The Snipe and the Clam

Immersed in the painful yet pleasurable process of tempering his body with lightning, time passed quickly.

As the final bolt of heavenly lightning fell during the storm,

the dark clouds blanketing the sky slowly dispersed, and a beam of clear sunlight poured down.

Sitting cross-legged atop a massive boulder, Xiao Qing was surrounded by crackling arcs of lightning.

Unmoved by this, Xiao Qing skillfully circulated the cultivation method of the Demonic Lightning Body, tempering his physique.

As streak after streak of purple lightning gradually fused into his body, twelve profound black lightning patterns slowly emerged across Xiao Qing's entire body.

At once, a violent aura that made one's heart tremble spread from Xiao Qing and surged into the surroundings.

Sensing this terrifying aura, birds in the nearby woods took flight, scattering into the sky.

Some low-level magical beasts let out uneasy growls that echoed through the forest.

Ignoring the disturbances outside, Xiao Qing devoted himself fully to tempering his body.

Before long, as the final purple lightning arc fused into his body, the twelve profound lightning patterns covering Xiao Qing's body vanished back into him, as though they had never appeared.

Xiao Qing slowly opened his eyes, a flash of lightning flickering through them before disappearing.

Clenching his fist, he could clearly feel the terrifying strength contained within his body.

Compared to his previously frail physique, it had undergone a qualitative leap!

Just as Xiao Qing rose to his feet and prepared to return to the Inner Academy, two deafening beast roars suddenly erupted from the distant mountains.

Sensing two auras far stronger than his own, Xiao Qing immediately lost all thought of returning to the Inner Academy.

"Are two Dou Wang-level magical beasts fighting?"

Xiao Qing looked curiously toward the distant mountains.

For two Dou Wang-level magical beasts to fight, there had to be something valuable involved!

From what he knew, high-level magical beasts normally would not fight each other.

Unless they were competing for territory or had discovered some rare heavenly treasure.

And this forest was so vast that there was more than enough territory to go around.

The only thing that could make two Dou Wang-level magical beasts fight now was a heavenly treasure!

With that thought in mind, Xiao Qing dashed straight toward the mountains where the beast roars had originated.

Outside the forest, above a small valley whose entrance resembled a gourd,

Xiao Qing's figure slowly emerged, his gaze examining the somewhat familiar valley below.

"Roar!"

At that moment, an angry roar rang out from the valley below.

At the bottom of the valley, an Ice Flood Dragon over ten feet long was fiercely battling a robust white giant ape standing two or three zhang tall.

The Ice Flood Dragon was covered in diamond-shaped scales like ice crystals. A coral-like silver horn protruded from its forehead, and its vertical pupils were filled with coldness.

The white ape had exceptionally long arms, and its claws were each as large as two adult heads. Heavy breaths billowed from its huge nostrils like two streams of white mist, while its blood-red eyes brimmed with savagery and killing intent.

Looking at the white ape in the valley below, Xiao Qing blurted out the name of a magical beast.

"Snow Demon Ape?!"

Xiao Qing was somewhat surprised. He had not expected to encounter this Snow Demon Ape here.

So this was the valley where Earth Core Tempering Milk was hidden?

But judging by the situation below, this place had originally seemed to be the Ice Flood Dragon's territory.

Within the valley, the Snow Demon Ape kept letting out low growls. Its enormous body repeatedly lunged toward the depths of the valley like a cannonball, only to be blocked each time by the Ice Flood Dragon's tail, which glowed with an icy blue radiance.

"Roar! Old flood dragon, move aside! Otherwise, don't blame me for getting nasty!"

The Snow Demon Ape raised itself upright and wildly pounded its chest with both claws.

Visible ripples of force spread outward, and the surrounding boulders cracked as numerous fissures spread across them.

The Ice Flood Dragon slightly raised its head, a chilling aura spilling from its body.

"You took advantage of my hunting trip to sneak into my territory and consume the Earth Core Tempering Milk in my cave, yet you still have the nerve to tell me to move aside?"

Faced with the Ice Flood Dragon's accusation, the blood-red color in the Snow Demon Ape's eyes deepened. It stomped the ground fiercely with its ape palm and charged at the Ice Flood Dragon.

The Ice Flood Dragon was equally unwilling to yield. Countless ice spikes condensed around its body and shot explosively toward the Snow Demon Ape.

As the two once again fell into battle, Xiao Qing above the valley rubbed his chin.

Judging from the situation in the original story, this Ice Flood Dragon's fate was clearly death beyond all doubt.

After all, if it were still alive, how could it possibly allow the Snow Demon Ape to occupy this valley?

And from the course of their battle just now, the two magical beasts were almost evenly matched.

In other words, even if the Snow Demon Ape killed the Ice Flood Dragon, it would definitely not be in good shape afterward.

Xiao Qing's eyes lit up. He might have a chance to play the fisherman.

If the Snow Demon Ape killed the Ice Flood Dragon and was not seriously injured itself, Xiao Qing would turn around and leave. At worst, once his cultivation rose a few more stars, he could bring Zi Yan here and beat up this Snow Demon Ape that had stolen someone else's treasure ground.

Zi Yan alone could not defeat it in the original story, but with him added to the mix—now a Mid-Rank Dou Ling capable of using the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Flame—the outcome might not be so certain.

But if the Snow Demon Ape killed the Ice Flood Dragon and was also at death's door, needing the Earth Core Tempering Milk to recover from its injuries, then Xiao Qing could only apologize.

It was merely a sneak attack on a magical beast. Xiao Qing would not feel any psychological burden.

Besides, those who accomplished great things did not fuss over trivial details. If he could not even bring himself to launch a sneak attack, what right did he have to become a Dou Di?

What right did he have to possess a cheat?

Thinking this, Xiao Qing could not help letting out a delighted laugh.

"Hehehe..."

In the valley below, seeing that its attacks remained deadlocked with the old flood dragon before it, the Snow Demon Ape finally could not hold back any longer and got serious.

After all, if they kept fighting like this, the other high-level magical beasts nearby would be drawn over.

Wouldn't its plan to occupy this valley go down the drain then?

With that thought, the Snow Demon Ape wildly pounded its chest with its enormous claws and threw back its head with an angry roar.

"Roar!"

The next instant, a strange red glow faintly appeared around the Snow Demon Ape's body.

Seeing this, unease flashed through the Ice Flood Dragon's heart. It immediately transformed into a streak of icy blue light and shot toward the Snow Demon Ape.

Its enormous tail, carrying a dense icy blue radiance, slammed heavily into the Snow Demon Ape's body, which was shrouded in that strange red glow.

Bang!

The immense force smashed the latter into the mountain wall, sending dust flying everywhere.

The Ice Flood Dragon's vertical pupils stared fixedly at the distant mountain wall, as though it could see through the dust and spot the faint, strange red glow within.

As the dust gradually dispersed, an extremely blurred streak of red light flashed out and shot toward the Ice Flood Dragon.

The Ice Flood Dragon's vertical pupils contracted. It barely made out the Snow Demon Ape's figure through the red glow before feeling an incomparably icy gale smash toward it.