Chapter 19. First kill.

As Li Chen made his move, the scorpion-tailed wild bull immediately sensed the danger, bellowing loudly as it started to pull back, trying to dodge the impending threat.

Although it didn't fully escape Li Chen's sword strike, it succeeded in preventing a decapitation. Nonetheless, Li Chen's blade left a deep gash on its neck.

Li Chen grinned at the outcome; he hadn't expected to defeat the scorpion-tailed wild bull with a single surprise attack. Aware that wild beasts possess keen senses and instincts for danger, vital for their survival in the wilderness, he felt content with the result.

Unlike Li Chen, the scorpion-tailed wild bull was far from pleased, incensed by the severe wound inflicted by him.

Roar!

"Damn, it's really furious now," Li Chen muttered, hearing the beast's wrathful roar.

The beast roared again, sounding even more furious as it charged at Li Chen. Its massive body shook the ground as it advanced relentlessly.

The Scorpion-tailed bull looked like a normal bull but possessed a large, strong, and sharp horn. It was covered in brownish-black fur and had a very fluffy tail, which might seem cute at first glance — if one ignored the fierce creature it was attached to. But under those furs lay a lethal scorpion-like stinger, filled with poison.

A single sting could weaken and stiffen one's body, causing paralysis, and if the venom wasn't treated promptly with an antidote, it would start to rot the victim's organs, leading to death.

Despite its size, the scorpion-tailed wild bull moved with astonishing speed towards Li Chen, closing the distance in a flash.

"Damn it," Li Chen cursed as he swiftly dodged to evade the charge.

Seeing Li Chen dodge, the scorpion-tailed wild bull roared in anger and flicked its tail in his direction. The seemingly innocuous fluffy tail concealed a sinister, scorpion-like stinger underneath. What's worse, the tail was extending rapidly towards Li Chen, as if it was some sort of retractable weapon.

"Fuck!" Li Chen exclaimed, using his swords to deflect the stinging attack, causing it to thud into the ground instead.

Seizing the moment, Li Chen lashed out with his sword, aiming to sever it.

But to Li Chen's surprise, his sword clanged as if striking metal, only managing to nick the tail, yet even this small crack was enough to drive the scorpion-tailed wild bull to the brink of rage.

The tail of the scorpion-tailed wild bull was as crucial to it as a limb to a human; losing it would render the bull almost helpless and severely diminish its power.

Upon realizing the damage to its tail, the scorpion-tailed wild bull roared furiously and lunged at Li Chen with renewed speed.

Upon realizing his disadvantage, Li Chen quickly began to retreat. He knew he wasn't strong enough to confront the scorpion-tailed wild bull directly, which was precisely why he had opted for a sneak attack initially.

Now, with the beast wounded and still bleeding heavily from the neck injury, Li Chen planned to prolong the battle, allowing the beast to weaken from blood loss. Once it was sufficiently weakened, he intended to deliver the final blow.

However, Li Chen was aware that he couldn't drag out the fight for too long, as the scent of the scorpion-tailed wild bull's blood might attract other nearby beasts to their location.

The scorpion-tailed wild bull, seeing Li Chen's retreat, launched a series of aggressive attacks, stinging and trying to gore him with its horn, determined to kill Li Chen. Though they had only just met, Li Chen had already made a significantly negative impression on it.

Time passed, and the scorpion-tailed wild bull showed no signs of fatigue, its wound still oozing blood but not hindering its pursuit.

Boom!

After Li Chen dodged its previous charge, the scorpion-tailed wild bull tried to crush him into the ground. Li Chen rolled away, inciting even more fury in the beast as it continued its assault.

Trapped in a cycle of evasive rolls, Li Chen knew he had to act. With a pushing gesture from his right hand, a massive flaming palm materialized and slammed into the scorpion-tailed wild bull, sending it flying and engulfed in flames.

┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓

Congratulations! You have killed a Low-level wild beast – Scorpion-tailed wild bull.

Reward – You have unlocked a new skill – Spirit Eyes (Low tier).

┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛

"Wow!" Li Chen muttered, gazing at the notification screen before him. "Two skills within three days; that's quite lucky," he murmured to himself.

Many cultivators spend years without gaining a new skill, yet here he was, acquiring two in just a few days. Others would surely be envious. Li Chen wondered if he was exhausting all his luck at once. The heavens hadn't always been so generous to him.

'Well, I'll worry about that later,' Li Chen thought, turning his attention back to the holographic screen to read the description of the Spirit Eyes.

The Spirit Eyes were described as a passive skill that would enhance his perception, allowing him to see things more clearly. However, looking around, Li Chen noticed no change in his vision; everything appeared the same.

"Pfft, I should have known. Another skill and it's a useless one," Li Chen scoffed, dismissing the screen as he turned his attention to the carcass of the scorpion-tailed wild bull.

The beast's body was severely burned, and its belly was ruptured where the fire claw had struck.

"Wow!" Li Chen exclaimed, impressed by the devastating effect of the fire claw. He knew he had been fortunate to land those hits; if the bull hadn't been blinded by rage, its instincts would have likely allowed it to evade the attack. Li Chen realized that timing would be crucial when using the fire claw in the future.

He then stored the beast's corpse in his spatial ring. Although the body of a scorpion-tailed wild bull wasn't particularly valuable aside from its tail, Li Chen wasn't skilled enough to extract the tail without causing damage, so he decided to sell the entire body to preserve the tail's worth.

With the scorpion-tailed wild bull secured in his spatial ring, Li Chen prepared to leave in search of new prey. But just as he turned to go, something caught the corner of his eye.

"TF is that?"