"A Rare-grade Evil Bunny?"
Ethan Carter recognized the creature almost immediately.
Before entering the Mount Pingdu Blessed Land, he had done more than enough research to prepare himself. The Evil Bunny was one of the most commonly encountered Mystic Spirits in this particular Blessed Land, but ordinary Evil Bunnies were nowhere near this large. At most, they grew to roughly the size of a fully grown German Shepherd, and their quality was generally only Common.
Only an extremely small number of Rare-grade Evil Bunnies could break through that natural limitation and grow to the size of a bear.
Even among Rare Evil Bunnies, the one standing before Ethan was probably considered unusually large. More troubling still, for some inexplicable reason, it was carrying a weapon resembling an oversized butcher's knife.
That made Ethan wonder whether its quality might actually be higher than Rare.
However, according to everything he had researched, the highest-quality Evil Bunny ever discovered was Rare.
There had never been any recorded case of an Exceptional-grade or Unique-grade Evil Bunny.
And if such creatures really existed, surely someone would have encountered one by now. After all, humans had been exploring the Mount Pingdu Blessed Land for hundreds of years.
Countless thoughts flashed through Ethan's mind.
The Evil Bunny casually tossed aside the half-eaten bone in its paw before turning completely toward him.
Ethan didn't hesitate.
He immediately summoned his own Mystic Spirit—the Five-Red Hound.
Mystic Spirit creatures were extremely rare outside the hidden realms. Even when one occasionally appeared, ordinary humans who had yet to absorb Origin Energy couldn't subdue or command it.
There was, however, one special category of semi-Mystic creature that ordinary people could tame before becoming true cultivators.
They were known as Guardian Hounds.
There were many breeds of Guardian Hounds: White-Faced Yellow Hounds, Brindle Hounds, Five-Black Hounds, Five-Red Hounds, Four-Eyed Black-and-Tan Hounds, and several others.
These extraordinarily intelligent dogs were raised from childhood by cultivators.
A true Guardian Hound possessed intelligence far beyond that of an ordinary animal. Whenever its master practiced a Secret Art, the hound would imitate the cultivator's movements and train alongside them.
Although Guardian Hounds couldn't truly sense or absorb Origin Energy, years of such training could gradually awaken the semi-Mystic bloodline hidden within their bodies.
When the physical body of such a Guardian Hound eventually died, its existence wouldn't disappear completely.
Instead, it would remain beside its master in the form of a Mystic Spirit, becoming a genuine companion to the cultivator.
For this reason, the first Mystic Spirit owned by most cultivators was usually a Guardian Hound.
They were among the extremely small number of Mystic Spirits that a cultivator could possess before entering a hidden realm and completing their awakening.
Ethan had raised a Five-Red Hound since childhood.
After its physical body died, it became his first Mystic Spirit.
Responding to Ethan's summons, a fully grown hound materialized before him.
Its entire body was covered in dark-red, fluffy fur, and despite its imposing size, its slightly vacant expression gave it an oddly adorable appearance.
The instant it appeared, however, its demeanor changed.
It bared its teeth at the Evil Bunny and released a deep warning growl from its throat.
Ethan also lowered his center of gravity and assumed a fighting stance.
If this had been an ordinary Evil Bunny, he and the Five-Red Hound working together would have been more than enough to handle it. Even two or three ordinary Evil Bunnies wouldn't have frightened him.
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But this one was simply too large.
Its physical strength was obviously far beyond that of an ordinary Evil Bunny.
Ethan doubted that he and his Five-Red Hound could withstand it in a direct confrontation.
Worse still, both Ethan and his hound were only Level 1, while he had absolutely no idea what level the Evil Bunny had reached.
Then there was the butcher's knife in its paw.
Could they actually defeat it?
Ethan had no confidence whatsoever.
Everything about the situation screamed disaster.
If the terrain hadn't trapped him here—if the only exit from the valley weren't located on the Evil Bunny's side—Ethan would never have considered fighting it.
He would already have turned around and run.
The Five-Red Hound had barely finished materializing when the Evil Bunny suddenly leaped.
Its enormous body crossed several meters in a single bound.
It landed directly in front of the hound.
An evil grin spread across its deceptively cute face as bloody light flickered within its crimson eyes.
Then the oversized butcher's knife came crashing down toward the Five-Red Hound's skull.
It was fast.
Far too fast.
Ethan didn't even have time to move in and help.
Fortunately, despite looking somewhat dumb and adorable, the Five-Red Hound was extraordinarily intelligent.
It twisted its body and lunged sideways, narrowly avoiding the descending blade.
