Ethan watched the riders disappear into the distance without once looking back.
Scarlett and the others hadn't spared him so much as a second glance.
Strangely enough, Ethan actually felt relieved.
In a place like this, the fact that Old Bird hadn't turned around, captured him, tortured him, and forced him to transfer ownership of Rouge could already be considered fortunate.
Of course, even if Old Bird had tried something like that, capturing Ethan wouldn't have been easy.
Rouge was already Level 5.
Combined with the enhancement of Cheerleader's Soul, the combat strength she could unleash would almost certainly exceed anyone's expectations.
Rouge might have been uncomfortable to ride, but her speed was considerably greater than that of most Mystic Spirits at the same level.
If nothing else, she would make an excellent means of escape.
As for exactly how powerful Rouge could become after receiving Cheerleader's Soul's enhancement...
Even Ethan couldn't say.
His understanding and development of Cheerleader's Soul were still far too shallow.
No Innate Talent was ever as simple as its basic description made it appear.
Through practical use, cultivators could develop countless techniques and applications for the same ability.
Even two people possessing identical talents might display completely different levels of power depending on how they understood and used them.
Scarlett's group had headed deeper into Corpse Fiend Forest.
Ethan immediately abandoned any thought of continuing to hunt there.
He turned around and traveled in the opposite direction, intending to find another place to hunt Mystic Spirits.
Preferably somewhere without anyone else nearby.
The island was enormous and sparsely populated.
Finding an isolated hunting ground shouldn't be particularly difficult.
Old Bird hadn't tried to take Rouge from him today.
That didn't mean he would never change his mind.
Even in a place like this, a Unique-grade Spirit Pet was enormously valuable.
Ethan had no intention of gambling on human nature.
The return journey was relatively peaceful.
Most of the Corpse Fiends along the route had already been cleared when they first came through, so Ethan didn't encounter any immediate danger.
Still, he never allowed himself to relax.
This wasn't a game.
He only had one life.
There was no resurrection after death.
As Ethan passed beside a large tree, a sudden sense of unease washed over him.
Something was wrong.
A cold gust seemed to sweep toward his back.
Ethan instinctively twisted sideways.
Pain still exploded across his back.
He didn't even waste time checking where he had been injured.
Ethan immediately threw himself forward while mentally ordering Rouge, who had been scouting ahead, to return and protect him.
He hit the ground and rolled.
By the time Ethan created some distance and turned around—
A figure dressed entirely in black was already charging toward him.
The attacker held a dagger.
Its speed was terrifying.
The blade was already about to plunge into Ethan's chest.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
CLANG!
A blood-colored blur suddenly tore through the air.
The Bloodsucking Blade spun violently and struck the black-clad attacker's dagger.
The impact knocked the dagger aside.
Ethan's heart nearly stopped.
He scrambled backward as quickly as possible.
Rouge possessed terrifying strength.
Despite being only Level 5, her raw power was absolutely comparable to that of an ordinary Level 10 Mystic Spirit.
Combined with the incredible sharpness of the Bloodsucking Blade, an ordinary weapon should have been destroyed by that collision.
Yet the black-clad attacker's dagger had merely been knocked aside.
It hadn't broken.
It hadn't even been knocked from its wielder's hand.
That meant the attacker's strength was at least comparable to Rouge's.
While Ethan retreated, the masked figure immediately charged again.
Fortunately, Rouge had already leaped back in front of her master.
One enormous foot stomped down beside the Bloodsucking Blade lying on the ground.
Bang!
The impact launched the weapon upward.
Rouge caught it in one paw.
Then she swung.
The Bloodsucking Blade slashed toward the masked figure.
But the attacker had no intention of meeting Rouge head-on.
Its footwork suddenly changed.
Light.
Fast.
Almost weightless.
The figure moved like a ghost.
Again and again, it slipped past Rouge's slashes by the smallest possible margins.
And whenever it found an opening—
The dagger struck back.
Instead of overwhelming its opponent, Rouge gradually became flustered.
"This Assassin's level seems higher than the ones Old Bird told me about."
Ethan watched from a safe distance.
"And it's definitely not Common-grade."
He had already recognized the creature.
Corpse Fiend Forest wasn't inhabited exclusively by Corpse Fiends.
There was another type of Mystic Spirit living there.
They were simply far rarer.
Ethan and Old Bird hadn't encountered a single one during their journey through the forest.
