"Spirit release, Blue Silver, Growth!"
Wang Li summoned his Spirit in mid-air and activated his first Spirit Ability without hesitation.
White light burst forth around him, and in just an instant, a large amount of Blue Silver Grass was rapidly grown. Because it had absorbed the Azure Vine's spirit ring, the Blue Silver Grass now possessed vine-like tendrils.
Then, under Wang Li's control, six vines shot out, poised and ready to strike.
Just as the Spirit Beast was about to land, it was immediately bound into a zongzi by the six vines. Its four claws were restrained, with only its head left exposed.
After Wang Li landed on the ground, he used the momentum to spring forward again, instantly closing in on the Spirit Beast.
Instant Step!
He didn't give the Spirit Beast a chance to recover or retaliate. He grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, then clenched his right hand into a fist and smashed it down onto its head.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Punch after punch, and in the blink of an eye, three punches had landed. Its wailing grew weaker and weaker, until it finally seemed to fall unconscious.
It was a combo that had speed, control, and output. In the end, he alone defeated a Spirit Beast of unknown age that had suddenly appeared.
It was clear that Wang Li already possessed considerable combat power.
Only then did Yuan Fu, who was at the front of the camp, complete his Spirit possession and quickly rush over, shouting at the same time:
"What's going on? Wang Li, Wang Sheng!"
Dean Zhang, Su Mo, and the others in the tents were also awakened by the commotion. They had no sleepiness left and hurriedly got up, then immediately rushed out of their tents.
As for Wang Li, he looked at the unconscious Spirit Beast, then at the stunned and bewildered Wang Sheng, and urgently said:
"What are you waiting for? Come kill it!"
Wang Sheng hadn't reacted yet. He was completely shocked by the speed and combat power Wang Li had just displayed. When he heard Wang Li speak, he only thought of going up to help. He pulled out the short sword he had bought from the blacksmith's shop. While the Spirit Beast was controlled by Wang Li, Wang Sheng plunged the short sword into its throat.
This scene was also witnessed by Yuan Fu, who had rushed over. Seeing that Wang Li and Wang Sheng were fine and had even counter-killed a Spirit Beast, he first breathed a sigh of relief, grateful there were no casualties. Then came the shock: a one-ring Spirit Master and a Spirit Scholar without a spirit ring had actually managed to kill a Spirit Beast together.
Its throat was pierced, and this fatal blow completely ended the Spirit Beast's life. After it died, yellow energy surged around its body, eventually condensing into a yellow spirit ring.
This was a hundred-year Spirit Beast. Perhaps its age wasn't high, which was why it was defeated by Wang Li, but it was still a hundred-year Spirit Beast, far stronger than an ordinary ten-year Spirit Beast.
Dean Zhang arrived first, followed by Su Mo, Gou An, Bao Tong, Fergus, Eureka, and Fiona. They too were feeling incredulous at this moment.
Dean Zhang looked at Yuan Fu, his brows furrowed, and said in a deep voice:
"What just happened?"
Facing the dean's questioning, Yuan Fu first admitted his mistake. Such a thing had happened during his watch:
"Dean, it was my oversight that I failed to detect this Spirit Beast in time. I was patrolling the front of the camp just now, and I arranged for Wang Li and Wang Sheng to patrol the back of the camp. As a result, the incident happened suddenly, and I only arrived afterwards."
Dean Zhang did not blame Yuan Fu. He was a Spirit Grandmaster level teacher at the academy, while Wang Li and Wang Sheng were just work-study students. He knew the priorities in his heart, and besides, Wang Li and Wang Sheng were unharmed.
He merely warned:
"Be careful next time. If a hundred-year Spirit Beast really breaks into the camp, it could cause significant casualties among the students."
Yuan Fu lowered his head and responded:
"Yes!"
Then Dean Zhang walked over to Wang Li and Wang Sheng, looked at the Spirit Beast they had killed, and opened his eyes wide in surprise, saying:
"Tiger-Leopard Cat! You were actually able to evade its hunt and even counter-kill it!"
The Tiger-Leopard Cat, neither tiger nor leopard, was a feline Spirit Beast. It didn't possess the strength of a tiger or leopard, but it had extremely sophisticated hunting techniques, earning it the title of 'hunter in the dark night'.
It was always the nightmare of low-level Spirit Beasts and low-level Spirit Masters. It moved silently before striking, acted cleanly and decisively when it struck, and then enjoyed its meal.
Wang Li lowered his eyes and did his best to attribute everything to his hundred-year spirit ring:
"This Spirit Beast suddenly appeared, and we could only respond hastily. Fortunately, this hundred-year spirit ring provided a powerful Spirit Ability that controlled its movements, allowing us to work together to kill it."
Dean Zhang was somewhat suspicious. There weren't many traces of battle, indicating that the Tiger-Leopard Cat was quickly controlled by Binding not long after it appeared, and it never broke free until it died. This hundred-year Spirit Ability's Binding skill seemed a bit too powerful.
How many centuries old was this Azure Vine?
At that time, the Azure Vine was already incomplete due to the Mountain Boar King's destruction, so Dean Zhang couldn't accurately determine its age. Now it seemed that this Azure Vine's age was probably not low.
However, for a one-ring Spirit Master and a Spirit Scholar without a spirit ring to successfully hunt a hundred-year Spirit Beast was already quite remarkable.
Ultimately, Dean Zhang stopped pressing the issue. Instead, he looked at the hundred-year spirit ring and said:
"Whose hands did this Tiger-Leopard Cat die by, Wang Sheng? Try to absorb it. A hundred-year spirit ring cannot be wasted."
Hearing this, Wang Sheng's entire face was filled with ecstasy. He also had a chance to obtain a hundred-year spirit ring. No wonder Wang Li told him to come and kill the Spirit Beast. After he understood, his gaze towards Wang Li was filled with gratitude.
He quickly sat down cross-legged, performed Spirit possession, and summoned the spirit ring. The yellow spirit ring indeed flew towards him, enveloped him, and merged into his body.
Wang Li saw that this matter had concluded, and he finally had time to tally his gains. In the process of fighting the Tiger-Leopard Cat, he gained 18 experience points, which left him somewhat puzzled.
His battle with Wang Sheng had yielded 26 experience points, so why did fighting the more powerful Tiger-Leopard Cat only give him 18 experience points?
Was it because Wang Sheng was human and the Tiger-Leopard Cat was a Spirit Beast? Or was it because Wang Sheng had level nine spirit power and he had level three spirit power at that time, and now the Tiger-Leopard Cat was a hundred-year Spirit Beast and he had level thirteen spirit power?
Wang Li thought long and hard and concluded that the most likely reason was that he needed to fight stronger opponents to gain more experience.
If that was truly the reason, then to gain more experience, he would have to constantly seek out stronger opponents to fight and couldn't just endlessly grind experience in the beginner zone.
At this moment, a thought flashed through Wang Li's mind:
"It seems I must apply for graduation. Continuing to stay at Notting Academy will only harm me and bring no benefits…"
If he stayed at Notting Academy, he would be among the strongest, with Tang San and Xiao Wu ahead of him, and a group of Spirit Scholars behind him.
He wanted to grow quickly, so he needed to experience battles with stronger opponents. But his current level was too low; he couldn't defeat Spirit Grandmasters, Spirit Elders, or Spirit Ancestors. So, he could only go to a place with more Spirit Masters.
For example, an Intermediate Soul Master Academy…