Chapter 41

"Nie Tian, thank you."

The doll-faced girl, still shaken, clutched her short sword and timidly expressed her gratitude.

"I am from Dark Star City, my name is Jiang Miao. Dark Star City and Black Cloud City are not far apart. If you ever come to Dark Star City, I will definitely treat you well."

Nie Tian glanced at her and smiled, "You are at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, and your sword... is no ordinary object. As long as you focus on the battle and pay attention to the movements underfoot, you should be able to detect the Ground Lizards. From now on, be more careful and don't let your thoughts wander."

"Sure, I will." Jiang Miao nodded vigorously.

"Rustle!"

At that moment, an unusual sound came from behind the Ice Serpent.

"There are actually more Spirit Beasts!" Pan Tao's expression changed.

As he spoke, about a dozen first-level Spirit Beasts gradually appeared from the direction the Ice Serpent had come from.

Many of the newly arrived Spirit Beasts were snake-like, and they must have been summoned by the Ice Serpent from other parts of the glacier.

As soon as these Spirit Beasts appeared, Nie Tian immediately understood why the Ice Serpent had not acted hastily.

It was waiting for its followers to arrive!

Originally, the Spirit Treasure Pavilion's trial participants outnumbered the first-level Spirit Beasts in this area. Moreover, the young people from various tribes all held extraordinary Spirit Tools, giving them a significant advantage in battles against first-level Spirit Beasts.

Because of this, when Nie Tian and Zheng Rui had their conflict earlier, they still had the leisure to observe.

However, the appearance of another wave of Spirit Beasts meant that each of them would now have to face two to three first-level Spirit Beasts.

This would make it much harder for them to quickly resolve the battles, even with the sharpness of their Spirit Tools!

When the Ground Lizards appeared, and the Ice Serpent followed, the trial participants from the Spirit Treasure Pavilion were already at a disadvantage.

Their only hope was for An Ying to keep the Ice Serpent occupied while the others quickly defeated their opponents to help An Ying slay the Ice Serpent.

However, the new batch of Spirit Beasts seemed to have extinguished their last hope.

"Hisss!"

The Ice Serpent flicked its tongue, its snake eyes revealing a cold, icy gaze. That gaze... seemed to carry a hint of mockery.

The Ice Serpent, which had not been in a hurry earlier, finally stopped waiting after the snake-like Spirit Beasts arrived from all directions.

"Damn! We should have acted earlier!"

An Ying also realized that their hesitation and fear had cost them a great opportunity.

"We can't wait any longer! No one knows if more Spirit Beasts are coming from other areas!" She looked at the cold ground with a worried expression, her face filled with gloom.

According to her knowledge, second-level Ground Lizards should also have the ability to summon lower-level Spirit Beasts.

She was unsure if the Ground Lizard that appeared here had brought first-level Spirit Beasts from the desert to this place.

Perhaps, the Spirit Beasts from the desert were also gradually approaching.

She could no longer afford to wait.

"Whoosh!"

From her crimson curved sword, clusters of flames suddenly spewed out. After the flames flew out, they continuously transformed in the air, forming streams of flame that resembled molten lava.

In just a moment, six streams of flame had condensed in front of An Ying.

The six streams of flame, emitting intense heat, intertwined and formed a complex pattern of flames.

"Flame Stream Fire Array!"

An Ying raised her long sword high, the blade's edge suddenly pointing at the Ice Serpent.

"Whoosh!"

The floating flame pattern, intertwined with surging flames, flew towards the Ice Serpent like a strange, massive cloud of fire.

As the flame pattern moved, An Ying, holding her long sword, instantly charged forward.

The Ice Serpent, over ten meters long, with icy eyes, suddenly opened its massive mouth to the sky.

A column of ice as thick and long as the Ice Serpent's body erupted from its mouth, shooting straight into the sky and immediately colliding with the flame pattern.

