Chapter 9: Ling Ye, 'Ling' from the early morning, 'Ye' from the night

"Please, go ahead, walk slowly."

Ye Lin stepped aside to clear the path, too lazy to get entangled with Zhuge Ni.

There is a trick to living a happy life: never argue with a fool, and even less, never try to communicate with one; Ye Lin had always kept this principle in mind.

Zhuge Ni glanced at him, and seeing that Ye Lin was so cooperative, she didn't say anything more and strode past him.

Just as Ye Lin thought he had sent this trouble away, Zhuge Ni suddenly paused in her steps.

"By the way, let me ask you, have you seen anyone else pass by this way? That person... is very powerful! And they are extremely skilled in the use of fire elements; it is highly likely they have mastered Karmic Fire!" Zhuge Ni said, a look of anticipation flashing in the depths of her eyes.

"Karmic Fire?!"

Ye Lin didn't know whether to laugh or cry; he finally understood why Zhuge Ni had sought him out—it was because he had just used Karmic Fire to light a campfire.

In that case, could the person Zhuge Ni was looking for be himself?

"I saw him, he was a very handsome man, and he headed in this direction." Ye Lin hurriedly pointed Zhuge Ni in a random direction, wanting to get rid of her.

He didn't want to be pestered by this foolish woman; it seemed that the forbidden spell Karmic Fire Burning Heaven definitely couldn't be used again in the future.

"Thank you."

Seeing that Ye Lin really didn't pester her, Zhuge Ni's impression of him changed a little.

She walked in the direction Ye Lin had pointed, but as she passed through the woods, two extra moons suddenly appeared in the sky.

A total of three moons hung in mid-air, looking incredibly eerie.

The next instant, Zhuge Ni's pretty face turned deathly pale.

There were no three moons; those two extra moons were clearly the eyes of a giant beast!

Accompanied by a terrifying beast roar, a massive claw swiped directly toward the spot where Zhuge Ni stood.

Zhuge Ni dodged to the side, putting some distance between herself and the giant beast, only then seeing the full appearance of the creature.

"Level 8 monster! Dragon-Blood Giant Beast!"

They hadn't even reached the core of the forest yet, and Zhuge Ni couldn't understand why a Level 8 monster would appear in such a place.

Her level had just broken through to Level 3, and facing a Level 8 Dragon-Blood Giant Beast, she was clearly no match at all.

Zhuge Ni couldn't help but turn her head to look in the direction of Ye Lin; if Ye Lin joined forces with her, not to mention killing this Level 8 Dragon-Blood Giant Beast, the two of them retreating unscathed would clearly be no problem.

But when she turned back, there was no shadow of Ye Lin to be found; Ye Lin had long since vanished without a trace.

"That coward!"

Zhuge Ni bit her silver teeth, and the impression she had just improved of Ye Lin instantly plummeted to the bottom.

There was no need to guess; Ye Lin must have been so scared the moment the Dragon-Blood Giant Beast appeared that he abandoned her and fled.

The Dragon-Blood Giant Beast attacked Zhuge Ni again, clearly treating her as its prey; its massive body was like a mountain, giving off a terrifying sense of oppression.

"Bursting Phoenix Fire!"

Zhuge Ni dared not take it lightly and immediately released her skill; several high-temperature fireballs condensed at her side and smashed toward the Dragon-Blood Giant Beast.

The moment the high-temperature fireballs landed on the Dragon-Blood Giant Beast, they instantly split and exploded, scorching several patches on its body.

However, this level of injury couldn't make the Dragon-Blood Giant Beast lose its combat effectiveness; instead, it completely enraged the beast.

Those eyes, which looked like moons, turned blood-red, and it swiped down with its palm again.

Zhuge Ni lifted her jade leg slightly to dodge the blow, then immediately cast a skill, sending a sky full of Phoenix Fire toward the Dragon-Blood Giant Beast.

This time, the Dragon-Blood Giant Beast did not sit idly by; it opened its blood-stained maw and let out a roar that sounded like a dragon's chant.

Roar!

The terrifying sound wave seemed to turn into a physical force, blocking all the Phoenix Fire Zhuge Ni had unleashed in mid-air, and then it was blown back at her.

"What?!"

Zhuge Ni was terrified; she had no time to dodge, and the fireballs she had cast smashed solidly into her own body.

Her clothes were scorched, revealing large patches of snow-white skin, almost to the point of being barely covered.

But Zhuge Ni had no time to worry about that; she looked at the Dragon-Blood Giant Beast in horror.

A single word suddenly surfaced in her mind: death!

She was going to die!

If this continued, she would definitely be eaten by this Dragon-Blood Giant Beast! This guy was too strong; it was simply not something she, at only Level 2, could handle.

At this life-and-death moment, Zhuge Ni lost her usual cold demeanor, and a look of panic appeared on her face.

Watching the Dragon-Blood Giant Beast's giant palm reaching for her, Zhuge Ni closed her beautiful eyes in resignation.

In this place, no one could save her; it was only the first day of the novice secret realm, and this Level 8 Dragon-Blood Giant Beast was an insurmountable chasm for anyone.

Zhuge Ni was completely desperate; she never expected that she, a dignified SSS-rank class changer, would die so miserably at the hands of a Level 8 monster.

But after closing her eyes, the intense pain she imagined of being gripped by the Dragon-Blood Giant Beast never came; instead, a man's deep, magnetic voice came from beside her.

"Karmic Fire Burning Heaven!"

Zhuge Ni, with her eyes closed, felt a terrifying heatwave whistle past her side.

The moment she opened her beautiful eyes, they were filled with shock; the scene before her was enough for her to remember for the rest of her life.

She saw that the Dragon-Blood Giant Beast, which was so powerful and invincible in her eyes, was covered in red-purple flames, and without even a scream, it was quickly burned into a pile of fly ash.

Instant kill!

This Level 8 monster was killed instantly!

And in front of Zhuge Ni, a man stood with his back to her, his whole body burning with blood-red flames.

This figure was deeply carved into the depths of Zhuge Ni's eyes and branded into her heart; as she watched, a dazed look couldn't help but emerge in her beautiful eyes, and an unusual flush appeared on her face.

Karmic Fire!

It was Karmic Fire again!

Wasn't this man the nameless genius she had been searching for all along?

Which young girl does not dream of love? Which young girl does not hope that when she is in danger, a cold and handsome youth will step forward to save her from fire and water?

Killing a Level 8 monster with a single blow stood in stark contrast to the behavior of that coward Ye Lin, who had turned and fled without a word just moments ago.

Zhuge Ni couldn't help but sigh in her heart that the gap between people is sometimes truly greater than the gap between humans and monsters.

"Many thanks to this fellow student for saving my life; may I ask what you are called?"

Zhuge Ni stepped forward, her voice becoming very gentle, making Ye Lin almost get goosebumps; he hadn't realized before that this woman could be so coquettish.

Seeing that Ye Lin didn't speak, Zhuge Ni took another step forward, wanting to see clearly what this man who could kill a Level 8 monster in one blow and haunted her dreams actually looked like.

But to her disappointment, Ye Lin's face was covered with a black cloth, and only his eyes could be seen.

Ye Lin thought for a moment and said.

"Call me Ling Ye; 'Ling' from the early morning, 'Ye' from the night."