"If you're not afraid of death, you can continue to enter. I won't care about your life," Zhang Hao said indifferently.
Ye Qingrou walked up to Zhang Hao, looked at him, and said coldly, "What do you mean?"
"There's a Second-Order Ferocious Beast inside, it should be a Wind Shadow Bloodthirsty Beast. You guys think about it!" Zhang Hao said nonchalantly.
"Second-Order Ferocious Beast?"
The Zhang Family Martial Warriors present were all shocked. Because if there really was a Second-Order Ferocious Beast, the Martial Warriors present would truly be in danger if they entered. A Second-Order Ferocious Beast was equivalent to a Great Martial Master Second-Order Martial Warrior. Moreover, Ferocious Beasts were much stronger than Martial Warriors of the same rank.
"Haha, you're fear-mongering again. How do you know there are Ferocious Beasts in the forest? There are so many of us, and our cultivation is higher than yours, but we don't know. How is it that only you know there are Ferocious Beasts inside? Oh, right, your cultivation is too low, only Martial Master Sixth Heaven, the lowest among us. So, you're worried about encountering danger if you go in, which is why you claim there are Ferocious Beasts inside. This way, if everyone doesn't go in, you won't have to be afraid of encountering danger. Am I right, trash?" Zhang Tao asked with a half-smile.
Although Zhang Tao's words were speculation, they sounded quite reasonable to the people present. So, everyone looked at Zhang Hao with contempt.
"So our Zhang Family's Young Master is this kind of person. After the Secret Realm training, I will strongly suggest that the Elders replace him."
"That's right, how can our Zhang Family have such a cowardly Young Master."
These were all true geniuses of the Zhang Family, the cornerstones upon which the Zhang Family branches stood. Thus, these people naturally had no reverence for Zhang Hao, this so-called Young Master. Even the Family Head and Supreme Elder treated them with courtesy, so naturally, they paid even less mind to Zhang Hao, this so-called Young Master.
Ye Qingrou looked at Zhang Hao and said with some disgust, "Zhang Hao, although the Family Head asked me to enter the Secret Realm to take care of you, if you are this kind of person, please leave the team now. Our team doesn't need someone so afraid of death."
Zhang Hao smiled bitterly, "Captain, I'm serious."
"Oh really? Then please tell me, how did you know? Don't tell me your cultivation is still above everyone else here?" Ye Qingrou looked at Zhang Hao with a half-smile.
Zhang Hao immediately fell silent. Of course, he wouldn't say that Little Dragon warned him. As a strange beast, he didn't want to expose Little Dragon unless absolutely necessary; this was also a form of protection for Little Dragon.
Seeing that Zhang Hao didn't speak, Ye Qingrou became more convinced that what Zhang Hao said was false. She grew more disgusted with him. She said, "You should go, our team doesn't have room for you."
"Alright, I'll go! I hope you don't regret it," Zhang Hao said, feeling a bit annoyed in his heart.
Zhang Tao looked at Zhang Hao smugly, feeling very pleased to see Zhang Hao forced out of the team by him. The resentment from his miserable defeat at Zhang Hao's hands back then was finally vented a little.
In the team, no one sympathized with Zhang Hao. Looking at his departing figure, they all felt a bit schadenfreude.
Watching Zhang Hao leave, Ye Qingrou sighed softly and said, "Let's go!"
In fact, Ye Qingrou leaving Zhang Hao behind alone, besides being genuinely a bit angry, also had the purpose of protecting him. The outer perimeter of the forest was relatively much safer.
In fact, Zhang Hao hadn't gone far.
"Little Dragon, are you sure there's a Second-Order Ferocious Beast inside?" Zhang Hao asked Little Dragon.
"Yes! We Ferocious Beasts can sense each other. And I can confirm, that's a Wind Shadow Bloodthirsty Beast," Little Dragon said to Zhang Hao.
Zhang Hao nodded slightly and said, "Alright, then let's follow them."
"Boss, they don't believe you and even insulted you, why are you bothering with them?" Little Dragon asked somewhat discontentedly.
Zhang Hao shook his head and smiled, "No matter how they treat me, they are still Zhang Family disciples. I can't just ignore them."
At this moment, Ye Qingrou and her group had entered the depths of the forest. Along the way, they had killed many magical beasts. Most were Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order magical beasts, with a small number of Ninth Order magical beasts. Although these magical beasts were very strong, the Zhang Family disciples present were also not weak. These magical beasts were still easily dealt with. Compared to the danger, the rewards were also very generous. In the depths of this forest, spiritual herbs were everywhere, and there were even Fourth-Order spiritual herbs. It was known that Fourth-Order spiritual herbs could be sold for a high price outside.
"Hmph, I told you so, where are the Second-Order Ferocious Beasts? He thinks Ferocious Beasts are like magical beasts! Found everywhere. I estimate that kid hasn't even seen a magical beast, let alone a Ferocious Beast," Zhang Tao said smugly.
Suddenly, Ye Qingrou stopped in her tracks, her expression becoming solemn.
"Captain, what's wrong?" The speaker was Zhang Haicheng, the vice-captain of this team. He was a Martial Master Ninth Heaven cultivation.
Ye Qingrou frowned and said, "Don't you think it's a bit too quiet?"
"Captain, maybe there just happen to be no magical beasts nearby, which is why it's so quiet," Zhang Haicheng mused.
Ye Qingrou shook her head and said solemnly, "That's unlikely. Even if there happen to be no magical beasts, I've noticed since just now that there are no magical beasts within a range of about three hundred meters. It's impossible for such a large blank area to exist. The only possibility is that a very strong magical beast is occupying this place. But... but what kind of magical beast can deter such a large area, to the point where even Ninth Order magical beasts dare not show themselves?"
As Ye Qingrou said this, two words appeared in everyone's minds simultaneously: Ferocious Beast.
The scene fell into a deathly silence. Although everyone was unwilling to believe in the existence of a Ferocious Beast, according to Ye Qingrou's deduction, the most likely presence was a Ferocious Beast.
"Ah!" A shrill scream rang out.
Everyone's heart tightened, and they looked towards where the scream came from. They found that the one attacked was Zhang Tao. His shoulder was covered in blood, and a bloody shadow had brushed past his body.
"Get lost!"
Zhang Tao quickly drew his saber and slashed down at the bloody shadow. But the slash hit nothing. The bloody shadow rapidly sliced across his hand.
Another scream rang out from Zhang Tao. The hand holding the saber was instantly severed.
"Ah!"
Zhang Tao clutched his severed arm, collapsed to the ground, and screamed tragically, rolling around non-stop, with large beads of sweat seeping from his face.
In front of Zhang Tao stood a strange beast that resembled neither an ox nor a tiger. Its entire body was as red as blood, and a pair of savage eyes stared cruelly at Zhang Tao before it. In its mouth, it was holding Zhang Tao's severed hand, chewing it with relish.
"Wind Shadow Bloodthirsty Beast!"
A Zhang Family youth screamed.
"It really is a Wind Shadow Bloodthirsty Beast!"
Ye Qingrou's expression changed in surprise, and she also recognized that this was indeed a Second-Order Ferocious Beast, the Wind Shadow Bloodthirsty Beast. Although she had never seen it before, she had seen the pattern of the Wind Shadow Bloodthirsty Beast in the Myriad Beast Compendium, and it was identical to the one before her.