Chapter 22: Chapter 21: Fighting with a Wild Boar
"Squeak, squeak!"
A wild boar, about a meter tall and two meters long, covered in black shiny fur, was busy digging a pit. Every hair on its body seemed to glisten with oil, and each strand appeared as sturdy as it felt to the naked eye. This was precisely the kind of beast that Su Yun was looking for as a practice target.
"Plunk!"
The wild boar, originally engrossed in digging, suddenly felt a stone hitting its body. It shivered, abruptly turned around, and, to its surprise, discovered a human child throwing stones at it.
"Huff, huff!"
A trace of anger flashed in the wild boar's eyes. Its four robust and short pig hooves rubbed against the ground, as if ready to attack Su Yun at any moment.
Seeing the boar getting angry, Su Yun threw away the stones in his hand and took the long spear that had been hanging on his back.
Gripping the spear with both hands, standing straight, and slightly tilting the spearhead upwards, Su Yun exuded a chilling intent from the metallic tip, indicating a touch of cold-blooded killing.
He could have chosen to sneak attack the wild boar, but he preferred to confront it directly.
"Roar!"
The wild boar let out a low roar, and its four hooves trampled the ground. The earth began to shake, and its massive body charged towards Su Yun with brutal force, a barbaric rush.
With tough skin and fur, wild boars possessed surprisingly strong combat power in the wild. Even some iron tools would find it challenging to break through their defense without sufficient force.
Swoosh! Su Yun, seeing the wild boar attacking first, exerted force from his feet, and his figure disappeared from the original spot. A gust of wind swept the area.
The next moment, Su Yun's figure suddenly appeared in front of the wild boar, a preemptive strike! This was the first move of the Wind God's Leg – Catching the Wind and Capturing the Shadow!
His figure was like the wind, swift as a shooting star. "Let's see how my spear handles this!"
Su Yun's eyes were focused, and the veins on his seemingly slender arms and hands became pronounced. The cold gleam of the spearhead hinted at a thread of icy killing intent.
This was no soft spear. Utilizing the inertia brought by the rapid movement, Su Yun swept the spear horizontally across the boar's face!
"Boom!"
A low, muffled groan echoed through the forest. The wild boar, originally charging straight ahead, was blocked by the horizontal thrust and tumbled over on the ground.
Simultaneously, Su Yun widened his eyes, and his body retreated four or five steps.
"My goodness, the strength of this wild boar is incredible!"
Su Yun initially thought that, relying on his soul power and the training he had done recently, he should be able to handle the boar's attacks. However, he underestimated the strength of the wild boar.
"Roar!"
The wild boar, thrown to the ground by Su Yun's spear, climbed up. At this moment, its eyes directed at Su Yun were filled with a layer of blood-red anger. Clearly, Su Yun's attack had thoroughly enraged it!
At this moment, the black fur on the wild boar's entire body, which had been lying flat against its skin, suddenly stood on end. Each strand of fur seemed like a steel needle, radiating a sharp chill.
Witnessing this scene, Su Yun was reminded of four words.
"Fury to the Crown!"
"Roar!"
The wild boar roared again! Its four limbs exerted force again, seemingly with even stronger power than before.
Its speed had unexpectedly doubled in an instant!
"Soul Power!"
Su Yun's pupils contracted. He hadn't expected that the wild boar in front of him possessed soul power! This wild boar was a soul beast!
"Boom!"
The black boar, carrying a body full of steel needles, swiftly moved across the ground.
At this moment, the wild boar seemed like a mobile bomb! A direct collision with it could spell disaster, even for a level 20 soul master.
Su Yun obviously wouldn't confront an enraged wild boar soul beast head-on. He wasn't foolish. A sense of caution rose in his heart.
Once again, he executed the Catching the Wind and Capturing the Shadow technique. With the activation of soul power, the wild boar's successive charges were much faster than before.
However, unfortunately for the boar, it was still no match for Su Yun, who had successfully cultivated the first move of the Wind God's Leg.
Despite the wild boar's furious charges, Su Yun, agile as a butterfly, evaded each one gracefully. Occasionally, he would counter with a spear thrust, but the attack was thwarted by the boar's iron-like bristles. Those bristles acted like rough shields, able to block most external attacks.
After observing the battle, Su Yun could roughly determine that the wild boar in front of him was likely a ten-year soul beast.
If Su Yun's strength were sufficient, he would have loved to engage in a direct confrontation with the wild boar soul beast. However, considering his recent start in formal training and his young age, his strength was far inferior to that of such a large animal. Moreover, the wild boar could also use soul power, making it much stronger than an ordinary boar.
Realizing that defeating or even killing an opponent much larger than himself required reliance on speed, Su Yun knew he had to wear down the wild boar over time.
"A perfect opportunity!"
Seizing the moment when the wild boar paused after an attack, Su Yun's eyes lit up. He thrust his spear towards the boar's underbelly.
Swish! The spear didn't hit the boar but instead pierced an empty space beneath its abdomen.
Su Yun didn't intend to finish off the wild boar with this move. The purpose was to set up for the next strike.
"Rise!"
Su Yun exclaimed softly, concentrating all his soul power in his hands. With a swift upward motion, the sharp spearhead was about to make contact with the unguarded belly of the boar. Su Yun pushed the spear forward half a foot, allowing the smooth shaft to come into close contact with the boar's belly.
At the same time, the wild boar, still dazed from Su Yun's previous strike, was once again toppled by the seemingly unadorned spear thrust.
Su Yun chose not to end the wild boar's life with a single blow. He stood in place, waiting for the boar to get back up. He intended to use this wild boar as a whetstone for his skills.
Sure enough, after flipping back onto its feet, the wild boar charged towards Su Yun once again.
Having grown accustomed to the boar's attack pattern, Su Yun smiled faintly, unperturbed, and continued using the boar as a sparring partner.
The one-on-one battle between man and boar continued for half a day!
Until Su Yun sensed something was amiss. The wild boar's gaze suddenly became clear as it looked at him.
It suddenly realized that this human boy had been treating it like a punching bag all this time.
Utter humiliation!
The wild boar's eyes widened, as if preparing to charge at Su Yun again. Su Yun raised his hands, ready to strike with his spear. However, in the next moment, the wild boar turned its head and ran away.
In just a few breaths, the boar's figure disappeared into the woods.
Su Yun: "..."
Although the training didn't continue, Su Yun gained some confidence in his attack techniques.
Calculating the remaining time for the side quest, and after a few more days of practical training, Su Yun applied to the academy instructors to obtain his first soul ring.
Coincidentally, a couple of part-time students had also reached level ten in soul power a few days ago.
After two days of rest and under the guidance of academy teachers, Su Yun and three others boarded a carriage headed for the Soul Beast Forest.
(End of this chapter)