Although the Ancient Wolf Ancestor before him had been reduced to bones and was thoroughly dead, Xu Fan could still sense something from its enormous skeleton.
An incredibly intense rage clung to the bones.
It spread in all directions, transforming into a monstrous baleful aura.
It was hard to imagine...
What on earth had this Ancient Wolf Ancestor gone through in life?
Even after death, it could not rest in peace.
"Still, even if that Mysterious Voice called it the Wolf Ancestor, it was probably Holo's ancestor."
"I wonder whether the Bloodline Talent the voice mentioned has something to do with this Wolf Ancestor."
Thinking of this, Xu Fan couldn't help glancing at the Female Snow Wolf in his hands.
However...
Even though the shaking had stopped completely, the Female Snow Wolf still hadn't recovered from its panic.
It still bared its sharp fangs and stared ahead, seemingly on guard against something.
What's more, the Female Snow Wolf's legs were trembling.
Every so often, a warning growl rumbled in its throat.
As if it were warning him of danger.
Seeing this, Xu Fan simply set the Female Snow Wolf down.
And then...
The Female Snow Wolf actually took two steps backward.
Xu Fan furrowed his brow and used Observation Haki to listen to the sounds around him.
Suddenly, Xu Fan sensed another presence nearby.
It was the kind of presence only living creatures could have.
The Ancient Wolf Ancestor's rage had simply been so intense that it had masked the presence of these living creatures.
"There are so many."
Xu Fan thought to himself.
Through his Observation Haki.
There were hundreds, even thousands, of creatures up ahead.
Packed tightly together.
Lurking beneath the bones.
These were the creatures the Female Snow Wolf was so wary of.
After all, the Female Snow Wolf was a canine. Its sense of smell and hearing far surpassed a human's.
Even without seeing them.
It had keenly detected these creatures.
And...
It was on high alert!
The Female Snow Wolf's legs trembled as it bared its teeth.
If Xu Fan hadn't been standing right there, it would probably have turned tail and fled long ago.
That was no exaggeration...
If another country's contestant had come across a scene like this, they would probably have been so scared that they'd turned and run.
Yet Xu Fan had no intention of fleeing.
On the contrary, he was eager to take these creatures on.
None of them were particularly large, but there were so many that they were probably part of a pack.
And every pack had to have a leader.
Perhaps it was like the Snow Wolf King.
If he killed the leader, he might get a Treasure Chest.
With a little luck, he might even get some unexpected rewards.
Most importantly...
Xu Fan was cautious by nature, but he was just as confident in his own strength!
And so...
Under the gaze of hundreds of millions of viewers, Xu Fan slowly set off.
He walked in the direction where the Female Snow Wolf was on high alert.
The sudden sight left the Female Snow Wolf frozen in place.
Its eyes were filled with astonishment.
It had never imagined that Xu Fan would willingly walk toward danger!
At that moment, the Female Snow Wolf's mind raced.
Should it...
Run away?
It sensed an intense danger coming from the territory ahead. It was an instinct it had possessed since birth as a vicious beast of the Forbidden Land.
It had even tried to warn Xu Fan in every way it could.
But none of it had worked.
So what should it do?
Leave Xu Fan?
But...
Xu Fan had delicious meat.
And the fresh water he had was so sweet.
What's more, after traveling such a long way to get here, the Female Snow Wolf was parched.
Its belly was empty, too.
In this situation, returning to its old territory alone clearly wasn't safe.
While the Female Snow Wolf weighed its options, Xu Fan had already walked twenty or thirty meters away.
He was gradually entering the creatures' territory.
On one side was temporary safety; on the other were delicious grilled meat and sweet fresh water.
After hesitating for a while, the Female Snow Wolf finally clenched its teeth and hurried after Xu Fan.
Most importantly...
If Xu Fan hadn't grabbed it just in time a moment ago,
it might have been lying here beside those bones, asleep forever!
It wanted...
To repay that kindness.
Meanwhile, the hosts and guests in the Live Stream Room were all dumbfounded.
Because anyone could see the fear in the Female Snow Wolf's eyes.
It had even stopped for a while, unwilling to go any farther.
But in the end, it still set off and chased after Xu Fan.
"It's incredible. The Female Snow Wolf is clearly terrified, yet it still hasn't abandoned contestant Xu Fan. That's enough to show that it already considers him a companion."
Seeing this, Brother Qiang began to explain. "That's a trait unique to the wolf clan."
"Once they consider someone one of their own, they won't abandon them and flee alone, no matter how dangerous the situation is."
In fact, it was precisely because wolves were such loyal animals.
That humans revered them.
Some tribes even considered wolves their totemic gods.
"But contestant Xu Fan only met Holo last night, didn't he? To tame Holo so quickly, in such a short time, is incredible."
Host Xiao Ying couldn't help exclaiming.
However...
Xiao Ying soon grew worried.
Holo wasn't an ordinary Snow Wolf, after all. Its danger level was D-Rank.
On par with the Snow Wolf King.
For it to be this nervous.
It meant the area up ahead was extremely dangerous.
Perhaps...
A more powerful vicious beast was lurking there!
Better safe than sorry.
"Contestant Xu Fan has no need to put himself in danger."
"At a time like this, the right thing to do is heed the Female Snow Wolf's warning and choose a safe route."
The famous writer Yuan Yuan couldn't help speaking up.
Although the production team had warned her earlier, she was still deeply unhappy watching contestant Xu Fan act so irresponsibly.
"Whatever happens, contestant Xu Fan is tied to our country."
"If anything happens to him, the consequences would be unimaginable."
"And yet he still puts himself in danger."
"That's simply irresponsible."
"Both to the country and to himself."
Yuan Yuan let out everything she had been thinking.
But as soon as she finished speaking, Warrior King Chen beside her immediately objected. "I don't agree."
"If it weren't for contestant Xu Fan's outstanding performance,"
"we would never have gained a vast stretch of mountain forest."
By this point, Warrior King Chen admired Xu Fan beyond words.
Because he wasn't confident he could have done any of the things Xu Fan had done!
In fact, in Warrior King Chen's eyes...
Calling contestant Xu Fan a hero of the Yan Kingdom
was no exaggeration.
And yet...
She had actually said that contestant Xu Fan was irresponsible?
What would count as responsible, then?
Was he supposed to stay in one place and take things one day at a time? Was that what responsibility meant?
However, as Xu Fan ventured farther in...
The Live Stream Room showed a sight that made viewers' scalps crawl.
The ground ahead of Xu Fan was covered with densely packed White Worms.
Every single one of them was over a meter long, and their blood-red eyes sent a chill through anyone who saw them...
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