Ling Tian Sword God

Chapter 47: Chapter 46: Dragon Patterned Cub_1

BANG!

In the midst of the forest, Ling Chen slammed out a palm in retaliation. His profound True Qi congregated in the center of his palm, gushing out with a magnificent force that blew an Exotic Beast—with strength equal to a martial artist of the Nine Heavy Realm—more than ten meters away, causing it to fall to the ground, whimpering pitifully.

Watching this, Xiao Muyu, who was behind him, was stunned. Although Ling Chen’s strength was formidable, it seemed it hadn’t reached the level where he could kill with such overwhelming brute force as he did today.

”Your strength?” Xiao Muyu couldn’t help but ask. She felt that Ling Chen’s strength had become different from what she remembered.

”I just reached the Nine Heavy Realm,” Ling Chen said with a chuckle, bending over to deliver a finishing blow to the Exotic Beast.

”Freak,” Xiao Muyu muttered, shaking her head. This guy is definitely an anomaly. To think he could recover his cultivation so quickly under these circumstances... It’s truly unbelievable.

No wonder Yun Tianhe lost to him twice. Xiao Muyu felt somewhat relieved now. Yun Tianhe losing to Ling Chen was likely inevitable; there was a clear gap in their strength.

After removing all the valuable parts from the Exotic Beast and storing them away, Ling Chen, who possessed the Heavenly Mansion Ring, didn’t need to worry about storage. The flesh and blood of these Exotic Beasts were nourishing; eating them could improve physical fitness and build up Qi.

This wasn’t Xiao Muyu’s first time participating in the royal hunt, so she was very familiar with the general areas where Exotic Beasts roamed in this hunting ground.

As they ventured deeper, the pair arrived in the depths of the Royal Hunting Ground.

Suddenly, a strong smell of blood drifted from not far away.

Following the scent, the two arrived in a clearing. Two bodies lay there in pools of blood, bearing multiple knife wounds.

”They were killed,” Ling Chen muttered, then wondered aloud, ”Could it have been the Dragon-patterned Leopard?”

He squatted down to examine the knife wounds on the two bodies. These wounds clearly weren’t inflicted by Exotic Beasts; they’re man-made.

”I recognize these two. They are the Sons of Dukes from the Chen and Lu Families,” Xiao Muyu said, a look of surprise on her pretty face. ”Who could have possibly committed murder within the hunting grounds?”

”It seems this autumn hunt isn’t as simple as we thought,” Ling Chen said, a glint in his eyes. This hunting ground was supposed to be just for hunting, but now there are casualties, and they’re man-made.

”That shouldn’t be possible,” Xiao Muyu mused. ”Killing someone in this hunting ground is tantamount to making an enemy of the Wind Country’s royal family. Who would be so audacious?”

”Who knows?” Ling Chen said, his eyes narrowing as he rested his chin in his palm. ”We need to be more careful. It seems someone either doesn’t take the royal family seriously, or some dangerous individuals have infiltrated these hunting grounds.”

”So, what should we do? Should we leave this place?” Xiao Muyu asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

”No rush. We’re not the only group here. We just need to be cautious,” Ling Chen replied. It wasn’t that he hadn’t sensed the dangerous atmosphere; rather, he was determined to obtain the Void Spirit Pill. Even if it was perilous, he couldn’t retreat so easily.

”Alright.” Xiao Muyu’s thoughts mirrored Ling Chen’s. She was also determined to win first place in the hunt and wouldn’t give up so easily.

”We should be within the Dragon-patterned Leopard’s territory by now. There might be other Second-Rank Demonic Beasts around here,” Xiao Muyu said, looking around, her expression somewhat tense.

”Our target is the Dragon-patterned Leopard. Let’s try not to provoke any other Exotic Beasts unless absolutely necessary,” Ling Chen replied, shaking his head. Only by hunting the Dragon-patterned Leopard, this Exotic Beast King, could they be virtually certain of winning first place in this hunt.

”I’m afraid we’ve already provoked something.” As Ling Chen finished speaking, Xiao Muyu’s pretty face paled slightly, and she managed a bitter smile.

Just as her words left her lips, a giant, golden-furred leopard covered in dragon patterns pounced down from the steep slope above, its sharp claws lunging for Ling Chen’s neck.

