Chapter 83: The Howling Ice Rescues Its Master

Lin Yanghao shook his head vigorously, trying to clear his mind. By now, Bing Xiao had already bolted and disappeared without a trace. Lin Yanghao cursed him for being so disloyal, abandoning him at such a crucial moment. Still, he couldn’t really blame Bing Xiao; after all, the beast had been forced into a master-servant contract by him, so it was only natural for him to run.

There was no way out now. Even if he tried, he couldn’t escape from under the watchful eye of the Celestial Tiger. Resolving himself, Lin Yanghao braced for battle. The disparity in strength between them was as vast as the heavens and the earth, yet he felt no fear. Instead, he thought this would be the perfect opportunity to test his newly cultivated Divine Combat Technique—defeat would be glorious in itself!

“Fortunately, I still have one chance to enter the Chaos Ring. If things get truly dire, I can slip inside it to save my life.” As for the risk of exposing the Chaos Ring, Lin Yanghao had no better option—survival came first.

“You dumb tiger, come on! I’ll take you on!” Lin Yanghao bellowed, activating the Divine Combat Technique. Instantly, all his power began to surge, his aura swelling with strength, growing more formidable by the moment.

After a brief moment, the ascension halted. Lin Yanghao was stunned—he had just leapt from the late Foundation Establishment stage all the way to the early Core Formation stage!

“This technique is practically a cheat! If I survive this, I’ll be unstoppable among my peers!”

“Young man, I don’t know what kind of demon art you used to boost your strength temporarily, but in the face of overwhelming power, you’ll see that all your efforts are futile!” The Celestial Tiger, though intrigued by Lin Yanghao’s sudden surge, guessed at once it was some short-lived enhancement technique common among human cultivators.

The tiger had noticed Lin Yanghao’s rising power from the start, but made no move to stop him. He was confident that no matter what Lin Yanghao tried, he could never prevail, and so he watched with amusement to see what the youth could muster.

Lin Yanghao launched all his strength at the Celestial Tiger, even casting several fireballs in succession. But the gulf between them was simply too great; the tiger dodged the fireballs with ease. Even Lin Yanghao’s strongest blow, which landed squarely, did little more than tickle the beast, as if he were scratching an itch.

“Die, boy!” With a single swipe of its claw, the Celestial Tiger sent Lin Yanghao flying, blood spewing from his mouth as he struggled to rise.

“Oh? You survived my claw? You’re tougher than I thought. Let me send you on your way.” The Celestial Tiger grinned playfully, sauntering toward him.

Wang Shaohui, watching from the side, was elated to see his archenemy so thoroughly beaten; the joy of imminent vengeance was written all over his face.

“What’s going on? How could the Chaos Ring fail me at the crucial moment? If you keep this up, you’ll lose me forever, do you know that? Come on, let me in, already!” Lin Yanghao cried out inwardly, despairing. Everything had gone against his expectations—the promise that every advancement in cultivation would grant him entry into the Chaos Ring to train, nowhere to be found. Could the ring be broken?

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. He feared he would meet his end here.

But what baffled Lin Yanghao most was why the Chaos Ring had failed him at such a critical moment.

Just as the Celestial Tiger was about to strike him down, a strange cry echoed from the horizon. Lin Yanghao did not recognize the sound, but the Celestial Tiger froze for a moment before dashing off in the direction of the noise, leaving Lin Yanghao behind.

Wang Shaohui’s face twisted with misery; what seemed so close was now slipping away.

Lin Yanghao gave Wang Shaohui a fierce glare, but dared not linger. He hurried away as well, knowing he could settle accounts with Wang Shaohui another time.

“Lin Yanghao, keep heading east.” As soon as Lin Yanghao left the Seven Luminaries Sect, Bing Xiao’s voice sounded in his mind. For reasons he couldn’t explain, Lin Yanghao chose to trust him and hurried eastward.

He felt as if his entire body was about to fall apart—weak and wracked with pain from the wounds inflicted by that damned Celestial Tiger.

Clenching his teeth against the pain, Lin Yanghao pressed on eastward.

“Remember, Lin Yanghao, you owe me your life now. How do you plan to repay me?” Bing Xiao’s opportunism was as shameless as ever, demanding compensation even at a time like this.

“Pfft…” Suddenly, Lin Yanghao coughed up another mouthful of blood; the pain intensified, and soon he collapsed in agony.

“What’s wrong with you? Where are you hurt? Let me take a look!” Bing Xiao, clumsy in his beast form, tried to examine Lin Yanghao’s injuries. In the past, Bing Xiao could have taken human form, but ever since his cultivation dropped to that of a high-level inferior spirit beast, he could only speak—everything else was beyond him. Thus, inspecting Lin Yanghao’s wounds was awkward and difficult.

After a careful check, Bing Xiao breathed a slight sigh of relief. While the injuries weren’t fatal, they were far from minor.

“This kid is a monster. Ordinary people’s meridians would have been shattered, but his are so robust he’s only suffered minor trauma,” Bing Xiao thought to himself. But by now, he was no longer surprised—after all, in their time together, he had come to see that such things were par for the course with Lin Yanghao.

Gently lifting Lin Yanghao onto his back, Bing Xiao decided to find a place to tend to his wounds. If his meridians were to suffer lasting damage, it would seriously hinder his future cultivation.

Though Bing Xiao never said it, he no longer harbored resentment toward Lin Yanghao—perhaps the master-servant contract had worked its magic. Otherwise, he would never have lifted a finger to help him.