"Thank you!" Lin Dongxue said earnestly.

"It's nothing. Just practice more. And remember the most important point: when facing an enemy, never be softhearted." Tang Yan smiled as he reminded her.

Looking at his bright, open smile, Lin Dongxue was momentarily dazed. She could not help asking, "Those combat techniques you mentioned earlier-did your master teach them all to you?"

"Mm." Tang Yan nodded.

"Your master is truly amazing!" Lin Dongxue praised.

Sweeping away her earlier dejection, she lifted her spirits and said, "Once I've recovered, I'll find more Spirit Beasts to practice on!"

"No need to rest."

Tang Yan took out two porcelain bottles from his robes and handed them over. "These are High Spirit Pills that can quickly restore strength. Swallow one and rest for a short while, and you'll be fine."

Seeing him casually toss over two whole bottles, Lin Dongxue assumed they were only ordinary first-grade Pills. Since each bottle held quite a few Pills, they probably were not too precious.

But after she swallowed one, a stream of remarkably pure Spiritual Qi immediately bloomed within her.

The medicinal effect was strong without being overbearing, surging yet incomparably gentle. In a manner almost impossible to reconcile, it swiftly restored her exhausted strength.

"This is a second-grade high-level Pill?" Lin Dongxue asked in astonishment.

In her memory, ordinary Pills had no such effect.

"More or less," Tang Yan replied casually.

"Just to save this bit of time, you're wasting a second-grade Pill?"

Lin Dongxue's already widened eyes somehow widened even more.

"Hurry up and take it. The Eastern Region Grand Competition is almost here. We don't have much time left!" Tang Yan urged.

Lin Dongxue felt as if she were going mad.

As the daughter of the City Lord's Manor, her treatment had always been noble, yet even she had never been extravagant enough to use second-grade Pills merely to recover physical strength.

And Tang Yan's generosity was simply too great.

He had tossed over two bottles at random. Counting carefully, there were a full thirty Pills inside.

These were not cheap trinkets you could find anywhere! He was giving them away just like that?

"So many... they're all for me?" Lin Dongxue still found it hard to believe.

"That's right. Take them all. Don't worry about wasting them. Once we leave Cangyun Mountain, you won't have any more."

Tang Yan immediately arranged their next course. "From now on, try to handle the Second-Rank Spirit Beasts yourself. If there are too many, I'll help you. If we encounter a Third-Rank Spirit Beast, I'll take the lead. If I can't beat it, I'll cover your escape."

"Alright."

Even now, Lin Dongxue still felt as though she had fallen into a dream.

Although Spirit Beasts above the Third-Rank were difficult to find in Cangyun Mountain, Second-Rank Spirit Beasts were not rare.

Over the next three days, under Tang Yan's guidance, Lin Dongxue's combat techniques gradually improved. Her originally rigid moves began to flow together.

Both of them moved quickly. Three days later, they began entering the territory where Third-Rank Spirit Beasts often appeared.

After three days of bloody fighting, Lin Dongxue no longer felt her initial fear toward Third-Rank Spirit Beasts. Instead, a trace of anticipation had risen in her heart.

The two did not have to wait long.

After they walked a little deeper, an extremely loud roar echoed through the valley.

Immediately after, a black shadow as swift as the wind rushed toward them.

Tang Yan's eyes narrowed slightly.

Looking at the Spirit Beast before him, a sense of danger flashed through his heart.

His previous two months of training in Cangyun Mountain had taught him clearly that these Spirit Beasts dwelling deep in the mountains, especially those that moved alone, were often far more terrifying.

"Flying Rhino!"

When Lin Dongxue saw the Spirit Beast clearly, she cried out softly in alarm.

Tang Yan carefully studied the Spirit Beast before him.

Its body was one and a half meters long, yet it stood no more than half a meter tall. Compared with the large Spirit Beasts they had encountered before, its build was much smaller.

Its entire body was gray, covered in a thick, tough hide.

It resembled a rhinoceros, with its mouth bared to reveal two rows of sharp fangs. Its long, narrow eyes reflected a vicious light.

On its forehead was a sharp horn nearly half a meter long. It was especially eye-catching, glinting with a faint cold sheen.

Tang Yan had heard of Spirit Beasts like the Flying Rhino before.

