"You're stupid, that's why!"

The Phantom Step Tang Yan cultivated was marked by ghostlike, elusive movement. When the gap in strength was not too great, sensing his aura was extremely difficult.

Hearing him look down on her again, Lin Dongxue grew even more annoyed. Unwilling to accept it, she said, "Hmph, half an hour isn't over yet. Continue!"

With that, she pushed her speed even higher, shooting forward like a falling star. Before, she had been worried Tang Yan would not be able to keep up, so she had not used her full strength.

Seeing Lin Dongxue's speed rise another notch, a trace of surprise flashed through Tang Yan's eyes.

Her movement technique was quite exquisite. It would surely add no small brilliance to the Eastern Region Grand Competition!

As Lin Dongxue ran at full speed, the distance between them opened once more.

Tang Yan did not underestimate her. He lengthened his stride and gave chase, gradually closing the gap again.

Time passed little by little. When nearly half an hour had gone by, the corner of Tang Yan's mouth lifted. "Miss Lin, remember your promise."

Lin Dongxue only heard those words drift past her ear. From the corner of her eye, she saw a figure sweep by her side like a ghostly shadow and rush ahead of her.

No matter how hard she chased, Tang Yan remained five meters in front of her. She could not shorten that distance at all!

"Hmph!"

Knowing she had lost, Lin Dongxue stopped where she was, breathing heavily.

"Admitting defeat?" Tang Yan also stopped and turned back with a smile.

Seeing the teasing curve of his lips, Lin Dongxue instantly remembered the wager from before the race. Her pretty face flushed faintly. The moment she thought of what she had promised, she wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground.

How had she been so impulsive!

Of course, before the race, Lin Dongxue had never imagined that this fellow Tang Yan would actually possess such monstrous speed.

"So what if I lost?" Lin Dongxue said, pretending to be fierce.

"I remember someone saying that if she lost, she would do what, exactly?" Tang Yan asked deliberately, as though he had forgotten.

"Go die!"

Lin Dongxue's cheeks burned. She lowered her head and strode forward, ignoring him.

"As the City Lord's daughter, you wouldn't go back on your word, would you? I remember the City Lord's Manor has always treated its promises as weightier than gold." Tang Yan continued adding fuel to the fire from behind.

In truth, Tang Yan had no real intention of making Lin Dongxue fulfill that promise.

It was just that they had not even seen a single Second-Rank Spirit Beast along the way. Tang Yan was bored, and he could not resist teasing her.

The pretty figure ahead of him suddenly stopped.

A lovely face appeared before his eyes. Then, two soft, warm lips pressed close.

Tang Yan felt a boom in his head, and his mind went completely blank.

This was my first kiss... and it was actually... actually stolen by a woman?

"Now we're even!" Lin Dongxue snapped fiercely, then turned her head and continued walking.

Tang Yan did not come back to himself for a long while.

Across two lives, Tang Yan was, in truth, still an honest little boy in this regard. He had no memory of ever experiencing such a thing. For a time, his heart was in turmoil, and he lowered his head as he followed behind Lin Dongxue.

One walked ahead and the other behind. Neither spoke.

The air between them became unbearably awkward.

"Roar!"

While both of their thoughts were a mess, a red shadow suddenly pounced toward them.

Tang Yan immediately snapped back to his senses. Seeing Lin Dongxue still standing there in a daze, he sighed inwardly and charged forward with a punch.

Fortunately, it was only a Second-Rank Spirit Beast. Tang Yan stopped it in time.

When Lin Dongxue came back to herself, cold sweat broke out across her body.

If Tang Yan had been a little farther from her, and if she had remained distracted for one more instant, she might truly have been in danger this time.

Before them was only a Second-Rank Red-Patterned Tiger. Tang Yan, who had long grown used to battle, naturally did not take it seriously.

After one punch forced the Red-Patterned Tiger back, he immediately withdrew and said softly, "You handle it. Temper yourself more, and your result in the Grand Competition may improve a little."

Lin Dongxue just happened to need a way out of the awkwardness.

This Red-Patterned Tiger was the best chance for the two of them to break the deadlock. She nodded, then leaped forward.

Lin Dongxue's fundamentals were not bad.

However, real fighting was not the same as displaying martial skills. Martial skills emphasized forms and techniques, but in battle, one had to break those moves apart and choose the most suitable strike for every attack.

Lin Dongxue still lacked battle experience.

She used many unnecessary moves and missed many chances to break through the Red-Patterned Tiger's defenses.

Bang! Bang!

Lin Dongxue had rarely experienced life-and-death struggle. Facing the Red-Patterned Tiger's attacks, she became somewhat flustered.

Fortunately, her strength had already reached the peak of Black Rank first grade. Against a Second-Rank Spirit Beast, she held an innate advantage.

Tang Yan did not help.

By the time Lin Dongxue threw a punch and sent the Red-Patterned Tiger flying, half an hour had already passed.

After such a long fight, Lin Dongxue had also suffered a few scrapes.

"Too slow!" Tang Yan said coldly.

Lin Dongxue had thought Tang Yan would praise her. At the very least, he might say she had worked hard.

Yet after she defeated the Red-Patterned Tiger, Tang Yan actually stood there mocking her?

"If you're so fast, then you do it!" Lin Dongxue finally erupted.

"The Red-Patterned Tiger's first attack was a pounce at you. Your footwork is swift, and your strength held the advantage. You only needed to slide under its belly and attack.

"A Spirit Beast's belly is a vital point. One move would have dealt it heavy damage, but you chose to meet it head-on."

"Although Spirit Beasts are born with great strength, with your advantage in cultivation, you still held the upper hand in the first exchange.

"At that moment, you should have pressed in and attacked at close range.

"The Red-Patterned Tiger's force had already spent itself. If you had continued attacking, it would have found it hard to bring out its full strength. With your own strength being higher, you could have quickly suppressed it and subdued it within three moves!"

"The third time the Red-Patterned Tiger attacked, it turned its head to bite you. You chose to retreat.

"But the distance between you and it was exactly the length of your leg. You only needed to kick its lower jaw, and you would have injured it. You missed that chance as well."

"The fourth time it attacked, it stood on its hind legs and clawed at your head with its front paws.

"At that moment, you should not have taken it head-on again. When a bulky low-rank Spirit Beast stands upright, its sides and rear become blind spots. With your movement technique, you could have circled around and struck it hard again."

"The fifth time..."

"The sixth time..."

"The fifty-sixth time..."

"In the end, the only reason you won was because your strength had already stepped into Black Rank. You relied on brute force, that's all!"

Like a stern teacher, Tang Yan pointed out every problem in Lin Dongxue's battle one by one.

Lin Dongxue, who had originally been extremely dissatisfied with him, now stared at him in shock.

This seemingly harmless fellow's grasp of battle moves had actually reached such a heaven-defying degree!

As she went over every word Tang Yan had said, Lin Dongxue was startled to realize that if she had fought according to his method, she would only have needed a few breaths to deal with the Red-Patterned Tiger.

Lin Dongxue had always found fighting rather tiresome.

But at this moment, she suddenly wanted very much to find another Spirit Beast and practice.