In a somewhat open area, the ground looked as if an Earth Dragon had overturned it. A group of three surrounded a large Sunhorn Ram. Its red eyes were weary with dimming ferocity. Its fur was a beautiful yellow with red streaks. Two curled yellow horns crowned its head, glowing brightly.
Baa!
It let out a desperate scream, fighting against the hooks impaled in its meaty body. Its serrated red teeth looked menacing.
"Hold! Brothers!" a large man yelled, pulling hard on the blue-iron rope. Spirit qi ran through it, causing a pale-blue light to flash along its length. He gnashed his teeth, feet digging into the ground.
"We are really close, brothers!" the front runner yelled, striking heavily with his large sword at the ram's shoulder.
The ram wanted to block with its horns. It was a step late, as the blade swirling with red glow landed.
Thwak!
A bunch of its fur was cut and burnt red. But with how thick the layers were, this barely mattered. Still, even that had a limit.
Baaa!!!
The ram grew more and more desperate as it started to exhaust its bloodline potential, placing immense pressure on the rope handlers. Despite the blue-iron gloves, their hands were starting to ache.
"First Brother! Hurry!" Third yelled, his heart beating violently.
First knew how urgent the situation was. He attacked with extreme ferocity, nonstop cutting down layer after layer of fur. Right as he was a small layer away from its raw skin, the ram's horns flashed yellow wave after wave.
Baaa!!!
A deafening bleat echoed, churning the air. It charged forward in a frenzy.
"Hold!"
Second brother cried out again, striking with all his might.
The ram leaped forward, yanking the men into the air.
"Ahhh!"
Pained shouts rang out. Their bodies crashed onto the ground, their gloves torn, hands bleeding.
The ram charged wildly, escaping along the gaps between trees.
"Brothers, chase it! It's severely weakened!" First brother, the strongest, yelled. He chewed a blue pill to recover his spirit qi and gave chase. The other men had gotten up by now, panting, and haphazardly chased after the ram, knowing this frenzy would not last forever.
...
Sheng Xuan was on top of a thick branch, Wei Rou's hand on his shoulder.
"That ram is really strong," he transmitted through his spirit sense.
"This one is a mid-order spirit beast, and not a new one either," Wei Rou said, her spirit sense surveying the area nonstop.
The wind rustled with greedy intentions. One after another, shadowy figures chased after the hunting party.
"They are in trouble," Sheng Xuan whispered.
"This is common. They probably know it. They might not even have shown their full power," she said. "People who have survived long enough in this forest are not simple."
Sheng Xuan nodded, taking it seriously.
"So, do you still want to find a Sunhorn Ram?" she asked.
The late midday sun left dappled shadows on the pair. The chirping of cicadas had waned. The smell of animal feces lingered in the air, likely from the rams.
"Let's try, Auntie. If we can't find it, we'll leave before it gets dark," he said.
"Mm. Good, you understand."
They resumed their trek, jumping over pits, passing large boulders, fighting off red, black, blue insects. This area seemed to be a nesting zone for ticks. Sheng Xuan immediately wanted to leave, except he found it hard to go back on his words.
He looked at his sword, tick blood and carcasses staining the silvery blade, ruining its elegant appearance, much to his annoyance.
When he sniffed, his face wrinkled. Even his body had started to smell a little. He took out a perfume and scented himself before continuing the trek.
So far, they had been ignoring and evading the forest creatures. Wei Rou usually came to gather herbs or find new ones, so she was quite proficient at being stealthy.
The old man had given them a specific patterned ram to search for and its wandering area. They relied on that to explore the edges of the small mountains to the north.
By now, Wei Rou had also harvested a dozen or so herbs. The journey was not fruitless. However, Sheng Xuan was starting to become impatient.
They surveyed the designated area several times, finding no clue of that Sun Marrow ram. Wei Rou started to suspect the old man had lied and swindled a free pill out of Sheng Xuan.
Sheng Xuan did not think it was a lie, so he was not hung up on that.
While they rested on tree branches again, Sheng Xuan caught sight of another ram, not much different from other Sunhorn Rams except for its fur pattern. The neck and left legs had red streaks matching the old man's description.
Sheng Xuan's eyes lit up. "Auntie, this might be the one." He gestured with his eyes.
Wei Rou scrutinized the beast, blood dripping off its gnarly mouth.
"Seems like it," she said. "It's only lower-order, comparable to your early-stage. Let me take care of it."
"No, Auntie. I want to fight it," he quickly said.
Wei Rou had somewhat expected it and knew it was for the better if he had some experience in fighting.
"Are you sure?" she asked seriously.
Sheng Xuan nodded heavily.
"Keep your protective items ready, okay?" she emphasized.
"Of course."
They climbed down the tree and sneakily trailed the Sunhorn Ram.
After receiving a signal from Wei Rou, Sheng Xuan burned his spirit qi, executing the Severing Sun Sword Art. Yellow light gathered around the edge of his blade and flew out in an arc.
The ram's yellow-furred ears twitched. Alarmed, it dashed to the side.
The arc missed its mark, landing on a tree trunk, leaving a deep, burning gash.
Baaa!
The ram bleated ferociously at Sheng Xuan, hidden among the bushes.
Its eyes flickered as it sniffed the air, then it charged toward him.
"Filthy beast!" Sheng Xuan cursed, leaping out.
