Deadly Peril in the Night

Night fell, and a bright moon climbed into the sky. All around, insects chirped in chorus, mingled with the crackling of burning firewood.

Zhou Tong sat beside a bonfire, looking at the sleeping youth nearby. A trace of tenderness flashed through his eyes as he found himself reminiscing about his own younger days. Back then, he had been just as carefree. Unfortunately, all of that was gone now.

Sensing a slight chill, Yao Feng slowly opened his eyes and happened to see the sorrowful Zhou Tong. His heart sank, and he silently etched Magic Flame Valley into his memory.

As though he had sensed Yao Feng's gaze, Zhou Tong turned to him and said with a gentle smile:

"Young Master, you're awake. The meat of a First-tier Demonic Beast already contains quite a bit of battle qi. You ate too much roasted meat earlier and couldn't absorb all the energy, which is why you became sleepy. You've more or less digested it by now."

Hearing Zhou Tong's words, Yao Feng felt a little embarrassed. Was this what they meant by being so full you could barely move?

Just as Yao Feng was about to say something, he suddenly saw Zhou Tong glance toward the dark forest in the distance. There, a pair of eerie green eyes was fixed on Yao Feng's direction.

"Old Zhou!"

"A First-tier Demonic Beast, an Ironwood Wolf. About right."

Zhou Tong immediately understood and replied in a low voice. He reined in his aura even further, afraid that the slightest leak of his presence would scare away this prey that had delivered itself to their doorstep.

Yao Feng clenched his fists and chuckled as he rose to his feet, slowly walking toward the Ironwood Wolf. His fight with the Electric Pig earlier had been thoroughly unsatisfying. Now this Ironwood Wolf had come right to him.

"Roar!"

As if provoked, the Ironwood Wolf let out a roar. A vicious glint flashed through its eyes as its body lowered slightly, its hind legs bent, and then it suddenly sprang forward. Its massive, bloody maw opened wide, exposing sharp fangs as it lunged at Yao Feng.

Facing the Ironwood Wolf pouncing through the air, Yao Feng remained remarkably calm. He bent his knees slightly, and black Demonic Flame suddenly appeared in his palm. When the Ironwood Wolf reached him, Yao Feng swung his arm and struck directly at its head. At the same time, battle qi erupted beneath his feet with a bang, allowing him to evade the wolf's charging body.

Struck by Yao Feng's Burning Fire Palm, the Ironwood Wolf was sent crashing heavily to the side by its momentum. It staggered back to its feet, shook its head, and let out a low growl as it warily stared at Yao Feng's palm.

Yao Feng shook his slightly numb hand and thought, Its bones are pretty hard. The impact numbed my hand.

Yao Feng had wanted to catch the Ironwood Wolf off guard with the Mysterious Yellow Flame from the start, but using Heavenly Flames consumed far too much battle qi. At the Flame Mantra's current level, he could not afford such extravagance.

"Awoo!"

The Ironwood Wolf howled. By the bonfire's light, Yao Feng could clearly see specks of green light beginning to flicker across its bark-like body, looking somewhat eerie beneath the moonlight.

Specks of red light appeared in the Ironwood Wolf's dark green pupils. It let out a brutal growl and charged at Yao Feng again without fear of death.

Yao Feng hurriedly circulated battle qi to the soles of his feet. The Ironwood Wolf swung its claws at him, instantly tearing off a corner of his clothes. Yao Feng barely evaded its charge. Looking at the torn piece of fabric, his expression turned grave. This Ironwood Wolf had entered a berserk state, and its speed was much faster than before.

"Wildfire Prairie!"

Pitch-black Demonic Flame swept forth in an instant. As the source flame of the Demonic Flame Greedy Wolf, it naturally carried a trace of the Demonic Flame Greedy Wolf's aura. Both were wolf-type beasts, but the Demonic Flame Greedy Wolf's bloodline was far superior to that of the Ironwood Wolf. Yao Feng had noticed the Ironwood Wolf's reaction earlier, so he directly unleashed Wildfire Prairie in an attempt to suppress it.

