Chapter 23

Before deciding to hunt the Blue Fire Deer, Zhang Ruochen had carefully calculated the risks.

Indeed, with his current cultivation, there was a significant gap in strength between him and the Blue Fire Deer. Moreover, he could not use the True Martial treasures, as both the Flash Soul Sword and the Abyss Ancient Sword were stored in the inner space of the Spacetime Crystal.

Once used, the Spacetime Crystal would be exposed.

If it were any other first-class superior beast, Zhang Ruochen would have no chance of winning.

However, the Blue Fire Deer was different. Its advantage lay in its speed, while its offensive and defensive capabilities were far inferior to those of other first-class superior beasts.

Zhang Ruochen's advantage was that he possessed mental strength comparable to that of a Great Perfection Realm martial artist and had rich combat experience. He could predict the Blue Fire Deer's attack direction in advance and respond with the most flexible methods.

Therefore, the terrifying speed of the Blue Fire Deer might not necessarily overwhelm Zhang Ruochen.

"Roar!"

Zhang Ruochen, as if provoking the Blue Fire Deer, let out a loud roar.

"Whoosh!"

The Blue Fire Deer was enraged, and the flames on its body burned even brighter, transforming into a green blur as it instantly rushed to Zhang Ruochen and collided with him.

Just before the Blue Fire Deer charged, Zhang Ruochen pushed off the ground with both legs, using the spring force to leap over seven meters high.

"Dragon Soaring in the Sky!"

Pounding true qi rapidly circulated through eleven meridians, and a low, resonant dragon's roar seemed to emanate from within Zhang Ruochen. His muscles and bones were mobilized, and he struck down with a powerful palm.

However, the Blue Fire Deer's speed was too fast, and Zhang Ruochen's palm did not hit it but struck the ground instead.

"Whoosh!"

A green blur flashed past, appearing in front of Zhang Ruochen, and the green antlers on its head rammed into Zhang Ruochen's chest.

Zhang Ruochen struck out with another palm, clashing with the Blue Fire Deer.

"Bang!"

A powerful impact force transmitted from his palm, and Zhang Ruochen's right arm immediately lost sensation.

Zhang Ruochen quickly retreated and looked at his right arm, seeing that his right hand was burned by the flames from the Blue Fire Deer, and even his sleeve was burned to ashes, exposing his wrist and arm.

True qi circulated through his meridians, and the numbness in his arm gradually subsided.

"Zhi Zhi!"

The Blue Fire Deer attacked again, instantly appearing in front of Zhang Ruochen.

At this moment, the Ninth Princess, standing at a distance, shot two Thunder Arrows, both aimed at the Blue Fire Deer's eyes.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The Blue Fire Deer's reaction speed was extremely fast, and it used its hard antlers to knock the two Thunder Arrows away.

"Beast Charging the Earth!"

Zhang Ruochen seized the opportunity, charged forward, and used the momentum of his body to strike another palm, unleashing a force of sixteen oxen, which hit the Blue Fire Deer's head.

The Blue Fire Deer let out a mournful cry, a blood crack appeared on its head, and it suffered a severe injury, becoming sluggish.

"Poof!"

Taking advantage of this, the Ninth Princess drew her bow and shot the last Thunder Arrow, accurately piercing the Blue Fire Deer's left eye.

"Bang!"

The arrowhead of the Thunder Arrow exploded, and the left side of the Blue Fire Deer's head was blown apart, its eyeball turning into a bloody mist.

Zhang Ruochen rolled to the corpse of the saber-toothed red tiger, breaking off a half-foot-long fang from its mouth.

The heavily injured Blue Fire Deer, with its green flames extinguished, turned and fled.

Zhang Ruochen grabbed the saber-toothed red tiger's fang, using it like a short blade, and kicked off a tree trunk, using the spring force to leap up.

"Poof!"

The sharp tiger fang pierced straight into the Blue Fire Deer's forehead, impaling its head.

"Bang!"

The Blue Fire Deer struggled a few times and finally fell to the ground, barely alive.

Zhang Ruochen pulled out the tiger fang and stabbed it into the Blue Fire Deer's abdomen, ending its life.

The Ninth Princess immediately rushed over, looking at the Blue Fire Deer's corpse on the ground, still somewhat disbelieving what had just happened, "Ninth Brother... you killed a first-class superior beast."

Zhang Ruochen glanced at her, stood up, and used a cloth to bandage his burned hand, saying, "Not me, but us."

The Ninth Princess naturally knew that she hadn't helped much. If it weren't for Zhang Ruochen's palm strike to the Blue Fire Deer's head, which slowed it down, her Thunder Arrow wouldn't have hit the Blue Fire Deer's eye.

