170: Second-level Beastmaster

Seeing the Beast Master charging over, a flash of ruthlessness crossed Xiao Zhi's eyes.

The days of fleeing had made him realize that mercy could not solve problems; it would only bring disaster upon himself.

He decided to strike with the force of a thunderbolt to crush the enemy before escaping.

This Beast Master's spider battle pet was also at the Third Rank, and Xiao Zhi was confident that Kǎ Qí could quickly dispose of it.

As for the Beast Master himself, leaving him to Xiao Zhi would suffice; even if he couldn't defeat him, he only needed to stall for time until Kǎ Qí could provide reinforcements.

The Beast Master on the opposite side had also been blinded by greed, thinking only of monopolizing this prize, so he did not immediately set off the signal flare.

In his view, the kid opposite him was at the end of his rope and could be suppressed with a mere backhand, so why share the spoils with others?

Unfortunately, reality soon taught him the meaning of caution.

The giant spider struck first, spraying a large amount of spider silk from a distance in an attempt to control the enemy.

Xiao Zhi and Kǎ Qí dared not get entangled by the sticky spider silk and hurriedly dodged aside.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Beast Master quickly closed the distance, his spear whistling as he thrust it toward Xiao Zhi, bolstered by the momentum of his charge.

He had the same idea as Xiao Zhi: soldier against soldier, general against general; he was also confident of winning on both fronts.

Relying on his strengthened physique, Xiao Zhi did not fear his opponent; he sidestepped the spear thrust and slashed his iron sword fiercely toward the Beast Master's arm.

The spear had a much larger attack range than the iron sword, so Xiao Zhi could not reach the opponent's torso for the moment and could only try to sever his arm first.

The Beast Master had not expected Xiao Zhi's reactions to be so agile; he quickly retracted his arm, changing the spear from a thrust to a sweep, colliding with the iron sword.

A tremendous force transmitted from the iron sword, causing the Beast Master's expression to change drastically.

"What immense strength this kid has!"

However, the Beast Master had more combat experience. Upon realizing that Xiao Zhi's strength exceeded his own, he stopped clashing head-on and instead used some rather insidious techniques to circle and engage with him.

Xiao Zhi's fighting style was primarily straightforward and powerful, lacking overly flashy techniques, and he appeared somewhat strained when facing the enemy's insidious moves.

The battle on the other side had also begun, and Kǎ Qí was dealing with the giant spider with ease.

Although both were at the Third Rank, Kǎ Qí had undergone resurrection and enhancement in the abyss, and with the strengthening transformation from the Divine Beast flesh, its strength was significantly greater than that of the giant spider.

Facing a round of head-on biting, the giant spider was no match for Kǎ Qí and was chased down and bitten.

The giant spider clearly inherited its master's insidiousness; while fleeing, it continuously sprayed spider silk onto the surrounding grass and trees.

It was clearly setting up a trap.

Kǎ Qí was extremely disdainful of such petty tricks, its eyes fixed only on tearing at the giant spider's plump torso.

When the giant spider had led Kǎ Qí around in two circles, its layout was finally complete.

Seeing the giant spider suddenly stop, Kǎ Qí couldn't help but feel a surge of joy, leaping forward in an attempt to pin it down.

A flash of cunning crossed the giant spider's eight compound eyes, and it immediately sprayed a large amount of spider silk, triggering the mechanisms around it.

These fine threads of spider silk connected the surrounding setup into a whole, like a giant white fishing net descending, with Kǎ Qí right in the center.

Facing the overwhelming giant net, Kǎ Qí could not dodge in time and was firmly trapped.

Having succeeded in its scheme, the giant spider let out a piercing hiss.

Then, it circled behind Kǎ Qí, preparing to finish it off.

Just as its fangs were about to pierce into Kǎ Qí, countless spikes emerged from Kǎ Qí's body, directly piercing the giant spider's body into a sieve.

The giant spider did not die on the spot; driven by bodily instinct, it leaped away suddenly, rolling continuously on the ground, emitting painful hisses from its mouthparts.

Immediately after, black flames erupted from Kǎ Qí's body; these flames, filled with chaotic and evil auras, directly turned the spider silk into ashes.

After breaking free, Kǎ Qí lunged at the giant spider and bit down on its head.

In an instant, Dark Green fluid sprayed out, and the giant spider finally went still.

The Beast Master, who was in the midst of a fierce battle and had completely suppressed Xiao Zhi, heard his spider's shrill hiss. Turning his head, he happened to see Kǎ Qí brutally biting off its head.

This caused the Beast Master's originally burning heart to turn completely cold; his trump card was actually no match for that dog.

He no longer cared about the battle; after sweeping his spear to force Xiao Zhi back, he turned and wanted to flee into the dense forest.

At the same time, his hand had already reached into his bosom, pulling out a firework tube.

Xiao Zhi naturally would not let the tiger return to the mountain; he chased after him, wielding his iron sword.

But another figure was faster than him.

A black wind flashed past Xiao Zhi, and when he looked again, Kǎ Qí had already pounced on and pinned the Beast Master down.

At this moment, the Beast Master had just pulled the fuse. After being pounced on by Kǎ Qí, the firework tube in his hand fell to the ground, and instead of aiming at the sky, it shot into the dense forest and exploded with a roar.

Kǎ Qí did not hold back; under the Beast Master's terrified gaze, it directly tore open his throat.

Only then did Xiao Zhi arrive at his side. Seeing that everything had settled, he signaled Kǎ Qí to pick up the Divine Beast meat and prepare to retreat.

He quickly searched the Beast Master's body, looking for useful items.

After looting the corpse, the man and the dog quickly left the scene.

While on the road, Kǎ Qí finally finished the last bite of meat and successfully broke through to the Fourth Rank.

Its size surged, the fur on its body stood on end, and its fangs and claws became even longer and sharper.

While advancing, the injuries on Kǎ Qí's body were also healing rapidly.

As Kǎ Qí advanced to a mid-rank Magic Beast, the pure energy fed back by the contract array allowed Xiao Zhi to break through to a Second-Rank Beast Master in one go.

After the breakthrough, Xiao Zhi's own strength did not change much, but as long as he encountered a suitable Magic Beast, he could fully contract another battle pet.

And in the Magic Beast Great Forest, the one thing not lacking was Magic Beasts.

Thinking of this, Xiao Zhi quickened his pace, taking the advanced Kǎ Qí and diving straight into the Magic Beast Great Forest.

...

Meanwhile, in the Elemental World, the Fire Kirin had already led a group of Seventh-Rank powerhouses into the habitat of the Fire Beast Domain lord—a small flame island.

The domain lord was a Firebird resembling a phoenix, which had always resided atop a blazing Flame Divine Tree.

This was a spiritual plant of heaven and earth, bearing spiritual fruits that could purify the flames within one's body, improve flame affinity, and enhance the comprehension of flame laws.

The Fire Phoenix's ability to successfully break through to the Eighth Rank and become the domain lord of this level was largely due to this Flame Divine Tree.

Although it was no longer of much use to the current Fire Phoenix, it had always regarded it as a treasure and usually kept watch atop the Divine Tree.

Around the Divine Tree lived a flock of Firebirds; these could be considered the Fire Phoenix's kin, protected by it.

This flock of Firebirds fed on pure flames and could occasionally receive Flame Fruits bestowed by the domain lord, so their strength was not weak.

As soon as the Fire Kirin and its group landed on the island, they were discovered by the Firebirds, whose chirping sounds resounded throughout the entire island.