The Rockpiercer Springbok preferred areas that were lush with grass and sparse with trees.
Ye Xi took in a deep breath of the clean air to calm himself down, and then he began scouring the jungle for their tracks.
This was a tedious task, but as time passed, Ye Xi remained focused, showing no signs of impatience.
Effort would not let down a sincere individual, and he finally found some of their feces hidden behind a shrub. Following the trail of feces, he found his way to a lush, grassy clearing.
The grass here was abundant, growing dense and tall. At its shortest, the grass grew to half the height of an adult human.
The Rockpiercer Springboks moved between the patches of grass. The grass was so high that only their backs and heads were visible, and sometimes, they would lower their heads to feed on the grass, concealing the entirety of their bodies.
Ye Xi quietly climbed up a nearby tree and looked down from it.
He was in no rush to strike. He first surveyed the grassland.
With his enhanced vision, he quickly spotted a Cave Lion standing in a seemingly peaceful patch of grass, a Sabertooth Tiger that had hidden itself well in the grass, and a Flower Python pretending to be a vine around a tree.
These predators were greedily staring at the Springboks in the grass.
The Sabertooth Tiger had its eyes on a Springbok as it slowly and stealthily approached.
Seeing the Sabertooth Tiger getting closer and closer to the Springbok, the Cave Lion decided to attack, unleashing a heaven-shaking roar and lunging at the herd of Springboks.
Whoosh! This was like oil being thrown on a pot of heated water, and the entire meadow exploded.
The Springboks that had been quietly eating grass immediately began to jump into the air and flee.
Not good! Ye Xi swiftly reached behind him to get his bow and arrows.
Seeing the Springbok herd fleeing, the Sabertooth Tiger stopped hiding, swiftly emerging from the grass to lunge at its target.
The scene grew even more chaotic, and the Springboks were on the verge of jumping out of the meadow.
If they fled, he wouldn't be able to chase them down!
Ye Xi immediately nocked an arrow and loosed it. It shot out like a lightning bolt and pierced a Springbok through the neck.
While Springboks could jump high and jump quickly, they had large bodies. After practicing archery for a month, Ye Xi could easily hit a Springbok.
When he saw the Springbok fall to the ground, Ye Xi let out a sigh of relief. But then he saw the Cave Lion jump at the fallen Springbok, bite into its throat, and slowly begin to feed on it.
Ye Xi inwardly frowned. Cave Lions had much thicker skin than Springboks, and even an arrow in its throat wouldn't do much except enrage it.
Seeing the last Springbox on the verge of jumping out of the meadow, Ye Xi put aside the feeding Cave Lion, focused his mind, and loosed another arrow.
As the distance was farther, this arrow was not as accurate, and only struck it in the behind.
The arrow did not inflict a fatal wound, but the Springbok's movement slowed by a hair. But just when Ye Xi was about to seize the chance to loose a second arrow, the Sabertooth Tiger came out from nowhere, nimbly lunging here and there before bringing down the Springbok.
What the hell!
Ye Xi was so angry that he could laugh. These scoundrels couldn't hunt their own prey, so they took mine instead! Why don't I shoot another for that Flower Python so that there can be one for each of you?
Screw you! This Springbok is mine!
Ye Xi coldly sneered as he pulled his bow string back to the maximum, aimed at the Sabertooth Tiger's belly, and loosed his arrow.
The string twanged as the arrow rushed toward the Sabertooth Tiger atop the Springbok.
But at the final moment, the Sabertooth Tiger jumped away from the Springbok and fled without turning its head.
The arrow, bereft of its target, flew straight through the neck of the Springbok that had just been about to stand up, killing it in one blow.
Before Ye Xi could feel happy, he saw the Cave Lion suddenly give up on its prey and flee, shortly followed by the Flower Python which had been moving to steal the Cave Lion's prey.
The meadow was instantly emptied, leaving only two Springbok corpses.
