Chapter 6: Transformation Again
“Boss.” Bebe’s voice rang out in Linley’s mind.
Linley held the black heavy sword in one hand, tapped the ground with his foot, and spun backward, retreating swiftly as he transmitted mentally, “Bebe, don’t rush. Let me have a good fight with this mysterious black panther first. If I can’t handle it, then you can step in. You’re my trump card.”
Bebe understood and shrank back, retreating to the side.
At this moment, Linley’s heart was ablaze with battle lust. He had been in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts for so long, and it had been ages since he encountered an opponent that could make him unleash his full strength. Saint-level magical beasts were too powerful, while ordinary ninth-level beasts—Linley could now toy with them using his speed alone.
Only this mysterious black panther was faster than Linley.
“Roar~~” The massive black panther landed, its cold, piercing gaze locked entirely on Linley.
A faint smile curled at the corners of Linley’s mouth.
“With its size increased, the panther’s speed has dropped a bit.” Linley clearly noticed that the panther’s speed had decreased by about twenty to thirty percent. With the ‘Supreme Speed’ auxiliary magic already cast on himself, Linley was fully confident he could handle it.
But Linley also understood.
With increased size came reduced speed. However, the panther’s attack power had likely increased. In its normal form, the panther could already tear through his scales. Now, Linley dared not let this panther land a single claw on him.
The mysterious black panther shot toward Linley with a “whoosh,” reaching him in the blink of an eye.
“Whoosh.”
At that moment, Linley dove forward across the snow-covered ground, slipping directly beneath the leaping panther’s belly. His heavy sword thrust upward toward the panther’s abdomen—
“Clang!”
Linley’s heavy sword clashed once more with the panther’s sharp claws. Though its size had slowed it slightly, the speed of its claw strikes remained astonishing.
“Swish!” The panther’s tail, seven or eight meters long, tore through the air and lashed viciously at Linley.
Linley stomped hard on the ground, launching himself diagonally toward a nearby tree that would take three or four people to encircle. He kicked off the trunk with all his might—
“Crack!” The tree snapped and crashed down, its dense, thick branches tumbling chaotically.
But Linley dove at an astonishing speed toward the mysterious black panther, gripping the black heavy sword with both hands and slashing down from above at the panther’s body.
“Sss~~” The black heavy sword tore through the air with a piercing shriek as it descended at breakneck speed.
Yet the massive black panther turned its head to look at Linley, standing utterly still, allowing the attack to come. The panther clearly understood that with its increased size, it could no longer overpower Linley with speed.
“Swish~~”
The black heavy sword in Linley’s hands suddenly became ethereal, as if weightless and unanchored. The blade trembled incessantly, moving even faster.
“Thud!” The black heavy sword struck the panther’s body.
A flicker of surprise appeared in the panther’s cold, proud eyes. The black heavy sword seemed to carry no force at all. Without hesitation, the panther’s slender, seven-to-eight-meter-long tail lashed out fiercely.
“Thunderbolt.” Linley’s calm eyes suddenly blazed like a lightning strike.
The panther abruptly felt the black heavy sword, which had touched its back, unleash a terrifyingly explosive force, like a volcano erupting—violent, rapid, and overwhelming.
“Thud.”
The panther’s limbs went weak, and its entire body slumped significantly. Its glossy black fur rippled like waves in an instant.
“Roar~~” A trickle of blood seeped from the panther’s mouth.
This attack, achieved through the ‘Light as a Feather’ technique, was a masterful combination of strength and battle qi. It wasn’t a rigid chop but a sudden burst of impact. Even with the panther’s formidable defense, its fur managed to deflect most of the force, but enough power still penetrated its body, injuring it.
“Crack!”
The whip-like tail lashed across Linley, shattering the scales on his waist and sending him flying.
As Linley hurtled toward a large tree, he reached out with his right hand, gripping the trunk like a steel claw, and steadied himself high on the tree as if walking on level ground.
“Indeed, with its size increased, this panther’s attack power has grown significantly.” Linley glanced at the torn scales on his waist and the seeping blood, gaining a clearer picture of the panther’s abilities. “As for defense, there’s not much change.”
With its size increased, the panther’s defense remained unchanged, its speed dropped, and its attack power rose.
“It seems the Thunderbolt technique is still effective.” Linley was satisfied with the Thunderbolt’s impact.
The panther’s defense was terrifying. Even with an attack like Thunderbolt, which delivered a sudden burst of force, the panther’s fur could deflect most of it, leaving no visible mark on the fur itself.
If it were a purely strength- or battle qi-based attack, it likely wouldn’t have harmed the panther at all.
“Time to use magic.”
Linley began silently chanting a magic incantation. He was now perched on a tree trunk thirty meters above the ground, while the panther below looked up at him with cold eyes. Seeing Linley refuse to come down, the ninth-level peak magical beast, with its high intelligence, quickly assessed the situation.
If you won’t come down, I’ll go up!
“Swoosh.” The five-meter-tall giant panther leaped, launching itself directly at Linley, covering over thirty meters in a single bound. Its jumping power was absolutely terrifying.