Among Third-Rank Spirit Beasts, it belonged to a rather high-grade kind. Its claws, fangs, and the sharp horn on its forehead were all deadly weapons. If one was wounded by it in battle, the injury was usually very difficult to heal.

And because its body was not large, yet its speed was extremely fast, people had given it the name Flying Rhino.

Without thinking, Tang Yan stepped in front of Lin Dongxue and shielded her behind him.

In a low voice, he said, "Move back a little. While you're at it, watch how I fight."

Most of what they had encountered over the past three days were Second-Rank Spirit Beasts. Perhaps their luck had been too good, for each encounter had only involved two at most. Tang Yan had not made a move at all.

Hearing that Tang Yan was about to act, curiosity flashed through Lin Dongxue's eyes.

"Be careful. As a rhinoceros-type Spirit Beast, the Flying Rhino has great strength and incredible speed. It's very difficult to deal with!" Lin Dongxue warned.

Tang Yan nodded slightly and fixed his gaze on the Flying Rhino less than four meters away.

A trace of contempt flashed through the Flying Rhino's eyes.

The aura on this human before it was far too weak.

However, when it looked toward Lin Dongxue, its gaze became slightly more solemn.

Boom, boom, boom!

Although its body was not large, the Flying Rhino was by no means light. Lowering its head, it charged straight at Tang Yan.

The distance of four meters vanished in the blink of an eye.

Watching from the side, Lin Dongxue clenched her fists.

With such speed and such fierce force, even she would find it troublesome to dodge.

Could Tang Yan avoid it?

Tang Yan narrowed his eyes.

Under Lin Dongxue's astonished gaze, he leaped high into the air, then swiftly kicked toward the Flying Rhino's back.

Lin Dongxue's lips parted slightly, her eyes filled with admiration, respect, and surprise.

This fellow had not only dodged, but had even launched an attack on the Flying Rhino!

Tang Yan spun in midair, his foot landing on the Flying Rhino's back.

The Flying Rhino's reaction speed completely surpassed common sense.

The Spirit Beast that had been charging with such fierce momentum actually stopped by force. Its back arched upward, as though it intended to withstand Tang Yan's kick head-on.

Bang!

Tang Yan felt as if he had kicked an iron plate. Even his foot went slightly numb.

Borrowing the force of the recoil, he flipped backward and swept away.

The Flying Rhino also let out a pained cry.

It clearly had not expected that this fellow, who had shown not the slightest fluctuation of aura a moment ago, would suddenly erupt with such tyrannical strength.

"Black Rank first grade!"

Sensing the strength Tang Yan had revealed, Lin Dongxue's mind shook violently.

Just how much strength had this fellow hidden from everyone?

If she had not followed Tang Yan here herself, she probably would still believe he only possessed the strength of Yellow Rank ninth grade.

"Roar!"

Before Tang Yan could even land, the enraged Flying Rhino charged at him once more.

Bang, bang, bang!

The Flying Rhino was fast, but compared to Tang Yan, who had comprehended the Combat Heart, it was still far slower.

Tang Yan had studied the weaknesses within an enemy's attacks deeply. Each time he struck, he could quickly find an opening and launch his assault without delay.

His movements were extremely fast.

In just a few breaths, under his unbroken chain of attacks, he swiftly gained the upper hand.

At the side, Lin Dongxue's palms were already slick with sweat.

Every attack from the Flying Rhino made her nearly cry out in alarm.

She admitted that if she were the one facing the Flying Rhino's assault, she would only be able to flee.

But what shocked and stirred Lin Dongxue even more was Tang Yan's movement.

Facing the Flying Rhino, this fellow was not blindly dodging.

He was constantly counterattacking.

Each of the Flying Rhino's attacks brushed dangerously past Tang Yan's vital points.

Yet after every strike Tang Yan made, the next attack followed without the slightest pause.

Those combat movements were so natural that Lin Dongxue actually felt as though she were watching art.

So a dodge could be made with a sidestep like that!

So after throwing a punch, if the force had not completely faded, one could follow with an elbow for a second attack!

So rolling across the ground was not only for evasion. One could also lash out with a fierce kick and injure the enemy!

So...

Lin Dongxue felt that all the offensive moves she had learned over the past twenty years were not as useful as what Tang Yan had taught her over these few days.

Those ever-changing combat techniques, the way martial skills and basic movements connected with one another, could actually erupt with such formidable power!

All of this forcibly shattered the belief she had always held: that martial skills stood above all else.