But before its paws could touch the ground—
BANG!
The Evil Bunny's paw smashed into its side.
The Five-Red Hound was sent flying.
Several deep claw marks immediately appeared across its flank as droplets of blood scattered through the air.
Crash!
The hound slammed into a pile of white bones.
It struggled several times before finally forcing itself upright.
The wounds across its side were so deep that bone could almost be seen beneath the torn flesh. Blood continued flowing from them, and one of its legs had already begun to limp.
Yet instead of retreating, it immediately rushed back in front of Ethan.
Standing protectively between its master and the monster, it barked furiously at the Evil Bunny, which was casually licking the blood from its claws.
Ethan's expression darkened.
After witnessing the Evil Bunny's strength and speed, there was no longer any doubt in his mind.
They weren't its opponents.
The difference was simply too great.
Ethan suspected that the Evil Bunny might be a Level 2 or even Level 3 Mystic Spirit.
Regardless of which, its physical abilities were already far beyond anything he or his Five-Red Hound could contend with.
A direct fight was practically hopeless.
Normally, when a cultivator entered a Blessed Land for the first time, they shouldn't be randomly transported somewhere this dangerous.
Ethan could only conclude that his luck was truly terrible.
But there was no time to complain about it.
Almost without hesitation, Ethan began running toward the Evil Bunny from the opposite side while shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Warlord! Of the countless Mystic Spirits in this world, none can compare to you! You are unique, an existence that may not appear even once in ten thousand generations! One day, you will stand beside me at the very summit of the hidden realms!"
"Warlord, come on!"
"We can't fall here!"
Ethan desperately searched his mind for every exaggerated word of praise he could possibly think of.
According to the description of Cheerleader's Soul, the more intense and sincere the praise, the stronger its effects should become.
But Ethan still had no idea just how powerful that effect actually was.
Right now, he could only hope it would do something—anything—that might allow him and Warlord to defeat the Evil Bunny.
Even forcing the monster to retreat would be enough.
Hell, Ethan would happily settle for creating a single opening through which they could escape alive.
He had taken only two steps when a vicious growl suddenly exploded beside his ear.
Ethan barely had time to react.
A crimson figure flashed past him like a bolt of lightning.
Straight toward the Evil Bunny.
Ethan's eyes widened.
What happened next was almost impossible to believe.
Moments ago, Warlord had been completely outmatched. A single strike from the Evil Bunny had nearly crippled it.
But now—
It was as though the Five-Red Hound had transformed into an entirely different creature.
No longer did it resemble the somewhat foolish-looking dog Ethan had raised.
Instead, Warlord moved like a ghost hound possessing terrifying intelligence and an almost supernatural combat instinct.
Its eyes burned like flames.
There was an intensity within them that hadn't existed before—a fierce, unwavering determination that seemed almost impossible for an ordinary Mystic Spirit to possess.
Warlord began circling the Evil Bunny at tremendous speed.
Its body blurred into what looked like a rapidly shifting cloud of crimson mist.
Even more astonishingly, its speed was now only slightly inferior to the Evil Bunny's.
But speed wasn't the most frightening change.
Warlord seemed capable of predicting the Evil Bunny's intentions.
Every time the creature swung its butcher's knife or lashed out with its claws, Warlord abruptly changed speed or direction a fraction of a second beforehand.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The Evil Bunny's attacks repeatedly struck empty air.
Whenever an opportunity appeared, Warlord darted behind it and snapped viciously at its tail.
For a time, rabbit and hound fought almost completely evenly.
Ethan stood there, stunned.
He couldn't even find an opportunity to interfere.
"Cheerleader's Soul... is this powerful?"
Joy surged through him.
Yes, it was only a support-type Innate Talent.
But if its enhancement was really this extreme, then didn't that mean every Mystic Spirit Ethan used in the future could perform far beyond what other cultivators could achieve with the exact same creature?
A mere Common-grade Mystic Spirit, under the enhancement of Cheerleader's Soul, might be capable of fighting a Rare-grade Mystic Spirit of the same level.
Perhaps even an Exceptional-grade one.
That was terrifying.
And there was something even more important.
Cheerleader's Soul wasn't limited to Mystic Spirits.
Its effects could also be applied to other living creatures.
Perhaps even...
Humans.
The more Ethan thought about it, the more excited he became.
Yet the first thought that entered his mind wasn't how he could use Cheerleader's Soul to become famous.
Nor was it how much wealth or status such a talent might bring him.
Instead, only one thought remained.
I need to hide this talent.
No matter what happened—
I absolutely cannot let anyone discover what Cheerleader's Soul can really do.