In the depths of the old forest, a profound silence prevailed. Sunlight struggled to penetrate, leaving the area dark and damp, with snow still lingering in many places.
The silver-haired snake man and the black-clothed youth both held their weapons, proceeding with utmost caution.
âUncle Zong, weâve been inside for almost half an hour, and we havenât encountered a single magical beast yet,â Dongbo Xueying whispered, his voice tinged with tension but also a hint of eagerness. After all, his strength had greatly increased, and he hadnât had the chance to fully utilize it yet!
âYou.â Zong Ling shook his head helplessly. This nephew seemed mature, but he still had a youthful spirit. He whispered, âWe just entered the outermost part of the mountain. Magical beasts are naturally rare here. The deeper we go, the more likely we are to encounter them. Then weâll see your true strength.â
âMm.â
Dongbo Xueying nodded lightly.
âSss~â
A faint sound caught Dongbo Xueyingâs attention. His ears twitched, and he immediately extended his hand to block Zong Ling, who instantly tensed up. Although he hadnât heard the sound, Dongbo Xueyingâs senses had become extremely acute after awakening his ancient bloodline.
âThere!â Dongbo Xueying stared at the left front.
Zong Ling also focused his gaze in that direction.
From the distant thicket, a clear rustling sound gradually grew louder, and black, lean, four-legged figures slowly emerged. They resembled wolves but were much smaller. Their bodies were covered in dense black scales, and their dark red eyes were cold. They calmly observed the two humans.
âBlack-scaled jackals?â Both Dongbo Xueying and Zong Ling felt a chill. Encountering such formidable magical beasts right at the entrance to the Destruction Mountains was not a good sign.
Black-scaled jackals are third-stage magical beasts.
They are extremely calm and vicious, skilled at coordination, and their claws and teeth are highly venomous!
What does third-stage mean? It signifies that their individual strength is equivalent to that of a Heaven Knight. They live in small groups, and the group of black-scaled jackals emerging from the thicket numbered thirty-five. Even a single fourth-stage magical beast would be torn to pieces by them.
âWeâre in trouble.â Zong Ling was somewhat nervous. âXueying, be careful.â
âMm, Uncle Zong, protect yourself. Leave them to me.â
Dongbo Xueying took a deep breath, his breathing becoming more steady and powerful, as he stared at the large group of black-scaled jackals.
The black-scaled jackals naturally began to spread out, forming a fan-shaped encirclement around Dongbo Xueying and Zong Ling. Being stared at by so many pairs of dark red eyes made Dongbo Xueying feel a bit uneasy. His willpower was strong, and his spear technique was high, but this was his first encounter with such formidable opponents.
âRoar~â A low, unpleasant sound came from the last black-scaled jackal.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!!!
All the black-scaled jackals pounced from all sides simultaneously. Even a Meteor Knight would struggle to withstand such a coordinated attack by Heaven Knights.
âDie!â Dongbo Xueyingâs long spear moved.
Whoosh!
The long spear was like a bolt of lightning, swift and deadly.
As the spear thrust forward, countless snowflakes appeared, creating a beautiful scene.
The black-scaled jackal that was attacked immediately swung its claws to block the spear. Sss~ The moment the spearhead was blocked, the entire spear suddenly rotated, the rotational force breaking the claws. Pfft! The spear tip instantly pierced the black-scaled jackalâs jaw, penetrating through to the back of its skull. The third-stage magical beastâs body convulsed and then went still.
The moment he killed it, Dongbo Xueying quickly retracted the spear and thrust again, like a venomous snake striking.
Pfft!
Another black-scaled jackal fell dead on the spot.
These black-scaled jackals were all skilled in combat, but Dongbo Xueyingâs spear technique, honed through ten years of intense practice, was truly formidable.
âRoar, roar, roar~â Numerous low growls echoed as the black-scaled jackals continued their relentless attack without slowing down.
In a very short time, Dongbo Xueying managed to kill only three black-scaled jackals before being pounced on by eight more.
âScatter!â
The long spear moved like a shadow, swiftly striking and sweeping.
Just like the countless times he had practiced on alchemical dummies, Dongbo Xueyingâs single strike sent four black-scaled jackals flying, and another sweeping strike sent four more flying. In terms of raw strength, Dongbo Xueying had a clear advantage, but the sheer number of attackers made the situation extremely challenging.
