Translator: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In the beginning, Lu Ye believed that he had encountered an amazing and ferocious creature. However, he discovered that the tiger might not be as powerful as he originally assumed after actually interacting with it.
The tiger stood at the entrance to the cave, seemingly not daring to go too deep into the cave. If it was very much stronger than him, then it would not have wasted so much time on words. That was the first reason. The second reason was that it had asked him for Spirit Pills. When that request fell through, it backed down and asked for Spirit Stones in place of the Spirit Pills. When that didn’t work out either, it decided to ask for the Healing Pills instead. It gave him a vibe that it did not want to leave this place empty-handed.
From this, Lu Ye came to a conclusion: The tiger was imposing indeed, but it was most likely all show and no substance. Taking out the Healing Pills and placing them by his feet was his final test to confirm his suspicions. Sure enough; the tiger was unwilling to approach him and simply asked him to throw the Healing Pills over.
Having determined that the tiger was not as powerful as he had imagined, he felt a great sense of relief. What he had to do now was very simple: [I’m going to kill the tiger and eat its meat!]
There was no denying that this was a Spirit Beast with a cultivation base. Killing and eating it would surely bring more benefits compared to eating many ordinary beasts. Perhaps, it would fall on this tiger to help him unlock his ninth Spiritual Point.
Lu Ye had never been one to play on the safe side of things. Otherwise, he would not have led Manager Yang to the mine filled with the Yuan Metal Force Field back then. Although he would take precautions against potential dangers, he would also try his best to grasp all the potential opportunities that might exist.
The Fiery Snake Talisman Paper activated and flames writhed about, striking toward the tiger. At the same time, he lunged forward with his sword in hand. However, he felt his shoulders sinking down the moment he made his move. It felt like something was pressing down on him, causing his body to dip downward. He almost fell to his knees as a result.
The attack was accompanied by a sharp shriek in his ears. In the next instant, he felt somebody smashing viciously at his head with a hammer. He felt dizzy and stars danced in front of his eyes.
Holding his sword in one hand, he forcibly propped up his body to prevent himself from falling while simultaneously calling upon the Spiritual Power in his eight Spiritual Points to protect himself. The surface of his body instantly burned with a layer of flames. There was a trace of gold mixed in with the flames. According to his Five Elements, he was primarily Fire Attribute supplemented by Gold Attribute. Therefore, the Spiritual Power in his body would reflect the properties of these two Elements.
A bloodcurdling scream rang out. The weight pressing down against his shoulder vanished immediately. He was still feeling rather dizzy, but he had recovered considerably. Rather, what surprised him was that he had been ambushed! Moreover, the one who launched a sneak attack on him was not the tiger but somebody else!
He had been lurking in the deepest part of the cave while the tiger blocked the entrance to the cave. From the start until the end, he had been communicating with the tiger. There were no signs of anybody else around them. Hence, he had not expected a sneak attack coming from behind him. It was fortunate that the sneak attacker was not very strong. He had simply activated his Spiritual Power to protect himself and was able to force the opponent back as a result. 𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦.𝘦𝑡
When that scream rang out, Lu Ye abruptly turned his head and caught a glimpse of some unknown thing sinking into the rock wall and disappearing from view out of the corner of his eye. Nevertheless, he did not have the leisure to investigate the identity of his sneak attacker. That was because the tiger had lunged at him, accompanied by a foul stench on the wind. The Fiery Snake Talisman Paper had failed to kill the tiger and only managed to burn the opponent’s fur to a crisp. It could be seen from this that the tiger really did have a cultivation base.
It was obviously too late to use another Spirit Talisman Paper at this point. He had missed the best opportunity to make his attack. Thus, he could only slash out fiercely with his sword. At the same time, he drew upon his Spiritual Power and enchanted the longsword with the Spiritual Pattern, Sharp Edge!
During this period, he had used the longsword that once belonged to Manager Yang to kill many beasts. It was a pity that he had never learned any swordsmanship before, so he basically just used the sword to slash and hack at his enemies.
The longsword enchanted with Sharp Edge was incredibly sharp. During Lu Ye’s fight against Zhou Cheng before, he had sliced his opponent’s sword of the same quality in half in one swing. Unfortunately, this tiger’s bones seemed to be tougher than Zhou Cheng’s sword. Lu Ye slashed his opponent across the shoulder blades but couldn’t cleanly slice through his opponent’s body. Instead, he lost his balance due to the strong kickback.
He staggered backward and pulled out his longsword, causing tiger blood to splash everywhere. Before he could do anything else, he felt a numbness spreading out in his chest. The tiger’s claws had swiped at him, taking a layer of flesh with it.
The pain did not negatively affect him, but sharpened his mind and cleared his head instead. Fighting against a tiger in this narrow cave was extremely perilous. He could lose his life at any time. Even so, he felt calm and confident after their exchange of blows. That was because his conjecture was correct. This tiger’s cultivation was not as advanced as he had assumed. It wasn’t an opponent he couldn’t win against. As long as he performed well, killing the tiger and feasting on its meat was just a matter of time!
The tiger roared and rushed at Lu Ye again. An unearthly screech suddenly rang out in the cave at the same time, disrupting his concentration. That was the tactic employed by the enemy hiding in the shadows. Be that as it may, he ignored the enemy hidden in the shadows and focused solely on the tiger’s movements. When his opponent lunged through the air at him, he lowered his body, kicked at the ground, and slid his body out from under the tiger’s body.
As the two figures passed each other by, Lu Ye stabbed his sword upward with all his might. That attack landed on the tiger’s tender abdomen. He initially assumed that this attack would pierce through the tiger’s stomach and intestines. Who could have known that the other party’s abdomen would suddenly glow with a faint golden light? Even enchanted with Sharp Edge, the sword only managed to slice through the protective layer of light. He failed to seriously injure his opponent.
When he got to his feet again, the positions of both parties involved in this fight had been reversed. He was originally standing in the depths of the cave while the tiger blocked the entrance of the cave. The situation was the other way around now.
Furthermore, he realized something through this exchange of blows: Even though the tiger was not that powerful, it was not that weak either. The tiger was probably slightly stronger than him. It was just that he had a weapon in his possession. In addition, the fact that he could bless his weapon with a Spiritual Pattern gave him a slight advantage.
Be that as it may, the situation would inevitably end with a loss for both sides if this fight dragged on for much longer. The moment that thought struck him, he reached his hand into his Storage Bag and took out a Spirit Talisman Paper. [Since I don’t have enough strength, I can just compensate for my lack of strength with a Spirit Talisman Paper! The 30 Spirit Talisman Papers that the Sect Master prepared for me is not just for display. I have no plans on saving them for later. Besides, when else should I use them if not now?]
Before he could activate the Spirit Talisman Paper, a crisp voice rang out urgently. “We surrender! Have mercy!”
Lu Ye scowled deeply. Hearing such words at such a critical moment would undoubtedly dampen his fighting spirit. His Spiritual Power surged in the hand that was holding the Spirit Talisman Paper as he shouted, “Show yourself!”
In the depths of the cave, a figure slowly walked out of the rock wall next to the tiger. That figure was not a physical entity. It was more like a congregation of Spiritual Power instead. After walking out, that figure slowly solidified and gradually became no different from ordinary people. It turned out to be a slender and beautiful girl dressed in a white dress with black hair hanging down to her waist. A mole at the corner of her eye added a hint of seductive charm to her appearance. She looked around 16 or 17 years old.
The girl stood next to the tiger after revealing herself, staring at Lu Ye timidly with an expression as though she was feeling guilty over making a mistake.
Lu Ye frowned. “What are you?”