Captured Alive

"Luckily, this Hunter was only an Intermediate Beast General. If it were a high-level Beast General, it would be even faster..."

The Silver Moon Fierce Wolf's attack missed. Before its forepaws even touched the ground, it pushed off with its other three legs and lunged forward again, opening its bloody maw to bite Feng Qingmo.

The giant wolf stood three meters tall. With its jaws wide open, it could easily bite Feng Qingmo's entire head off.

"Whoosh!"

A sharp whistle cut through the air as a black throwing knife shot out from behind Feng Qingmo, streaking toward the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf's open mouth at incredible speed.

The knife flew faster than sound, but the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf was an Intermediate Beast General, and its reflexes were just as astonishing. It snapped its jaws shut in alarm and twisted its neck.

With a soft hiss, the blade left a shallow cut at the corner of the giant wolf's mouth. Though the S-grade knife could pierce its hide, Feng Qingmo's Spiritual Force wasn't strong enough to drive it into the wolf's skull.

"Awoo~"

The Silver Moon Fierce Wolf licked the wound at the corner of its mouth and turned its icy gaze toward him. Its fur seemed even whiter now, and the tuft in the middle of its forehead had grown a deeper shade of crimson.

Feng Qingmo stood still, impressed by the fierce wolf's reflexes. At such close range, the knife had flown incredibly fast, yet the beast had still dodged it and escaped a serious injury.

"Come again!" Feng Qingmo beckoned to the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf with his left hand.

"Whoosh!" Clearly enraged, the giant wolf thrust off the ground with all four paws and charged at him at tremendous speed. Yet despite its speed, it wasn't as swift as it had been during its first pounce. It was clearly wary of the knives circling Feng Qingmo and was holding back.

The Silver Moon Fierce Wolf raised a forepaw and swiped down. Feng Qingmo stepped back to the side, pointing his sword at the giant wolf's eye. The wolf turned its head slightly as its paw came down, then twisted at the waist and whipped its long tail at Feng Qingmo's head like a lash.

Feng Qingmo ducked beneath it, lowering his body as he thrust his sword at the giant wolf's rear. Startled, the wolf whipped its tail down and surged forward.

Then it twisted around and charged again, baring its fangs as it lunged for Feng Qingmo.

Though the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf stood nearly three meters tall and was almost five meters long, its streamlined body was exceptionally agile. Its massive jaws, sharp claws, tail, and even its back could all be used to attack, and it was incredibly fast. It was almost the most troublesome monster of its level to fight, no wonder it was called a Hunter.

Feng Qingmo remained focused, swinging and thrusting his sword. Though he was slower than the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf, his Microscopic-level footwork allowed him to defend steadily.

Under such intense pressure, his swordsmanship and footwork improved tremendously, becoming more concise and efficient.

Neither the Trial Tower nor his earlier fight against the charging Bloodthirsty Tanks had put him under the kind of pressure that came with facing death.

He couldn't die in the Trial Tower, and the boars hadn't been strong enough. He had fought Guan Chenglong every day before this, but that pressure hadn't tested him at the brink of death, either.

Now, facing an Intermediate Beast General-level Silver Moon Fierce Wolf, Feng Qingmo meant to use it to hone his skills, relying on the knives controlled by his Spiritual Force only when danger was at its worst.

In just a few minutes, Feng Qingmo had endured the toughest fight since he began cultivating. At least three times, he had nearly been swallowed by the wolf; four times, he had almost been struck by its claws; and twice, its tail had whipped past him by a hair's breadth.

With the help of his Spiritual Force, he had narrowly survived each brush with death. Gradually, Feng Qingmo adapted to the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf's speed, and his improved footwork let him dodge with greater ease.

A trace of confusion showed in the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf's eyes. It didn't understand why, several times now, when it had nearly killed the human, some inexplicable force had seemed to push him away from its jaws.

Clearly, this Silver Moon Fierce Wolf had never fought a Spiritual Master before.

But with its intelligence, a few minutes of fighting had been enough to make it realize that its chances of killing this human today were slim. Besides, it was a noble member of the Silver Moon Wolf clan. It never kept underlings and would never stoop to calling other monsters to gang up on a human.

You're lucky today. The giant wolf decided to leave. With its speed, it figured the human wouldn't be able to catch up.

Feng Qingmo couldn't read the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf's expression, but he could still sense that it had lost its appetite for fighting.

I'd hoped to hone my skills a little longer...

He charged at the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf, the tip of his sword cutting through the air toward its lower jaw. This immediately enraged the giant wolf again. It raised a forepaw and swung at him, each claw as sharp as a dagger.

With a clang, Feng Qingmo's sword flew from his hand—he had let go of the hilt on purpose!

Taking advantage of the moment when the giant wolf's forepaw dropped from the force of its swing, he pushed off the ground and leapt up, punching toward its head with his right fist.

At the same time, he flicked his left hand. Gold-Severing Thread shot out, wrapping toward the giant wolf's two forelegs.

The Silver Moon Fierce Wolf could have countered Feng Qingmo's punch just by raising its head. It might even have bitten his right hand off. But somehow, it sensed that the movement of his left hand posed a greater threat.

In a split second, it made its choice. It tucked up both forelegs to evade Gold-Severing Thread, using the motion to propel its forehead toward Feng Qingmo's fist ahead of time.

But just as its upward momentum ran out, it was horrified to find that Feng Qingmo's fist still hadn't struck its head—he was using his Spiritual Force to hold himself in midair.

As the wolf started falling, Feng Qingmo's fist finally slammed into its head. The wolf's skull was incredibly hard, but Feng Qingmo had thrown the punch with all his strength. With his force output amplified by 1.8 times, the blow carried more than ten thousand kilograms of force. It not only sent the wolf falling faster but also left it dazed for an instant.

As the giant wolf fell, Feng Qingmo took advantage of its brief daze. Guided by the triangular barbs, Gold-Severing Thread in his left hand traced an intricate path.

First it looped around each foreleg, then passed beneath the wolf's belly to bind its hind legs as well. It circled back, wrapped twice around its neck, and finally bound its massive jaws.

By the time the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf hit the ground, Feng Qingmo had tightened Gold-Severing Thread with a flick of his left hand. The giant wolf's four legs were pulled together. Aside from its tail, it couldn't move at all—not even to howl.

The giant wolf lay on its side, staring toward Feng Qingmo with a bewildered look, as if it still didn't understand what had happened. That didn't stop its muscles from tensing as it struggled to break free of Gold-Severing Thread.

Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly strong enough to snap the thread. Luckily for it, its fur and hide were exceptionally tough, so it didn't suffer the same gruesome fate as the Elementary Beast General-level Bloodthirsty Tank that had been strangled into the flesh.

Feng Qingmo retrieved the Slender Willow Sword and studied the giant wolf lying on the ground, mulling things over.

"An Intermediate Beast General-level Silver Moon Fierce Wolf should sell for around 150 to 200 million. But I wonder how much it'd be worth alive... Better leave first!"