Wei Rou was taken aback. Was he going to meet it head-on?! She gripped her sword hilt tighter, her heart beating faster despite her efforts to remain calm.
Sheng Xuan wished to gain melee experience, so he struck head-on.
Bang!
Horn and blade collided like iron hitting iron.
Ba!
The Sunhorn Ram lunged forward, mouth agape. A rancid smell hit Sheng Xuan, his nose wrinkled, his speed momentarily faltered.
The ram nearly thought it had him when a kick landed on the side of its face. The inertia threw it back, leaving the ram stunned.
"Heh!" Sheng Xuan swung his sword down, burning yellow.
Baaa!
The ram was angry, its fur twisting and turning like tendrils. It leaped forward, clashing head-on with his sword, its horn no different from a spirit artifact.
Bang!
The blade vibrated, his hands aching from the hard hit.
Even the ram was momentarily unstable, its head reeling.
Taking advantage of this moment, Sheng Xuan gritted his teeth and slashed again.
Bang!
The ram took it head-on and fell back, shaking away the ache.
Sheng Xuan pressed forward, swinging his sword.
Bang!
The ram dashed and dodged, attempting to bite his leg.
Sheng Xuan pivoted on his ankle, shifting and dodging.
They went back and forth, evading, deflecting and attacking.
At a certain point, the ram had become too confident at enduring head-on strikes. Sheng Xuan took this moment to draw in the ram's rush, only to twist his hand halfway, wrenching his wrist, his jaw clenching in pain.
Baa?
The ram was caught off guard. The slash landed on its neck, cutting and burning away a lot of fur, though the burning was not as effective as Sheng Xuan wanted.
Baaa!
The ram bleated in pain, shifting back, glaring at him.
Sheng Xuan waggled his eyebrows, taunting it.
It lunged again fiercely.
Bang!
Bang!
Now wary of feints, the ram was harder to catch by surprise, turning the battle into a grind.
Bang!
Bang!
Wei Rou's creased eyebrows twitched. Was he waging a war of attrition against a ram? This foolish boy. Knowing this was just a lower-order beast, she was not as worried. It lacked the desperate moves mid-order beasts usually had.
Sheng Xuan was drenched in sweat. His arms ached. He chewed on another recovery pill, his diminishing spirit qi quickly recovering. Even if he kept this up, he might expend more high-quality pills than the ram was worth.
Sheng Xuan did not care. This fight was thrilling. He was learning a lot.
"Xuan'er, try ending this soon. Others might start approaching this area," Wei Rou gently warned.
Sheng Xuan nodded to himself, drawing another yellow arc as the blade struck the ram's horns, chipping away a piece.
Unlike him, the ram lacked so many high-quality recovery items. If not for its natural strength as a spirit beast, it would have turned tail long ago.
Moreover, it was heavily tempted by this juicy-looking creature. Compared to the cheap, haggard hunters, it knew this was great blood food, the kind that could even push it beyond the lower-order.
Baaa!
It charged once again.
Sheng Xuan was pushed back, his feet dragging a trail across the uneven ground. The lack of a killing move frustrated him. These swings were not enough.
Wei Rou could see it too, her usual patience running thin as she scanned the area for opportunists.
Tired of the failures, Sheng Xuan clenched his jaw, channeling his spirit qi into the blade.
Severing Sun Sword Art - Third Slash.
He swung the blade down, its edge glowing a deep orange.
Baa?!
The ram was alarmed, its fur standing on end. It violently shifted to the side.
The blade came down faster, like the glare of the sun.
At the last moment, the ram twisted its head, meeting the blade with the thick of its horn.
Boom!!!
Spirit qi exploded, shaking the air.
Baaa!!!
A miserable cry rang out as the horn was cleaved apart alongside part of its head, showing grey-yellow brain matter.
To his horror, the ram was able to stay standing, its bleats piercing.
Sheng Xuan's heart palpitated ominously. That move had taken most of his spirit qi.
The ram quickly steadied itself, its eyes glowing red, its horns flashing bright yellow.
Ba!
It charged thunderously toward him.
"Auntie!"
Sheng Xuan desperately cried out. Wei Rou's heart skipped a beat as she bolted toward him. I must make it in time! she anxiously hoped.
Sheng Xuan's mind buzzed. He wanted to run at this moment, nearly turning his back, only to change his mind at the last second. Instead, he swung down with all his might.
Wei Rou was shocked.
The ram did not expect a head collision. But it could not stop the frenzied charge; instead, it pressed forward harder, trusting in its beastly prowess.
One meter.
Half a meter.
Boom!!!
His sword exploded into pieces, only to leave deep cracks on the ram's head, failing to stop its charge.
Boom!!!
The ram collided with his abdomen. His first layer of protective equipment shattered. His body buckled as he sprayed out a mouthful of blood and flew back, colliding like a ragdoll against the ground. Sheng Xuan's mind spun, his vision going in and out.
"Xuan'er!" Wei Rou's anxious cry echoed. Her desperation turned into a chilling strike. Her blade flashed, her eyes burning with fury.
Ssshng!
The ram's charge continued half a meter more before its neck and head separated, blood gushing out as its body crashed down, its frenzied eyes turning lifeless.
Wei Rou remained in motion and immediately arrived beside Sheng Xuan. She hurriedly bent down and held him, checking his condition, her heart racing.
"Xuan'er! Are you okay?"
"It's all Auntie's fault!"