Supreme Emperor of Mist

"Qing Yun!" Lu Yi was the first to react. His hand with the Jade Dragon Finger dug deep into the skull of the mature Yellowtail Fox Demon. After replacing Lu Qing Yun to deliver a killing blow, he immediately made his way over to where she is.

"I'm - I'm fine!" Lu Qing Yun struggled to give them a reply. She quickly swallowed a Flesh Mending Pill and circulating her spiritual energy to hasten the medicinal effect over a few of her wounded area.

"Lu Yi will protect Qing Yun while she tends her wound. Huo Zunjie will store the corpse into the Qiankun Bag on my behalf. I will handle this demon beast by myself." Qin Lan tossed the bag on his waist over to Huo Zunjie as he stepped forward.

Deep inside his heart, he was excited.

(We're lucky. How can there be a young Third-Level Flesh Refining Silver Canis Demon inside this burrow?)

Qin Lan moved forward, creating a few mirages of his by relying on his proficiency in the Mistral Foundation Art.

"Four... Four young masters?" Qin Lan's flawless execution of martial art stunned Huo Zunjie. It was his first time witnessing such a bizarre martial art that's capable of copying oneself to this kind of quality.

Each one of his mirages has it's own program set within its own scope of movement, turning the battle into Qin Lan's four against one favor. But sometimes, experience and knowledge do play a vital role in a fight like this.

"Zunjie, if you're done, take a Flesh Refining Pill and recover yourself. I'll need all the help for us to successfully hunt the Silver Canis." Qin Lan's said. Being in a favorable position and fighting a winning battle carries two different meanings.

Furthermore, against a demon beast like Silver Canis, having a favorable position meant nothing if Qin Lan is incapable. That's because Silver Canis is somewhat similar to the Amber Snake Demon Soldier Huo Zunjie encountered.

It wasn't mature yet, but close.

Just like a human, consciousness, or sentience, would develop slowly on the Yao Beast. There might be only one in a few, but those that succeeded are often labeled as a Demon Soldier and not a beast.

The most significant changes after developing consciousness are allowing them to start cultivating. While demon beast grows solely relying on their maturity and bloodline, a Demon Soldier could multiply this growth by a few fold based on their comprehension ability.

"Roar!" the Silver Canis attacked two of Qin Lan's mirages. Both attacks failed to produce any significant results except for reducing the number of Qin Lans in the battle.

"Come here," Qin Lan created two more mirages of himself as he approaches the Silver Canis altogether. Even the Spiritual Energy on each of his mirages is identical to one another while attacking with a move from Kuangshan Lu Sect's Martial Art.

"Rrr... ROAR!" shockwave appeared as the Silver Canis executed an attack that was used by the mature Yellowtail Fox Demon Beast on Lu Yi earlier.

"What!" the leftover strength from that attack blows the dirt and leaves surrounding them, leaving Huo Zunjie, Lu Yi, and Lu Qing Yun confused for a split second. But most incredibly is the fact this Demon Soldier is capable of executing an attack that does not belong to it in the first place!

Qin Lan grinned as he reproduced three mirages again while moving around. A quarter of an incense stick of time would be sufficient for his followers to recover their strength.

"Hm?" Qin Lan felt a hint of uneasiness as he orchestrated this battle.

With a quick wave of his hand, he attached an Escaping Amulet to his body. The moment he did, the claw attack from Silver Canis narrowly passes through where he was standing. That attack even left a mark on the ground, showing how confident that strike is when it was executed.

"This fella..." his facial expression changed. Although the attack did not disrupt the flow of the battle, Qin Lan knows that the Silver Canis is toying around just like what he was doing.

"Take this!" Qin Lan stopped moving around for the first time. Taking the advantages of the Silver Canis yet to pull its attack back, Qin Lan delivered a palm strike from the Rippling Wave Palm technique to teach this Yao a lesson.

(PS: Do take note that I will use "Yao/Demon" once in a while because it would be nicer like this comparing to keep writing Demon Soldier / Demon Beast / Demon this and that)

Silver Canis tumbled on the ground from Qin Lan's attack. It was in a loss of thought from Qin Lan's sudden attack.

(Ro--ar?)

