As the moon began to rise, the group continued their journey deeper into the mountain forest.
The woods grew increasingly dense, and the weeds at their feet climbed higher and higher until they nearly reached their knees. As the group stepped onto the withered leaves, the forest echoed with a distinct *rustle*.
Listening to the movement of the people behind him, the middle-aged Cultivator leading the group didn’t bother to look back.
‘Chat away. You won’t even know how you died later.’
‘Once you’re all dead, everything on your bodies will be mine.’
He turned his head to scan the crowd, the corners of his mouth curling slightly with a look of contempt.
This middle-aged Cultivator was named Shangguan Zheng. He was a true trusted subordinate of the Market Master, Shangguan Sheng. His cultivation was at Level 9 of the Qi Refining Stage, only one step away from Foundation Establishment.
He had carefully selected the Leopard Demon for this trip. It was just powerful enough to match his own strength. Once they encountered it, he would let the others rush in and die, and then he would step in to finish the job.
By the time he returned to report with the Leopard Demon’s corpse, the belongings of these people would be his spoils of war. He might even receive a reward from the Market Master. It was essentially killing three birds with one stone!
Shangguan Zheng rubbed his hands together gleefully, feeling very satisfied.
“We are about to enter the heart of the forest. Everyone, stay sharp!”
“Leopard Demons are most active at night!”
He turned around and shouted to the people behind him with a serious expression.
As if to prove his words, several pairs of glowing green eyes suddenly appeared in the quiet, dark forest. The sounds of *rustling* drew closer and closer.
Lin Zhiwei stared alertly at her surroundings. Amidst the swaying weeds, several beasts were quietly approaching.
“What on earth is that?”
Confused, Zhao Zicheng snapped his fingers showily. His fire-attribute Spiritual Power surged, and a cluster of flames illuminated the area.
“Holy crap, wolves!”
Seeing the creatures that resembled dogs but were covered in blue-gray fur, he caught a faint scent of blood in the air and let out a startled cry.
Lin Zhiwei followed the firelight and saw more than a dozen Gray Wolves surrounding them. Each one emitted a dangerous aura. One of them was significantly larger than the rest, its eyes flashing with an oily green light.
“They should be a pack of wolves at the Qi Refining Stage, out for a hunt.”
Lin Chengyun clearly had some experience. She didn’t panic and immediately saw through the situation.
“The one in the middle should have the combat power of Level 6 of the Qi Refining Stage. The others are just pups, Level 3 or 4 at most. There’s no need to worry.”
“However, I don’t know why they’re so hungry.”
Lin Chengyun sounded a bit puzzled as she spoke.
Sure enough, as the group followed her words and observed more closely, they saw that the fur of these Cultivator wolves was dull. Drool was unconsciously leaking from their mouths as they stared at the group, showing even less intelligence than ordinary wild beasts.
*Awooo…*
They weren’t given much time. As if driven by extreme hunger, the wolf leader let out a howl, and the pack moved instantly, pouncing toward them.
The group was surrounded in the center, standing back-to-back in a defensive formation.
The two women, Lin Zhiwei and Lin Chengyun, drew their swords and faced the pack, ready to strike at any moment.
Zhao Zicheng, on the other hand, was constantly chanting spells. The Spiritual Power in his hands transformed into snakes of fire that slithered in front of him.
The wolves had already pounced, and the group immediately struck back, entering a chaotic brawl.
Although the wolf pack’s assault was fierce, their individual strength was quite weak. Lin Chengyun and Zhao Zicheng cleared the beasts in front of them with almost a single move each.
However, Lin Zhiwei seemed to be struggling. She had never used a sword in actual combat before. Wielding her mediocre sword, her movements were stiff and labored.
Her Sword Moves were not refined at all. She often required several strikes to deal with a single wolf, and from time to time, she was nearly bitten, looking utterly disheveled.
With bloodshot eyes, the wolf leader fixed its gaze on her and began to coordinate an ambush.
Shangguan Zheng had long since dealt with the wolves attacking him, but he simply clapped his hands and stood to the side, having no intention of helping.