Yet now, while returning alone, Ethan had somehow run directly into one.
An Assassin.
Even ordinary Assassins were Level 10, making them one of the island's higher-level Mystic Spirits.
However, ordinary Assassins possessed relatively weak strength and constitution.
In a straightforward battle between two Level 10 Mystic Spirits, a Corpse Fiend Forest Lord would be considerably stronger.
But Assassins had never been creatures that relied on direct combat.
They specialized in ambushes.
They were also extraordinarily fast.
If an Assassin successfully caught its prey off guard, even a Level 10 Corpse Fiend Forest Lord could easily be killed.
And this Assassin was clearly not Common-grade.
Otherwise, it couldn't possibly have forced Rouge into such a difficult battle.
The fact that Ethan had managed to avoid a fatal wound during the initial ambush was largely thanks to his constant vigilance.
His reaction speed and sheer luck had also played a part.
Without all three, the dagger would have pierced directly through his heart.
He would already be dead.
The Assassin continued moving like a phantom.
Rouge couldn't land a clean hit.
Instead, the Assassin's dagger repeatedly sliced across her body.
Rouge was clearly losing.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before she suffered a serious injury.
Ethan couldn't afford to hold anything back.
He immediately activated Cheerleader's Soul.
"Rouge!"
His voice rang through the forest.
"You're the strongest Spirit Pet in the world!"
"That pathetic Assassin is nothing!"
"You could chop it to pieces with a single slash!"
Ethan continued praising and hyping her up, desperately trying to stimulate Rouge's combat potential.
He needed her to reverse the situation quickly and kill the Assassin.
Rouge was indeed affected.
But—
Something was wrong.
The enhancement was nowhere near as powerful as Ethan had expected.
Rouge became somewhat stronger, but not nearly enough to reverse the battle.
She still couldn't gain the upper hand.
Killing the Assassin was even further out of reach.
Ethan frowned.
This didn't match his previous observations at all.
Cheerleader's Soul shouldn't be this weak.
When he had used it on Warlord, even an ordinary Spirit Pet had suddenly displayed astonishing combat strength.
Rouge was a Unique-grade Spirit Pet.
How could the same ability have such a minor effect on her?
While keeping an eye on the battle, Ethan carefully recalled the information regarding Cheerleader's Soul.
He thought about everything he had observed so far.
Then an idea gradually formed.
The primary function of Cheerleader's Soul was to use words, actions, or similar methods to awaken the target's hidden potential and push them into a state of extraordinary performance.
But such a state clearly wasn't purely physical.
The target's mental condition mattered too.
Their emotions needed to be properly stimulated.
Ethan thought back to Warlord.
When he had praised Warlord before, some of his words had specifically focused on the hound's loyalty.
That had caused Warlord's combat strength to soar.
Later, when Ethan had thrown out random compliments without any real direction, the effect had been minimal.
Old Bird had been the same.
Ethan had specifically praised his talent as an archer.
Those words had struck directly at something Old Bird cared deeply about.
As a result, his potential had been stimulated, and his archery accuracy had risen to an astonishing level.
At the time, Ethan had simply assumed Cheerleader's Soul only needed to activate once.
Now he realized the truth might be more complicated.
Praise alone wasn't enough.
The words needed to strike directly at the target's heart.
They had to create genuine emotional resonance.
Only when the target became mentally excited and fully engaged could Cheerleader's Soul bring out its true effect.
The principle was simple.
Suppose someone had a crippled leg.
If you walked up to them and enthusiastically praised how incredibly fast they could run, they wouldn't suddenly become ecstatic and unlock hidden running potential.
They would probably just think you were an idiot.
Worse, they might assume you were deliberately insulting them.
How could praise like that possibly work?
Realizing this, Ethan hurriedly recalled exactly what he had said when praising Warlord.
Then he repeated similar words to Rouge.
The result—
Almost nothing.
The effect remained pitifully weak.
Ethan's mind raced.
Praising Warlord's loyalty worked.
Praising Old Bird's archery worked.
But neither approach works properly on Rouge.
His eyes followed the enormous white rabbit as she continued desperately fighting the Assassin.
So Cheerleader's Soul requires different forms of praise for different targets.
I have to tell them what they actually want to hear.
Which led to the real question.
What does Rouge care about?
What kind of praise would truly resonate with her?
What do I need to say to awaken her potential...
and push her into that extraordinary state?