Wan Lihan moved like a silent shadow through the thick oak brush. With a sudden burst of his 4th Layer Qi, he launched forward, swinging his newly acquired mid-grade sword in a heavy, arc-like slash directly across the beast's neck.
Clang!
The blade struck the hide, but it felt like hitting a solid wall of granite. The low tier Iron Boar's dense, armor-like skin was far too thick to be penetrated by a straightforward frontal assault.
The beast snorted in fury, its red eyes locking onto Lihan as it prepared to charge and attack him with its massive tusks.Think fast, Lihan’s mind calculated, his expression completely frozen.As the boar whipped its torso around, Lihan's sharp gaze caught a major anomaly along its right flank.
A previous clash with a predator had shattered a massive section of its rocky shell, leaving a raw, exposed patch of flesh. Lihan jumped up, using his high physical agility to vault over an exposed root. He sprinted directly toward the beast's blind right side.
Stab! Stab!
He repeatedly drove his blade into the broken armor patch. However, the blade's length was slightly too short; it couldn't pierce deep enough to puncture the beast's vital internal organs. The boar thrashed violently, the agonizing pain causing it to stomp the earth, threatening to crush Lihan's legs.
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Refusing to lose his prize, Lihan roared silently inside his mind. He threw his entire body weight forward, channeling every thread of his 4th Layer Qi into his arms as he pushed the sword with absolute, brutal force. The blade sank deeper, the force of his thrust driving his own hands straight into the open, bleeding wound. His calloused fingers gripped the internal tissue, violently rupturing the boar's spiritual heart from the inside out.The massive Iron Boar let out a final, gurgling shriek before collapsing heavily onto the dirt, dead.Panting heavily, Lihan pulled his blood-stained hands out of the carcass.
Using his blade, he methodically sliced away the valuable ears, the razor-sharp fangs, and the dense, armored pelt, before digging deep into the chest cavity to harvest the glittering beast core.Because the massive Iron Boar carcass was far too heavy for a grounded 4th Layer cultivator to carry back on foot, Lihan tucked the harvested parts into his black robes, holding the glowing beast core firmly in his hand as his ultimate proof. He goes back to the main grand entrance plaza.Approaching the registration pavilion, Lihan bowed politely, masking his cold nature behind a flawless, humble greeting.
"Greetings, Senior Disciple.
This junior has completed the hunt."The testing disciple took the radiant mid-level beast core, his eyes widening in immense shock. He looked at Lihan’s blood-drenched black robes and smiled with genuine respect. "Impressive! My name is Zi Fang. How about you?
""This junior is named Wan Lihan, Senior.
"Zi Fang let out a loud, mocking laugh, gesturing toward the empty mountain roads below. "Hahaha! Well, Junior Lihan, you are the only one who passed this trial! As for those absolute idiots who ran all the way down the mountain... I don't know what they were thinking. They literally just climbed up this peak; they should have known there were no beasts down there! Alright, Junior Lihan, let's go to the outer peaks. You are officially an outer sect student of the Xinwu Sect!"