129: Chapter 129 Entering the Dangerous Area
Time slipped away right before everyone's eyes.
Su Lixia and Xue Qin snapped out of their immersive training. Looking at the fading light, their hearts grew a bit heavier.
"They're gone!" Xue Qin said pointedly.
Su Lixia nodded slightly, her gaze passing through the crowd to look at Pan Xuan, who was leaning against a tree, feeling somewhat conflicted.
However, the hesitation lasted only a moment.
Su Lixia summoned her courage and walked toward Pan Xuan. Before she could speak, she met his nonchalant gaze: "Are you going to tell me those three brats snuck off to the Danger Zone?"
A flash of surprise crossed Su Lixia's pretty face.
She nodded gently, and after realizing something, she spoke with a hint of worry: "Teacher, do we really not need to look after them?"
Although Xu Qingfang and Yue Yun's strength was decent, they were only at the level of top-tier Two-Star Beast Tamers. They would struggle to deal with even a top-tier Three-Star Pet Beast.
Not to mention the peril-filled Danger Zone; any random Four-Star Pet Beast that popped out would turn them into Pet Beast droppings.
Pan Xuan didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Su Lixia with a strange expression, as if he had realized something.
Xue Qin walked to her side and gently nudged Su Lixia with her elbow.
Pan Xuan withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and said leisurely, "Since they're so gutsy, let them go explore. It's better than having them wander around the outer perimeter aimlessly."
Wasn't the purpose of the Secret Realm special training exactly that—special training?
The Danger Zone was a bit risky, but as long as they dared to venture in, they would grow. After all, the school was bearing the risk.
Xu Qingfang and the other two had clearly realized this.
Their journey so far had been too smooth. They had already crossed the boundary of the outer area and arrived at the edge of the Danger Zone, looking at the erected warning stone with great ambition.
"Once we step across, it's the Danger Zone!"
Xu Qingfang rubbed his hands together, clearly incredibly excited.
His heart was beating powerfully, and the Beast Tamer blood flowing in his body was boiling. He wanted to be just like his father, leading a Beast Taming Group deep into a Secret Realm to seize profits from the mouths of wild Pet Beasts.
The Thunderwing Griffin let out a shrill eagle cry. As an overlord of the sky, the griffin was proud by nature and possessed a powerful Bloodline born of wind and lightning, so it naturally felt a primitive longing for dangerous places.
Xu Qingfang's gaze fell upon the other two.
Although Xu Qingfang yearned for the Secret Realm's Danger Zone, he hadn't been completely blinded by his current joy.
Mo Yu couldn't help but suck in a cold breath. "Hiss, our walk here was way too smooth. There wasn't even any interference?"
"Maybe Pan Zi hasn't realized it yet."
Yue Yun was also excited but hadn't lost his composure. "Once we go in, Old Mo, stay by my side and don't leave!"
As the one with the lowest cultivation and weakest strength among the three, Mo Yu could play only a very small role in battle.
Forcing him into the Danger Zone was undoubtedly a massive challenge.
Xu Qingfang naturally agreed completely.
And so, without considering the consequences or hesitating in the slightest, the three of them charged into the Danger Zone of the Cangyuan Secret Realm, becoming the weakest team in that zone.
The scenery behind them twisted like wet ink before quickly returning to calm, as if nothing had happened at all.
The Thunderwing Griffin took to the air from time to time to scout the situation, and the Nether Horse stayed a step ahead of the group, constantly exploring forward.
The team advanced slowly in this manner.
It wasn't until the sky grew dark that the three finally stopped.
"To think we actually entered the Danger Zone!"
Xu Qingfang, having fulfilled a dream, was filled with emotion for a moment as he crouched by the campfire, enjoying food they had dug up from the ground.
Mo Yu ate until the corners of his mouth were black, not forgetting to remind them: "Firelight is too conspicuous in the forest. We should move to a different spot after we finish eating."
"The nights in the Danger Zone are too perilous. I suggest we find some high ground to rest and take shifts for night watch."
Mo Yu's suggestion was met with agreement from the other two.
After a brief rest, Xu Qingfang extinguished the campfire. The moment the last spark died out, the forest plunged into a noisy darkness.
Swish!
In the gap before the three could adjust to the dark, a crisis struck from the shadows, the sound of breaking air exploding in their ears.
It even caused a massive breakout of goosebumps.
Yue Yun sensed the direction and instinctively thrust his spear forward.
A massive force traveled from the tip of the spear, instantly flinging Yue Yun into the distance, where he crashed into and snapped a thick tree with heavy momentum.
Bang!
The moment the attacker landed, a powerful shockwave pushed back Xu Qingfang and Mo Yu by the campfire. The scattered embers gained a brief breath of life from the sudden influx of oxygen.
The three seized the opportunity to see the attacker clearly.
It was a Shadow Leopard, its body pitch black and covered in dark blue ripples that flowed like water. It was larger and more powerful than a normal leopard, and its entire body was shrouded in black light and shadows.
Xu Qingfang and Mo Yu were instantly struck with amazement.
Although the Shadow Leopard's potential rating was only C-rank, it was more popular among low-star Beast Tamers than ordinary B-rank potential Pet Beasts.
Its speed was enough to compensate for its lack of strength, and the moment it launched a sneak attack from the shadows, it dealt terrifyingly lethal damage. Among low-star Beast Tamers, it could play a decisive role.
To think that such a Pet Beast had set its sights on them!
Xu Qingfang and Mo Yu couldn't help but feel a chill throughout their bodies.
The Thunderwing Griffin and Nether Horse stood protectively in front of them, constantly shifting their bodies backward to push the fragile Beast Tamers into a safe zone.
They weren't the only ones surprised; the attacking Shadow Leopard was as well.
As a Pet Beast specializing in stealth and ambush, the Shadow Leopard believed its strike would be a guaranteed hit, and it was extremely confident in its passive ability to increase damage during a sneak attack.
It never expected to be countered at the very moment it was about to succeed, leaving it with no choice but to shift its target to the human who dared to fight back.
Was it a coincidence, or...
The Shadow Leopard's pupils, which had contracted into deep, dark vertical slits due to the light, looked toward the direction where Yue Yun had been sent flying, and then began to tremble with uncertainty.
In front of that thick, snapped tree, Yue Yun stood up as if nothing had happened and looked over at the Shadow Leopard.
Above his head, an illusory health bar was hovering!
Yue Yun felt a bit lucky at that moment.
Miao Sang had been sleepy after eating the Energy Gel, so he had recalled it into the Beast Taming Space ahead of time; otherwise, it would have suffered along with him.
The faint firelight vanished quickly, and the Shadow Leopard's aura also grew weak, disappearing from sight under the cover of the night.
"That's the Stealth Passive!" Mo Yu shouted loudly.
He and Xu Qingfang stood back-to-back, alert to their surroundings, while the Thunderwing Griffin and Nether Horse surrounded them to prevent the Shadow Leopard from attacking again.
The Stealth Passive allowed a creature to suppress its aura in dim environments, lowering its presence to find an opportunity for a sneak attack.
Yue Yun quickly realized how to break the situation.
"Close your eyes!"
He gave a loud shout and activated the mechanism on the cold iron long spear.
The cold, sharp spearhead suddenly lit up with a blinding white light, instantly illuminating the dim forest and leaving the Shadow Leopard with nowhere to hide.
The Shadow Leopard was startled.
Its pupils dilated under the piercing light, and its golden-based eyes went blind in that instant, seeing nothing but white glare.