Huo Yuhao activated Spiritual Detection and shared it with his teammates, everyone maintaining their formation as they pushed forward.
They didn’t go very far before they met a pack of soul beasts.
They were six leopards that were entirely black.
Huo Yuhao warned everyone at once through Spiritual Detection, and Wang Qiu’er at the vanguard immediately slowed down as her eyes grew sharper and fiercer.
Six could only be considered a small pack in the Great Star Dou Forest, and they were far fewer in number compared to the Bloody Baboons from the previous night. However, this didn’t mean that they were any less dangerous.
These six black leopards were known as Ink Leopards, and leopard-type soul beasts were generally adept at speed, especially their short-distance sprinting speed. There were many leopard-type soul beasts that were on the same speed tier as the Purpleshadow Lion, but the main difference was they couldn’t keep it up over long distances.
Shrek Academy had a special lesson to teach its students about the Ink Leopard. They were a special species of leopard-type soul beasts, as they were more proficient with offense rather than speed.
The Ink Leopard’s limbs were thicker and larger than most leopard-type soul beasts. Its four paws were as big as a lion or a tiger’s paws, and their paws could extend claws fully a foot long if they desired. Combining this destructive power with its incredible speed, even though speed wasn’t its best attribute, made the Ink Leopard extremely difficult to deal with. The Ink Leopard was considered an exceptionally cunning soul beast, possessing several formidable darkness-type soul skills.
These six Ink Leopards had clearly discovered them, as the smell of humans was relatively unique within the great forest.
Everyone could see through Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection that the leopards were gradually splitting up and circling the company in a fan-like formation.
Zhang Lexuan lowered her voice and said, “Pay attention to defense. Control their speed, Ruoruo.”
The company’s formation became a little more compact. They couldn’t allow soul beasts that were proficient in both speed and offense to cut through their ranks. This was common sense for soul masters dealing with soul beasts.
The six leopards quickly came close, but they weren’t quick to attack. They slowed down about a hundred meters away from everyone as they stared with their ice-cold eyes while they gradually shifted horizontally. One hundred meters could be covered in the blink of an eye by speedy soul beasts like them, and they were looking for an opportunity.
Wang Qiu’er suddenly turned around and looked at Zhang Lexuan as she said, “These Ink Leopards are very troublesome. If we engage them in battle, it will never end. These soul beasts are extremely patient, I’ve encountered them before. Let me go out to draw them in, and then we can take them all down at once.”
Zhang Lexuan said, “No, that’s too dangerous.” She was clear that the only way to draw the Ink Leopards in was to create an illusion that somebody had broken off from the group, but it would be too late to save that person if it actually happened.
Wang Qiu’er thought for a moment, then said, “Huo Yuhao can support me. His spiritual-type martial soul can hold at least two of them back in an instant, and that will be enough to save me. There is only one ten thousand year Ink Leopard, and we will slowed down by at least eighty percent if they keep stalking us. I’m confident of this.”
If this came from someone that Zhang Lexuan was familiar with, then she would opt to trust this person without hesitation. But in the end, she wasn’t familiar enough with Wang Qiu’er.
Han Ruoruo said, “Let her go. I’ll give her one Dazzling Golden Rope, and even though she can’t move too far from us, we will be a lot closer if we need to save her as long as my Dazzling Golden Rope is in play.”
Zhang Lexuan wasn’t the indecisive kind, and she immediately made up her mind. “Alright. Get ready, everyone. Huo Yuhao, you’ll go to the front and prepare to rescue her at any time. We also need your auxiliary and control abilities if those Ink Leopards gather around us.”
“Alright.” Huo Yuhao took a few steps forward and stood right next to Wang Qiu’er as he shot her an inquisitive look.
Wang Qiu’er’s head was slightly tilted upwards, and there was only arrogance and pride in her charming powdery-blue eyes. She was already moving as she gripped her spear and strode forward.
A pale, lightless golden line wrapped itself soundlessly around Wang Qiu’er’s waist. Han Ruoruo took over her vanguard spot once again, standing beside Huo Yuhao.
Han Ruoruo’s Dazzling Golden Rope could reach up to eighty meters with her current cultivation. This was the limit of her control. If this distance was used as a radius, she would be able to reach a hundred and sixty meter-wide circle around her, which was a remarkable range for a control-type soul master. She couldn’t reach as far as Huo Yuhao could, but her controlling abilities were a lot more powerful.
Wang Qiu’er stepped forward steadily, moving further and further away. Huo Yuhao found himself wanting to see what the golden spear in her hands could do.
Wang Qiu’er moved further and further away.
