Shadow Wolf

Time meant nothing in the mountains, and before one knew it, it was gone... Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. That day, Xiao Heng sat beneath a waterfall, circulating his Dou Qi.

Water cascading down from dozens of meters above pounded against his back, yet it could not harm him in the slightest.

A pair of purple tattoos gleamed brightly across his back. Black and White Profound Cut rested on his lap, a chill radiating from its silver-white blade.

Xiao Heng opened his eyes. He could already feel that he was on the verge of a breakthrough, yet something seemed to be missing, preventing him from advancing. He had no idea what it was. Rising with his sword in hand, he began practicing the Vertical and Horizontal Swordplay!

The blade sliced through the falling water, turning into streaks of sword light as it thrust, chopped, and swept.

The Vertical and Horizontal Swordplay was more than merely swordsmanship. Its movement techniques, footwork, and circulation of inner breath were all highly particular.

Xiao Heng had intended to cultivate another movement technique, but he found the simple ones beneath him, while the stronger ones did not coordinate well with what he had. Thus, he had never cultivated one.

What he needed now was an opportunity—an opportunity to break through to Dou Shi! After finishing the sword routine, he prepared to seek that opportunity. He did not have Old Yao, nor did he have anyone to guide him, so he could only find his own way forward. He did not know where that path lay, but he had a faint premonition in his heart. He needed a battle—a closely matched battle!

"Open the panel."

Host: Xiao Heng

Cultivation: Nine-star Dou Zhe

Cultivation Method: Innate Skill

Dou Techniques: Basic Martial Arts, Vertical and Horizontal Swordplay, Purple Cloud Wings

Skill Points: 389

Energy Points: 698

Heavenly Dao Points: 5

Looking at the additional five Heavenly Dao Points, Xiao Heng seemed to realize where they had come from. As long as he altered certain parts of the plot, he could obtain Heavenly Dao Points. Influencing Xiao Yan's broken engagement had given him five, and the cave had given him another five!

He seemed to understand how the system operated now! It converted energy into Energy Points, which could be used for exchanges and upgrades. It converted Dou Techniques or cultivation methods into Skill Points—knowledge—which could be used to upgrade Dou Techniques or cultivation methods! Finally, Heavenly Dao Points allowed him to steal certain things.

He had always been rather uneasy about this system, but there was nothing he could do about it even if he was. He could not afford not to use it. As for whether someone was controlling the system from behind the scenes—he was already in this state. Was he supposed to fear being controlled by someone? He would grow stronger first and worry about it later!

As for the system, he would not abandon it, but neither would he rely on it completely! Those who grew entirely dependent on other things would ultimately find that their achievements did not truly belong to them.

"Upgrade the Sword Scabbard!" Xiao Heng silently said in his heart.

At once, a stream of white energy enveloped the Sword Scabbard before gradually merging into it!

System Notification: Sword Scabbard upgrade successful. Energy Points -300. Remaining Energy Points: 398!

Xiao Heng carefully examined the upgraded Sword Scabbard. It did not seem to have changed much. Its patterns had merely become clearer, and a special rune had appeared at the end of the hilt. Other than that, there was nothing!

Do not ask why Xiao Heng had not upgraded the sword itself. The answer was that he did not have enough Energy Points. The three hundred Energy Points spent on that upgrade would be worth at least thirty thousand gold coins! Thirty thousand gold coins were nearly enough to buy a Profound Grade weapon!

Come to think of it, he did not seem to have enough Skill Points to upgrade an Earth Grade Cultivation Method! He would have to get some more!

How annoying!

Sheathing his sword, Xiao Heng headed deeper into the Monster Mountain Range!

He needed a peak second-tier Magical Beast, or perhaps a third-tier one! A human would work too, but there did not seem to be anyone that strong nearby, and even if there were, they would not be easy to find!

As an Alchemist, he knew quite a bit about the habitats of various medicinal herbs, and many herbs were guarded by Magical Beasts! Among the Pill Recipes he had inherited was a Third-grade Pill called the Cold Life Pill! Its effect was to resist flames while absorbing them and rapidly recover from damage caused by flames! It was also the only pill in his inherited Pill Recipes that could assist in refining flames!

One of its main ingredients, Cold Bone Ginseng, was also one of his targets this time. Though Cold Bone Ginseng had the word "cold" in its name, it was not an ice-attributed medicinal herb, but one with a yin-cold attribute. It only grew in places that never saw sunlight all year round, and Shadow Wolves were always nearby!

Shadow Wolves were also strange Magical Beasts. Most wolves lived in packs, but these Magical Beasts were different—they were all solitary. Their attribute was yin as well!

He had not spotted a Shadow Wolf, but he had seen a first-tier Black Rat! This kind of Magical Beast loved making its home near Shadow Wolves, so he decided to try his luck!

