Chapter 75: Feline Fear

Not wanting to overload my brain, I had decided to only activate my enhanced sixth sense in short bursts instead of continually maintaining an overdrive state. As long as I timed them correctly, I should theoretically be able to use my enhanced sixth sense for an overall longer period of time, and at the most crucial moments.

As the shadow leopard slashed at me, I tilted my sword at an angle in order to slide it smoothly into the weakest line of qi that I could perceive. With a single, deft stroke, I traced the line and cut apart the shadow leopard's paw.

The spirit beast howled in agony and recoiled, blood spraying from its stump. Its claws crashed into the ground, split into several pieces, but I ignored them. Still maintaining my enhanced sixth sense, I continued to carve my way through the shadow leopard's weak points, dealing two strikes toward its neck and tracing my blade from its collarbone to hip, and shoulder to waist.

Blood spurted out from the mortally wounded shadow leopard. It tried to retreat, but when I pursued, it lashed out desperately to keep me at bay.

Bad mistake.

I reversed the trajectory of my sword. The shadow leopard bellowed in agony as its remaining front paw fell apart, torn flesh and ripped muscle spilling to the ground with globs of blood. Snarling, the shadow leopard bared its teeth and lunged forward, a final last ditch effort to tear my throat out and bring me down with it. One last display of defiance.

Unfortunately, I wasn't keen on dying with the shadow leopard. My brain was starting to burn from the strain brought about by my enhanced sixth sense. I had to end this quickly. Even though I had already done enough damage to the shadow leopard to bring about its inevitable death, I wasn't a sadist who wanted to draw out its suffering.

Using a foot technique, I slipped past the shadow leopard's snapping jaws before drawing my sword across its throat and beheading it instantly. Heaving, I deactivated my enhanced sixth sense and slumped down. With shaking hands, I put my glasses back on and turned to stare at the twitching corpse of my erstwhile foe.

"Huff…"

Breathing heavily, I stabbed the ground with my sword and used my weapon to support myself unsteadily as I stood up. Glancing at my allies, I saw that Xia Xing Yue and her fellow Ten Thousand Swords University schoolmates had successfully slain the shadow leopard. The three guys who tried to help me earlier, on the other hand, were staring at me in awe.

"How…?"

"You killed he shadow leopard! By yourself!"

"At a great cost," I muttered before stumbling. A couple of them hurried forward to catch me before I fell to the ground. I sheathed my sword and leaned on them gratefully, allowing me to help me back to the safety of my barrier formation.

"Good job," Xia Xing Yue told me as she and her teammates returned. She gave me a curious look. "That was impressive. How did you defeat a warrior-ranked shadow leopard on your own? Those sword techniques…I've been meaning to tell you since the first time I've seen them, but they are like nothing I've ever seen before."

"Trade secret," I said with a mysterious smile. Xia Xing Yue giggled and shook her head. I watched her, noting that she was mostly unscathed. A few bruises and scratches here and there from her battle against the shadow leopard, but she evidently emerged in much better shape than me.

"Are you all right?" Mu Zi Xing asked worriedly when she hurried over. Si Nan accompanied her, also wearing an expression of concern.

"Do I look all right?" I retorted, more harshly than I intended. I tried to get rid of some of the sting by forcing a smile and making my question sound like a joke. Raising my wounded arms, I waved at her. "Sorry, I'll be relying on you. I hope you aren't too exhausted. It sounds like you've been doing a lot of healing."

"Not at all." Despite Mu Zi Xing's assurance, she was clearly pale and trembling. Si Nan had to help her up.

"I know Shu Cong is in bad shape, but he'll live. Don't force yourself, Mu Zi Xing."

"Everyone is doing their best. Not only did Shu Cong protect us with his barrier formation, he also defeated one of those shadow leopards. So how can I not do my best as well?"

"You don't have to pressure yourself," I told her. Si Nan nodded in agreement.

"You already did your best, Mu Zi Xing. And you can heal Shu Cong later once you've recovered a little."

"Don't worry, I can handle this." Mu Zi Xing narrowed her eyes when she returned her attention to me. "You've lost a bit too much blood."

I closed my eyes and allowed her to heal me. warm qi suffused my body and I could feel my natural regenerative mechanisms kick in, my torn flesh knitting together as if they had fast forward a couple of weeks.

"Mu Zi Xing!"

My eyes flew open and I caught sight of Si Nan catching Mu Zi Xing as she fell. She forced a smile and tried to wave hi away, but her childhood friend stubbornly cradled in his arms in a protective manner.

"I'm all right. Just tired."

"I told you not to overdo it!"

"Sorry." I couldn't help but feel guilty. Si Nan shook her head.

"It's not your fault. Mu Zi Xing knew the risks and she decided to take them anyway. And you did your best to protect us too, so I understand why she wanted to help. I would have done the same thing if I was in her shoes."

He then returned his soft and kind gaze to Mu Zi Xing before gently placing her on his lap.

"Rest now, Mu Zi Xing."

"I'll go check on Xia Xing Yue and the others," I said, rising to my feet. I intended to give the two childhood sweethearts some time alone. Additionally, it appeared that Xia Xing Yue and her teammates were collecting parts of the shadow leopards. Fur, claws, fangs and other stuff.