To him, it was better if they exhausted themselves. He didn’t care whether these people lived or died.
Zhao Zicheng wanted to step in several times, but he shrunk back in cowardice. This was clearly a perfect opportunity for a hero to save the beauty, yet he didn’t dare.
‘Su Xuan, you bastard! You’re misleading your students!’
Seeing Lin Zhiwei struggling so much, Lin Chengyun couldn’t contain her anger. She cursed Su Xuan in her heart and rushed over with her sword.
‘How could you teach such a talented student like this?’
She continued to curse him mentally as she blocked the frenzied wolf king with her sword. With a flash of sword light, she suppressed it in just a few strikes.
With Lin Chengyun’s help, the pressure on Lin Zhiwei decreased significantly, allowing her to barely finish off the few Gray Wolves in front of her.
‘So this sword technique really is no good…’
Lin Zhiwei panted heavily, her eyes dimming with disappointment.
Even though she knew her master had just bought a random sword manual, she had still held onto a tiny bit of hope.
Master was so good to Zhiyi, and she was his disciple too. What if she had simply misunderstood him?
But now, her heart had turned cold. The manual was truly useless; she still had to rely on that one strike she had realized on her own.
But…
That strike had also been taught by her master. What exactly was his intention?
Lin Zhiwei was lost in thought, her heart filled with conflict.
Lin Chengyun killed the wolf king with one strike and efficiently skinned it. She reached in and pulled out a bloody Inner Core. Looking at the “distraught” Lin Zhiwei, she asked with concern, “Are you alright? If you can’t go on…”
She was about to suggest heading back if they couldn’t handle it when a low roar echoed from not far away.
Unlike the wolf pack earlier, this sound carried a certain pressure. Mixed with the bloody scent of the wolf corpses, it made the air feel as thick as blood.
Under the moonlight, a snow-white leopard with black spots appeared before them in an instant.
“Delicious… tasty…”
It licked its lips in a human-like manner and looked at the crowd, a human voice rasping from its throat.
Compared to the previous wolf pack, its intelligence was clearly much higher; it had already reached the level of a demon.
“You… the most delicious…”
The Leopard Demon scanned the group and then fixed its gaze firmly on Shangguan Zheng, stepping toward him.
“Damn it! Why is it looking at me!”
He cursed under his breath and was forced to circulate his Spiritual Power.
Originally, he wanted to wait for the Leopard Demon to eat everyone else before he made his move. Now, his plan had completely failed.
His muscles bulged, and a strong aura of blood and essence radiated from his body. He was clearly a physical cultivator, which was likely why the Leopard Demon had targeted him.
Shangguan Zheng let out a strange cry and rushed toward the approaching Leopard Demon.
Facing the leopard’s swiping claws, he confidently raised his arm to block.
With his cultivation being nearly at the Foundation Establishment Stage, shouldn’t dealing with a beast be simple?
But before he could celebrate, a wave of intense pain shot through his arm. An instant later, a severed limb flew through the air.
‘Is this really the Qi Refining Stage?’
He spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes wide with shock.
A sense of despair quickly emerged. He had been too arrogant and completely failed to realize that the Leopard Demon had grown this quickly!
Given the cultivation levels of the remaining people, they were likely going to die today!
“Help me! Or we all die!”
In a life-or-death crisis, he lay on the ground and screamed shrilly, disregarding any sense of pride.
The Leopard Demon didn’t bother to stand up again. It simply slammed another claw into his chest.
Seeing that Shangguan Zheng could only gasp and spit out bloody foam, no longer possessing the strength to stand, the demon turned around. In a very human manner, it began to stroll leisurely toward Lin Zhiwei and the others, its throat emitting low growls.
“Lord Leopard Demon, their meat is tender! You should just eat them!”
Just as the two women were gritting their teeth and raising their swords to fight to the death, Zhao Zicheng, who was hiding behind them, reached his limit of terror.
His eyes darted around, and he gave them a violent push forward.
Then, he turned and ran!