Hu Liena once again activated her first spirit skill—Foxfire Command.
While counterattacking, she also kept an eye on her brother, Xie Yue.
Facing the endless swarm of Bloodthirsty Bats, Hu Liena began to feel overwhelmed.
The thick scent of blood in the air made her nauseous.
"Damn these filthy bats! Why do they just keep coming?!"
"Brother, you must not lose focus!"
"It's all Yan's fault! What a terrible idea—saying that staying together would hinder our training and insisting that we split up!"
As the overwhelming Bloodthirsty Bat swarm pressed on, Hu Liena found it increasingly difficult to hold her ground.
Just at this critical moment, countless scorching sparks suddenly rained down from the sky.
These fiery sparks, like sharp blades, struck the airborne bats with deadly precision.
With shrill cries, a large number of Bloodthirsty Bats fell to the ground, instantly turning to ash.
Immediately after, a blazing figure rushed in like a fireball, charging straight into the swarm of bats.
A massive portion of the Bloodthirsty Bats were instantly engulfed by raging flames.
The surviving bats, witnessing this terrifying scene, panicked and scattered, vanishing into the darkness.
"Yan!"
Hu Liena called out excitedly.
Yan had arrived just in time to resolve the crisis.
Seeing that her brother was unharmed, Hu Liena let out a sigh of relief.
"Yan, thank goodness you got here in time, otherwise—"
Just as she was speaking, her expression suddenly changed, as if she had realized something.
"That firestorm just now… was that a new spirit skill? Could it be that you've already obtained your fourth spirit ring?"
Hu Liena looked at Yan with a face full of confusion.
Yan didn't answer her question. He only gave a slight nod before shifting his gaze to Xie Yue, who was still absorbing his spirit ring.
Xie Yue appeared completely calm. It seemed he had been absorbing the ring for quite some time.
After more than a month apart, Yan was still displaying the same indifferent attitude.
Hu Liena instantly became furious. Pointing at him, she demanded, "Yan, what's wrong with you?! You weren't like this before!"
Yan smiled slightly and replied calmly, "People grow up. I won't be the same as I used to be."
Hearing this, Hu Liena was momentarily stunned.
Yan was one of the most outstanding young spirit masters in the Spirit Hall. Among his peers, he had always been arrogant and domineering.
But in front of Hu Liena and Xie Yue, he had always acted humbly especially toward Hu Liena.
Anyone with eyes could see that Yan liked Hu Liena.
How could Hu Liena not know?
The three of them had grown up together and knew each other very well.
Hu Liena understood Yan's feelings, but she was never satisfied. She always felt that something was missing in him.
So, when it came to Yan's affection, she had never accepted nor outright rejected it.
She had thought that Yan would always be devoted to her, but after coming to the Death Canyon for training, he had changed drastically.
She couldn't understand why.
Looking at Yan standing before her, she suddenly felt a faint ache in her heart something she had never experienced before.
"What's going on? Could it be that I care about him?"
"No! I wouldn't care about him! He's just being overly sentimental! This must be one of his tricks to attract attention. I don't believe he can keep this up forever."
"What am I even thinking?!"
Just as Hu Liena was lost in her thoughts, Yan suddenly interrupted her.
"I'll keep watch over Xie Yue. You're covered in blood go change into clean clothes."
Hu Liena snapped back to reality.
Seeing the bloodstains left by the Bloodthirsty Bats on her clothes, she felt a wave of disgust and turned to leave without another word.
Yan glanced at the corpse on the ground.
The White-Faced Demon Tiger was about three meters long, possessing both speed and strength an ideal match for Xie Yue.
Judging from the quality of the spirit ring floating above Xie Yue's head, it likely had a cultivation of nearly five thousand years.
Yan sat cross-legged a short distance from Xie Yue, cultivating while keeping an eye on his surroundings.
Moments later, Hu Liena returned.
She had changed into clean clothes and tidied herself up a bit.
Seeing that Yan was meditating, she refrained from disturbing him.
During the battle earlier, Hu Liena had consumed a considerable amount of spirit power, so she also sat down to cultivate and recover.
An hour passed, and Xie Yue finally completed his spirit ring absorption.
Hu Liena was visibly excited.
"Brother, you finally finished absorbing it!"
"Mm, thank you for keeping watch."
Xie Yue stood up and was pleasantly surprised to see Yan.
"Yan, you're here too? That's great!"
Amid his joy, Xie Yue quickly noticed the lingering scent of blood in the air and realized that a battle must have taken place.
"Nana, did any spirit beasts appear while I was absorbing my spirit ring?"
"Yes, a swarm of Bloodthirsty Bats."
As Hu Liena spoke, she glanced at Yan.
"Luckily, Yan arrived just in time and burned them to ashes. Though, a small portion managed to escape."
Xie Yue nodded, feeling a lingering sense of unease.
He knew how troublesome Bloodthirsty Bats could be. If Hu Liena had been alone, she wouldn't have been able to fend them off.
"Yan, I owe you one this time."
"It's nothing. By the way, after absorbing your fourth spirit ring, how much did your spirit power increase?"
Xie Yue smiled slightly.
"The White-Faced Demon Tiger we hunted had a cultivation of nearly five thousand years. After absorbing its spirit ring, my spirit power increased by one and a half levels."
Hu Liena interjected, "Brother, what's your fourth spirit skill?"
Xie Yue chuckled, his expression radiating confidence.
"My fourth spirit skill is a perfect fusion of speed and power."
As he spoke, he extended his right hand, summoning a Moon Blade in an instant.
The crescent-shaped weapon gleamed coldly under the moonlight.
"I call this skill—Moonlit Dance."
Before his words even faded, Xie Yue moved.
His body flashed forward like a streak of moonlight, appearing ten meters away in the blink of an eye.
The Moon Blade in his hand swept in a graceful arc, and a razor-sharp blade aura instantly cleaved a massive boulder in two.
Then, just as swiftly, he returned to his original position.
Hu Liena and Yan watched in awe, both secretly impressed.
This technique wasn't just incredibly fast and powerful it was also elegant, resembling a dancer gracefully moving under the moonlight, blending beauty with lethal force.
"Brother, you're amazing!"
Hu Liena couldn't help but cheer, her eyes filled with admiration as she looked at Xie Yue.
Yan nodded as well, offering his congratulations.
"Congratulations on mastering another powerful spirit skill."
Xie Yue retracted his Moon Blade, a pleased smile on his face.
"Yan, if I'm not mistaken, you must have also obtained your fourth spirit ring by now, right?"
"Mm."
Yan nodded.
"What kind of spirit beast did you hunt? And how much did your spirit power increase?"
"I was lucky. I happened to encounter an injured Skyfire Fox with a cultivation of around six thousand years. After killing it and absorbing its spirit ring, my spirit power increased by two levels."