He quietly drew closer and took a Meteorite Iron Small Sword from his Sword Pouch.
With a Shuriken technique, a Meteorite Iron Small Sword added wings to a tiger.
This was Li Beichen's first time hunting an Exotic Beast. He didn't want to fail.
He had to make it as perfect as possible.
Ahead, the Black Wolf had already eaten most of the Yellow Sheep.
But it still wasn't satisfied.
It continued tearing into the remaining flesh.
Suddenly, Li Beichen saw the Black Wolf raise its head and look in his direction.
Li Beichen immediately stopped moving forward.
A moment later, the Black Wolf went back to eating.
"This beast has such keen senses!"
"It nearly spotted me from a hundred paces away!"
Li Beichen knew that at this distance, every step forward might increase the risk of being discovered.
He had to be ready to strike at any moment.
There were still a hundred paces between them. Li Beichen had tested this distance before: with his Slight Mastery Shuriken and the power of Bright Force, he could hit his target, but the attack would have barely enough strength to tear cloth.
To injure a Ninth Grade Exotic Beast, Li Beichen estimated that he had to get within at least fifty paces.
At that moment, Li Beichen's mind was utterly calm.
Aside from the Black Wolf,
he shut out every other thought.
Using the towering trees for cover, he hunched over and crept forward in small steps.
Eighty paces.
Sixty paces.
Li Beichen burst out!
He crossed the ten paces in an instant.
At last, the Black Wolf, still eating the Yellow Sheep, noticed Li Beichen.
But by then, Li Beichen was fully prepared to hunt it.
His muscles tensed, and all his strength gathered at a single point.
His body was the bow; his sinews, the string.
He drove his feet into the ground.
Whoosh!
The Meteorite Iron Small Sword in his hand became a gray streak.
It broke through the forest and pierced the air.
The Black Wolf had just opened its bloody maw, about to summon the pack to attack Li Beichen.
But before it could make a sound—
BAM!!!
A Meteorite Iron Small Sword plunged down at an angle, piercing the Black Wolf's neck.
Trailing a thin line of blood, it sank into the ground.
The strike had even shattered the Black Wolf's cervical vertebrae.
In an instant, it lost the ability to move.
"Awwooo!"
The Ninth Grade Exotic Beast had no chance to fight back. It collapsed beside the Yellow Sheep's blood-soaked remains, letting out a howl of pain.
Its helpless body only made it panic even more.
Seeing their leader wounded, the wolves around it immediately fell into disarray.
They were utterly at a loss.
Whoosh!
Another Meteorite Iron Small Sword shot out of the forest.
It sank into the Black Wolf's eye socket and pierced its skull.
At once, the Ninth Grade Exotic Beast fell silent for good.
Several lines of small text immediately appeared before Li Beichen's eyes.
They were a notification that his [Hunting] skill had advanced to [Threshold of Mastery].
But Li Beichen had no time to read them. He dismissed the notification with a thought.
Ahead, the pack leader was dead. One-Eyed Wolf was the first to react.
It let out a long howl, trying to lead the remaining wolves to flee.
Although it was stronger than the other wolves, it couldn't command the entire pack.
Only a few wolves followed it as it ran.
The rest were a step slower, scattering only afterward.
Li Beichen strode out of the forest.
"One-Eyed Wolf, you're not getting away this time!"
After killing the Black Wolf, Li Beichen's next target was One-Eyed Wolf.
He reached into his Sword Pouch and drew out a small fine-iron sword.
With the [Sharpness] trait of his [Shuriken] technique, even though One-Eyed Wolf was fleeing at full speed, it couldn't escape Li Beichen's aim at this distance.
Whoosh! The fine-iron sword pierced its body.
The pain made One-Eyed Wolf leap into the air. It ran a few more steps, then couldn't go any farther.
Its life rapidly ebbed away.
Li Beichen left One-Eyed Wolf alone for now.
He caught up with several of the slower wolves and charged straight into their midst.
He unleashed [Giant Elephant Fist], each blow cracking like thunder and landing with solid force.
Like a tiger among sheep, he slaughtered them in a frenzy.
The wolves couldn't organize a coordinated attack. Even when a few tried to turn and bite Li Beichen,
his iron fists sent them flying.
Wolves were said to have copper heads, iron bones, and tofu waists.
But to Li Beichen, unless they were Exotic Beasts like the Black Wolf, ordinary wolves were no match for him.
One blow of Bright Force shattered their skulls and killed them on the spot.
In just a short while, Li Beichen had killed more than a dozen wolves.
He threw his [Shuriken] technique at those that had run too far, killing them from a distance.
But he had only nine Meteorite Iron Small Swords and nine fine-iron small swords in his Sword Pouch.
For the wolves he could catch up to, Li Beichen still chose to beat them to death with his fists.
This slaughter continued for a full half-hour.
Of the dozens of wolves, only a few were lucky enough to escape his notice. He slaughtered all the rest.
After he punched the last wolf in front of him to death, several more lines of small text appeared on the panel.
[Skill: Hunting (Slight Mastery)] [Progress: (0/1000)] [Traits: Hunting Perception, Mountain Forest Affinity, Physique Enhancement] [Hunting Perception: Greatly improves your ability to sense prey. Few can escape your pursuit.] [Mountain Forest Affinity: While in the mountains and forests, slightly improves all aspects of your physical condition.]
A wave of warmth flowed into Li Beichen's body, slightly enhancing his physique.
Though both were at Slight Mastery, [Hunting] had done far less to improve him than [Shuriken].
It was even less compared with [Giant Elephant Fist].
What surprised Li Beichen, though, were the two new traits: [Hunting Perception] and [Mountain Forest Affinity].
The moment they appeared, Li Beichen felt as if he had become one with the mountains and forests around him.
He could sense plants and trees flourishing, birds beating their wings as they soared, and a gentle breeze brushing past the treetops.
His body and mind both relaxed, and his strength began to recover faster.
He could also sense the whereabouts of the few wolves that had just escaped.
Following that feeling, he found their den in a ravine among the scattered rocks.
The remaining young adult wolves were hiding inside.
There were also a few old, weak, and injured ones.
After several punches, Li Beichen had wiped out the pack in Small Gravel Mountain all by himself.
With everything done, Li Beichen took out his dagger and began preparing his spoils.
He didn't want any of the ordinary wolves' meat. He only skinned them, planning to take the pelts back to make fur clothing.
At the same time, he had to retrieve the small swords he had thrown.
Li Beichen found that the Meteorite Iron Small Swords were indeed far tougher than the fine-iron ones.
Several fine-iron small swords that had struck rocks were completely bent out of shape and unusable.
But the Meteorite Iron Small Swords had suffered no more than a few tiny dents. A little sharpening would make them as good as new.
There were too many ordinary wolves, so Li Beichen found a vine and deftly worked it into a rope, then bundled the wolf pelts together.
This was a practical skill gained from his Slight Mastery [Hunting] technique.
After collecting all the ordinary wolves and retrieving the small swords scattered nearby,
Li Beichen looked toward the greatest prize of this hunt.
The Ninth Grade Exotic Beast, the Black Wolf.
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