it!"

Lin Qing was knocked flying and only landed after crashing through a large tree. Fortunately, his physical constitution was extremely powerful. Otherwise, that blow would have crippled him even if it did not kill him.

Roar!

The crocodile was utterly furious. It had actually been blinded by a human child. It was simply the greatest humiliation.

The crocodile opened its bloody maw, and the surrounding water elements instantly began gathering frantically into its mouth.

Boom!

A massive column of water energy burst from the crocodile's mouth and shot straight toward Lin Qing.

Almost by instinct, Lin Qing performed a forward flip and jumped, rolling to the side before immediately bursting forth with speed greater than at any previous moment to evade the attack.

After Lin Qing rolled away, the water column directly pierced through the large tree and boulder behind him.

"That power is truly terrifying!"

Seeing the water column's might, Lin Qing felt lingering fear.

Then the crocodile turned and continued spraying energy water columns at Lin Qing, determined to kill the human child who had dared injure it!

With no other choice, Lin Qing could only keep dodging the breath attacks while looking for an opportunity to approach the crocodile and counterattack.

"What is this?"

As Lin Qing continuously evaded the attacks, the distance between him and the crocodile steadily shrank. Then, in the next instant, an exceedingly thin line seemed to appear before his eyes, connecting the Nichirin Blade to the crocodile's neck.

"This is... the Line of Weakness!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the instant he recognized the line, Lin Qing followed the Line of Weakness's guidance and closed in on the crocodile.

Seeing Lin Qing already within close range, the crocodile raised its enormous claw again, intending to smash him into a bloody pulp.

Yet Lin Qing remained extremely calm. His breathing gradually settled, and his lungs began to feel slightly warm. His basic attributes—strength, speed, reaction time, and the like—directly doubled, while the Line of Weakness became exceptionally clear.

His breathing took on a special rhythm, greatly enhancing every aspect of him.

Lin Qing gripped his blade with both hands and turned sideways to evade the descending claw. Then he raised the Nichirin Blade high and slashed toward the crocodile's neck along the Line of Weakness.

Total Concentration Breathing...

Lin Qing struck with all his might.

Splat!

With one slash, the crocodile was beheaded before it could even let out a scream.

Only when a Spirit Ring floated up from the crocodile's body did Lin Qing come back to his senses.

"Was that... entering the Total Concentration Breathing state?" Lin Qing briefly savored the feeling from moments ago before turning his gaze to the Spirit Ring.