[My Immortal Diary]

A few days later, Wu Yuntian led Su Hao as they leaped down from the tall village wall.

The cold wind whipped past, and as Su Hao plummeted, his heart raced. Only when Wu Yuntian, holding his hand, landed steadily in the snow did Su Hao feel relief.

The two then proceeded, one in front, the other behind.

Su Hao held the short blade with which he had killed the green-eyed coyote, and he was clad in a pair of simple iron plates that formed makeshift armor. He followed behind, silent, his eyes filled with curiosity and caution as he observed the surroundings.

The iron plates he wore were makeshift armor that his father, Wu Yuntian, had quickly fashioned. He simply punched holes into two iron sheets and tied them together with rope.

Su Hao found the iron plates awkward and uncomfortable. He had asked Wu Yuntian why it was necessary to wear them.

Wu Yuntian had sternly explained, "The wilderness is very dangerous. Wearing armor to protect your vital organs makes it less likely you'll suffer a serious injury. One more layer of protection, one more layer of safety. With your strength as a high-Level Common Warrior, these two pieces of iron aren't heavy, but they provide solid defense. This is critical survival gear in the wild."

Su Hao had no further complaints, deciding that he would forge himself a proper set of armor in the future. For now, the two iron plates hanging on him looked terribly unsightly.

After walking for about an hour, Su Hao could no longer hold back and asked, "Father, where are we going?"

Without turning his head, Wu Yuntian replied, "In the wilderness, Never speak loudly. We're almost there."

Wu Yuntian led Su Hao up a small hill. Through the shadows cast by the trees, the landscape beyond the hill was revealed in full view. Wu Yuntian pointed ahead. "Do you see that tallest tree over there?"

"Yes, I see it."

"That's where the unicorn deer often graze. You'll see a lot of them if we get closer."

Su Hao was puzzled. "So, am I supposed to hunt a unicorn deer today?"

"No. Unicorn deer are extremely cautious, so you won't be able to get near them. Your target is their predator—the snow leopard. You'll use your blade to kill it."

Su Hao frowned, realizing something didn't quite add up. He asked, "If I can't even catch up to a unicorn deer, how am I supposed to catch its predator?"

"The snow leopard is highly territorial. You don't need to chase it. Once you enter its territory, it will attack you."

Feeling slightly nervous, Su Hao asked, "Father, I won't be in any danger, will I?"

Wu Yuntian reassured him confidently, "No. The snow leopard is stronger than the green-eyed coyote, but not by much. As long as you're cautious of its claws, you should be able to handle it for a while. Besides, I'll be watching from nearby."

Hearing that, Su Hao relaxed a bit. He gripped his short blade tighter and began planning his approach.

Seeing that Su Hao had no objections, Wu Yuntian turned and said, "We'll approach from the side."

After a short walk, Wu Yuntian stopped and said, "This is as far as I go. You'll have to proceed on your own now."

Su Hao took a deep breath, stepping forward cautiously. Internally, he encouraged himself, 'Don't panic. Dad is right behind me. If things go wrong, I can always shout for help.'

But when Su Hao turned to check, his father was nowhere to be seen.

'Where did he go?!' Su Hao's heart skipped a beat. 'Did he leave me here? No, no, calm down!'

Su Hao continued forward for a few more minutes and arrived at the unicorn deer's grazing grounds. He could already see the unicorn deer foraging in the snow. These deer, with a single sharp horn on their heads, would poke their horns into the snow to find edible grass, then quickly lift their heads to scan the surroundings for danger.

Now, where was the snow leopard? Su Hao crouched lower, keeping himself ready to move at any moment. His Blood Qi was primed, prepared to be unleashed.

The area around him was eerily quiet. Su Hao hadn't spotted the snow leopard his father had mentioned, but that only made things feel more dangerous. Not seeing it meant the predator was likely watching him from the shadows.

Su Hao's mind raced as he tried to figure out the snow leopard's position. His eyes darted back and forth, scanning near and far, but he saw no signs of movement.

'Maybe I should use [Little Light].' A brilliant idea struck Su Hao. While he couldn't detect the snow leopard, his AI assistant might be able to.

Acting quickly, Su Hao issued a series of commands to [Little Light]: "Identify any regular patterns in the environment. Identify biological entities. Identify fur patterns..."

One by one, precise search commands were sent, and [Little Light's] processing speed kicked into high gear. The AI quickly provided feedback.

Through [Little Light's] simulation of Su Hao's surroundings, the view around him was rendered in white—simulating the snowy landscape within a 100-meter radius.

Red circles marked special spots in the scene, highlighting areas identified by Su Hao's search criteria. Most of the circles marked unicorn deer. Su Hao issued another command: "Label species: [Unicorn deer]."

[Species labeling complete. Data comparison successful.]

"Exclude [Unicorn deer]."

With that command, more than half of the red circles disappeared from the display.

The nearest red circle was about ten meters away, high up in a tree. Su Hao glanced in that direction, and between the snow-covered branches, he saw two round, blue eyes staring directly at him, filled with coldness and vigilance.

The snow leopard!

Su Hao's scalp tingled. The leopard was only ten meters away, and he hadn't noticed it at all. If he had taken just a few more steps forward, it would have pounced on him. At such a close range, he wouldn't have had time to react.

The snow leopard seemed to realize that Su Hao had spotted it. With a graceful leap, it jumped down from the tree and took a few steps toward him, locking eyes with him.

The snow leopard had a sleek, muscular body. Its snow-white fur was dotted with a few black spots. Walking on the snow, it seemed almost invisible. Combined with its light footsteps, Su Hao figured he wouldn't have noticed the leopard even if it walked right behind him.

The beast was fierce—just by estimating its size, including its tail, Su Hao guessed it was at least three meters long. Looking at the snow leopard, Su Hao found it hard to believe that it was only slightly stronger than the green-eyed coyote.

'Was Father too careless sending me to face this thing? I don't think I'm a match for it at all!' Su Hao lamented internally, though his expression remained calm.

He issued another command to [Little Light]: "Label species: [Snow leopard]."

[Species labeling complete.]

The snow leopard seemed unwilling to make the first move, patiently waiting for its prey to make a mistake.

Su Hao thought for a moment and decided to test the waters.

He bent down, scooped up a handful of snow, packed it into a tight ball, and hurled it at the snow leopard.

With a light leap, the snow leopard easily dodged the snowball.

Su Hao scooped up more snow and threw another snowball.

The leopard dodged again. Su Hao threw yet another.

...

Wu Yuntian, watching from a distance, prepared to intervene in case of any danger. But seeing this scene made his eye twitch in disbelief. He had brought Su Hao out here to help him practice combat, not to have a snowball fight with a dangerous beast.

Whether it was due to the insult to its dignity or Su Hao's ineffective, non-threatening attacks, the snow leopard finally launched its assault.

It attacked with full force.

'So fast!' Su Hao's pupils shrank as his entire body tensed.

The snow leopard's attack was different from the green-eyed coyote's. Coyotes preferred to leap and bite at their enemy's throat. But the snow leopard kept its body low, attacking from below and lunging upward. This allowed it to adjust its trajectory mid-attack, making it highly adaptable.

As the snow leopard charged toward him, Su Hao was instantly overwhelmed by the pressure, his breath nearly choking in his throat.