âXueying, speed, speed, if you canât hold them off, run!â Zong Ling, perched on a high branch of a nearby tree, his tail wrapped around the trunk, shouted. His speed and agility were his main assets for survival in the Destruction Mountains.
âI know.â
Dongbo Xueyingâs attention was highly focused.
His spear technique was advanced, but the pressure of life and death affected his performance. The black-scaled jackalsâ tough scales and bones made it difficult to penetrate and withdraw the spear quickly, slowing down his technique.
âI need to move, I canât let them encircle me.â Dongbo Xueying gradually applied the techniques he had practiced in the castle, where he often faced a group of soldiers in mock battles. Of course, in those mock battles, the weapons were blunted.
Huff, huffâŠ
Dongbo Xueying gradually learned to move, reducing the number of black-scaled jackals he faced. By doing so, he made their encirclement less effective, and he only had to face a maximum of three at a time.
âPfft, pfft, pfft.â Snowflakes fell, and blood splattered as black-scaled jackals fell one by one.
âBoom, boom.â
Dongbo Xueying became more fluid and confident. The long spear suddenly struck with immense force, sending a black-scaled jackalâs body into a bizarre twist, its bones breaking into countless pieces as it convulsed and bled on the ground.
From his high vantage point, Zong Ling watched with a pleased expression.
âHeâs adapting quickly, faster than I expected. Under such life-and-death combat, heâs able to fully utilize his strength.â Zong Ling nodded slightly. âIn a few more days, heâll be completely adapted.â
âRoar!â A short, fearful growl came from the group of black-scaled jackals, and the remaining ones immediately turned and scattered.
Dongbo Xueying pursued and killed two more before stopping.
Huff, huff.
Dongbo Xueying finally relaxed, his breathing heavy, and his blood flowing faster.
âHow was it?â Zong Ling jumped down from the high branch.
âIndeed different.â Dongbo Xueying nodded lightly. âThree years ago, when I fought the prisoners in the territory, I felt a similar tension. But that was one-on-one! This kind of encirclement and life-and-death combat has given me new insights into my spear technique.â
A high level of spear technique only means that the skill has reached a very high realm.
But in actual combat, how do the techniques combine? How do the footwork and movements coordinate? These are all practical experiences!
âMoreover, in life-and-death combat, the blood boils, and the strength surges. The control over the bodyâs strength becomes more precise!â Dongbo Xueying said.
âThis is the instinct of living beings under the threat of death!â Zong Ling said.
âMy spear technique might advance even faster.â The passion in Dongbo Xueyingâs heart was ignited. After ten years of intense practice, his astonishing skills would find their best application in the Destruction Mountains.
âLetâs go quickly. The smell of blood is too strong here; it will attract more magical beasts.â Zong Ling urged.
âMm.â Dongbo Xueying nodded.
They didnât care about the corpses of the third-stage magical beasts. Although they had some value, how many could they carry? The value was too low to be worth it! As for storage items, Dongbo Xueyingâs storage item could barely hold one black-scaled jackal, and the space was too small.
...
In the Destruction Mountains, Dongbo Xueying felt like a dragon entering the sea. His practical experience and spear technique continued to improve.
Every night, they returned to the camp outside.
One was a member of the snake peopleâs royal family, and the other had awakened an ancient bloodline. Their walking speed was very fast, and they could easily maintain a speed of two hundred miles per hour on their return journey through the Destruction Mountains. They explored slowly but returned quickly along the same path.
They still spent the night in the camp, as resting in the mountains was too exhausting.
...
Days passed.
Dongbo Xueyingâs progress left Zong Ling amazed. He could see Dongbo Xueying becoming more experienced, and after each battle, he would reflect and learn, improving his performance for the next time.
âThinking and summarizing from a young age, even in battles, he always reflects. No wonder his spear technique is so powerful!â Zong Ling muttered to himself, always impressed by Dongbo Xueyingâs intelligence.
He considered himself very smart too.
He also knew how to learn from past experiences, a principle many people understood. But Dongbo Xueyingâs thinking was more unique, and his efficiency was clearly higher! For example, when he was young, most children would only remember the exciting stories of extraordinary knights from biographies and novels. But Dongbo Xueying noticed the growth patterns of these extraordinary knightsâ
For instance, nearly 90% of them never entered academies.
For instance, the biographies and novels revealed that many of them placed great importance on fundamentals, leading Dongbo Xueying to practice the basics of his spear technique to an extreme degree.