Chapter 45 - 44: Surrounding and Killing the Tiger Demon 4

Chapter 45: Chapter 44: Surrounding and Killing the Tiger Demon 4

The Tiger Demon charged.

Director Liu once again gave the order to fire.

At the same time, all sorts of firearms unleashed a relentless barrage, aiming for the Tiger Demon’s wounds.

They tore its injuries wider and wider.

This time, the firearms were no longer useless.

Every shot made the Tiger Demon’s massive frame shudder.

Seeing this, Lu Jing’an gave no further orders.

Under these conditions, the Tiger Demon’s death was only a matter of time.

It couldn’t possibly reach him.

But in the next instant...

Lu Jing’an felt a sharp pain, as if an Ice Cone were being driven into the inside of his skull.

The Tiger Demon’s Spiritual Power Attack came without warning,

like an avalanche erupting in the depths of his mind.

Roaring in his sea of consciousness now

was a ferocious tiger formed entirely from pure violence and murderous intent.

"ROAR!"

The roar was soundless, yet it nearly shattered Lu Jing’an’s consciousness.

He could still see the scene outside:

Director Liu, thirty paces away, waving his arms and shouting himself hoarse;

the crisp clank of metal as soldiers reloaded the mortars.

Chen Xuan had already taken half a step forward, ready to act at any moment.

He could even smell the faint, clean scent of soap from Wen Ling.

But he couldn’t speak a single word.

On the battlefield of the Spirit, he was all alone.

The spectral Tiger Demon, which had shrunk to the size of a cat,

darted about inside his mind, each pounce and bite tearing away large chunks of his consciousness.

Lu Jing’an felt a warm liquid welling up from the depths of his nasal cavity.

A sharp ringing sounded in his ears,

and snowflake-like blind spots began to bleed into the edges of his vision.

Lu Jing’an felt his Spirit was on the verge of collapse.

’Add points!’

Lu Jing’an thought to himself.

The instant the thought formed,

a cool, clear power, like a fresh spring, welled up from the depths of his consciousness.

His Spiritual Power, originally like a candle sputtering in the wind, suddenly solidified.

The wounds that had been torn open were forcefully healed by an invisible power.

The spectral Tiger Demon in his sea of consciousness faltered, even taking half a step back.

Lu Jing’an checked his Spirit. He had poured all nine Energy points into it, and his Spiritual Power value leaped from 8 to 17.

A qualitative change occurred in an instant.

When the spectral Tiger Demon pounced again,

Lu Jing’an could even see every stripe of the "king" character pattern on its forehead.

Lu Jing’an still didn’t know any spiritual Attacking Techniques,

but as he stood there,

he was like a reef facing a raging wave!

The Tiger Demon’s Attack crashed against his spiritual barrier—now more than twice as strong—and only managed to create ripples.

The stalemate lasted no more than three seconds.

The spectral Tiger Demon let out a resentful shriek,

then scattered into countless points of light,

completely retreating from Lu Jing’an’s sea of consciousness.

"Huuu—"

Lu Jing’an’s eyes snapped open as he exhaled sharply.

The breath carried with it the metallic taste of blood from his throat,

as well as the warm liquid that was finally gushing from his nose.

He raised a hand to touch it, and his fingertips met something thick and sticky.

"Young Master!"

Chen Xuan’s exclamation exploded by his side.

This teacher, normally as steady as a mountain range, now had a strained voice.

He spun around so fast the wind whistled through his robes.

Lu Jing’an had never seen such an expression on his master’s face.

Those eyes, always half-closed, were wide open.

His pupils had contracted to pinpricks, and the whites of his eyes were instantly webbed with blood.

"Young Master Lu, you..."

Wen Ling’s voice came from the other side.

She fumbled frantically in her sleeve pocket, finally pulling out a plain white handkerchief embroidered with a magnolia.

The handkerchief carried a young woman’s characteristic soapy scent and a very faint smell of herbs.

Lu Jing’an took it and pressed it to his nose. The cotton was quickly soaked with blood, blossoming into a dark flower under the moonlight.

"I’ll get you a new one," Lu Jing’an said, his voice a bit muffled but laced with a smile.

Wen Ling froze for a moment, then glared at him. "Who asked you to replace it!"

Chen Xuan’s hand was already on Lu Jing’an’s wrist.

The old man’s fingertips were ice-cold. He felt the pulse for a few moments before letting go, his voice hoarse.

"Your Divine Soul is shaken, but your foundation is not damaged."

He looked up at the Tiger Demon thirty paces away, its movements sluggish from the psychic backlash,

and the trace of fear in his eyes instantly burned into a piercing killing intent.

"Was that the beast’s Divine Soul Attack?"

"Mhm."

Lu Jing’an wiped the blood from his face and carefully folded the blood-stained handkerchief, putting it in an inner pocket.

