Wind-Rending Swift Leopard
When the candidates on the outskirts heard that the demonic beast for the exceptional certification was a Wind-Rending Swift Leopard with 4.5 vitality, they immediately broke into discussion, all feeling that this exceptional certification was far too outrageous.
"A Wind-Rending Swift Leopard? Holy shit, has this assessment center gone mad? Those things are notoriously difficult to deal with! During last year's beast tide defense, one clawed straight through an early-stage two-star martial artist's armor!"
"A Wind-Rending Swift Leopard generally has a combat power-to-vitality ratio of 1.5. With 4.5 vitality, that means 6.75 combat power! How is that an early-stage one-star demonic beast? That's solidly middle-stage!"
"Sure, no one in Jiang City has gone through exceptional certification for years, but they can't just throw in a beast like this to make up the numbers! Aren't they playing games with someone's life?"
"The Martial Artist Examination is only twenty-something days away. A Wind-Rending Swift Leopard's attacks are so tricky. If a claw wound delays his examination, Lin Hao will really lose more than he gains!"
"..."
As everyone discussed it, Chen Jing and Wei Kun exchanged a glance, both seeing misgivings in the other's eyes.
But they had already tried repeatedly to dissuade Lin Hao. Speaking up again now would only make it seem as though they were looking down on the young man.
Zhao Man, meanwhile, leaned against the wall with her arms folded, a curve rising at the corner of her mouth.
She wanted to see how this young man, whose eyes sat higher than the heavens, would react to an assessment beast so far outside the norm.
The candidates' discussion sent beads of sweat trickling down Jiang Baichuan's cheeks.
He bowed unconsciously toward Lin Hao and said, "Student Lin Hao, the Wind-Rending Swift Leopard really is one of the most difficult beasts used for one-star exceptional certification. How about this? Please head home for today. First thing tomorrow morning, I'll personally pick you up for the exceptional certification, and we'll prepare a one-star demonic beast with exactly 3.0 vitality just for you!"
Everyone around them nodded, all considering this the safest approach.
But Lin Hao loosened his wrists, looked toward the gate holding the demonic beast, and said, "I'm already here. There's no need to make another trip. This Wind-Rending Swift Leopard will do. I'll take the assessment today."
At those words, Jiang Baichuan froze completely, while the assessment center staff behind him went pale.
This was a martial arts genius Jiang City might not see once in a hundred years. If he suffered serious injuries here and the Martial Arts General Bureau investigated, not one of them would escape responsibility!
But Lin Hao had made his stance clear enough that Jiang Baichuan could hardly say anything more.
He could only steel himself and nod. "All... all right! Student Lin Hao, rest assured. The emergency squad will remain on standby throughout. The moment you signal, we'll stop the assessment!"
With that, he turned and issued instructions to the staff behind him.
As Lin Hao entered the combat platform.
Before long, the heavy gate holding the demonic beast rumbled with hydraulic noise and slowly rose.
A gust of rank, bloody air surged out through the opening.
Immediately afterward, a shadow darted out. It was the Wind-Rending Swift Leopard.
The Wind-Rending Swift Leopard was nearly three meters long, with dark golden fur, streamlined wind markings along both sides of its spine, and smooth muscular contours.
Its ice-blue slit pupils locked tightly onto Lin Hao in the center of the arena, fangs protruding past its lips.
Before the gate had fully closed, the Wind-Rending Swift Leopard moved.
Without the slightest warning, its body became a blurred golden shadow, trailing tiny wind blades as it lunged straight at Lin Hao's face.
But halfway through its pounce, its forepaws suddenly pushed against the ground.
Its body forcibly changed direction, skimming along the ground in an arc, its hind paws kicking straight at Lin Hao's knee joints with a sharp sound of tearing air.
A chorus of sharp intakes of breath immediately rose from the candidates outside the glass wall.
Although this Wind-Rending Swift Leopard had not awakened its intelligence like a mimic demonic beast.
