The leopard, feeling provoked, bared its teeth at Zhang Yang. It lowered its body, assuming a posture ready to attack at any moment.
Yet Zhang Yang wasn't panicked at all. He walked slowly, but with firm steps.
It was as if he hadn't even seen the leopard baring its fangs.
The leopard felt its dignity had been challenged.
At this point, the issue was no longer about food—it had become a matter of status and dominance.
"You damn jungle wolf, you're courting death. Since you don't appreciate the face I'm giving you, then I'll just have to send you to the Western Paradise."
The leopard spat out arrogant words.
When Zhang Yang entered its optimal attack range, the leopard exploded into action.
It bared its sharp fangs, aiming to tear Zhang Yang's body apart.
Already wounded so badly and still daring to provoke it—what an irrational move. You deserve to die.
"逆天一击! (Heaven-Defying Strike!)"
Zhang Yang silently chanted in his mind, then swung his claws toward the leopard.
To ensure maximum attack power, he used both front paws at the same time.
Although the battle with the wild boars earlier had seemed very dramatic, the truth was that Zhang Yang hadn't used his full strength at all—he had been holding back his Heaven-Defying Strike the entire time.
Normally he wouldn't have been injured this badly; he could have taken down the Wild Boar King with a single strike.
But if he had instantly killed the Wild Boar King, all those subordinate boars would have scattered—and Zhang Yang absolutely did not want to see that happen.
Watching evolution points slip away right in front of his eyes would be a crime.
So he had deliberately saved his trump card.
Now was the perfect moment. The ultimate move he hadn't used on the Wild Boar King would now be enjoyed by this arrogant leopard.
The leopard, of course, knew none of this.
Its speed was actually slightly faster than Zhang Yang's.
Just as Zhang Yang raised his claws, the leopard's fangs had already sunk into Zhang Yang's rib area.
Hm?
This fur is quite tough.
But still pierceable.
That was the leopard's final thought.
Its fangs pierced through the fur at Zhang Yang's ribs, leaving four bloody holes in the bone.
But it paid for that bite with its life.
Zhang Yang's claws were utterly brutal.
With enormous force behind them, he actually tore the leopard's body apart with both paws.
Literally tore it into pieces.
His claws plunged into the leopard's body, then ripped outward—ripping the leopard completely open.
With such catastrophic injuries, the leopard died instantly, without even having time to feel what death was like.
"Ding! Killed a leopard. Gained 200 evolution points. Obtained Mid-grade Swiftness Fragment +1."
"Ding! Quest completed: Kill the Watcher. Quest reward: Lifespan +5 days."
"Poor bastard."
Zhang Yang spat toward the leopard's corpse.
No over-level kill bonus—only 200 evolution points.
Completing the quest only gave five days of life.
Truly a poor bastard.
But at least it dropped a talent fragment—that was some consolation.
"You have to pay for your mistake. Even though you're dead, your kind is going to suffer now."
Zhang Yang muttered quietly while looking at the leopard's corpse.
Since this leopard dropped a talent fragment, it should have been prepared to be hunted.
Zhang Yang was now planning to target leopards.
Although there probably weren't that many leopards active in this jungle area, gathering ten mid-grade fragments shouldn't be too difficult.
As for collecting a full set of high-grade ones—he didn't even dare dream about it. If this jungle had enough leopards to gather a hundred of them, no other creature would be able to survive.
Suddenly, Zhang Yang jerked his head toward the direction of the jungle.
Around the wolf den was flat grassland, and farther away were patches of bushes, with tall trees standing behind those bushes.
At this moment, several unwelcome creatures emerged from the bushes.
Wild dogs.
These guys were very annoying. They didn't have much hunting ability themselves, but they loved stealing prey from other animals.
Right now, they had clearly set their sights on the flesh and blood near the wolf den.
But when Zhang Yang raised his head and looked at them with ice-cold eyes, those wild dogs actually whimpered in fear and ran away.
They ran with their tails between their legs.
Zhang Yang was stunned.
"Since when has my aura become this terrifying? Is this what they call subduing the enemy without fighting?"
After being baptized in so much blood, Zhang Yang's presence had indeed changed dramatically compared to before.
Still, a single glance scaring them off was a bit exaggerated.
The main reason was that these wild dogs had just witnessed the entire process of Zhang Yang tearing the leopard apart.
That scene was utterly terrifying to them.
Although they could tell Zhang Yang was at the end of his rope, none of them dared to test him.
Isn't living better?
What if Zhang Yang still had enough strength to tear them apart too?
Who would dare step forward and die?
If it were a tiger's kill, they might have dared to swagger up and try their luck.
But against Zhang Yang, they really didn't have the guts.
Zhang Yang stood in place and waited a while longer. Seeing that no more foolish creatures dared approach, he finally collapsed into the pool of blood.
He needed to recover properly.
He was so exhausted he couldn't even be bothered to move.
But before resting, Zhang Yang exchanged for another bottle of Basic Healing Potion and poured it down his throat.
No one knew whether danger might appear again later.
Now was not the time to be stingy with evolution points—he had to restore his combat capability as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, no danger arrived.
Not long after Zhang Yang lay in the pool of blood, there was movement at the wolf den.
The wolf pack had dug out a passage near the entrance.
They didn't have Zhang Yang's immense strength and could only use this clumsy method.
Many of the jungle wolves' paws were already dripping blood. Digging through stone with their claws and managing to create a passage in such a short time showed just how desperately they had worked.
Seeing this, warmth filled Zhang Yang's heart.
Fighting so hard for these guys… maybe it really was worth it.
A smile appeared on Zhang Yang's face—a wolf face that looked quite ugly when smiling.
The other jungle wolves, however, had mournful expressions. They felt ashamed of themselves.
Their Wolf King had been fighting alone outside, ending up lying in a pool of blood unable to stand, while they had hidden inside the den, powerless to do anything. This was humiliation.
Wolf Qing's eyes were bloodshot.
He saw how badly injured his big brother was. If Zhang Yang hadn't barked at him, he probably would have started crying again.
That would have broken the vow he made to himself.
"Take the little ones back inside. The danger hasn't passed yet."
"You guys, go keep watch on the perimeter. Report immediately if there's any danger."
Zhang Yang didn't let the wolves vent their emotions right now. This wasn't the time.
"Big brother, come into the cave with me too."
Wolf Qing didn't leave immediately. The other wolves obediently scattered and dashed toward the surrounding jungle to stand guard.
Wolf Qing's thinking was simple: inside the wolf den was safe. Lying in a pool of blood outside was definitely not safe.
"I'm fine. Take them inside."
Zhang Yang refused. He didn't want to move his body anymore. The healing potion was already taking effect, and limb regeneration wasn't just for show. With both working together, his body was recovering quickly.
If he moved now and tore open his wounds again, he'd have to start all over. What if the potion's effect wasn't enough and he had to buy another bottle?
Zhang Yang didn't want to waste evolution points.