Clad in the Qingling Armor, Li Lin felt somewhat reassured against the attacks of the black panthers. Both black panthers were wind-elemental beasts of the early second-order. He was capable of handling them; normally, although magical beasts were formidable, his current strength as a sixth-level warrior made it feasible to deal with mid-second-order beasts, albeit with great difficulty.

However, handling early second-order beasts was still within his capabilities, the only challenge being the incredible speed of these black panthers.

In that instant, Li Lin formed hand seals, and five blazing finger imprints surged forward with formidable Qi, aggressively targeting the black panther on the right as he initiated the attack.

“Roar…”

The black panther on the right let out an angry growl, leaping suddenly. Li Lin’s five Fire Shadow Fingers were completely dodged by the panther, which then swiftly shot a wind blade from its mouth towards Li Lin.

Li Lin landed and instantly retreated, narrowly avoiding the wind blade. The blade struck the ground, creating a huge, deep pit, with dust billowing up.

Simultaneously, the first black panther that had attacked Li Lin struck again, its claws tearing through the void and launching a wind blade from its mouth, targeting Li Lin. These second-order beasts, though less intelligent than humans, were far more cunning than ordinary beasts, comparable to the intelligence of a several-year-old child.

Once again, Li Lin leaped up, raising one hand, from which five more Fire Shadow Fingers burst out, enveloped in flames and roaring through the air.

Though the Fire Shadow Fingers were merely star-level martial techniques, their speed was extremely fast, and Li Lin executed them with unparalleled skill, their power not to be underestimated.

“Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!”

Five finger imprints swept out again, the sharp sound of tearing wind echoing in the air. The black panther's eyes showed a trace of fear, its intelligence allowing it to sense the power of these finger imprints.

At that moment, the panther rapidly dove downwards to avoid the attack. As a wind-elemental beast, it displayed its incredible innate speed, which was almost unbelievably fast.

In this unbelievable speed, Li Lin's Fire Shadow Fingers missed again. Meanwhile, the second black panther already clawed through the void, aiming at Li Lin's back.

“Hmph, take my palm!” Li Lin uttered softly. Facing two incredibly fast black panthers, he knew he had to deal with one first. With this thought, he decided to rely on his Qingling Armor and resolve the situation with the black panther in front of him first.

“Mountain Splitting Palm.” Li Lin shouted, ignoring the panther attacking from behind. His Qi vibrated, causing the air to tremble. Centered around Li Lin, the space within a hundred meters turned a faint yellow, with Qi raging. Li Lin’s palm imprint heavily struck towards the waist of the black panther in front of him.

All these large animals generally possess formidable physical strength and resilience. However, they share a common weakness: their waist defenses are somewhat inferior.

At that moment, Li Lin's palm strike hit the first black panther's waist. As the palm imprint landed, its powerful force directly poured into the panther's body. The massive body of the black panther was instantly sent flying, spewing a stream of purplish-red blood.

“Crack…”

At the same time, Li Lin felt a burning pain in his back as the second black panther's claw heavily landed on it. Scales from the Qingling Armor fell to the ground. The panther's claws were more formidable than Li Lin had anticipated. Five 10-centimeter-long bloody marks seared across his back. Fortunately, the Qingling Armor protected him, only causing superficial wounds. However, the pain was real, causing Li Lin to break out in cold sweat.

“Damn it,” cursed Li Lin under his breath. He rapidly retreated as the black panther's claw struck, its fangs gleaming coldly as it aimed for Li Lin's neck.

“Furious Flame Fist.” Li Lin was already prepared. He gathered the fire-elemental martial technique, Furious Flame Fist, and counterattacked with a backward strike. The fiery and violently powerful punch was enough to withstand the panther’s claw, ensuring it wouldn’t get off easily.

“Bang!”

The Furious Flame Fist harshly hit the panther's lower abdomen, dispersing Qi energy. Li Lin had exerted his strongest force as a sixth-level warrior. The exertion caused blood to continuously seep from his wound, which the Qingling Armor couldn't repair at that moment.

Yet, the strike was powerful. The black panther was sent flying by Li Lin's punch, crashing heavily into the ground some meters away, causing a slight tremor on the hillside.

All this happened in the blink of an eye. The two black panthers struggled to their feet and, realizing Li Lin's strength, quickly fled.

“Thinking of running? Stay.” Li Lin called out, changing the hand seals in his hand. A fiery aura spread as he launched five Fire Shadow Fingers, ignoring his own injuries.

“Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!”

The sound of air being torn apart resounded as the five finger imprints struck the two black panthers. One panther had three bloody holes on its body, while the other had two on its back, with blood flowing freely. Both panthers then collapsed weakly to the ground.

