Chapter 24

"Phantom Raccoon Cat?"

Yefeng muttered to himself, his eyes fixed on the black shadow on a nearby branch.

The Phantom Raccoon Cat looked similar to the raccoon cats Yefeng had seen in his previous life, but it was much larger, even bigger than an ordinary leopard.

'Phantom Raccoon Cat, a high-level beast, excels in speed, which can even rival that of first or second-stage ferocious beasts. It has sharp teeth and claws, making it invincible among beasts,' the moment Yefeng saw the Phantom Raccoon Cat, some information surfaced in his mind.

Speed generally implies power, after all, the impact force brought by speed is quite terrifying.

Although Yefeng rarely encountered such things, he had lived here for four years and knew about various beasts. Moreover, the ferocious beasts and beasts in this area had long been compiled into books and sold in the market.

Seeing the Phantom Raccoon Cat, Yefeng's heart stirred, and he put his spear back.

The Phantom Raccoon Cat, seeing Yefeng put the spear back, darted down from the tree like a bolt of black lightning, pouncing at Yefeng.

Yefeng, watching the pouncing raccoon cat, did not move his feet but slightly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the attack.

Yefeng dodged but did not counterattack; instead, he let it attack.

Yefeng had learned the Inch Step, but he lacked practical combat experience. The Phantom Raccoon Cat was an excellent practice target.

The essence of the Inch Step was to dodge the opponent's attack in a small space and then counterattack at the right moment.

Side step...

Leap step...

Retreat step...

Yefeng tried out each move and variation of the Inch Step.

Suddenly, Yefeng's steps became slightly clumsy at a transition point, and with a "ts!" his chest clothes were torn, leaving several blood marks on his skin.

Yefeng seemed to feel nothing, adjusted his steps, and continued dodging.

An hour...

The nine variations of the first step were already completely familiar.

Two hours...

The seven variations of the second step were also mastered and integrated into the actual combat.

Three hours...

...

After five hours, Yefeng's clothes were in tatters, and his chest was covered in blood, but he had mastered all nine variations of the second step. The tattered clothes and wounds were the result of practicing the last two variations of the second step.

Now, a single Phantom Raccoon Cat could hardly harm him.

Five hours of practice made Yefeng's breathing slightly heavy. This was Yefeng; if it were another martial artist, they wouldn't have lasted even half an hour.

At this moment, the advantage of body tempering became evident. As long as his body didn't feel tired, there was no problem. However, martial artists couldn't do that. Even third or fourth-stage martial artists couldn't sustain their spiritual energy burst for half an hour.

After five hours, even the Phantom Raccoon Cat's movements had become sluggish, and it was panting heavily, with two white mists spewing from its nostrils.

But Yefeng's steps remained perfectly composed.

With the Iron Body Technique perfected and his body tempering reaching an unknown realm, his physical strength had long surpassed that of the Phantom Raccoon Cat. At this point, killing this raccoon cat would be effortless for him.

The Phantom Raccoon Cat could no longer reach Yefeng's clothes, so after pouncing, it slowly retreated.

Seeing the raccoon cat intending to retreat, Yefeng did not make things difficult for it. After practicing with it for five hours, he had no intention of killing it.

Soon, the raccoon cat disappeared into the forest.

"Meow..."

Not long after, a sharp and mournful cry came from the direction the raccoon cat had run.

Yefeng, who had tangled with the Phantom Raccoon Cat for five hours, naturally recognized the cry as coming from that raccoon cat.

"Hmm? Someone?"

Yefeng pondered for a moment, then ducked into the grass and headed in the direction of the cry.

When Yefeng stood on a tree branch and looked far away, he saw five or six martial artists standing in the middle of the forest, and the raccoon cat lay on the ground, decapitated.

"Is it them?"

When Yefeng looked at the group, a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

Among the martial artists, two were familiar to him; they were the two martial artists who had cheated in the market.

These martial artists were clearly a team, and Yefeng could sense that they were all first-stage martial artists.

