Su Zhi suddenly recalled a detail:
While he was in Meditation earlier, he had heard footsteps approaching from a distance, eventually stopping right beside him. The rhythm and even some of the habitual tics in the steps were identical to Shao Ya’s.
At the time, he assumed Shao Ya had returned and, seeing him in Meditation, decided not to disturb him.
But it wasn’t until his Meditation ended that Shao Ya emerged from the bushes, carrying wild fruits...
’Who did those footsteps belong to, then?’
The instant the thought crossed his mind, Su Zhi saw the air around Shao Ya suddenly distort. A savage face faintly materialized, along with a savage...
A giant claw!
"Watch out!"
The moment the giant claw swept toward Shao Ya, Su Zhi dove forward, pulling the girl into his arms to protect her.
With a horrifying rip—
—several drops of blood flew through the air.
Su Zhi let out a muffled groan, his arms tightening around her.
The attack had mostly missed. The claw paused mid-air before striking again, this time aiming for the center of Su Zhi’s back.
This blow was unavoidable.
At the critical moment, Shao Ya aimed for the distorted patch of air and kicked it hard, knocking the attack slightly off course so it didn’t hit Su Zhi.
Immediately after, a Furious Sand Blade, shimmering with Golden Light and wreathed in Flame, arrived in an instant, stabbing viciously into the distorted air.
"CHITTER-CHITTER-CHITTER!"
Almost at the same time, the furious chittering of the Black Fighting Emperor followed.
Seeing Su Zhi injured, Wu Bao angrily activated Lance Thrust, its sharp and heavy horn, like a Lance, ramming viciously into the patch of distorted air.
"HISS!"
The distorted air let out a bloodcurdling shriek as it was slammed into a nearby tree, then fell into the bushes below.
The two of them landed together. Shao Ya quickly got up, shielding Su Zhi behind her as she checked his injuries—three claw marks, neither deep nor shallow, were etched into his back.
"I’m fine!"
Su Zhi said through gritted teeth, also getting to his feet to face the distorted air.
Shao Ya said nothing, but after seeing Su Zhi’s wound, she clenched her fists, her gaze growing sharper.
Su Zhi shook his head, gently patted the girl’s shoulder, and moved her behind him.
"Xiaoyue is evolving and can’t fight... It’s up to us."
Yu Bao and Wu Bao also moved quickly to shield the two of them, their eyes fixed on the messy thicket of grass nearby.
The grass was slowly pushed aside. The distorted air gradually took on a shape and color: a massive, lizard-like Pet Beast nearly two meters tall, with blood-red eyes, a pitch-black body, and dark blue light patterns on its skin—
[Pet Beast: Abyssal Lurker [! Abyssal Exotic Beast!]]
Attribute: Dark Element, Water Element, Ghost Element
Race: Low Level Commander
Real-time Energy Value: 5213]
The moment they saw this Pet Beast, both of their hearts skipped a beat.
"HISS!"
Before they could think further, the Abyssal Lurker was already lunging at them, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws!
"WOOF!"
A faint yellow Golden Light glowed, and a series of Yellow Earth Walls appeared, forming a tall, shimmering golden barrier—Yu Bao had even fortified the Yellow Earth Walls with the Thick Earth Blessing, inside and out.
Yu Bao even summoned a Quicksand Shield to act as a second line of defense.
Even so, there was no sign of relief on its face.
"SWOOSH!"
In the blink of an eye, the Demon Abyss Claw was upon them.
The Yellow Earth Wall, strong enough to withstand a Hao Waterfowl’s Strong Attack, was split in two. The sound of it breaking was not like crumbling earth, but rather like paper being sliced by a cutter.
The Quicksand Shield offered almost no resistance either and was instantly sliced apart.
"BANG!"
The two halves of the shattered Quicksand Shield flew forward, slamming hard against the Abyssal Lurker’s body.
Yu Bao’s reaction was also swift. The moment the Yellow Earth Wall was broken, it assessed the situation: ’The gap is too wide. Defending is certain death.’
’Better to counterattack and seize the initiative!’
Their opponent was a Two-star Exotic Beast; the power gap was too vast. The Quicksand Shield’s attack was extremely weak and dealt no damage to the Abyssal Lurker.
Nevertheless, the heavy, powerful sand still managed to knock the Abyssal Lurker, which had no leverage in mid-air, slightly off balance.
"GRR!"
Wu Bao charged forward as well.
Since there wasn’t enough space to use its horn, it slammed its heavy body directly into the Abyssal Lurker.
Its carapace became intensely bright—Perfect Block activated!
"HISS!"
Even though the Abyssal Lurker had a higher Energy Value, it was no match for the Black Fighting Emperor in terms of weight and was sent flying.
Even so, as it was sent flying, it managed to land a vicious swipe on Wu Bao with its claw.
CRACK—
A crisp cracking sound was heard.
Wu Bao let out a muffled grunt. Its six insectoid legs instinctively adjusted, preventing it from losing its balance from the intense pain.
The Abyssal Lurker took no substantial damage, twisting in mid-air to land steadily on its feet.
A crack now marred Wu Bao’s supposedly indestructible carapace, looking particularly glaring under the sparse sunlight filtering through the forest.
Yu Bao looked at Wu Bao. "Woof..."
Wu Bao shook its head. "Grr!"
’It’s nothing, just a scratch!’
Abyssal Exotic Beasts were supposed to have been eradicated on Blue Star, so how could one appear in the Ancient Jing Forest? Su Zhi was shocked and bewildered, but he didn’t let it show on his face.
Just then, Shao Ya’s call went through. "Senior- Senior Hua Renshan!"
"Hello? What’s wrong? Why do I hear fighting on your end?"
A gentle but urgent male voice came from the phone.
Shao Ya looked at the frightening wound on Su Zhi’s back, rare tears welling up in her eyes, but she still conveyed the situation as clearly and concisely as possible. "We’re under attack by an Abyssal Exotic Beast!"
"What? Hold on for another thirty seconds!"
Hua Renshan hung up.
Shao Ya looked at the Egg of Evolution, still in the process of hatching nearby. She clenched her fists even tighter, worry, shame, and self-blame flashing in her eyes.
’But now is not the time to show it!’