Not far away stood a fruit tree. Black Rats only came out at night, and these days happened to be when the tree's fruit ripened. Black Rats especially loved those fruits, and he had spotted the Black Rat beside that very tree that day!

With his sword on his back, Xiao Heng headed toward the fruit tree. He hid in a tree not far from it and waited. There were still one or two hours until nightfall!

As the sun set and the moon slowly rose, a palm-sized black rat-like Magical Beast quietly arrived beneath the fruit tree. It then climbed up the tree and began eating!

Xiao Heng did not disturb it! He simply waited in silence! About another hour passed before the Black Rat finished eating and headed back toward its territory!

Using the Innate Skill to suppress his aura to the lowest possible level, Xiao Heng quietly followed behind it. The Black Rat remained utterly unaware, still happily savoring the memory of its full meal!

The Black Rat's home was not far from here, but neither was it close. After roughly half an hour of travel, Xiao Heng had nearly lost it several times. The Black Rat was simply too small, and he had to conceal his aura while remaining wary of other Magical Beasts, making things quite troublesome! Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened!

Xiao Heng was now crouching atop a large tree. Just moments ago, the Black Rat had slipped into the dense forest ahead!

"There really might be a Shadow Wolf here!" Xiao Heng surveyed the area. Behind it was a cliff, and the place lay on the shaded side. The trees were tall and massive, packed so tightly that not even light could pass through!

The only question now was whether he should go in! Xiao Heng was eighty percent certain that there was a Shadow Wolf here. He simply did not know what tier it was. A second-tier one would be fine, and even if it were third-tier, Xiao Heng was confident he could fight it! But if it were fourth-tier, he would be in danger. He would also have to end the battle quickly, or once other Magical Beasts discovered him, he would basically be doomed!

He glanced at the Dou Ling Experience Card in his System Space, and Xiao Heng steadied himself! Go in! At worst, he could use that card to escape! So long as it was not a fifth-tier or sixth-tier Magical Beast, he could get away!

Moving through the darkness, Xiao Heng silently made his way into the dense forest. Fortunately, the trees were large. Though it was still difficult to move through, there was enough room!

After around ten minutes, a cave appeared before Xiao Heng. Inside, a black wolf-shaped Magical Beast over three or four meters tall lay sleeping on the ground! Beside it, three stalks of snow-white bone ginseng had already sprouted!

"White leaves, red flowers. One has six leaves, and two have eight. Not bad—they all far exceed the standard. But that Magical Beast has clearly broken through to the third tier, though it probably has not been long!"

Xiao Heng took a deep breath. "Screw it!"

Circulating his Dou Qi, he drew both swords and shouted, "Hey! You stupid wolf! Come fight me!"

He needed a battle—a real battle! Not the minor skirmishes from before!

Black Wolf opened his eyes, the stripes on his back glowing purple-black. He was furious at this person who had interrupted his sleep!

Awoo!

Black Wolf turned into a dark blur within the shadows, and in the blink of an eye, its claws had already reached Xiao Heng!

"So fast!"

His right hand clenched the sword hilt!

Sweep the Eight Directions!

An ink-black dragon shadow flashed past, separating the instant it collided with the black wolf shadow!

Ever since Xiao Heng had come to this world, he seemed to possess a certain talent. Whenever he fought, he became completely focused. Just like the time he had killed someone—even though he had vomited afterward, he had not hesitated in the slightest when doing it!

"As expected of a Shadow Wolf. It really is fast!" Xiao Heng felt warmth trickling down the left side of his face. If his reaction had been any slower just now, his head would already have been separated from his body, rather than leaving only a small wound like this!

"Again!"

Instead of frightening Xiao Heng, the flow of blood gave him a trace of excitement!

He gripped his swords with both hands, gathering Dou Qi! Sword Qi condensed along the blades. A leaf drifted down, brushing past one blade and splitting into two before continuing its fall.

Dou Qi gathered in his legs as well! He swiftly moved in front of the Shadow Wolf! His left sword thrust straight toward its throat!

The Shadow Wolf was no fool. It turned into a shadow again and flashed to the right, dodging the strike. However, the sharp sword Qi still sliced off several of its whiskers!

His right sword swept across!

The Shadow Wolf had no time to dodge, and it did not want to dodge either! Black Dou Qi condensed around its head and collided with the blade!

A wolf had a head of copper, bones of iron, and a waist of tofu. Wolf-shaped Magical Beasts all had extremely hard heads, but it had still underestimated the sharpness of Black and White Profound Cut! The blade, carrying sword Qi, cut through its Dou Qi and split its skin. Though its bones stopped the blade in the end, the intense pain still sent it into a rage!