(How can the human's attack turn out to be so painful? Mother says that my body is the strongest amongst our fox tribe!)

Silver Canis made a stretch as it climbed around the trees. But then, it causes another mistake. One of the bottles hanging around that tree happened to have some hot, burning liquid that could even melt its silvery fur!

It yelped in pain and rolled on the ground. Without further ado, the Silver Canis immediately thought of a way to escape before it was too late.

But as it approaches the hole leading into the burrow, Lu Yi and Lu Qing Yun appeared from both left and right as both of them delivered the best move from their Rippling Wave Palm and Mistral Projection Fist Art.

"Spreading Wave!" Lu Qing Yun's attack is like a fan of a peacock's tail.

"Profound... Projection Fist!" Lu Yi charged into the incoming Silver Canis and delivered a killing blow he used to kill the mature Yellowtail Fox Demon earlier.

**Growl!!!**

Silver Canis retaliates. The three clashed and were thrown into two different directions. It was a commendable effort, but the Fox Yao has sadly forgotten about the number of its opponent.

If it exhausted such a hefty amount of stamina to deflect a joint attack, then from where can it get more vigor to deflect the attack from the third opponent?

"Profound Projection Fist!" Huo Zunjie's attack went straight into the heart of the Silver Canis. He forced all of his available Spiritual Energy out to create much more significant damage.

**Yelp! Yelp!**

Silver Canis struggled and managed to slap Huo Zunjie away. Unfortunately, the trauma has been done. Blood is flowing out from the wound earlier, along with pain on its front arm and chest.

"ROAR!!!" Silver Canis made an explosive call as if it was preparing to fight to the death against the intruders. The high-pitch roar made their ears numb. But in that same split of a second, Qin Lan attacked.

"Crushing Wave." Qin Lan slapped his palm at the middle of the weakened Silver Canis, executing a blow he's yet to teach Lu Qing Yun. The attack sent multiple waves of destructive Spiritual Energy through the skin of the Yao and ran amok inside.

The defeated Silver Canis lost its life honorably at Qin Lan's hand.

Blood slowly pouring out from its openings as the head falls onto the ground with a "thud" sound.

"YES! We've hunted two third-level Demon Beasts!" the three followers cheered and hopped as they celebrate their victory against two difficult opponents. Qin Lan carefully threaded and entered the underground burrow, followed by his cheerful servants.

"Qing Yun, Lu Yi, both of you will hold a torch. Huo Zunjie will follow Lu Yi and slaughter the matured cubs. If you come across the younger cubs, keep them alive." Qin Lan ordered before he and Lu Qing Yun moves together.

"Servant understand." Lu Yi and Huo Zunjie excitedly went towards one of the intersections, leaving Qin Lan and Lu Qing Yun. Both of them are still in euphoria from winning against the two high leveled demon beasts.

"Young master... The last attack... Is it one of the moves from Rippling Wave Palm Art?" Lu Qing Yun asked as she gently moves forward according to Qin Lan's wish.

"Yes. But you'll have to be at the third-level before you can learn it," Qin Lan nodded. He's not joking around when it comes to martial arts. Just as he said, one has to be at least at the cultivation of a third-level Flesh Refining to collect and utilize enough Spiritual Energy to efficiently use this move.

Even to Qin Lan, using a single move of Crushing Wave took close to a-third of his reserve Spiritual Energy to execute. Furthermore, the Crushing Wave would only get thirstier for Spiritual Energy. Hence, it becomes a reason Qin Lan is keeping the move from Lu Qing Yun.

"I'll do my best to cultivate..." Lu Qing Yun gently whispered as she moves a little faster from Qin Lan.

"..."

(This silly girl... As one of my first few disciples of my Kuangshan Lu Sect, how can I be stingy on you? You'll understand my effort and attention in the future when all four of us are in the Cloud Plucking Sect)

"Young Master!" Lu Qing Yun's call wakes Qin Lan from his deep thought. The moment he made his way to Lu Qing Yun, Qin Lan noticed a few hints that tried to tell him about something.

In between Lu Qing Yun's hands lies a litter of kits. A total of eight, to be exact.

"Keep them. These will be a precious asset to our Qin Household once they grow up." Qin Lan said.