In the forest, broken branches and leaves littered the ground.
A massive wild boar lay on the ground, its body covered in bite marks.
Lying in a pool of blood, its life was slowly ebbing away.
Suddenly, a muscular leopard leaped out, howling at the fallen boar as if mocking its weakness.
Instead of finishing it off, it silently watched the boar bleed, wanting to torment it in this way.
The leopard sat down, licking its dark gray fur.
Its back was covered with large, thick, rough, iron-colored bone plates.
These plates now had a noticeable dent.
A closer look at its body revealed that it wasn't unscathed either.
Clearly, it had also suffered considerable injuries in the fight with the boar.
Not far away, Dongfang Jing, desperately trying to conceal himself, witnessed everything, his heart filled with astonishment.
'It has iron-colored bone plates on its back, two arched tusks on its upper jaw, and amber-colored vertical pupils.'
'No mistake, this must be an Armored Saber-toothed Leopard!'
Dongfang Jing's face lit up with joy. This soul beast perfectly matched his requirements.
But the next second, the surprise on his face disappeared.
Because, according to his estimation, this leopard was nearly three meters long, and its two tusks were over 30 centimeters long.
This was a thousand-year-old soul beast that had just broken through!
'What a pity. I can still gamble with my life against a hundred-year-old one, but there's no hope against a thousand-year-old one.'
Dongfang Jing shook his head, his mood fluctuating greatly.
Although it was a thousand-year-old soul beast that had just broken through and had just experienced a great battle,it was still not something he could mess with at his current level.
Moreover, this Armored Saber-toothed Leopard was an extremely rare soul beast.
Its strength was beyond doubt, and fighting beyond its level was commonplace for it.
The wild boar on the ground that was about to die was also a thousand-year-old soul beast, and its cultivation was clearly higher than that of the saber-toothed leopard.
But the facts speak for themselves; if you can't beat them, you can't beat them.
Although Dongfang Jing felt regret, he still prepared to leave and try his luck elsewhere.
But as soon as he straightened his legs, a sense of crisis rushed to his head and penetrated to his very bones.
He cautiously peeked out, but a chill made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
He quickly pulled his head back.
He saw that the saber-toothed leopard's long, narrow, amber-colored vertical pupils were already fixed on the giant tree where Dongfang Jing was hiding.
'It's three or four hundred meters away, how could it detect me?'
Before he could think further, instinct made Dongfang Jing immediately lunge forward.
*Crack!
Crack!
Crack!*
The giant tree he had used to hide in was visibly pierced by two fangs.
In the blink of an eye, the saber-toothed leopard had launched its attack.
Its speed was so fast that Dongfang Jing's heart sank to the bottom.
But he didn't sit idly by and wait to die; he immediately drew his longsword.
With the opponent's speed, running away was definitely not an option; he had to think of another way!
Despite the danger, Dongfang Jing remained calm and his mind raced as he devised a plan.
Meanwhile, the saber-toothed leopard bit down hard, and the giant tree crumbled like a potato chip, collapsing with a crash and raising a cloud of dust.
Dongfang Jing's eyes sharpened. He placed the floor-length mirror he carried on his back flat on the ground, mirror facing upwards.
Then, using the brief cloud of dust, he scrambled up the tree as fast as he could.
From the height, his view was much wider.
He had watched nature documentaries in his previous life; the leopards there could not only run but also climb trees.
The leopard here certainly could too, and it was already chasing him up the tree.
Dongfang Jing didn't expect to escape the pursuit from his height.
Keeping his eyes fixed on the approaching saber-toothed leopard, he summoned his martial spirit.
Seizing the opportunity, when the leopard was about the same height as him, he leaped down from the tree.
The saber-toothed leopard wasn't stupid. Its hunting instincts and years of combat experience allowed it to perform many maneuvers even while perched in the trees or in mid-air.
With a sudden burst of strength, it leaped down from the tree and lunged at the falling Dongfang Jing.
The boy raised his sword to block.
The fine iron longsword, worth two gold soul coins, shattered instantly.
Its fangs easily pierced Dongfang Jing's shoulders and arms, the crimson blood flowing out and falling alongside them.
Dongfang Jing endured the excruciating pain; a normal person would try to break free.
But he clung tightly to the saber-toothed leopard's flesh, refusing to let go despite the bleeding from his fingertips.
As they drew closer to the ground, a mocking smile curled at the corner of the boy's bleeding lips.
"Farewell!"
With those words, Dongfang Jing's back struck the surface of the floor-to-ceiling mirror he had placed beforehand.
The mirror didn't shatter; instead, it rippled outwards like water, drawing him and the saber-toothed leopard into it.
The Hall of a Thousand Mirrors.
Seeing that the saber-toothed leopard had been dragged in, Dongfang Jing immediately used his mind to switch places with his mirror image.
*Whoosh*—in an instant, he was freed from the leopard's jaws.
The mirror image and the real body could switch places anytime, anywhere, even passing through terrain.
However, during the switch, Dongfang Jing was not invincible.
He would suffer the same damage as his mirror image.
So, his arms and shoulders, which had initially only suffered penetrating wounds, now also had lacerations.
Piercings of bone were visible.
He quickly tore off strips of cloth from his clothes and tightly bound the base of his arm to stop the bleeding.
The young man gasped for breath, large drops of sweat dripping down his neck.
Already severely injured, entering the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors further aggravated his injuries.
His eyelids drooped wildly.
Dongfang Jing dared not faint; if he fell asleep in the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors, he would surely die!
So he could only endure, testing his willpower against the saber-toothed leopard.
At this moment, he raised his eyes to check on its condition.
The saber-toothed leopard froze. Its sharp fangs, which had been embedded in Dongfang Jing's shoulder just moments before, had suddenly vanished.
And where was this eerie place before it, devoid of smell and wind?
Roar—?!
It instinctively roared in alarm and anger, but the sound was unusually dry in the deathly silence, reflected back by countless mirrors, becoming a chaotic, blurry echo that buzzed into its own ears, making it even more agitated.
It tried to exert force, but each muscle contraction was extremely difficult.
Gradually, it began to frantically twist its body, lashing out with its tail and scratching at the surrounding mirrors with its claws.
Sizzle—!
The claws scraped against the mirrors with a piercing sound, but couldn't damage them in the slightest.
Thud!
Thud!
Heavy impacts rang out repeatedly as the saber-toothed leopard rolled around, whimpering in pain.
Fragments of blood had already appeared on its body.
Dongfang Jing was not far away, his heart devoid of joy or sorrow.
This Hall of a Thousand Mirrors held many trials.
But the greatest test was mental strength and perseverance.
If it couldn't hold on, its body would be sliced to pieces by tens of thousands of mirror blades.
Soul beasts only develop sentience after breaking through ten thousand years.
The fate of this thousand-year-old saber-toothed leopard entering this place was predictable.
When the armored saber-toothed leopard was on its last breath, Dongfang Jing laboriously dragged it out.
The armored saber-toothed leopard had no bone plates covering its waist and abdomen, making this its weakest point.
Without hesitation, he delivered the final blow.
A purple soul ring slowly rose.
Read 60+ Advanced Chapters At Pa Treon.
[email protected]/Ficthoria
(End of Chapter)