Chapter 58: Easy Kill
In the blink of an eye, Rod had reached the Black Rock Leopard. Without giving it a chance to react or escape, with a loud roar from Fen Tian, two red beams were sent straight at the leopard. A powerful aura erupted instantly, creating a fierce wind that sent dry leaves flying everywhere. A gap opened in the dense forest, allowing sunlight to shine in, enveloping Rod, Fen Tian, and the Black Rock Leopard.
A cry of despair and frustration echoed, filled with such agony that it made people feel sorrow and sympathy. One by one, the figures disappeared, leaving only Rod standing there. Fen Tian coiled around him obediently. Before them, the Black Rock Leopard lay on the ground, gasping for breath—obviously breathing in more air than it could exhale. There was blood at the corner of its mouth, and upon closer inspection, multiple tiny wounds could be seen on its forehead. Bright red blood flowed from these wounds, instantly staining the ground red.
After a few convulsions, the Black Rock Leopard stopped moving. It was killed in just one strike. With a single move, Rod had slain a magical beast at the early stage of the Saint rank—although it was among the weakest in that category. Yet it was still a Saint-class beast.
Staring at the scene, Rod was somewhat surprised. He hadn’t expected it to be so easy. When he first recognized the Black Rock Leopard’s identity, he thought a tough battle was ahead and had even prepared for it. He never imagined the outcome would be like this.
In fact, Rod was able to do this not because the Black Rock Leopard was weak—after all, no Saint-class magical beast is weak; otherwise, they would have long been extinct. Nor was it because Rod’s strength was terrifying—after all, he was only a mid-level Imperial rank warrior. The reason he could kill the Black Rock Leopard so easily was first because the leopard mistook Rod for an insignificant human, just another meal. Second, it never expected Rod to unleash his mysterious Shadow Sword. The situation created by the Shadow Sword left the leopard stunned, unable to react or find a way to counter it.
In this battle, Fen Tian also played an irreplaceable role! Fen Tian’s presence made the Black Rock Leopard uneasy and unable to fight calmly; his aura limited the Leopard’s performance to some extent. With Fen Tian’s support, attacks were launched from both above and below, causing the attack power to increase exponentially. It was due to these factors combined that Rod was able to achieve such success in the end!
Looking at the corpse of the Black Rock Leopard before him and the gloomy forest around, Rod frowned slightly. This was Collins Forest, and definitely deep within it. He silently cursed that damned man in black for not telling him where they were. If it weren’t for his own vigilance, he might have lost his life here by now!
Seeing the Black Rock Leopard on the ground, Rod felt a wave of fear. Thankfully, he had prevented this beast from fully unleashing its power. If it had, it would have been a real problem—its abnormal speed was beyond his comparison, and it would have meant a tough fight at the very least!
Smelling the faint scent of blood, he pondered for a moment before saying, “Let’s go, we need to leave this place!” In an instant, he retracted his Combat Qi avatar and shouted at Fen Tian beside him.
Maintaining the Combat Qi avatar for such a long time had taken a huge toll on him! The avatar required an enormous amount of Combat Qi, no wonder most people didn’t choose to use it! In this dangerous situation, Rod didn’t dare to exhaust all his Combat Qi; he needed to keep some for self-defense. With dangers everywhere, lacking sufficient strength meant certain death.
Taking Fen Tian with him, Rod quickly left the crime scene. Staying here any longer could attract the attention of nearby magical beasts. If they were drawn over, it would be troublesome. The magical beasts at this depth were likely very powerful, and Rod wasn’t confident he could continue fighting them.
……
“Heh, this kid is quite good. Things are getting more interesting. Where’s the Black Rock Leopard? Did he get taken care of so easily?” After Rod left, a man in black suddenly appeared at the spot where he had stood, in front of the Black Rock Leopard’s corpse. He murmured in the direction Rod had gone, a faint smirk on his lips.
“A wastrel, discarding such a fine thing—what a waste. Good thing I followed!” Then, turning to look at the corpse of the Black Rock Leopard lying in a pool of blood, the man in black continued to speak to himself, pretending to be disappointed.