Shadow Attachment was the Shadow Wolf's innate ability. It could increase its speed in the darkness by up to one-third. Night was the Shadow Wolf's sharpest claw.

Ignoring the pain in its head, the Shadow Wolf opened its jaws and bit toward Xiao Heng's throat!

Xiao Heng raised his left sword to defend! His right sword viciously left a gash on Black Wolf's right foreleg! Unfortunately, the Shadow Wolf's left claw also left claw marks across Xiao Heng's chest!

Huff! Inhale! Huff! Inhale!

Xiao Heng continuously adjusted his breathing, his eyes fixed firmly on the dark figure not far away. The Shadow Wolf was best at surprise attacks. If one strike failed, it would hide again and continue searching for an opportunity! Until it killed its prey!

The Shadow Wolf was very patient. It could always find the best opportunity!

But Xiao Heng was different. He could not drag this battle out for too long! If other Magical Beasts appeared, things would become troublesome.

So he decided to actively lure this cunning wolf into attacking! His breathing became slightly uneven, and his body trembled faintly! Sure enough, the black shadow did not let this chance pass! Foul-smelling fangs and sharp claws came at him again!

The Shadow Wolf never used both claws when attacking! Unless it believed the strike would be fatal! This time was no different! But this was enough—Xiao Heng only had two hands to deal with its attacks!

Dou Qi collided, claws and fangs scraped against sword blades!

The black shadow always retreated after a single strike, while the human's breathing had already begun to quicken!

Soon. Just a little more, and it would be able to kill this human, tear open his throat, and savor his blood! He was already starting to lose his rhythm! The Shadow Wolf stared intently at Xiao Heng from the darkness.

Xiao Heng was truly in a miserable position now. That beast was far too cunning, always launching sneak attacks, and the night favored it! He might really lose.

"I have to find a way to make this beast fight me head-on. Otherwise, I'll lose sooner or later!"

The black shadow attacked again, this time aiming for Xiao Heng's chest!

But this time, Xiao Heng did not choose to defend. Instead, he slightly turned to the left, trading a wound for an opportunity to attack!

Slash! The sound of claws tearing through clothing came first!

Xiao Heng clenched his teeth! His pupils widened slightly! His left sword chopped down viciously, leaving a sizeable wound on the Shadow Wolf's right side as well!

The Shadow Wolf felt the pain and tried to retreat! But Xiao Heng gave it no chance, enduring the pain as he thrust his right sword at it!

It dodged the left sword, only for the right sword to arrive!

Wolves were cruel animals. They were cruel not only to their enemies, but also to themselves. Seeing that it could not escape, it used its left claw to block the right sword! Completely ignoring what kind of injury Xiao Heng's left sword would inflict on it, the wolf's head lunged straight for Xiao Heng's throat!

Xiao Heng was smaller than the Magical Beast, but more agile! He directly abandoned the sword in his right hand and formed a fist!

Mountain Breaking Strike!

He smashed it viciously into the Shadow Wolf's head, knocking it aside. He himself flashed away and drew his sword again!

Mountain Breaking Strike was, after all, a Xuan Rank Dou Technique. Though it could not instantly kill this wolf yet, it could still buy Xiao Heng some time!

The wolf was dazed by the blow, but that brief moment gave Xiao Heng the chance to press it again!

Sword strike after sword strike swept out. Xiao Heng felt as though he had suddenly entered a strange rhythm, and the opponent before him seemed to be moving according to his rhythm! Though he was still occasionally wounded, he was no longer at such a disadvantage as before!

The Shadow Wolf was now completely enraged. It howled and continuously attacked Xiao Heng, but every attack was blocked. Whenever it tried to break away, Xiao Heng stopped it!

Man and wolf tangled together, fighting for several dozen more exchanges!

Then they separated!

By now, both sides had expended a great deal of Dou Qi. Neither had the right to flee anymore; they could only clash head-on! Whoever tried to run might die first instead!

Xiao Heng panted heavily. Blood had soaked his clothes—some of it was his, and some belonged to this Magical Beast!

"It's time to send you on your way! Vertical and Horizontal Alliance!"

This was the ultimate move of the Vertical and Horizontal Sword Technique! Using it to send this wolf on its way was already the greatest respect he could give it!

Black Wolf sensed it too! He let out a loud howl!

"Awooo!... Awooo!" Black Dou Qi enveloped his entire body!

He charged toward Xiao Heng!

One black and one white—two dragon phantoms passed through the black wolf silhouette, severing the wolf's head!

Hah...! Hah...! Hah...!

Xiao Heng panted heavily, one hand braced against the ground while the other painstakingly sheathed his sword in the Sword Scabbard! Then he staggered toward the cave!