Wang Zhan's words immediately made Song Dongming and Huang Pufeng tense.

They both knew about Wang Zhan's awakening of mental energy.

"A big guy?" Song Dongming lowered his voice, his tone carrying a long-lost trace of tension. "This 'big guy' you're talking about, it's not..."

"Exactly as you're thinking, a soldier-level beast," Wang Zhan confirmed solemnly with a nod.

During the Beast Tide in Chang'an City, Wang Zhan had encountered numerous soldier-level and even General-level beasts. Consequently, he could clearly discern the relative strength of their auras.

"About four or five hundred meters to the east, right at the limit of my mental energy detection," Wang Zhan said quietly.

After breaking through to a level 9 Martial Artist, the range of his mental energy resonating with Spiritual Energy had reached 45 meters, and the detection range was roughly ten times this number.

"To the east... Flame Valley is to the west. We can bypass it," Song Dongming suggested.

However, Huang Pufeng noticed something odd about Wang Zhan and asked quietly, "You're not planning to take on a soldier-level beast, are you?"

Song Dongming abruptly looked at Wang Zhan; sure enough, Wang Zhan appeared eager.

"Are you mad? You've seen how strong a soldier-level beast can be!"

"Well, I've reached level 9," Wang Zhan shrugged. "Moreover, the aura of that soldier-level beast isn't very strong. It's just a lower Soldier-level beast, and a weaker one at that."

A soldier-level beast corresponds to the Warrior and Martial Master stages for Human Martial Artists.

Unlike humans, whose power levels can be clearly delineated with a precise system developed through cultivation, the strength of beasts has always been rather vague.

Soldier-level beasts are categorized into lower, middle, and upper tiers. Lower Soldier-level beasts equate to level 1 to 6 Warriors. Middle-tier ones correspond to Warriors above level 7 up to Martial Masters below level 3. Upper-tier beasts are equivalent to Martial Masters at level 4 and above.

Meeting the astonished gazes of Song Dongming and Huang Pufeng, Wang Zhan elaborated, "The aura of this lower Soldier-level beast isn't too strong. It's among the weakest of soldier-level beasts; its body is only about double that of an ordinary level 9 Martial Artist."

"That's still a chasm of a difference! Even the top genius Martial Artists only surpass their Limit by about 30 percent. They still have a mere 30 to 40 percent gap with the weakest soldier-level beast!"

"I surpass my Limit by 50 percent, which means the gap between me and a lower Soldier-level beast is at most 20 percent!" Wang Zhan stated earnestly. "Moreover, I have many martial arts to amplify my strength. My mental energy range is close to half that of a Warrior. This is enough to bridge the gap with that beast; I might even have a slight advantage!"

At these words, Song Dongming fell silent.

He knew Wang Zhan had made up his mind.

"We can't help with this," Song Dongming said with a bitter smile. Huang Pufeng also nodded helplessly.

Both of them were rising stars of the Military Martial Academy, even contenders for the top echelons, but compared to Wang Zhan, they felt for the first time the disparity in power and the unbearable helplessness of wanting to assist but being unable to.

Over the past few months, they had watched Wang Zhan's cultivation speed progress from being weaker than them, to catching up, and finally to reaching a level far beyond them.

"Don't worry, I won't overexert myself. Just cover for me," Wang Zhan reassured with a smile.

Once decided, the three, led by Wang Zhan, quickly headed east.

The distance of four to five hundred meters was but a short journey for them. In just over a minute, they could already see the soldier-level beast Wang Zhan had mentioned from a distance.

"A Cang Lei Ying… It's extremely fast, and its natural Talent allows it to wield Thunder Power." Song Dongming frowned deeply. "Are you sure you still want to go? Cang Lei Ying are typically only level 8 or 9 beasts. This one does indeed seem to be the weakest among soldier-level beasts, but it can fly."

"Let's give it a try. If it doesn't work out, I'll hold it back while you two escape first," Wang Zhan said. "Don't worry, I'm confident I can retreat in one piece."

Upon hearing this, Song Dongming and Huang Pufeng knew Wang Zhan's mind was made up. They didn't attempt to dissuade him further but obediently concealed their presence on the spot.

Meanwhile, Wang Zhan concentrated all of his mental energy on the area where the Cang Lei Ying was, highly focused and ready for action.

Wang Zhan approached slowly. The Cang Lei Ying was resting, seemingly unaware of his presence.

One hundred meters... fifty meters...

Just as he stepped within a fifty-meter radius of the Cang Lei Ying, it suddenly let out a long cry and abruptly turned to look at Wang Zhan.

SCREECH!

With another sharp cry, the Cang Lei Ying flew towards Wang Zhan without any hesitation!

Only then did Wang Zhan realize how terrifying this Cang Lei Ying was.

It hadn't seemed that intimidating from a distance, but facing it up close, he realized that the Cang Lei Ying's wingspan was nearly ten meters!

Just hovering in mid-air, it blocked a large portion of the sunlight, casting Wang Zhan completely in its shadow.

Its talons shone with a sharp light, like a pair of sharp weapons lunging at Wang Zhan! Just judging by size, they were almost on par with Wang Zhan himself.

