Chapter 22

The Ninth Lady was not participating in the Wang Mountain hunt for the first time, so she was very familiar with the general activity areas of the savage beasts.

"Up ahead is Tiger Roar Slope. When I passed by earlier, I heard the roar of a saber-toothed red tiger. However, the saber-toothed red tiger is a mid-rank first-tier savage beast, even more formidable than the iron-skinned savage ox. With my strength, I can't kill it, so I didn't provoke it," the Ninth Lady said.

Zhang Ruochen and the Ninth Lady dismounted from the antelope horse and cautiously entered Tiger Roar Slope to search for the traces of the saber-toothed red tiger.

On the ground, Zhang Ruochen discovered signs of a struggle.

A tree trunk as thick as a bowl had been knocked down, the leaves burned to ashes, and there were still bloodstains on a large rock nearby.

"Could it be that someone has already beaten us to it and hunted the saber-toothed red tiger?" the Ninth Lady asked.

Zhang Ruochen shook his head and said, "That's not the blood of the saber-toothed red tiger; it's human blood. Be careful, the saber-toothed red tiger should still be nearby!"

"Whoosh!"

As soon as Zhang Ruochen finished speaking, a giant red tiger pounced down from the steep slope above, its sharp claws aiming for Zhang Ruochen's neck.

In his previous life, Zhang Ruochen was a great master at the peak of the Heavenly Extreme Realm. Even after reincarnation, his soul and spiritual energy remained at the peak of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, so his perception of danger was extremely acute.

Just before the saber-toothed red tiger pounced, he immediately took a step to the right, dodging the attack.

Not only that, he immediately drew a Thunderbolt Arrow from the quiver on his back, infused it with true qi, and thrust it into the saber-toothed red tiger's abdomen.

Then, he pushed off the ground with both feet and immediately retreated.

The entire process happened in a flash. Before the Ninth Lady could react, Zhang Ruochen had already thrust the Thunderbolt Arrow into the saber-toothed red tiger's abdomen.

"Bang!"

The tip of the Thunderbolt Arrow exploded, creating a palm-sized wound in the saber-toothed red tiger's abdomen, from which blood continuously flowed.

However, since Zhang Ruochen had only thrust the Thunderbolt Arrow into the saber-toothed red tiger's body by hand, it lacked the impact of being shot from the Iron Wire Bow.

Thus, the Thunderbolt Arrow was only embedded three inches deep in the saber-toothed red tiger's skin, not causing a fatal injury.

"Roar!"

The saber-toothed red tiger was three times larger than an ordinary tiger, with two rows of half-foot-long sharp teeth in its mouth, and each claw was like a blade.

The saber-toothed red tiger's attack power was comparable to that of a great master at the peak of the Yellow Extreme Realm, and its speed was also comparable to that of a great master at the peak of the Yellow Extreme Realm. For an ordinary martial artist, encountering a saber-toothed red tiger was almost a death sentence.

Seeing the saber-toothed red tiger standing ten meters away, the Ninth Lady's face turned pale.

This was a savage beast comparable to a great master at the peak of the Yellow Extreme Realm. At such a close distance, even the Thunderbolt Arrow could not unleash its full power.

Bows were more suitable for long-range attacks.

She had to take a risk!

She immediately drew a Thunderbolt Arrow, placed it on the bowstring, and pulled the Iron Wire Bow to a full moon shape.

"Whoosh!"

The Thunderbolt Arrow shot out like a bolt of lightning.

The saber-toothed red tiger leaped up and quickly dodged the Thunderbolt Arrow's attack.

In an instant, it covered the ten-meter distance and reached the Ninth Lady, swatting the Iron Wire Bow out of her hand with one claw, and bared its blood-red mouth, ready to bite down on her.

The Ninth Lady immediately flipped backward, landing a finger on the ground, and leaped again, landing seven to eight meters away, evading the saber-toothed red tiger's attack.

However, the saber-toothed red tiger's speed was even faster than the Ninth Lady's. In a flash, it caught up to her and swung a massive claw at her head.

The Ninth Lady had just entered the middle rank of the Yellow Extreme Realm. In terms of both strength and speed, she was inferior to the saber-toothed red tiger.

If they were at a distance, she could still use the Thunderbolt Arrow to pose a significant threat to the saber-toothed red tiger.

But in close combat, a middle-rank Yellow Extreme Realm martial artist without a True Martial Treasure had no chance against the saber-toothed red tiger.

Even before the saber-toothed red tiger's claw struck, the wind from its movement stung the Ninth Lady's cheeks.

Just as the Ninth Lady thought she was doomed, she saw a figure rapidly charging toward her, directly colliding with the massive body of the saber-toothed red tiger.

"Elephant Charge!"