“Their defenses aren't as strong as the Earth Roaring Wolves, but the defense of magical beasts is still formidable,” Li Lin observed, approaching the two black panthers. Seeing that they hadn't completely died, he vibrated his Qi and shot two Fire Shadow Fingers directly into the center of their foreheads.

Blood splattered as the two panthers convulsed and died. In his recent experiences battling magical beasts, Li Lin had not only enhanced his combat skills and experience but had also become more ruthless. An invisible aura of slaughter, which can only be acquired through shedding much blood, surrounded him.

Those who had traversed the Misty Mountain Range for years often carried such an aura, deterring magical beasts and exerting a suppressive and intimidating effect on others.

“That black panther's claw was indeed formidable,” Li Lin reflected, feeling the wound on his back. Only now did he tend to it. Although it had bled a bit, it wasn’t much, and the wound wasn't deep.

A faint yellowish glow enveloped Li Lin, and then his Qi began to circulate through the meridians in his back. Moments later, the wound was gradually healing.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

“Ssss ssss…”

Little dragon crawled out from Li Lin's sleeve onto his shoulder, looking at Li Lin's wound, then turned its head and made a low hissing sound at him. Its small eyes seemed to be staring at Li Lin, as if saying something.

“It’s okay, I’m fine. It’s just a minor injury. I’ll let you take action when I encounter beasts I can’t handle. Without my command, you’re not allowed to intervene,” Li Lin communicated with Little dragon, understanding its sentiment. Although he couldn’t fully comprehend Little dragon's words, he knew it was blaming him for not letting it help, which resulted in his injury.

Li Lin didn’t take this injury to heart. If he couldn’t endure such minor wounds, there would be no point in training in the Misty Mountain Range. Relying on Little dragon for everything wouldn’t truly strengthen him, which was his ultimate goal.

“Let’s continue.” After packing up, Li Lin resumed his journey of self-improvement. Several hours later, after passing through a dense forest, a secluded valley appeared before him, hidden within the mountain range.

The valley, nestled within the mountains, was dotted with numerous peaks forming a majestic, layered landscape. In the center of the valley, misty waters half-hidden in clouds looked like a jade ribbon. Outside the valley, a wide river flowed, its destination unknown. Its turquoise waves churned and slapped rhythmically against the rocks on the shore.

“What a place,” Li Lin thought, surprised to find such a location within the Misty Mountain Range.

“This is a perfect spot to settle,” he decided, planning to make this his temporary base. He would train around this valley and also start studying the "Heavenly Spirit Record" left by his master, the Holy Hand Spirit Sovereign.

An hour later, near the riverbank, among several large rocks, a natural cave appeared before Li Lin.

“This is it.” Li Lin smiled, finding the spot suitable for his cultivation. He hadn’t yet practiced a low-level yellow-grade water-elemental martial technique he acquired from the White Wolf Mercenary Group. Once he mastered this technique, his strength would surely increase. Although he possessed the powerful moves like the Vermilion Bird Art and the Soul of the Blade, both had significant costs, especially the Vermilion Bird Art, which demanded an alarming price each time it was used.

Apart from the Vermilion Bird Art and the Soul of the Blade, his Mountain Splitting Palm, Furious Flame Fist, and Fire Shadow Finger were only star-level techniques. They were well-suited to his current strength, but sometimes he felt their power was insufficient and left much to be desired.

The water-elemental martial technique was a low-level yellow-grade technique, undoubtedly much more powerful than the initial star-level techniques.

Inside the natural cave, Li Lin took out three brocade boxes from the storage ring, treasures he had obtained from the White Wolf Mercenary Group. Thinking about how Lan Ling took two empty space bags, Li Lin smiled again, grateful for his foresight and the mysterious features of his storage ring. Otherwise, he would have suffered a great loss. However, those two space bags were worth thousands of gold coins each, not cheap at all.

“Lan Ling, the next time I see you, I will make you realize that I am not someone to be trifled with,” Li Lin swore silently. He was determined not to let go of this woman who dared to deceive him.

Li Lin felt slightly better seeing the three brocade boxes. In addition to nearly six hundred thousand gold coins, the treasures inside these boxes were certainly valuable - a spirit pill, a scroll of low-level yellow-grade water-elemental martial technique, and the Soul Spirit Divine Liquid.

“Soul Spirit Divine Liquid, what kind of treasure is this?” Li Lin opened the brocade box containing a small jade bottle with a transparent liquid inside. A fierce energy surged out, making his heart pound. This power was incredibly wild.

“That woman said it's a precious item from the Myriad Beasts Sect, not to be wasted,” Li Lin looked at the jade bottle. The wild energy seemed to be calling out to him. However, he didn't plan to consume and refine it immediately. According to his plan, he would first master the water-elemental martial technique.