Wang Zhan drew a deep breath; the more critical the situation, the more important it was to stay calm.

"Wind and Cloud Break, Wind Rises and Clouds Surge!"

Wang Zhan's mental energy, already primed, instantly surged, stimulating the largest possible range of Spiritual Energy around him.

A violent wind suddenly whipped up. In the blink of an eye, it had formed a dark tornado, tearing up the grass on the ground, the branches of distant trees, and everything else that could be moved.

At the same time, the Cang Lei Ying had arrived directly above Wang Zhan.

The sudden violent wind clearly caught the Cang Lei Ying off guard. Spreading its wings, it was blown off course, its claws striking empty air.

"Great opportunity!" Wang Zhan's eyes lit up.

This was the opportunity he was waiting for.

The Cang Lei Ying could fly, and without finding a way to get close to it, Wang Zhan would face endless sky-to-ground harassment.

Taking advantage of the moment when the Cang Lei Ying couldn't control its body, Wang Zhan leaped up and grabbed its two talons. Then, with a strong pull of his arms, he soared a few more meters, ultimately landing heavily on the Cang Lei Ying's back!

The feathers on the Cang Lei Ying's body were as sharp as blades. As Wang Zhan held onto its back, his hand was instantly sliced by several cuts.

"Even my body can't withstand it?" Wang Zhan observed with widened eyes, gaining a new understanding of the terror of soldier-level beasts.

Although they were just superficial wounds on his hand, they were caused merely by feathers!

Wang Zhan didn't hesitate. The back was undoubtedly the Cang Lei Ying's weakness. He swung his dagger and thrust it with all his might at the Cang Lei Ying's body hidden beneath the feathers.

"Military Way Killing Fist!"

A cold, murderous aura enveloped the Cang Lei Ying. As the dagger plunged, it met noticeable resistance for a moment, but then it successfully pierced through its hide, the entire dagger sinking into the Cang Lei Ying's body.

SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!

The Cang Lei Ying's cries grew urgent. It began to fly high, taking Wang Zhan to a terrifyingly high altitude, and then continually changed direction in mid-air, trying to throw Wang Zhan off.

But Wang Zhan held onto the dagger tightly, like a nail hammered into the Cang Lei Ying's body.

Moreover, as the Cang Lei Ying attempted to shake Wang Zhan off, the wound made by the dagger continued to enlarge. Fresh Blood rained down profusely from the sky.

This standoff lasted roughly seven or eight minutes.

When the wound on the Cang Lei Ying's back reached almost a meter in length, it seemed to finally exhaust its energy. It was forced to lower its altitude, heading towards the ground.

"Is it finally over?" Wang Zhan exhaled slightly.

But just then, an intense sense of danger washed over him. He then noticed electric light flickering on the Cang Lei Ying's feathers, and his hand holding the dagger grew numb.

"Thunder Power?" Wang Zhan's eyes widened.

Without the slightest hesitation, Wang Zhan immediately retracted all his extended mental energy, using it to form an invisible armor around himself.

Immediately after, violent lightning suddenly surrounded Wang Zhan.

"Five Thunder Deity Refinement Method!"

Almost simultaneously, all of the Cang Lei Ying's feathers stood on end, and then lightning, identical to that around Wang Zhan, suddenly flashed!

CRACKLE! POP! A series of electric flashes lit up the sky, lasting for a good few tens of seconds.

Finally, the lightning dissipated. The Cang Lei Ying seemed to have lost all strength, unable even to maintain flight, and plummeted straight down from the sky.

At this point, they were about a hundred meters high. Falling from this height, although Wang Zhan wouldn't die, he would definitely be severely injured.

But Wang Zhan already had a plan.

While the Cang Lei Ying was on the verge of death, he brandished his dagger once more, decisively finishing it off.

'Strength +27'

'Agility +36'

'Physique +29'

Three prompts sounded in his ear, but Wang Zhan paid them no mind for the moment.

Just as man and beast were about to crash into the ground, Wang Zhan forcefully stomped on the Cang Lei Ying's corpse beneath his feet.

Aided by this reactive force, his falling speed dramatically reduced, and he landed safely several seconds later.

By this time, the Cang Lei Ying's corpse had already smashed a deep pit nearly ten meters wide into the ground.

After landing, Wang Zhan gasped for air and unceremoniously plopped down into the deep pit, his face filled with excitement.

I did it, a soldier-level beast! And soldier-level beasts actually give three types of attribute points at once, and the values aren't small either. Wang Zhan thought gleefully.

At the same time, Song Dongming and Huang Pufeng quickly arrived at the deep pit.

Seeing Wang Zhan sitting unscathed, for a moment, the two of them didn't know what to say.

It was Song Dongming who, after taking a deep breath and examining the Cang Lei Ying's corpse for a long while, finally looked at Wang Zhan.

"You... You're not injured?"

"No. I identified this big guy's weakness on its back early on. It couldn't harm me."

"What about the lightning just now?" Huang Pufeng also asked.

"I used the Five Thunder Deity Refinement Method to block it," Wang Zhan grinned.

Huang Pufeng and Song Dongming exchanged a look, then both looked back at Wang Zhan.

"Damn, bro, you're awesome."

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