Xu Zhengyang stared fixedly at the Polar Ice Fox, every nerve taut, like a hunter poised to strike.
The Polar Ice Fox was also exceptionally intelligent. It always kept a distance of around two hundred meters from Xu Zhengyang, neither drawing closer nor moving farther away, its eyes darting about as though it were constantly thinking about something.
At this distance, as a Tool Martial Soul wielder, Xu Zhengyang had no way of dealing with the Polar Ice Fox. In this world of ice and snow, the Polar Ice Fox was considerably faster than he was. If he could not kill it with a single strike, it would probably escape without a trace.
Xu Zhengyang lit a torch and took out a seagull he had hunted, then began roasting it. Throughout the process, he kept his eyes fixed on the Polar Ice Fox's position, keeping it from approaching.
Foxes were naturally extremely intelligent, but foxlike creatures also had an innate craving for roasted birds. It could be said that they found the aroma of roasted birds very difficult to resist.
Just then, something suddenly changed at the edge of Xu Zhengyang's vision. The Polar Ice Fox, which had been two hundred meters away, suddenly vanished without a trace. There was not even a glimpse of it within several hundred meters.
Alarm bells instantly rang in Xu Zhengyang's mind. This Polar Ice Fox would never give up its prey so easily, much less let him off so easily.
A powerful chill swept through his entire body-the vigilance of a hunter. Without stopping to consider anything else, Xu Zhengyang quickly summoned his Martial Soul and Soul Ring, firmly putting them in front of himself to block.
The ice suddenly cracked open, and a white figure shot out from beneath it. The figure blended into the floating ice as a single whole, its entire body snowy white and impossible to distinguish from the ice.
Relying on his recent experience and his vigilance toward danger, Xu Zhengyang swung the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear in his hands into a block with all his strength, firmly shielding himself as he rapidly retreated.
He leaped backward several times in succession, retreating more than ten meters before finally steadying himself. But a half-foot-long wound had already appeared on his right hand. Blood flowed from it, only to be quickly frozen into ice by the cold weather.
Although the Polar Ice Fox's strike had missed, it seized the seagull Xu Zhengyang had roasted in its jaws and vanished without a trace in an instant.
Xu Zhengyang's entire face darkened. He had intended to lure the Polar Ice Fox with the roasted seagull, but the bait had been snatched away, he had even been injured, and the Polar Ice Fox had still escaped.
It seemed that this Polar Ice Fox was certainly no less intelligent than an ordinary human. In a sense, it was even more like a cunning hunter.
Over the next few days, Xu Zhengyang and the Polar Ice Fox faced off from a distance, both using every means at their disposal to kill the other.
The Polar Ice Fox was exceptionally intelligent and very cunning. Every time Xu Zhengyang laid a trap, it managed to avoid it. Once, it even destroyed the trap outright and carried off the bait inside, in a blatant display of provocation.
The Polar Ice Fox likewise laid numerous traps and launched repeated sneak attacks. Its timing was extremely precise, always striking when Xu Zhengyang was unprepared, relaxed, or utterly exhausted.
The battle between man and fox lasted a full four days before Xu Zhengyang finally trapped the Polar Ice Fox completely. Of course, throughout this process, to test his own strength and minimize his reliance on external aids, Xu Zhengyang had not used the high-grade Soul Tools his father had given him.
That day, the Polar Ice Fox launched another sneak attack as usual. Xu Zhengyang abruptly stamped on the ground, and the ice within a ten-meter radius instantly collapsed, revealing an enormous ice pit more than ten meters in diameter and over six meters deep.
No matter how crafty the Polar Ice Fox was, it could not immediately escape from this enormous pit over six meters deep, especially since its walls were extremely smooth. Xu Zhengyang had even made other preparations long beforehand.
At that moment, Xu Zhengyang could not help laughing. He could not match the Polar Ice Fox in speed, but now both man and fox were trapped in the ice pit. He had used himself as bait to draw the Polar Ice Fox into his trap.
This way, the Polar Ice Fox had no chance of escaping and could only clash head-on with Xu Zhengyang.
The ice pit now resembled a beast-fighting arena, with neither side having any avenue of retreat.
Gripping his spear, Xu Zhengyang moved with tremendous speed and thrust straight at the Polar Ice Fox's head.
The Polar Ice Fox seemed to grow angry as well. It had been toying with the human before it all along, never expecting to fall into such desperate straits and actually have to clash head-on with him.
The Polar Ice Fox moved extremely quickly. The instant Xu Zhengyang thrust his spear, it abruptly lowered its body, narrowly evading his attack.
Immediately afterward, its light, swift body leaped forcefully along the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear. With two quick steps on the shaft, it arrived before Xu Zhengyang in an instant, its sharp claws reaching straight for his throat.
After these past few days of fighting, Xu Zhengyang had more or less figured out the Polar Ice Fox's fighting style. He forcefully raised the butt of the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear, blocking its attack head-on.
Then, twisting both hands, Xu Zhengyang swept the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear across with the force to sweep away a thousand troops. Even the air seemed to fill with a trace of scorching heat.
The Polar Ice Fox reacted extremely quickly, curling its tiny body inward with all its strength and narrowly evading Xu Zhengyang's attack.
At this critical moment, a strange light seemed to shine from the Polar Ice Fox's eyes. Xu Zhengyang felt dazed, finding the Polar Ice Fox before him utterly adorable, and felt that he could not quite bear to kill it.
Having lived two lives, Xu Zhengyang regained his clarity in an instant. He released his left hand from the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear, coated it in Soul Power, and blocked with all his strength.
Sure enough, the Polar Ice Fox took advantage of that instant of distraction to claw straight at Xu Zhengyang's vital points again. Had he not reacted quickly enough and brought his fist back in time, he would probably have truly fallen for its trick.
Xu Zhengyang instantly understood. The Polar Ice Fox had probably just used the innate charm ability of fox-type Soul Beasts. Had he not reacted quickly enough, he would likely have been in danger just now.
"Well, aren't you something. Ruthless and nimble enough. Looks like either you die or I live."
Xu Zhengyang's first Soul Ring flashed, and a terrifying, scorching presence instantly spread throughout the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear. Even the ice and snow on the ground could not withstand such heat and began to melt gradually. Xu Zhengyang felt as though his body held boundless strength.
Xu Zhengyang lunged fiercely at the Polar Ice Fox, his spear like a fierce tiger bursting from its cage, its momentum countless times greater than before.
However intelligent and cunning the Polar Ice Fox was, it instantly understood that the enemy before it was even stronger than it had imagined. He had only been fighting normally before; now, he was finally using his full strength.
Unfortunately, the ice pit was more than six meters deep and extremely smooth. It was simply impossible to climb out in an instant.
After several consecutive exchanges, although the Polar Ice Fox did its utmost to dodge, Xu Zhengyang soon struck it. Even when it used its charm skill again, it had no effect whatsoever on Xu Zhengyang, who had already activated his first Soul Skill.
Finally, after several successive spear strikes, Xu Zhengyang pierced the Polar Ice Fox's body with a thrust. Its entire body slumped limply to the ground, and a yellow Soul Ring appeared at the same time.