Its combat intelligence was still very high. It actually knew to follow a feint with a killing move.
Jiang Baichuan's hand was already on the emergency button, ready at any moment to lead the squad in to provide support as soon as Lin Hao signaled that he was giving up.
But unlike the tense spectators outside, Lin Hao, standing in the center of the arena, moved his feet only half a step.
It was the basic sliding step from the Mountain-Subduing Basic Fist.
That half-step carried him just clear of the Wind-Rending Swift Leopard's kicking hind paws.
The claw tips, wreathed in wind blades, brushed past his trouser leg and carved four deep grooves into the ground.
Immediately afterward, Lin Hao swept his arm across, using the Blocking Hand Form.
With a turn of his wrist, the heel of his palm lightly touched the Wind-Rending Swift Leopard's flank, giving it a slight push along its forward momentum.
There was no earth-shaking force, yet it caught precisely the instant when the beast's old strength was spent and new strength had yet to arise.
The Wind-Rending Swift Leopard lost its balance, stumbling forward three or four meters before crashing heavily into the protective railing with a deafening thud.
Everyone's eyes widened, and discussion broke out again.
"Holy shit! He dodged it? With just a sliding step and a blocking hand?"
"That was way too close! I thought it was going to hit him just then! But how did he seem to predict the leopard's change of direction?"
"But what good is just dodging? The Mountain-Subduing Basic Fist barely has any killing power. If this drags on, the leopard will find an opening sooner or later!"
"..."
Jiang Baichuan's heart settled a little, but his back was still soaked in cold sweat. He shouted into the arena, "Student Lin Hao! Signal if you can't handle it! We'll stop the assessment immediately!"
But Lin Hao seemed not to hear him. He remained where he stood, calmly watching the Wind-Rending Swift Leopard as it got back to its feet.
Watching this, Chen Jing said to Wei Kun beside him, "Lin Hao's grasp of timing is nowhere near what a high school student should possess. That force redirection just now would be impossible without over ten years of experience in life-and-death combat."
Wei Kun nodded, his eyes filled with shock. "Now I finally believe he really did kill those two Mimic Spiders in the old district."
The expression of someone enjoying a spectacle had vanished from Zhao Man's face. She stared at Lin Hao in the arena, her expression complicated.
Inside the arena, the Wind-Rending Swift Leopard, dazed by the collision, was enraged.
It let out a low growl, the wind markings across its body glowing pale gold, its speed nearly doubling.
It circled Lin Hao at high speed, the wind blades it stirred up scraping the ground with a sizzling sound as it constantly tested his defenses with feints.
Suddenly, it leaped into the air. Three of its paws sealed off Lin Hao's upper, middle, and lower escape routes, while its remaining forepaw drove straight toward his heart with the strength of its entire body.
Cries of alarm rose one after another outside the glass wall. Jiang Baichuan could barely restrain himself from pressing the emergency button.
Yet even at a moment like this, Lin Hao remained steady, extraordinarily calm.
He did not dodge. Instead, he sank his waist and lowered his hips, using the Sinking Abyss Form from the Mountain-Subduing Basic Fist. His entire body seemed nailed to the ground, his center of gravity dropping just enough to avoid the claw wind sealing off his upper escape route.
Immediately afterward, he twisted his waist and turned his hips, driving a Mountain-Breaking Thrust Punch straight into the Wind-Rending Swift Leopard's pounce.
His fist aimed neither at its hard skull nor at its fur-covered torso. Instead, it precisely caught the gap in its exertion while airborne, where its chest and abdomen were softest, and the force of his punch penetrated its body.
"Awooo!"
The Wind-Rending Swift Leopard let out a piercing scream and flew sideways, crashing heavily onto the ground and sliding five or six meters before stopping.
Its chest and abdomen heaved violently, saliva mixed with bloody froth spilling continuously from its mouth. For the first time, fear appeared in its ice-blue slit pupils.