Perfect Opponent

After four days, he finally arrived at a region where the spirit energy was far richer than it was in the cave. From the cliff he was standing on, he looked ahead and saw a valley nestled between two mountains, with a pond at its center.

If he wasn't mistaken, the spiritual vein of this mountain range lay beneath the lake, making this vast valley a paradise for spirit beasts.

During these four days, he had already encountered two stage-5 beasts before even reaching this valley, but even they were no match for him.

Hierarchy among beasts was very important; only the strong could claim the best resources. Since those stage-5 beasts were afraid to enter the valley, it was clear that the ruler of this valley was far stronger than them.

Excited, he entered the valley. He didn't need to search aimlessly because the ruler of the valley would undoubtedly be at the center, near the pond.

Sure enough, when he got closer to the pond, he saw a tiger. It was massive, larger than an average tiger, with a majestic grey coat adorned with black stripes.

At the moment, the tiger was sprawled lazily on the ground with its eyes closed, exuding an air of indifference, as if it didn't care about any dangers around it.

Of course, it was the strongest creature here, so no beast would dare challenge it.

He didn't wake the tiger for now. Its majestic appearance and sleek fur were mesmerizing to look at. It was clearly no ordinary beast.

The bloodline of this beast was extraordinary, which meant it could fight against opponents stronger than itself.

Generally, ordinary beasts were stronger than ordinary human cultivators of the same level. An early stage-6 beast could easily fight against five peak stage-6 human cultivators.

But this tiger was far from ordinary, and Jiang Hao had other reasons to believe so. From the moment he laid eyes on the tiger, his instincts had been warning him of danger. This meant the beast could harm him. His own strength was at the peak of stage-7 human cultivation, perhaps even higher, though he didn't have an exact measure. For a beast to pose him danger, it had to either be at stage-7 or at stage-6 with an extraordinary bloodline.

Judging by its appearance and aura, this beast certainly had a rare bloodline. If he fought it, he was bound to get hurt; in fact, the situation could even turn fatal.

Far from being disappointed, he felt a rush of excitement. This was exactly what he had been seeking all this time.

He sat down under a nearby tree to rest. It was best to be in peak condition if he was going to fight something as strong as him, if not stronger.

Closing his eyes, he focused on fully recovering his stamina. He had no doubt his instincts would warn him the moment the tiger had any thoughts of attacking.

He was right. Just twenty minutes later, he felt an immense sense of danger. Opening his eyes, he calmly looked ahead. The tiger had already opened its eyes and was staring at him menacingly.

If looks could kill, Jiang Hao would have been dead by now.

After all, he was inside the tiger's territory, and there was another undeniable fact: he was human.

There was irreconcilable enmity between humans and beasts.

The tiger slowly stood up, its eyes never leaving Jiang Hao. Jiang Hao also stood, his expression calm and composed, not a hint of emotion betraying him.

The more unfavorable a situation was, the calmer he became. It was like an innate ability of his, a manifestation of his indomitable spirit.

The tiger took this calmness as provocation. It had been resting when this human intruded into its territory. Indignant, it was determined not to let the human leave alive.

Taking an attacking stance, the tiger roared fiercely at Jiang Hao.

"GRRRRRHHHHHH..."

Jiang Hao took a deep breath and focused all his attention on the tiger's movements. He knew it was slightly stronger than him in terms of sheer strength, as his instincts had warned him to avoid it.

However, he had the ring. If the tiger launched a fatal attack, he could rely on the protection shield. Thus, he wasn't too worried.

In fact, he believed he could defeat the tiger. He was betting on his regeneration speed. Even if he got injured, his body would heal almost instantly. It would consume his qi and exhaust him with each recovery, but he felt confident he could endure long enough to finish the fight.

He also had a strong feeling that the tiger was not at stage-6. The blood qi released by the tiger was similar to that of the stage-5 beasts he had fought earlier, but it was far more condensed.