Ye Xi felt his heart tremble and an ill foreboding well up in his mind.
There was only one thing that could make predators react this way… A big fellow that they couldn't beat was coming.
It was probably too late to run.
Ye Xi put down his bow and hid himself where the leaves were thickest. He made his breathing quieter, and quieter, and quieter, leaning back against the trunk as his entire being fused with the tree.
Three seconds later.
Rustling came from the jungle, and then two trial participants ran out in a panic.
Ye Xi's breathing didn't change upon seeing the two, but his pupils slightly constricted.
The two trial participants were in wretched condition, and their chests were heaving. They seemed very afraid.
When they saw the meadow, surprise and happiness appeared on their faces. They immediately threw themselves into the meadow, letting the tall grass conceal their tracks.
A few moments later, a sharp shriek came from above, and a massive silhouette slowly flew over.
It was a massive bird of prey.
It had azure feathers, a wingspan of ten meters, and sharp claws that gleamed with cold light.
The moment it appeared, all the insects chirping nearby instantly fell silent.
Ye Xi felt his stomach seize up, an invisible pressure engulfing him.
It flapped its wings and slowly began to circle in the air, its brutal eyes scouring the meadow.
Suddenly, it fiercely flapped its wings, and it seemed like a hurricane tore through the meadow. The grass was flattened and the two figures hiding within were sent rolling out.
Creee!
The sight of the two trial participants caused the bird of prey to raise its head and shriek.
This deafening shriek made Ye Xi's eardrums ache, and he could feel something warm trickling out of his ears.
The two realized that they had been discovered and immediately jumped to their feet, fleeing in different directions.
They were in a terrible state. The bird of prey's screech had caused blood to flow out of every orifice.
The bird of prey was in no rush to pursue. It flapped its wings again, bowling the two of them over.
These strong men were like three-year-old children in front of this bird of prey, completely powerless to fight back.
The bird of prey saw that they had finally stopped running, so it lazily descended, its large claws latching onto one of their shoulders.
These claws were so sharp that they cut through the trial participant's shoulder like it was made of tofu. There was no resistance as the claws dug deep and blood gushed out.
The man cried out in pain from the wound, but he had no strength to fight back. He could only futilely kick in the air.
The other trial participant had lost his weapon, but he still clenched his trembling hands into fists and began to punch at the bird.
The bird of prey casually flapped its wings, immediately sending him rolling several meters.
The bird of prey looked in amusement at its struggling prey. Dropping its head, it prepared to take the first peck of meat.
Swoosh!
A sharp arrow shot into its wing, but then the arrow dropped to the ground, failing to even pierce the skin.
The two despairing men looked toward where the arrow had come from.
On a tree, they saw a familiar figure clothed in black snake skin and holding a bow.
Ye Xi broke out in a cold sweat when he saw what effect the arrow had achieved. Clenching his teeth, he nocked another arrow.
The two trial participants felt like their eyes were going to burst out of their sockets when they swa who it was. It was Ye Xi! It was actually Ye Xi!
"Hurry and run!!!"
"Run!!"
Their eyes turned crimson as they roared at Ye Xi.
The bird of prey stared at Ye Xi with its tyrannical eyes, and then it slowly removed its claws from the flesh of the trial participant.
The two trial participants were filled with regret. If they had known that Ye Xi was here, they would have never drawn the bird of prey here, even if they had to die!
When the bird of prey appeared, Ye Xi had felt a pressure instantly engulfing him. Now that the bird of prey was staring at him, he felt the pressure increase, and it even made his body begin to involuntarily tremble.
Such was the difference between the levels of the animal hierarchy.
This pressure made Ye Xi pale, and his body began to shiver. But his face was devoid of fear, and his eyes were cold and focused.
He took in a deep breath, slowly pulled back the bow string, and then used two lives' worth of composure and focus to steady his hand and take aim at the bird's eye.