"The file was missing something. That spiritual assault nearly turned me into an idiot."

"It was our oversight."

Wen Ling’s voice was strained, each word seemingly squeezed through her teeth.

"A Tiger Demon with a Tamed Chong Ghost must have a strong Divine Soul.

We should have realized it might possess a direct Divine Soul Attacking Technique."

"Sister Wen Ling."

Lu Jing’an interrupted her self-recrimination, his voice calm.

"The battlefield is ever-changing. How can there be a foolproof plan?

The fact that I can stand here and talk is already a blessing."

Chen Xuan listened to Lu Jing’an, then turned his gaze to the Tiger Demon, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.

"Young Master, I’m going to kill it."

With those words, Chen Xuan leaped directly into the fray.

Lu Jing’an opened his mouth to call out, but Chen Xuan was already gone.

Lu Jing’an could only signal Director Liu and his men to stop.

The Tiger Demon had an instinctive reaction to danger.

When it saw Chen Xuan,

it instinctively sensed the peril.

But it was already heavily injured and couldn’t run away.

In truth, even if it weren’t heavily injured, it still couldn’t have escaped from Chen Xuan.

’I couldn’t stop him, but at least I’ll get to see my master in action.’

Seeing Chen Xuan approach, the Tiger Demon raised its paw to block.

Chen Xuan’s hand formed a blade, striking the joint of the tiger’s paw.

The dull crack of shattering bone was exceptionally clear in the quiet forest.

The Tiger Demon howled in pain, but Chen Xuan was already closing in.

His left hand seized the Tiger Demon’s lower jaw as his right knee slammed violently into its throat.

In less than five minutes,

the once-ferocious Tiger Demon was now just a corpse.

Looking at Chen Xuan with his blood-soaked hands,

Lu Jing’an thought that not even the legendary Wu Song could match his master’s imposing presence.

[Divine Soul detected. Can be Refined/Repaired. Collect?]

Seeing this prompt appear over the Tiger Demon’s body,

Lu Jing’an chose to collect it without hesitation.

’I came here for two reasons.’

’One was to lure the Tiger Demon and kill it.’

’The second was for this Divine Soul.’

The Tiger Demon was so powerful.

Lu Jing’an was already buzzing with anticipation for the Tiger Demon’s Divine Soul.

After collecting the Divine Soul,

Lu Jing’an decisively chose Refining.

[Refining in progress. Estimated time to completion: 12 hours]

Looking at the estimated completion time,

Lu Jing’an’s anticipation grew even stronger.

’The longer the Refining takes,’

’the greater the reward will be.’

’The longest Refining time before this was only six hours.’

’Now it’s twice as long.’

’This is definitely something to look forward to.’

After dealing with the Tiger Demon, Chen Xuan returned to Lu Jing’an’s side.

As for the remaining cleanup,

it certainly didn’t require a great master like Chen Xuan to handle it.

Director Liu and the men his third uncle had brought were more than enough to handle things.

"Master, wipe your hands."

Lu Jing’an took out his own handkerchief and handed it to Chen Xuan.

"Thank you, Young Master."

Chen Xuan took it and wiped his hands, though it only smeared away the surface layer of blood and grime.

At that moment, the phosphorus in the forest finished burning out. Other than a few slightly scorched trees, no major fire had started.

Over by the Tiger Demon,

all available hands had gone to help.

The massive beast, weighing well over a thousand pounds, had more than a hundred burly men breaking out in a sweat as they worked to move it.

A cacophony of work chants, scraping ropes, and roaring truck engines filled the air.

Lu Jing’an looked at the Tiger Demon’s corpse and turned to ask Wen Ling,

"Sister Wen Ling, the Anping Bureau must have procedures for handling these Demon Beasts, right? Could you share a copy with me?

Or could I ask the Anping Bureau to help me process it?"

Wen Ling nodded. "We do, of course. The Anping Bureau can’t process it for you, but I can share a copy of our procedures and experience."

"Many thanks."

Lu Jing’an clasped his fists in thanks.

Wen Ling looked at the Tiger Demon’s corpse being dragged away and said,

"Young Master Lu, to think of such an ingenious way to deal with a Demon Beast.

I wonder if you’d be interested in helping us with another one?"

After a pause, Wen Ling added, "This time, our invitation wouldn’t be against regulations. We could even pay Young Master Lu afterward."

Her tone shifted. "It’s just that our rates are a bit low—only five hundred silver coins. Young Master Lu probably wouldn’t be interested."

Lu Jing’an smiled. "The money isn’t important. Sister Wen Ling, you can give me the file first. I’ll take a look at it."

"If I can really be of help to you, Sister Wen Ling, it would be my honor."

Wen Ling giggled. "Then it’s a deal."

Kui Shan stood to the side, suddenly wondering who was the real director of the Anping Bureau—him or Wen Ling.