The Ink Leopards that were hidden a hundred meters away from them were naturally unaware that they were being monitored by Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection this entire time, and they were still concealing themselves. When Wang Qiu’er walked further and further away from the group, everyone could see through Spiritual Detection that these Ink Leopards’ blood flow and soul undulations began to speed up. They were getting ready to pounce!
“Pay attention, Yuhao.” Zhang Lexuan immediately reminded him. She made her own preparations as well. They couldn’t release their soul rings right now, as that would alert the Ink Leopards that something was going on. Han Ruoruo released her martial soul, but hid her soul rings. That was the best she could do, as her soul rings would immediately appear if she used her soul skills.
“They’re coming!” Huo Yuhao growled.
Just as Wang Qiu’er was more than a hundred meters away from everyone, the six Ink Leopards pounced. They felt like they didn’t have a choice, as Wang Qiu’er’s position was just too advantageous for them – she was right in the middle of all of them!
Six black shadows burst forward like dark lightning and surged right toward Wang Qiu’er. Their talons swiftly extended as they leapt, and a dark green fog surged out from their bodies. This was Corrosive Mist, an attack that wasn’t that destructive, but known for its continuous strength. This fog would stick to their opponents like a parasite if it touched them, and was one of the Ink Leopard’s innate skills.
Wang Qiu’er’s footsteps paused right at that moment. She pointed her spear forward as it slid through her hands, and her right hand swiftly gripped her left. This meant the golden spear in her hands was extended as far forward as it could be.
A bright dragon roar could be heard in the next moment. Wang Qiu’er’s body erupted with golden light and the spear extended forward as a golden beam of light. Wang Qiu’er began to rotate on the spot, and swung her spear in a circle around her. The radiant golden light seemed like a halo that expanded from her body as it quickly created a golden screen.
Huo Yuhao made his move at the same time, and released his soul skills one after another. Spiritual Shock hit the largest and fastest Ink Leopard that was in front of the others, and the only one in the pack that had ten-thousand years of cultivation.
His fourth soul ring sparkled, and Spiritual Confusion struck the Ink Leopard right behind the first one.
He wasn’t worried at all that he wouldn’t have good cordination with Wang Qiu’er with Spiritual Detection active.
The Ink Leopards pounced forward extremely quickly. The ten-thousand year Ink Leopard lost its balance when Huo Yuhao’s soul skill hit it, but its cultivation level meant it wouldn’t be severely wounded after being struck by Spiritual Shock at such a long distance. Still, it felt an intense headache, and it couldn’t avoid the blankness in its mind. It was still rushing forward under such circumstances, however, and it was the first to come in contact with Wang Qiu’er’s golden spear.
Its body froze at the exact same moment that it came into contact with the golden spear, and its four limbs splayed out as its body quivered violently at the same time. The golden spear only swiped across it and it didn’t knock the leopard away, but it left a gaping wound across the leopard’s abdominal region as its internal organs instantly poured out from the wound.
That ten-thousand year Ink Leopard wasn’t the first to meet its demise. The other leopard that was struck by Spiritual Confusion ended up in the exact same situation, except it was hit in the neck, and was struck by the spear’s actual haft.
Even though they were a hundred meters away, everyone could hear a ear-splitting crack from that Ink Leopard with at least six thousand years of cultivation. Its neck broke just like that, and its white bones were blown out and flew into the distance before they slammed against a large tree.
The other four leopards that Huo Yuhao didn’t attack could see how petrifying this golden spear was. There was no doubting the fear that appeared in their eyes. These humans were a lot more difficult to deal with than they had thought!
The other four leopards responded accordingly. Black light flashed across the skies as the four leopards disappeared, and appeared again one after another as they forcibly rolled on the ground to avoid \ the golden spear’s swing.
Instant Shift – the Ink Leopard’s innate skill, which could be used within a radius of ten meters. However, it could only be used once a day.
The company didn’t sit around idly, and everyone began to move when Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu’er attacked.
Han Ruoruo tapped her foot on the ground as she propelled herself into the sky. A beam of moonlight shone onto her back and became a strong propelling force as she was shot forward like a shooting star. She just had so much coordination and chemistry with Zhang Lexuan.
The second person behind her wasn’t the agility-type Li Yongyue, it was Huo Yuhao! Four soul thrusters were activated at the same time, explosively raising his speed to the maximum level. Even though he was a beat slower because he had used two soul skills before this, he was still moving forward close behind Han Ruoruo.
Han Ruoruo had left a Dazzling Golden Rope around Wang Qiu’er’s waist so that she could swiftly pull her back if she was in danger. However, she knew now that she probably wouldn’t have to do that, and also realized that Wang Qiu’er’s golden spear was a lot more powerful than they had thought.