Linley remained calm.
Even as the giant panther leaped up from below, he continued chanting the magic incantation. He slapped the tree trunk with his right hand, sending himself flying sideways at incredible speed.
The trunk he struck shattered and fell.
“Boom!” The tree trunk crashed down.
Given the trunk’s size, it occupied most of the surrounding space. For the small Linley, it was manageable, but for the five-meter-tall, ten-meter-long giant panther, it had to swipe its claws to tear through the falling trunk.
Seizing this moment, Linley finished chanting the magic incantation.
“Hum~~” Translucent cyan wings materialized behind Linley, glowing with a cyan halo. They were incredibly beautiful. With a gentle flap, Linley lifted into the air and began to fly.
Eighth-level wind magic—Wind Wings!
Seeing this, the giant panther let out a furious roar and leaped again, charging at Linley. Linley immediately flew higher.
“Thud.” Though massive, the panther was agile, leaping dozens of meters and lightly using tree trunks for leverage. It chased Linley upward.
After five or six leaps, the giant panther burst through the canopy of towering trees, while Linley, flapping his translucent wings, soared above the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.
“Now it’s my turn to toy with you.” Linley watched the giant panther leap out of the treetops, only to helplessly fall back down with nothing to grip.
At that moment—
“Whoosh!” Linley flapped his wings sharply, diving down at an astonishing speed.
Using his wings to dive rapidly, Linley quickly caught up with the free-falling giant panther. The panther glared at Linley, but in midair, it had no leverage.
“Hah!” Linley surged the Dragonblood battle qi within him.
The Dragonblood battle qi erupted at the maximum speed his meridians could bear. Gripping the black heavy sword with both hands, he slashed with overwhelming force at the panther, which had no way to brace itself in the air.
“Clang!” The panther’s claws clashed with Linley’s black heavy sword again.
But Linley confidently swung the black heavy sword once more, turning it into a blur. In a single second, he delivered over a dozen rapid downward strikes.
Each strike used the Thunderbolt technique.
“Bam!” “Bam!” …
When the first strike hit the panther’s claws, it accelerated its descent. But Linley, with his wings, pursued it relentlessly, striking again and again…
To the panther, each blow from Linley’s black heavy sword felt heavier than the last, like a bursting dam unleashing a torrent of force that shook its internal organs.
After over a dozen strikes, Linley’s relentless assault drove the giant panther crashing into the ground.
“Boom!”
A massive crater appeared, with cracks spreading in all directions. The roots of nearby trees were exposed, tangled and chaotic.
At the center of the crater, the giant panther coughed up a large amount of blood, and even its fur was stained with red spots. Linley’s continuous heavy strikes had overwhelmed the panther’s fur, allowing some force to penetrate.
“Panther.” Linley hovered a dozen meters above, his translucent wings flapping. “I know you understand human speech. I’ll give you a chance now. Submit to me, and I’ll spare your life.”
At this point, Linley genuinely wanted to tame this magical beast.
He had always lacked a mount. More importantly, in Linley’s view, this panther was incredibly useful. Especially in its enlarged form, its massive body—nearly two stories tall—combined with its astonishing speed and defense, made it a perfect war machine.
“Roar~~”
The giant panther stood up, its cold eyes fixed on Linley, filled with boundless fury. Even now, it held its head high. How could it easily submit? But the panther also understood that the human warrior before it was no mere prey. A warrior with such terrifying strength, who could also cast advanced wind magic like Wind Wings—such an expert was rare even in human society.
“Are you willing to submit?” Linley demanded from above.
For magical beasts, only by completely overpowering them with force could one hope to make them yield. But the higher the beast’s level, the harder it was to subdue.
“Roar!” The giant panther let out a furious roar.
“If you won’t submit, I’ll beat you until you do.” Linley said confidently.
Combining magic with warrior abilities dramatically increased one’s power. With wings like these, Linley had complete aerial superiority.
“Swish!” Linley dove again.
Flying with wings was faster than moving on four limbs. In the blink of an eye, Linley was in front of the giant panther, his black heavy sword slashing down heavily.
The panther swiftly retreated a dozen meters, then lunged forward—
Flapping his wings, Linley nimbly dodged in midair, his black heavy sword continuously striking at the panther. Each blow carried the terrifying force to shatter a small hill.
“Thud.”
The giant panther was sent flying again, blood staining its fur. Linley hovered confidently in the air, his black heavy sword ready for another strike.
“Submit or not?” Linley asked in a deep voice.
The panther rose again, glaring coldly at Linley. Suddenly… the panther’s body began to shrink, returning to its normal size of about two meters tall and four meters long. But strangely, black and white halos began to shimmer across its surface.
“What’s happening?” Linley felt a sense of unease. He flapped his wings to gain more height, watching warily from above.
The black and white halos faded. The panther, once covered in black patterns, now had only a few black stripes on its upper body, while the fur on its limbs had turned pure white.
Seeing this, Linley gasped. “Blackstriped Cloud Leopard? The legendary Blackstriped Cloud Leopard?”
(First chapter of the day~~~)