317: Chapter 317 Feeding the Demon Core

Chen Rong stood up from behind the rocks and stood on the ridge, facing the valley, completely exposing himself within the Thunder Leopard's range of perception.

Then, he released his spiritual power.

It wasn't an aggressive release, but a slow, steady, and non-threatening outward flow of spiritual power.

Lightning Attribute.

His spiritual power naturally carried the characteristics of lightning—as the Spiritual Qi seeped from his skin, a faint humming could be heard in the air, like distant power lines vibrating in the wind.

He was telling the Thunder Leopard one thing: we are the same.

A kilometer away in the rock pile, the Thunder Leopard's ears twitched.

It sensed that spiritual power.

Lightning Attribute.

Just like its own spiritual power attribute.

Its guard did not drop.

On the contrary, a high-level existence of the same attribute meant a greater threat—it meant territorial competition.

The Thunder Leopard moved instinctively.

At almost the same instant, Chen Rong sensed the movement of that spiritual power signal.

Its speed was absurdly fast.

It covered the one-kilometer distance in less than two seconds.

Chen Rong saw it.

A silver-gray shadow shot out from the rock pile on the east side of the valley, cutting diagonally up the ridge along the valley wall. Its four legs touched the rocks so lightly there was almost no sound, but its speed—

It was so fast that it seemed to tear through the air.

As it charged, the electric arcs on its body erupted, its silver-gray fur turning into a mass of blue-white lightning as it surged up the rock face from below the ridge.

It went straight for Chen Rong's face.

Chen Rong's reaction was fast enough.

His body shifted a step to the right, while his left hand traced an arc in front of him.

Lightning-attributed spiritual power erupted from his palm, forming a translucent Lightning Barrier in front of him.

The Thunder Leopard's front claws slammed into the barrier.

The sound of the electric arcs colliding with the spiritual power was like a thick iron wire being snapped—a sharp, brief "crack."

The impact was greater than Chen Rong had anticipated.

His feet slid back half a step on the rock, his boot soles leaving a white scuff mark.

The Thunder Leopard was repelled by the barrier, flipping mid-air and landing steadily on its four legs on a rock three meters away.

It crouched there, tail tense, pupils constricted into thin slits, staring at Chen Rong.

Its mouth didn't open, but a low vibration came from its throat, like a small diesel engine idling.

Chen Rong was also looking at it.

Up close, this Thunder Leopard looked even leaner than it did in the drone photos.

The muscle lines beneath its fur were clearly visible, each muscle appearing precisely calculated with no excess.

Its eyes were amber with vertical pupils, and tiny sparks of electricity flickered within them.

Its Spiritual Power Field was very dense.

When he had sensed it from a kilometer away, it was just a signal, but close contact revealed the high density of this Spiritual Power Field—the air was thick with the smell of ozone, like after a thunderstorm.

Chen Rong did not draw his blade, nor did he follow up with an attack.

He retracted the Lightning Barrier, reduced the intensity of his spiritual power release by half, and then took a step back.

In the "language" of Yao Beasts, this action meant—I don't want to fight.

The Thunder Leopard did not pursue.

It crouched on the rock, its tail slowly lowering, but its posture did not relax.

Its hind legs remained coiled, ready to spring at any moment.

Two lightning-attributed creatures faced off on the ridge, three meters apart.

The air was filled with the scent of ozone.

At the same time.

On the Command Center's screen, the drone footage captured two thermal signals on the ridge.

One was a human-shaped green dot—Chen Rong.

The other was a bright red, four-legged beast-shaped dot—BL-001.

The distance between the two dots was approximately three meters.

Su Mingyuan stared at the screen, the water cup in his hand still raised.

"Has it started attacking?" he asked.

The technician beside him zoomed in on the image. The drone was flying very high, so the resolution was limited, but they could see a small patch of scorched rock on the ridge—the mark left by the collision of spiritual powers.

"It attacked once and was blocked by Chen Rong," the technician said. "Now, neither of them is moving."

