Bai Wushang desperately recalled what he had once learned. The Ironclad Zombie was a natural evolution of the Hungry Zombie, with a tough defense that was invulnerable to swords and spears under the effect of its characteristic Metal Skin. At the same time, it was so powerful that even a transcendent creature of the same quality that was one or two levels higher than it would have a hard time breaking its defense, making it extremely difficult to deal with.

Another violent punch wrapped in a strong wind came, and Bai Wushang managed to block it with the metal rod. Still, the metal rod broke as it was hit, and the remaining power of the punch blasted into Bai Wushang’s small belly, sending him back two or three meters and hitting the wall behind him fiercely.

Half kneeling on the ground, Bai Wushang covered his stomach, and couldn’t help but cough violently, bright red blood dripping down the corners of his mouth.

“Will I die at the hands of this damn thing today?” he asked, resigned.

The Ironclad Zombie gave a strange cry. Not wanting to give Bai Wushang a chance to catch his breath, it pounced at him like a beast, its nearly 10 centimeters long metal corpse claws poking out threateningly.

“Stop it!”

Mu Xiaoxiao stepped forward with red eyes, and stopped in front of Bai Wushang.

With a soft clicking sound, the lotus jade pendant on her chest shattered into powder, spawning a translucent full-body armor that protected Mu Xiaoxiao.

The Ironclad Zombie’s incredibly sharp corpse claws landed on the armor, scuffling up sporadic sparks.

For the first time in its life, the Ironclad Zombie saw something harder than itself. It first froze, and then went utterly berserk; it frantically assaulted the transparent armor with its steel claws, iron fists, and even fangs.

“Xiaoxiao!”

Bai Wushang gnashed his teeth. That armor exchanged for the jade pendant couldn’t be shattered by the Ironclad Zombie alone, but there was a time limit!

After a minute of frenzied attacks, the transparent armor completely dissipated, revealing Mu Xiaoxiao’s awfully white tear-stained pretty face.

The Ironclad Zombie, which looked like a madman, didn’t hesitate to open its bloody mouth, and bite at Mu Xiaoxiao’s neck.

At this moment, Bai Wushang hated his weakness and powerlessness beyond measure.

His eyes were bloodshot as he forced himself to fight through his injuries, picking up the broken metal rod with difficulty, and preparing to go up and fight.

Hua~~~~~

Just at that moment, a white snowflake, leisurely floating down from the air, was reflected in the Bai Wushang’s pupils. It was so white that it was blinding.

Time seemed to freeze at the moment.

The Ironclad Zombie’s bloody red fangs were about to pierce Mu Xiaoxiao’s delicate neck flesh.

In the next second, it seemed that he could foresee the image of blood spurting out and the Ironclad Zombie tearing into flesh excitedly.

A bit of blue light suddenly lit up from the bottom of the Ironclad Zombie’s feet, and then spread over its knees, pelvis, torso, arms… until it covered its whole body at a very fast speed.

Stunned, Bai Wushang looked on in silence as the tyrannical, unbeatable Ironclad Zombie, its fierce expression still lingering on its face, turned into an ice sculpture in a flash.

The [status] section of the attribute panel had also turned into the blinding word “death.”

In the half-lit, half-dark cave, a slender arm reached in through the open cave entrance, and with its slight wave, the ice sculpture broke into pieces, clattering and shattering into a field of ice fragments.

As the obstacle was removed, Bai Wushang then noticed that a person was standing at the entrance of the cave: a stunningly beautiful woman.

She was about 5’7″, wearing a tight black leather jacket, with a slender waist, ample breasts, and a delicate figure, as well as a purple tachi slung behind her back. She naturally carried a sharp aura that made people somewhat afraid to look straight at her.

She easily made a deep impression with her long black hair falling naturally and extremely delicate features, especially those clear, glazed black pupils.

The only regretable point was that there was no expression on those femme fatale features, which were deep pools of serenity from start to finish.

“Excuse me, there was a floating ship that crashed near here. Are you survivors?” she asked, her voice very calm but polite as she lightly opened her lips.

“Yes… You are?” asked Mu Xiaoxiao back with a sense of survivor’s gratitude, knowing that she had been saved.

“Jiang Lingyue, second year at Mountain and Sea Academy,” the girl with the sword calmly said. “It just so happens that I received this rescue mission on my way back to the academy, so I came to take a look.”

“Thank you… Thank you… If it weren’t for you, we might not see the sun tomorrow…” Mu Xiaoxiao bowed and thanked the woman sincerely.

“Yi~”

A soft call was heard. It turned out that a small blue beast followed by the girl’s feet. It was currently blinking its bright pupils, and curiously surveying the two people in the cave.

Bai Wushang looked over.

[Name]: Three-tailed Ice Flame Fox (Contract)

[Race]: Demon Beast Realm – Walking Beast Type – Red Fox Mutant

[Life Level]: Early complete form

[Bloodline Quality]: Commander Level 3 Stars

??? (Too low in soul power to fully detect)

***

Three-tailed Ice Flame Fox… complete form…

Bai Wushang pondered; this was a transcendent creature not within his knowledge, with him never having known about it before now.

The little blue beast was about the size of a puppy, with smooth, shiny fur and three fluffy tails that wagged behind it, looking dumb and cute.

“Ah, so cute!”

Mu Xiaoxiao was similarly captivated, her eyes twinkling with the kind of tiny stars that women often had.

Jiang Lingyue seemed to be used to it, and softly introduced, “Ice Flame Fox, my pet beast.”

After scanning around the cave, Jiang Lingyue’s gaze suddenly landed on Bai Wushang’s body.

After staring for a full 10 seconds, Jiang Lingyue, who had been clear and cold with little expression, raised her eyebrows surprisingly, and said, “You should be a freshman this year, right? Why do you have soul power fluctuations on you?

“…You’re an autonomous awakened?”

Bai Wushang didn’t expect her to perceive it so keenly, so he could only explain vaguely. “Because of some accident, by chance, I awakened my soul power…”

“What about your life-bound pet?”

“I haven’t had a chance to perform the summoning ritual yet…”

Jiang Lingyue contemplated it, and ran her finger across her storage ring, taking out two pills and tossing them to Bai Wushang.

“The red ones are crushed and applied externally to the wounds, the green ones are swallowed directly, and there’s still half a night for you to recover most of the injuries… Early tomorrow morning, you will first contract the life-bound pet, and I will take you back to the academy to report.”

After saying that, Jiang Lingyue looked at Mu Xiaoxiao again. “As for you, let’s give you a sleeping bag to rest in for a while.”

“Erm… Thank you, Senior Sister Jiang.”

Bai Wushang naturally recognized that the red one was the Blood Recovery Pill, and the green one was the Spirit Tonic Pill, both of which were relatively precious pills, and just these two would cost at least 100 gold coins.

“You’re welcome. It’s an assignment from the institution, and I’m being paid for it,” Jiang Lingyue finished unenthusiastically, and didn’t wait for Bai WuShang’s response before rubbing the Three-tailed Ice Flame Fox’s head, signaling it to stay where it was.

“Don’t worry and just stay here in the cave. Little Ice will protect you. I’ll go around the valley again, and see if there are any other survivors.”

With light, dainty steps, Jiang Lingyue’s delicate figure gradually merged into the darkness, and soon no trace of her could be seen.