Chapter 81: The 1st Soul Qi Pet

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: The 1st Soul Qi Pet

Hearing the cries of the Ice Simurgh behind him, Li Heng couldn’t help but feel relieved. ’Good thing I hit and ran. Otherwise, from the looks of it, I’d have been in for a bitter fight!’

A cornered beast will put up a desperate fight. If you push an animal too far, its final, dying counterattack is no joke. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered.

Let alone a Tier Two High-Grade Soul Beast like the Ice Simurgh!

Li Heng knew that if he stayed, the Ice Simurgh would surely die, but he might get injured in the process. So, he decided to play it safe.

’A little strategic retreat!’

’I’ve already crippled the Ice Simurgh. Once I’ve recovered, I can go back and finish it off easily. Wouldn’t it be better to avoid any risk of injury?’

All things considered, especially with the sorrowful cries of the Ice Simurgh echoing behind him, Li Heng felt his decision to retreat had been exceptionally wise.

However, the Ice Simurgh’s cries didn’t last long before they slowly faded away.

At first, Li Heng thought he had just run too far, making the Ice Simurgh’s cries seem faint and distant. But he stopped in his tracks when the system announced that 680 Soul Energy Points had been credited to his account.

’680 Soul Energy Points. It seems that last combo successfully finished off the Ice Simurgh.’

With the Ice Simurgh dead, Li Heng finally looked back. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been running, but he had been sprinting with all his might, never once glancing back. He estimated he must have covered at least a kilometer or two.

The run had warmed him up; he no longer felt as cold as before. It seemed the aftereffects of being drenched in the Ice Simurgh’s blood had worn off.

’Oh well. To be safe, I should take a couple of elixirs to restore my energy.’

These were Soul Energy Elixirs for restoring stamina, some common and inexpensive ones he had picked up when buying a fire-starter and a waterskin.

Even though the Ice Simurgh was likely dead, Li Heng didn’t rush back to check on it. He considered the other rampaging Soul Beasts on the island and the potential for other unexpected dangers.

Instead, he found a tree, leaned against the trunk, and took two elixirs to regulate his condition.

Li Heng was in no hurry. Even when he felt he had recovered to about seventy or eighty percent, he didn’t move. He took another elixir and continued to rest.

All the while, he remained vigilant of his surroundings, his grip on the Empty Cicada Longsword never loosening.

He was determined not to go back and check on the situation until he was one hundred percent recovered.

’Who knows if there are other Soul Beasts like the Ice Simurgh on this island!’

After resting for more than ten minutes, Li Heng finally felt his body back to normal and his energy restored. Only then did he stand, take up his sword, and head back the way he came.

He walked back slowly, and after a few minutes, Li Heng finally saw the Ice Simurgh’s "body."

Li Heng had killed many Soul Beasts, but he had never seen one shrink so drastically upon death!

If the original Ice Simurgh had been the size of a basketball hoop, the one before him now was "miniature" in comparison.

It was only about the size of an ordinary rooster.

Besides the drastic change in size, Li Heng also noticed that the Ice Simurgh’s wings were wrapped around its body, obscuring its head and torso. Only three blue tail feathers drooped down.

It looked less like a body and more like a miniature Ice Simurgh toy.

In addition to its change in size and form, this miniature Ice Simurgh was constantly emitting a purple glow.

Li Heng was very familiar with this kind of light.

Whenever an item dropped from a Soul Beast, an orb of colored light would appear. But this purple glow wasn’t an orb; it was the "Ice Simurgh toy" itself!

’Did... did something drop?’

After confirming the area was safe, Li Heng slowly approached the miniature "Ice Simurgh toy."

Ice Simurgh: Pet

Level: 28

Value: Rare

Tier: Tier Two High-Grade Soul Beast

Strength: 25

Agility: 25

Spirit: 27

Soul Energy Skills: Frost Wind, Ice Feathers, Snowfall, Simurgh’s Cry.

Intimacy: 59

[Spend 1,000 Soul Energy Points to increase Loyalty by 1 point?]

[Intimacy is below 255. Pet cannot be leveled up.]

[Ding! First Soul Energy Pet registered. Pet space unlocked.]

!!!

"HOLY SHIT!!!"

Li Heng was stunned!

He had even sworn without thinking. Ever since seeing Lin Tao’s Blood Wolf cub, he’d felt a pang of jealousy every time he saw someone else with a Soul Energy Pet.

That feeling had been especially strong after seeing Lin Jiangang’s Ghostly Warhorse; it was like he’d been chewing on a whole lemon tree.

He had been grinding in Dungeons day and night, hoping for a Soul Energy Pet in addition to harvesting Soul Energy Points. But what were the results? He hadn’t seen hide nor hair of one, not even a regular wolf pet, let alone a Soul Beast pet!

Li Heng selectively ignored the other system prompts, completely enveloped in joy.

He had just obtained his very first Soul Energy Pet, and it was a Tier Two High-Grade Soul Beast!

Li Heng held this Ice Simurgh in high regard for both its appearance and its power. He decided to summon it from his pet space to get a good look at it.

This was his very own Soul Energy Pet!

The first one he’d ever had!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, Bao Yaoyao had just finished dealing with three rampaging Tier One Soul Beasts.

Sweat beaded on Bao Yaoyao’s forehead, and the left leg of her school uniform had been torn by a branch.

’I really hope there isn’t some kind of altar on this island. The mountain is terrifying enough. If there’s an altar on top of that, I don’t think I can handle it.’

Bao Yaoyao felt utterly wretched. Though she’d killed plenty of Tier One Soul Beasts along the way and earned several dozen points, she had never felt so frustrated.

Being scared off by a Tier Two High-Grade Soul Beast and driven to the very edge of the island... it was a bit too humiliating to even think about.

But even after running so far, she could still occasionally hear the cry of the Ice Simurgh Bird. In fact, just a moment ago, she’d heard a series of furious shrieks.

She didn’t know why the cries had suddenly stopped, but the entire experience had left Bao Yaoyao deeply shaken.

It made Bao Yaoyao understand what people meant when they said the exam difficulty on an island with a mountain was several, or even dozens, of times harder than the others.

It was no joke, indeed!

She couldn’t help but think that even the national qualifying exam hadn’t been this difficult.

Of course, these were just Bao Yaoyao’s fleeting thoughts, a brief inner complaint that she quickly dismissed.

Right now, she was just praying that this island didn’t have an altar, or anything like it.

Otherwise, her chances in this secret realm college entrance exam were as good as gone.

After composing herself, Bao Yaoyao decided to lie low on the island’s periphery for now. Once she could no longer hear the Ice Simurgh’s cries, she would slowly start exploring back toward her original location.

And yet, for some reason, as time passed, Bao Yaoyao found her thoughts drifting more and more toward Li Heng.

She would periodically glance toward the mountain at the island’s center. After gazing at the peak for the umpteenth time, Bao Yaoyao sighed softly and murmured to herself.

"Even if Li Heng is strong... going up against a flying Tier Two High-Grade Ice Simurgh, he must be in a terrible state! I hope you make it out alive. Even if you’re seriously injured, just... stay alive!"