As the Demonic Flame rushed toward it, the Ironwood Wolf's body stiffened, and its speed abruptly dropped. Even the red gleam in its eyes weakened considerably.

It worked!

Yao Feng grinned smugly and unleashed Explosive Steps. He clenched his hand into a fist, Demonic Flame coiling around it, and struck the Ironwood Wolf's lower back with all his strength. Copper skin, iron bones, and a tofu-soft waist—the wolf's weak point was its waist. After taking Yao Feng's full-force blow to the lower back, the Ironwood Wolf let out a pained whimper. When it landed, it could barely remain standing.

Seeing this, Yao Feng hurriedly pressed the attack. A lifelike phantom of a Lightning Jiao shot from his hand, roaring as it rushed toward the Ironwood Wolf.

The Ironwood Wolf was unable to dodge and was struck head-on. Its body turned somewhat charred, and drops of blood seeped from its wounds, quickly staining the ground red.

Rather than retreating from the pain, the Ironwood Wolf became even more bloodthirsty. The red glow in its eyes flared brightly, as though it could no longer feel the pain of its wounds. It howled at the sky before recklessly pouncing toward Yao Feng.

Watching from the side, Zhou Tong frowned. Wolves were pack animals and rarely appeared alone. The Ironwood Wolf's earlier actions had clearly been a call for nearby companions. If they joined the battle, Yao Feng would be in danger. With that thought, Zhou Tong suddenly released his vast Soul Power and saw more than a dozen Ironwood Wolves rapidly approaching in the distance. With a thought from Zhou Tong, all of them collapsed to the ground, unable to rise under the pressure of his aura. They could only whimper softly. Only one remained unaffected and continued racing toward Yao Feng.

"Two Ironwood Wolves should be fine, right?"

After doing all this, Zhou Tong looked at Yao Feng, who still had strength to spare, and muttered to himself.

As the Ironwood Wolf pounced again, Yao Feng was about to use Explosive Steps to dodge when a foul wind suddenly came from the side. Another Ironwood Wolf charged straight at him from the flank.

"Hah!"

Yao Feng shouted as both hands were suddenly covered in Demonic Flame. He grabbed the bloody maw of the Ironwood Wolf charging at him, then explosively exerted strength through his waist and legs. His body flipped through the air, and a sweeping kick struck the other Ironwood Wolf with perfect accuracy.

The instant he landed, Yao Feng used Explosive Steps to pull away. He looked at his hands in pleasant surprise. The move he had just performed had come entirely from martial arts films he had watched in his previous life. He had not expected to execute it so easily. The fantasy world really was more fun.

I wonder whether the fighting moves from my previous life can still be used here?

Yao Feng thought excitedly. He had watched plenty of action movies in his previous life. He had never practiced Wing Chun or Tai Chi, but he knew some of the moves. He had even watched Japanese action movies. He had always fantasized about becoming a martial arts master—now it seemed he had the chance!

System, can you give me a couple of martial arts manuals?

A sudden idea occurred to Yao Feng, and he asked in his mind.

"Ding. System upgrade complete. Mission mode has been activated. Mission issued: independently kill two Ironwood Wolves. Reward: Grandmaster Level Combat Skill."

The familiar mechanical voice rang out, but Yao Feng asked in confusion.

"Upgrade?"

"Ding. In order to better assist the host, this system absorbs energy to unlock new modes. Due to the host's low cultivation, most of the energy within the Mysterious Yellow Flame was absorbed by the system, creating an opportunity for an upgrade."

"New mode?"

Yao Feng swallowed, both shocked and delighted. No wonder the system had shown no reaction even when he encountered someone like Liu Qing—it had been upgrading. A single check-in feature was already absurdly powerful, yet there were actually new modes too!

"The host will learn in the future!"

The familiar coldness washed over him. Yao Feng was somewhat helpless. Looking at the two Ironwood Wolves gathering their strength to attack again, he could only suppress the doubts in his heart for now and deal with these two Ironwood Wolves first.