Looking at Liu Mei who was staring at him with bright eyes as she waited to hear his explanation, Shun Long turned his head to observe the fight of the 2 magic beasts at the mountain peak, as he said

''Actually, one of the ways to pass the second trial, is to band together and hunt for early rank 3 magic beasts, but the question is, how many early rank 3 magic beasts are inside this 'King's garden' in the first place?''

Seeing that Liu Mei seemed to have just come to another realization once again, Shun Long continued

''However, aside from teaming up, there is another way to pass this test. That is to ambush and kill a magic beast. This method however, is far more dangerous than the first one, since you need to have perfect grasp of what's happening around you before you actually attack the beast.

Normally, I may not have chosen to attack 2 strong middle stage rank 3 magic beasts, like the 'Ice Hawk' and the Demonic Spider. The current situation however is different.

The reason that these 2 beasts are enemies, lies with the 'Ice Hawk' after all.

Both the 'Demonic Spider', as well as the 'Ice Hawk', are magic beasts who 'cultivate' Yin qi inside them, and although their attribute isn't the same as one of them focuses on ice while the other one focuses more on poison, the yin qi inside the ice hawk isn't that much different than the yin qi of the Demonic Spider in the end.

Usually, since their strength is about the same, the 'Ice Hawk' wouldn't attack the 'Demonic Spider's' lair for no reason.

However, once a Demonic spider has given birth to its eggs, then, just before the eggs hatch, at the end of their incubation period, the yin qi inside them is at their purest and most dense form. The 'Ice Hawk' can sense the rich yin qi from far away, and will then start a life and death battle with the spider.''

Liu Mei's mouth was agape after hearing Shun Long's explanation.

She finally understood that Shun Long didn't decide to attack these 2 magic beasts out of recklessness, but because he had prior knowledge about their characteristics and their nature.

Looking at the young man beside her who didn't seem to be any older than herself, Liu Mei felt an inexplicable attraction to the mysterious aura that he was emitting.

As time passed, more and more wounds had appeared on the 'Ice Hawk's' and the 'Demonic Spider's' body.

After flapping its wings, the 5m (16ft) large 'Ice Hawk' summoned a small hailstorm that pierced the black spider's body. 

Green blood was flowing from its wounds but the spider didn't seem to feel any pain, as it opened its mouth and spat many small balls of purple liquid.

The liquid let out a sizzling sound as it touched the hawk's body, almost as if it was burning through its blue and white skin.

Finally, 3 hours later, the 'Ice Hawk' had fallen on the ground, while more than half of its body had been corroded by the spider's poison.

But the 'Demonic Spider' was also filled with terrible wounds.

More than half of its back had been pierced with ice shards, while 3 of its 8 legs had already been severed from its body.

...Looking at the terribly injured spider, as well as the 'Ice Hawk' that had finally stopped breathing, Liu Mei couldn't help turning her gaze at Shun Long as she asked

''Should we attack now?''

Shun Long shook his head as he said 

''Wait until the spider has confirmed that the hawk is dead. Once it has let down its guard, use your strongest move and aim at its back. You only need to attack once, and then quickly retreat. Even if you don't hit it, you can leave the rest to me.''

Liu Mei nodded her head as her eyes stared at the black spider, who was unsteadily walking towards the dead 'Ice Hawk'.

Only after stabbing one of its feet on the hawk's head and confirming that it was dead, did it finally relax slightly.

At that moment, Liu Mei circulated her cultivation technique, before numerous shards of ice appeared in the air around her. More than 1000 ice shards instantly merged together, as they formed a huge ice pillar more than 20m(65ft) long.

Shun Long was amazed as he saw the huge ice pillar flying towards the Demonic Spider, as he also activated his 'Monarch's Domain' along with his golden eyes.

Although the spider was a middle rank 3 magic beast, its body had already weakened so much by its battle with the 'Ice Hawk', that the huge ice pillar would pose a lethal threat to it.

The moment that it sensed the gigantic ice pillar flying towards it, the 'Demonic Spider' hastily dodged to the side, when out of nowhere, one of its eyes suddenly exploded.

The pain from having its eye exploding, immediately sent the spider into a frenzy, as it thrashed around madly while it screeched in pain. And yet, thanks to its erratic movements, it still managed to luckily dodge Liu Mei's ice pillar.

Without missing a beat, Shun Long's body quickly slid under the spider that was still flailing around, and gathering the strength of his 'Monarch's Eternal body', he used his full strength as he punched repeatedly on the same spot.

Screeeeeeech

A terrifying cry escaped the spider's mouth, as Shun Long's punches had finally pierced a hole through its body.

A few breaths of time later, the spider seemed to have finally lost its strength, as its body crashed on the ground.

When Shun Long and Liu Mei had both dug out the beast cores of the 'Demonic Spider' and the 'Ice Hawk', they suddenly felt their vision turning black at the same time.

Shun Long's surroundings instantly darkened, as a powerful spatial force surrounded his body. 

Shun Long once again, felt the familiar sensation of spatial teleportation, when a deep voice sounded in his ears that said

''Congratulations for passing the second of the King's trials!''

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