9: Chapter 9 Killing the Fierce Bird

"Heavens! That little bird is charging up!"

"It's suicidal! Come back quickly!"

"How reckless! Someone call the Beast Tamer Lord from the patrol team!"

The townspeople were stunned to see the Qingluan's small body facing the massive Demonized Flying Eagle. Almost no one held any hope. The child's mother looked toward Qin Ce in despair, her eyes filled with both pleading and doubt.

"Big brother! Can the Qingluan beat that ferocious bird?" Xiao Jian's face was pale with fear as she tightly gripped Qin Ce's trouser leg.

"I believe it can!" Qin Ce watched the sky with full concentration, communicating with the Qingluan through his intent.

"The opponent's attributes are stronger than yours, especially its strength and constitution. You can't win in a head-on clash."

"But your skill's power has been amplified by 'Breath Condensation'; it definitely far surpasses the eagle's!"

"Use your speed advantage to kite it. Look for a chance to attack the old wound on its neck, its wing joints, or just sever the talons holding the child!"

"Do you understand?"

Li~

The Qingluan responded, then activated Wing Flash, quickly catching up to the Demonized Flying Eagle.

Seeing a 'tiny speck' actually daring to intercept it, the Demonized Flying Eagle let out a disdainful, shrill screech. One talon remained firmly clamped on the child, while the other—shimmering with a cold glint—slashed fiercely at the charging Qingluan!

Diving Talon Strike!

The Qingluan didn't dodge or evade. At the very moment the sharp talons were about to strike, its body rose abruptly with incredible agility, narrowly grazing past the wind of the talons. Simultaneously, green light rapidly gathered before its beak!

"Li—!"

A higher-pitched, majestic cry erupted from the Qingluan's mouth!

The pressure of a high-level flying creature was released without reservation!

The Demonized Flying Eagle, which was about to turn and pursue, suddenly stiffened. A flash of instinctive fear actually crossed its ferocious eyes, causing its movements to lag for an instant!

Even the crying of the child in its talons weakened due to this overwhelming pressure.

Now was the time!

Seizing this fleeting opportunity, the Qingluan hovered above and to the side of the eagle, violently flapping its wings forward!

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Three incredibly condensed Wind Blades, each only the length of a palm but shimmering with a sharp green glow, shot out in a triangular formation. They tore through the air with sharp whistling sounds, accurately striking the joints of the Demonized Flying Eagle's talons that held the child!

Although the eagle was affected by the pressure, its combat instincts remained. It subconsciously tried to retract its talons, but it was already too late!

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Three soft thuds rang out. Under the enhancement of the 'Breath Condensation' talent, the power of these skills—comparable to Black Iron Mid-grade damage—sliced through the relatively fragile tendons and bones of the Demonized Flying Eagle's talon joints without resistance!

"Li—!!!"

The Demonized Flying Eagle let out a piercingly miserable scream as the talon holding the child was severed at the wrist!

The child, along with the severed talon, began to plummet!

The crowd below collectively let out a cry of alarm!

"Qingluan! Save him!" Qin Ce's heart leapt into his throat.

Swish!

Hearing Qin Ce's command...

The green light streaked downward, arriving first despite starting later!

The moment before the boy hit the ground, the Qingluan's small body accurately dove into the boy's embrace. A breeze surged around it, and a soft yet resilient wind force instantly enveloped the boy, greatly buffering the force of the fall!

Then, as the Qingluan neared the ground, it grabbed the child's clothes and gave them another pull.

The boy tumbled and landed in a pile of sand, rolling twice. Though he was covered in dust and wailing from fright, he clearly hadn't sustained any serious injuries.

"Xiaobao! My Xiaobao!" The child's mother scrambled over, hugging the child tightly and sobbing loudly.

The child was saved.

But at this moment, the battle in the sky was not over.

The excruciating pain of the severed talon completely triggered the Demonized Flying Eagle's ferocity. Its eyes were blood-red, and ignoring the blood dripping from its stump, it lunged crazily at the Qingluan, which had just taken flight again and had its back turned!