The various parts of spirit beasts were valuable and could be used for a lot of things. The fur, for example, would make great rugs or clothing, while the claws and fangs could be melted down to forge spirit weapons. I also heard that the organs of spirit beasts were great for traditional Chinese medicine and the like. If I was less injured, I would have helped out in collecting the various parts of the shadow leopard too.

"Oh, good to see that you're back on your feet." Xia Xing Yue glanced up when I approached. She was busily cutting up a chunk of meat from the shadow leopard's carcass. Despite being a beautiful girl, she wasn't averse to performing such grisly tasks. I felt my admiration for her soar further, tempered by the blood staining her arms.

"Do you need your injuries treated?" I asked, noting the cuts and bruises. Xia Xing Yue scoffed.

"They'll heal on their own. And your friend needs rest. I'll live." She then paused and glanced at the shadow leopard. "Don't worry, you'll get your share. You single-handedly killed one of the shadow leopards, after all. I'll make sure you receive the proportionate rewards. We'll split the credits evenly after we sell them all, and you'll get at least half."

"I don't need that much. Three of your schoolmates helped me. Make sure they get their share too."

"You really are a nice person, aren't you?" Xia Xing Yue shook her head. "Okay. Oh, and if you want anything, like a fang or claw or fur, let me know. Since you did most of the work, you get first pick. If you intend to use the shadow leopard parts for forging a spirit weapon or armament, go ahead."

"Nah, I prefer the credits."

"Good. That does make it a lot easier to divide out the shares."

"That was badass!" One of the other Ten Thousand Swords Academy students said as he looked up from his bloody handiwork. I recognized him as one of the three who helped me fight the shadow leopard earlier. He then scowled. "Cang Mu and his grandfather were really stupid. It's their fault that a genius like you was driven away from our school! I wish you could have been our schoolmate."

"I appreciate it, but I wouldn't have learned to create spirit arrays like that if I joined your school." I jabbed a thumb toward my barrier formation. The student chuckled.

"True. Oh, I'm Jian Hu. If you need anything from Ten Thousand Swords Academy, you can contact me in future."

He then lowered his voice and winked at me mischievously.

"That includes trying to pursue our campus goddess here."

"Nah, I'm not that shameless." I rubbed my forehead, trying not to sound too awkward. "I know my place."

"Dude, you do know you're like the most impressive newcomer in our generation?" Jian Hu was about to say something more, but I suddenly shoved him down. "Whoa?! What are you…?!"

He trailed off when he saw the gigantic claws gouge a huge chunk out of the shadow leopard's carcass he was tending to.

"Get back!" I ordered, pushing him. He nodded, zipping up his haversack full of shadow leopard parts as he retreated.

"What is a winged demonic tiger doing here?!" Xia Xing Yue's voice was filled with shock and fear. Her teammates were scattering as they tried to avoid its swipes. Roaring, the winged demonic tiger spread its wings and conjured a fierce wind that blew us off our feet.

"A commander-ranked spirit beast!"

"NOO! We'll die!"

"Run!"

"Get back to the barrier formation!" I shouted, waving the fleeing students toward the direction of my spirit formation. "It won't hold for long against a commander-ranked spirit beast, but it should be able to withstand a few blows at least!"

"I'll buy time for the retreat!"

Xia Xing Yue had drawn her sword and summoned about a hundred or so ice swords, which she unleashed upon the winged demonic tiger. The colossal white spirit beast snarled and lightning crackled around its titanic body. Golden bolts seared through the air and smashed the vicious volley of ice swords apart.

"Ugh?!"

Xia Xing Yue tried to defend herself with her sword, but a massive bolt of lightning swept her off her feet. As she tumbled, the winged demonic tiger pounced. There was no way an intelligent and cunning creature like it would miss the chance to capitalize upon its stunned prey.

However, its claws slashed through thin air. The winged demonic tiger growled in frustration, glaring at the empty space where its prey had been.

A few dozen meters away, both Xia Xing Yue and I reappeared. I supported her, but she was still shaky on her feet. I could feel the tingle as the electric currents of the winged demonic tiger's lightning attack from earlier remained coursing through her body. No wonder Xia Xing Yue was unable to stand. Her limbs were probably numb.

"Are you all right?"

"Thanks…you saved me again." Xia Xing Yue allowed me to pull her back underneath the protective aegis of my barrier formation, where I entrusted her to Jian Hu and her other schoolmates. Outside, the winged demonic tiger lunged at us, slashing the barrier and causing the entire place to shake violently from the impact.

For a moment, I thought the barrier would shatter, but the dome of defensive energy simply shimmered and held firm. However, I was aware that it wouldn't be able to handle much more.

"All of you guys, get ready to retreat. I'll distract the winged demonic tiger."

"You can't!" Xia Xing Yue protested. "You're no match for it!"

"Yeah," Si Nan agreed angrily. "That will be suicide!"

"Don't worry, I don't intend to fight the winged demonic tiger head-on." I pushed my glasses up my nose. "You guys have seen my footwork technique. If there's anyone here who can evade the winged demonic tiger, it'll be me."

"That's…"

"We don't have a choice." I glanced up and watched the winged demonic tiger hurl ferocious lightning bolts at my barrier. Several of the spirit runes I had etched onto the ground burned out and the glowing dome flickered dimmer. The winged demonic tiger roared triumphantly and slashed at the barrier, causing cobwebs of cracks to splinter across its surface. "If I don't distract it while you guys make a run for it, none of you will survive."