Departure

Lister then left the secret chamber with the black platform and entered the cavern hall. Seeing Dai Dai sitting in a corner, he was about to call out to him, but before he could, Dai Dai opened his eyes and spoke first:

"Who are you, and how did you get straight in here?"

Then he stood up and watched Lister warily.

The last time Lister had come to get clothes from Dai Dai, he had not told him that he could already take human form. Dai Dai had therefore never seen Lister's human appearance and thought he was a stranger who had broken in.

"Dai Dai, it's me."

"Big Brother? You're my big brother?"

Dai Dai looked at Lister and asked in disbelief.

"That's right. Don't make such a fuss. I ate Shape-Shifting Grass, so I can take human form while still at the Saint level. If you don't believe me, look at my clothes. Aren't these the ones you gave me? And look at my eyes. Aren't they red too?"

"It really is you, Big Brother! Shape-Shifting Grass! You actually had such a wondrous thing!"

Only then did Dai Dai catch on.

"Yes, stop making a fuss. Come on, we're leaving."

"All right, Big Brother."

Lister led Dai Dai out of the cavern. At the entrance, Dai Dai's contracted beast, the Seventh-Level Magical Beast Velociraptor Honghuo, was waiting. Dai Dai had already communicated with him through their souls and told him to get ready to leave at the cavern entrance. Honghuo was now an eighth-level magical beast. This was also thanks to his having already been at the peak of the seventh level, lacking only an opportunity. The concentration of natural elements at the cavern entrance, nearly a hundred times the usual level, had provided just such an opportunity, and he had broken through to the eighth level not long ago.

After arriving at the cavern entrance, Lister looked at it.

"We might not need to come back here, so I'll seal it up for now."

He then moved a small hill over from nearby and set it over the cavern, leaving only a narrow gap.

"Big Brother, why did you leave a gap?"

Dai Dai asked in puzzlement.

"Little brother, you don't understand how the world works. Don't ask so many questions."

"Yes, Big Brother."

Lister thought, I certainly can't let you know about this. This is karma.

"Let's go, Honghuo."

And so Lister and Dai Dai rode on the back of the Velociraptor Honghuo and left Mist Canyon.

The outskirts of the Magical Beast Forest were home to low- and mid-level magical beasts. This was the best hunting ground for novice teams that hunted magical beasts, as well as a place where academy students underwent trials. High-level magical beasts generally did not appear on the outskirts of the Magical Beast Forest, but occasionally one or two would wander out for a stroll. If those high-level magical beasts encountered humans who had no experts accompanying them, those humans would generally have only a slim chance of surviving.

Beneath the trees, a team of five was facing off against a magical beast: three men and two women. Leading them was a black-haired young man wearing a straw hat. Two other young men stood to his left and right, one with green hair and the other with yellow hair. All three held large blades, with roughly ten meters between them. While the three confronted the magical beast at the front, the two female mages behind them chanted spells.

"Damn it! Why is there a Seventh-Level Magical Beast Shadow Leopard on the outskirts of the Magical Beast Forest?"

The man in the lead spoke.

"Big Brother Wang Lufei, what do we do now? We're no match for this Shadow Leopard!"

The green-haired young man on the right asked.

"We have no choice. The Shadow Leopard is incredibly fast, so we definitely can't outrun it. We'll fight it with everything we have. Nana, you're a fourth-level wind mage. Cast Extreme Speed on us. Binbin, you're a fifth-level earth mage. Cast Holy Armor of Earth Protection on us. Then you two look for openings to cast spells. Zhang Suolong, Wu Sanji, you're both fifth-level warriors. Cover the flanks and attack while protecting the mages. I'm a sixth-level warrior, so I'll handle the main assault. The Shadow Leopard is incredibly fast, but its defense isn't very high. As long as we coordinate well, we still have a chance."

"All right, Extreme Speed!" "Got it, Holy Armor of Earth Protection!" "Understood!"

Their replies came in unison.

Standing before the team, the Shadow Leopard was about a meter and a half tall and three meters long. It was in no hurry to attack. Instead, it seemed rather playful, watching to see how the humans before it would resist.

The two mages attacked first.

"Wind Blade!" "Earth Spike Spear!"

As the spell chants ended, both spells were unleashed.

The Seventh-Level Magical Beast Shadow Leopard darted sideways to the left, then leaped forward to evade them. At that moment, Wang Lufei held his blade upright before him, battle aura coiling around it, and shouted:

"Heavy Sword Slash!"

He leaped toward the Shadow Leopard, which had just landed, and slashed down. Zhang Suolong and Wu Sanji also struck from both sides. Facing the incoming sword strike and unable to dodge, the Shadow Leopard reared up and swatted both foreclaws at Wang Lufei's blade. Its claws collided with the blade, while its waist took the other two blows from Zhang Suolong and Wu Sanji head-on. Dust immediately billowed everywhere. After landing their attacks, Wang Lufei, Zhang Suolong, and Wu Sanji all retreated a few steps.

"Did it work?"

All five thought the attack had worked. After all, it had combined everyone's efforts, and the Shadow Leopard had indeed been struck.