Five or six first-stage martial artists gathered here, clearly intending to enter the outer region of the Tianlang Mountains.

Yefeng took a quick look and then gracefully leaped away from the tree, intending to leave.

"Who's there?" Just as Yefeng was about to leave, one of the martial artists suddenly turned and looked in his direction, drawing his sword and shouting.

With the martial artist's shout, the others also turned around, drew their weapons, and rushed towards Yefeng's location.

But when they reached the tree where Yefeng had been, he was already gone.

"Old Five, was there someone there?"

Seeing no one, the market cheat asked the martial artist who had shouted.

"I just felt some movement here. Did I get it wrong?"

"Forget it, forget it. If there's no one, then there's no one! A raccoon cat is worth a lot of money. Let's clean it up quickly!"

After a few words, they looked around and then walked back along the original path.

At this moment, on a nearby tree with lush branches, Yefeng stood quietly, watching them leave.

Yefeng was not afraid of these people, but he was here to make money and did not want to cause trouble.

Four years in the Flying Tiger Team had made Yefeng very alert. Therefore, after these people left, Yefeng did not move. Among the people who had come, two were beyond his comprehension, likely second or third-stage martial artists.

Of course, they couldn't be higher. The most likely was that they were second-stage martial artists. If they were third-stage or higher, they wouldn't team up with first-stage martial artists, as it would severely affect efficiency.

"Did I really see wrong?"

"Let's go! We can't waste time!"

After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, these martial artists reappeared quietly.

This time, after seeing them leave, Yefeng also dashed away towards the distance.

Yefeng stood at the bottom of a canyon, looking at the lush forest on the other side, his heart filled with caution. The other side of the canyon belonged to the outer region of the Tianlang Mountains.

The trees in the outer region of the Tianlang Mountains were almost twice as tall as those where he was, with trees dozens of feet tall everywhere. Here, even a single plant could be deadly.

After checking the things he carried, Yefeng cautiously entered the outer region of the Tianlang Mountains.

He couldn't afford to be careless. Even fifth or sixth-stage martial artists died here in the outer region of the Tianlang Mountains.

Entering the outer region of the Tianlang Mountains, Yefeng took a deep breath, feeling refreshed.

"What dense spiritual energy!" Sensing the spiritual energy in the air, which was twice as much as outside, Yefeng sighed deeply. He believed that if he practiced here, the speed of absorbing spiritual energy would definitely match the consumption of his physical strength.

However, Yefeng didn't have time to linger here, so he quickly ran deep into the outer region of the Tianlang Mountains.

After an hour of running, a small lake surrounded by mountains appeared before him. Yefeng quietly approached the lake.

The presence of water meant the presence of ferocious beasts, and it might not be just one. This was Yefeng's experience from four years in the Flying Tiger Team.

Yefeng quietly climbed onto a large rock surrounded by weeds and looked towards the lake from a distance.

"Blue-eyed Green Wolf! Damn, not just one?"

When he looked over, he immediately saw a familiar figure, the Blue-eyed Green Wolf he had killed by chance last time. This time, it wasn't just one but a group of about twenty to thirty, likely a pack.

Yefeng had seen the ferocity of the Blue-eyed Green Wolf. Even with his greatly improved strength, killing one might be possible, but a whole pack would be beyond him, even for a few third-stage martial artists.

Thinking of this, Yefeng began to search around. He knew that every pack of ferocious beasts had a king.

"Hmm?" After a moment, Yefeng saw a huge Blue-eyed Green Wolf in the pack. These Blue-eyed Green Wolves were already over a meter tall and two meters long, but this one was about half again as large. Yefeng estimated it to be about two meters tall and at least three meters long.

This was only in this world. If it were on Earth in his previous life, it would have been considered a prehistoric monster.

But after coming to this world and seeing its wonders, Yefeng knew that prehistoric monsters definitely existed. After all, this world felt similar to the prehistoric environment of Earth.

Third stage? Fourth stage?

Looking at the Blue-eyed Green Wolf King lying in the pack, Yefeng muttered to himself.