This time, it used its full strength. Its other talon and its beak were infused with all its energy, shimmering with a cold light, as it desperately wanted to tear the little bird that had wounded it into pieces!

"Qingluan, watch your back!" Qin Ce shouted urgently through the contract.

As if it had eyes in the back of its head, the Qingluan violently flapped its wings the moment the eagle lunged.

Sky Soarer!

Its body shot straight up into the sky, not only avoiding the pounce but also flying directly above the eagle!

The eagle missed its mark. Just as it tried to turn around, the Qingluan's attack had already fallen!

This time, it was no longer scattered Wind Blades.

The light in the Qingluan's cyan-gold eyes intensified. The wind elements flowing around its body converged onto the tips of its slender wings in a profound trajectory.

Following that, an arc-shaped Wind Blade—several times more condensed than before and almost appearing like green jade—slid down silently, accurately slashing toward the Demonized Flying Eagle's wounded neck!

Wind Blade: Breath Condensation Amplified Version!

The Demonized Flying Eagle seemed to sense a fatal threat. It twisted its body frantically to dodge while desperately activating its Iron Feather talent, its grayish-brown feathers taking on a metallic luster.

But it was useless!

Chii—!

With a soft sound, the jade-green Wind Blade sliced through that metallic luster without resistance, like a hot knife through butter, and sank into the Demonized Flying Eagle's neck!

All of the eagle's movements froze instantly. The ferocious red light quickly faded from its eyes, replaced by blankness and deathly silence.

Its massive body hung in the air for a moment before plummeting like a broken kite, crashing to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

As the dust settled, the Demonized Flying Eagle lay in a pool of blood. Its head was nearly severed, and it was already dead.

The entire street fell into a dead silence.

Only the Qingluan elegantly flapped its wings, slowly landing on Qin Ce's shoulder. It nuzzled his cheek affectionately and let out a soft chirp as if claiming credit.

Its body was spotless, only its breathing was slightly hurried. Clearly, the battle just now had taken quite a toll on it, but it was far from its limit.

After the deathly silence came a thunderous uproar!

"This... is this really a newly contracted pet?"

"This kid Qin Ce is incredible!"

"He won! He really won!"

"Amazing! That little bird is too strong!"

"Qin Ce! Good job!"

After confirming her child was unharmed, the mother was both shocked and overjoyed. With tears streaming down her face, she pulled her child over and knelt before Qin Ce, kowtowing repeatedly. "Benefactor! Thank you, benefactor! Thank you to your pet for saving Xiaobao! Thank you! If it weren't for you, my Xiaobao would have..."

Qin Ce quickly stepped aside and reached out to help her up. "Aunt Wang, please get up, you mustn't! We're neighbors, this is what I should do."

At this point, he recognized her; this woman was Aunt Wang, who made tofu at the entrance of the alley.

Aunt Wang was helped up and, looking closely through her tears, became even more excited. "Oh! It's Xiao Ce! It's the Qin family's Xiao Ce! Look at me, I was so scared I didn't even recognize you! Sister Su Wan is truly blessed! To raise such a promising son! A Beast Tamer! And such a powerful one at that!"

The surrounding neighbors also crowded around, praising him one after another.

"Xiao Ce has really made something of himself!"

"Now our Yuntai Town has produced a real figure!"

"With Xiao Ce here in the future, those damn ferocious birds will have to think twice!"

An even more enthusiastic auntie directly grabbed Qin Ce. "Xiao Ce, do you have a girlfriend yet? My niece is very pretty and works in the city. How about I introduce you two later?"

"Go away, how could your niece be a match for our Xiao Ce? My niece is the one who's properly educated..."

Qin Ce immediately felt a headache coming on and repeatedly declined. "Aunties, I'm still in school, I'm not considering these things..."

"What's wrong with being in school? You can start by getting to know each other!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

Just as the commotion was getting out of hand, the sound of hurried footsteps came from a distance.

...