"Crack!"
Li Xingyun's sword had pierced into the body of the Howling Moon Wolf.
Yet it penetrated only about half an inch before it could no longer go any deeper.
The terrifying defense of the Fourth Level Demonic Beast, the hardness of its bones, was not inferior to the sword in Li Xingyun's hand.
"Awoo—!"
The Howling Moon Wolf howled in pain as it sent out another blade of Gang Qi from its mouth.
Li Xingyun hurriedly withdrew his sword to block, but still suffered a hit. Although he had clearly practiced a defensive cultivation technique and was not severely injured, the wound was still quite frightful.
Furthermore, the explosive force of the Gang Qi blade was so strong that he couldn't keep his footing and was sent flying, then crashed into a tree.
Such an injury might not be significant for a Martial Artist at the Martial Meridian Third Layer Peak, but in a duel between experts, life and death can be decided in an instant.
Already at a disadvantage against the Howling Moon Wolf, he was now knocked down, and the Howling Moon Wolf was not about to let this opportunity slip by; it leaped fiercely, pouncing toward him.
"Senior Brother Cloud Collins!"
The Li Family Members, witnessing the situation, were all terrified, with some even covering their eyes outright.
"Whoosh!"
Just as Li Xingyun was about to meet a grisly end under the Howling Moon Wolf's gaping maw.
Suddenly, a streak of sword light flew past, circled around the obstacles, and then struck the Howling Moon Wolf.
"Awoo—!"
The Howling Moon Wolf let out a hysterical howl, the sound so piercing that it caused several Li Family Disciples to faint on the spot, foaming at the mouth.
The surrounding grass and trees also rustled loudly, as if trembling in fear from the howl.
The Li Family Members looked in surprise to find that the sword light had already flown away, and the wound on the Howling Moon Wolf's forehead was much deeper than before.
This sword had precisely targeted the wound that Li Xingyun had left on the Howling Moon Wolf's forehead earlier.
The sword light came and went in the blink of an eye, and when the Howling Moon Wolf attempted to find its attacker, it discovered there was no one in sight.
At this moment, Li Xingyun also took the opportunity to escape his predicament.
He was a smart man, knowing that someone was helping him. No matter who it was, it was better to preserve his life first.
But obviously, the Howling Moon Wolf was not about to let him off easily.
Unable to locate the stealthy assistant, the Howling Moon Wolf directed all its hatred towards the Li Family Members.
A frenzied pursuit!
"Ah—!"
"Ah!"
Screams echoed one after another.
In just an instant, two of the Li Family Members were dead.
Although Li Xingyun wanted to stop the Howling Moon Wolf, he was powerless to do so, as he was starting to feel dizzy from blood loss.
It seemed that all the Li Family Members present were about to be slaughtered.
Suddenly, the sword light appeared again!
Whoosh!
It still accurately struck the same wound as before!
"Awoo—!"
Even if the Howling Moon Wolf was strong, it was still just a Fourth Level Demonic Beast, after all.
Ling Xiao's Hundred Steps Flying Sword Technique had been cultivated to the ninth level of Great Perfection. Coupled with the power bonus from the Gentle Breeze Sword and the power of the Bursting Qi Technique amplified several times over, he struck the already opened wound twice in a row.
Even if the bones were hard, they were still pierced!
Of course, simply with that one would still be overly optimistic to think they could kill the Howling Moon Wolf.
However, the Howling Moon Wolf was in the open.
Ling Xiao was hidden, continuously casting the Hundred Steps Flying Sword Technique.
After each cast, he changed position, and by the time the Howling Moon Wolf arrived at the previous spot, all it could do was howl furiously at the sky.
When the Howling Moon Wolf shifted its focus to Ling Xiao, the Li Family Disciples had already started to retreat, having fully witnessed the terror of the Howling Moon Wolf earlier.
If they didn't flee now, later they would have no chance at all.
"Let's go, Senior Brother Cloud Collins, don't worry about who took action, the important thing is we managed to save our lives today!"
Seeing that Li Xingyun was still reluctant to leave and not ready to depart, everyone urged him on.
Li Xingyun hummed a response but was clearly still somewhat reluctant; the Howling Moon Wolf was obviously much weaker now and seemed nearly finished.
