Just then, the mid-level beast arrived with a boom. It swung its huge bear paw, with a sharp whistling sound, and slammed down on Xing Jue.
Xing Jue couldn't dodge at this moment and could only let it hit him.
"Bang!" The paw hit him, and Xing Jue was sent flying dozens of meters before landing on the ground.
But just after landing, his body slowly rose again. Under the protection of the dark black soul, Xing Jue was not injured at all.
In fact, in this state, Xing Jue was invincible. However, this state could only last for a short time.
If he didn't absorb the dark black soul back into his body before then, the power gained from this soul explosion would disappear.
So, Xing Jue didn't hesitate. With a thought, the soul power surged into his body. As the soul power flowed in, his strength rapidly increased in an instant, eventually reaching the mid-level Martial Venerable level.
"Roar!"
Seeing that Xing Jue was still perfectly fine, the Giant Bear Beast roared once again and charged at him.
However, facing the Giant Bear Beast that was charging once again, Xing Jue was not afraid in the least. Instead, he clenched his right palm slightly. A dark black "Zanpakutō" was condensed, and at the same time, he channeled his "Wind Surge."
Once everything was in place, Xing Jue's body dashed forward, becoming a black line, charging toward the Giant Bear Beast.
"Puchi!"
With a crisp thud, Xing Jue passed through the Giant Bear Beast's side, and at the same time, a large amount of bright red blood spurted out from the Giant Bear Beast's body.
"Rumble…"
As Xing Jue landed, the Giant Bear Beast also fell to the ground with a thud. Except that the Giant Bear Beast that was so ferocious just now was now lifeless.
After killing the Giant Bear Beast, Xing Jue quickly tossed a Qi-Replenishing Pill into his mouth. After using soul explosion, there was a backlash, so in order to keep enough physical strength to continue hunting beasts, he relied on the medicinal power of the pill to maintain his stamina.
However, even with the Qi-Replenishing Pills, after the power of the soul explosion dissipated, Xing Jue could still feel a stinging pain everywhere in his body. He then quickly sat down and activated his soul healing to alleviate the pain.
After healing for a little while, Xing Jue's body finally recovered. He then slowly got up. He gazed at the direction that the Nangong Family disciples went and said softly, "High-level beasts are indeed difficult to deal with. I guess even the disciples from the Nangong Family would have a hard time dealing with a high-level beast alone."
After reminiscing for a moment, Xing Jue summoned his Wind Surge again and rushed towards the depths of the forest. To help Yufeng Pavilion secure first place, Xing Jue was truly giving it his all.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
With his powerful soul power, Xing Jue often heard explosions coming from a distance. He could even clearly hear some of the disciples' conversations, but he was not interested in searching for those, but rather, the traces of a high-level beast.
"You're asking to die!"
However, at this moment, a sharp, shrill female voice suddenly entered Xing Jue's mind.
"Wang Yanran?" Upon hearing the voice, Xing Jue quickly stopped his rapid advance. After a moment of silence, he abruptly changed direction and raced towards the direction from where the voice came.
At this moment, in a forest in the Beast Mountain Range, six people were standing. Five of them were disciples from the Youming Hall. At this moment, the five of them were surrounding a beautiful woman in white robes.
This woman was none other than the Zangyao Manor's "Wang Yanran."
"Hehe, Yanran little sister, it would be best if you just hand over your pills."
"That way, we won't have to use our hands and hurt you," said a leader amongst the group with a grin.
Actually, they had their eyes on the Zangyao Manor disciples for a long time. After the competition began, they had been hiding their presence and secretly following them. And when they separated, they chose Wang Yanran, who was the most outstanding at alchemy.
"Hmph! You want my pills? Then let's see if you have what it takes!" Wang Yanran snorted coldly, refusing to give in.
"If that's the case, then don't blame us for being ruthless."
"Attack!"
Seeing that Wang Yanran refused to compromise, the disciple suddenly yelled.
At his command, those disciples raised their arms in unison. Streams of powerful Martial Energy blasted toward Wang Yanran's delicate frame.
"Hmph!" Facing the rapidly approaching Martial Energy, Wang Yanran snorted coldly. She then clasped her arms around her shoulders, and her body began to spin rapidly.
As she spun, white mists billowed out from her body. Under her spin, the white mists formed a thin protective shield, tightly enveloping her.
"Bang, bang, bang…"
With five resounding booms, the combined attack of the five disciples from the Youming Hall was blocked by Wang Yanran.
Seeing that their long-range attack was useless, the five disciples leaped forward, their five figures charging toward Wang Yanran. At the same time, a series of fierce attacks slammed down toward her relentlessly.
Facing a five-on-one siege, Wang Yanran couldn't escape. So, she had no choice but to fight back.
A series of vicious fists, kicks, and chops, carrying a sharp gust of wind, continuously blasted toward Wang Yanran. She dodged and blocked, using her sharp speed to maneuver between the five of them.
