Chapter 276: Blazing Heat (2/10, Autumn Subscription)

Originally, Hai Ming, who had been exchanging flirtatious glances with Liao Moran, immediately changed his target the moment he saw someone even prettier—and who was also a refugee's tail—and the heat between him and Liao Moran cooled off.

Liao Moran was so perceptive that she noticed right away. When had she ever been treated like this? She instantly turned into a vinegar-soaked woman, acting sour about everything she did along the way.

Who could stand a sour person?

But she was Liaodashi's granddaughter, so everyone turned a blind eye. Still, some tried to take advantage of the situation to curry favor with Liao Moran—only to be treated as punching bags, cursed into something barely human, and even sent back to the village on the spot; who knows if they died halfway.

With such examples, no one dared to touch Liao Moran's bad side anymore. Every time the sour girl opened her mouth, everyone fell silent and offered no opinion.

In fact, Liaodashi was also feeling depressed.

One was his most beloved granddaughter, another was the most talented apprentice he had ever encountered, and the last one… had an even bigger background—someone recommended by the Extreme Ice Sect. Damn it! Unless he wanted to die, he wouldn't dare offend them!

The flesh of both palm and back of the hand, Liaodashi could only turn a blind eye as well.

And at this moment, Hai Ming wanting to fight the male 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 for mating rights with this female 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 was actually because he had bragged in front of Tail, saying he would capture a 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 and give it to Tail as a pet.

A pet with strength roughly equal to a Black Grade Initial Stage Gui Yi—its prestige and practicality spoke for themselves.

Every Hunter had their own unique method for capturing Gui Beasts.

Liaodashi taught Hai Ming by word and deed, giving his all, and naturally wouldn't forget to pass on his exclusive techniques for hunting 【Giant-Headed Blood Hounds】.

So Hai Ming was still quite confident in himself.

The Hunting Master's devoted teaching, combined with his unique talent of Hunting Heart, not only increased affinity with Gui Beasts but also let him be treated as one of their kind to some extent—absolutely a sure thing.

Also, although it was a contest with a male Gui Beast over mating rights, what was being compared wasn't simply individual strength.

Liaodashi had secretly given him some trump cards for victory; otherwise, he wouldn't have bragged so boldly in front of Tail today.

Steadying his breath, Hai Ming provoked the 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 in front of him once more.

"Roar!!"

That Giant-Headed Blood Hound shook its head, let out a great howl, and charged straight at Hai Ming.

Its massive body and enormous head made Hai Ming instinctively step back.

But quickly realizing Tail was still watching his side, he gritted his teeth and immediately drove two things resembling thin iron pillars into the ground.

Next, he used the iron-colored gloves he had already put on to meet the 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】's attack.

"Haaah!"

With a great shout, Hai Ming, borrowing the power of the gloves, barely withstood the Giant-Headed Blood Hound's charge.

"Impossible?!"

The people hiding in the grass saw this scene and couldn't help crying out in shock.

In Liao Moran's eyes, a light seemed to flicker—a most complicated emotion.

First, a flash of pride flashed through—that was the man pursuing her.

Then a complicated sense of loss welled up in her heart. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Tail beside her, and couldn't help but be stunned.

Tail wasn't even watching Hai Ming's battle at all—she was staring at the sky in a daze, as if thinking about something.

She… actually didn't care about Hai Ming at all!

Just what does this woman have that makes her more charming than me!

Liao Moran's heart burned with indignation, and just then, the situation ahead changed drastically.

Hai Ming, who had just withstood the attack, was sent flying by the 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】, rolling several times before stopping in a sorry state.

"Hai Ming!"

Liao Moran couldn't help crying out.

Fortunately, this shout amounted to nothing amid the rising and falling roars of that pack of 【Giant-Headed Blood Hounds】.

And Hai Ming, who had barely gotten up—his iron gloves were already broken, revealing red, swollen hands inside that trembled badly.

Hai Ming hadn't even learned basic martial arts for a few days; it was all thanks to Liaodashi's training that he had any attribute boost at all. He couldn't compare at all with proper martial artists like the Guard Team.

He had only barely managed to withstand one or two attacks from the Giant-Headed Blood Hound by forcibly relying on those iron gloves. Now that the gloves were shattered, facing a Giant-Headed Blood Hound with Black Grade Initial Stage Gui Yi strength, he had almost no power to fight back.

Fortunately, this was a duel for mating, and according to ritual, it needed to stop at the point of contact.

Not to mention… Hai Ming's buried trap hadn't been triggered yet!

Dodging the lunging Giant-Headed Blood Hound with a sidestep, Hai Ming quickly returned to where he had planted the two iron pillars.

"Roar!!"

He let out a provocative roar that only a Giant-Headed Blood Hound could hear.

That Giant-Headed Blood Hound immediately charged over.

"Now!"

Hai Ming let out a great shout. Just as the 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 was about to pounce on him, the two thin iron pillars, as if fully charged with power, sprang up from the buried ground and shot into the 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】's soft belly with a whoosh.

Squelch!

Fresh blood spurted out, and the 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 howled twice before collapsing to the ground.

"Success!"

Defeat the competitor, and the mate belongs to the challenger. With his own talent, this female 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 was essentially directly subdued by him!

Hai Ming excitedly looked toward Tail's direction at once.

However… the only ones cheering with him were Liao Moran and those fellow apprentices.

Tail wasn't even watching what he was doing over here—she was simply staring at the sky in a daze.

At this moment, Hai Ming felt a mix of emotions in his heart.

Just then, Hai Ming noticed Liao Moran and the others' expressions suddenly turn to terror, as they all shouted toward him.

What?

Hai Ming sluggishly turned his head to look, and his face immediately changed.

He saw a huge black shadow covering his entire body—it was the 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 that had just been defeated by the trap, now flying at him wounded, enraged by the smell of blood!

A beast is still a beast, after all!

Even rules set during mating, etched into the blood, can be overwhelmed by the scent of blood and other stimuli, rousing the wild nature until it becomes a fight to the death!

Facing such a scene, Hai Ming didn't even have time for fear to well up—his mind went blank, and he was slammed to the ground by a black shadow! "Roar!!"

A maw of blood opened wide, a stench of decay rushing at his face!

The enormous jaws, the razor fangs—as if in the next second they would swallow him whole, crush him, and devour him!

"No… no! We—we're in a mating duel, you can't, you can't kill me! That breaks the rules!"

Hai Ming screamed in terror, even forgetting to use the vocalization only a 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 could hear, and instead roared in human speech.

But the 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 paid him no heed at all, jaws snapping shut to bite straight down.

Hai Ming shut his eyes in despair and terror.

But the next instant, what he felt was not pain, but… searing heat!!

(End of chapter)