Chapter 40: Bai Shasha’s Assumption

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Bai Shasha’s Assumption

If the Icefield Area’s most common creature was the starving Snow Leopard, then the Wind Snow Area’s most numerous Secret Realm Creature was the soul beast—the Snowflake Little Demon.

Ever since Li Heng displayed his strength and solo-killed a Frost Spider, the only soul beasts the six-person team encountered were Snowflake Little Demons!

Xue Qing and Bai Shasha were already dragging the corpses of five Snowflake Little Demons. And the item with the highest drop rate from a Snowflake Little Demon was the Cold Qi Pearl.

The four Snowflake Little Demons they encountered next dropped two Cold Qi Pearls. These two pearls were temporarily assigned to Bai Shasha and Lin Tao.

Based on his contribution of solo-killing one Frost Spider and one Snowflake Little Demon, Li Heng was more than deserving of a Cold Qi Pearl. But he refused and suggested they first give one to the team’s "Scout".

Li Heng’s magnanimous attitude, combined with his unfathomable strength, earned him the entire team’s silent, unanimous praise.

Moreover, Li Heng stated that if they found any more similar pearls, he would be the last to take one.

Everyone felt that despite clearly being the strongest on the team, Li Heng’s attitude was so humble, and he seemed completely unmoved by Soul Energy Items.

’No wonder he can use such freakishly powerful Swordsmanship.’ It was a level of mastery they all felt they couldn’t hope to reach for the time being.

Those four Snowflake Little Demons meant another 60 soul energy points in the bag. Li Heng didn’t feel like he was losing out at all; the main function of a Cold Qi Pearl right now was simply to ward off the cold.

With the Ice Feather Ring, which could even be upgraded further, Li Heng wasn’t worried in the slightest. The only thing that made his heart sink a little was that while traveling through the Wind Snow Area, he still hadn’t received a Dungeon discovery notification.

’Nothing in the Icefield Area, and nothing in the Wind Snow Area either. I guess that just leaves the Ice Lake District to check out.’

The idea of going to the Ice Lake District was something Li Heng kept to himself. He didn’t tell anyone, otherwise he would definitely attract another round of "strange" looks.

’At least, it isn’t the right time to mention it now.’

Besides, Li Heng wasn’t sure how big this Wind Snow Area was, or if there were any other soul beasts besides Snowflake Little Demons and Frost Spiders. ’Even though I have a Teleportation Talisman, it’s better to be safe and get familiar with the Wind Snow Area first.’

’I’ll just lie low for a while. No need to rush into exploring! Better to farm safely and grow stronger; I can’t afford to be reckless. As long as I’m earning soul energy points, it’s no loss!’

The team was now dragging six soul beast corpses as they walked through the Wind Snow Area. Luckily, the bodies were all relatively small, so it wasn’t too much of a burden on Xue Qing.

"Li Heng! The next time we run into a Snowflake Little Demon, if it’s not too much trouble, could you protect Xue Qing? I want to try fighting a soul beast!"

As the team continued to explore, Bai Shasha suddenly walked up beside Li Heng and spoke in a low voice so that no one else could hear.

The others only saw Bai Shasha move a little closer to Li Heng; they didn’t hear what she said.

Huh?

"O... okay!" Li Heng didn’t understand what Bai Shasha was suddenly getting at, but he nodded in agreement anyway. After all, the soul energy points would be his in the end.

Besides, from Li Heng’s perspective, the Snowflake Little Demons were basically free experience, practically a giveaway!

It wasn’t that Li Heng was getting cocky, but ever since he comprehended a rudimentary Sword Intent, he felt that whenever he swung his sword, the soul beasts he faced seemed to move much slower.

This was true even for the Frost Spider, but it was especially noticeable with the Snowflake Little Demons. Li Heng even suspected their 11 agility points were fake.

Li Heng knew that his equipment bonuses were definitely a factor in this as well.

