The roc, perhaps for the first time, became a drenched bird, flapping wildly in panic. It didn't notice Qin Shilei stealthily surfacing from the river.
Battle Skill Seven Stars Descend From the Firmament!
Qin Shilei lightly struck the roc's thick leg with his unsheathed Jinghong Sword. Before the bird could react, he swam to the other side and struck its upper abdomen.
By then, the roc had realized an enemy was nearby. It stopped flapping and drifted downstream with the current.
Its sharp eyes scanned the river, searching for Qin Shilei.
Meanwhile, Qin Shilei swam behind it and landed two more blows.
With a powerful flap of its right wing, the roc turned its body. Simultaneously, it twisted its neck back and pecked at the river with its sharp beak.
However, hampered by the water, its peck missed.
Fifth Sword!
Qin Shilei followed the current forward and slashed across the roc's injured wing.
Due to the river's depth, the roc's claws couldn't reach the bottom to brace itself. With its wing injured, at least ninety percent of its strength was gone.
Qin Shilei continued to swim underwater, heading towards the roc's head.
The Jinghong Sword conveniently sliced into the roc's upper abdomen.
The sixth strike was complete.
One Punch Man!
Qin Shilei simultaneously drew his Jinghong Sword and swung it towards the roc's neck.
At this moment, the roc spotted Qin Shilei in the water. It lowered its head and fiercely pecked downwards with its sharp beak.
The roc was at least Silver-tier, its physique far superior to Qin Shilei's.
Even with the One Punch Man attribute activated, Qin Shilei would likely be pecked first.
If pecked, he might end up like last time, knocked out in one blow and heavily injured.
An Qian, clinging to Qin Shilei's back, witnessed this. The thought of Qin Shilei being pecked to death by the roc sent a pang through her heart, wishing she could kill the damned bird herself.
In that critical moment, a phantom image suddenly appeared from behind An Qian.
It let out a cry.
An invisible pressure descended upon the roc.
The pressure, originating from a higher bloodline, startled the roc, causing its pecking motion to falter.
This momentary delay allowed Qin Shilei to strike first.
The sword light flashed, and blood spurted out. The massive bird's head was severed.
The terrifying roc was finally beheaded by Qin Shilei, combining One Punch Man, the battle skill Seven Stars Descend From the Firmament, and the nurturing attribute of the Jinghong Sword.
"Hoo... hoo... hoo." An Qian gasped for air.
Qin Shilei had been underwater, and she had struggled to breathe.
"Chirp chirp!"
Two smaller rocs cried out mournfully from the sky.
Qin Shilei looked up, startling the two giant birds, which then fled in panic.
With a wave of his hand, he collected the roc's corpse and the dropped Silver Treasure Chest into his ring.
"Let's go," Qin Shilei said, swimming downstream towards the small town.
"Okay." Qin Shilei didn't mention getting out of the water, and An Qian preferred to be carried.
There will be a time when the wind breaks the waves, and I will set my sail to cross the vast ocean!
It seemed that as long as she was by Qin Shilei's side, she feared nothing and could bravely press onward.
"What was that bird cry from behind you just now?" Qin Shilei asked.
"I don't know. In my haste, a phantom of a Qingluan appeared from my body," An Qian explained.
"Thanks to its cry, it scared off the roc. Otherwise, I would have been pecked to death," Qin Shilei said, greatly relieved.
"It's a shame I can't summon that phantom again," An Qian said regretfully.
She paused, then added, "I don't think I'm afraid of water anymore."
Qin Shilei joked, "Why don't you let go and try swimming yourself?"
"Okay." An Qian said "okay" but held tightly onto Qin Shilei's neck.
More than twenty minutes later, Qin Shilei and An Qian arrived back at the downstream town.
"Why did it take so long this time? Did something happen?" Zhang Xiaoli and the others asked worriedly.
"There was an incident. We killed that roc," Qin Shilei stated calmly.
"........"
Zhang Xiaoli and the others were stunned into silence for a long time.
They couldn't comprehend how Qin Shilei had become so powerful overnight.
The day before, he was almost killed by the roc in one move.
Now, he had killed it without a scratch.
"Chirp!"
Suddenly, an eagle's cry sounded from outside the house again.
"Could it be a companion of that roc coming for revenge?" Zhang Xiaoli thought of the two eagles behind the school.
"What are you afraid of? With Brother Qin here, we'll kill any number of them," Zhang Qiang said dismissively.
However, Qin Shilei flickered and blew out the candles in the room, whispering, "Everyone, be quiet."
"Chirp chirp!"
The eagle's cry grew closer.
"No, that sounds like Xiao Qiang."
Qin Shilei suddenly felt the cry was familiar.
He pushed open the door and stepped outside, just in time to see Xiao Qiang land on the street ahead.
As soon as Xiao Qiang saw its master, it scurried over, rubbing its head affectionately against Qin Shilei's chest.
Qin Shilei stroked its head and said, "You coward. I haven't seen you for more than a day, and I thought you'd defected."
"Chirp chirp." Xiao Qiang chirped softly, as if explaining its absence.
Qin Shilei lightly tapped Xiao Qiang's head, then took out a piece of bloody yak meat and fed it to him. After Xiao Qiang had eaten most of it, he casually put it into his pet space.
Seeing that it was just a false alarm, Qin Shilei told everyone to rest and continue their journey at dawn.
He then secretly pulled An Qian into a room.
An Qian asked excitedly, "Are we opening treasure chests?"
Qin Shilei nodded. "En."
He then took out the Silver Treasure Chest dropped by the roc.
"Wait a moment." An Qian hurried out and returned ten minutes later, having changed into a new outfit.
"Did you bathe and change?" Qin Shilei asked, puzzled. "Aren't you usually casual about opening treasure chests?"
An Qian nodded. "This is a Silver Treasure Chest! It might be the first Silver Treasure Chest on Planet Blue. We should have some ceremony."
She then clasped her hands together in prayer before the chest and touched it, opening it.
Instantly, three mixed colors of red, green, and purple shot out from the chest.
An Qian, the lucky one, lived up to her reputation!
Blood Horn (Green): Once the Blood Horn is blown, teammates within ten meters will become bloodthirsty, increasing their combat power by ten percent for five minutes, with a forty-eight-hour cooldown.
Battle Skill White Rainbow Piercing the Sun (Red): Unleashes a powerful ultimate move against a single target, ignoring fifty percent of the target's defense.
Illusion (Purple): Creates an energy phantom with eighty percent of the user's strength. The phantom possesses all of the user's skills and lasts for three minutes, with a twenty-four-hour cooldown.