If Liu Xing had truly wanted to fight the Golden-Eyed Eagle for the Grass Deer, he would never have let it get its claws on the prey so easily. He had held back before acting precisely because he wanted an excuse to pursue the eagle and deal with it somewhere farther away.
The moment this Golden-Eyed Eagle appeared, Liu Xing had noticed that it differed from ordinary ones. Normally, a Golden-Eyed Eagle's feathers were as black as iron, and when it swept across the sky, it looked like a ragged black cloud rolling past. This one, however, had a faint emerald tint to its plumage.
Golden-Eyed Eagles were not Grass Deer; they had no ability to change the color of their feathers. This abnormality was enough to show that what the Spirit-Devouring Beast's divine sense had detected was no smoke without fire. There had to be something strange about this eagle.
Had Lu Xuanqing not been beside him, Liu Xing would have charged straight at it and finished it off in one fell swoop. But if he did that, even if he discovered what was strange about the eagle, Lu Xuanqing would certainly see it too. How would he explain it then?
His only option was to see whether he could shake Lu Xuanqing off for a while, then make his move in secret!
So Liu Xing deliberately put on a show of furious frustration. While Lu Xuanqing was momentarily taken aback, he raced several hundred meters ahead. As long as he maintained that distance, he would have a chance to finish off the Golden-Eyed Eagle first without letting her notice anything unusual.
The Golden-Eyed Eagle flew extremely fast, but Liu Xing was no slouch when running at full speed either. As for Lu Xuanqing, her injuries had yet to heal, so she could not reach her usual speed while riding the wind. Barely keeping up with Liu Xing as he ran flat out was already a respectable feat.
The Small Grassland was not very large to begin with. After roughly seven or eight minutes, Liu Xing had chased the Golden-Eyed Eagle to the foot of the sprawling mountain range. By then, he had widened his lead over Lu Xuanqing by another hundred-odd meters, putting nearly half a kilometer between them.
Following behind Liu Xing, Lu Xuanqing was secretly alarmed. She had never expected him to run so fast at full speed that he could keep pace with a bird in the sky.
Could a human who could not cultivate really move this fast?
The question could not help flashing through Lu Xuanqing's mind, making her even more certain of her earlier guess: even if Liu Xing could not cultivate, he was by no means an ordinary person!
Golden-Eyed Eagles generally built their nests on cliffs near mountain summits. Once Liu Xing left the grassland and took to the mountain paths, he could no longer keep up with the eagle. Still, through the Spirit-Devouring Beast's divine sense, he kept a firm lock on its position and had no fear of the beast vanishing without a trace.
The mountain paths were rugged and thick with trees. By the time Lu Xuanqing caught up, Liu Xing was already out of sight. However, the tremendous force of his every running leap left marks on the ground. By following those traces, she did not have to worry about losing him.
Through the watchful divine sense of the Spirit-Devouring Beast inside him, Liu Xing clearly saw the Golden-Eyed Eagle carry the Grass Deer to a rock face on a mountain peak, evidently its nest. From the eagle's behavior, it intended to settle down and enjoy its delicious meal.
Liu Xing swiftly approached the peak and climbed up using both hands and feet, picking up a few loose stones along the way. Against a Golden-Eyed Eagle that could fly, throwing stones was naturally the best approach.
A short while later, Liu Xing had drawn close to the Golden-Eyed Eagle's nest. Although the eagle was feasting heartily, its keen eyes still spotted him.
The Golden-Eyed Eagle was puzzled. How had this unfamiliar animal chased it all the way up the mountain? Did he really dare fight it for food?
As the ruler of this region, the Golden-Eyed Eagle had never encountered an animal bold enough to disturb the earth above a tyrant's head. Seeing this unfamiliar creature actually intent on challenging its authority, it dropped the Grass Deer from its beak and beat its wings, preparing to soar into the sky.
The Golden-Eyed Eagle had confidence in itself. Though it was surprised by this unfamiliar animal's tremendous speed, Liu Xing could not fly and was therefore no match for it. Brimming with confidence, it intended to swoop down at an angle and kill him beneath its talons.
Yet before the Golden-Eyed Eagle could leave its nest, Liu Xing flicked his hand, sending a stone hurtling toward it. The eagle was only a beast, after all. How could it have anticipated that this strange animal would launch a "hidden weapon"?
Caught completely off guard, the Golden-Eyed Eagle took the hit squarely and fell back into its nest, its head spinning and vision swimming.
Liu Xing was surprised as well. He had expected that even if his thrown stone failed to kill the Golden-Eyed Eagle outright, it would send shattered feathers flying and leave it too badly wounded to rise. Instead, the stone had shattered on impact, while the eagle had merely fallen into its nest without losing a single feather.
There really was something strange about this Golden-Eyed Eagle with its mutated coloring!
Liu Xing hefted the stones in his hand and swiftly closed another few dozen meters. The closer he got, the more powerful the stones would be. Unless the Golden-Eyed Eagle truly was as hard as refined iron, he was confident he could smash its head apart with them.
The Golden-Eyed Eagle was now furious too. It had never expected to suffer such a nasty blow before it had even taken flight. It staggered up in its nest, still intent on flying up and teaching Liu Xing a lesson.
Liu Xing was now within thirty meters. Seeing the Golden-Eyed Eagle rise in its nest, he hurled another stone without hesitation.
This strike was just as accurate, hitting the Golden-Eyed Eagle squarely in the head. Yet once again, to Liu Xing's surprise, the blow failed to kill it.
Could this Golden-Eyed Eagle's sinews and bones really be tougher than refined iron? Even tougher than the Spotted Mouse King's?
At that thought, Liu Xing could not help frowning. The Golden-Eyed Eagle before him was clearly far more formidable than he had previously understood. If it reached the sky, it would probably be even harder to deal with.
Without another moment's hesitation, Liu Xing rushed into the Golden-Eyed Eagle's nest and clamped both hands around its neck before it could recover its wits.
Liu Xing mustered his prodigious strength and twisted. However tough the eagle's sinews and bones were, its slender neck could not withstand that force. With a crack, it snapped in two, and its head drooped limply.
Liu Xing breathed a sigh of relief. Formidable as this Golden-Eyed Eagle was, it had ultimately fallen at his hands. It had probably underestimated him; otherwise, once it took to the air, killing it would have been no easy task.
PS: I'm taking my little Yaya to the zoo today, so I hurried to post a chapter before heading out. Brothers and sisters, the same old reminder: don't forget to vote while you read! :)
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