"Bang!"
With a loud bang, in a forest not far from Lingyun Immortal Sect.
Two ferocious-looking tigers had just exchanged a claw strike.
Both beast kings appeared slightly disheveled, but their eyes were still filled with killing intent towards each other.
Just as both sides were preparing to wrestle again, they suddenly felt a pressure emanating from the depths of their souls.
This pressure was extremely intense, causing even them, kings of beasts, to tremble and shiver!
Thus, the two beast kings, with remarkable tacit understanding, ceased their attacks and turned their gaze towards another battlefield.
That was where Zhou Xuan was fighting another tiger, and the pressure was emanating from that location.
"Roar!"
As the two beast kings shifted their attention to Zhou Xuan's battlefield, a sonorous roar slowly pierced the sky.
It was the sound made by the robust tiger battling Zhou Xuan.
Like the other two beast kings, it too felt the powerful pressure radiating from Zhou Xuan's body.
However, unlike the other two, it could sense that this pressure was primarily directed at it.
Moreover, under this pressure, it felt as if it were merely a prey awaiting slaughter.
And Zhou Xuan was the hunter. This shift in roles was unbearable for the beast king.
Hence, it let out such a furious roar, partly to bolster its own morale, and partly to intimidate Zhou Xuan, hoping the "prey" would cease its actions.
Because the beast's instinct told it that if Zhou Xuan were to unleash this attack, it would likely meet its demise!
But unfortunately, Zhou Xuan clearly did not grasp the tiger's intention.
Seeing it still baring its teeth at him at this juncture, Zhou Xuan became even more determined to use it to test his technique!
"Almost there!"
"Let me have a good look at the power of this intermediate spiritual energy technique!"
A moment later, when Zhou Xuan felt that the Pure Yang True Qi and Pure Yin Qi within his body had fully converged at the tip of the battle halberd in his hand, condensing into a needle-like, almost tangible vortex of true qi.
He directly raised his right arm and thrust the battle halberd towards the beast king not far away.
"Whoosh!"
"Boom!"
With two sharp sounds, less than a second passed.
Zhou Xuan saw something like an aurora flying directly from the battle halberd in his hand.
It instantly pierced the beast king nearby, and the aurora did not stop after penetrating the beast king.
Instead, it passed straight through its massive body, shattering over a dozen ancient trees along the way before slowly dissipating.
"Hiss!"
"No wonder Master didn't let me practice with living beings before!"
"It's truly astonishing to find out after trying!"
"Even a body as strong as a tiger's is as fragile as a blank piece of paper against this move!"
"If I were to use this move against someone in the future!"
"Wouldn't it instantly send them to the afterlife?"
"But while this move is powerful, its controllability is too poor!"
"It's in the jungle now, with no other living creatures!"
"But if I were to fight someone in the city in the future, I couldn't easily use it!"
"Otherwise, innocent lives might be harmed!"
Looking at the tiger lying prone on the ground, with a gaping hole in its head and bleeding profusely, Zhou Xuan, while amazed by the formidable power of the intermediate spiritual energy technique, did not forget to caution himself.
He would need to be exceptionally careful when using such a destructive move in the future.
"Heh heh, but for now!"
"There's not as much to worry about!"
"I recall, there were two fellows chasing me earlier, weren't there!"
With this thought, Zhou Xuan smirked, hefted his battle halberd, and looked towards the other battlefield.
A moment later, as another heavy thud echoed from afar, the battle between man and tiger finally drew to a close!
"Brother Tiger, thank you for your assistance this time!"
"I, Zhou, shall remember your kindness!"
"If there's an opportunity, I will surely repay this debt!"
"But I truly have matters to attend to now, and need to leave!"
"Otherwise, I'll miss the last bus home!"
After the battle concluded, Zhou Xuan cupped his fists towards the emaciated tiger.
Without waiting to see if it could understand his words, Zhou Xuan prepared to stand up and slip away.
However, as soon as he took a step, and before he had gone a few steps, a massive tiger paw landed on his shoulder!
"Brother Tiger, what is this?"
Feeling the terrifying weight on his shoulder, Zhou Xuan's expression changed.
Just as he thought the emaciated tiger was planning to turn on him and was preparing to retaliate with his battle halberd.
That tiger paw quickly retracted.
"Roar!"
Confused by the situation, Zhou Xuan turned around and looked at the emaciated tiger with a bewildered expression.
He then saw the emaciated tiger slowly lower its body, lying on the ground.
It lowered its massive tiger head before Zhou Xuan, appearing extremely docile.
"This..."
"Brother Tiger, what do you mean?"
"Are you perhaps wanting to come home with me?"
Looking at the emaciated tiger before him, Zhou Xuan was utterly perplexed and could only tentatively inquire.
"Roar!"
To his surprise, upon hearing Zhou Xuan's words, the tiger directly raised its head and let out a soft roar.
Then, it nodded its tiger head a few times.
"It really is!"
"Good heavens, what have I done to deserve this?"
"Others raise pets, I raise a tiger?"
Seeing the emaciated tiger's actions, Zhou Xuan was completely bewildered.
He really wanted to refuse, but a subtle voice within him kept persuading him.
"Raising a tiger wouldn't be bad. For important occasions in the future, riding such a cool mount would make you the most dazzling one in the crowd!"
"Besides, this fellow is less than half a meter away from you. If you refuse!"
"What if it gets unhappy and slaps you, and you have nowhere to hide!"
"Sigh, fine then!"
"You can follow me from now on!"
"But your current form is too unusual!"
"You'd better stay in my void ring for a while!"
"I'll let you out when we get to the Lu family!"
"Otherwise, if others see your appearance, I'll probably have to go to a free room and sew shoe uppers!"
In the end, Zhou Xuan heeded his inner thoughts, reached out his left hand, and stroked the emaciated tiger's head.
Like a wisp of smoke, it was directly absorbed into Zhou Xuan's void ring.
Then, Zhou Xuan oriented himself and, facing the setting sun, slowly began his journey home.