Zhang Ruochen struck the saber-toothed red tiger's back with his palm, which roared like an enraged elephant, bursting with sixteen oxen of strength, sending the saber-toothed red tiger flying.

"Boom!"

The saber-toothed red tiger's body crashed into a nearby tree trunk, breaking it, and fell heavily to the ground.

Zhang Ruochen immediately rushed over, using his palm as a blade, and channeled all his true qi.

"Bang!"

He struck the saber-toothed red tiger's neck, shattering its trachea with the force of his palm blade.

After its trachea was shattered, the saber-toothed red tiger trembled all over. After struggling to its feet and thrashing about in the forest for a moment, it finally collapsed and died.

The Ninth Lady stared at Zhang Ruochen in shock. She couldn't help but be amazed, knowing that Zhang Ruochen had killed the saber-toothed red tiger with his bare hands.

"Ninth Brother, are you really at the minor rank of the Yellow Extreme Realm? Did you really only activate your Divine Martial Mark three months ago?" the Ninth Lady asked.

Zhang Ruochen said calmly, "I told you, whether it's a savage beast or a martial artist, they all have weaknesses. As long as you find their weakness, killing them isn't difficult. The saber-toothed red tiger's weakness is its trachea below its neck."

"But I clearly saw you send it flying with one palm. That kind of strength must be at least ten oxen, right?"

The Ninth Lady continued, "I have already reached the middle rank of the Yellow Extreme Realm, and I still can't burst with ten oxen of strength. How did you do it at the minor rank of the Yellow Extreme Realm?"

Zhang Ruochen replied, "As long as the martial body is strong enough, a minor rank Yellow Extreme Realm martial artist bursting with ten oxen of strength isn't that strange."

The Ninth Lady no longer pressed the issue. Zhang Ruochen's formidable strength had left a deep impression on her. This younger brother, who was only a day younger than her, was becoming increasingly inscrutable.

Zhang Ruochen and the Ninth Lady found the already dead saber-toothed red tiger in the nearby forest.

A Thunderbolt Arrow was still embedded in the saber-toothed red tiger's abdomen, the one Zhang Ruochen had thrust in earlier.

"Damn it, if I had my Green Water Sword, I could have fought it and even had a chance to kill it," the Ninth Lady said, somewhat unwillingly.

The Ninth Lady was one of the two beauties of the capital, possessing both beauty and talent, yet she had been forced into a corner by two savage beasts in succession, needing Zhang Ruochen to save her twice.

This proud daughter of heaven's self-esteem must have been significantly shaken. She secretly vowed that the next time she encountered a savage beast, she would hunt it cleanly and beautifully.

"Let's go! Ninth Brother, let's hunt other savage beasts..."

Zhang Ruochen immediately extended a hand, pressing it on the Ninth Lady's shoulder, his eyes serious, and whispered, "Don't move!"

The Ninth Lady was puzzled and was about to ask when she suddenly saw a deer beast with a body burning with blue flames slowly approaching them.

Seeing the blue flame deer, the Ninth Lady's delicate body trembled slightly, and she even stopped breathing.

"Chirp chirp!"

The blue flame deer had a pair of blood-red gemstone-like eyes, standing over two meters tall, with two antlers on its head that resembled emerald coral, and every strand of its fur was burning with blue flames.

Wherever it stepped, the ground turned black and charred.

A high-rank first-tier savage beast, the blue flame deer, had an attack power comparable to a great master at the peak of the Yellow Extreme Realm and a speed comparable to a great master at the peak of the Heavenly Extreme Realm.

The only weakness of the blue flame deer was its relatively weak defense, even weaker than the saber-toothed red tiger.

However, with its terrifying speed, even with relatively weak defense, who could attack it?

Before they could even make a move, they would be killed.

"What do we do?" The Ninth Lady dared not even breathe, a chill rising from her feet.

There was no way. With their current cultivation, encountering a high-rank first-tier savage beast was a death sentence.

In previous Wang Mountain hunts, martial artists had been killed by savage beasts.

The Ninth Lady naturally didn't want to die here and immediately thought of a plan, but with the blue flame deer's terrifying speed, even if they wanted to escape, it was impossible.

At this moment, Zhang Ruochen remained calm, his eyes filled with a hint of battle intent.

He took off the quiver from his back and handed it to the Ninth Lady, saying, "I have two Thunderbolt Arrows left, and you have one. Together, that's three. With your archery skills, even if you can't hit the blue flame deer, you should at least be able to pose a certain threat, right?"

"What are you going to do?"

The Ninth Lady stared at Zhang Ruochen as he walked toward the blue flame deer, her eyes wide with confusion. Could he really be planning to hunt the blue flame deer?

That was a high-rank first-tier savage beast!