The intense flames and the cold ice power intersected in an instant, causing the sky to be showered with countless fragments of light.

"Everyone, act quickly!" At this moment, Nie Tian shouted again, "She is buying us time!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the trial participants, who had been closely watching An Ying, suddenly came to their senses.

Nie Tian, however, did not look at An Ying's battle with the Ice Serpent. Instead, he had a stern expression and was the first to charge towards the nearest Spirit Beast.

It was an Ice Claw Monkey with sharp claws and a body covered in silver fur.

The Ice Claw Monkey was a first-level Spirit Beast known for its agility and evasive skills. Its only offensive method was its pair of sharp, icy claws.

Its favorite targets were the neck, face, and especially the eyes of its opponents!

"Chirp chirp!"

Seeing Nie Tian charging towards it, the Ice Claw Monkey let out a shrill cry and, with its small body, moved like a puff of smoke, circling around Nie Tian.

Its movement was not in a straight line but in a winding path.

Just as Nie Tian was about to get close to it, the Ice Claw Monkey's claws dug into the ground and then suddenly raised.

Chunks of ice and snow were flung from the ground by its claws, shattering into a cloud of ice fragments in the air, temporarily obstructing Nie Tian's vision.

As the ice and snow splashed, a silver shadow suddenly appeared behind Nie Tian.

In the next moment, the shadow transformed into the Ice Claw Monkey.

Its sharp, icy claws, like cold knives, stabbed towards Nie Tian's neck from behind.

The neck is one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body. If struck by those claws, most people would die instantly.

It clearly knew the weak points of the human body.

"Chirp chirp!"

Just as the claws were about to pierce Nie Tian's neck, it couldn't help but let out a triumphant cry.

"Looking for death!"

Nie Tian coldly snorted. It was as if he had eyes in the back of his head. He suddenly reached behind his head with both hands and accurately grabbed the Ice Claw Monkey's furry wrists.

As the Ice Claw Monkey cried out, he threw it over his head to the front.

Holding the Ice Claw Monkey's wrists to prevent it from causing further harm, Nie Tian kicked it in the chest with all his strength, using the spiritual energy within his body.

"Thud! Crack!"

The small body of the Ice Claw Monkey was kicked flying, and its two monkey arms were directly severed from its body!

Holding the two furry arms, Nie Tian did not look at the Ice Claw Monkey, which was screaming in agony, but instead turned the direction of the arms.

He pointed the sharp claws outward and used them as his weapons.

He then turned to face another Spirit Beast that was closest to him.

He knew that without its sharp claws and with its arms severed, the Ice Claw Monkey no longer posed any threat.

Even if it was still alive, it could no longer affect the battle.

"Whoosh!"

At that moment, the Ground Lizard, which had been hiding underground, suddenly reappeared.

A young man named Zu Fang was fiercely battling a large spider. When the Ground Lizard reappeared and launched a surprise attack, he could not react in time.

"Crack!"

The Ground Lizard bit through his leg bone. In the intense pain, he could no longer deal with the large spider, which used its sharp spider claws to pierce his abdomen.

"Zu Fang!"

Pan Tao and Zheng Rui, who had been searching for the Ground Lizard, rushed over, but it was too late.

When they arrived, Zu Fang was already dead, and the spider, realizing it was no match for them, had long fled.

"Damn! The Ground Lizard hides underground but can sense the battles on the surface. It takes advantage of our companions' battles to launch sudden attacks!" Pan Tao's eyes turned red. "As long as it stays underground, we can't find it, and we can't kill it!"

"We need to come up with a plan quickly! An Ying... won't last much longer!" Zheng Rui said irritably.

Nie Tian, noticing that another person had died, did not panic over Zu Fang's death. Instead, he subconsciously looked at An Ying's side after hearing Pan Tao and Zheng Rui's conversation.

His expression immediately became extremely serious.

"This is not good."

...

PS: Second update. There are two more chapters today. Another request for a monthly vote!