Proofreader: Prof Zhu Yuan

It was in the forest of the Dahuang Palace.

"Watch out!"Yan reminded, and others seemed serious; at the same time, they looked to the same direction as Yan Li did and became frightened.

"Brother Yan?"

Xue Zhan took a look at Yan Li at once. Xue was the initiator of the team, but as Yan was the most respected in the group, he took the place of Xue.

"You all step back, and I will stay to fight against it." 

Yan Li immediately made up his mind for this, and he guessed that it should be a level-two beast hiding in the thorn forest instead of an ordinary level-two one.

In this team, Yan Li was the best in skills, reaching the top level of Lian Qi, followed by Xue Zhan and Ling Yu with 9th level of Lian Qi. As for the Lin brothers, Lin Wu reached the 8th and Lin Wen reached the 7th level of Lian Qi, and Yao Ling, Stuart Xuexiu were the same as Lin Wen.

It would be okay if the seven-member team had faced a level-one beast, but when it came to the level-two animal, it was hard  for a level-two creature to be compared to a Yuan Realm warrior.

The other six members became speechless because of astonishment, and they didn't expect Yan Li would ask them to leave, and it was inevitable that they thought Yan Li might despise them. Everyone taking part in this test was proud and arrogant.

In the second round, Yan had climbed up to the 18th stage, of which the other team members admired, and they also wanted to compete with Yan. As for now, they thought Yan was timid, for he ordered them to retreat without even a fight with the beast.

"Brother Yan, we don't need to be afraid of the beast, aren't we?" Xue Zhan hesitated for a while and kept reminding.

Yan Li had lived for three lives with rich experience, and he knew clearly what the other members thought about it; thus, he said, "I am wondering whether it is a level-two beast!"

"Level-two beast? "

 Their faces turned clouded. As it was known to all that the warriors were categorized into the Yuan realm, Xuan realm and so on, among which Lian Qi was divided into ten levels, the gap between different realms was not very big.

There was a possibility that a warrior of the level-seven Lian Qi with excellent skills would compete with a warrior of the level-nine or level-ten without practiced skills.

Yuan's realm was different from that.  A warrior with level-ten Lian Qi skills would not beat the warriors of the Yuan realm unless he were a genius of martial arts.

If what Yan Li guessed were right,  it would be difficult for the team to win.

However, Ling Yu suddenly spoke and disagreed with Yan, "It was just a shocking statement that attracts attention. How could there be a level-two beast? My cousin is the in-door disciple of the palace, and he used to tell that one would not encounter a level-two beast within 500 miles away from the entrance. It was your own business if you were frightened. Such a coward like you was not qualified for the test. I suggest you quit it so as not to lose your life in vain."           

Ling Yu had long been uncomfortable with Yan Li, and he seized this opportunity to humiliate Yan; however, to his disappointment, Yan Li did not even take a look at him but stared at the thorns. 

"Brother Xue, take everybody away. The beast is losing patience!" Yan Li warned in a low voice.

"Brother Yan, we..."

"Roar!"

A roar of beasts arose from the thorns woods, which was deafening.

With a sound of a crash, a scalper-like green leopard with a huge body suddenly sprang out of the thorn forest, his blood-red eyes staring at Yan Li and others, flas.h.i.+ng fierce light.

"It was the level-two beast, the thorn leopard!"

Xue Zhan's att.i.tude changed significantly, and he was a little bit regretful, for if he had taken Yan's advice and guided others leaving, they could not encounter the thorns leopard.

"How could it be... a level-two beast!"

Ling Yu became awkward and dull, even his body trembled.

"You'd better go! And I'll hold it!"

Yan Li shouted with a sound, and his body sprang out, he went straight a few meters towards the thorn leopard, the fine steel sword in his hand showing a cl.u.s.ter of splendid light, and stabbing into the thorn leopard's eyes and neck.

He used the technique of Freezing Soul Sword, one among the category of Yellow Cla.s.s Sword techniques.

"Let's go!"

Ling Yu turned back and suddenly shot in the distance. It was just now that he sneered at Yan, but the minute the beast appeared, he took very different actions from that of Yan's.

Yan Li first drew the sword and rushed out, to let the others escape, and Ling Yu was the first to escape.

"Brother Yan, let me help you!"

Xue Zhan screamed, and immediately he also pulled out his sword, the sword in his hand into a flash of lightning, from the side to the thorn leopard's belly. 

He used the technique of A Straight Sword, one among the category of the Yellow Cla.s.s Sword techniques.

"Roar!"

The thorn leopard issued an angry roar, for it did not expect that two small warriors of martial arts, dared to provoke its majesty.

"Whoos.h.!.+"

The huge thorn leopard suddenly moved, incredibly disappeared under the range of Yan Li and Xue Zhan, and the next minute, Yan Li felt great pain on the back by a substantially sharp edge. 

It was the technique of Boom Killing, one of the techniques of Yellow Cla.s.s Sword.

"Boom!"

"Yan, I want to be with you!" Xue said loudly raising his sword.

"Xue, take them away from here."

"Yan, I want to fight with you!" Xue roared, raising his sword.

"Don't be silly! The second level beast is not something we can deal with! Do you want everyone to die together? Don't you want to be an outdoor disciple of the Dahuang Palace?"

Yan Li  blamed and scold, which immediately made Xue Zhan realize that this was not the time for haste. "Brother Yan, then we go first !" 

Xue Zhan moved quickly, approaching the other four people, and asked them to go soon. 

The thorn leopard focused its attention on Yan Li and did not care about the others.

Seeing Xue Zhan and others leave, Yan Li smiled calmly. Although he just completed the practice of  Lian Qi and reached the top level,  in the previous life he was the warrior of the Yuan realm, attached to Li Li. He also obtained some talented skills of martial arts from the royal family, but, in front of outsiders, he must hide it; otherwise, people would recognize him for his royal ident.i.ty. 

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d, I will kill you!" 

It was the technique of Emperor Tao Wuji Sword, one of those of the Top Yellow Cla.s.s Sword techniques.

"Boom!"

A sharp sword burst out of the body from Yan, he raised his long sword, and people saw a wisp of golden awn wrapped around his sword, cutting through the air, and going straight to the thorns leopard.

"Whew!"

The sword was swift and violent like lightning, instantly reaching the thorn leopard.

"Poof!"

A wisp of blood flashed by, and it was a thorn leopard's eye which was picked out by Yan's sword.

"Roar, roar!"

The thorn leopard bellowed bitterly and was full of hatred in its only eye. It swooped abruptly toward Yan Li, with a sense of evil that had blown up the air.

The injured thorn leopard became angrier. Yan Li did not intend to fight against it blindly, so he lowered his bow and knelt on the ground, the upper half and knees forming into a parallel line, and his hand picking up the sword all of a sudden.