After taking out the scroll of the water-elemental yellow-grade martial technique, Li Lin stored away the Soul Spirit Divine Liquid and the spirit pill. He sat cross-legged, calmed his breath, and dripped a drop of blood onto the jade slip.

Instantly, a dazzling light erupted from the jade slip, and a violent water attribute energy surged, surrounding Li Lin with a layer of blue light.

A beam of light from the jade slip entered Li Lin's mind, transforming into a vast amount of information.

Moments later, the aura receded, the light from the jade slip faded, turning it into an ordinary jade slip. A vast amount of information was now stored in Li Lin's mind.

“Furious Roar of the Sea,” Li Lin muttered. From the information in the jade slip, he learned that this low-level yellow-grade water-elemental martial technique, named Furious Roar of the Sea, was a powerful attack technique. Its strongest move, the ultimate Furious Roar of the Sea, could create a giant vortex like the tumultuous waves of an endless sea, capable of destroying everything within, demonstrating its formidable power.

“Worthy of a yellow-grade martial technique. Let the cultivation begin,” Li Lin smiled faintly, his lips curving up. Once he mastered the Furious Roar of the Sea, his strength would surely advance further.

As time slowly passed, the Misty Mountain Range became increasingly lively. With the passing of time, news of treasures in the mountains spread outside the Misty Mountain Range. Many people from Misty City began entering the mountains, lured by the prospect of treasure.

At this time, in an attic in Misty City, a slender figure stood by the window. Upon closer inspection, a woman was dressed in a green suit with light blue patterns embroidered on the cuffs. The silver threads outlined a dense pattern of blue sea clouds. From behind, the tight suit accentuated her graceful curves, shapely buttocks, slender waist, and long legs, her figure undeniably alluring.

"Miss, why have you come here? We should go back," a figure appeared behind the young woman, dressed as a maid. She looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, pretty and delicate. To those in the know, it would be a surprise that this maid was actually a martial warrior, possibly even at the seventh or eighth level. To be a warrior of such level at her age indicated extraordinary talent.

"I'm not going back for now. It's not often I get to come out, and I've heard there are treasures in the Misty Mountain Range. How about we go and see?" The woman in the green suit turned around, her beauty strikingly ethereal.

This woman, no more than eighteen or nineteen years old, had her hair elegantly styled, with lightly brushed brows and star-like eyes. Her skin was smooth and delicate, glowing softly like warm jade. Her lips, small and cherry-red, exuded a natural charm. A few strands of hair gently brushed her face in the breeze, adding to her enchanting allure. Her slender waist, accentuated by her tight suit, was breathtakingly flawless, as if she was an ethereal being, untouched by worldly matters.

"Miss, we can't do that. The two elders are waiting for us. Even if you want to go, you should ask them first," the maid said in surprise, aware of her mistress's temperament and not daring to let her venture out alone.

"What's there to fear? If we tell them, they won't let us go. I've finally got the chance to come out. If you don’t want to accompany me, then I'll go alone," the woman in the green suit said lightly, her intelligent eyes shifting.

"But Miss, we..."

"What about us? The Misty Mountain Range must be fun. Let's go for a walk," the maid was cut off by the woman in green, who then leaped down from the second-floor attic to the street below and strode away.

"Miss, wait for me!" the maid exclaimed in alarm and hurriedly followed.

In the Misty Mountain Range, near the valley where the White Wolf Mercenary Group had hidden their treasure, the number of mercenaries and others gathered had reached an extreme. But even after a whole month, no one had found the treasure, nor did anyone know who had it.

However, rumors were already spreading that the treasure had fallen into the hands of a young man and woman - the man in a green robe and the woman, voluptuous and dressed in a tight suit, supposedly a disciple of the Myriad Beasts Sect.

Although very few knew the whereabouts of the treasure, no one had found the pair. They seemed to have vanished into thin air, but many firmly believed that the duo had hidden the treasure and could be found with continued searching.

In a secluded valley, Li Lin stood by the river, his Qi vibrating around him. He formed hand seals, and a blue light gathered, forming a half-meter diameter water sphere within the rushing river.

The water sphere formed, exuding immense power and causing the surrounding air to whirl violently. The space was filled with the fierce energy of water.

“Break,” Li Lin commanded, striking a hand seal. The water sphere shot towards a large rock on the riverbank and exploded on impact.

“Boom boom…”

The rock shook violently, scattering debris. Even the large rock cracked under the attack of the water sphere.

"Still not skilled enough. A low-level yellow-grade martial technique is indeed difficult to master," Li Lin murmured, continuing to form hand seals and gathering water elemental Qi.