“Although Dongfang Ba acts tyrannically, he probably doesn’t even care about my life or death! Therefore, for the brothers Jie’ao to press me so hard, there must be someone secretly inciting them…”
Wu Ming was no longer the former Dongfang Shuoming. After a brief thought, he immediately pointed his finger at someone: “Luo Geng?!”
On the surface, he feigned fear: “You can’t do this! I am also a member of the Dongfang family! You can’t treat me like this!”
“Ha… How could the Dongfang family have such a useless person like you?”
Dongfang Jie and Dongfang Ao laughed with ill intentions, slowly advancing: “Hand over the sealed crystal quickly, and we might let you suffer less, otherwise…”
“I will hand it over! I will hand it over!”
Wu Ming shivered, seemingly in great fear, and stretched out his hand, revealing a gray gemstone on his palm.
“Good, that’s more like it…”
Dongfang Ao grinned maliciously, took a big step forward, and reached out to snatch the gemstone.
“I will hand it over to your head!”
At this moment, a strange expression flickered on Wu Ming’s face.
“Awooooo!”
The gray gemstone emitted a glow, and a giant gray wolf lunged forth, its sharp fangs directly aiming for Dongfang Ao’s neck.
“What…?”
Dongfang Ao quickly dodged, only to see Wu Ming drawing his bow and shooting an arrow straight at him!
Whoosh!
He retreated again, and suddenly slipped on his feet, his whole body tilting backward.
Unknowingly, he had already reached the edge of the physical training pool.
Splash!
Black water splashed, accompanied by a sharp sound of corrosion. Dongfang Ao cried out once, then fell silent. Several white bones rolled in the pool water before quickly dissolving into nothingness.
“You… you… you…”
Everything happened too fast. Dongfang Jie backed away a distance, his finger pointing at Wu Ming was trembling: “You dare to kill my brother! You’re dead! Do you understand? I will report this to the Grand Elder. There is no one in heaven or earth who can save you!”
“Fool!”
As for that, Wu Ming merely sneered: “They were already after my life. Do you think I would foolishly let them kill me?”
“Very well! I will personally kill you, slice your flesh piece by piece, to avenge my brother!”
Dongfang Jie’s face turned cold as ice. Glancing at the giant gray wolf beside Wu Ming, he showed slight surprise: “A high-level juvenile? A mature giant gray wolf? Your gray wolf indeed has great potential, but unfortunately, it’s only considered potential among gray wolves…”
As he spoke, Wu Ming suddenly felt a warning in his heart, immediately dodging sideways.
Swoosh!
A phantom white shadow squeezed out from the darkness, barely missing him as it flew past and landed beside Dongfang Jie, transforming into a somewhat ethereal Ghost Wolf.
“An elite breed? Juvenile high-level?”
Wu Ming’s eyes flickered, his expression turning cold: “You were deliberately talking to draw my attention, then secretly ordered your summoned beast to stealth and attack. We’re even!”
Before Spirit Taming Masters reach the Soldier Rank and gain the boon of their spirits, their physical selves remain a weak point.
Just like earlier, Dongfang Ao was lured to his death by Wu Ming’s trickery, his bones and flesh turned to ash before even releasing his summoned beast, a truly humiliating end.
Dongfang Jie, watching Wu Ming with his triangular eyes, dared not show the slightest bit of contempt.
For novice Spirit Taming Masters, protecting oneself is the most important lesson. Yet this young man had remained calm in crisis, even counterattacking and killing Dongfang Ao. The cunning and decisiveness he displayed only solidified Dongfang Jie’s intent to kill.
“One Dongfang Jie is already an elite of high-level. Fortunately, I took out one beforehand!”
Right now, Wu Ming was only feeling relieved, glancing at Dongfang Jie, whose willpower was even stronger than Dongfang Ao’s.
“Let’s go!”
He immediately mounted the giant gray wolf, let out a long howl, and became a gray shadow fleeing into the distance.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
Dongfang Jie’s eyes turned red.
No matter what, Dongfang Ao was his own younger brother. After observing, he was certain that Dongfang Shuoming had no other trump cards left and was definitely no match for him. He immediately gave chase relentlessly.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The wind howled past his ears, while Wu Ming’s eyes gleamed with sharp calculation, recalling the information on Ghost Wolves: “This wolf is an elite of the Ghost type, possessing a natural supernatural ability called Phantasm! It’s perfect for ambushes, a rare gem not inferior to the Swallow-winged Wolf. This person also has a sharp mind. A direct confrontation would be unwise…”
As he thought, he directed the giant gray wolf toward a certain location across the Star Moon Lake.
He hadn’t wasted his time during this period. While collecting medicinal herbs and experimenting with their properties, he had also thoroughly scouted the nearby dangerous areas.
On the opposite side of Star Moon Lake lay a canyon, where a Moon-gazing Rhinoceros resided. Although it was an ordinary breed, its rank was as high as Juvenile Peak!
Dongfang Jie was strong, and a direct fight would result in losses for either side or their spirits—something Wu Ming was unwilling to see.
Therefore, he could not rely on brute force, only on wit!
The giant gray wolf dashed away at full speed, with Dongfang Jie hot on their trail. In no time, they arrived at the entrance of the canyon.
“Inside!”
Wu Ming urged the gray wolf to instantly vanish into the canyon entrance. Dongfang Jie hesitated briefly before continuing to follow.
“This Moon-gazing Rhinoceros dwells here to guard the Moonlight Fruit!”
After entering deeper into the canyon, Wu Ming immediately recalled the gray wolf, his aura becoming faint and indistinct, his very presence dropping to an extreme low.