Ling Chen’s reactions were incredibly fast, and his sense of danger exceptionally keen. The instant before the leopard struck, he immediately sidestepped to the right, dodging the Dragon-patterned Leopard’s attack.

Not only that, but he also instantly pulled a Divine Mechanism Arrow from the quiver on his back, infused it with True Qi, and with a swift motion, stabbed it into the leopard’s abdomen.

Then, pushing off the ground with his feet, he quickly retreated.

The entire sequence occurred in the blink of an eye. Before Xiao Muyu could even react, Ling Chen had already stabbed the Thunder Shock Arrow into the leopard’s abdomen.

The arrowhead of the Divine Mechanism Arrow exploded, blasting a palm-sized wound in the leopard’s abdomen from which blood gushed continuously.

However, the Divine Mechanism Arrow had only penetrated about three inches beneath the leopard’s skin and hadn’t caused a fatal injury.

After all, it was thrust in by hand, so its force was inevitably diminished. Even with the explosion, it could hardly inflict a truly fatal injury.

”Is this the Dragon-patterned Leopard?” Ling Chen looked slightly astonished. ”Why does it feel so much weaker than I expected?”

Whether in terms of strength or defense, this Dragon-patterned Leopard is nowhere near the level of a Second-Rank mid-tier beast.

”This isn’t the Dragon-patterned Leopard; it’s a Dragon Patterned Cub. It’s probably the offspring of the adult one,” Xiao Muyu said thoughtfully after scanning the creature.

”So, it’s a cub. No wonder,” Ling Chen said, instantly understanding. A glint appeared in his eyes. If the cub has appeared, the adult Dragon-patterned Leopard can’t be far behind. If we capture this cub, we won’t have to worry about the adult not showing up!

The body of this Dragon Patterned Cub, though not as large as a prime adult Dragon-patterned Leopard, was still twice the size of an ordinary adult Dragon-patterned Leopard. Its mouth was filled with rows of sharp teeth, and each claw was like a blade. The dragon patterns on its body emanated a noble, fluctuating aura.

A Dragon Patterned Cub possessed attack power comparable to a First Layer Martial Master and speed rivaling a Second Level Martial Artist. For ordinary warriors, encountering one was almost a death sentence.

Staring at the Dragon Patterned Cub, now about ten meters away, Xiao Muyu’s expression turned grave.

They couldn’t kill this Dragon Patterned Cub indiscriminately. Doing so would completely infuriate the adult Dragon-patterned Leopard. A maddened Dragon-patterned Leopard’s combat power would multiply, and even if the two of them combined their efforts, they wouldn’t be its match. Therefore, their strategy had to be to use the live Dragon Patterned Cub to lure out the adult. They would then look for an opportunity, set an ambush, and launch a surprise attack against the unsuspecting adult Dragon-patterned Leopard. Only then would they have a chance of success.

Acting on this, Xiao Muyu immediately took out a Divine Mechanism Arrow, nocked it, and drew her bow to a full moon.

WHOOSH!

The Divine Mechanism Arrow shot out like a bolt of lightning.

The Dragon Patterned Cub leaped agilely, evading the Divine Mechanism Arrow’s attack with incredible speed.

In an instant, it crossed the ten-meter distance to reach Xiao Muyu. With one swipe, it knocked the bow and arrow from her hands, then opened its gaping, blood-red maw and lunged.

Xiao Muyu immediately flipped backward, tapped a finger to the ground to propel herself another seven or eight meters away, and evaded the Dragon Patterned Cub’s attack.

However, the Cub didn’t slow in the slightest. As Xiao Muyu landed, its sharp claws were already slashing fiercely at her abdomen, a strike aimed to disembowel her.

At the critical moment, Xiao Muyu leaned back just enough to avoid the perilous claw, but the sharp wind from its passage still tore three gashes in the dress over her lower abdomen.

Blood seeped from the wounds, dripping to the ground. Xiao Muyu’s pretty face grew grave. The speed of this Dragon Patterned Cub is comparable to a Second Level Martial Artist, hardly inferior to an adult Dragon-patterned Leopard. If I underestimate it, I’ll pay a heavy price.