Ning Beichen's mind was like churning clouds, thoughts constantly surfacing. He narrowed his eyes, sipped his tea, and meticulously deduced the ancients' meanings in his mind.
After an unknown amount of time, Ning Beichen finally snapped out of his state. He put down his cup and was about to return to his tent to sleep when his gaze swept past something in the distance.
Ning Beichen immediately stood up and looked. The rain was still falling, and the visibility was far from clear, even for Ning Beichen. However, he was certain he hadn't imagined it; something had indeed passed by in the distance, and it looked like a large wild beast.
This was the deep wilderness, so Ning Beichen dared not be careless. He walked out immediately to investigate.
Raindrops pattered on him. Ning Beichen ignored it and, using his Qinggong, flew towards the direction where he had seen something pass, braving the heavy rain.
He soon arrived at a mountain hollow and stood on a large tree, searching.
He had vaguely seen something appear here earlier, but it was too fast, disappearing from Ning Beichen's sight in less than a second.
Raindrops fell from Ning Beichen's hair, trickling down his face. Ning Beichen paid no mind; instead, he closed his eyes and spread out his senses.
"There!"
Ning Beichen sensed movement and immediately pushed off with his toes, darting to the left.
But as soon as he landed, he felt a chilling gust of wind strike him from behind. It was obvious something was attacking him.
"What is it!"
Ning Beichen let out a fierce cry, turned, and punched out.
With a boom!
Ning Beichen felt as if he had hit something, and a powerful recoil forced him back several steps.
Ning Beichen looked closely and saw that the attacker was a leopard.
However, Ning Beichen quickly realized that he was a Grandmaster. If it were truly just a leopard, how could it have so easily withstood his strike and even forced him back?
Therefore, even if this was a leopard, it was certainly no ordinary one.
Ning Beichen looked at the enormous leopard, which was also staring intently at him with a ferocious expression.
While Ning Beichen wasn't an animal expert, he had seen many leopards before, but he had never seen one with such an expression.
How to describe it?
The leopard's eyes gave Ning Beichen an immensely malevolent feeling.
Whether it was his illusion or the rain blurring his vision, he felt that this leopard was not simple, almost as if it were not a creature from this world.
Ning Beichen shook his head, dispelling the strange feeling from his mind, then wiped the rain from his face to see more clearly.
This was truly bizarre.
A leopard not only gave him a sense of danger but also a sense of malevolence. In all his years, Ning Beichen had never had such an experience.
At this moment.
The leopard suddenly opened its mouth and let out a roar at Ning Beichen, its body emitting a red light. Then, it swiped at him with its claws.
Ning Beichen's expression drastically changed. Though it was a single swipe, he saw countless claw shadows rushing towards him.
This was no mere leopard; it was a leopard that had become a spirit!
Ning Beichen rapidly retreated to dodge.
Yet, the leopard's claws still struck him, sending him flying several meters away.
Fortunately, Ning Beichen had used his fist to block earlier and used the recoil to retreat. Though it appeared clumsy, he hadn't been directly hit by the leopard.
The leopard's claws landed on a large rock with a deafening boom, and the rock was shattered by a single swipe.
Ning Beichen's expression changed again. He had a bad feeling that he, a Grandmaster, might not be a match for this leopard.
"Brother Leopard, pardon the intrusion."
Ning Beichen quickly leaped into the air, intending to leave.
However, at this moment.
The already dark night became even blacker.
The falling rain was halted in mid-air, creating a vacuum within a hundred-meter radius.
Following this, Ning Beichen saw a massive claw, like a meteorite, descending towards him from above.
Ning Beichen's pupils constricted, knowing he couldn't dodge. He unleashed the full power of his Grandmaster cultivation and threw a punch with all his might at the colossal claw descending from the sky.
With a thunderous roar.
Ning Beichen's fist collided with the claw from the sky.
The full might of a Grandmaster erupted. He shattered the claw from the sky with a single punch, but Ning Beichen also suffered. A mouthful of blood spurted from his lips.
Since becoming a Grandmaster, he hadn't been injured in a long time. Even when dealing with the ominous beings in the ruins, he hadn't been as badly hurt as he was now.
Seeing that its single swipe had not killed Ning Beichen, the leopard seemed provoked.
With a roar.
The rolling sound waves turned the falling rain into countless needles, flying towards Ning Beichen in a fan shape.
Ning Beichen dared not delay. He immediately unleashed his Grandmaster domain, condensing it into a qi wall, blocking these rain needles.
A series of crackling impact sounds ensued. Ning Beichen gritted his teeth, resisting. The rain needles struck the qi wall, fell, and melted back into raindrops.
"Is this a leopard?"
Ning Beichen felt like cursing at this moment. If leopards were this powerful, the ones in zoos would have revolted long ago.
Regardless of whether Ning Beichen believed it or not, the leopard before him had surpassed his understanding of leopards.
Who would have thought that in Zhongnan Mountain, there was a leopard more powerful than a human Grandmaster? Had this leopard truly become a spirit?
Weren't they told that animals couldn't become spirits after the founding of the nation?
Perhaps this leopard was an ancient spirit from before the nation's founding!
Flee or fight?
Ning Beichen was hesitant at this moment. If he fought, he wasn't entirely afraid of this leopard.
But if he fled, this leopard might not let him escape.
Since he couldn't make a decision, Ning Beichen chose to face the leopard head-on. He refused to believe that he, a Grandmaster, couldn't defeat a leopard.
Besides, he had the Bronze Ancient Sword and the Songshan Sword Technique, so he might not be defeated by this leopard.
However, encountering such a formidable opponent was rare.
Ning Beichen decided to first fight the leopard with his own abilities, not wanting to rely too much on the Songshan Sword Technique.
"Great Annihilation!"
Ning Beichen grunted, and a punch imbued with "Great Annihilation" flew towards the leopard.
With a thunderous boom, like a level-ten storm.
The "Great Annihilation" emitted a sonic boom, shattering the falling rain, and the punch landed on the leopard.
The leopard seemed to sense the power of Ning Beichen's strike. Its fur trembled, and he saw countless tiny light waves flowing between its hairs.