“Hehe, still an adult! I made a good profit this time. This fur should be worth around ten thousand gold coins, right? Well, these teeth can probably fetch a thousand or so gold coins. And this magic beast core should be worth tens of thousands of gold coins too! And this thing…” After dismembering the Black Rock Leopard completely and collecting everything, the man in black showed an excited smile, his tone growing more and more enthusiastic. “Sixty thousand gold coins, hehe, kid, I won’t treat you unfairly!” He patted the stuffed carcass satisfactorily and said with contentment. “Damn you, beasts! Hmph, I have no interest in playing with you. Get lost!” Suddenly, the man in black’s gaze turned cold as he snorted at the empty plain behind him. In an instant, his imposing aura erupted like an invisible wave, spreading out in all directions and creating a slight gust of wind! Though it was just a simple sentence, its impact lingered for a long time. If Rod were here, he would surely be shocked—maybe even drop his jaw! The intensity of this aura was enough to fill him with awe; at the very least, Rod would have to look up to him. As soon as his words faded, several soft murmurs came from the once-empty space, followed by chaotic footsteps that gradually faded into distance. Looking back, a cold smirk appeared on the man in black’s lips. At that moment, several magic beasts appeared in his sight—Black Rock Leopards, Flame Lions, and even a mid-stage Sacred-class White-Eyed Tiger! No one would believe that these beasts would retreat just because of the man in black’s cold snort, yet this was indeed happening, and it was completely real. “Hmph, good that you know when to back off. I’m not in the mood to kill you. If it weren’t for those stupid rules, you’d already be piles of corpses! How dare you attract my attention!” With a cold tone, he glanced at the torn body of the Black Rock Leopard on the ground. A glint of excitement and satisfaction flashed in his eyes before he turned and left, disappearing from sight in an instant. It was only after he had been gone for a long time that the blood-scented magic beasts dared to approach cautiously, hoping to claim the remaining scraps…
On Rod’s end, after killing the Black Rock Leopard, he chose to leave the crime scene quickly to avoid unnecessary trouble. After all, this magical beast forest was full of dangers, and the scent of blood was a major taboo—it could attract terrifying enemies. Although every part of a sacred-grade magical beast was valuable, he couldn’t afford to worry about that now. There would be plenty of such things in the future; survival was more important at the moment.
After running cautiously for a long time and confirming his safety, he finally slowed down and found a quiet, safe place to sit on the ground, panting heavily. Looking around at the dimly lit forest and realizing he had less than one-third of his combat energy left, he sighed inwardly. He was deep in Collins Forest. This time, it was the man in black who had doomed him. Cultivation truly meant facing death nine times out of ten—just making it out of this place already required great courage, not to mention all the other training required.
It was well known that the continent had sent many strong warriors into this forest, only for them to vanish without a trace. Many strong individuals who entered on their own also disappeared without a sound. There had even been two large-scale expeditions: one led by a quasi-divine-level warrior, with over a dozen sacred-grade warriors, dozens of imperial-level fighters, as well as several magic masters. Yet, without exception, none of them returned, and all traces of them were lost. It was clear that the odds were heavily against them—likely they were already dead.
Now, alone in this place, the mere thought of it made Rod’s scalp tingle. Looking at the gloomy surroundings, he sighed and reflected quietly.
The best course of action was to find a place to settle down as soon as possible and restore his strength. Only with sufficient power could he survive here; otherwise, it was impossible to endure under his current condition.
Taking a deep breath, Rod moved forward slowly through the forest with Fen Tian by his side. He was relieved that Tie Lan Town and Hua Ye City had attracted many magical beasts, keeping the area relatively quiet as he progressed.
Hiding his presence completely, after searching and exploring, Rod finally found what appeared to be an abandoned cave! Standing outside and looking inside, he saw nothing but darkness—no visibility of any scenery or conditions. Gusty cold winds blew towards him, and Rod hesitated at the cave entrance, wondering whether to go in and investigate.