This was a minor trick combining martial arts and Daoist techniques from the Great Zhou world—an elementary skill at best, but still very useful when more advanced techniques were unavailable.
In a few quick steps, he arrived at a deep, pitch-black cave entrance. His eyes gleamed, and he immediately threw a massive stone into the cave.
Boom! Boom!
This immediately caused a disturbance.
Outside the cave, it felt like a small earthquake. A black shadow as large as a hill, with glowing red eyes, charged out of the cave.
Wu Ming immediately dodged aside, pushing his concealment technique to the limit.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two thick clouds of white breath blew from the Moon-gazing Rhinoceros’s nostrils. Its bloodshot eyes locked onto Dongfang Jie who had rushed in.
“Damn! It’s the Moon-gazing Rhinoceros!”
Dongfang Jie’s face turned extremely grim: “Where is Dongfang Shuoming? How did he sneak past the Moon-gazing Rhinoceros without being noticed?”
Boom!
However, the Moon-gazing Rhinoceros no longer gave him time to think. It pawed the ground with its front hoof and launched into a charge.
This Moon-gazing Rhinoceros was covered in thick hide, like a moving fortress. Each step it took shook the earth. The horn on its nose emitted a dark glow, clearly identifying Dongfang Jie as the enemy who had disturbed its territory, and it pursued relentlessly.
“Beast! Do you really think I can’t deal with you?!”
Dongfang Jie barely dodged the trampling, his face twisted with rage. He waved his hand: “Ghost Wolf! Phantasm!”
The ghostly form of his Ghost Wolf shimmered with pure white light, transforming into a streak of light that quickly vanished.
Puff!
The light flashed, and the Ghost Wolf reappeared on the opposite side of the Moon-gazing Rhinoceros, its claws and fangs dripping with blood.
“Roar! Roar!”
The Moon-gazing Rhinoceros shook violently, letting out a furious roar.
“Ordinary spirits, even at Juvenile Peak, would kneel before a Ghost Wolf of the Ghost type! But this Moon-gazing Rhinoceros is no ordinary beast, or I would have acted long ago!”
From his hiding spot, Wu Ming sneered inwardly.
As the Moon-gazing Rhinoceros roared, a startling scene unfolded!
Buzz! Buzz!
The silver moon above seemed to suddenly brighten, and a hazy lunar halo descended, concentrating on the rhino’s horn.
Natural Ability—Moon Condensation!
“What? This Moon-gazing Rhinoceros has actually self-taught a minor supernatural ability! And it’s…”
Dongfang Jie’s face turned pale, and he immediately tried to recall his Ghost Wolf.
Chirp!
But at this moment, the moonlight gathered at the tip of the Moon-gazing Rhinoceros’s horn suddenly transformed into a crescent moon and slashed outward!
As the saying goes: “The rhinoceros gazes at the moon, the moon’s shape enters its horn. Only when knowledge arises does the moon shape appear!”
This minor supernatural ability of the Moon-gazing Rhinoceros was to condense moonlight into an attack, particularly effective against spirit-type beings!
Puchi!
The blade of light instantly struck the Ghost Wolf. The wolf howled in pain and fled rapidly, one of its front paws now limping.
“Ahhh… You dare injure my spirit beast! I will kill you!”
Dongfang Jie roared in fury. Seeing that the Moon-gazing Rhinoceros would not relent, he had no choice but to command his Ghost Wolf again to engage in a bitter battle.
…
Bang!
Who knows how long passed, but the Moon-gazing Rhinoceros’s mountainous body finally crashed heavily to the ground, causing a minor earthquake.
Dongfang Jie stood atop the dead rhinoceros, panting. Beside him, his Ghost Wolf had lost a leg and appeared even more translucent.
“Damn… This Moon-gazing Rhinoceros must have mutated! That brat… He definitely lured me here on purpose!”
A sudden chill ran through him: “No good… I’ve expended too much energy. I should retreat immediately. As long as I report this murder to the family, that brat won’t escape death!”
Cold sweat broke out on his back as he prepared to flee quickly.
“Gray Wolf, attack!”
At that moment, a voice suddenly rang out. Wu Ming’s figure shot forth from the side, launching toward Dongfang Jie as the giant gray wolf engaged the Ghost Wolf.
“Hahaha… Originally, I was worried that you only sent the giant gray wolf, and during the battle, if the Ghost Wolf was severely injured first, I might still lose. But now… you, little brat, actually think you can fight me one-on-one?”
Dongfang Jie was delighted, drawing a dagger from his waist.
He was several years older than Wu Ming and had trained in sword techniques for a while, confident that he could easily deal with Wu Ming.
Ding!
But in the next instant, his expression drastically changed.
The moment the cleaver met the dagger, a powerful vibration surged through, numbing his arm and causing him to drop the dagger. Wu Ming’s face turned cold as he slashed again, driving the blade into Dongfang Jie’s heart.
Even without supernatural powers, the martial arts experience he had gained was far beyond that of these mere mortals!
“So… your greatest strength wasn’t your spirit beast…”
Dongfang Jie let out a bitter laugh before his breath stilled. As he died, his Ghost Wolf let out a strange cry, reverting to its wild form, instantly abandoning the giant gray wolf and fleeing quickly.
“Thanks to you, I can still obtain a Moonlight Fruit!”
Wu Ming stepped forward, habitually looting the corpse. His expression suddenly brightened as he opened a box and saw a pure black crystal inside, his face lighting up with surprise: “Demon Crystal?!”
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