Leaving like this would be such a pity.
After all, the injury on the Howling Moon Wolf was inflicted by him in the first place.
"Awoo—!"
Just at that moment, the Howling Moon Wolf suddenly let out a howl and turned to flee into the depths of the jungle.
"Hahaha, I won't let you grind me down!"
Amid the laughter, a figure chased after the Howling Moon Wolf in the direction it had fled.
Ling Xiao, utilizing the Soaring Cloud Step, was definitely much faster than the Howling Moon Wolf, which was now staggering due to excessive blood loss.
That Howling Moon Wolf's body is a treasure worth over forty to fifty thousand pieces of silver. All the hardship of half a day must not be in vain.
After all, it wasn't to save Li Xingyun that he helped; in the end, it was the opportunity to kill the Howling Moon Wolf that he saw.
"Isn't that the disciple from the Ling Family we just saw?"
Someone recognized Ling Xiao.
"Yes, seems like his name is Ling Xiao. How terrifying his Body Movement Technique is! How can he be so fast?"
"The Flying Sword Technique just now must have been his doing, right? Where did he learn such martial arts techniques? I've never heard the Ling Family has such a sword technique."
"Hmph, if it hadn't been for him, we wouldn't have lost so many people!"
"Exactly, if it hadn't been for Senior Brother Cloud Collins striking first and injuring the Howling Moon Wolf, could he alone have managed it?"
Among the Li Family Members, there were obviously disciples stronger than Ling Xiao who were dissatisfied.
Among these people, aside from Li Xingyun who was at the peak of the Martial Veins Third Layer, there were three others with Martial Veins Third Layer cultivation.
They naturally look down on Ling Xiao, feeling that he was taking advantage of the situation.
"Heh, but that's good too. Let's wait for him to kill the Howling Moon Wolf, then we can directly reap the benefits," a disciple from the Ling Family with the cultivation of the Martial Veins Third Layer said with a sneer.
Li Xingyun's expression was cold, seemingly having this intention as well.
"This isn't taking an unfair advantage. The Howling Moon Wolf was lured out by us to be killed in the first place, and no one asked him to make a move!"
Another person chimed in.
"Awoo—!"
At that moment, a mournful howl came from hundreds of meters away. Anyone could tell; it was the last cry of desperation before death.
"Is it dead?"
"Go! Let's go see!"
Li Xingyun gestured, and everyone followed. Although three had died, there were still about a dozen of them left, so naturally, they were not afraid of Ling Xiao.
Not far away, Ling Xiao wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat cross-legged on the ground.
He was using the Qi Recovery Technique to restore his True Qi.
Ling Xiao had used the Bursting Qi Technique repeatedly to kill the Howling Moon Wolf, which had caused a significant drain on his True Qi.
Now that he had finally managed to kill it, his True Qi was nearly depleted.
Worried about the Li Family's disciples causing trouble, he was not in a hurry to clean up the scene but rather eager to recover his True Qi.
In case they caused trouble, he would be prepared.
Apart from the Qi Recovery Technique, he also chewed on a type of herb in his mouth, a herb used in the concoction of the Breath Recovery Pill.
Although its effects were certainly not as good as those of the Breath Recovery Pill, having something was better than nothing.
Being able to kill a Fourth Level Demonic Beast, the Howling Moon Wolf, while at the peak of the Martial Veins Second Layer, was just good luck.
If it hadn't been for the wound that Li Xingyun's strike had opened, his attacks wouldn't have broken through the Howling Moon Wolf's defenses.
Although he was reluctant to admit it, that was the reality.
With such a large gap in cultivation levels, even if one's cultivation technique is powerful, it's hard to bridge that difference.
It seems that enhancing his cultivation level is of utmost urgency.
A short while later, the Li Family Members arrived at the scene as expected.
At the forefront was Li Xingyun.
"Brother Ling, we discovered the Howling Moon Wolf, and it was we who lured it out. Since Brother Ling played a part in killing it, we will naturally share some of the spoils as compensation," Li Xingyun said, calm and composed.
But at this moment, in Ling Xiao's eyes, he had gone from a dashing gentleman to a piece of smelly ****.
Shameless!