Of course, she was still extremely happy, as she had participated in the hunt of the first-class superior beast and succeeded.

The Ninth Princess, extremely excited, immediately pounced on Zhang Ruochen, hugging him.

"Ninth Brother, we are simply the best combat partners, our cooperation is so默契!"

Her soft, tender arms tightly wrapped around Zhang Ruochen's neck, and her chest, full of elasticity, pressed against him, almost knocking him to the ground.

Zhang Ruochen raised an arm, pressing it against the Ninth Princess's shoulder, maintaining a certain distance, and said indifferently, "We should go back!"

Seeing Zhang Ruochen's cold demeanor, the Ninth Princess stomped her foot, frowned, and said, "I am your sister, I won't eat you, do you have to always look so disdainful?"

Zhang Ruochen walked out of the Tiger Roar Slope, mounted the antelope horse, and glanced at the Ninth Princess, saying, "Let's go!"

The Ninth Princess rolled her eyes, placed her hand in Zhang Ruochen's palm, landed behind him, and extended her arms to hug his waist, resting her beautiful face on his back, teasing, "Ninth Prince, quickly take your beautiful sister away from this place of slaughter!"

Zhang Ruochen lightly shook his head, rode the antelope horse, and immediately charged out of the dense forest, heading towards the royal martial arena.

...

Of the forty-three young martial artists participating in the hunt, twenty-six had already returned to the royal martial arena, leaving seventeen who had not yet returned.

Those who had not returned at this time were either accidentally killed by beasts or had not yet hunted any beasts.

"Min'er, how was this hunt?" asked the Fifth Prince's mother, Lady He.

The Fifth Prince's face was filled with a confident smile, saying, "Mother, rest assured, no one will have a better score than me in this royal mountain hunt!"

"That is the best," Lady He nodded and smiled.

Lin Fengxian also cast a questioning glance at Lin Nian, saying, "Nian'er, this is your first time participating in the royal mountain hunt, you must have encountered many difficulties, right?"

Lin Nian shook her head, also very confident, saying, "The royal mountain hunt was easier than I imagined, with no difficulties at all. I am confident that I will definitely enter the top ten in this round of the assessment."

Lin Nian glanced at the direction of the royal mountain, seeing that Zhang Ruochen had not yet returned, and felt even more pleased, thinking to herself, "It seems he hasn't hunted any beasts yet. After all, he has only been practicing martial arts for three months. Taking heavenly treasures can quickly boost one's strength, but it cannot improve one's combat experience."

At this moment, Lin Fei also became anxious, staring intently in the direction of the royal mountain.

Subsequently, the young martial artists participating in the hunt returned one after another.

The faces of those who returned at this time mostly lacked joy, looking worried and clearly having not hunted any beasts in the royal mountain.

"Where are the Ninth Prince and the Ninth Princess? I hope nothing has happened to them."

Everyone began to worry, as in previous years, some young martial artists had been killed by beasts during the royal mountain hunt.

Prince Yunwu frowned slightly and was about to send people into the royal mountain to search for the Ninth Prince and the Ninth Princess.

Suddenly, a voice rang out in the crowd, "They're back! The Ninth Prince and the Ninth Princess are back!"

Lin Fei, Lin Nian, and the other princes and princesses all turned their gazes towards the direction of the royal mountain, seeing the Ninth Prince and the Ninth Princess riding together, galloping from a distance.

Returning to the royal martial arena, Zhang Ruochen and the Ninth Princess dismounted from the antelope horse and walked towards Prince Yunwu.

"Your Highness!" said Zhang Ruochen.

"Father!" said the Ninth Princess.

Prince Yunwu laughed aloud, saying, "Ninth Son, why did you and Xi'er ride together?"

The Ninth Princess quickly said, "Father, in the royal mountain, we were attacked by an Iron-skinned Beast Bull. My mount was severely injured, so I had to ride with Ninth Brother."

Prince Yunwu's gaze fell on Zhang Ruochen, saying, "Ninth Son, is that true?"

"Yes," said Zhang Ruochen.

Prince Yunwu nodded, looking at Zhang Ruochen's injured right arm, saying, "Ninth Son, this is your first time participating in the royal mountain hunt and your first time fighting a beast. Moreover, you only opened your Divine Martial Mark three months ago. Even if you didn't hunt any beasts, don't be too discouraged."

"I understand!"

Zhang Ruochen did not explain further, just said indifferently.

The Ninth Princess's lips moved, but she ultimately did not say anything.

The Sixth Prince and the Fifth Prince, seeing Zhang Ruochen's injured state, felt very happy.

Lin Nian's lips also curled slightly. In the previous round of strength assessment, Zhang Ruochen had indeed stood out, but when it came to fighting beasts, he was still far too lacking!