[My Immortal Diary]

Su Hao kicked off the ground, swiftly dodging to the side. To his surprise, the snow leopard quickly adjusted its trajectory and continued to pounce at him.

The cold, indifferent pupils of the snow leopard were right in front of him. Su Hao exploded with Blood Qi in his legs and narrowly evaded once again.

This time, the snow leopard couldn't change direction in time, but it extended a forepaw, sweeping toward Su Hao. Its five sharp claws were already open, gleaming with a cold, deadly light.

In a rush, Su Hao raised his short blade to block, using his other hand to brace the back of the blade.

However, his footing wasn't secure, and he couldn't properly stabilize his balance.

"Smack∼!"

The snow leopard's paw slammed into the blade, and the immense force sent Su Hao flying.

In terms of sheer strength, Su Hao was completely outmatched. His 30-kilogram body was like a toy in front of the over 200-kilogram snow leopard. Without the short blade in hand, Su Hao wouldn't even have the right to stand before this beast.

After tumbling a few times on the ground, Su Hao quickly got to his feet. But before he could steady himself, the snow leopard was already closing in.

«Wind Slash!»

Su Hao adjusted his center of gravity, gripping the blade with both hands. He calculated the speed of the incoming attack and, instead of retreating, surged forward to deliver a «Wind Slash» aimed at the snow leopard's neck.

This was a combat technique Wu Yuntian had taught him three days ago, supposedly one of his father's signature moves.

Blood Qi exploded through Su Hao's feet, spreading through his thighs, waist, and arms in a seamless chain. His entire body surged with power, all of it concentrated on the blade in his hands. Anything in its path would be severed.

Su Hao had practiced this technique many times before finally grasping the basics.

"Swish∼!"

A cold flash swept through the air, and a few strands of white fur floated in the air.

At the critical moment, the snow leopard sensed danger and dodged aside.

In other words, Su Hao's lethal strike had missed its mark.

After using the technique, Su Hao felt a brief moment of emptiness, unable to immediately summon more Blood Qi.

His eyes, however, remained locked onto the snow leopard, following its every movement thanks to the markings placed by [Little Light].

The snow leopard, after evading Su Hao's attack, landed on the snow and coiled its body, preparing to spring. In the blink of an eye, it launched itself at Su Hao once again.

This time, it was the snow leopard's true attack. It opened its mouth for the first time, baring its sharp teeth.

'I can't dodge this!' Su Hao realized there was no time to escape the snow leopard's oncoming attack.

He shifted his blade, aiming the blade toward the snow leopard's open mouth, planning to gamble on a risky move—he would thrust the blade into its mouth, piercing its brain through the roof of its mouth in a deadly strike.

Just as the critical moment approached, Su Hao suddenly felt a large hand grab the back of his collar, pulling him to the side. By the time he processed what had happened, he found himself standing in an open area, with the snow leopard now ten meters away.

"We'll stop here for today. We'll come again tomorrow. Let's go," Wu Yuntian's voice sounded.

Su Hao, still in a daze, nodded, "Alright, Father."

Looking back at the snow leopard, it was now eyeing Wu Yuntian warily, crouching low, ready to attack at any moment. However, Su Hao could sense the hesitation in the snow leopard's posture.

Only now did Su Hao begin to take deep breaths of the cold, fresh air. His chest felt like it was about to burst, his heart pounding wildly, and his limbs were starting to go numb.

'That was intense!'

Following behind Wu Yuntian in a daze, Su Hao finally calmed down after walking for a while.

"Wait, we're coming back tomorrow?"

....

The next day, Su Hao followed Wu Yuntian back to the snow leopard's territory.

With [Little Light]'s help, he quickly located the snow leopard, and Su Hao once again stood before the beast.

By replaying the previous day's battle in his mind, Su Hao became aware of his shortcomings.

The problem was that he relied too much on speed and strength in combat. But when facing an opponent faster and stronger than himself, his advantages disappeared.

He understood now what Wu Yuntian intended—to use the battle with the snow leopard to refine Su Hao's close-combat techniques, honing his ability to fully utilize his strength and speed, thus improving his overall combat skills.

Su Hao couldn't help but sigh. People in this otherworld really have a brutally but simple teaching method.

Drawing on his experience from the last fight, Su Hao was mentally prepared this time. He was confident he could last longer and believed he had a good chance to kill the beast.

Before the snow leopard could launch the first attack, Su Hao charged toward it.

This time, however, he didn't go all out. He conserved enough strength to adapt to changing circumstances.

His strategy was simple: since he was inferior to the snow leopard in both speed and strength, a head-on battle would result in certain defeat.

So, he decided to avoid its powerful strikes and focus on close-range dodging and deflecting, seeking opportunities to strike unexpectedly.

The snow leopard crouched low and, when Su Hao was within three meters, launched itself with a full-force pounce, aiming to tear the small human to shreds.

The snow leopard had absolute confidence in this move, developed over years of hunting. No prey had ever escaped its lethal bite from such close range.

But Su Hao had been waiting for this. Unlike yesterday, he didn't leap to the side. He knew that even if he dodged, the snow leopard would quickly change direction and strike with its claws, leaving him at a disadvantage.

Instead, he stopped his forward charge the moment the snow leopard pounced, planted his feet firmly, and kicked backward, leaping just far enough to avoid the leopard's jaws.

The snow leopard snapped at empty air, its claws not yet touching the ground. Seizing the moment, Su Hao stepped forward and delivered a powerful kick to the snow leopard's jaw.

"Thud∼!" A dull impact echoed as the snow leopard's head jerked violently, as if struck by a heavy hammer. Its upper and lower teeth clashed together with a sharp click. This kick was Su Hao's revenge for being swatted away by the beast yesterday.

However, the difference in size and weight was too great. Su Hao's kick wasn't enough to knock the snow leopard's head back, and instead, his own foot throbbed with pain.

The snow leopard, shocked by the unexpected blow, leaped backward several steps, staring at Su Hao with wary eyes.

"Roarrr∼!"

A deep growl rumbled from its throat. While the kick hadn't done much damage, it had certainly insulted the snow leopard.

Su Hao didn't intend to let it off. He charged again.

Brandishing his sharp blade, Su Hao moved deftly, dodging the snow leopard's attacks in small, precise motions. When the snow leopard's strike missed and it was momentarily vulnerable, Su Hao would rush in and stab it anywhere he could, then retreat without worrying about the results.

At no point did he use his full strength, always reserving enough energy to dodge any sudden counterattacks.

The snow leopard's massive size granted it immense strength and speed in a straight-line charge, but it greatly limited its ability to maneuver in tight spaces. After each attack, it needed to gather strength before launching the next one.

For this reason, snow leopards always aimed for a one-hit kill during a hunt, because if their first strike missed, the hunt was likely to fail.

Su Hao capitalized on these brief windows of opportunity, continually inflicting new wounds on the snow leopard.

Before long, the beast's once-pristine white fur was streaked with crimson. Its blood-soaked coat stood out starkly against the snow, and within moments, the blood began to freeze into ice crystals, gleaming in the sunlight.

As the battle dragged on, Su Hao's control over the rhythm of the fight grew stronger. The snow leopard's chances of landing a hit on him dwindled.

No matter how fiercely it roared, the snow leopard couldn't do anything to Su Hao. Its blood loss only increased, and its body was gradually weakening.

Su Hao could tell that the snow leopard was on the verge of retreating. If it decided to flee, he wasn't confident he could catch it.

'Alright, let's finish this with one strike.'