This confirmed the tiger was a stage-5 beast. However, the true strength of a spirit beast's bloodline manifested only when it reached Grade 3 realm and formed its blood core. Before that, the difference between spirit beasts wasn't as pronounced. Still, this tiger was much stronger than its peers. Its bloodline was undoubtedly extraordinary.

After roaring, the tiger sprinted in his direction with incredible speed. Instead of waiting, Jiang Hao made his move, sprinting to meet it head-on.

Both reached each other within two breaths. The tiger raised its front claws and slashed at him. Rather than dodging, Jiang Hao raised his right hand and punched directly at the center of the incoming claw.

"THUD…"

A dull sound echoed as his fist landed on the tiger's paw.

Jiang Hao stumbled five steps back, his bones creaking and his entire arm vibrating.

The tiger retreated three steps, a stunned expression on its face. It had noticed that this human was only at stage-2, yet he had managed to withstand its strength.

Impossible. How could this human cub be so strong? Not even stage-6 beasts were its match. How could this puny human at stage-2 possess such strength?

Though surprised, the tiger didn't stop attacking. Advancing again at full strength, it lunged forward.

Jiang Hao also moved, excitement flickering in his eyes. In their last exchange, he had been at a disadvantage, but it was still manageable.

Once again, they clashed in melee combat.

They both were in qi refinement realm and don't have anyother means of attacking , but still there each attack was quite powerful.

The tiger beast lunged, its massive claws slashing at his chest. The impact sent him skidding back, blood dripping from deep gashes. Jiango Hao gritted his teeth as the wounds began to close before the tiger could pounce again.

With a roar, Jiango Hao charged bare-handed, dodging a swipe and slamming his fist into the beast's ribs. The tiger snarled in pain and twisted, its claws grazing his arm. The flesh tore, but as the beast turned for another strike, his arm has already started to heal.

The tiger sprang forward, its jaws snapping at his throat. He ducked low, grabbing its paw and twisting hard. Bones cracked. The beast howled, raking his shoulder with its other claw. Jiango staggered, his body bleeding heavily, but the wounds vanished within moments.

He seized the opportunity and punched the tiger in its stomach, the tiger howled in pain and distanced itself form him.

They both stopped for a rare breather.

The tiger beast has mixed feelings right now, it can already see that the wounds he had dealt to this human has already been healed.

Is this bastard really a human? the situation was looking grim for him, if this continues he would die for sure, but he was also indignant to run away from a human which was only at stage 2.

It was prideful in nature, and its blood boils at even thought of running. He would rather die than live in the shadow of its loss to a stage 2 human.

Jiango Hao was also stunned, he knew that his regeneration speed was quite fast but he didn't knew that it was this extraordinary, even the deepest wounds healed in mere seconds and all he would feel is exhaustion.

Although he looked fully fine right now he was getting exhausted, but he can still fight couple of rounds easily.

As he was thinking this the tiger pounced at him again, he smiled and reciprocated it.

The fought for another round in intense melee,this time the fight was even more bloodier then before, after 10 mins they seprated again.

Jiang Hao's cloths were fully torn and bloodied, but his body was in pristine condition, not even a single scare was left on his body.

But it was different for the tiger beast, its body was filled with wounds , the grey fur on it body were already bloodied red in colour. It stood silent and glared at Jiang Hao with its golden eyes.

Finally with intense struggle it laid down gently on the ground, it had already given its all, and right now it was injured so much that enough though it might not as exhausted as Jaing Hao, it can't move.

It laid down and closed its eyes, waiting for its death. It was indignant to have lost at hands of mere stage 2 human, but it also know that this human was one of kind, there might not be another one like him.

Jiang Hao slowly walked towards it, and even when he reached in front of the tiger, it didn't opened its eyes.

Jaing Hao sat down near its head and started rubbing its head gently, this tiger really suprised him, as it fought till its end even though it knew that it won't survive.

Most beast would have tried to run away, but it didn't. Thats already was praiseworthy in his eyes.