Although Wang Yanran reached the High-level Martial Venerable level, her actual combat ability was obviously not very strong. Under the fierce attacks of these five ruthless Youming Hall disciples who had no mercy, she finally showed a slight opening.
That slight opening was seized by a Youming Hall disciple. Using that powerful palm wind, laden with rich martial energy, he slammed down on Wang Yanran's waist.
"Bang!"
The palm struck her, and Wang Yanran was sent flying backward. She slammed into a large tree, spitting out a mouthful of blood, her face turning pale.
"Hehe, sorry, my hand got a little heavy," the disciple who had hit Wang Yanran said with a lewd look on his face.
"If you have the guts, then kill me!" Wang Yanran said coldly, anger evident on her white face.
"Yanran little sister, why do you have to be like this?"
"Oh well, since you insist, I will fulfill your wish," the man said, pretending to be helpless. With a wave of his sleeve, a strong burst of martial energy sped towards Wang Yanran.
"Hmph!" Facing the swiftly approaching martial energy, Wang Yanran snorted coldly. She then waved her sleeve, sending an even stronger burst of martial energy toward the man.
"Bang!"
When the two martial energies collided, a powerful ripple of energy exploded.
Suddenly, the energy ripple that was expanding suddenly dissipated. Four gleaming energy palm prints shot out from the point of collision. These were naturally emitted by the other four disciples.
Wang Yanran's face turned pale at the sight of the four palm prints shooting toward her at a rapid pace. She could feel the terrifying energy contained within them. It was probably a very high-level martial skill.
However, it was too late for her to defend herself. All she could do was watch as the four energy waves slammed toward her. Wang Yanran slowly closed her eyes, resigning herself to her fate.
"Bang!" With a loud bang, Wang Yanran didn't feel the expected pain. Instead, a gust of wind blew through her body.
"A bunch of big men, going after a defenseless woman. You're truly the epitome of shamelessness." At this moment, a crisp voice sounded in front of Wang Yanran.
Opening her eyes, Wang Yanran was even more surprised to see a young man standing in front of her. It was obvious that the attack just now was blocked by this young man. She recognized him. It was Xing Jue.
"Who else could it be? It's just the Yufeng Pavilion's deadbeat," one of the Youming Hall disciples recognized Xing Jue and then said sarcastically.
Xing Jue just smiled and ignored him.
"Kid, you're better off staying out of this. Don't blame us for being rude if you don't," The leader amongst them said coldly, seeing Xing Jue make his move.
"Oh, I'm going to interfere today. No matter what," Xing Jue smiled slightly and said loudly.
"Good boy. You're asking to die. Don't blame me," the Youming Hall disciple snarled, seeing that Xing Jue was determined to intervene.
"Brother Xing Jue, you're no match for them. Leave quickly," Wang Yanran urged, seeing the Youming Hall disciples about to attack Xing Jue. After all, even she, a High-level Martial Venerable, was no match for those five. She didn't believe that Xing Jue, a Low-level Martial Venerable, could be a match for those five.
"Rest assured, Sister Wang, with me here, no one can hurt you," Xing Jue turned his head slowly and smiled at Wang Yanran.
Hearing Xing Jue's confident smile, Wang Yanran's body trembled. For some reason, a strange feeling flooded her heart.
"Looking for death!" Seeing Xing Jue's insistent intervention, the Youming Hall disciple finally became furious. Taking a large step, he launched a fierce fist toward Xing Jue.
However, Xing Jue didn't even move. He just let the fist slam into him.
"Bang!"
The fist hit, but Xing Jue was completely unharmed. His feet hadn't even moved an inch. At the sight of this, the Youming Hall disciple was shocked, his face instantly turning an array of emotions.
"Your fist is too weak. Let me show you what a real fist is," Xing Jue smiled slightly and said to the disciple who was stunned.
Then he swung his right arm. A fist, imbued with powerful martial energy, slammed into the disciple's chest.
"Bang!"
By the time the disciple reacted, Xing Jue's fist had already landed solidly on his chest. The disciple instantly spat out a mouthful of blood. His entire body flew backward like a kite whose string had been cut. He slammed heavily to the ground and fainted.
At the sight of this, it was not just the Youming Hall disciples but even Wang Yanran who was speechless with disbelief. It took a while before she finally snapped out of her shock, a rare smile appearing on her beautiful face.
The Youming Hall disciples weren't fools. At this moment, they also saw that Xing Jue's strength was extraordinary. So, they became cautious.
"Form the formation!" Suddenly, the leading disciple from the Youming Hall yelled.
At his command, the other four disciples stood behind him, forming a straight line.
They also began to release powerful energy from their hands, eventually hitting the back of the disciple in front. As their palms connected, strange energy flowed from their arms, slowly entering the other's body.
The other three disciples were the same. Only the leading disciple remained still. He closed his eyes, and at the same time, his strength began to increase rapidly. In the end, he reached the level of a High-level Martial Venerable.
After the leading disciple's strength increased to the High-level Martial Venerable level, the three disciples behind him all collapsed to the ground, their bodies powerless.