After all, watching Zheng Zhuoran and Lin Tao have to team up just to surround and kill a single Snowflake Little Demon made it clear that taking one on alone was still a struggle for them. This made Li Heng appreciate the importance of good equipment all the more.

And the importance of soul energy points!

His desire to find a Dungeon grew even stronger.

—

Seeing Li Heng nod in agreement, Bai Shasha breathed a sigh of relief, but she didn’t relax completely. Her right hand, gripping the Wolf Claw Curved Saber, involuntarily tightened.

In her heart, she understood better than anyone else on the team that Li Heng’s strength was definitely earned by fighting for his life!

Bai Shasha remembered very clearly that when she and Li Heng had left the Wild Wolf Valley Secret Realm, neither of them were even Soul Apprentices yet.

So much time had passed since the Wild Wolf Valley Secret Realm, and on top of that, there was the shocking image of Li Heng suddenly charging into the snow to fight the Frost Spider.

Although it had just been a one-sided domination on Li Heng’s part, that fighting spirit and the courage to face the unknown...! Bai Shasha believed that was something she lacked.

She remembered being surrounded by the wolf pack. She had been terrified, knew she couldn’t win, and had chosen to leave at the first opportunity.

But Li Heng had somehow managed to stay in there for at least twenty minutes!

Bai Shasha finally understood why Li Heng had successfully become a Soul Apprentice while she was always falling just a little short.

It was because she lacked the spirit to face adversity!

Bai Shasha guessed that even though Li Heng had downplayed it when describing how he broke through the wolf pack’s encirclement, the actual danger must have been immense. He had probably suffered some hidden injuries, and the process must have been exceptionally difficult.

’He must have gritted his teeth and fought a bloody battle to the very last moment before he couldn’t hold on any longer and tore up the Teleportation Talisman, right?!’

’Yes!’

’It must have been while he was surrounded by the wolves! Faced with a desperate situation, Li Heng must have struggled with all his might and broken through to become a Soul Apprentice!’

As Bai Shasha delved deeper into this train of thought, a spirited light flashed in her eyes, and her right hand simultaneously tightened its grip on her weapon.

’Li Heng! I’ll catch up to you! As your teammate, the next time we face danger, I won’t choose to retreat again! I swear it!’ Bai Shasha vowed in her heart.

Of course, Li Heng had no idea what sort of fanfiction this flat-chested loli was cooking up in her head. If he knew, he would’ve definitely told her that he had a Golden Finger. Moreover, back in Wild Wolf Valley, he had been clutching a Teleportation Talisman the entire time he was fighting; in reality, he was scared to death. If he had to do it all over again, he’d definitely run away even faster than the flat-chested loli!

’No!’

’Just thinking about that feeling, I really don’t want to go through that a second time. If things look bad, I’m just going to run!’

’There will absolutely be no ’doing it all over again’!’

"We’ve got a situation! Judging from Aoxue’s reaction... it should be a Snowflake Little Demon. Li Heng, it’s on your side!"

Bai Shasha was still deep in thought when the team ran into a new situation. And this time, it was another Snowflake Little Demon.

The flat-chested loli felt her luck was pretty good. After taking a deep breath, she clutched her Wolf Claw Curved Saber and moved to Li Heng’s side.

"Li Heng, I’m counting on you!" After speaking, Bai Shasha took an attack stance and stood in front of Li Heng.

When Lin Tao and the others learned the Snowflake Little Demon had appeared on Li Heng’s side, they had all relaxed, completely confident in his strength. But seeing Bai Shasha’s sudden move, they were momentarily confused.

"She said she wants to give it a try!" Li Heng explained on her behalf.

After his explanation, the others were understanding. Bai Shasha had barely had a chance to fight since entering the Wind Snow Area, so it was normal for her to want some action.

Besides, the opponent was just a Snowflake Little Demon, so it didn’t affect the team’s formation or safety.

Plus, Li Heng was right beside Bai Shasha. Even though she wasn’t a Soul Apprentice yet, they figured there wouldn’t be any major problems.

After all, Li Heng was now unanimously recognized by the entire team as a top-tier master!