The next day, Li Ling was found in the mid-section of the hunting grounds, carefully scouting a creek that housed a very large carp. Upon switching zones to come deeper into the hunting ground, the scope of beasts he could hunt had changed, shifting from mostly land and forest types to even include river types like this one.
Naturally, the overall biome of the hunting ground was limited due to the mountainous terrain it was set upon. It lacked a desert, wasteland, rocky, volcanic, icy, swamp and necrotic biome, but even without these, the selection of demon beasts was quite rich and varied.
You would think that due to the difficulty of cultivation, there would be fewer demon beasts in this area of the hunting grounds, but that was not the case. The issue was that more cultivators hunted in the first section because it was easier to subdue early Qi Refinement beasts than to deal with those at their rank or higher.
Yes, the books and the general knowledge say that human cultivators are better than demon beasts at the same level, but that is on paper. Even if the logic behind it was solid, we all know that circumstances decide the outcome, not concepts.
Li Ling could beat the warthog from before because he was neither a pampered young master nor a clueless earthling who had just transmigrated. He had combat experience from years of roaming and harsh survival at level 1, not to mention training in a fighting skill.
His current ability to traverse forests, scout foes and even stalk this carp was all due to this background, which was nurtured through pain and suffering. Whether it was then or now, Li Ling never regretted going through this, because he knew that despite his horizons being far broader than the locals here as an earthling, he did not have their natural cunning and predatory instinct.
Li Ling saw the carp, which had patiently been waiting near a bank, aiming at a Qi Refinement level 4 Brown Buck that was gingerly coming to take a sip. The buck could sense that the creek was not exactly safe, but it could not deny its thirst and different areas up and down the creek were filled with even worse dangers.
The carp was likely at the 6th level of Qi Refinement, one level higher than Li Ling. He only dared to target it because he had two advantages, one being that they were separated by terrain and the second was that he was acting as the oriole in the famous proverb.
So it was a game of patience, and the one to set off the ensuing events would be the Brown Buck.
The buck inched closer.
The carp remained deathly still near a large rock in the creek, suppressing its presence.
Li Ling remained on the thick branch of the tree above the creek, watching the carp specifically without glancing at the buck.
Time seemed to move slowly at this moment, and the silent pin drop could cause an explosive reaction.
Eventually and inevitably, the buck reached the banks and lowered its head to drink gingerly and slowly.
However, nothing happened for a good minute. The carp did not move to attack and neither did Li Ling, the only sound being of the water flowing and the buck taking light sips while fully tense, ready to leap back with all its might.
Eventually, the buck became braver and braver, relaxing slowly as it took bigger gulps, aiming to quickly fill up and leave before something evil came down from either downstream or upstream.
It was exactly at the moment when the buck shifted gears, going down one level of wariness and relaxing slightly, that the carp suddenly struck like lightning, catching the wary buck off guard and unable to escape because its muscles were in the process of relaxing.
Immediately, half of the buck's body was swallowed into the maw of the carp, which did not have sharp teeth in the way that piranhas or sharks did, but had them deeper in their throats. These teeth were not the chewing type, but were able to flay skin and meat off bone like a razor-sharp brush.
The deer struggled greatly with its hind legs, crying out in agony as its front body was immediately bloodied after coming into contact with these brush teeth, leveraging the strong hind legs to drag the carp onto the bank slowly.
The carp also thrashed using its fins to try and bring its body back into the water, but here, due to the shallowness of the creek compared to its size, there was not enough reverse propulsion to counteract the buck's struggle.
While it would be difficult for the buck to escape, it would also require the carp to struggle and maintain control over the buck until it either ran out of stamina or bled to death.
This was the natural way, the way of the jungle. Even in situations between predator and prey, there was an order to things, and it was not always that the helpless prey was easily devoured by the predator. Usually, the predator also had to invest effort, time and sweat into its next meal, justifying its continued existence.
That was, until you factored in the element of chaos called humanity.
WHOOSH!
With speed that would have shocked the carp and the buck had they been paying attention, Li Ling descended from above while the duo were taking a short break from their struggle to recover energy and plunged his short spear through the eye of the carp, which also pierced through the neck of the buck trapped within.
Immediately, the struggles came to an end as both Demon Beasts perished at the same time, able to accompany each other into samsara and enter the animal path of reincarnation.
Meanwhile, Li Ling smiled as he took in his spoils, pulling his short spear from the eye of the carp and letting the blood flow into the river.
｢System Prompt: You have gained 0.6 Slaughter Points.｣
｢System Prompt: You have gained 0.4 Slaughter Points.｣