Su Mingyuan glanced at the data panel in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Chen Rong's vital signs—heart rate seventy-two, blood oxygen ninety-eight, body temperature thirty-six point eight degrees Celsius.

Very stable.

He was in control of the situation.

Su Mingyuan placed the water cup on the table.

"Do not interfere," he said. "Raise the drone to over five thousand meters; don't let it sense us."

On the ridge.

Chen Rong and the Thunder Leopard faced off for about ten minutes.

Neither moved during those ten minutes.

Chen Rong maintained his spiritual power release at half-intensity, not attacking, not retreating, and making no threatening moves.

The Thunder Leopard's posture changed during these ten minutes.

Initially, its hind legs were coiled, ready for a second attack.

After five minutes, its hind legs relaxed slightly, and its tail went from tense to hanging naturally.

After eight minutes, it sat down. Its front paws were together, and its hind legs were tucked under its body, crouching like a cat.

But its eyes were still fixed on Chen Rong, its vertical pupils showing no sign of relaxation.

After ten minutes, Chen Rong moved.

He took a step forward.

The Thunder Leopard's ears folded back slightly, and the vibration in its throat grew louder.

Chen Rong stopped and waited for thirty seconds.

The Thunder Leopard's ears pricked up again.

Chen Rong took another step forward.

The distance closed from three meters to one meter.

At this distance, he could smell the Thunder Leopard—not the Rank, musky scent of a zoo, but a dry, metallic smell, like the scent of red-hot iron being quenched in water at a blacksmith's shop.

He crouched down.

He brought his eyes level with the Thunder Leopard's.

The amber eyes watched him, the sparks in its pupils flickering twice.

Chen Rong slowly extended his right hand.

Palm up, fingers slightly spread, spiritual power condensed into a small ball of electricity in his palm—a faint, fist-sized, blue-white sphere, crackling as it danced in his hand.

The Thunder Leopard watched the ball of electricity.

Its nostrils flared.

Then, its head leaned forward slightly—just a tiny bit, about two or three centimeters—tilting its nose toward Chen Rong's palm.

It was sniffing the spiritual power of that Electric Ball.

The scent of a common origin.

Chen Rong did not move.

He just crouched there, right hand extended, the Electric Ball in his palm spinning steadily.

The Thunder Leopard sniffed for about twenty seconds.

Then, the tip of its nose touched Chen Rong's palm.

It felt wet and cool.

It was just a touch, and it immediately pulled back.

But that single touch was enough.

Chen Rong noted this moment in his heart.

In the Beast Taming Art, this was called "First Touch"—the first time a Yao Beast took the initiative to make physical contact with a Martial Artist. It meant its threat level had dropped from "Hostile" to "Observing."

There was still a distance to go from "Observing" to "Accepting."

But the first step had been taken.

Chen Rong withdrew his right hand, and the Electric Ball in his palm dissipated.

He pulled a Yao Core from his Tactical Bag; he had specifically brought a few that had been collected during the previous cleanup of Black Wind Ridge before setting out.

He placed the Yao Core on the rock between himself and the Thunder Leopard.

The dark golden sphere rolled once on the gray rock before coming to a stop.

The Thunder Leopard looked down at the Yao Core.

Then it looked up at Chen Rong.

Then it looked down at the Yao Core again.

It extended its tongue and curled the Yao Core into its mouth.

Crunch.

After a few chews, it swallowed.

Chen Rong pulled out a second one.

He placed it on the rock.

This time, the Thunder Leopard didn't hesitate and ate it directly.

A third.

A fourth.

After finishing the four Yao Cores, the Thunder Leopard let out a burp.

There were fluctuations of spiritual power within its body, a sign that the energy of the Yao Cores was being digested and absorbed.

On its silver-gray fur, the frequency of the electric arcs increased slightly, and the rhythm of their flickering became more even.

It looked at Chen Rong again.

This time, the look in its eyes was different.

It wasn't vigilance or hostility; it was more like... curiosity.