Larkin seized Xuanzhu by the throat and tightened his fingers.
Xuanzhu struggled to breathe. She wanted to fight back, but her strength failed her more and more. She believed Qian Wanyu's earlier words all the more now. Since Qian Wanyu could tell at a glance that she was a Dark-Type Spirit Master, she could surely save Wei Junlan.
"I, I only-cough-wanted to knock you out."
Her Spirit Master attribute was as useless as chicken ribs-too little meat to eat, too wasteful to throw away. Apart from knocking people out in emergencies, it served no purpose at all.
"Let her go." Wei Junlan's eyes reddened, and in an instant, he was already on the verge of beast transformation.
"A Beast-Shifter."
In Larkin's eyes, these half-human, half-beast humans who could transform were all called Beast-Shifters.
Wei Junlan's Beast Claws and the scales on his face appeared one after another. The man who had seemed too frail to withstand a breeze suddenly pounced at Larkin like an agile cheetah, his sharp claws raking straight toward the other man's covered face.
Larkin ducked and dodged. Even while holding someone, he avoided Wei Junlan's all-out pounce. The cleaver in his hand caught Wei Junlan's sharp claws; they crossed and quickly slid past each other. His cleaver, however, was ruined, its blade scored all over by Wei Junlan's claws.
"Eagle Claw."
"He really is an expert."
Standing beside a tree, Qian Wanyu watched closely. After transforming, Wei Junlan's strength was roughly that of a fifth-level Spirit King, yet he had not even caught the hem of Larkin's clothes. Despite carrying someone, Larkin had easily put distance between them. The stronger he was, the harder this would be. "This could be troublesome."
"Heh-"
When his first strike missed, Wei Junlan grew even more anxious. The stronger his